(06 Apr 2016, 8:49 pm)Tom wrote That sounds like a canny idea - I might give that a go but sounds quite challenging especially if spares are allocated or something.


Sounds good also and I think I'd be using different buses every time so could do something like that if the timings work.

Yeah, that was part of the challenge.
I think I ended up on two odd-workings over the course of my day. Obviously that ruled out heading to places where those vehicles are a staple.

For obvious reasons, I didn't head out anywhere too exotic - such as Bellingham, as I knew the chances of getting back in to Hexham on a different vehicle type, would be slim.

(06 Apr 2016, 11:17 pm)BusLoverMum wrote It is about 8o minutes from city centre to town centre but yes, those seats are not kind to the tush.

There's a solo on at least one of the boards, most days, lately, but I haven't sampled one, yet.

Yeah couldn't stand that long on a E200 like. Might do it to Wingate or somewhere.

(07 Apr 2016, 7:04 am)Andreos1 wrote Yeah, that was part of the challenge.
I think I ended up on two odd-workings over the course of my day. Obviously that ruled out heading to places where those vehicles are a staple.

For obvious reasons, I didn't head out anywhere too exotic - such as Bellingham, as I knew the chances of getting back in to Hexham on a different vehicle type, would be slim.

Aye I might give that a go as it sounds like it will be good - Might do it across all operators rather than just GNE though.

Next explorer trip I do will be focussing on Stagecoach's operation, mostly in Newcastle but possibly South Shields and/or Sunderland too. Would like to try the X34 as I've never been on it before!

Went out yesterday (Thursday) to Durham to see the Arriva Frequenta 64 they had in the Marketplace. Route as follows as times on tickets display.

10:16 10B Prudhoe, Front Street - Newcastle, Eldon Square Bus Station (GNE 6074)

Didn't have time to stop for photos here due to The Castles Express being at its stop when entering the bus station, so I just went straight onto it.

11:09 X21, Newcastle, Eldon Square Bus Station - Durham Bus Station (GNE 6306)

Got to Durham and went to CeX to get an iPhone case I wanted, then proceeded to the Marketplace arriving at approx 12:12pm and got photos of bus, going back to the bus station after getting some shopping in M&S after this for around 12:30 and got some photos at the bus station while waiting for the 15 to Consett.

13:00 15, Durham Bus Station - Consett Bus Station (GNE 6013).

This journey took longer than expected due to an RTC by Stony Heap turn off on the A691, arriving in Consett at around 3pm after attempting to turn around getting stuck in a grass verge and was pulled out by a JCB and also had to wait for police to move their vehicles so the bus could go back towards Lanchester to Consett via Maiden Law bank which the President I was on struggled to get up. I intended to return home via Hexham, but I didn't realise that the 689 only runs once a day from Consett as didn't check before leaving home. So this leads to:

15:04 16, Consett Bus Station - Stanley Bus Station. (GNE 5286)

Stood around Stanley for a while as I wanted to sample the OmniDekkas to go to the MetroCentre and got some photos here.

15:58 6, Stanley Bus Station - MetroCentre Transport Interchange (GNE 6128)

I was going to get the train home from MetroCentre but arrived there just before 5pm so by the time I got to the lifts above the platform the train departed so resorted to plan B.

17:12 10B, MetroCentre Transport Interchange - Prudhoe Front Street ( GNE 6076)










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Today was OK but had an annoyment to it

09:49 9. 5249 Sunderland interchange to north shields town center.
11:16 80. 674. North shields Rudyard street to billy mill avenue
11:25. 80. 673. Billy mill avenue to north shields Albion road west
11:55. 306. 4662. North shields to whitley bay town center
12:15. 57a. 1581. Whitley bay to monkseaton metro
12:52 309. 6101. Whitley bay to blyth bus station
14:08. 1. 1767. Blyth bus station to blyth retail park
15:00. 2. 1771. Blyth retail park to blyth town center
15:35. 308 7801. Blyth bus stn to whitley bay shops
16;00. 51. 2870. Whitley bay to newcastle haymarket
17:15. X36. 5209. Market street to sunderland interchange.
18;42. 16. 28021. Fawcett street to home
Today got new rides on 673/1581/1771 now ive ridden all the current mpds in the fleet

(08 Apr 2016, 11:17 pm)biglugs@yahoo.com wrote Today was OK but had an annoyment to it

09:49     9. 5249 Sunderland interchange to north shields town center.
11:16   80.  674. North shields Rudyard street to billy mill avenue
11:25.   80.  673. Billy mill avenue to north shields Albion road west
11:55.   306.  4662. North shields to whitley bay town center
12:15. 57a.  1581. Whitley bay to monkseaton metro
12:52 309.   6101.  Whitley bay to blyth bus station
14:08.  1.   1767. Blyth bus station to blyth retail park
15:00.  2.    1771. Blyth retail park to blyth town center
15:35.  308 7801. Blyth bus stn to whitley bay shops
16;00.   51. 2870.  Whitley bay to newcastle haymarket
17:15. X36. 5209. Market street to sunderland interchange.
18;42. 16.  28021.  Fawcett street to home
Today got new rides on 673/1581/1771  now ive ridden all the current mpds in the fleet

A good day out, notice you spent a bit of time at Blyth Retail Park, did you visit Phoenix's garage on Albion way? They normally have the 4 deckers parked up there during school holidays.

Charles

(09 Apr 2016, 8:58 am)Charles41 wrote A good day out, notice you spent a bit of time at Blyth Retail Park, did you visit Phoenix's garage on Albion way? They normally have the 4 deckers parked up there during school holidays.

