North East Buses

Had a trip out today as I wanted to go to Tesco in Kingston Park. Times are as what is displayed on the ticket. I got a lift to the MetroCentre as my mam was going shopping to Aldi so no bus needed there.

13:32 100 - MetroCentre Transport Interchange - Newcastle Blackett Street (SNE 27506)

Got off at Blackett Street and managed to get a few photos mostly of Stagecoach buses (12084, 19154, 19198, 19208, 19209) and one GNE (4933) before the X47 arrived.

13:54 X47 Newcastle Blackett Street - Kingston Park Retail Park (SNE 22412)

on the way to Kingston Park I spotted one of GNE's Training Vehicles (8245) at Kemton roundabout traffic lights and got a photo of it. Got off at Kingston Park opposite Tesco and I went to Tesco, and then I headed back to the bus stop afterwards, getting a couple of photos of GNE 633 and SNE 22411.

14:32 X47 Kingston Park Retail Park - Newcastle Blackett Street (SNE 22410)

I decided to return home via Hexham as I have a dislike for the route from Newcastle to Prudhoe and prefer the Hexham to Prudhoe run better.

14:59 X84 Newcastle Eldon Square - Ovingham Village Hall (GNE 5231)

I originally planned on getting this to Hexham, but as I never check timetables and was unaware of the route the X84 takes as I normally get the X85 when travelling to Hexham from Newcastle. I got off at Ovingham and walked over the bridge to Prudhoe Interchange to save a trip up to Corbridge or Hexham to get the 10. Did have to sit on the fold down seats which aren't the most comfortable for the journey as the bus had no other empty seats by the time I got on as I was getting some photos at the bottom of the bus station. This is actually quite a nice route compared to the X85 which mostly goes along the A69.

15:46 10B Prudhoe Interchange - Prudhoe Front Street (GNE 3941)

I sat downstairs on this journey which I don't normally would do but didn't see the point of going upstairs due to the short journey. Got off at Prudhoe Front Street and went home.


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Had a trip to South Shields today with the other half. Was hoping GNE would have some new Streetlites in service but looks like sometime next week now at least, so another trip is necessary whenever they enter service. Times are displayed on tickets.

08:59 10 Prudhoe Waterworld - MetroCentre Transport Interchange (GNE 6078)

Some pensioner pushed in front when I was at the bus stop first and sat in the front seat I usually sit in above the driver if available in case I see any buses i wish to photograph.

09:48 X66 MetroCentre Transport Interchange - Gateshead Interchange (GNE 539?)

5389 showed up first so I decided to wait for a branded bus instead as was in no hurry. This was one of the branded Streetlites but have lost the ticket. Was a quiet journey this morning to Gateshead with not too many passengers.

10:15 27 Gateshead Interchange - Chichester Dean Road (GNE 5317)

Was going to get the 10:04 but 5168 showed up and didn't fancy a ride on them based on what people have said about the dual door Renown's, so I waited until the next one which was a branded Citaro. Got off the bus at Chichester Dean Road as I wanted to visit the model bus fair at the Salvation Army Hall but got off the bus too far down and had to walk a distance as I was going off the map they had on the poster. Was hoping to find a GNE TEN bus at the model bus fair but unfortunately there wasn't any, or any other GNE models that I wanted.

11:32 5 Chichester Dean Road - Keppel Street Bus Station (GNE 5260)

Got this to South Shields town centre and went to McDonald's and CeX and then headed back to the bus station to get some bus photos.

12:30 27 Keppel Street Bus Station - Newcastle Market Street (GNE 3968)

Decided to get this as I haven't really sampled a Vyking as they don't use them on my local routes. Not the most comfortable ride back to Newcastle thanks to the seats being rather hard. Sat at the front above the driver. Got off at Market Street and walked round to Worswick Street to have a look. At the old Northern Bus Station and got a couple of photos of it.

13:57 10 Eldon Sqauare Bus Station - Prudhoe Waterworld (GNE 6079)

This was a rather noisy journey back as being a Saturday there were a lot of teenagers on this bus talking loudly and laughing loudly from the back, I was sat at the front on the near side.


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Today was a good day full of variety
08:25 4 39708 wheatsheaf stagecoach depot to Town end farm to sunderland john street
This journey was ok i planned to go to durham but so this across the road and couldn't resist, we got some kickdowns which were excellent. This proved much better than the 59 reg e200s that are oftern allocated.
09:30 Arriva Northern 156484 sunderland to newcastle
This is my favourite sprinter and for good reason.
This train gets amazing kickdowns and not DDA yet but had a diwnside today,there seemed to a loud noise which bugged me so personaly wasnt that enjoyable.
10:05 35 39703 pilgrim street to near haymarket
I walked up to pilgrim street in hope that the 35 would have a dart but unfortunately 39703 showed. Wasnt that bad as it was less than a 5 minute journey,better than some vehciles though.
10;14 54 7480 Haymarket to Gosforth High Street
I very much enjoyed this as we got a really good thrash but some what disappointed that 4512 got replaced by 7480 though as i believe its the only public service renown arriva have.
10:25 54 4520 Gosforth high street to haymarket bus station
This was excellent as i let 22025 go past i believed this was the best alx300 ive ever been on with its lovely thrash.
11:05 12 5235 Eldon Square to central station
This was just a quick ride i spent nearly 30 minutes hoping something good but a no show,so just got this and as we left 4896 appeared on the x31 which quite annoyed me.
11:30 Arriva Northern 156484 Newcastle to sunderland
This was next so got this much improved compared to tge the last journey on this,we boomed through fellgate and spot on time a really enjoyable journey.
11:52 9 4915 Fawcett street to Stadium of light metro
A nice journey upon this we had a lovely volvo roar,pity these will be leaving this was a nice hop
12:10 20A 4991 Stadium of light metro to Barnes park
A nice journey i noted it has a advertising picture for the new streetlights this was most eventful upon this bus.
13:20 18 39709 Barnes park to fullwell grange (Thompson road)
I was most impressed with this the driver was an enthusiast and was telling me 39706 has suffered engine failures and has been vor for atleast 2 month.
He also gave info about upcoming service information which i was aware of.
All in all a great day out most likely tommorow ill be using the 8x in south hylton and the 20s and hope last rides on cadets/renowns /dual doir renowns also.
Thank you for reading

