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RE: Bus Related Outings and Reviews - Andreos1 - 19 Mar 2017
(19 Mar 2017, 2:30 pm)Malarkey So having kick started 2017 with a trip down to London at the end of January, with photos from the trip being viewed on the following link - https://www.flickr.com/photos/adammalarkey/albums/72157679617864356 - other photos which have yet to be uploaded will be uploaded at a later date. my next trip away will be to Edinburgh on Saturday 29th April followed by Manchester on Saturday 27th May having took advantage of the Virgin Trains 20th Birthday seat sale earlier this week.
Other trips I have in mind include:
- Berwick & Scottish Borders
- Scarborough & Whitby, Alternatively I was thinking I might try and do Whitby, Scarborough, York & Leeds in a day, obviously timings etc would need to be worked out.
- AD122 Hadrian's Wall Country Bus
- Carlisle & The Lake District, again timings etc would need working out
- Dalesbus
- Further afield I was looking at Brighton, Oxford, Reading & Derby
Does any further recommendations which I could add to the above list?
Birmingham could easily be tagged on to the trips to Derby, Oxford and/or Reading. Not much variety down there, but it gets ticked off your list.
RE: Bus Related Outings and Reviews - MurdnunoC - 19 Mar 2017
(19 Mar 2017, 2:30 pm)Malarkey Other trips I have in mind include:Does any further recommendations which I could add to the above list?
- Scarborough & Whitby, Alternatively I was thinking I might try and do Whitby, Scarborough, York & Leeds in a day, obviously timings etc would need to be worked out.
- Carlisle & The Lake District, again timings etc would need working out
While it's perfectly possible to do Whitby, Scarborough, York and Leeds in a day, why don't you get yourself a 4-in-8 Day Rail Rover?
The North Country Rover is priced at £93 and covers an area which not only includes Whitby, Scarborough, York and Leeds but also Carlisle and the Lakes. It also covers Hull, Bradford, Blackburn, Preston and even Heysham Docks if you want to go and chance getting photographs of buses arriving by boat.
RE: Bus Related Outings and Reviews - Dan - 19 Mar 2017
(19 Mar 2017, 7:30 pm)MurdnunoC While it's perfectly possible to do Whitby, Scarborough, York and Leeds in a day, why don't you get yourself a 4-in-8 Day Rail Rover?
The North Country Rover is priced at £93 and covers an area which not only includes Whitby, Scarborough, York and Leeds but also Carlisle and the Lakes. It also covers Hull, Bradford, Blackburn, Preston and even Heysham Docks if you want to go and chance getting photographs of buses arriving by boat.
One thing to keep in mind, if anyone does decide to try this, is that there's only one train service in and out of Heysham Docks per day. The service starts at Leeds at 1017, and arrives into Heysham Docks at 1300. The same train then departs Heysham at 1317. It'd be a tight connection to catch the train at Leeds, too. These rovers are only valid for travel after 08:30am on weekdays, so it'd be the 08:35am CrossCountry service to York that you'd have to catch, followed by an 8-minute connection to the 09:40 TPX service to Leeds. I know quite a number of members of the forum won't have the ability to do so, but it's only a two-hour drive down to Heysham Docks (and a pretty enjoyable one too!) so I'd be pretty grudged doing it by train taking about three hours more.
The station is publicly accessible, but you do have to go into the port itself to access it.
I think I'll probably try this Rover out in the summer. I've done the North East and North West Rovers before, but never the North Country. As I have an 16-25 railcard, it'd only set me back by £61.40, and you can really milk these rovers to make that really good value for money.
RE: Bus Related Outings and Reviews - MurdnunoC - 19 Mar 2017
(19 Mar 2017, 7:43 pm)Dan I think I'll probably try this Rover out in the summer. I've done the North East and North West Rovers before, but never the North Country. As I have an 16-25 railcard, it'd only set me back by £61.40, and you can really milk these rovers to make that really good value for money.
Likewise, although the North Country Rover admittedly holds less appeal to me.
The North West Rover, in my opinion, offers the most value for money as you can get to places like Blackpool, Manchester, Liverpool, Chester and even Leeds. The only drawback for people living in the North East is that it's only valid from Hexham onwards.
RE: Bus Related Outings and Reviews - Dan - 19 Mar 2017
(19 Mar 2017, 7:43 pm)Dan One thing to keep in mind, if anyone does decide to try this, is that there's only one train service in and out of Heysham Docks per day. The service starts at Leeds at 1017, and arrives into Heysham Docks at 1300. The same train then departs Heysham at 1317. It'd be a tight connection to catch the train at Leeds, too. These rovers are only valid for travel after 08:30am on weekdays, so it'd be the 08:35am CrossCountry service to York that you'd have to catch, followed by an 8-minute connection to the 09:40 TPX service to Leeds.
An alternative would be to catch the train from Lancaster instead. It arrives into Lancaster at 12:11 but doesn't depart until 12:33.
The 08:24 Northern service (calls at Metrocentre at 0832) to Carlisle (arr 0957) followed by a connection to the 10:08 Virgin Trains service to Lancaster (arr 10:57) would work well. It'd allow for a bit of time in Lancaster for photos / food etc, so I'd be tempted to do it that way.
RE: Bus Related Outings and Reviews - Dan - 19 Mar 2017
(19 Mar 2017, 7:52 pm)MurdnunoC Likewise, although the North Country Rover admittedly holds less appeal to me.
The North West Rover, in my opinion, offers the most value for money as you can get to places like Blackpool, Manchester, Liverpool, Chester and even Leeds. The only drawback for people living in the North East is that it's only valid from Hexham onwards.
With a 16-25 Railcard, the North West Rover costs £48.85. Just over a tenner cheaper, and you seem to have quite a few more places to go to.
I think I just used the 685 service to Carlisle most of the time to avoid the 08:30am restriction, but if I ever did that one again, I'd be tempted to drive to Hexham and park at Wentworth Long Stay car park (free, all day, I think?) and pick up the same 08:24 train I mentioned before at Hexham instead (at 08:58).
