(18 Apr 2023, 8:37 am)cbma06 wrote [ -> ] When there diverted the 164 via Chester road and shiney row it was always going to end of the axe of the whole service, practically duplicating long established bus services, should of left it via Durham road, it was a lot better when it was a limited stop service .
Many times caught the 164 to Seaburn , yea Park Lane bus station to Houghton but Vine Place and Fawcett street to Seaburn
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Yea, got changed as soon as possible in the first list of bus changes after dereg in Jan/feb 87 and sent to Seaburn instead, when the 220 sequence got renumbered to the 151/152 sequence at dereg 86 then back to the 220 in Jan/Feb 87 which confused the passengers as you had the northern 151/152 Fawcett street to Murton and the 151/152 Fawcett st to Durham, probably because the bus used to do both routes, bring back the days when passengers were put first instead of profit 
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Ah I dunno. They must have got about 10 years out of the 164 going via Penshaw.
Compared to what they give services now, that's quite something!
(18 Apr 2023, 8:30 am)ifm001 wrote [ -> ]The 164 on deregulation in October 1986 also got extended from Sunderland to South Shields operating limited stop. From memory think it only stopped at Wheatsheaf, The Grange Fulwell, Cleadon Pond, Harton Nook, Westoe and Shields Keppel St. Used it a few times and was a good fast alternative to the all stops 535/536
Didn't they have a Newcastle 'Express' that was a variation of the 160 or 164 at some point?
Inevitably limited stop via Newcastle Road like the failures both before and after.
If we weren't in an era of perpetual decline, I could see an express along there coming back again for another go!
(18 Apr 2023, 9:53 am)Andreos1 wrote [ -> ]Ah I dunno. They must have got about 10 years out of the 164 going via Penshaw.
Compared to what they give services now, that's quite something!
Didn't they have a Newcastle 'Express' that was a variation of the 160 or 164 at some point?
Inevitably limited stop via Newcastle Road like the failures both before and after.
If we weren't in an era of perpetual decline, I could see an express along there coming back again for another go!
I didn’t think it was about 10 years, even though I remember all sorts allocated to the 164, from nationals, double deckers, Marshall darts and metro riders on Chester road.
I remember the 2 cities express x23 then x23/x24 with x24 via cleadon, which eventually replaced with the x61/x64 from Houghton area to Newcastle via Sunderland
Express services these days are not really GNE portfolio, as not stopping at bus stops along the route not picking up potential fare paying passengers for income for a profit business
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(18 Apr 2023, 10:37 am)cbma06 wrote [ -> ]I didn’t think it was about 10 years, even though I remember all sorts allocated to the 164, from nationals, double deckers, Marshall darts and metro riders on Chester road.
I remember the 2 cities express x23 then x23/x24 with x24 via cleadon, which eventually replaced with the x61/x64 from Houghton area to Newcastle via Sunderland
Express services these days are not really GNE portfolio, as not stopping at bus stops along the route not picking up potential fare paying passengers for income for a profit business
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Don't forget the often talked about (on here anyway) X3 either
Aye, I remember using it early/mid 90s and it mustn't have been until the late 90s/esrly 00s that it went. Possibly the same time Philly depot closed.
Worth pointing out the Coaster appears to be OK now following the change at the end of March. Early teething problems look like they've now gone. Made a few journeys yesterday and not one bus was more than 5 minutes late!
(17 Apr 2023, 3:40 pm)ne14ne1 wrote [ -> ]Is it to do with emissions standards and/or meeting disability requirements, or just generally newer vehicles will be more appealing to customers?
I haven’t read the detail so I don’t know their requirements but the stricter the requirements the better surely.
Within a few years NSAs will likely (and rightly) be a mandatory requirement too.
Thanks. Yeah I understand there will be requirements for emissions and disabilities etc. It just seems odd to be throwing hundreds of thousands to millions of pounds to fund secured services with new buses when they then cut the services months later because they are making no money on them. I would have thought funding to modify slightly older buses to meet the requirements would cost less. As we all know Nexus services are never going to be profitable and that's why they are funded.
