(12 Mar 2016, 3:29 pm)Jimmi wrote Doing well on my 'no repeat bus type' outing, although things may get complicated later, especially as I'm aiming for North Shields next then Sunderland and annoyingly I've already used a Renown and I think there is only two Omnicitys on the 9 today with the remainder of the PVR being B10's. Bad enough I had to get the 58 from Heworth to Newcastle as it was pretty much the only type of bus I could use.

Ferry then stagecoach ? Unless you've already done an e300, of course. Getting to south shields gives a lot more options, though, despite the fact that it's the worst possible bus station for being able to stand back and see what turns up.

(12 Mar 2016, 7:45 am)LeeCalder wrote Kingsley's V178 MEV might as well still be in it's Stagecoach London livery...

It operated one of the scholars when I was at LLOB last year, and I was speaking to the driver and he said all the paint jobs are done on site, and pretty dire.

Speaking of which, noticed one of their green batch is missing info from the upstairs window.
I think it only has 7 seats now.
Guessing the window was replaced at some point.

(12 Mar 2016, 3:43 pm)BusLoverMum wrote Ferry then stagecoach ? Unless you've already done an e300, of course. Getting to south shields gives a lot more options, though, despite the fact that it's the worst possible bus station for being able to stand back and see what turns up.

Sadly I don't appear to have time and it's not really possible to reach North Shields without using the 310 and I've already done a Volvo B9TL, so I'm going to get the X36 at around 5pm (providing it's a Solar) to Sunderland then the X21 home from there.

Big'un just pointed out that we've had a day of 2s in Arrivaland.

2 streetlites (both 22)
2 pulsars (1 and 6)
2 omnicities (X76)
2 E400s (7 and 6)

One of the perils of getting a job in the industry which ties in with one of your hobbies is that it becomes more difficult to enjoy the hobby, as I find you're always on the lookout for work-related things. Perhaps this serves as justification for my lack of 'outings' recently; indeed, my last was back in January, and even this was cut short as I didn't feel very well.

As I'm now driving to and from work, using public transport (in service) seems to have become a rarity and maybe this is why I felt like doing something a bit more productive with my Saturday than sitting in a pub all day and night (totally didn't do that last Saturday, or anything!)

Anyhow, it was recently mentioned that Arriva's X21 service between Sunderland and Darlington has gained Next Stop Announcements, so I decided it would be a good idea to sample a gas bus as far as Peterlee to compare them to Go North East's, which I'm obviously quite familiar with! ;-)

As usual, my journey log is below and my (rather long) commentary follows:

0858 Metro: Stadium of Light to Park Lane - Tyne & Wear Metro 4050
0915 #X21: Sunderland to Peterlee - Arriva North East 4812
0955 #24: Peterlee to Dragon Lane End - Arriva North East 7538
1048 #265: Sunderland Road to Durham - Go North East 666
1108 #X21: Durham to Newcastle - Go North East 6303
1218 #X14: Newcastle to Regent Centre - Arriva North East 4659
1241 Metro: Regent Centre to South Gosforth - Tyne & Wear Metro 4055
1245 Metro: South Gosforth to Four Lane Ends - Tyne & Wear Metro 4028
1300 #55: Four Lane Ends to Newcastle Haymarket - Arriva North East 1480(?)
1340 #X84: Newcastle to Hexham - Go North East 5230
1516 #689: Hexham to Consett - Go North East 652
1630 #78: Consett to Chester-le-Street - Go North East 5402
1735 #50: Chester-le-Street to Washington Galleries - Go North East 5258
1759 #4: Washington Galleries to Concord - Go North East 5358
1827 #56: Concord to Stadium of Light - Go North East 6091

Not having to rely on the Tyne & Wear Metro system is a blessing, and I really do pity the regular commuters that I once travelled with on a daily basis. I can get to work much quicker, and much more comfortably, now, than I could before, but I decided to sample the Metro to Park Lane from the Stadium of Light, as it provided quite a convenient 13 minute connection to my X21 service, which was more than enough time for a trip to Greggs for breakfast too! It was worse than I had remembered. The rattles were so loud next to the driver's cab that those sitting next to each other were having to ask one another to repeat themselves, on the basis that they could not hear each other. Thankfully my journey time was only a few minutes in length and quite frankly that was enough, but I must say that the temperature was quite satisfactory as the heating was on.

