North East Buses

(20 Feb 2015, 6:42 pm)Tom wrote [ -> ]Wow you don't need to take it the wrong way 

Didn't take it the wrong way, I just got the impression you saw me exercising my right to do as I please and how I do so a problem?

May I ask what is wrong with getting the 36 to Houghton, then a 20 to Sunderland? Routine is important, at the end of the day.

(20 Feb 2015, 6:49 pm)MarcTheA4 wrote [ -> ]Didn't take it the wrong way, I just got the impression you saw me exercising my right to do as I please and how I do so a problem?

May I ask what is wrong with getting the 36 to Houghton, then a 20 to Sunderland? Routine is important, at the end of the day.

Or break with tradition and get off at Woodstone Village, cross over the road and onto a 4 to Houghton?
You will be able to fill us all in with a comparison between the two different batches of Mercs.

(20 Feb 2015, 6:49 pm)MarcTheA4 wrote [ -> ]Didn't take it the wrong way, I just got the impression you saw me exercising my right to do as I please and how I do so a problem?

May I ask what is wrong with getting the 36 to Houghton, then a 20 to Sunderland? Routine is important, at the end of the day.

Nowt wrong with a bit of routine like.....

(20 Feb 2015, 6:56 pm)citaro5284 wrote [ -> ]Nowt wrong with a bit of routine like.....

Wonder if you see any of Blyth's odd workings at 1130am tomorrow? [emoji14]

(20 Feb 2015, 6:59 pm)Dan wrote [ -> ]Wonder if you see any of Blyth's odd workings at 1130am tomorrow? [emoji14]

No doubt I will have seen plenty by then...

Have to say I am impressed with how smoothly our day out today went in North Yorkshire & East Cleveland! Can tell the schools are off...

I'll let Dan post the list on what we covered but suffice to say we had a good variety of vehicles, B9TL, Streetlite, Temsa, Dart, Solo...

(20 Feb 2015, 6:43 pm)citaro5284 wrote [ -> ]Marcus on a Get Around again.....yippee!!

Would be funny if Marcus went and done an Explorer to here, there and everywhere for the Day instead.

(20 Feb 2015, 7:12 pm)Malarkey wrote [ -> ]Would be funny if Marcus went and done an Explorer to here, there and everywhere for the Day instead.

Surely that would be a bonus for citaro!

And if luck is on his side, I might even hunt down 5284 tomorrow!

(20 Feb 2015, 6:49 pm)MarcTheA4 wrote [ -> ]Didn't take it the wrong way, I just got the impression you saw me exercising my right to do as I please and how I do so a problem?

May I ask what is wrong with getting the 36 to Houghton, then a 20 to Sunderland? Routine is important, at the end of the day.

I'm the same. I always seem to head straight over to Newcastle nowadays, even if I plan to go to Sunderland, Shields, or somewhere else.

At least you're not rooted into the pavement between Eldon Square and Haymarket though!

(20 Feb 2015, 7:06 pm)tyresmoke wrote [ -> ]Have to say I am impressed with how smoothly our day out today went in North Yorkshire & East Cleveland! Can tell the schools are off...

I'll let Dan post the list on what we covered but suffice to say we had a good variety of vehicles, B9TL, Streetlite, Temsa, Dart, Solo...

I decided today that I wanted a trip to Whitby. I mainly wanted to have a go of the X93 under Volvo B9TL allocation, but also wanted to try out a Sapphire Streetlite to compare them to Durham's examples on the 23 and Go North East's examples on the 60. I decided that this would be a great opportunity to head to Redcar - somewhere I'd not been previously. Scott wanted to come too - this was great for me, as I had a tour guide who had a better knowledge of the location than me, allowing me to extend the trip beyond what I had originally planned.