RE: Bus Related Outings and Reviews - MurdnunoC - 19 Mar 2017
(19 Mar 2017, 8:09 pm)Dan With a 16-25 Railcard, the North West Rover costs £48.85. Just over a tenner cheaper, and you seem to have quite a few more places to go to.
I think I just used the 685 service to Carlisle most of the time to avoid the 08:30am restriction, but if I ever did that one again, I'd be tempted to drive to Hexham and park at Wentworth Long Stay car park (free, all day, I think?) and pick up the same 08:24 train I mentioned before at Hexham instead (at 08:58).
Yeah, that's what I did, and you're right, there is free all-day parking available at Wentworth providing you have one of those disks - which are available from a machine adjacent to the old bus station. However, for anyone attempting to do so, I would advise getting there at least half-an-hour before your train is due to depart as it can be hard to find a space (I speak from experience and had to wait an extra hour for a train to Carlisle as a result).
Alternatively, you can park in the station car-park for an all-day charge of £2.
RE: Bus Related Outings and Reviews - Jamie M - 25 Mar 2017
Eighton Banks is lovely on a day like today for buses or just for a walk.
![[Image: 33602236826_dab4cb6460_o.jpg]](https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2930/33602236826_dab4cb6460_o.jpg)
(Go North East) YN04GJU / 6134 - Scania Omnidekka by Jamie MP, on FlickrI walked and got the bus back, but stunning scenary. The angel looks tiny. You can see Dipton, right round to Penshaw monument.
RE: Bus Related Outings and Reviews - Ambassador - 26 Mar 2017
(25 Mar 2017, 4:10 pm)Jamie M Eighton Banks is lovely on a day like today for buses or just for a walk.
I walked and got the bus back, but stunning scenary. The angel looks tiny. You can see Dipton, right round to Penshaw monument.
It is rather nice up there but very limited in terms of spots. The random mess that is the X25 and the 23. Though Wrekenton close by
Some fine pubs mind...
RE: Bus Related Outings and Reviews - Jamie M - 26 Mar 2017
(26 Mar 2017, 6:12 pm)Ambassador It is rather nice up there but very limited in terms of spots. The random mess that is the X25 and the 23. Though Wrekenton close byI did an unorthodox order of tap water from the engine room pub. Buzzing place and in the middle of nowhere
Some fine pubs mind...
RE: Bus Related Outings and Reviews - Andreos1 - 03 Apr 2017
I haven't had a good blast out for a while, with most recent trips being short-hops.
However, recently, I managed to get some time when running some personal errands.
Like most of my trips out, I had a 'goal' and the target on this trip was the X24 and one of the recently acquired Omni's.
I also thought it would be worth doing the no repeat vehicle, no repeat route and no repeat location game too.
Things started off well, with me using two different bus types and a metro as I made my way towards the X24.
I just missed one by 5 minutes, but killed time in nearby shops.
I made my way to the stop and waited a few moments for the X24 appear.
Imagine my disappointment when a Gas Bus appeared!
I almost boycotted the service there and then (I certainly wasn't going to spend another half hour waiting) and jump on the X34 which was hovering behind.
In the end, I jumped on my gas powered steed and made my way towards Sunderland.
Loads were averaging 15, with an additional punter jumping on at Gateshead.
I didn't see any cash being taken on this trip, with a range of passes being used.
We sailed through Heworth and made our next stop at Pennywell (3 lads wearing eau de Morocco boarded) and then passengers who boarded at Newcastle started to disembark.
What was noticeable, was that people were using the service for local hops too.
I did overhear two Conc pass holders complementing the route and saying how 'handy' it was, as I boarded. They were singing it's praises.
After getting off and deciding on my next route, I realised that my bad luck was continuing, with a Solar being my next vehicle.
The plan of not using the same route, going to the same location or same vehicle type fell apart at this point too...
In the end, I used (in no particular order) a Metro, 3x Gemini, 3x Merc, 1x Gas Bus, 2x Solo SR and a Solar.
RE: Bus Related Outings and Reviews - BusLoverMum - 03 Apr 2017
(03 Apr 2017, 8:11 pm)Andreos1 I haven't had a good blast out for a while, with most recent trips being short-hops.
However, recently, I managed to get some time when running some personal errands.
Like most of my trips out, I had a 'goal' and the target on this trip was the X24 and one of the recently acquired Omni's.
I also thought it would be worth doing the no repeat vehicle, no repeat route and no repeat location game too.
Things started off well, with me using two different bus types and a metro as I made my way towards the X24.
I just missed one by 5 minutes, but killed time in nearby shops.
I made my way to the stop and waited a few moments for the X24 appear.
Imagine my disappointment when a Gas Bus appeared!
I almost boycotted the service there and then (I certainly wasn't going to spend another half hour waiting) and jump on the X34 which was hovering behind.
In the end, I jumped on my gas powered steed and made my way towards Sunderland.
Loads were averaging 15, with an additional punter jumping on at Gateshead.
I didn't see any cash being taken on this trip, with a range of passes being used.
We sailed through Heworth and made our next stop at Pennywell (3 lads wearing eau de Morocco boarded) and then passengers who boarded at Newcastle started to disembark.
What was noticeable, was that people were using the service for local hops too.
I did overhear two Conc pass holders complementing the route and saying how 'handy' it was, as I boarded. They were singing it's praises.
After getting off and deciding on my next route, I realised that my bad luck was continuing, with a Solar being my next vehicle.
The plan of not using the same route, going to the same location or same vehicle type fell apart at this point too...
In the end, I used (in no particular order) a Metro, 3x Gemini, 3x Merc, 1x Gas Bus, 2x Solo SR and a Solar.
A better no repeat bus loop might have involved Newcastle, Sunderland, seaham, peterlee, Hartlepool, Durham then back to the toon.
RE: Bus Related Outings and Reviews - Andreos1 - 04 Apr 2017
(03 Apr 2017, 11:57 pm)BusLoverMum A better no repeat bus loop might have involved Newcastle, Sunderland, seaham, peterlee, Hartlepool, Durham then back to the toon.