After thoroughly enjoying my bacon and sausage sandwich, I boarded Arriva's X21 service. I was thankful that it was a gas bus, as there have been a number of reports of other vehicles working this service as of late. 4812 was the allocated vehicle: probably my favourite one out of the three ex-demonstrators. When departing Park Lane, we turned left onto Stockton Road as usual which triggered a 'Welcome on board the X21 service' message followed by the usual 'Next Stop' announcement. Before the announcement had finished, the screen had already changed to 'We are now approaching', although this did not change to the 'You are now at' slide until we had actually passed the stop. After the next stop had been announced again, the slide jumped back to the previous stop 'You are now at' slide. I found that this was the case for every stop to Peterlee, and I was a little disappointed by the lack of advertising slides on the express section of the route (A19) too, which would have been a perfect opportunity for Arriva to advertise things such as free Wi-Fi and the company's commitment to greener travel. The audio announcements were only just audible, but rattles and background noise from other passengers often meant that I missed part of the announcement. It did come across to me, as someone with experience in this system, as unprofessional, and I would even suggest that the system hadn't been tested before being publicly 'launched'.

I had a little bit of time in Peterlee, as I wanted to catch a 24 to Durham for a ride on a Pulsar or ADL Enviro400. In this time, I noticed that 4812 was still missing route branding from when it had a window put out. This incident happened over a year ago, I am sure, so I was rather disappointed to see it had still not been replaced. Another little niggle would be that the old route branding for the 7 was quite clearly visible on the VDL Pulsars on service 24. It's really good nevertheless to see just how much investment has been pumped into Peterlee over the last year or so - it did seem at one stage that all of the services in and out of the bus station operated with Arriva and Go North East's oldest (and arguably most unreliable) buses in their fleets, which certainly cannot be said anymore!

My next ride was on 7538. The driver was camera-shy and covered his face as he came round the horseshoe into Peterlee Bus Station, but thankfully didn't say anything to me when I boarded. I really do like the interior colourscheme on Sapphire buses, as it looks really professional and despite the heavy use of blue, doesn't seem too cold. Arriva have cracked internal branding on Sapphire buses too - it'll be interesting to see how well it's maintained, as the Sapphire and MAX brands continue to grow in the region. All of the information passengers would need is available on the cove panels and this is excellent in my opinion. The advertising on the Next Stop Announcement screens worked well too, although I found that the coordinates for a number of stops were out, possibly due to a lack of testing (as per my opinion on the X21). The advertising of power sockets did become slightly irritating after about 20 minutes, as the plugs on this bus certainly weren't working. Other than that, quite a comfortable and pleasant journey!

My inexperience of Arriva bus services in Durham was highlighted when I decided to alight service 24 at Dragon Lane End, as opposed to Durham, as I was under the impression service 64 ran every 10 minutes (or greater), which would provide me with enough time to get into Durham to meet a connection to the X21 service towards Newcastle. I discovered this was not the case when I reached the bus stop outside of Dragon Lane Tesco to see that it was in fact a 20-minute frequency. I was kicking myself somewhat because I had foolishly prioritised a photograph of 7477 when I could have caught it, but it did mean that I took some more photographs in areas that other enthusiasts usually wouldn't, so it wasn't all bad!

It was a case of waiting for the first bus to turn up on Sunderland Road and catching this to Durham Bus Station, with the intention of connecting to the 1108 #X21 service to Newcastle. It wasn't long before the 1048 #265 service arrived, albeit approximately five minutes late. It was packed to the rafters - all seats taken with approximately ten standees - although many departed when we arrived at the market place. I'd spent over 14 hours on one of these indiGo branded Optare Solos last week, testing the new Next Stop Announcements programmed for the indiGo network, so was quite glad this was nothing more than a short journey. I'm going to be racking up a few more hours on the distant North Tyneside cousins, come the end of the month, so I was certainly in no rush to ride a load of Solos today!

