(13 Sep 2015, 7:37 pm)stagecoachbusdepot wrote The following were all on the R1 today. 3864, 3869, 3878, 3943, 3969, 3979, 3980, 3981, 3982, 6001, 6002, 6005, 6007, 6020, 6024, 6029, 6032, 6040, 6049, 6050, 6051, 6054, 6055, 6087, 6089, 6096, 6098, 6099, 6100. In addition 3967 as well as Crusaders 5328 & 5330 were departed South Shields out of service in the midst of peak queues.
3967 was an additional bus brought from Newcastle on the morning by a supervisor to keep things moving when buses were stuck at South Shields. Further double decks (not noted in your post) were sourced for the afternoon journeys, too.
The two Mercs were used on the X27, and as I said before, were only allocated to the R1 from Newcastle to South Shields to prevent the need to go light instead.