We visited South Shields, too, today!

Arrived in Durham on 1598 on the 22 around 10am. Got off at the marketplace and into the market for the loo as I knew I had a long morning ahead of me and wasn't sure what facilities I'd find. Headed off to Pret for some sarnies then down to Millburngate for our next bus.

5214 turned up on the 20A just before 10:25 and we, luckily, bagged a couple of seats not too far back, as it was actually quite full. The journey was as uneventful as the Prince Bishops ever is. Unlike TEN, I'd been organised and looked up the location on google maps. When we were getting near, I ran up the very useful Live Map on the Arriva app, so I could follow our progress. In the event, identifying the stop after the County hotel proved easy enough. After 90 minutes on a solar, my back was grumbling, so I was glad of a little walk to the Sally Army Hall.

We enjoyed the fair - exhibitors and sellers weren't just local and there were lots of styles of models and some nice working displays. We found a couple of interesting books before we left. Loos there were fab, btw. Nice venue.

Had considered getting the 27. If we had, we'd have ended up on the same one as TEN, as that passed us. We made our way down to the Metro. Hopefully Westoe looks better on a sunny day because it's a bit of a dive. After a cold, long stand on the platform, we hopped onto the metro and had our lunch.

Not wanting to faff on with lifts in Newcastle, we changed at Heworth, where we caught what was evidently a late running 5332 on the 27, just after 1pm. A branded Citaro was just behind us. We all got kicked off at Gateshead, onto 5388 on the 58. This sent a poor old woman into a bit of a spin, as she'd been hoping to get off the bus a bit closer to where she was going.

We got off on Pilgrim street (and directed a few lost people back to Market Street) and had a brief wander around town. Chose a birthday card for someone in Fenwick and then went straight to Waitrose where we picked up some delicious curries for me to share with husband and littl'un. Big'un got Spaghetti and meatballs because korma is too hot and spicy for him.

Hopped on 5201 on the X25 at 14:25 for a change of route home. Hottest. Bus. Ever!

Straight onto an X21 (6304?) from that at CLS and shivered, instead on there. Closed a window but regretted it after realising it must have been opened on account of the stinky walking shoes of the guy sat near us. We were sat facing a young woman with the worst HD brows I've seen for a long time and I spent the entire journey trying very hard not to stare at them.

We ended up on 1520 for our final journey home. First time we've been home at 4pm for ages! We had the customary stand lotto, of course, at Durham - the driver had angled for stand J, but the 57 reg lowlander on the 43 ended up sat there for 7 minutes past its leaving time, with the driver on the phone. Thought he might have broken down, but then he just reversed out and drove off, so goodness knows what happened there.

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We visited South Shields, too, today!

Arrived in Durham on 1598 on the 22 around 10am. Got off at the marketplace and into the market for the loo as I knew I had a long morning ahead of me and wasn't sure what facilities I'd find. Headed off to Pret for some sarnies then down to Millburngate for our next bus.

5214 turned up on the 20A just before 10:25 and we, luckily, bagged a couple of seats not too far back, as it was actually quite full. The journey was as uneventful as the Prince Bishops ever is. Unlike TEN, I'd been organised and looked up the location on google maps. When we were getting near, I ran up the very useful Live Map on the Arriva app, so I could follow our progress. In the event, identifying the stop after the County hotel proved easy enough. After 90 minutes on a solar, my back was grumbling, so I was glad of a little walk to the Sally Army Hall.

We enjoyed the fair - exhibitors and sellers weren't just local and there were lots of styles of models and some nice working displays. We found a couple of interesting books before we left. Loos there were fab, btw. Nice venue.

Had considered getting the 27. If we had, we'd have ended up on the same one as TEN, as that passed us. We made our way down to the Metro. Hopefully Westoe looks better on a sunny day because it's a bit of a dive. After a cold, long stand on the platform, we hopped onto the metro and had our lunch.

Not wanting to faff on with lifts in Newcastle, we changed at Heworth, where we caught what was evidently a late running 5332 on the 27, just after 1pm. A branded Citaro was just behind us. We all got kicked off at Gateshead, onto 5388 on the 58. This sent a poor old woman into a bit of a spin, as she'd been hoping to get off the bus a bit closer to where she was going.