I was only at Durham for a few minutes and managed to see two further Lowlanders and a VDL Pulsar on service 64. Let's hope the allocations on this service improve when 'Frequenta' is rolled out, eh? In my time at Durham, I noticed two "Sapphire" buses with odd coloured panels. It does seem that the Sapphire novelty is beginning to wear off at some depots, with standards and attention to detail beginning to drop, which is quite a shame. It wasn't long before the star of the show entered stage, though... The Castles Express! "It's one of the new ones", I heard people say, as 6303 pulled into the stand. I wasn't fortunate enough to be able to blag a front-facing table seat upstairs, but decided a backwards-facing one would suffice, so I could make the most of the extra leg room on my journey into Newcastle. There was a clear difference in quality between the Next Stop Announcement audio on the Arriva buses I'd been on earlier in the day, and the audio on the Castles Express X21. I've been quite vocal about preferring Next Stop Announcements with regional accents, but Emma's voiceover is growing on me, and it's far superior to the audio announcements on Arriva's buses. The old couple sitting opposite me had noticed me taking a photograph of the bus before I got on, and the old woman decided to ask me about it. I explained my interest in public transport and how it quite nicely tied in with my job. As a regular visitor to the capital, she noticed that the audio announcements were being delivered by the same woman that announces the bus stops down in London, and she was fascinated to hear that Emma Hignett actually lives in County Durham - not far from the X21 route! It was really nice chatting to the woman and her husband, and it made the journey pass by quite nicely.

We arrived into Newcastle late due to the roadworks in Low Fell, which meant that I missed my planned connection to the X85. Instead, in the interests of variety, I decided to catch a Scania OmniCity across to Regent Centre. I do like Arriva's OmniCitys - they're perfectly suited to demanding express routes, as they have a lot of power, and they're quite comfortable too. I still dislike the garish internal colourscheme in 4659, but I suppose we can't have it all! I was starting to get a little peeved by roadworks at this point, as it had disrupted my journey twice heading into Newcastle, and then again when heading through Gosforth.

I only spent a few minutes at Regent Centre before jumping back on a Metro. I had a very tight one-minute connection to make at South Gosforth, but thankfully everything worked as planned. A trip to Four Lane Ends was on the cards, in order to get a photo or two of the Metro Replacement buses. My journey on 4028 was much better than my earlier ride on 4050 - though perhaps my opinion was made more positive by the fact I was occupying the front seats (you're never too old to race to the front seats on a bus or Metro!)

After taking a few photographs at Four Lane Ends, I decided to head back to Newcastle so I could head to Hexham as originally planned. I was toying between a Stagecoach ADL Enviro400 back to the City Centre and an Arriva VDL Pulsar, but I eventually opted for the latter given that I was on an Enviro earlier in the day. I much prefer VDL Pulsars to Wright Streetlites as they're a bit more lively and always seem to want to be pushed more. For a lightweight bus, there's relatively few rattles, which is a huge plus. Only downside is the lack of legroom, but I suppose it's not too much of an issue if you have nobody sat next to you, as you can just spread your legs a bit (no rude comments, please!) My journey back to Newcastle was largely spent debating on whether to catch Arriva's 85 westwards, or Go North East's X84. Leaving the final stop on Barras Bridge before reaching the terminus, a man who appeared to be homeless walked in front of the bus and, in response to the driver sounding his horn, the man decided to stop in the middle of the road and wear his sleeping bag like a cape. The word 'idiot' sprung to mind.

I had a bite to eat then waited in Eldon Square before undertaking the next leg of my journey. I opted for the X84 in the end, although the 685 arguably would have been the better choice. The 13:30 X9 was still occupying the stand at 13:45 due to a ticket machine issue, causing delays to the services scheduled to depart at 13:35, 13:40 and 13:45. After waiting five minutes, the X84 driver decided to occupy Stand D instead. This caused problems in itself but hey ho, that's what we get when the infrastructure cannot facilitate the number of services being operated! I'm sure Go North East's 55-reg Scania L94s are the fastest buses in the region - they're mechanically sound and are in great condition internally. They sound excellent too. At this point, this journey was by far the best of the day.