The details of my journeys are below:
0714 #9: Newcastle Road to Park Lane - Go North East 5159
0726 #X7: Sunderland to Middlesbrough - Go North East 5335
0920 #X93: Middlesbrough to Whitby - Arriva North East 7401
1110 #94: Whitby to Eksdale Road - Arriva North East 2827
1150 #94: Helredale Road to Whitby - Arriva North East 1101
1232 #4: Whitby to Loftus - Arriva North East 1567
1320 #5: Loftus to Brotton - Arriva North East 1552
1345 #5A: Brotton to Guisborough - Arriva North East 1556
1430 #81A: Guisborough to Marske - Arriva North East 4512
1532 #X3: Marske to Redcar - Arriva North East 1571
1555 #63: Redcar to Eston Square - Arriva North East 4701
1634 #63: Eston Square to Ormesby - Arriva North East 4715
1654 #5A: Ormesby to Middlesbrough - Arriva North East 1551
1720 #X7: Middlesbrough to Sunderland - Go North East 5336
1859 #20: Park Lane to Newcastle Road - Go North East 4991

Scott joined and left the X7 at Stockton, getting 22018 on the 59 to Stockton this morning and 22202 back this evening.

I'd never used the Whitby town services before, and I hadn't been on one of Arriva's ex-London mini-ALX200s either, so this combo was great. The ALX200 was in marvellous condition and it was incredibly quick off the mark - sadly I can't provide as great a review for 2827, but what can I say, it's a Solo! There was a smell of burning plastic on 1567, but I must say it performed very well and I was surprised to say the least. They've been set up great and manage hills quite well indeed. The gear changes are far smoother than they are on Durham's examples, so hopefully they'll get round to doing those at some point too. I wasn't a fan of Percy Main's dual door Volvo B10BLE this morning but I was reminded that it certainly isn't the worst Volvo B10BLE in the North East after I had 4512 for more than ten minutes! Of course, the journey was made worse by the passengers on-board, and you can read more about that in the "What's annyoing you today?" thread! I'd never been on a Temsa Avenue before, and as they have quite a bad reputation, Scott thought it would be a good idea for me to ride one so I can form my own judgement on them! Whilst the seating was far from ideal, I loved the amount of power they had. Glad it was just a fairly short journey though, as my arse was a bit numb by the end... Heating was spot on on 5336 - standard of a Merc. Decided to get 4991 home instead of 4912, adding a bit more variety.  

(20 Feb 2015, 7:41 pm)MarcTheA4 wrote [ -> ]Surely that would be a bonus for citaro!

And if luck is on his side, I might even hunt down 5284 tomorrow!

You would not need to hunt, what with Mix and AVL, I normally know where they are 

(20 Feb 2015, 7:43 pm)aureolin wrote [ -> ]I'm the same. I always seem to head straight over to Newcastle nowadays, even if I plan to go to Sunderland, Shields, or somewhere else.

At least you're not rooted into the pavement between Eldon Square and Haymarket though!

I'm not so much, I have a few choices of directions to head off to: Bishop Auckland, Darlington, Durham, Peterlee, Spennymoor and Sunderland although I usually get the 5/5A to Darlington, the 7 to Durham and if I fancy a trip to Sunderland the 21/X21.

Yeah they were all hanging around Eldon Square Bus Station when I went past on Wednesday.

(20 Feb 2015, 7:47 pm)Dan wrote [ -> ]I decided today that I wanted a trip to Whitby. I mainly wanted to have a go of the X93 under Volvo B9TL allocation, but also wanted to try out a Sapphire Streetlite to compare them to Durham's examples on the 23 and Go North East's examples on the 60. I decided that this would be a great opportunity to head to Redcar - somewhere I'd not been previously. Scott wanted to come too - this was great for me, as I had a tour guide who had a better knowledge of the location than me, allowing me to extend the trip beyond what I had originally planned.