I need to box off some of the ANE and GNE routes around East Durham, so Peterlee and Hartlepool are on the list. The 'target' could be this new SNE service!
There just needs to be a reason to go venture down that neck of the woods! I very rarely venture out just for the sake of riding the network, mainly due to personal or even work commitments'.
RE: Bus Related Outings and Reviews - Pulsar - 07 Apr 2017
Had a day out in Hexham today. Highlights include the route 689. (Links below for photos)
Stagecoach Cross Pennine Enviro 300 27141 / SN64 OGE (Route 685 09:45 Newcastle - Hexham 10:37)
Chose this time on purpose as I prefer an Enviro 300 to the Scania's that Arriva use on this route. I find the stagecoach high backed seating more comfortable too. For me, this is really a route of 2 halves. Average from Newcastle to Throckley with an improvement from there, although I do prefer the Go North East X85 route. Once we get into the second half of the route, it passed quickly and I arrived in a fairly cloudy Hexham.
First time that I have been to Hexham since the new bus station opened so I took quite a few photos there. These can be seen here. After that I spent some time in the town before returning to the bus station in time for the 13:41 689 route. The indoor waiting room proved useful as it was fairly cold during this wait.
Go North East "Venture" Optare Solo SR 641 / NL63 YBA (Route 689 13:41 Hexham - Consett 14:35)
First time I have done this route and I really enjoyed it. The entire route passes through rural areas. There is fields either side and great views. The roads give a variety of small and hilly roads with in some areas the only vehicle I could see was our Solo SR. In some areas there are no bus stops so this route operates as hail and ride. If you have not tried this before, then I thoroughly recommend it although it may be better during the summer months when it is less cloudy than today. It runs once in each direction on weekdays and 4 times in each direction on Saturdays.
Go North East Corporate (old) Scania N94UD / East Lancs Omnideka 6139 / GX03 SVJ (Route X70 14:57 Consett - Newcastle 15:55)
Did a few photos in Consett before leaving on the X70. I have done most of this route before but not in a long time so I thought it would be more interesting than the 45. Unfortunately the bus was fairly poor as it rattled a lot and also had the old faded red seats. The route itself is quite good with a variety of scenery but the B9TL on the Red Kite may have provided a more comfortable journey.
Overall I enjoyed my day a lot. Only disappointment was the dull and cold weather.
RE: Bus Related Outings and Reviews - James101 - 15 Apr 2017
Wednesday morning I unexpectedly found myself with no plans for the day. I was already up and in the city by 10am for an early meeting, so felt I should do something with the rest of the day. Finding no inspiration for a day out locally, I scrolled through the National Express app on my phone and checked the next departures. A few taps later I’d booked myself a day return to Manchester, departing 30 minutes later.
I’ve made a scribble map of the route I took in Manchester if anyone’s interested. A change of colour indicates a change of bus route.
https://www.scribblemaps.com/create/#id=towvMan25q
Stoke-on-Trent (Hanley) Bus Station – Manchester Chorlton Street. Service 325.
Travel de Courcey, Volvo B9R Caetano Levante, FN62CKY.
It’s been about two years since I last made a journey with National Express, it’s interesting to see some changes since then. The introduction of M-Tickets is very welcome. Previously it was possible to purchase tickets via the app but they still needed to be printed out, which was tedious and not always possible. The app itself is good too. The ‘My Bookings’ section shows all purchased tickets and also incorporates the coach tracking on the same page.
I’ve never held the Levante in high regard, although I was basing this on early versions which were built on a Scania chassis and had a much more lightweight interior. The coach I was traveling on today, however, is an evolution of the original, on a Volvo B9R chassis. The interior is comfortable and much more soothing than the very loud blue, red and orange Megabus equivalent. The coach had a good turn of speed, the driver undertaking more than one car on the dual carriageway toward the M6.
The now standard wifi and plug sockets were available. It’s odd now how clumsy and redundant a 3-pin plug now looks on a bus – certainly I had only brought the cable part of my charger, expecting a USB port. Also new, or at least I’d never seen it before, was a chunky on board magazine. Wrote in the style of an airline magazine, with articles on city breaks and bought-in celerity interviews, it made for light reading and passed the tedium of the 50mph restriction currently in place on the M6. It was around 150 pages long, so a fairly weighty document that clearly a lot of effort had been put in to making it. The most impressive new feature from National Express is their new on board entertainment app for passengers – VUER. It’s a streaming app which utilises the coach’s wifi and allows passengers to stream movies and TV from NOW TV and also to browse popular magazines. I’m not sure if Megabus are offering anything similar, but this type of service is keeping National Express up there as the ‘premium’ option for coach travel, if such a thing exists.
Manchester Chorlton Street – Prestwich. Service X41.
Trasdev Lancashire United, Volvo B7TL, X7VTD, 3607.
I had no plan on where to go in Manchester now that I’d arrived. My decision to get one of the transdev routes to north Manchester was based entirely on it had started raining and they depart from the stop directly opposite the coach station exit. I boarded and opted for a System One any bus saver. At £5.20 it offers fantastic value considering it’s valid on any bus in the area covered by TFGM with add-ons for tram and train travel too.
If you’re unfamiliar with the vehicles used on the X41/Red Express service by transdev, I’d suggest Flikr searching the registration number above and having a guess at the age of the bus. I bet you’re first guess won’t be 14 years. Before last year’s upgrade of the 36 between Ripon and Leeds, these were standard fayre in North Yorkshire – sister vehicles are in use on CityZap between York and Leeds.
Back in 2011 this batch of deckers were extensively rebuilt, including the interior, engine, gearbox and updating the front end to the Gemini 2 design. At a reported £80,000 per bus it may sound like an expensive way of doing things, but when it’s considered this batch still handle the M66 every day, while GNE’s original X10 B7TLs are all but goosed, maybe it’s worth it. Comfort levels on the top deck were up there with the best, more personal space than the coach I’d just got off thanks to the 2+1 seating.