Charles

Well I passed it and they had 2 alxs in a b10m a few solos and minibuses

Today I didn't plan to venture but had free time
10:50. E2. 27730 Seaburn metro to Sunderland interchange
11:10. 20. 6034. Sunderland interchange to Houghton le spring
11:35. X1'. 6049. Houghton me spring to hetton interchange
1203. 265. 654 Hetton le hole. To new seaham mill inn
12:30. 238. 560 New seaham mill inn to hougton le spring
12:50. 20. 6034. Hougton le spring to sunderland interchange.
14:05. 18. 39729. John street to Grindon to seaburn morrisons
1525. E2. 36470. Seaburn morrisons. To wheatsheaf
1540. X36. 4925. Wheatsheaf. To downhill ternimus to wheatsheaf
16;19. 20. 5216. Wheatsheaf to fullwell grange
Today began on 27730 this was a nice way to begin the day but i hoped 27723 or 27724 we arrived into park lane and i observed what was about to depart.
I seen 4937 on service 60 got a picture then observed 6034 arrive on the 20 took this oppurtunity to ride it i was very pleased at how 6034 preformed plenty of revs.
Next to ride was 6049 pretty pleased and it had the new nsa working.
At hetton i walked down to a part of easington lane where i found the 202 wasnt there so walked back to hetton got 654 my stalker on the 265 found it had the new nsas working.
At the mill inn i got 560 performed ok no problems with this.
Next was 6034 i was pleased as i couldnt bare a solar this coped ok it is nice 6034 was out today.
I then had a wander before escaping onto 39729 this bus was ok enjoyed my hour on this we got some speeds in.
36470 very pleased as we thrashed out of seaburn
I alighted at wheatsheaf to take a ride on 4925 this was a beast no actual problems but we roared along some roads.
I stayed on back i pretty much enjoyed the journey back as no body got on no wonder the x36 is being cut.
5216 a pretty average journey just short i very much enjoyed today hope to visit hartlepool next time

I'm not a huge fan of reviews, but here is one of my two outings from my week off over Easter. I'll try and get the second part up tomorrow.

Tuesday 29th March 2016 - Harrogate, Leeds and York
X1A - Washington to Eldon Square - Go North East 6006
10A - Eldon Square to Central Station - Go North East 6083
1E05 - Newcastle to York - Virgin Trains 91106
2C21 - York to Harrogate - Northern Rail 150144
36 - Harrogate to Leeds - Transdev 3622
Zap - Leeds to York - Transdev 3608
1N19 - York to Newcastle - Virgin Trains 91104
X1 - Newcastle to Washington - Go North East 6040

I'd decided to head off out on a North East Round Robin ticket, with the aim of trying out Transdev's latest offering on the 36, and also the CityZap between Leeds and York. I've never used the 36 with it's previous stock, and with such the hype about the Gemini 3s, I thought now is the perfect opportunity to.

I'd started off from Washington, and went for the X1A over to Eldon Square. Fortunately the newly branded 6006 was the vehicle of choice. I've used this X1A quite a bit lately, and I was surprised how quiet the journey was through to Newcastle. It's usually full of commuters and stuck in traffic, but the Easter week certainly made the difference. Once we'd arrived at Eldon Square, the driver had decided to use the layover point by the taxi rank, so I luckily managed a photo of 6006 as my first of the day. A quick ride to Central Station on 6083 followed.

After arriving at the station, I popped along to the ticket office to purchase a North East round robin ticket. I found the station ticket office staff to be very helpful, and it was certainly a pleasant experience. I can't remember the last time I used an actual ticket office, with everyone being pushed towards online methods nowadays.

A short wait at the station, and I was ready to use my North East round robin. The first train of the day was 1E05 to York. I was pleased when I saw an electric set pulling in to the platform, given that this working is booked HST. The train itself was really busy, and the fact that Virgin Trains had pulled seat reservations, was causing complete havoc on board. Headphones in, and a nice short journey to York.

On arriving into York, I could see two sets of 150s on the platform I needed, so I headed straight over to them. 150144 was waiting for me on the front set, and we were shortly off towards Harrogate. I didn't find the class 150 unit to be to bad at all really. It was certainly comfortable enough for a short journey, and there must have been only a handful of passengers at most.

I soon arrived in a very drizzly and gloomy Harrogate. Or at least drizzly until I stepped off the train, at which point it started chucking it down. Thankfully this only lasted for a couple of minutes, and then I made my way across the car park towards the bus station. This was my first visit to Harrogate bus station, and it's not a bad little setup to be honest. There was plenty of traffic coming in and out of it, and a good selection of vehicles too. Much like the North East, it's full of colourful buses, but in the form of Transdev.

After spending an hour or so in Harrogate, I decided to head off for the 36 to Leeds. I'd already spotted the Gemini 3 pulling in, so at least I had what I was there for. I'd queried fares when boarding, and I was a bit surprised that the driver and a colleague that was standing there, didn't appear to have much knowledge of the tickets, stating that "they've changed them all lately". Without wanting to hold up the bus, I decided to just go for a Transdev tripper, knowing I could at least use it on the Cityzap too (despite being told it wouldn't be valid?!).

Ticket sorted, and I took my first glances onboard a 36 branded Gemini 3. The lower deck seating consisted of Civic v3 seating, which you'd expect to see in a North East bus, but it looked like proper leather. At the very rear, you had high back leather coaching seating, which is the same as what I'd soon find upstairs. The decor of the bus was very smart, finished with wood effect flooring too.