I managed to get a few photos in Hexham but sadly missed 556 and 9106, although did catch 557 which shouldn't be carrying AD122 livery for too much longer. As usual my stay in Hexham was brief, and it wasn't long before I got on my next bus. This time, it was Go North East's Venture branded Optare Solo 652. I took my seat at the back of the bus, as I usually do on an Optare Solo, and enjoyed the warmth of the heater. I was a little disappointed by how quiet the Next Stop Announcements were - I could hear nothing more than a mutter. That certainly won't be the case, once Emma gets her hands on the Venture network! The 689 is one of my favourite services, and I'd recommend a trip out on it to anyone who hasn't used it yet. It's a nice rural route with brilliant views and great scenery - I can't wait for summer, as I intend to drive the route in the car, taking a photo on route with a very nice backdrop.

In my time at Consett, I managed to find one of the Pronto Volvo B7s currently spending some time at Stanley prior to withdrawal. The town was extremely quiet with very few people and buses around. I planned to start making my way back home, and, because my phone was on the last legs of its battery and my portable charger was broken, I decided to use the Coast & Country. Sadly, the power sockets weren't working (although that didn't really come as a surprise!)

After a pretty dull hour on 5402, I abandoned ship at Chester-le-Street. The timings worked quite nicely to allow me to connect to a 50 towards South Shields, where I intended to connect to a Fab56 back home (again anticipating I'd be able to charge my phone, which, by this point, was down to 10%). I don't like Go North East's Scania OmniCitys half as much as Arriva's, but I was pretty impressed by the fact it left Volvo B10BLE 4908 for dust leaving Chester-le-Street. I managed to get my normal seat at the back, leaning on the engine. It can be a pretty shaky seat, but definitely the warmest seat on the entire bus. I know some enthusiasts hate the Scania OmniCitys with a passion, but leg room aside, I think they're pretty good (if they're looked after well!) You certainly get good ones and bad ones, though. 5258, I feel, was a good one.

Although I'd already spent a few hours on a Merc a few weeks ago whilst testing the new Next Stop Announcement media on service 4, I decided I'd give it another go, but in service this time to see how appropriate the audio settings were with people on-board. I was sat at the back of the bus and thought that the volume was spot on, although I could only just make out the stop name on the screen from the very back. I suppose those relying on the system will be sat closer to the front of the bus, though, so it doesn't pose a massive issue.

I alighted at Concord Bus Station, and waited for ex-Pronto branded 6040 to arrive into the bus station on an 85 service. It was due to be replaced by 6028 for its final few trips, so this was my last opportunity, in fading light. It was at a bit of an awkward angle, but I thankfully managed to get a photograph, and I scurried back to the bus shelter for my chariot back home on the 56. 6091 was the bus in question, and the journey seemed to fly by.

A rather quiet day by myself today, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I certainly think it's better having a break and then returning to the bus scene every now and again, as it becomes quite boring in my opinion when you're out more or less every day riding and taking photographs of the same buses. I'll hopefully get some photographs online tomorrow at some point - The Voice is on the telly now... Priorities!

Great review Dan.

I agree regarding the Sapphire interior colour scheme. It's really eye catching and you do get that luxury feel about it, no matter which Sapphire branded bus you're using. I've had experience of them covering on my local routes, and also enjoyed an E400 trip on the 7 a week or two ago.

I know the long days you've been through testing your own NSAs for hours on end, so can imagine it's a bit of a gripe seeing others that aren't configured correctly. I can't understand going to the expense of fitting the system and the effort of designing/uploading the slides, if you aren't going to bother to make sure they activate at the right time. Hopefully they'll be looked at, as I feel they're an asset to any company that uses them.

Great review Dan

I was hoping to sample the next stop announcements on my X21/21 back from Sunderland this evening but I got lumbered with 4811 which despite the fact the 21/X21 has a PVR of 4 they've only fitted the announcements to 4812/13/14 and 4811 is on the 21/X21 most days! Not heard the announcements on those routes yet but I understand what you mean about the screens and announcements popping up at the wrong points, it's the same with the recently reprogrammed announcements for the X26/X27 and X66/X67 although half the time I've been on the X66 since they were reprogrammed it's found it's self jammed on one stop, had 4657 last night and it said Great Burdon for the whole of my journey between Stockton and Harrowgate Hill Roundabout. It's quite poor really, it actually infuriates me!