We got off on Pilgrim street (and directed a few lost people back to Market Street) and had a brief wander around town. Chose a birthday card for someone in Fenwick and then went straight to Waitrose where we picked up some delicious curries for me to share with husband and littl'un. Big'un got Spaghetti and meatballs because korma is too hot and spicy for him.

Hopped on 5201 on the X25 at 14:25 for a change of route home. Hottest. Bus. Ever!

Straight onto an X21 (6304?) from that at CLS and shivered, instead on there. Closed a window but regretted it after realising it must have been opened on account of the stinky walking shoes of the guy sat near us. We were sat facing a young woman with the worst HD brows I've seen for a long time and I spent the entire journey trying very hard not to stare at them.

We ended up on 1520 for our final journey home. First time we've been home at 4pm for ages! We had the customary stand lotto, of course, at Durham - the driver had angled for stand J, but the 57 reg lowlander on the 43 ended up sat there for 7 minutes past its leaving time, with the driver on the phone. Thought he might have broken down, but then he just reversed out and drove off, so goodness knows what happened there.

Some canny reviews there. New Prince Bishops will be out by next Saturday, so I guess rides on the 20 will be order of the day next week. I think you always need to get on a new bus within the first week just to smell the newness!

(07 May 2016, 7:29 pm)citaro5284 wrote [ -> ]Some canny reviews there.  New Prince Bishops will be out by next Saturday, so I guess rides on the 20 will be order of the day next week.  I think you always need to get on a new bus within the first week just to smell the newness!

657 still had the new bus smell when we caught it, at the weekend. (Despite being based at Peterlee!)

(07 May 2016, 7:29 pm)citaro5284 wrote [ -> ]Some canny reviews there.  New Prince Bishops will be out by next Saturday, so I guess rides on the 20 will be order of the day next week.  I think you always need to get on a new bus within the first week just to smell the newness!

Especially now because wood floors get sticky, the X66 Streetlites are worst

Pleased some of you's have had enjoyable days out, but do you think I did? Read on to find out...

I didn't note the buses and times of the journeys that were made today but for what I want to say it's not really important details.

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Things started off fine, my journey to Sheffield went pretty smoothly where I got a Virgin Trains East Coast Class 91 to Doncaster where I then changed to a Northern Class 142 which did annoy me slightly as I was hoping for something different, oh well.

Met my enthusiast friend in Sheffield Rail Station where we then went to Sheffield Bus Station where we hung around waiting for the Metrodecker demonstrator on loan to First which we rode for the full X78 to Doncaster. Whilst in Sheffield Bus Station I signed some papers allowing me to take photos in the bus stations in the area, was hoping that this would cause me no problems, no! In Doncaster Bus Station a Powells driver opened the doors and shouted "YOU AREN'T EVEN ALLOWED TO TAKE PHOTOS IN HERE!!!" this is my first verbal abuse I've had from a driver in the two years I've been talking photos.

The enthusiast friend that was with me today had a problem with his camera, so we looked for somewhere that may be able to sort the issue with his camera, unfortunately there wasn't anywhere like that within Doncaster so we had to jump on the X78 and go somewhere else where the name of the place escapes me that had a Jessops, unfortunately they couldn't sort his problem in the shop so that was a total waste of time!

In said shopping centre we went to McDonald's for lunch, we went in the express lane which unfortunately threw me and resulted in me forgetting to order fries which annoyed me.

We then went back to the bus station and unfortunately the X78 we got to Rotherham Bus Station was rammed, no seats upstairs when we left and the bloke behind me decided to use the headrest to hang his coat on, this is not what's it's for and I'm sick of people doing this!

In Rotherham Bus Station we encountered another smart arse driver who said something along the lines about us having to pay for him to be in our photos. Just about every other person on the buses took offence to us here, especially the passengers where many of them pulled offensive hand gestures at us. As we were sick of the StreetDeck's on the X78 we decided to wait for the Metrodecker to come back, only to find out it had been replaced by a single decker, although the X78 branded StreetDeck's seemed to be on various different routes today. We then got another StreetDeck back to Sheffield. One thing that really angered me today was the fact that although these StreetDeck's have WiFi, they haven't set it up on all the buses that we had on the X78 today which is a total pee take, if I exceed my mobile data limit this month, they will getting a very strongly worded email from me.

After a little bit more spotting in Sheffield, we both went to catch our train, it was 3 minutes late into Sheffield but by the time we got to Wakefield we were 10 minutes late, my mate departed at Wakefield. After departing Leeds we were starting to make up time only to fall further behind thanks to about 20 stupid kids trespassing on the line, apparently a brick or something like that was thrown at the train and we had to sit somewhere for about 5 minutes shortly after passing them. We were 14 minutes late arriving into Darlington which meant I was unable to catch the 5A home as it's impossible to get from Darlington Rail Station to Darlington Town Centre in less than a minute, so I was left with two options, the 20:15 Sapphire 7 or Northern train back to Newton Aycliffe, as my previous journeys on that 7 have been a bit rowdy in the past I opted for the train, what a mistake this was, I was about the only sober person on the whole train, to make matters worse the train left from platform 1 instead of 4 due to a late running Virgin Trains East Coast service wanting to be on platform 4, unfortunately this confused some of the mortal passengers, some of a group made it onto the train but others hadn't, when it was time to leave some of them were on the wrong platform and when the doors closed some of the people who were on the train tried shouting to alert them that they were on the train but they couldn't hear this, sadly I certainly could as they were stood RIGHT NEXT TO ME!!! when they were practically screaming in my ears, so I had to endure 20 odd painful minutes on this booze cruise, was an unbearable experience for me.