Agree with those on here suggesting GNE should provide more buses to Seaburn. There's plenty there to attract people now and it would be great for people going there in the school holidays and to the illuminations etc. Would love to have a direct bus there from Washington. Could maybe extend a 56 there once every hour weekends and evenings when the illuminations are on and every half hour during the day on bank holidays and school holidays? Thinking along similar lines to how they've extended the 50 to Marsden on a Sunday
Would a 26/5/27 extension possibly be something good. As on the 56 you would just be looping around Sunderland just to come out the same way you came in.
Possibly the 20/60 could be one.
(18 Apr 2023, 9:20 pm)Washingtonian wrote [ -> ]Thanks. Yeah I understand there will be requirements for emissions and disabilities etc. It just seems odd to be throwing hundreds of thousands to millions of pounds to fund secured services with new buses when they then cut the services months later because they are making no money on them. I would have thought funding to modify slightly older buses to meet the requirements would cost less. As we all know Nexus services are never going to be profitable and that's why they are funded.
Agree with those on here suggesting GNE should provide more buses to Seaburn. There's plenty there to attract people now and it would be great for people going there in the school holidays and to the illuminations etc. Would love to have a direct bus there from Washington. Could maybe extend a 56 there once every hour weekends and evenings when the illuminations are on and every half hour during the day on bank holidays and school holidays? Thinking along similar lines to how they've extended the 50 to Marsden on a Sunday
In fairness the contracts are only Euro 5 and they've been around since 2009 now.
If some operator can't get a bus past 2009 then there's something seriously wrong and they probably shouldn't be anywhere near running them.
Any which are Euro 6, bar a few exceptions, are because of the LEZ and even those have been around since 2015 now, it's just the issue NE operators haven't bothered to invest lately and for Stagecoach and Arriva it was well before Covid.
Yes I agree with the comments about Seaburn, the area has changed massively in the past 10 years and I honestly think it’s a much more interesting place now with the addition of the Stack.
I think the areas of Seaburn, Whitburn, Cleadon, East Boldon, West Boldon & Fellgate lost a lot of routes when the Metro starting running on the Sunderland extension towards South Hylton.
I was looking at some of the time timetables in the bygone era on this site and was amazed at some of the routes pre 2002.
The 558 ran morning through till night between Seaburn & Heworth.
There was the X97 between Seaburn and Newcastle. I remember going on this regularly and it was ran on those old buses that look a bit like a Pacer train.
With regards to the more recent X3 I caught that a few times from Newcastle and I remember it being completely full most times it left Eldon Square.
Thanks.
(19 Apr 2023, 7:46 am)Jonathan93102 wrote [ -> ]Yes I agree with the comments about Seaburn, the area has changed massively in the past 10 years and I honestly think it’s a much more interesting place now with the addition of the Stack.
I think the areas of Seaburn, Whitburn, Cleadon, East Boldon, West Boldon & Fellgate lost a lot of routes when the Metro starting running on the Sunderland extension towards South Hylton.
I was looking at some of the time timetables in the bygone era on this site and was amazed at some of the routes pre 2002.
The 558 ran morning through till night between Seaburn & Heworth.
There was the X97 between Seaburn and Newcastle. I remember going on this regularly and it was ran on those old buses that look a bit like a Pacer train.
With regards to the more recent X3 I caught that a few times from Newcastle and I remember it being completely full most times it left Eldon Square.
Thanks.
Did the X97 at one time run to Silks worth?
(19 Apr 2023, 8:30 am)Retro Nero wrote [ -> ]Did the X97 at one time run to Silks worth?
I’m not too sure about that, perhaps someone else will know? I did remember an X96 that I think came from Peterlee that went through the Boldon’s, there was also an X95 but I don’t remember where that went.
(19 Apr 2023, 8:30 am)Retro Nero wrote [ -> ]Did the X97 at one time run to Silks worth?
Redby Travel operated the X97 Silksworth-Sunderland-Newcastle, with Northern operated the X91 5 minutes in front of the X97
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(19 Apr 2023, 7:18 pm)Jonathan93102 wrote [ -> ]I’m not too sure about that, perhaps someone else will know? I did remember an X96 that I think came from Peterlee that went through the Boldon’s, there was also an X95 but I don’t remember where that went.
X95 was from Parkside (Seaham) to Newcastle.
(19 Apr 2023, 7:18 pm)Jonathan93102 wrote [ -> ]I’m not too sure about that, perhaps someone else will know? I did remember an X96 that I think came from Peterlee that went through the Boldon’s, there was also an X95 but I don’t remember where that went.