Prestwich – Bury Bus Station. Service 97.
First Manchester, Mercedes Citaro, W332RJA, 60254.
Or, at least I think it was. The fourth digit stuck above the windscreen had peeled away but the mark left behind looked a bit like a ‘5’. Anyway, I’d headed this far without a plan but knew Prestwich was a bit of a hub for bus routes so I hopped off on the high street.
I was surprised to see a Citaro in service, I thought all of Manchester’s had been withdrawn. It’s looking a bit down-at-heel now, still trundling along much the same territory it has done for 17 years, wearing it’s original livery. The interior on this batch is typical of First at the time, plastic seating with a thin cushion – alike Urban 90 seats. The minimalist interior really emphasises the bright airy feel of the Citaro design. Despite the age gap, I noticed how similar this 2000 example sounds the same as modern examples, with the distinctive idling noise. There was one very noisy loose grab pole which was irritating, but other than that the bus seemed as it’s still got plenty of life in it. The reality is, however, it’s likely to be withdrawn next week as it’s home, Bury depot, closes as First’s bus operations continue to shrink. In all likelihood it’ll be sent straight to scrap, which is a shame as, given a little tlc, I reckon it could well serve a marginal division, such as First Potteries.
Such was my haste to board in Prestwich, I hadn’t even noticed what route I was on. Checking the reflection when passing a shop window, I was on the 97 – which is part of a cluster of routes between Manchester and Bury via various suburbs. To plan my disembarking point, I check the timetable online. Timetables provided by TFGM are great – all in a clear uniform style and all with a geographical route map showing interchange points with other routes, tram and train. It showed to 97 only takes about 20 minutes to get to Bury, so I decided to stay on board until the terminus.
On the approach to Bury, I noticed about a dozen coaches parked on side streets, mostly on day-trip operations. Now, I’ve got nothing against Bury as a fairy typical northern town, but I’m at a loss as to why at least 300 people had actually paid money to go on a day-trip there. I think I’d rather a long weekend in Billingham.
Bury Bus Station – Bolton Bus Station. Service 471.
First Manchester, Volvo B9TL Wright Gemini, MX09GYH, 37554.
Upon arrival at Bury I had a choice as to where to go next. I’d narrowed it down to two options, Rochdale or Bolton, seeing as they were the next towns east or west and both had bus stations to provide further travel options. To make my choice I headed to the ‘Destination Finder’ board, found at any TFGM bus station. I think these boards are also great, A printed list of every route through the bus station, destinations, places en-route, journey times and operator information.
An example from TFGM:
http://www.tfgm.com/buses/Documents/Departures/Bury.pdf
I found Bolton had the edge with a slightly shorter journey time, and First’s route 471 was the one to get me there, with a ten minute headway. I think it’s a testament to how user friendly TFGM’s resources are that someone with limited knowledge of the area can arrive with no idea how to get where they want to go can get the information the need in a few seconds.
The B9 is somewhat of a First Manchester standard. Nothing particularly interesting about this example, a solid workhorse serving North Manchester well. Looking at what is available on the double-deck market now, these B9s may well be the last of the unapologetic heavy diesel double deckers, they will be missed in years to come when they begin to disappear from the road.
Welcome to Bolton (my photo):
Bolton bus station is a brutal place. Time stopped here in 1987. The 80s GMPTE ‘M-blem’ logo features on all the glass partitions and about 60% of the lighting works, so you can’t really see who’s about to mug you. There’s even a period canteen, with all wooden furniture, bolted to the floor, naturally. It was open to the public, though it’s only patrons seemed to be a cluster of drivers, behind the counter, helping themselves to tea and biscuits. The photo below is from the webpage ‘Photos around Bolton’ and was taken in 2016 – I never realised places like this still exist.
Perhaps of note is that Bolton is one of the few places in the UK that the ‘big’ three of the UK bus industry have a fairly equal presence. First perhaps have the most services, but Arriva and Stagecoach colours are usually present in the station at any one time. As I was planning my next move a Stagecoach Enviro 200 rolled onto stand for service 22: a Manchester Odyssey. Largely unchanged since deregulation, the 22 runs every 30 minutes, from 0500 to 2300, 7 days a week through just about every where there is to see in west Greater Manchester, taking 2 and a quarter hours to complete it’s grand tour. Stagecoach journeys are relatively rare, they operate 3 boards in a row which form the first 3 departures off Stockport in the morning, the rest ran by First. Despite the relative rarity, I decided to pass up the opportunity of 2 hours on an E200 in favour of the flash of gold and navy, which brought a touch of the 21st century to the Bolton timewarp.
Bolton Bus Station – Horwich Cown Hotel. Service 125.
Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire, Scania N230UB Enviro 400, UN65XED, 15229.
I think ‘Gold’ is the original and best of the premium bus brands which have come to the forefront in recent years. It works particularly well here in Bolton where the surrounding service is sufficient but basic. The luxury touches on a Gold spec bus seem genuine, rather than a superficial brand, like some Sapphire services. A surprising feature was the carpeted walls, something I think I last seen on an Arriva Vecta! I also noted there was no assault screen in place, which I thought was standard on all Stagecoach buses.
Once again, I had boarded without a plan. Service 125 runs every 10 minutes, so I had the opportunity to simply get off and ride back in the opposite direction if all else failed. Once again, using the free wifi and USB charging, I looked at TFGM’s route map and identified Horwich as a suitable looking place to disembark. Transferring to Google maps, I located the stop location so I’d know where to press the bell. I also utilised the transit feature on Google Maps to see what services departed from adjacent stops. It seems there was an alternate service that ran back to Bolton from Horwich every 10 minutes. I love how easy it can be to make up a route as you go along using such apps, even in places you’ve never visited before.
Although these E400s look similar to the Stagecoach standard, the difference the Scania power makes is noticeable. I’d really recommend riding these on the 125 to Horwich, the route soon climbs out of Bolton and onto national speed roads, up and down hills where the Scania has an opportunity to stretch it’s legs. There’s also some fantastic scenery of Lancashire and views of Bolton’s Macron (formally Reebok) stadium.