So... Yeah... I know I say some of my outings have been the worst day out ever, but this one actually has been the worst one I've ever had, these have to be without a shadow of a doubt the worst places I have ever been to and I certainly ain't in a hurry to return to these dumps. Photos will be on Flickr tomorrow, providing I can bare the thought of rooting through the photos of drivers and passengers who gave us grief over the course of the day. [emoji35]

Thanks for reading my tales of woe from today.

Unlucky Jimmi Mate, Hope you got a photo of the Metrodecker

My outing in nearby Leeds and York was pretty good though I advise no one to get a camera out around Leeds Bus Station, I didn't bother taking photos there.

Cannot be bothered to write a full on review either, Gonna get my best shots onto Flickr tomorrow. Currently editing them now.
EDIT one of the images will by my first flickr post of a Train, A special one too.

It's been quite a while since I last posted on the forum, so I may as well give a review of my outing today on a North East Explorer.

07:54 X21 6306 Chester-le-Street Black Horse to Newcastle Eldon Square
I decided I was going to try and hunt down one of the recently refurbished 09-plate Pulsars at Jesmond, as part of my list of aims, and so this meant heading north to Newcastle. 6306 was operating this journey, the first X21 of the day from Bishop Auckland to Newcastle. This was the only one of the seven Streetdecks that I still needed for haulage, so I was quite pleased that I got this and not a dud. Was one of the younger drivers at Crook behind the wheel, a nice enough guy. Headed upstairs and saw that the front seats on the offside were available, it was quite quiet which seemed unusual as this journey is usually fairly busy from my experience. I utilised the free WiFi and ensured my phone stayed on 100% battery through the charging socket. A nice way to start the day, I'm personally not too bothered by the Streetdecks on the X21, they do their job and have extra incentives such as plug sockets and WiFi. They've seemingly settled into their route quite well, after two months of service. 

08:49 X16 1408 Newcastle Haymarket to Morpeth Bus Station
The driver dropped us off in the taxi rank thing on the descent into Prudhoe Place (Eldon Square). I had a brief look at what was in the bus station, to find nothing of any real interest, before I chose to have a seat in Haymarket in hopes that something would come in and catch my attention. Luckily I didn't have to wait long, as VDL SB200 1408 came in with the X16 to Morpeth. This was one of the two recently refurbished Pulsars at Jesmond, so I happily boarded, thus ticking that aim off of my list. I noted that while it had been refurbished to MAX specification internally, it still carried a few reminders of it's past, with the original green backs to the seating that it carried when bought new in 2009. Took my seat on the offside, one row before the very back, and enjoyed listening to the musical turbo coming in every now and then as the driver absolutely thrashed it up the Great North Road. Don't think I've heard such a loud turbo and travelled at such a speed in one of these before; this is easily now my favourite Pulsar. Just a shame it is no longer in it's original livery or with it's original interior.

09:27 43 7471 Morpeth Bus Station to Cramlington Manor Walk
I alighted in Morpeth Bus Station and targeted the next hourly 43 to Newcastle as my next bus. I made an educated guess and assumed that the ALX400 in the layover bays, 7471, was the vehicle operating this run. I headed across and engaged in conversation with the driver; an incredibly friendly chap who was nice with everyone who boarded from what I observed. We talked about the recent weather for a minute or so before I went and took my seat at the back of the downstairs saloon. One other passenger, an elderly woman, boarded, before we pulled away on-time. I'll definitely be writing in to Arriva about the driver, as he was arguably one of the friendliest Arriva drivers I've come across. The grand total of passenger numbers for the journey between Morpeth and Cramlington stood at: five. The other three all boarded in Bedlington, at different stops. I enjoyed listening to the roar of the DAF engine in 7471, before I had to alight at Cramlington.

10:17 17 4912 Cramlington Manor Walk to Killingworth Bus Station
I received word from citaro5284 that 4912 was to be the 10:16 17 from Cramlington to Whitley Bay, and, having thoroughly enjoyed travelling to the rally last Sunday in the Northern National Restoration Group's 4855 (the return journey to Chester-le-Street for a photoshoot was made in Jonothan Ruddick's 4708, another fine machine), I decided I would stick around and have a go on one of the native B10BLEs that remains in service. One of the B10BLEs that migrated to Percy Main a few months ago; 4912 was new to Sunderland Road, and it even still carried internal advertisements for the Highwayman services. Firstly, the Highwayman brand has been extinct for a good few months now, and secondly, it has been years since the B10s were on there... Unfortunately, as is the case with the vast majority of the B10s in Go North East's fleet these days, it had seen better days. It's a shame the condition of many has deteriorated over the last year or so. 