The details of my journeys are below:
0714 #9: Newcastle Road to Park Lane - Go North East 5159
0726 #X7: Sunderland to Middlesbrough - Go North East 5335
0920 #X93: Middlesbrough to Whitby - Arriva North East 7401
1110 #94: Whitby to Eksdale Road - Arriva North East 2827
1150 #94: Helredale Road to Whitby - Arriva North East 1101
1232 #4: Whitby to Loftus - Arriva North East 1567
1320 #5: Loftus to Brotton - Arriva North East 1552
1345 #5A: Brotton to Guisborough - Arriva North East 1556
1430 #81A: Guisborough to Marske - Arriva North East 4512
1532 #X3: Marske to Redcar - Arriva North East 1571
1555 #63: Redcar to Eston Square - Arriva North East 4701
1634 #63: Eston Square to Ormesby - Arriva North East 4715
1654 #5A: Ormesby to Middlesbrough - Arriva North East 1551
1720 #X7: Middlesbrough to Sunderland - Go North East 5336
1859 #20: Park Lane to Newcastle Road - Go North East 4991

Scott joined and left the X7 at Stockton, getting 22018 on the 59 to Stockton this morning and 22202 back this evening.

I'd never used the Whitby town services before, and I hadn't been on one of Arriva's ex-London mini-ALX200s either, so this combo was great. The ALX200 was in marvellous condition and it was incredibly quick off the mark - sadly I can't provide as great a review for 2827, but what can I say, it's a Solo! There was a smell of burning plastic on 1567, but I must say it performed very well and I was surprised to say the least. They've been set up great and manage hills quite well indeed. The gear changes are far smoother than they are on Durham's examples, so hopefully they'll get round to doing those at some point too. I wasn't a fan of Percy Main's dual door Volvo B10BLE this morning but I was reminded that it certainly isn't the worst Volvo B10BLE in the North East after I had 4512 for more than ten minutes! Of course, the journey was made worse by the passengers on-board, and you can read more about that in the "What's annyoing you today?" thread! I'd never been on a Temsa Avenue before, and as they have quite a bad reputation, Scott thought it would be a good idea for me to ride one so I can form my own judgement on them! Whilst the seating was far from ideal, I loved the amount of power they had. Glad it was just a fairly short journey though, as my arse was a bit numb by the end... Heating was spot on on 5336 - standard of a Merc. Decided to get 4991 home instead of 4912, adding a bit more variety.

Oh! I see! Anti-B10BLE now, are we? No respect for the elders!!

Nice read though Dan, looks like you had a good day!

(20 Feb 2015, 7:52 pm)Jimmi wrote [ -> ]I'm not so much, I have a few choices of directions to head off to: Bishop Auckland, Darlington, Durham, Peterlee, Spennymoor and Sunderland although I usually get the 5/5A to Darlington, the 7 to Durham and if I fancy a trip to Sunderland the 21/X21.

Yeah they were all hanging around Eldon Square Bus Station when I went past on Wednesday.

No sign of anyone there when I passed on Thursday morning, but it was before 0930! 

(20 Feb 2015, 7:52 pm)MarcTheA4 wrote [ -> ]Oh! I see! Anti-B10BLE now, are we? No respect for the elders!!

Nice read though Dan, looks like you had a good day!

I'm not anti-B10BLE, I'm just very selective!
4854 pulled into Park Lane at about 1900 on an 8A, and it sounded absolutely fantastic. It had the whistle some of them have adopted - fantastic stuff.

Very good day indeed. A mix of old and new, and plenty of variety in between. Favourite ride of the day was probably 5336, though the rides on 1101, 1567 and 7401 weren't far behind. The Volvo B9s on the X93 are much better suited to the job and climbed the banks with greater ease. I can't wait to ride one to Scarborough too - I'm hoping they don't fall down the bank like the Volvo B7s did! Going to go back down in the summer when it's a bit warmer and the sun is higher up in the sky - some marvellous scenic opportunities en-route, but you'd have to be mad to wait on the coast at this time of year.

(20 Feb 2015, 7:57 pm)aureolin wrote [ -> ]No sign of anyone there when I passed on Thursday morning, but it was before 0930! 

I went past around 3pm and they were all hanging round by the entrances and exits. Don't think they spotted me with my camera.

