(23 Feb 2014, 8:36 pm)Michael wrote Which it already does...

But didnt know the 40A was still operated from SM.

I thought your list said X40, Pulse, S1 and Nexus 29..?

The 40A uses the same bus which is allocated to the 27X during the day.

(23 Feb 2014, 8:28 pm)tyresmoke wrote Ripping the heart out of the branded services at Saltmeadows?!

Lost me....Pulse operates out of Riverside

(23 Feb 2014, 8:39 pm)Dan wrote I thought your list said X40, Pulse, S1 and Nexus 29..?

The 40A uses the same bus which is allocated to the 27X during the day.

Ye but i also included the 40A.. which i didnt k ow operated from SM still

List i said was for services moving from SM to Riverside....

(23 Feb 2014, 8:44 pm)Michael wrote Ye but i also included the 40A.. which i didnt k ow operated from SM still

List i said was for services moving from SM to Riverside....

What did citaro5284's list say again?

(23 Feb 2014, 8:45 pm)Dan wrote What did citaro5284's list say again?

Im now confused....

(23 Feb 2014, 8:36 pm)Michael wrote Which it already does...

But didnt know the 40A was still operated from SM.

Yeah, therefore I wouldn't actually say that it fell under the 'Great Park and Ride' brand as it doesn't use branded artics and only uses an MPD or whatever they decide to put on it.

Why don't gne brand the buses in duhram which haven't got a brand the ok way r somthing like that

(23 Feb 2014, 6:08 pm)Marcus wrote I walked past Chester depot today and saw 4931 in the midst of the regular Sunday vehicles. It was still in a bad way, although it appeared to have a rear panel placed back on. It is rumored to be up and running again soon, but I can't exactly say it hasn't gone unnoticed. You see, the 50 has 6 branded vehicles for it, as you know, and most of the time before the reliable Omnicities started to arrive, I mean there were 3 Solars on and 3 Deckers on, so to speak. Those 6 Solars have to be amongst the worst within the entire fleet. From what you have observed, if you had to choose one vehicle from each depot that was by far the worst, what would you say?

Here is mine:
Chester - 4928
Crook - 6021
Stanley - 3814
Riverside - 5339
Peterlee - 4909 (although it's due to go into the reserve fleet)
Washington - 529
Percy Main - 3859
Deptford - 3981
Hexham - 8293

you joking Solars in my opinion are the best in the fleet they have always been one of my favourite buses i've been on 3859 on 9 and it is a powerhorse 6021 is powerful enough 3814 is a workhorse 5339 is ok never upsets me when am on it 4909 has a loud roar 3981 is a canny ride out 8293 lovely bus when i went on it once to Hexham took me 2 hours to get there best views and nice ride out i would say worse buses are SPDs and early renowns i kinda like 4928 nice solar 529 worse banger Saltmeadows worse bus now is 547 was 564

(24 Feb 2014, 12:31 am)Bazza Houston wrote you joking Solars in my opinion are the best in the fleet they have always been one of my favourite buses i've been on 3859 on 9 and it is a powerhorse 6021 is powerful enough 3814 is a workhorse 5339 is ok never upsets me when am on it 4909 has a loud roar 3981 is a canny ride out 8293 lovely bus when i went on it once to Hexham took me 2 hours to get there best views and nice ride out i would say worse buses are SPDs and early renowns i kinda like 4928 nice solar 529 worse banger Saltmeadows worse bus now is 547 was 564

Completely agree with Bazza! The SPDs are by far the worst buses in the fleet. Some of the earlier Renowns are in better condition than those. Not sure how you can say an Olympian is worse than the SPDs allocated to Stanley. The Solars are still powerful enough and although getting on they've still got life in them yet along with the cadets which, I think are fantastic buses. The 4 that were sent to Go South Coast in exchange for the 2 Citaros are still going strong.

(23 Feb 2014, 6:20 pm)CatsFast101 wrote I do:
theViking 9 - liking it back to Jarrow's Viking Centre etc.
DurhamConnect 13/14/15/15A - Just a basic brand, explains it self really provides localised links.
CrossCity 29/29A - Cross Sunderland route so hence the name.
CrusaderX 27X - If/when nexus bus solos become available, I thought one could be put into crusader livery with a few tweeks.
Go North East 38 - Problem with this one to me is East Durham is already associated with this service as the 238. However could be branded? Not sure what as?
thePebble 64 - Just plucked out the air a new name for Gateshead locals.
Lime 71 - Add it into Lime block. Similarish routes Chester/Great Lumley.
thePebble 95/96/96A - Just plucked out the air a new name for Gateshead locals.
Go North East 99 - 99 could be branded as it uses a regular allocation of 2 MPDs, don't know what it could be branded.
WashingtonStar M2/M3 - I don't really class these as local Washington routes due to their distances an destinations served, so I think another brand name could work.
WashingtonStar W5/W6 - Simple branding for the local Washington routes,
Go North East X3 - Scholar interworking and irregular timetables means branding not appropriate.
Sir Bobby Robson X25 - I'd suggest bringing back Sir Bobby Robson but Go North East don't seem keen on that idea. Maybe it be reworked a bit better? Or possibly a new brand completely.
West Durham Swift X30/X31/X70/X71 - nothing wrong with the brand worked well in my opinion.

All sound good to me, except I'm not sure about "Pebble", but I've always said most routes should be branded, with one or two branded spares for each route then red vehicles for emergencies and general work/scholars. Competent depot allocators should be able to cope.

I've not yet seen 5333 in service on the X7 - just 4906/07 so far.