10:40 62 19680 Killingworth Bus Station to Four Lane Ends Interchange
After alighting 4912 at Killingworth, I decided I'd catch one of the Stagecoach 62/63 services to Four Lane Ends, then something else onwards through to Newcastle. The first thing to arrive, following 4912's departure, was 19680, a 60-plate Enviro400, which came straight into the stand with the blind set for the return journey. I joined a small queue to board, sitting above the driver upstairs on the offside. I quite liked this route, it didn't go through any particularly bad places, I quite enjoyed going through Quorum Business Park. The Enviro400s are quite speedy machines as well, I enjoy the occasional ride on one. It was only a twenty minute journey to Four Lane Ends, where I chose to alight in favour of something else. 

11:04 52 1499 Four Lane Ends Interchange to Newcastle Haymarket
An Arriva 52 for Newcastle quickly followed up behind 19680, arriving pretty much as 19680 left. Pulsar 1499 was operating this run, I considered letting it go in favour of something else for variety, but I boarded when I realised that I really wasn't interested in spending any more time at Four Lane Ends, there is literally nothing there aside from the flow of buses. While this wasn't as speedy nor interesting as 1408 was earlier this morning (more than likely down to the route - 1408 had plenty of opportunity to stretch it's legs, while 1499 was stuck on a fairly boring route with no real demand for high speeds), although I understand the 09-plate Pulsars are generally regarded as superior to the younger examples in terms of speed. A good journey overall, I was back in Newcastle for just before 11:25.

11:32 6 3887 Newcastle Eldon Square to Metrocentre Interchange
I headed across to Eldon Square with the aim of catching something to Durham, in hopes of one of the Y-reg Lowlanders. I was happy to see one of the Plaxton President-bodied Tridents coming into the bus station with an outbound 6 for Stanley. It's always something of a treat for me when I have the opportunity to ride one of 3885-3889. For many years, they were stalwarts at Chester-le-Street depot. When the X22 went around the world prior to October 2013, when it was changed to the same route between Durham and Chester-le-Street that is shared with the 21, and others. There was a small rota of about seven or eight drivers that were rostered for the X22, which, at the time, generally utilised any red deckers in the depot, meaning these Tridents were frequently allocated. Two of my friends at Chester-le-Street depot, Eddie Spence and Pat Armstrong (the latter of which is well known in the community), were on this X22 rota, and it was how I first met them really. I quite enjoyed the route that the X22 had between Durham and Chester-le-Street, when it took about forty minutes. I recall having my first trip to Durham on the route, with Pat driving 3888. Anyway, history lesson over. 3887 performed well on the short route between Newcastle and Metrocentre, stirring up old memories of the X22.

12:00 X24 7609 Metrocentre Interchange to Chester-le-Street Red Lion
I decided to connect with the two-hourly X24 at the Metrocentre, catch that to Chester-le-Street, and then something else to Durham. 7609 is a regular allocation from Belmont to the X24, when not required on the X12 to cover for a designated DB300, and it kind of bugs me because I used to like one of the Lowlanders on this. It's effectively like throwing a coin with the X24; you have an equal chance of 7609 or one of the 57-registered Lowlanders. The DB300s bore me, so I was quite pleased to be off in Chester-le-Street. Not the best ride of the day, although mainly because I'm not a huge fan of the vehicle type rather than a specific problem with this example.

12:38 21 3962 Chester-le-Street Red Lion to Durham Bus Station
I observed OK Way MPD 572 on the local Lambton Worm 34 service, and considered hanging around for it to return from Waldridge Park, but I eventually got tired of waiting and instead decided to carry on with my original plan of Durham. Fortunately for me, 3962 was operating the next 21 to Durham. One of two Gemini-bodied B7TLs branded for the Angel service, 3962 is superior to 3965 in my opinion. It generally just seems to be faster at getting up to speed and pulling away. I'd much rather take one of this pair over any Hybrid B5LH or one of the ex-London Presidents. 

13:30 X22 3983 Durham Bus Station to Metrocentre Interchange
After arriving in Durham on 3962, I disembarked and headed up to the top of the bus station for a few photos. Spent about twenty minutes or so there before I noticed the only East Lancs Vyking at Chester-le-Street depot, 3983, was due to be the 13:34 X22 to the Metrocentre. I couldn't turn this down, and even carried on all the way to the Metrocentre rather than jump ship at Chester-le-Street. Like most Vykings, 3983 seemed to lack power, hitting no higher than 38mph on the A167. Was a shame that the driver was a bit of a miserable sod, but I always enjoy a ride on 3983, not quite sure what it is, more than likely it's merit of being the only vehicle of it's type at Chester-le-Street depot. Great ride overall.

14:28 10 6077 Metrocentre Interchange to Newcastle Eldon Square
Not much to say about this, just a standard B9TL journey. Comfortable enough with a fair amount of power, I took the opportunity to charge my phone and use the free WiFi. I don't mind the TEN B9TLs for short hops such as this, but I can recall doing Hexham-Metrocentre on the 10 once, and I was bored to death by Prudhoe. I do quite like the B9TLs, I can see them one day being viewed in the same positive light as the Olympians or Metrobuses. I walked out of Eldon Square and across to Haymarket Metro, passing through the bus station. I didn't see any cling-ons at 'the corner'..........LOL.