Now to start typing up my review!

(12 Mar 2016, 7:59 pm)Dan wrote As usual, my journey log is below and my (rather long) commentary follows:

0858 Metro: Stadium of Light to Park Lane - Tyne & Wear Metro 4050
0915 #X21: Sunderland to Peterlee - Arriva North East 4812
0955 #24: Peterlee to Dragon Lane End - Arriva North East 7538
1048 #265: Sunderland Road to Durham - Go North East 666
1108 #X21: Durham to Newcastle - Go North East 6303
1218 #X14: Newcastle to Regent Centre - Arriva North East 4659
1241 Metro: Regent Centre to South Gosforth - Tyne & Wear Metro 4055
1245 Metro: South Gosforth to Four Lane Ends - Tyne & Wear Metro 4028
1300 #55: Four Lane Ends to Newcastle Haymarket - Arriva North East 1480(?)
1340 #X84: Newcastle to Hexham - Go North East 5230
1516 #689: Hexham to Consett - Go North East 652
1630 #78: Consett to Chester-le-Street - Go North East 5402
1735 #50: Chester-le-Street to Washington Galleries - Go North East 5258
1759 #4: Washington Galleries to Concord - Go North East 5358
1827 #56: Concord to Stadium of Light - Go North East 6091

We enjoyed our Darlo Omnicities, this afternoon - always a bit of a rollercoaster ride, mind!

Screwfix are giving away free power bars to customers wo are signed up, btw. We're going to end up with more of them than we have phones, at this rate, as Husband snagged one, today. I rather like my iQ charger.

Oh and, re: spreading of legs. I had the misfortune of sitting next to a guy on the Pronto who absolutely had to do this, once. And he reeked of the lynx effect - that special effect when people think that body spray is a substitute for having a wash. I developed very sharp elbows and a rather vigorous typing style, just to maintain a little bit of personal space, that morning.

As Andreos recently attempted an outing where he could only use the same bus type once, I'd thought that I would give it a crack today as well.

0804 5A Newton Aycliffe, Williamfield Way - Bishop Auckland Bus Station (ANE 1425)
First bus was not my usual Saturday haunt of the 08:05 7 to Durham Bus Station, today instead I started on the 5A with 1425 turning up for my journey this morning. This example especially seems to badly idle when stationary and unfortunately it was fairly spot on time wise for the whole journey so waiting time had to be observed which was annoying. Not a particularly thrilling journey as I've done this journey hundreds of times. Before long I was in Bishop Auckland.

0845 109 Bishop Auckland Bus Station - Willington, High Street (SB Travel: SB10BUS)
First time I've sampled SB Travel although JSB Travel used to do the Newton Aycliffe Town Services and I wasn't so impressed when they took over the 116 from Central Coaches as they would frequently not bother and I actually mean "not bother" running round my part of the town, even though they were supposed to! Turned up more or less on-time, SB Travel do not appear to have a uniform so the drivers seem to be free to wear whatever they want with this driver just wearing a T-shirt. This was a long length Solo SR and I don't think many of this type were ever made, so it is a bit unique. For the whole of this journey there was only me and a woman with a small child which I think may have possibly been the wife of the driver as they were already on-board when I jumped on at the first stop on it's first journey of the day. Nice smooth quiet journey and arrived in Willington in no-time.

0919 46 Willington, High Street - Durham Bus Station (ANE 1327)
Seem as no-one appears to have listened to me say this earlier, today the 46 (and the 48) were allocated the Enviro 200's normally allocated to service 64, this was as the result of a diversion where Pulsar's were deemed to be a bit big to fit round the diversion route, so this was the allocation for these services today. Thought 1327 performed quite well on this route and this odd working had the added benefit of free WiFi as well which was a bonus, charging points as well although I didn't use them. Despite the not so comfortable seats, I quite enjoyed this journey and before I knew it I arrived in Durham.