(20 Feb 2015, 7:47 pm)Dan wrote [ -> ]I'd never used the Whitby town services before, and I hadn't been on one of Arriva's ex-London mini-ALX200s either, so this combo was great. The ALX200 was in marvellous condition and it was incredibly quick off the mark - sadly I can't provide as great a review for 2827, but what can I say, it's a Solo! There was a smell of burning plastic on 1567, but I must say it performed very well and I was surprised to say the least. They've been set up great and manage hills quite well indeed. The gear changes are far smoother than they are on Durham's examples, so hopefully they'll get round to doing those at some point too. I wasn't a fan of Percy Main's dual door Volvo B10BLE this morning but I was reminded that it certainly isn't the worst Volvo B10BLE in the North East after I had 4512 for more than ten minutes! Of course, the journey was made worse by the passengers on-board, and you can read more about that in the "What's annyoing you today?" thread! I'd never been on a Temsa Avenue before, and as they have quite a bad reputation, Scott thought it would be a good idea for me to ride one so I can form my own judgement on them! Whilst the seating was far from ideal, I loved the amount of power they had. Glad it was just a fairly short journey though, as my arse was a bit numb by the end... Heating was spot on on 5336 - standard of a Merc. Decided to get 4991 home instead of 4912, adding a bit more variety.  

I actually think the Tesmas are alright buses, it's just the seats that let them down and they have performed well when I've had them on the X93 and other routes in the Redcar area.

At least apart from bad bus passengers you both seemed to have a good day.

Hoping to venture round more of Teesside in the summer, tomorrow I've decided I can't face the thought of going all the way up to Newcastle again especially with roadworks on the 7 route so instead I'm doing a Teesside trip where I plan to take in Darlington, Stockton, Middlesbrough, Redcar, Saltburn and Guisborough, hopefully it will be a decent day out.

(20 Feb 2015, 8:07 pm)Jimmi wrote [ -> ]I actually think the Tesmas are alright buses, it's just the seats that let them down and they have performed well when I've had them on the X93 and other routes in the Redcar area.

At least apart from bad bus passengers you both seemed to have a good day.

Hoping to venture round more of Teesside in the summer, tomorrow I've decided I can't face the thought of going all the way up to Newcastle again especially with roadworks on the 7 route so instead I'm doing a Teesside trip where I plan to take in Darlington, Stockton, Middlesbrough, Redcar, Saltburn and Guisborough, hopefully it will be a decent day out.

I'm surprised 1101 gets such a good write up, I thought it was distinctly average for a Dart and certainly not the best of the batch... I think 1104 is the quickest, which we saw go out on the Sainsbury's run for a couple of trips. I enjoyed the ride on 4701 once we got out of Lakes Estate and got some meaningful mileage covered, with a few kickdowns on the A174 (but it wasn't the best ride I've had on one of those).

Quite impressed with 7401 and the B9s on the X93, they should turn out to be a superb buy and justifies me banging on about going for B9TLs... Intrigued to see how tired the Yorkshire ones would have been that we were offered. The punctuality of everything was spot on and it's ages since I've had a day out go that smoothly...

(20 Feb 2015, 8:23 pm)tyresmoke wrote [ -> ]I'm surprised 1101 gets such a good write up, I thought it was distinctly average for a Dart and certainly not the best of the batch... I think 1104 is the quickest, which we saw go out on the Sainsbury's run for a couple of trips. I enjoyed the ride on 4701 once we got out of Lakes Estate and got some meaningful mileage covered, with a few kickdowns on the A174 (but it wasn't the best ride I've had on one of those).

Quite impressed with 7401 and the B9s on the X93, they should turn out to be a superb buy and justifies me banging on about going for B9TLs... Intrigued to see how tired the Yorkshire ones would have been that we were offered. The punctuality of everything was spot on and it's ages since I've had a day out go that smoothly...

The Dart of that batch I rode on the 22 a while back was alright.

I was impressed with the B9TLs when I rode them on their first day in service especially on the steep hills round Robin Hood's Bay on the journey back from Scarborough I was going through Robin Hood's Bay expecting to struggle up the hills and was waiting for them steep hills to come but then when was surprised when we got back onto the A171 and I'm sat there thinking "oh we must have already gone up them" they are pretty good... for now at least.