15:01 T&W Metro 4032 + 4019 Haymarket to Heworth 
Much like the above, not a journey I can say much about, just an average Metro journey. I spent about five(ish) minutes getting photos at Heworth, before I saw a 57 for Newcastle coming in, and decided to go with it. 

15:22 57 5295 Heworth Interchange to Newcastle New Bridge Street
I'd not yet used the 57 since it's upgrade to Mercedes Citaro from the Fab57 B10BLEs, so thought I may as well take the opportunity rather than make a tedious journey on the Metro again. I quite liked 5293-5297 when they were at Stanley for the Diamond services, and 5295 was one that would crop up fairly frequently whenever I used the services, so was pleased to see it was my ride back to Newcastle. The suspension was absolutely shot on this, with every bump in the road being felt, along with a strange wheezing sound every five seconds or so. Following a quick driver changeover at Gateshead Interchange, I carried on to Newcastle and alighted on New Bridge Street.

16:06 X21 6305 Newcastle Eldon Square to Chester-le-Street Red Lion
I walked along to Eldon Square and made my way to the bus station. 6305 was my ride back to Chester-le-Street, operating the 16:09 X21 to Bishop Auckland. The driver was one of the old timers, he is always pleasant with me when he sees me. Departed Eldon Square with a rather small load, but a couple boarded at the High Level Bridge and then half a dozen at Gateshead, with a good few later alighting at Low Fell. Following arrival in Chester-le-Street at 16:40ish, I walked home from the Red Lion rather than continue onto my local stop on 6305, getting home for about 17:20. 

A great day out overall. Hope you enjoyed reading.

(07 May 2016, 9:10 pm)Jimmi wrote [ -> ]Pleased some of you's have had enjoyable days out, but do you think I did? Read on to find out...

I didn't note the buses and times of the journeys that were made today but for what I want to say it's not really important details.

---

Things started off fine, my journey to Sheffield went pretty smoothly where I got a Virgin Trains East Coast Class 91 to Doncaster where I then changed to a Northern Class 142 which did annoy me slightly as I was hoping for something different, oh well.

Met my enthusiast friend in Sheffield Rail Station where we then went to Sheffield Bus Station where we hung around waiting for the Metrodecker demonstrator on loan to First which we rode for the full X78 to Doncaster. Whilst in Sheffield Bus Station I signed some papers allowing me to take photos in the bus stations in the area, was hoping that this would cause me no problems, no! In Doncaster Bus Station a Powells driver opened the doors and shouted "YOU AREN'T EVEN ALLOWED TO TAKE PHOTOS IN HERE!!!" this is my first verbal abuse I've had from a driver in the two years I've been talking photos.

The enthusiast friend that was with me today had a problem with his camera, so we looked for somewhere that may be able to sort the issue with his camera, unfortunately there wasn't anywhere like that within Doncaster so we had to jump on the X78 and go somewhere else where the name of the place escapes me that had a Jessops, unfortunately they couldn't sort his problem in the shop so that was a total waste of time!

In said shopping centre we went to McDonald's for lunch, we went in the express lane which unfortunately threw me and resulted in me forgetting to order fries which annoyed me.

We then went back to the bus station and unfortunately the X78 we got to Rotherham Bus Station was rammed, no seats upstairs when we left and the bloke behind me decided to use the headrest to hang his coat on, this is not what's it's for and I'm sick of people doing this!

In Rotherham Bus Station we encountered another smart arse driver who said something along the lines about us having to pay for him to be in our photos. Just about every other person on the buses took offence to us here, especially the passengers where many of them pulled offensive hand gestures at us. As we were sick of the StreetDeck's on the X78 we decided to wait for the Metrodecker to come back, only to find out it had been replaced by a single decker, although the X78 branded StreetDeck's seemed to be on various different routes today. We then got another StreetDeck back to Sheffield. One thing that really angered me today was the fact that although these StreetDeck's have WiFi, they haven't set it up on all the buses that we had on the X78 today which is a total pee take, if I exceed my mobile data limit this month, they will getting a very strongly worded email from me.

After a little bit more spotting in Sheffield, we both went to catch our train, it was 3 minutes late into Sheffield but by the time we got to Wakefield we were 10 minutes late, my mate departed at Wakefield. After departing Leeds we were starting to make up time only to fall further behind thanks to about 20 stupid kids trespassing on the line, apparently a brick or something like that was thrown at the train and we had to sit somewhere for about 5 minutes shortly after passing them. We were 14 minutes late arriving into Darlington which meant I was unable to catch the 5A home as it's impossible to get from Darlington Rail Station to Darlington Town Centre in less than a minute, so I was left with two options, the 20:15 Sapphire 7 or Northern train back to Newton Aycliffe, as my previous journeys on that 7 have been a bit rowdy in the past I opted for the train, what a mistake this was, I was about the only sober person on the whole train, to make matters worse the train left from platform 1 instead of 4 due to a late running Virgin Trains East Coast service wanting to be on platform 4, unfortunately this confused some of the mortal passengers, some of a group made it onto the train but others hadn't, when it was time to leave some of them were on the wrong platform and when the doors closed some of the people who were on the train tried shouting to alert them that they were on the train but they couldn't hear this, sadly I certainly could as they were stood RIGHT NEXT TO ME!!! when they were practically screaming in my ears, so I had to endure 20 odd painful minutes on this booze cruise, was an unbearable experience for me.