I'd quickly glanced around for the library that was spoken about, and was a bit disappointed to see that it was only a single parcel shelf located above the wheel luggage rack. There must have only been a couple of books at most. A disappointing gimmick which somewhat reminded me of the Commuter Class X90 newspapers of years gone by.

Once upstairs, I sat a couple rows back, and instantly felt the comfort of the leather coach seating. Finally a high back seat that is suitable for someone over 5ft tall, and I can actually make use of the headrest. Once sat back, I noticed the USB socket in the chair in front. Unfortunately there were no AC sockets to complement the USB, so I had to make do with a bit of USB charge... I managed about 2% charge in a 50 minute journey, with power saving mode on, and not using the handset for 45 minutes of the journey. I had briefly used the handset for 5, but only to test the WiFi. I found it connected straight away, and seemed to be quick enough.

The journey to Leeds itself was a very pleasant one, and I'd recommend the route to anyone. It's a really scenic route from the upper deck, and I can't wait to do it again. Unfortunately it wasn't the best day for sunshine, but I bet the glazed roof that Transdev have opted for in their Gemini 3s, makes the difference. The bus handled the route with ease, and it made for a really smooth journey. Very little in the way of bumps and shakes, but I thought that the seating made the difference there. The next stop announcements were also done well. I hear it's voiced by a local radio presenter, but it feels professional and in a way where it doesn't become repetitive.

Arriving at Leeds bus station for the very first time, I'd decided to look around and see what was about. I'd found a nice little spot to one end of the station, and from here I could see exactly what was coming and going. I found the bus station itself worked really well, and there was no congestion at all. There was a good selection of buses from Transdev, First and Arriva. The odd Stagecoach service also arrived whilst I was there. After about an hour, I decided to pop in for a sandwich and then wait for the Cityzap over to York. I'd previously been tipped off about going for this particular departure by another enthusiast, as he had said he'd only seen the two Cityzap branded vehicles out today. Sure enough, 3608 pulled up.

On boarding the Cityzap, I showed my ticket, and had time for a quick look both down and upstairs, as there wasn't many people waiting to board. I found the bus looked a bit shabby to be honest, and that the leather seats had seen better days. The mismatch of seat colours really didn't do anything for me either. Similar to the 36, the Cityzap was fitted with Civic v3 seating downstairs, with a more premium coach seating upstairs. I opted for the front seats upstairs, and again found a USB charger for my phone. The journey to York wasn't bad at all really, and the Volvo B7TL/Wright Gemini 2s really performed well on route. Despite the heavy A road sections, there was plenty of power in the Volvo engine to maintain a good speed, without sounding troubled. I opted to remain onboard until we reached York Station, where I alighted.

As soon as I got to York, I could see that it was about to rain, so decided to dive into the station for cover. I had needed to collect some tickets for future trips, so I made use of the TVMs at York to do so. This proved to be a good decision, as I could hear the noise of what turned out to be a thunderstorm, lashing off the station roof. I waited under cover for it to clear up, and then headed outside the front for a couple of photos.

A short time later, and in order to not make too long of a day of it, I headed in for a train North. Unfortunately there had been an incident on the ECML, so everything seemed to be running to pot. This of course not helped by the station management at York, who had taken it upon themselves to chop and change platforms at will, sending masses of passengers around looking confused. I decided to bide my time on platform 9, and caught a late running 91 towards Newcastle - 91104 being the loco of choice this time. The train was again fairly busy, and I took a seat at the back of Coach E for the short journey North.

A quick walk over to the High Level Bridge, and I had a short wait for my last bus of the day towards Washington. This turned out to be 6040, which I can only describe as having seen better days. The bus seemed to be very busy upstairs and down, but I managed to grab the single seat under the stairs. The sooner I got off this bus the better really.

So in summary - I highly recommend a ride out of the 36, but to also see past some of the gimmicks associated with it. I do think that Transdev have done well with this offering, but when they've invested so much in premium features on board, I feel they could have done better than skimp on the AC sockets. Perhaps some knowledge of ticketing would also be useful. The Cityzap is also worth a look, but I do think the interior could do with a bit of attention.

Tickets used:

• Buzzfare: Purple Zone - £4.85
  
• North East Round Robin - £47.50
  
• Transdev DayTripper - £9.00
  

Hope you've enjoyed the read.

Yesterday I thought I'd have a bit jolly over to Glasgow and play around on their buses and trains...
Drove up to Beattock, a village halfway on the M74 between Glasgow and Carlisle where the Stagecoach Western X74 joins the motorway from Dumfries.

Saturday 9th April 2016
54259 0705 X74 Beattock School to Glasgow Buchanan Bus Station 0844
318257 318270 0927 Glasgow Central to Partick 0936
330429 334040 0938 Partick to Dumbarton Central
67728 1010 1A Dumbarton High Street to Glasgow Argyle Street 1120
32989 1125 21 Glasgow Argyle Street to Rutherglen Main Street 1146
63225 1229 267 Rutherglen Main Street to Glasgow St George's Square 1245
170478 170475 1301 Glasgow Queen Street LL to Croy (via Springburn and Cowlairs)
KU52YKC (Canavan Travel) 1344 43 Croy Rail Station to Cumbernauld 1351
54110 1403 X26 Cumbernauld to Glasgow Buchanan Bus Station 1423
67*** 1430 77 Glasgow Buchanan Bus Station to QEU Hospital
69040 1513 34A QEU Hospital to Mount Florida
314208 1602 Mount Florida to Glasgow Central via Cathcart
114 206 110 1637 3 St Enoch to Buchanan Galleries via Partick
170459 1751 Lenzie to Glasgow Queen Street LL 1817
33978HB 1718 X87 Glasgow Buchanan Bus Station to Lenzie 1733
170459 1751 Lenzie to Glasgow Queen Street LL  1817
334003 334007 1825 Glasgow Queen Street LL to Milngavie
320310 320321 1908 Milngavie to Partick 1927
334028 1930 Partick to Glasgow Queen Street LL 1936
54261 2015 X74 Glasgow Buchanan Bus Station to Beattock School