Horwich Crown Hotel – Bolton Bus Station. Service 575.
First Manchester, Volvo B10BLE Wright Renown, 62233, Y942CSF.
My quick Google check had shown the 575 as being operated by Arriva, which I then associated with a Sapphire Pulsar I’d seen earlier. Accepting that this was to be my haulage back, I was pleasantly surprised that my ride was to be this B10, which much like it’s Citaro fleet-mate, is living on borrowed time. It turns out the 575 is a shared operation between Arriva and First, competing with Stagecoach’s 125 on the Horwich – Bolton corridor. Where we have the other two big companies putting out there best in the form of Gold and Sapphire, First are turning out literally their oldest buses on this route. Perhaps they’re starving Manchester of investment until after they Mayoral elections, as the favourite, Andy Burnham, is keen on bus franchising.
Much like the few B10BLEs clinging on around the country, this one was sounding just a little tired, with a loud cooling fan providing acoustics. It seemed to be the only B10 around in Bolton too, so another lucky catch for me! The pastel blues and purple interior of first makes for more modern feel than the un-refurbished GNE examples and the application of Olympia livery and large ‘Greater Manchester’ fleet names really helps disguise the age of this bus. I’d even say the new First livery suits these more than Barbie.
Bolton Bus Station – Tyldsley High Street. Service 582.
First Manchester, Volvo B7RLE Wright Eclipse Urban 2, 69530, BD11CFF.
During my return to Bolton I decided I’d try to grab a ride on the busway which opened last year, to much fanfare. Quick use of journey planner pointed me to bus route 582, every 10 minutes from Bolton to Leigh. I lived in Manchester when these were delivered new, and I now remembered a day out I’d had to sample them. Although externally they look a lot smarter in Olympia livery, the interior of these is not aging well. Contrary to the light grey e-leather used for new First vehicles, this batch has dark navy seating, much like GNE’s. Now 6 years old the e-leather is starting to become worn and cracked around the edges. The dark colour served only to show up debris and crumbs on the surface. Although I’m sure they are technically cleaner than a cloth seat, I struggled to find somewhere inviting to sit.
A quirk of this design I’ve not noticed before is that there is only one opening window on each side – above the wheelchair/buggy bays. As Jimmi recently pointed out, this is prime old biddie window closing territory, despite a window directly above their head having little effect on them when the bus is moving. I wouldn’t want to be a passenger on a hot day when the blue-rinse brigade are out. It’s easy to see how this design is the natural evolution of the Renown, and I’m looking forward to sampling a Urban 3 example as orders are placed. Certainly Lothian’s look impressive. It’s a shame Wright have changed the design of the rear windows on new models to become slanted and narrow, like a Streetlite.
Atherton High Street – Manchester King Street. Service V2.
First Manchester, Volvo V5LH Wright Streetdeck, 39243, BW65DCO.
I’d had a day out to Manchester on the busway’s first day of operation, every bus I went on that day was full to capacity, so it was nice to sample these buses off-peak. I worked in Manchester before the busway was constructed and one of my colleagues lived in Atherton – I remember her complaining a lot about the unreliable bus service. Leigh & Atherton, the destinations of the Vantage services, have always been disproportionally difficult to get to Manchester from by bus, mainly due to traffic congestion on the East Lancs Road.
The busway carried a lot of negative press with it during construction, owing to its expense and the impact the work had on existing roads. Now that it’s open, however, I’ve heard mainly good things. It’s a very well thought out project, the buses themselves are high spec and very high profile with their smart ‘Vantage’ livery, certainly more comfortable than a Northern rail carriage or Metrolink.
These hybrids can pull away quickly and the busway give them an opportunity to get up to a good speed. It benefits not just from a traffic-free route, but also signal priority. I’d managed to get a top-front seat and it was great to see red lights turn to green as the bus approached every intersection. The intersections with public roads are guarded with ‘car-traps’ – basically gullies which are of a width thin enough to allow a bus to pass over but too wide for a car, which would get stuck. Looking at Google, however, this hasn’t stopped a few people trying. As part of the busway, a park and ride site was constructed on the A580. On it’s first few days of opening, the MEN went along to take photos of just 3 cars using the site to add to their anti-TFGM campaign. Funnily enough there’s not been a follow-up now that the park and ride is full. Although I’ve read a few comments saying people would rather the busway be a Metrolink extension, I can’t see how it would be any better. As the Vantage routes leave the guided section of the route, they benefit from bus lanes and further priority measures on the full route past Salford and into Manchester. I’d hazard a guess that the bus is quicker than the car from Leigh to Manchester, especially if factoring parking time. I’d class that as a success for the busway.
Manchester Chorlton Street – Stoke-on-Trent (Hanley) Bus Station. Service 548.
Parks of Hamilton, Volvo B9R Plaxton Elite, KSK 951.
I opted to head to the coach station early to watch the comings and goings before my 18:00 departure. When I arrived my coach was already on stand as this service has almost an hour break in Manchester on its route from Edinburgh to Birmingham. The benefit of being front of the queue on boarding was getting the front seat for the journey home. The coach filled up to almost capacity and the driver began the get a bit fraught, counting empty seats and checking his loadings sheet. He beckoned over the controller and explained he had 4 passengers to pick up at the airport and only 3 spare seats with no-one to get off. He put the sheet down where I could see it and I noticed it had been printed early that morning when he had set off from Scotland, before I had bought my ticket. Could it be the app have let the coach overbook? A potential flaw in the last-minute ticketing? A few more minutes of scratching heads and re-counting seats and the controller came up with the idea of asking a passenger who was destined for London to transfer onto a direct service rather than traveling on this coach and changing in Birmingham- they’d get there sooner so everyone wins. As it happened, only two boarded at the airport so we would have been fine all along.