1008 64 Durham, North Road - Abbey Sports Centre (ANE 7444)
As the Lowlander's weren't out on the 46 today, I chanced the 64 for one, tried on the 09:58 journey but the spare Sapphire StreetLite 1595 was allocated, so I rejected it and waited for the next journey and my patience was rewarded in the form of 7444, in typical fashion I made for the backseats upstairs and thankfully no-one was sat upstairs when I boarded and that's how it remained for the whole journey. I do actually quite like the noise these produce and I am going to be sad when they leave the fleet very soon, especially as I've had them since they were new. As we were approaching to where the Salutation Inn is/was I spotted Lolyne 3869 on the 50, so I decided I'd catch that at the Arnison Centre...

1032 50 Arnison Centre, Mercia Retail Park - South Shields, Keppel Street (GNE 3869)
I quite fancied riding a double decker on the 50, especially a Lolyne, so when I saw 3869 pass me on the 64 I made sure to catch it especially as there seems to be less double deckers on there than there used to be, I decided to take the front seat upstairs on the nearside which was a bit of a squeeze. I had the fear it would get swapped for something else at Chester-le-Street but was over the moon when I saw nothing waiting on the stand meaning I could do the rest of the route on this! I quite enjoyed my trip on this as I quite like the Lolyne's and they are likely to be leaving the fleet very soon, so every ride may be my last. So fairly good views and some pretty awful views as well!

1229 27 South Shields, Fowler Street - Jarrow Bus Station (GNE 5317)
Decided to have a wander around That's Entertainment and a stop off in Greggs where I ended up in the queue in front of a chav couple moaning about how they charge for sitting in (swearing removed). Anyway, my next trip was Crusader 5317 which I must say I didn't enjoy, I didn't like the sound it was making especially under braking, so after seeing a Volvo B10BLE/Wright Renown pass on a 27 which was a couple trips behind, I bailed at Jarra.

1250 9 Jarrow Bus Station - Sunderland, Park Lane Interchange (GNE 4907)
After jumping off 5317 I saw this appear, so I decided to catch this to Sunderland, quite enjoyed my ride on this, it sounded great. It wasn't too busy although I had some children sat opposite who made a bit of noise but wasn't too bad. Got off at Park Lane and did a bit spotting but nothing interesting appeared, so I then made my way for my next journey.

1400 56 Sunderland, Park Lane Interchange - Concord Bus Station (GNE 6093)
A woman was asking the driver where the X36 stopped as she asked someone else where it stopped and she was told it was on the 56 stand, it then pulled in behind and the driver just laughed when she left. I took the seat at the front upstairs on the nearside and connected to the WiFi as I have ran out of mobile data so this is my only way of checking my social media sources until Tuesday when I get next months allowance. Two young kids sat opposite me and their dad or granddad sat behind me, annoyingly after they boarded the two kids started acting up so the dad/granddad kept getting up pulling my seat back in the process and at one point he started shouting at them, I honestly didn't know where to look or what to do, thankfully they started to behave after that.

1458 82 Concord Bus Station - Heworth Interchange (GNE 6032)
My original intention was to get the X88 to the Metrocentre but that went out the window when I saw that 3943 had broke down on the previous trip, it left once with a fitter then came back but left again still blinded up for the X88! As it didn't look like there would be anything heading to the Metrocentre on a X88 anytime soon, I opted for 6032 (not 6023 which I noted it as in my notes) on the 82 as I hadn't been on a President. This was actually not too bad, seem to be pretty nippy and was nice and warm on-board.

1519 58 Heworth Interchange - Newcastle, Blackett Street (GNE 5384)
Heworth did pose a problem as I already rode most of the types of buses that pass through Heworth, so to stick to rules I had to opt for a Optare Versa, in the form of Citylink 5384. Wasn't so impressed with the Versa, it didn't sound particularly good and felt a little rough in places. I read the timetable line map at Heworth which said the journey time to Newcastle Monument was 31 minutes but I later discovered it was the Nexus line map of lies as it actually took around 40 minutes to reach Newcastle, thanks Nexus! Saw Pronto branded 6024 pass me in Gateshead Interchange so I made sure to get in place for a photo when we eventually got to Newcastle!