RailMiles Link

Start off with a decent and sedate journey on the X74 north. Still adore these coaches. Wifi worked well as did the power charge points. Hardly made a sound cruising along the motorway! Got to Glasgow and was stuck for choice on what to do first. Was wanting to aim for north of the Clyde but the 1/1A/1B stops at the other end of the city centre to Buchanan Bus Station. Walked to Central (incidentally where the bus leaves from) and got the train up to bus back.

Ended up walking the wrong way out Dumbarton Central station down a creepy back alley; but eventually found the high street. Immediately seen a Volvo B10BLE on a local run but I'd already missed it. Gave a quick run to catch my 1A to Glasgow - a route which I thought was pretty much express, but isn't!
Got to Argyle Street and awaited the late running 2 for Bailieston however that was a no-show. Instead went for the President that turned up on a 21. Took this to Rutherglen and headed to the Wetherspoons for some lunch and a pint. Lovely fish and chips with a pint of Strongbow Dark Fruits.

Walked out and had just missed a Wright Solar on the 7; a route I wanted to do to get back to Glasgow. Then turned up a Streetlite (a very full one at that) on the 267 Hamilton - Glasgow. Let this one go as I'd be standing. Seemed to be running in pairs as the next one was just behind, a puzzled driver asked why I didn't get on the one in front, to which I replied it was full!

Alighted at St George's Square and walked up to Queen Street to try and see the engineering works and the general situation with High Level being closed. Silly pointless one-way system which means you can't get onto Platform 8 from the 'normal' low level entrance which resulted in me missing a pair of 156s on an Alloa service, so I waited for a pair of 170s on an Edinburgh. Took these over to Croy for a booked +4 connection back to Glasgow, however it was soon announced my return train was cancelled due to a 'signalling failure' (a set of points failing at Hyndland). Instead of being shuttled on a RRB I took the service 43 (operated by Canavan Travel) which turned up an ex-London MPD. Still had the bay for where the rear doors used to be but nothing was inside it; bit of waste! Decent bus on a not too bad route until you get to Cumbernauld about 10-15 minutes later.

What a hell hole! The bus station is part of the shopping centre (if you can call it that). To cross to the other side of the road you have to go two floors up on horrible rackety lifts. The whole place is concrete and I've never liked Cumbernauld before. Defo won't be going back if I can help it. Boarded a Plaxton Elite on the X26 from Leven, close ish to Aberdeen. Got back to Glasgow Buchanan Bus Station where I tried my luck using my SPT Daytripper on the 500 Airport Express but wasn't allowed. So I boarded the Hospital Connect 77; never had chance to get the fleet number and totally forgot to when I alighted. Got this to Queen Elizabeth University after crossing the Clyde Tunnel. Good little route with nice E300s.

Here I then boarded a Scania on the 34A to Mount Florida where I alighted to get the train back to Glasgow Central, however once I got onto the platform, an announcement said my train was cancelled - again! (This time due to a door fault at Whitecraigs, on the Neilston branch). Luckily the Cathcart Circle has trains every 15 minutes or so in both directions both going to Glasgow. I got a 314 from the other platform into Glasgow the long way round.
From here I was tempted to milk the Daytripper a bit and get an Astromega to Ayr on the X77, one of my favourite Stagecoach Western routes. I boarded the Subway at St Enoch and went the long way round to Buchanan Galleries (on the Inner line, it's one stop but I caught the Outer line for a bit extra run). Went to Sainsbury's to abuse a meal deal and walked to Buchanan Bus Station once again.
I had just missed an X77 so I decided I'd give a First E400MMC a go on the X87 to Lenzie for the train back in. Decent bus at speed on the motorway and was there in comfort in no time at all. Walked to Lenzie station and awaited my train.

170459 took me back in via Springburn again to the Low Level platforms. By this time it was too late to go to Ayr so I stayed local until my X74 at 2015. Boarded the next train in the Low Level platforms which was 334003 and 007 to Milngavie. There were no buses back from here and the 334s returned to Yoker depot ECS so I had a bit of a wait to get back!
Pair of 320s soon rolled in which I boarded and was joined by a load of rowdy drunks later on at Bearsden. Stopped on these to Partick (the 320s continued via Glasgow Central) and got the next train (via Glasgow Queen Street) which was another 334. Walked up to the bus station and watched events including seeing the Megabus Gold Astromega arrive before working a 520 to London.

Returned on my X74 and watched the beautiful sunset from the very front seats where I also had a bit kip (or tried to after the woman opposite had stopped tapping her feet loudly for no reason and managed to polish off a whole big bag of Kettle Chips in about 10 minutes).