The Plaxton Elite provides a nice contrast to the Levante. The panoramic dome windscreen is a welcome feature when sat at the front. The delay in departing was compounded by rush hour traffic but we were soon heading south. On passing Southern Cemetery I observed the various Stagecoach Enviros held here during the day and also a Centrebus Omnicity in service on route 199 coming from the direction of Chorlton, headed for Buxton. Considering this route is booked non-stop from Manchester Airport to Stocktport via the M60, I haven’t a clue as to why it was carrying passengers so far off route.
The route back to the midlands took advantage of the new A556 between the M56 and M6. I used to drive this route everyday and I don’t think I’m being dramatic when I say this link road would have been life changing. The old A556 was a very narrow dual carriageway, with no central reservation. I have a car wider than most, so when overtaking a truck when another one suddenly came up the outside lane of the opposite direction was a case of gripping tight and hoping everyone kept their wing mirrors. The old A556 still exists for local traffic, though the connections to the motorways at either end have been abruptly lopped off to deter motorists from rat-running. A quirk of this there is the original service station, Little Chef and IBIS budget hotel marooned on their own, severed from the M6 which would have supplied their trade. They’re still visible so I checked online and they’re still apparently open, though I doubt for much longer.
I enjoyed my journey back to Stoke, realising I don’t think I’ve ever been a passenger on this journey. It’s interesting to see things you’ve never noticed before out the window because you’re driving! I’d had a very enjoyable day, one of those were everything just seemed to go right. I know it’s a risky strategy, heading into unknown territory without a plan; I seemed to have luck on my side. I have, since then, had an outing where everything went to pot and I didn’t even get off the ground so was back home within an hour, so swings and roundabouts.
RE: Bus Related Outings and Reviews - Charles41 - 20 Apr 2017
Yesterday I had a short trip around Northumberland, here’s how my day went.
Arriva 7514 Alexander Dennis Enviro. 10.33 Newcastle Haymarket – Alnwick X15
The bus left on time, it was clean and tidy. The driver was friendly and helpful; this was a busy bus and seemed popular with senior citizens. Many of the pensioners seemed to belong to a rambling club. This was a good swift thrash up the A1 with no issues. The new road north of Morpeth is now open. I noted yet more housing is being built on the outskirts of Morpeth and at Felton. The bus performed well on the run and we arrived at Alnwick on time.
I alighted at Lionheart Enterprise Park and made my way to Rothbury Motors’ yard. The staff were fine about me looking around and taking photos. There were 25 vehicles present in the yard. Recent purchases here are BT66TZU and BT6TZV which are both Mercedes Benz Tourismos. They look very smart in a white based livery with blue lettering. The rarest vehicle in the yard was a 2004 Turkish manufactured BMC, this is painted yellow and is used on schools contracts. I was just about to leave the yard when a brand new Tourismo arrived (BN17JCJ) which looked spectacular. At this point my camera decided to play up, so I was unable to get any decent photos of it.
Swearing at my camera, I walked to the Gardiners NMC garage on the Willowburn Industrial estate. This was completely empty and I don’t know if it is still use. The former Snaith’s depot next door is now derelict. I noted Snaith’s still have a small outstation in a unit nearby. A solitary Plaxton bodied Volvo was present. Heading into town, I passed Kennedy’s parking place in the Kitsons Windows yard, their sole coach, a Mercedes 1323L was present.
Opposite Kitsons is Alnwick Fire Station. This is also the home of community transport charity North East Equality & Diversity (NEED). They have expanded again in recent months; there were 17 vehicles present on this visit. I was able to spot the majority of them from the car park of the adjacent branch of Lidl. Recent purchases here are two Mercedes Sprinters, both fitted with wheelchair lifts for welfare contracts. I recon this charity now has over 20 minibuses making it the largest community transport organisation in the North East of England. It has won a number of contracts from Northumberland County Council and the NHS. In addition to the Alnwick base, there are outstations at Hadston and Haltwhistle.
A short walk brought me to Barter Books which has to be my favourite bookshop of all time. I spent the best part of an hour browsing and came away with three old fleetbooks for Arriva and Stagecoach. I also got a good book on pig husbandry for my partner…do not ask! Barter was busy today with school holidays but there were plenty of helpful staff on hand. Afterwards I had lunch in town and explored the shops.
PCL Travel LG02FFP Dennis Dart 14.15 Alnwick – Rothbury 15
After using my phone to take a few photos in the bus station I decided to take Spirit Buses’ old route to Rothbury. I was curious to see if there was any improvement to PCL Travel following my last nightmare journey in 2016. The bus arrived on time with one passenger already aboard. The driver was not particularly friendly or welcoming nor did he issue me with a ticket. My fare was £4.00, an adult single. I took a seat towards the rear of the bus. I noted it now has four speakers fitted near the roof. We left with four passengers (including myself), well down on Spirit Buses days.
I noticed how dirty the bus was, with dust/muck on most of the window ledges. It looked as though they had not been cleaned in weeks. It made a contrast to Spirit’s normally spotless little FUG. My main concern though was that part of the door opening mechanism seemed rusted on the rear passenger door (it was a dual door vehicle). Also a large part of the facings were missing on the top and bottom of this door so it was open to the elements. I understand it is parked in a lay-by in the Alnwick area when not in use. This cannot be doing the vehicle any good.
The bus arrived on time at Rothbury and the scenery was as stunning as ever. Cragside looked beautiful in the sunshine. I noted the National Trust are still operating their bus service around estate using a Volkswagen Crafter minibus. At Rothbury I checked the timetable outside the Queens Head. I did not fancy waiting until after 5 o’clock for an Arriva bus and quite frankly could not stomach another dose of PCL Travel. I therefore decided to pop into the Queens Head for a quick pint and get the next Arriva bus.