3983 Broken down in High Chare, Chester le Street while doing this mornings 886 scholars. Still there under repair at 11.15.

(24 Feb 2014, 7:29 am)Greg in Weardale wrote All sound good to me, except I'm not sure about "Pebble", but I've always said most routes should be branded, with one or two branded spares for each route then red vehicles for emergencies and general work/scholars. Competent depot allocators should be able to cope.

A suitable name for the 64 could be the Dunston Rocket.

Out of interest why does The Red Arrows buses on the side of it's vehicles make no mention of Easington Lane

It says Hetton-Houghton-Washington Galleries-Gateshead-Newcastle



There any reason for this or is GNE to embarrassed to have links with The Lane(I would, it is a shithole)

(24 Feb 2014, 12:47 pm)GMitchelhill wrote A suitable name for the 64 could be the Dunston Rocket.

I'm not sure why they ditched the highwayman brand on 95/96. However I think something like Dunston Blues in style of Salisbury Reds the new name for Wilts & Dorset in Salisbury?

8239 is still going strong with Percy Main, currently on 17's, running 10 minutes late.

(24 Feb 2014, 12:31 am)Bazza Houston wrote you joking Solars in my opinion are the best in the fleet they have always been one of my favourite buses i've been on 3859 on 9 and it is a powerhorse 6021 is powerful enough 3814 is a workhorse 5339 is ok never upsets me when am on it 4909 has a loud roar 3981 is a canny ride out 8293 lovely bus when i went on it once to Hexham took me 2 hours to get there best views and nice ride out i would say worse buses are SPDs and early renowns i kinda like 4928 nice solar 529 worse banger Saltmeadows worse bus now is 547 was 564

Disagree entirely, this is worse than 8221, its more like a snail than a workhorse, try getting it on X30/X31 from Lanchester heading to Newcastle, you will sharp see what I mean. (going up Maiden Law bank)

(24 Feb 2014, 3:35 am)Coastliner700 wrote Completely agree with Bazza! The SPDs are by far the worst buses in the fleet. Some of the earlier Renowns are in better condition than those. Not sure how you can say an Olympian is worse than the SPDs allocated to Stanley. The Solars are still powerful enough and although getting on they've still got life in them yet along with the cadets which, I think are fantastic buses. The 4 that were sent to Go South Coast in exchange for the 2 Citaros are still going strong.

i've grown to love the Solar they have not let me down since they were bought new when i 1st rode one i thought this is one of my favourites besides olympians if lets just say i was getting 27 an SPD turned up and a Solar turned up in the space of 2 mins i would choose a Solar everytime no matter if its a Highwayman or a Loop even a Red Northern spare or red they still work strong in my opinion olympians are powerful still are strong when i have rode on them they are just belter to be on only thing that lets me down on them is the air con during the summer experienced that last summer on 44 Service some cadets have grown to me mainly 8253 cracking bus despite the seating some feel comfy to me

(24 Feb 2014, 6:14 pm)Bazza Houston wrote i've grown to love the Solar they have not let me down since they were bought new when i 1st rode one i thought this is one of my favourites besides olympians if lets just say i was getting 27 an SPD turned up and a Solar turned up in the space of 2 mins i would choose a Solar everytime no matter if its a Highwayman or a Loop even a Red Northern spare or red they still work strong in my opinion olympians are powerful still are strong when i have rode on them they are just belter to be on only thing that lets me down on them is the air con during the summer experienced that last summer on 44 Service some cadets have grown to me mainly 8253 cracking bus despite the seating some feel comfy to me

Fascinating Bazza!

(24 Feb 2014, 6:23 pm)Tom wrote Fascinating Bazza!

Hmmmm Where's that "Like" Button

(24 Feb 2014, 6:29 pm)NEBCD Malarkey wrote Hmmmm Where's that "Like" Button

Didn't know we charged extra for punctuation lol

(24 Feb 2014, 12:47 pm)GMitchelhill wrote A suitable name for the 64 could be the Dunston Rocket.

Would of been suitable if the Rocket was still there

(24 Feb 2014, 6:30 pm)NEBCD Malarkey wrote Would of been suitable if the Rocket was still there

Could still be suitable, as people will remember it. 'The Centurion' exists, and we aren't in Roman times

(24 Feb 2014, 6:30 pm)tyresmoke wrote Didn't know we charged extra for punctuation lol

the lol totally ruined that comment, really annoys me when people say that.

(24 Feb 2014, 6:32 pm)BJ10VUS wrote Could still be suitable, as people will remember it. 'The Centurion' exists, and we aren't in Roman times

That's true could say the same about the Crusader also

(24 Feb 2014, 6:32 pm)BJ10VUS wrote Could still be suitable, as people will remember it. 'The Centurion' exists, and we aren't in Roman times

The way the government is getting runned then it would go back to Roman times

(24 Feb 2014, 6:33 pm)NEBCD Malarkey wrote That's true could say the same about the Crusader also

Probably a more appropriate example!

In all honesty, I think Go North East should cut back on branding and save it for the busiest and most frequent routes - of course, it would help a bit if a more "jazzy" standard livery was adopted. Take a look at Cardiff Bus and Transdev York, for example.

Photos by welshpete2007 and eybusman.

A coming together at Durham this afternoon !!!

(24 Feb 2014, 7:08 pm)Coppercap40 wrote A coming together at Durham this afternoon !!!

Thanks for sharing those photos, Raymond.

Did you see the other vehicle involved?

(24 Feb 2014, 7:08 pm)Coppercap40 wrote A coming together at Durham this afternoon !!!

Aye, an Arriva bus hit it whilst 6016 was picking up passengers.