The timetable changes have also made a good improvement to the reliability to the X93 I was surprised how long we had waiting time in places, at least the long layover in Whitby gave me a chance to catch up on what's going on online.

My only fault with the X93 that day was that the WiFi didn't appear to be working.

08:45 #18 Perth Avenue - South Shields 39708
09:24 #50 South Shields - Washington Galleries 3875
10:07/17 #4 Washington Galleries - Heworth 5361
10:42 Northern Rail Heworth - Newcastle 1564xx
11:15 Northern Rail Newcastle - Metro Centre 142027
11:51 #67 Metro Centre - Lobley Hill Road 8245
12:07 #X71 Lobley Hill Road - Eldon Square 3876
12:25 #X1 Eldon Square - Gateshead 60xx
12:37 Metro Gateshead – Brockley Whins 4037

Was originally just going shopping with my Mam then 3875 came down Fowler Street so I left and went off. Don’t know which #4 it was as we left the Galleries we started playing Frogger with 5367. The only reason I got off the 156 was as for some reason it terminated at Newcastle and we just got told for Metro Centre get the 11:15 we were never told that there was another Sprinter on Platform 5. 

I'm not sure what's going to happen tomorrow, I might be off to West Auckland for the Northern League match or go to either Sunderland or S.Shields

My Get Around from today was thoroughly enjoyable experience, apart from hunting Dan down for quite a bit of it...! 


#36 - Durham County Cricket Ground to Houghton-le-Spring Church - (10:04 --- 10:22) - GNE 5304 - Mercedes 0530N/Mercedes Citaro
Yes, I will now name my local stop. The housing estate I live in is called the Riverside, but my stop's name is actually the Durham County Cricket Ground, which is adjacent to the housing estate. Anyway, without giving away my personal details, I wasn't expecting my 36 to be at the stop at 09:50, as advertised. I waited a couple of minutes and started to get a bit peed off, and then after 10 minutes I was contemplating just waiting until 10:10 for the #78 to Sunderland. But, my luck changed at 10:04, when after 20 minutes of waiting, my bus turned up. I got on, trying to put the extensive wait behind me - and asked for my Get Around. My driver, a Polish man, immediately apologized for the delay and explained he had encountered traffic. I said it was fine and thanked him for the explanation (not something many do!) and took my seat. I had almost forgotten what a Merc felt like, having spent a fortnight without one allocated to any of the runs on the 36 I've been on! Nonetheless, the heating on 5304 was superb, and immediately what I needed on a freezing cold morning. A very nice journey, made better by heating, no rattles, being very quiet and a very good driver!


#X1 - Houghton-le-Spring Church to Washington Galleries - (10:27 --- 10:45) - GNE 6055 - Volvo B9TL/Wright Gemini 2
Now, this was the run with the young woman driving. When I say young, I really mean young. She looked younger than some of the sixth formers at my school! And she was fit. Not only this, she was an extremely careful and cautious driver. She looked a bit like Lucy from the Inbetweeners movies. Another very enjoyable journey, but towards the Galleries things started to get very crowded, considering we left Houghton with a few seats spare upstairs. When I got to the Galleries I thanked her and looked at her once more. Hard to believe she was a driver at all, with her being so young! I also managed to connect to the wifi on my iPhone 5!


After heading into the Galleries for a short bit, I went down and stood at the Heworth-bound 82 stand. It was then that I just happened to look down and spot Dan taking photos. I recognized it was him immediately, he was bouncing around like a puppy taking photos. I then posted that I could see him, and received #stalker as my response, not 'oh really, come and join me!'...anyway, I hopped on my 82 when it pulled in. It would have been awkward anyway...the one time I don't bring my camera!