1702 X36 Newcastle, Market Street - Sunderland, Park Lane Interchange (GNE 4943)
Due to a large number of buses picking up in the same place the X36 had to stop in the middle of the road and block the traffic to pick us up. I sat at the back which was a mistake as the seats at the back aren't that comfortable I think. This was a pretty quiet journey really in terms of numbers and I actually quite like the X36 route, it's actually a decent route I think. The point I realised that I was in Sunderland was when I saw a woman walking the street in her pyjamas, the only other place it could have been was Skerne Park in Darlington.

1820 X21/21 Sunderland, Park Lane Interchange - Newton Aycliffe Tesco (ANE 4811)
Hung round waiting for the X21 to turn up, saw a Wear Tees Xpress Citaro on the 36, not much else happened during this time. I sat at the back on this journey. This actually carried a fair few passengers on the X21, one passenger boarded thinking the service went through New Seaham but was less than impressed when the bus headed for the A19, he moaned on at the driver until the next stop which was a good 10 minutes later, apparently he is going to complain etc. It's not Arriva's fault you got on the wrong bus! It's not as if the destination says "express via the A19" oh wait, it does... I did laugh when we went past the Go North East X7 to Station Town which had broken down on the A19, so they must have been there around 30 minutes by the point we passed it, feel sorry for them in a way. Was pretty dead after Peterlee, for much of the 21 journey I was the only passenger on-board. WiFi worked well... for the first 15 minutes where it then refused to work for the remainder of the 90 minute journey, was not amused! I alighted at Tesco in Newton Aycliffe where I had a wander round until my next bus.

2010 5A Newton Aycliffe Tesco - Newton Aycliffe, Williamfield Way (ANE 2857)
I know what some of you are thinking, you already rode a Solo!!! That was a Solo SR. this was just a plain old Solo which was also smaller then the SB Travel Solo SR I had earlier in the day, unlike some I don't live on the opinion of a Solo is just a Solo, they are not all the same, although this was just a short hop as I didn't fancy walking home in the dark. One thing that I found time to annoy me on this journey was someone opened the window, It was freezing!!!

So I managed to stick to the objective of only riding each type once. Was an enjoyable day out today, although I am pretty shattered now. Thanks for reading, this took forever for me to type.

"The point I realised that I was in Sunderland was when I saw a woman walking the street in her pyjamas, the only other place it could have been was Skerne Park in Darlington."

It's not unheard of around here. Had a neigbour who would do the morning school run in a dressing gown before going to bed - night shift! Also had a young woman who, for about a year, passed me in the opposite diection in jammies and uggs!

I'd get arrested if I went out in mine. Bloody terrifying sight!

I often look at these threads and try and work out if anyone was in the same place as me or nearby.
Turns out Jimmi wasn't that far off, not once - but twice.
Didn't see him either time.

(13 Mar 2016, 7:42 am)Andreos1 wrote I often look at these threads and try and work out if anyone was in the same place as me or nearby.
Turns out Jimmi wasn't that far off, not once - but twice.
Didn't see him either time.

Well, I do tend to stalk enthusiasts, pretty much everywhere I go I tend to find one, saw a few in Chester-le-Street on Monday with Adrian, Lee Calder also Gary Hunter being on the same X21 as me. Saw one I knew in Darlington on Wednesday afternoon and judging by the time I saw him I'd have probably been on the same bus as him had I not opted for the 7 instead. On Friday afternoon the Stagecarriage 84 became the enthusiast bus, passenger numbers on that service probably went through the roof that afternoon! Yesterday I didn't actually see anyone but after reading Marcus' review he went past me just outside Eldon Square Bus Station on the X21 at around 16:10.

Out of intrest, where did you came close to spotting me?

Oh and yes, I am now sick of the sight of Boldon after going through it three times yesterday.