Arriva 7513 Alexander Dennis Enviro. 14.55 Rothbury to Newcastle X16
After a cracking pint of 4.5% Abbot Ale, I joined the queue for the X16. There were about 15 people waiting, again a large number of travelers were senior citizens on day trips. Just before setting off, one of Rothbury Motors Bova’s turned up with a party of guests for the Queens Head who had been on an excursion to Holy Island. I was able to snatch some quick photos before jumping on the bus. The journey back to Newcastle was uneventful and I watched the lovely views from the top deck. The fields were teeming with newly born lambs and calves. More passengers joined at Morpeth and the bus was rather busy by the time we reached Newcastle. I also noted two more of PCL Travel’s Darts at Morpeth bus station, including the former Hunters vehicle. We arrived on time in town and I alighted just before the Haymarket by the church.
By and large it had been a good day, despite my camera giving varying degrees of performance. It now seems to be working fine again. On Sunday I’ll be getting the bus down to Middlesbrough for the 500 Group Running Day. Come and say hello if you see me. Thanks very much for reading.
Charles
RE: Bus Related Outings and Reviews - Jamie M - 20 Apr 2017
(20 Apr 2017, 8:20 am)Charles41 Yesterday I had a short trip around Northumberland, here’s how my day went.
Arriva 7514 Alexander Dennis Enviro. 10.33 Newcastle Haymarket – Alnwick X15
The bus left on time, it was clean and tidy. The driver was friendly and helpful; this was a busy bus and seemed popular with senior citizens. Many of the pensioners seemed to belong to a rambling club. This was a good swift thrash up the A1 with no issues. The new road north of Morpeth is now open. I noted yet more housing is being built on the outskirts of Morpeth and at Felton. The bus performed well on the run and we arrived at Alnwick on time.
I alighted at Lionheart Enterprise Park and made my way to Rothbury Motors’ yard. The staff were fine about me looking around and taking photos. There were 25 vehicles present in the yard. Recent purchases here are BT66TZU and BT6TZV which are both Mercedes Benz Tourismos. They look very smart in a white based livery with blue lettering. The rarest vehicle in the yard was a 2004 Turkish manufactured BMC, this is painted yellow and is used on schools contracts. I was just about to leave the yard when a brand new Tourismo arrived (BN17JCJ) which looked spectacular. At this point my camera decided to play up, so I was unable to get any decent photos of it.
Swearing at my camera, I walked to the Gardiners NMC garage on the Willowburn Industrial estate. This was completely empty and I don’t know if it is still use. The former Snaith’s depot next door is now derelict. I noted Snaith’s still have a small outstation in a unit nearby. A solitary Plaxton bodied Volvo was present. Heading into town, I passed Kennedy’s parking place in the Kitsons Windows yard, their sole coach, a Mercedes 1323L was present.
Opposite Kitsons is Alnwick Fire Station. This is also the home of community transport charity North East Equality & Diversity (NEED). They have expanded again in recent months; there were 17 vehicles present on this visit. I was able to spot the majority of them from the car park of the adjacent branch of Lidl. Recent purchases here are two Mercedes Sprinters, both fitted with wheelchair lifts for welfare contracts. I recon this charity now has over 20 minibuses making it the largest community transport organisation in the North East of England. It has won a number of contracts from Northumberland County Council and the NHS. In addition to the Alnwick base, there are outstations at Hadston and Haltwhistle.
A short walk brought me to Barter Books which has to be my favourite bookshop of all time. I spent the best part of an hour browsing and came away with three old fleetbooks for Arriva and Stagecoach. I also got a good book on pig husbandry for my partner…do not ask! Barter was busy today with school holidays but there were plenty of helpful staff on hand. Afterwards I had lunch in town and explored the shops.
PCL Travel LG02FFP Dennis Dart 14.15 Alnwick – Rothbury 15
After using my phone to take a few photos in the bus station I decided to take Spirit Buses’ old route to Rothbury. I was curious to see if there was any improvement to PCL Travel following my last nightmare journey in 2016. The bus arrived on time with one passenger already aboard. The driver was not particularly friendly or welcoming nor did he issue me with a ticket. My fare was £4.00, an adult single. I took a seat towards the rear of the bus. I noted it now has four speakers fitted near the roof. We left with four passengers (including myself), well down on Spirit Buses days.
I noticed how dirty the bus was, with dust/muck on most of the window ledges. It looked as though they had not been cleaned in weeks. It made a contrast to Spirit’s normally spotless little FUG. My main concern though was that part of the door opening mechanism seemed rusted on the rear passenger door (it was a dual door vehicle). Also a large part of the facings were missing on the top and bottom of this door so it was open to the elements. I understand it is parked in a lay-by in the Alnwick area when not in use. This cannot be doing the vehicle any good.
The bus arrived on time at Rothbury and the scenery was as stunning as ever. Cragside looked beautiful in the sunshine. I noted the National Trust are still operating their bus service around estate using a Volkswagen Crafter minibus. At Rothbury I checked the timetable outside the Queens Head. I did not fancy waiting until after 5 o’clock for an Arriva bus and quite frankly could not stomach another dose of PCL Travel. I therefore decided to pop into the Queens Head for a quick pint and get the next Arriva bus.
Arriva 7513 Alexander Dennis Enviro. 14.55 Rothbury to Newcastle X16
After a cracking pint of 4.5% Abbot Ale, I joined the queue for the X16. There were about 15 people waiting, again a large number of travelers were senior citizens on day trips. Just before setting off, one of Rothbury Motors Bova’s turned up with a party of guests for the Queens Head who had been on an excursion to Holy Island. I was able to snatch some quick photos before jumping on the bus. The journey back to Newcastle was uneventful and I watched the lovely views from the top deck. The fields were teeming with newly born lambs and calves. More passengers joined at Morpeth and the bus was rather busy by the time we reached Newcastle. I also noted two more of PCL Travel’s Darts at Morpeth bus station, including the former Hunters vehicle. We arrived on time in town and I alighted just before the Haymarket by the church.
By and large it had been a good day, despite my camera giving varying degrees of performance. It now seems to be working fine again. On Sunday I’ll be getting the bus down to Middlesbrough for the 500 Group Running Day. Come and say hello if you see me. Thanks very much for reading.
