(14 Dec 2019, 9:55 am)missedbus wrote They were good when they were new, nice and smooth, and I used them daily on what was then the 35/35A between Shields and Sunderland. They were a revelation compared with the SPDs and Excels used beforehand, although the enthusiast in me preferred a B7RLE driven hard...
Still, they were the maids of all work before the Citaros arrived, and like an aged popstar whose voice is long gone, they've had their time but deserve a good send-off.

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Also, 4976 at Deptford is the last bus in service in the traditional 4xxx single deck fleet numbering series as invented in 1975, so that'll be a sort of end of an era there too. 4961-5 hang on as training vehicles of course.

Speaking of which, I think it was that one that looked expired the other night whilst on the 35.
Parked up with hazards on outside the beehive.

I think I've said before on here, that it was the Solars on the 194 which reignited my interest in buses from a passenger perspective.
Like you, I saw them as an upgrade to what had been seen previously and they did look kind of interesting and different. 

However, I do think they've been flogged to death. 
The eminox upgrades and conditions attached to the funding, really have pushed them beyond what is expected on a front line service vehicle and I do wonder what sort of effect they have had on the associated routes as passengers possibly look for an alternative (comfier) option.