(09 Aug 2022, 2:06 pm)morritt89 wrote With regards to vehicle height and low bridges (or other obstacles) at GNE the vehicle height needs to be written on the defect card by each driver. You are also required to test the low bridge detector as part of the first use check.

This wasn't something that formed part of an Arriva defect card when I was there (this may have changed and once again shows differences between various operators). Speaking of Arriva, I seem to vaguely remember an E400 being stuck under a building (shopping centre?) in Darlington.

Normally it's fine to get low height deckers under there, what I believe happened here was some nugget stopped just outside the Cornmill where they weren't supposed to, so the bus had to try and get round the obstruction but in doing so the E400 got wedged under the part of the bridge that's lower height (likely achieved with a bit of kerb mounting).

Durham/Belmont have pushed it with what's possible under that bridge on their 7 workings over the years, B7TL Gemini's being right on the edge and then before that there was them East Lancs bodied Scania N113DRB deckers which looked rather tall.

The routes that can't* have deckers on at Darlington are:

3A Skerne Park - Darlington - Harrowgate Farm
12 Hurworth - Darlington - Middleton-St-George

* although there's a low bridge along the route, they can in theory be allocated for part journeys from Darlington Town Centre and back then be replaced although this tends to be avoided, 7535 once did Town - Hurworth - Town on service 12 before being swapped for a single decker to carry on towards MSG: https://flic.kr/p/MRfTh7