Yesterday BEFORE I was ill I went on an outing

Q3 12:20 Home
12:48 Market Street- GNE 8315

58 12:55 Market Street
13:34 Heworth-

M12 13:42 Heworth
13:57 Gateshead

1 14:10 Gateshead
14:34 Wrekenton

23 14:39 Wrekenton
14:54 Barley Mow Estate

X22 15:01 Barley Mow
15:19 Metrocentre

Great reviews from Adrian and Northern156. What has happened to the like button?

(11 Apr 2016, 1:30 pm)Charles41 wrote Great reviews from Adrian and Northern156. What has happened to the like button?

It was temporarily disabled due to the MyBB errors that users were experiencing.

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Yesterday I came back from a weekend away in Manchester. On the Sunday I had a spot of bus bashing round the area.

1030 Manchester Piccadilly Rail Station - Stockport Rail Station (Arriva Trains Wales: 175103)
Managed to get here without getting lost this time! For today's outing I decided to follow an idea forum user James101 posted on here when I was asking for suggestions, although a few alterations had to be made. I had a few operator choices to reach Stockport, I decided to catch Arriva Trains Wales for this journey as I hadn't yet sampled their efforts nor had I sampled a Class 175 so I thought this was a good call, pretty pleasant journey, the conductor on this journey seemed very happy and friendly. Was annoyed a few minutes into this journey when I saw one of the new liveried TransPennine Express Class 185's heading into Piccadilly, damn! I then departed to head to my next stop which was Stockport Bus Station unfortunately there was two exits for the rail station both with ticket barriers and I chose the wrong exit! This caused some problems due to works going on in the area and this got me lost and frustrated and Google Maps was not much use as I'm sure it was trying to get me to go through the station which I couldn't do, eventually after a series of wrong turns and swearing I made it to the bus station.

1145 23A Stockport Bus Station - Trafford Centre Bus Station (Stagecoach Manchester: 12191)
This was a Enviro 400 Hybrid. This turned up about 5 minutes late, as I boarded the driver asked if I was heading to the Trafford Centre and advised me that the bus was being diverted owing to road closures associated with the Manchester Marathon, I sat at the front seat upstairs. The first half of the journey followed quite a nice route with a fair bit of shrubbery and a few nice looking houses. The second half of the journey which was the diversion route was a bit boring as the Hybrid seemed a big sluggish on the motorway (M60 I think?) Although the views weren't too bad. After around an hour on this I eventually arrived at the Trafford Centre Bus Station. Got some photos within around the half hour I was here, no Five Guys for lunch today though!

1320 126 Trafford Centre Bus Station - Leigh Bus Station (Diamond North West: 33008)
About 5 minutes late my next bus arrived in the form of Diamond North West's Mercedes Citaro BJ11UWN. Thought this looked pretty smart inside, would argue it looks smarter than the Go North East examples as it has plastic seat backings on the seats rather than just all-over fabric, although the roof was shaking a bit and the weather was reasonably nice today with the sun being out it was quite pleasant outside which was nice however it was not pleasant on a Citaro with the heating cranked right up and I was unable to open any of the windows on this bus, I removed my Vans holdie and hung it on the backwards facing seat in front of me but quite frankly it was so warm on here I would have probably been more comfortable if I was riding this bus naked! I was chatting to an enthusiast friend on Facebook during this journey expressing my displeasures.

Leigh Bus Station
Spent around 50 minutes in Leigh Bus Station getting photos here although I did run into the nearby Tesco at one point. When I returned to the bus station a young lad approached me asking if I was an enthusiast and I said that I was and we got chatting about some bus things mainly about the new Vantage services and he asked if I had been on it yet and I said I hadn't yet but was going to shortly, he seemed surprised when I said I was from County Durham, believe the response was bloody hell! He then headed for his bus. After this two old people turned up and started taking photos of the bus station, no idea why but it made me feel a little embarrassed as I was also there with my camera although mine was better!

1435 V1 Leigh Bus Station - Holden Road (First Manchester: 39242)
Boarded this and sat at a table seat, so I could spread my legs out. I intended to get off at at least one of the stops along the Leigh Guided Busway and I opted for the Holden Road stop where I got a photo of 39244 heading towards Leigh: https://flic.kr/p/FLo1p7

1512 V1 Holden Road - Astley Street (First Manchester: 39249)
Another short trip on Vantage, I feel the timetable on this service is rather ambitious, it seems to be timetabled to take 2 minutes to get from Leigh Bus Station to Holden Road, no chance! Saw another Vantage at the Astley Street stop heading in the opposite direction so alighted here. Waited for a photo of First service 33 but it didn't show although I was pleased I stood on the main road as I saw ex Capital City then later First's Leyland Olympian/Northern Counties K888BFG which is now belongs to Cheeky Chimps as a children's party bus.

1531 V2 Astley Street - Manchester Piccadilly (First Manchester: 39254)
Decided I was now sick of jumping on/off this service so just ride this straight through to Manchester to give me more chance to form an opinion of these buses, as I said before with the Transdev 36 Gemini's I love the big bulky seats these have upstairs and they seem to have a pretty smooth ride. Fortunately this was a pretty quiet journey so I got the table seat again so I could stretch my legs and make myself at home and even took my shoes off, my excuse for that was the fact that when I was out the previous day I got soaked and my jeans and the insides of my shoes were still wet when I left the hotel on this outing, even though I tried drying them out with the hairdryer in my hotel room, hoodie was soaked as well although I bought a new Vans hoodie the previous day so I just wore that instead. Once I got to Salford I got the upstairs to myself so got some upstairs interior shots.

After my journey on the V2 back to Manchester I got some photos around different parts within Manchester City Centre.