#82 - Washington Galleries to Concord Bus Station - (11:08 --- 11:30) - GNE 8250 - DAF SB120/Wright Cadet
I decided to abandon Dan, and hopped on 8250. Didn't take many notes of the joruney, apart from departing the Galleries quite packed. A few people got on and off throughout the journey, and the woman driving (my second of the day!) greeted and thanked people as they got on and off. My third nice driver of the day! 8250 itself provided a very nice journey (for my tastes...) and I listened with pleasure to the engine trash. 


#56 - Concord Bus Station to Sunderland, Park Lane Interchange - (11:34 --- 12:12) - GNE 6087 - Volvo B9TL/Wright Gemini 2
6087 provided a very nice journey, and I did enjoy it. But the driver took a lot to be desired. To be honest, I just sat with my earphones in for the majority of the rather quiet journey to Park Lane. But I recall when I got to Park Lane, he dropped us off, then while an elderly man with a walking stick (who looked very frail to be honest) attempted to board there he told him to get off - in a very rude manner. I watched everything unfold, by the time the poor old man had made it to the next stop along, 6087 had headed back off to Newcastle. Felt sorry for him...


#8 - Sunderland, Park Lane Interchange to Chester-le-Street Market Place - (12:21 --- 13:15) - GNE 4896 - Volvo B10BLE/Wright Renown
I was surprised to see the driver of this. I always knew he worked (and presumably owned) 'the Tuck Shop' at the bottom of Chester-le-Street. I wasn't aware he had gone out of business, now trained as a bus driver. He recognised me and asked how I was, while the instructor (not sure he was an 'instructor' but I know he's a veteran) explained to him how various tickets worked and what to advise customers on. He made good time, and I listened to them talk throughout the whole of the journey. Learnt quite a few things throughout the journey regarding the Lime routes. 4896 provided an enjoyable ride, a personal favourite of mine out of the B10BLEs at Chester-le-Street! 


#21 - Chester-le-Street Market Place to Chester-le-Street Clifford Terrace - (13:24 --- 13:29) - GNE 3962 - Volvo B7TL/Wright Gemini 1
Not many comments to make, it was an alright journey. I sat at the front upstairs and connected to the wifi. It wasn't good, and it wasn't bad. I got off at my local stop (on the 21/X21/X22 section of Durham-Chester-le-Street) and walked back home. 


Had a great day - I'd like to dedicate this review to citaro5284, I know how much he loves them!

My Northumberland trip today...

#306 1200 Coast Road/Churchill Street to Newcastle Haymarket 1220 - ANE 1587
#X15 1238 (5 late) Newcastle Haymarket to Alnwick Bus Station 1415ish - ANE 4653
#X18 1510 (8 late) Alnwick Bus Station to Morpeth Bus Station 1620 - ANE 7530
#2 1625 Morpeth Bus Station to Blyth Bus Station 1713 - ANE 1742
#308 1715 Blyth Bus Station to Coast Road/Churchill Street 1755 - ANE 7806

Enjoyed the day thoroughly. Was really happy to see a Omnicity on the X15 as I haven't been on one since they have been refurbished, but the driver was driving like a snail, and we got stuck near Felton for ages. The X18 ride was really nice, and the E400 was faultless, and beautiful views on the Alnmouth-Acklington stretch. Also it called into the HMP Prison which I wasn't expecting. I did intend to ride it all of the way to Newcastle, but then I saw 1742 coming in, and I couldn't resist what will probably be my last ride on a Dennis MPD. Wasn't too bad, and the engine sounds were good, but it was very rattly. Not a bad day for a fiver!

The sun was shining again, so I decided to head out today. I'd initially planned for this morning to be dedicated to catching up with Go North East's most recent repaints, and this afternoon to be dedicated to catching up with Arriva's buses on the 306 / 308 to demonstrate the addition of the contravision vinyls to promote ticketing options. I took longer than expected to upload and caption all of my photographs from yesterday, meaning that I didn't have as much time to catch up with the repaints, and nothing seemed to go to plan after that, either.