The X95, Parkside, Seaham, Ryhope, Park Lane, Chester Road upto Hastings Hill, Washington Concord bus station, Gateshead ,Newcastle Eldon Square.
X96, Seaham Harbour, Seaham coast road, Ryhope,Park Lane, Newcastle Road, Boldon, Gateshead, Newcastle Eldon Square. Originally the X4 went via Newcastle Road and Boldon before it was re routed via Washington Galleries.
Later in life x96 was extended to Peterlee from Seaham when service northern service 233 was withdrawn between Seaham and Peterlee.
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(20 Apr 2023, 6:18 am)cbma06 wrote [ -> ]The X95, Parkside, Seaham, Ryhope, Park Lane, Chester Road upto Hastings Hill, Washington Concord bus station, Gateshead ,Newcastle Eldon Square.
X96, Seaham Harbour, Seaham coast road, Ryhope,Park Lane, Newcastle Road, Boldon, Gateshead, Newcastle Eldon Square. Originally the X4 went via Newcastle Road and Boldon before it was re routed via Washington Galleries.
Later in life x96 was extended to Peterlee from Seaham when service northern service 233 was withdrawn between Seaham and Peterlee.
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Prior to the X96 at deregulation it was the X37 from Ryhope Green-Sunderland Park Lane- East and West Boldon-Newcastle.
I can't remember the X4 via Boldon after 1986 so must have been before dereg.
X95 always seemed the quickest express from. Park Lane to Newcastle.
(20 Apr 2023, 9:50 am)ifm001 wrote [ -> ]Prior to the X96 at deregulation it was the X37 from Ryhope Green-Sunderland Park Lane- East and West Boldon-Newcastle.
I can't remember the X4 via Boldon after 1986 so must have been before dereg.
Yea well before dereg, does anybody know when Washington galleries was built, maybe the x4 was rerouted when the galleries opened maybe, as Washington Concord bus station was the main town centre a place to go in that era
I think the same as the originally X6 from Sunderland to Consett, used to take an hour from end to end, can’t do that these days even though it went straight along Chester road between Sunderland and Chester-le-street and later diverted to Washington galleries then diverted upto Langley park from Chester
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(20 Apr 2023, 10:50 am)idiot wrote [ -> ]X95 always seemed the quickest express from. Park Lane to Newcastle.
Yea, used to get it a lot from Grindon Mill to Newcastle as when it only stopped at Hastings Hill then Concord then Gateshead then 2 stops in Newcastle , from Park Lane only took about 45 minutes, I think the x96 was similar time aswell, X4 took an hour.
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There was the X92/X93 Newcastle-Murton in the 90's
The old x4 also served castletown .
Newcastle Rd and Boldon was served by the service 130 then quite a few years later came the introduction of the 131 serving Boldon Bank Top and Downhill between Newcastle and Sunderland
(20 Apr 2023, 12:11 pm)V514DFT wrote [ -> ]There was the X92/X93 Newcastle-Murton in the 90's
Originally when northern had the service it used to start from Horden area, I wonder if the service was originally set up as a miners service at the start.
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(20 Apr 2023, 12:30 pm)Retro Nero wrote [ -> ]The old x4 also served castletown .
Newcastle Rd and Boldon was served by the service 130 then quite a few years later came the introduction of the 131 serving Boldon Bank Top and Downhill between Newcastle and Sunderland
The Sunderland to Newcastle 130 was originally the 230 Newcastle-Sunderland-Hartlepool-Middlesbrough many decades ago, the service got cut and United took the Sunderland to Middlesbrough section (don’t know when the Hartlepool to Middlesbrough got cut), the Sunderland to Newcastle went to northern and eventually renumbered 130
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(19 Apr 2023, 7:25 pm)cbma06 wrote [ -> ]Redby Travel operated the X97 Silksworth-Sunderland-Newcastle, with Northern operated the X91 5 minutes in front of the X97
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See growing up in Silksworth all i can remember was the X90 to Ryhope-Newcastle was later extended to Seaham in Early 2000s mainly ran by Optare Spectras and the odd B10M Plaxton Verde, was the X91/97 Ran in the early 90s ?
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