Well I enjoyed sampling some buses in a different area and getting photos in the area over the whole weekend. I'd like to thank James101 for giving me ideas for which routes I should do. Finally thanks to everyone who has read this review. Over the next week or so I'll be uploading the photos from Manchester to my Flickr.

My next planned out may be Berwick, Wooler, Alnwick, Amble and Morpeth, possibly on Saturday? We'll see...

(12 Apr 2016, 3:18 pm)Jimmi wrote Yesterday I came back from a weekend away in Manchester. On the Sunday I had a spot of bus bashing round the area.

1030 Manchester Piccadilly Rail Station - Stockport Rail Station (Arriva Trains Wales: 175103)
Managed to get here without getting lost this time! For today's outing I decided to follow an idea forum user James101 posted on here when I was asking for suggestions, although a few alterations had to be made. I had a few operator choices to reach Stockport, I decided to catch Arriva Trains Wales for this journey as I hadn't yet sampled their efforts nor had I sampled a Class 175 so I thought this was a good call, pretty pleasant journey, the conductor on this journey seemed very happy and friendly. Was annoyed a few minutes into this journey when I saw one of the new liveried TransPennine Express Class 185's heading into Piccadilly, damn! I then departed to head to my next stop which was Stockport Bus Station unfortunately there was two exits for the rail station both with ticket barriers and I chose the wrong exit! This caused some problems due to works going on in the area and this got me lost and frustrated and Google Maps was not much use as I'm sure it was trying to get me to go through the station which I couldn't do, eventually after a series of wrong turns and swearing I made it to the bus station.

1145 23A Stockport Bus Station - Trafford Centre Bus Station (Stagecoach Manchester: 12191)
This was a Enviro 400 Hybrid. This turned up about 5 minutes late, as I boarded the driver asked if I was heading to the Trafford Centre and advised me that the bus was being diverted owing to road closures associated with the Manchester Marathon, I sat at the front seat upstairs. The first half of the journey followed quite a nice route with a fair bit of shrubbery and a few nice looking houses. The second half of the journey which was the diversion route was a bit boring as the Hybrid seemed a big sluggish on the motorway (M60 I think?) Although the views weren't too bad. After around an hour on this I eventually arrived at the Trafford Centre Bus Station. Got some photos within around the half hour I was here, no Five Guys for lunch today though!

1320 126 Trafford Centre Bus Station - Leigh Bus Station (Diamond North West: 33008)
About 5 minutes late my next bus arrived in the form of Diamond North West's Mercedes Citaro BJ11UWN. Thought this looked pretty smart inside, would argue it looks smarter than the Go North East examples as it has plastic seat backings on the seats rather than just all-over fabric, although the roof was shaking a bit and the weather was reasonably nice today with the sun being out it was quite pleasant outside which was nice however it was not pleasant on a Citaro with the heating cranked right up and I was unable to open any of the windows on this bus, I removed my Vans holdie and hung it on the backwards facing seat in front of me but quite frankly it was so warm on here I would have probably been more comfortable if I was riding this bus naked! I was chatting to an enthusiast friend on Facebook during this journey expressing my displeasures.

Leigh Bus Station
Spent around 50 minutes in Leigh Bus Station getting photos here although I did run into the nearby Tesco at one point. When I returned to the bus station a young lad approached me asking if I was an enthusiast and I said that I was and we got chatting about some bus things mainly about the new Vantage services and he asked if I had been on it yet and I said I hadn't yet but was going to shortly, he seemed surprised when I said I was from County Durham, believe the response was bloody hell! He then headed for his bus. After this two old people turned up and started taking photos of the bus station, no idea why but it made me feel a little embarrassed as I was also there with my camera although mine was better!

1435 V1 Leigh Bus Station - Holden Road (First Manchester: 39242)
Boarded this and sat at a table seat, so I could spread my legs out. I intended to get off at at least one of the stops along the Leigh Guided Busway and I opted for the Holden Road stop where I got a photo of 39244 heading towards Leigh: https://flic.kr/p/FLo1p7

1512 V1 Holden Road - Astley Street (First Manchester: 39249)
Another short trip on Vantage, I feel the timetable on this service is rather ambitious, it seems to be timetabled to take 2 minutes to get from Leigh Bus Station to Holden Road, no chance! Saw another Vantage at the Astley Street stop heading in the opposite direction so alighted here. Waited for a photo of First service 33 but it didn't show although I was pleased I stood on the main road as I saw ex Capital City then later First's Leyland Olympian/Northern Counties K888BFG which is now belongs to Cheeky Chimps as a children's party bus.

1531 V2 Astley Street - Manchester Piccadilly (First Manchester: 39254)
Decided I was now sick of jumping on/off this service so just ride this straight through to Manchester to give me more chance to form an opinion of these buses, as I said before with the Transdev 36 Gemini's I love the big bulky seats these have upstairs and they seem to have a pretty smooth ride. Fortunately this was a pretty quiet journey so I got the table seat again so I could stretch my legs and make myself at home and even took my shoes off, my excuse for that was the fact that when I was out the previous day I got soaked and my jeans and the insides of my shoes were still wet when I left the hotel on this outing, even though I tried drying them out with the hairdryer in my hotel room, hoodie was soaked as well although I bought a new Vans hoodie the previous day so I just wore that instead. Once I got to Salford I got the upstairs to myself so got some upstairs interior shots.

After my journey on the V2 back to Manchester I got some photos around different parts within Manchester City Centre.