So... Yeah... I know I say some of my outings have been the worst day out ever, but this one actually has been the worst one I've ever had, these have to be without a shadow of a doubt the worst places I have ever been to and I certainly ain't in a hurry to return to these dumps. Photos will be on Flickr tomorrow, providing I can bare the thought of rooting through the photos of drivers and passengers who gave us grief over the course of the day. [emoji35]

Thanks for reading my tales of woe from today.

There's probably not a sober place in the country, tonight. Anywhere you're likely to meet boro fans will be horrendous.

Still deathly quiet where I live. Likely to liven up mid week, when Sunderland next play. There's be booze, whatever the result, I expect.

Long time no see.

I do love a Pulsar whistle. It doesn't feel right when I get on one that lacks whistle. Some of Stockrton's still go like the clappers. Darlington seems to have all the truly disappointing ones.

(07 May 2016, 9:53 pm)BusLoverMum wrote [ -> ]Long time no see.

I do love a Pulsar whistle. It doesn't feel right when I get on one that lacks whistle. Some of Stockrton's still go like the clappers. Darlington seems to have all the truly disappointing ones.

Darlington's are so disappointing because they have EconoSpeed fitted to them, the 09 reg examples were absolute rockets when they were new in 2009. I had 1426 on the X66 recently and it felt woefully slow.

(07 May 2016, 6:35 pm)"TEN 6083 wrote [ -> ]rNot the most comfortable ride back to Newcastle thanks to the seats being ratherGot off at Market Street and walked round to Worswick Street to have a look. At the old Northern Bus Station and got a couple of photos of it.

I too visited Worswick St today. Always brings back great memories. The little newsagent upstairs, the old Metro Taxis operation. Really loved that station, a National roaring in on the 723 or 221. The Classic Buses eclectic fleet during the bus war.

It's a shame to see it so derelict but that's atypical of that end of Newcastle. The who,e area is owned by some extremely rich property tycoons. I hope it's redeveloped, Newcastle Council are desperate for a new site and the East Pilgrim Area would work

(07 May 2016, 9:57 pm)Jimmi wrote [ -> ]Darlington's are so disappointing because they have EconoSpeed fitted to them, the 09 reg examples were absolute rockets when they were new in 2009. I had 1426 on the X66 recently and it felt woefully slow.

Aye. They've been ruined. (OK, so they probably cost a little less to run, but they're just such a dull ride, now.)

And I forgot to mention that I showed Big'un Worswick street when we got off the 58. Seeing it used as a glorified car park does give it a rather dystopian appearance.

(07 May 2016, 10:24 pm)BusLoverMum wrote [ -> ]Aye. They've been ruined. (OK, so they probably cost a little less to run, but they're just such a dull ride, now.)

I agree, they are ruined though when I had 1411 last week ( one of jesmonds econoshites ) the driver managed to override the system once and what happened? It was like a bat out of hell.

The system is easy to override though I just wish more drivers knew about it or even better, me doing it

(07 May 2016, 10:26 pm)BusLoverMum wrote [ -> ]And I forgot to mention that I showed Big'un Worswick street when we got off the 58. Seeing it used as a glorified car park does give it a rather dystopian appearance.

This link makes me feel all rosy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X90qGbH2iDs

Look at those beasts. None of your NSA, wifi, plug nonsense. A good reliable cost effective bus service.

(07 May 2016, 9:53 pm)BusLoverMum wrote [ -> ]Long time no see.

I do love a Pulsar whistle. It doesn't feel right when I get on one that lacks whistle. Some of Stockrton's still go like the clappers. Darlington seems to have all the truly disappointing ones.

Stocktons best 5

1404, 1417, 1444, 1455, 1470 if you have a chance to get one of these 5 on a out of town route take it 28/A 21A

(08 May 2016, 12:36 am)Multi21 wrote [ -> ]Stocktons best 5

1404, 1417, 1444, 1455, 1470 if you have a chance to get one of these 5 on a out of town route take it 28/A 21A

It's usually the 21A that we get one on, if we travel down to teesside via Peterlee. Long but lovely route.

(07 May 2016, 11:49 pm)Ambassador wrote [ -> ]This link makes me feel all rosy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X90qGbH2iDs

Look at those beasts. None of your NSA, wifi, plug nonsense. A good reliable cost effective bus service.

Aye, nonsense that makes transport more accessible to everyone...

Maybe not cost effective, but on the most part we have a fairly reliable bus service, with modern vehicles, and modern features to go with them. I do love VRs, Nationals and Atlanteans, but times have changed.

Good reviews from yesterday everyone.

I decided to take the 20 and 20A from Houghton le Spring to South Shields via Sunderland. My aim being to photograph the the current Prince Bishops fleet. I had a good day but got side tracked in Sunderland. Also visited the Stadium of Light and got some great photos of local independent operators. My favourite was Neoplan TGT889 (ex OU14STZ) the SAFC team coach. Closely followed by Style Travels' Palatine P532HMP. Stanley Travel deckers based nearby at the Albatross yard are currently UK03NJE and S5STX.


I visited Argyle House School which is the only school in the North East to have a psv o-licence. They've got two Ford Transits. I later visited the Academy of Light which has a small fleet of non-psv Renault Masters.