Charles
Rust and missing plastic panels aren't really something to worry about.
GNE's 6127 has rusted door frames and a lot of older buses have missing panels. It's only really a problem if the door ceases to work, whether it falls off or simply doesn't operate. I wouldn't be worried about it, as it's a fairly standard wear/tear on older vehicles.
Great trip, though. I've never gotten further north than Ashington/Blyth on transport.
Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk
Bus Related Outings and Reviews - Jimmi - 02 May 2017
Decided to head out on a outing on the Moorsbus network.
0727 Newton Aycliffe - Darlington (Northern 142071)
Started the day out on a Pacer, although these are hated by many, I actually don't mind them, I've grown up with these and will actually be sad when they will soon be gone. This was my only way to reach Darlington to do the Moorsbus network seem as Northern was running a normal weekday timetable, it is not really possible to do on a Sunday except for expensive taxi fares.
0825 M2 Darlington, Tubwell Row - Guisborough, Market Place (ANE 1511)
Last year's regular offering from Darlington depot was my first offering on this outing, it arrived 5 minutes late, this is one of the faster Pulsar's at Darlington and performed quite well on this run. There was some confusion in Middlesbrough Bus Station as to which stand this service should leave from, so both stands 8 and 17 were served although no passengers were picked up.
0930 M4 Stokesley High Street (ANE 1569)
Next bus was also late, which was provided by Sapphire X3/X4 branded StreetLite 1569 which I must say is looking a bit shabby as the Wright badge was missing, as was parts of the route branding. This was a surprisingly quick trip but even more surprising, it barely rattled at all!
0955 M5 Helmsley (Reliance Motor Services: BF62UYO)
Took some shots of this and 1569 after alighting, some old guy who I gathered was from Friendsofmoorsbus asked if I could upload the photos to their Facebook page and was also asked by the Reliance driver if I could the photos of their bus to a Facebook group, he seemingly recognised me as I have had this driver previously. This journey also departed late owing to the late arrival of the M4, it was shortly back on-time though, asked the driver if I could get a shot in Northallerton as we had a few minutes waiting time. The service started to fall behind the timetable once we got towards Thirsk and we arrived into Helmsley 5 minutes late which resulted in a missed connection with the Scarborough & District 128 service which I was intending to catch, so I had to rethink my plans.
1247 M4 Rievaulx Abbey & Helmsley (Reliance Motor Services: BF62UYO)
As the next 128 wasn't until 13:30, I did a round trip on this to kill time. This bus was still late and fell even further behind schedule on its short round trip to Thirsk and back. I had a woman ask me if I was waiting for the Rievaulx Abbey bus to which I said I was and started talking about missing the 128 and she said that they are bad for doing that (how terrible of a bus company to leave on time ), I then said about the bus running late and said that the timetable could do with a bit work, ooh she didn't like that comment "a lot of hard work has gone into the timetables" annoying thing about that was, I said it as a concern rather than just slagging it off. Not much to say about the run itself.
1335 128 Pickering (Scarborough & District 740)
Next bus was a Wright Eclipse Gemini bodied Volvo B9TL, this was a pretty quiet run. I have done the Pickering - Scarborough stretch of this route a few times but this is the first time I've done the route from Helmsley. Got some photos of the other Moorsbus services in Pickering and also photographed a steam train arriving into Pickering Station on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway as I had time to kill.
1500 M7 Dalby Forest & Pickering
1540 M6 Danby Station (Stephensons of Easingwold: SN66WKG)
These journeys were provided by Stephensons of Easingwold Enviro 200 SN66WKG, typical E200 really, it had the standard ADL rattles from the back of the bus but it was otherwise a comfortable bus.
1645 M3 Hutton-le-Hole (Reliance Motor Services: BA15BXS)
Next was the MoorsPlus service which Reliance operate on Saturdays and Mondays, I alighted the previous bus here and there was no indication of there being a bus stop here, so this was a slightly nervous wait for me. I have encountered this bus a few times now, the first being whilst it was still a demonstrator during its trial with Go North East on the 20/20A. I caught this bus over to Hutton-le-Hole to catch the Arriva Sunday service M3 home which was another place with no viable bus stops.
1730 M3/M2 Darlington Tubwell Row (ANE 1511)
Back with the bus that I started with, the route was as the previous journey as far as Danby then as it got closer to Guisborough it was essentially the X93 route, we had a bit of a wait in Guisborough for the connecting Moorsbus service M4 to arrive which would then run to Saltburn as the M1 which was again provided by 1569. Pretty speedy journey back to Darlington after Guisborough.
1945 5A Newton Aycliffe (ANE 2864)
Last bus of the day was Solo 2864 on a Sunday short 5A which terminates at Newton Aycliffe, Greenfield School although it runs in a circular via Meadowfield Way and Greenfield Way. As it arrived into Darlington Town Centre the bus was incorrectly blinded up for service 5 to Newton Aycliffe, Meadowfield Way which these days is a destination display normally only seen on Christmas Eve and New Years Eve when services finish early and don't do full journeys. Nowt much to say about the journey really.
Thanks for reading. This was mostly a enjoyable day out which I may try to do again but may be tricky due to difficulties getting the bus from Darlington on a morning.
Photos from the outing, some of which are a bit scenic, can be found here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/127079988@N02/sets/72157683196429986/
RE: Bus Related Outings and Reviews - Malarkey - 06 May 2017
Some photos from my trip to Edinburgh last Saturday, with more to come, locations include Princess Street, The West End, The Royal Mile, Dynamic Earth, Leith Walk, The Shore, Ocean Terminal, Edinburgh Airport & Gyle Centre.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/adammalarkey/albums/72157683487787915
RE: Bus Related Outings and Reviews - Andreos1 - 25 May 2017
https://www.tpexpress.co.uk/news/2017/04/29k-grant-for-improved-travel-into-the-north-york-moors/
Not sure this has been mentioned, but TPX are funding a MoorsbusPlus ticket, which will be valid on their services, Northern along the Esk Valley line and Moorsbus services.