Well I enjoyed sampling some buses in a different area and getting photos in the area over the whole weekend. I'd like to thank James101 for giving me ideas for which routes I should do. Finally thanks to everyone who has read this review. Over the next week or so I'll be uploading the photos from Manchester to my Flickr.

My next planned out may be Berwick, Wooler, Alnwick, Amble and Morpeth, possibly on Saturday? We'll see...

Good review Jimmi

I've been up to Wooler on the Glen Valley Tours/Travelsure services (can't remember the number but there was a Glen Valley Solo SR on the Berwick-Wooler section and a Travelsure Nimbus dart on the Wooler-Alnwick section),  and they connected nicely at Wooler and they are both canny routes - not much at Wooler though. Before that I got the 418 to Belford which is deffo worth trying and I had and had a very lucky connection to the X15 to Berwick.

(12 Apr 2016, 3:35 pm)Tom wrote Good review Jimmi

I've been up to Wooler on the Glen Valley Tours/Travelsure services (can't remember the number but there was a Glen Valley Solo SR on the Berwick-Wooler section and a Travelsure Nimbus dart on the Wooler-Alnwick section),  and they connected nicely at Wooler and they are both canny routes - not much at Wooler though. Before that I got the 418 to Belford which is deffo worth trying and I had and had a very lucky connection to the X15 to Berwick.

Thanks Tom!

This is may be my plan for my trip:
0705 7 Newton Aycliffe - Durham (0745)
0824 VTEC Durham - Berwick (0931)
1110 267 Wooler Bus Station (1213)
1300 473 Alnwick Bus Station (1345)
1419 472 Amble Fourways (1458)
1534 X18 Morpeth Bus Station (1618)
Then head home to Newton Aycliffe via Newcastle and Durham.

Might be next Saturday now as showers look to be forecast, I'll decide on Friday.

(12 Apr 2016, 3:48 pm)Jimmi wrote Thanks Tom!

This is may be my plan for my trip:
0705 7 Newton Aycliffe - Durham (0745)
0824 VTEC Durham - Berwick (0931)
1110 267 Wooler Bus Station (1213)
1300 473 Alnwick Bus Station (1345)
1419 472 Amble Fourways (1458)
1534 X18 Morpeth Bus Station (1618)
Then head home to Newton Aycliffe via Newcastle and Durham.

Might be next Saturday now as showers look to be forecast, I'll decide on Friday.

Quite a long time in Wooler. I only had about 10 mins wait I think and there's not much at all there.

(12 Apr 2016, 4:53 pm)Tom wrote Quite a long time in Wooler. I only had about 10 mins wait I think and there's not much at all there.

It is but it should allow me enough time to get some lunch there. This is what is due to pass through the locations on that outing:

BUSES IN WOOLER
1220 267 departs for Berwick.
1240 473 departs for Wooler, High Fair.
1252 464 departs for Wooler, High Fair.
1300 464 departs for Berwick.

BUSES IN ALNWICK
1355 473 departs for Wooler.
1402 418 departs for Belford.
1405 472 departs for Barresdale.
1415 15 departs for Thropton.

BUSES IN AMBLE
1459 X20 departs for Alnwick.
1500 472 departs for Barresdale.
1524 X18 departs for Berwick.

BUSES IN MORPETH
1623 X18 departs for Newcastle.
1625 710 departs for Kelso.

(12 Apr 2016, 4:56 pm)Jimmi wrote It is but it should allow me enough time to get some lunch there. This is what is due to pass through the locations on that outing:

BUSES IN WOOLER
1220 267 departs for Berwick.
1240 473 departs for Wooler, High Fair.
1252 464 departs for Wooler, High Fair.
1300 464 departs for Berwick.

BUSES IN ALNWICK
1355 473 departs for Wooler.
1402 418 departs for Belford.
1405 472 departs for Barresdale.
1415 15 departs for Thropton.

BUSES IN AMBLE
1459 X20 departs for Alnwick.
1500 472 departs for Barresdale.
1524 X18 departs for Berwick.

BUSES IN MORPETH
1623 X18 departs for Newcastle.
1625 710 departs for Kelso.

To be fair that isn't too bad - if they connect the 15 is a very nice ride so could get that to Rothbury or Thropton then the X14 back though explorers aren't valid on the 15.

(12 Apr 2016, 5:11 pm)Tom wrote To be fair that isn't too bad - if they connect the 15 is a very nice ride so could get that to Rothbury or Thropton then the X14 back though explorers aren't valid on the 15.

Thought about doing the 15 but decided that the plan I made has more photo opportunities. Thinking of getting the 15 in the summer and possibly do a round trip on service 16 as well which I think will be a nice trip.

For some strange reason I am hoping for a ride on Glen Valley Tours Optare Alero, possibly just for a novelty more than anything. Saw it on my last trip to Alnwick: https://flic.kr/p/CWUkeb

(12 Apr 2016, 3:48 pm)Jimmi wrote Thanks Tom!

This is may be my plan for my trip:
0705 7 Newton Aycliffe - Durham (0745)
0824 VTEC Durham - Berwick (0931)
1110 267 Wooler Bus Station (1213)
1300 473 Alnwick Bus Station (1345)
1419 472 Amble Fourways (1458)
1534 X18 Morpeth Bus Station (1618)
Then head home to Newton Aycliffe via Newcastle and Durham.

Might be next Saturday now as showers look to be forecast, I'll decide on Friday.

Suggestion:
Do some spotting and photographing in Morpeth and/or catch some/a local service (X16/33) and catch the direct 17:19 Crosscountry train direct to Durham.