1014 #20: Newcastle Road to Park Lane - Go North East 4946
1034 #2 (6 late): Green Terrace to Chester Road - Go North East 8324
1050 NIS: Chester Road to The Galleries - Go North East 8324
1124 #X1: The Galleries to Newcastle - Go North East 6052
1153 #X66: Gateshead to Riverside Depot - Go North East 4966
1255 #44A: Askew Road to Newcastle - Go North East 5285
1325 #309: Newcastle to Whitley Bay - Go North East 6102
1457 #1: Whitley Bay to Tynemouth - Go North East 5265
1545 #1: Tynemouth to North Shields - Go North East 5270
1555 #333: North Shields to Ferry Terminal - Phoenix 905
1600 Ferry: North Shields to South Shields - Spirit of the Tyne
1644 #E6: South Shields to Wheatsheaf - Stagecoach North East 22734

I tried to get a photograph of 4845 on the 1023 #8 out of Sunderland and the sun was at the complete wrong angle for me to catch it. I ran to Chester Road from Holmeside, completely forgetting that the 8 hasn't gone up Chester Road for a number of months now, so ended up missing it. I somehow managed to bash my hand off a traffic light signal and it's now bruised, and hurts a little. My luck went from bad to worse when a blind man's dog was sick on 8324, and it ended up being 10 minutes late, and the driver told us he would have to let us get on the following 2 which was was due. The driver asked where we were all going, and after we all said 'The Galleries', control said it would be fine for the driver to take us all there direct instead. The bus lost power quite a few times, and it was hell getting it up to The Wavendon from the Royal Hospital. After two restarts, it started running a little bit better, but was still dreadful. Going downhill on the A19 give it a bit of kick up the arse, but it had nothing on a Volvo B10BLE (which I'm more used to on the old 8 route). After getting off at The Galleries, I ran round to get a photo of it coming out, but I had absolutely no luck at all as the sun caused huge shadows. What's more, Washington did not replace 8324, so I had yet more bad luck. Marcus decided he'd not come over and speak to me at this point too - no comment! I decided to give up on Go North East's repaints and head for The Coast instead. At Gateshead, I decided to abandon ship and catch up with the buses on the X66 as I hadn't really photographed the temporary allocation yet, but that didn't work particularly well at all either. My trip round The Coast went a bit better, but by the time I got to Tynemouth, it was hailstoning, and I wasn't in the mood for photos any more. Headed home via North Shields and South Shields as planned, taking very few photos other than when the sun came out again. Having 22734 home on the E6 made the day a bit better though - haven't been on that one in months - possibly since it left Sunderland!

I think I need my good luck to come back again, as this seems like an awfully negative 'review'. Photos up tomorrow!

(21 Feb 2015, 6:19 pm)Tom wrote [ -> ]My Northumberland trip today...

#306 1200 Coast Road/Churchill Street to Newcastle Haymarket 1220 - ANE 1587
#X15 1238 (5 late) Newcastle Haymarket to Alnwick Bus Station 1415ish - ANE 4653
#X18 1510 (8 late) Alnwick Bus Station to Morpeth Bus Station 1620 - ANE 7530
#2 1625 Morpeth Bus Station to Blyth Bus Station 1713 - ANE 1742
#308 1715 Blyth Bus Station to Coast Road/Churchill Street 1755 - ANE 7806

Enjoyed the day thoroughly. Was really happy to see a Omnicity on the X15 as I haven't been on one since they have been refurbished, but the driver was driving like a snail, and we got stuck near Felton for ages. The X18 ride was really nice, and the E400 was faultless, and beautiful views on the Alnmouth-Acklington stretch. Also it called into the HMP Prison which I wasn't expecting. I did intend to ride it all of the way to Newcastle, but then I saw 1742 coming in, and I couldn't resist what will probably be my last ride on a Dennis MPD. Wasn't too bad, and the engine sounds were good, but it was very rattly. Not a bad day for a fiver!

Some journeys extend further into the prison, up to the entrance building rather than a turning circle.