It was a good day and I got back to Gateshead using the X34. The only bad point was my outbound X1, 6034 breaking down at the Galleries. It was replaced by 6027 after a short wait. Many thanks to David Dove jnr for letting me look around his Herrington yard and photograph his family's fleet.

Hope you all had a good weekend.

Charles

(07 May 2016, 11:49 pm)Ambassador wrote [ -> ]This link makes me feel all rosy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X90qGbH2iDs

Look at those beasts. None of your NSA, wifi, plug nonsense. A good reliable cost effective bus service.

All cracking rides and certainly cheap to travel on.

I must have been the early 90's, as there is an Alexander bodied Oly blinded up for a 25.

That bus station was ideal to maintain reliability. Granted you might get stuck behind another bus if running late, but there was no city centre traffic (or traffic lights) to get stuck amongst.
Literally in and out, with interworking galore!

I've drawn up a plan for my trip to Derby and the surrounding area this weekend....

0533 21 - Barley Mow to Newcastle, Monument 0602
0623 CrossCountry - Newcastle to Derby 0849
0857 1A - Derby Railway Station to Derby Bus Station 0904
0910 Red Arrow - Derby Bus Station to Nottingham, Victoria Bus Station 0945
1010 Rainbow One - Nottingham, Victoria Bus Station to Nuttall, Temple Drive 1030
1036 Rainbow One - Nuttall, Temple Drive to Nottingham, Victoria Bus Station 1100
1105 CentreLink - Nottingham, Victoria Bus Station to Nottingham, Broadmarsh Bus Station 1115
1134 indigo - Nottingham, Broadmarsh Bus Station to Dunkirk, QMC 1150
1159 indigo - Dunkirk, QMC to Broadmarsh Bus Station 1212
1220 Rushcliffe Mainline - Broadmarsh Bus Station to Radcliffe-on-Trent, Vicarage Lane 1238
1247 Rushcliffe Villager V1 - Radcliffe-on-Trent to Nottingham, Friar Lane 1310
1326 Red Arrow - Nottingham, Upper Parliament Street to Derby Bus Station 1400
1405 Heanor's H1 - Derby, Corporation Street to Smalley, Rose and Crown 1416
1427 Heanor's H1 - Smalley, Rose and Crown to Derby, Corporation Street 1445

I will then go on to my home town of Tutbury, using the Villager V1, where I will stay with my Auntie and Uncle for the weekend.

(13 May 2016, 5:16 pm)LeeCalder wrote [ -> ]I've drawn up a plan for my trip to Derby and the surrounding area this weekend....

0533 21 - Barley Mow to Newcastle, Monument 0602
0623 CrossCountry - Newcastle to Derby 0849
0857 1A - Derby Railway Station to Derby Bus Station 0904
0910 Red Arrow - Derby Bus Station to Nottingham, Victoria Bus Station 0945
1010 Rainbow One - Nottingham, Victoria Bus Station to Nuttall, Temple Drive 1030
1036 Rainbow One - Nuttall, Temple Drive to Nottingham, Victoria Bus Station 1100
1105 CentreLink - Nottingham, Victoria Bus Station to Nottingham, Broadmarsh Bus Station 1115
1134 indigo - Nottingham, Broadmarsh Bus Station to Dunkirk, QMC 1150
1159 indigo - Dunkirk, QMC to Broadmarsh Bus Station 1212
1220 Rushcliffe Mainline - Broadmarsh Bus Station to Radcliffe-on-Trent, Vicarage Lane 1238
1247 Rushcliffe Villager V1 - Radcliffe-on-Trent to Nottingham, Friar Lane 1310
1326 Red Arrow - Nottingham, Upper Parliament Street to Derby Bus Station 1400
1405 Heanor's H1 - Derby, Corporation Street to Smalley, Rose and Crown 1416
1427 Heanor's H1 - Smalley, Rose and Crown to Derby, Corporation Street 1445

I will then go on to my home town of Tutbury, using the Villager V1, where I will stay with my Auntie and Uncle for the weekend.

You've left a fair layover here but careful not to get caught out as the bus stands for either direction are separated by a pedestrian subway

Currently onboard 4934 on the 13 to Durham and it is my 5th Solar today, and I'm not sick of them yet!

(14 May 2016, 2:37 pm)South Tyne Lad wrote [ -> ]Currently onboard 4934 on the 13 to Durham and it is my 5th Solar today, and I'm not sick of them yet!

We managed a solar heavy day, a few weeks ago.

So long as there's not an E400 waiting for us at Durham, we'll have had an all Wright day.

(14 May 2016, 2:51 pm)BusLoverMum wrote [ -> ]We managed a solar heavy day, a few weeks ago.

So long as there's not an E400 waiting for us at Durham, we'll have had an all Wright day.

I bet you have been on a Prince Bishops Streetlite 

(14 May 2016, 2:52 pm)citaro5284 wrote [ -> ]I bet you have been on a Prince Bishops Streetlite 

Posted from one. Caught 5421 by pure luck

Ive uploaded 2 photos from todays outing with both links below

https://www.flickr.com/photos/140662069@...ed-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/140662069@...ed-public/

Hope you enjoy