I expressed yesterday to family that I needed a trip down home pretty soon, I'm missing a lot of my extended family and friends so in a few weeks time I will be making a trip to Tutbury for a weekend (Maybe a full week), and within this time I will purchase a ZigZag to travel on some TrentBarton services, and Arriva's using my staff card which I haven't done for a good few years.

I will report on how I find things in Derbyshire.

(12 Apr 2016, 6:08 pm)NK53 TKT wrote Suggestion:
Do some spotting and photographing in Morpeth and/or catch some/a local service (X16/33) and catch the direct 17:19 Crosscountry train direct to Durham.

Thanks for the suggestion but I'd prefer to just bus it back to Newcastle. If I'm feeling adventurous I may even get the 44 back to Newcastle!

(12 Apr 2016, 6:14 pm)LeeCalder wrote I expressed yesterday to family that I needed a trip down home pretty soon, I'm missing a lot of my extended family and friends so in a few weeks time I will be making a trip to Tutbury for a weekend (Maybe a full week), and within this time I will purchase a ZigZag to travel on some TrentBarton services, and Arriva's using my staff card which I haven't done for a good few years.

I will report on how I find things in Derbyshire.

I don't know if you saw James' review, the other week, but that's worth you checking out, if you haven't seen it yet.

A plan for later days
Metro seaburn to sunderland
X7 sunderland to seaham
265 seaham to hetton le hole
X35 hetton le hole to hartlepool
1 hartlepool to middlesbrough
X66 middlesbrough to darlington
Northern darlington to Saltburn
X3 saltburn to middlesbrough
X10 middlesbrough to heworth
558 heworth to seaburn

(12 Apr 2016, 7:29 pm)biglugs@yahoo.com wrote A plan for later days
Metro   seaburn to sunderland  
X7   sunderland to seaham
265   seaham  to hetton le hole
X35 hetton le hole to hartlepool
1  hartlepool to middlesbrough
X66  middlesbrough to darlington
Northern darlington to Saltburn
X3  saltburn to middlesbrough
X10 middlesbrough to heworth
558 heworth to seaburn

More sitting on one's backside than I'd cope with in a day, but would be a nice run out.

(12 Apr 2016, 3:18 pm)Jimmi wrote Yesterday I came back from a weekend away in Manchester. On the Sunday I had a spot of bus bashing round the area.

Sounds like a good day out. Obviously being a Sunday may have affected things but I can't imagine tfgm/Manchester taxpayers will be too happy about the Vantage carrying few passengers!
Odd to think that in 2012 that corridor had just one bus an hour on the old X34 and now there's eleven! (V1,V2 and Stagecoach's competing 34)

(12 Apr 2016, 11:32 pm)James101 wrote Sounds like a good day out. Obviously being a Sunday may have affected things but I can't imagine tfgm/Manchester taxpayers will be too happy about the Vantage carrying few passengers!
Odd to think that in 2012 that corridor had just one bus an hour on the old X34 and now there's eleven! (V1,V2 and Stagecoach's competing 34)

Although some things didn't go quite work out as planned, it was actually a good day out.

The passenger numbers on my V2 journey Into Manchester weren't massive but my two journeys on the V1 plus the journeys I saw heading in the opposite direction were pretty busy.

Slight error in the review, I talked to the young enthusiast then I went to Tesco Extra.

(13 Apr 2016, 7:08 am)Jimmi wrote Although some things didn't go quite work out as planned, it was actually a good day out.

The passenger numbers on my V2 journey Into Manchester weren't massive but my two journeys on the V1 plus the journeys I saw heading in the opposite direction were pretty busy.

Slight error in the review, I talked to the young enthusiast then I went to Tesco Extra.

Good review Jimmi, it's along time since I was last in Manchester. I remember spotting in Stockport when I was about 14.

If you're heading to Wooler check out the Glen Valley Garage, it's just off the main road and the 267 goes past it. I've been a few times and they were OK with me talking photos. Bit of an uphill walk back into the town centre though.

There's a CO-OP just along from the bus station in Wooler, but try the chip shop near the bus station if it's open. There's also an excellent old fashioned sweet shop just opposite the bus station.

Big Lugs - that's an adventure you have planned for the weekend. You are going to have stiff legs afterwards!

Good luck to you both.

Charles

Had a trip to Newcastle and back via Hexham today as I wanted an Apple Pencil for my new iPad Pro

13:58 10, Prudhoe Waterworld - Newcastle Clayton Street (GNE 6075)

Went to CeX for an Apple Pencil as they are cheaper than the Apple Store then M&S for some food shopping. I decided to return home via Hexham as I have developed a dislike for the journey between MetroCentre and Prudhoe. This leads to



15:10 X85, Newcastle Eldon Square Bus Station - Hexham Bus Station (GNE 5230)

This was running approximately 10 mins late by the time it pulled out of Eldon Square. Once out of Newcastle city limits and onto the A69 the driver floored it for the majority of the journey to Hexham, not sure what the Tynedale Xpress Solar's are limited to but it seemed fast as we overtook some cars and HGV's along the way. Got into Hexham at around 16:05 so I had time for some photos while waiting for a 10.



16:22 10, Hexham Bus Station - Prudhoe Waterworld (GNE 6075 again)

This was due at 16:22 according to the stop, but didn't pull up to the stop until 16:29 as it pulled in at around 16:20 and the driver parked up at the back and alighted with the new driver not getting on until around 16:28, it took about 35 minutes to get back to Prudhoe once it departed Hexham.


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