(21 Feb 2015, 6:38 pm)Dan wrote [ -> ]The sun was shining again, so I decided to head out today. I'd initially planned for this morning to be dedicated to catching up with Go North East's most recent repaints, and this afternoon to be dedicated to catching up with Arriva's buses on the 306 / 308 to demonstrate the addition of the contravision vinyls to promote ticketing options. I took longer than expected to upload and caption all of my photographs from yesterday, meaning that I didn't have as much time to catch up with the repaints, and nothing seemed to go to plan after that, either.

1014 #20: Newcastle Road to Park Lane - Go North East 4946
1034 #2 (6 late): Green Terrace to Chester Road - Go North East 8324
1050 NIS: Chester Road to The Galleries - Go North East 8324
1124 #X1: The Galleries to Newcastle - Go North East 6052
1153 #X66: Gateshead to Riverside Depot - Go North East 4966
1255 #44A: Askew Road to Newcastle - Go North East 5285
1325 #309: Newcastle to Whitley Bay - Go North East 6102
1457 #1: Whitley Bay to Tynemouth - Go North East 5265
1545 #1: Tynemouth to North Shields - Go North East 5270
1555 #333: North Shields to Ferry Terminal - Phoenix 905
1600 Ferry: North Shields to South Shields - Spirit of the Tyne
1644 #E6: South Shields to Wheatsheaf - Stagecoach North East 22734

I tried to get a photograph of 4845 on the 1023 #8 out of Sunderland and the sun was at the complete wrong angle for me to catch it. I ran to Chester Road from Holmeside, completely forgetting that the 8 hasn't gone up Chester Road for a number of months now, so ended up missing it. I somehow managed to bash my hand off a traffic light signal and it's now bruised, and hurts a little. My luck went from bad to worse when a blind man's dog was sick on 8324, and it ended up being 10 minutes late, and the driver told us he would have to let us get on the following 2 which was was due. The driver asked where we were all going, and after we all said 'The Galleries', control said it would be fine for the driver to take us all there direct instead. The bus lost power quite a few times, and it was hell getting it up to The Wavendon from the Royal Hospital. After two restarts, it started running a little bit better, but was still dreadful. Going downhill on the A19 give it a bit of kick up the arse, but it had nothing on a Volvo B10BLE (which I'm more used to on the old 8 route). After getting off at The Galleries, I ran round to get a photo of it coming out, but I had absolutely no luck at all as the sun caused huge shadows. What's more, Washington did not replace 8324, so I had yet more bad luck. Marcus decided he'd not come over and speak to me at this point too - no comment! I decided to give up on Go North East's repaints and head for The Coast instead. At Gateshead, I decided to abandon ship and catch up with the buses on the X66 as I hadn't really photographed the temporary allocation yet, but that didn't work particularly well at all either. My trip round The Coast went a bit better, but by the time I got to Tynemouth, it was hailstoning, and I wasn't in the mood for photos any more. Headed home via North Shields and South Shields as planned, taking very few photos other than when the sun came out again. Having 22734 home on the E6 made the day a bit better though - haven't been on that one in months - possibly since it left Sunderland!

I think I need my good luck to come back again, as this seems like an awfully negative 'review'. Photos up tomorrow!

Poor old Marcus ain't gonna live that one down for a while

Did anyone actually have a good day today?

Can't even be bothered to write up my outing.

(21 Feb 2015, 7:25 pm)Jimmi wrote [ -> ]Did anyone actually have a good day today?

Can't even be bothered to write up my outing.

No.

The sun ruined it. 

And some fairy bollocks appeared at Newcastle. See annoying thread. 

(21 Feb 2015, 7:27 pm)Tommy_1581 wrote [ -> ]No.



The sun ruined it. 

I had problems with the sun too, Stockton looked dark and gloomy as hell because the sun was so low.

(21 Feb 2015, 7:23 pm)MrFozz wrote [ -> ]Poor old Marcus ain't gonna live that one down for a while

Milking it for all it's worth!

(21 Feb 2015, 7:23 pm)MrFozz wrote [ -> ]Poor old Marcus ain't gonna live that one down for a while

http://youtu.be/nKWbMJOIkUk

Loving the chorus!