Yesterday so me travel up to seaham with many reasons it was to complete the 60 route by going to parkside and also riding the 238 to seaham station well this is the day
4909 99
27729 e2
142064*/142024 northern
5370 60
662 202
4925 60
562 238
573 238
5372 60
654 265
142024/142064* northern
28040 3
27740 e2
8324 2a
36967 11
Today i began on 4909 running service 99 i was very pleased as these beasts can do fantastic speeds well after alighting at seaburn metro i so a goods train i think 66735 was pulling it i then checked the board to find a 30 minute wait i didnt want to wait that long so ended up waiting for either the 23 or the e2 not long after 36462 passed with an e2 to south shields then thankfully my bus arrived in the form of 27729.

The ride was lovely had excellent movement when i arrived into park lane nothing unusual but did see 542 preparing to start the 38 to rainton bridge after that i went to sunderland station and awaited the northern train to my delight one of my favorite pacers 142064 turned up with 142024 at the back i was thrilled with this turnout i bought my ticket and took notes on the journey.

We shortley after arrived into seaham were i headed to strangford road to await the first bus to the awfulness i just missed a red mpd on service 238 so
Had to bear with 5370 it seemed ok with no problems i did notice however the next stop annoucements not working.

At seaham i took some photos of mainly drifters and one wear tees express soon after i boarded 662 i planned to ride this up to dalton park but on route so 4925 performing service 60 so alighted near to dawdon buisness park.

After allowing 661 to pass 4925 arrived i was very pleased as i good go to parkside and back we got good speeds which was a delight at the byron place i awaited the 238 to my delight 562 was on this service very pleasing journey passed 573 on route so at the station i walked to strangford road and caught 573 to the mill inn very good fun.

I planned to get the 61 to dalton park then the 202 but missed the 61 so had to get 5372 which was alright every thing in good working order at seaham caught 654 which was full to its nees to strangford road i then got 142064 again very happy and pleased with this .

Fancied a trip to stagecoach depot to see what was in my chariot there was 28040 a nice ride this was ok to journey upon after sighting just a e200 and several gas buses i awaited the next bus which was 27740 with its leather seats proved ok and was just fine.
After having some lunch i boarded 8324 upto grangetown i liked this vehcile as i always seem to be giving a 09 reg or a rear worker when on the 2s at grangetown missed 34605 on the 19 which was awful and had to bear 36967 this was ok but spoilt by a man asking the driver if he went to seaburn and after several minutes he finaly took note of what the driver said and to use the 18 or 19 i alighted at sunderland and got the metro back.
A good day but wasnt excellent

Reading today’s excellent reviews it looks like the good weather brought plenty of enthusiasts out yesterday. Here is my outing on Saturday…

I did not go looking for small independent or non-psv operators. Instead I decided to try out the Castles Express. I bought a GNE day ticket for £7.80 which proved to be great value.

6306, 10.27 Low Fell Cannon – Chester-Le-Street X21

My first ride on the Castles Express, bus was on time and driver friendly. Like the look and layout of the bus internally. Really stylish livery, very smart. Got a table seat and stretched my legs. Visited the GNE depot at Chester and had a look around the market. Got plenty of photos in the main street.

6304, 11.11 Chester-Le-Street – Durham X21

This bus was 19 minutes late, leaving Chester at 11.30. Probably not the best example to set on the first Saturday following the brand’s re-launch. Plenty of people were waiting at Chester. Got the back seat upstairs. Have to say bus was very noisy and seemed to vibrate a lot. Went and got lunch on arrival at Durham and spotted by the roundabout near the bus station. Got talking to an older enthusiast who had also travelled on the Castles Express.

6013, 13.00 Durham - Durham 15

Decided to take this President to Consett. Bus broke down in the bus station, never even made it off the stand. Absolute joke, I was hoping for an at least half an hour in Consett. Just returned to Durham roundabout for more spotting.

6030, 13.30 Durham – Consett 15A

Success, this President worked fine. We left Durham on time and I enjoyed the beautiful views heading up the valley towards Lanchester. Bus was well used but passengers were understandably grumbling about the previous bus breaking down. Arrived in Consett on time. Had the seat above the driver. Only ten minutes in Consett got some photos of Solos and yellow Pallatines. Gateshead Central Taxis are operating a free minibus to the large Tesco on the edge of town.

652 14.20 Consett – Hexham 689

This is a great service, the views are amazing across the Derwent Reservoir. I’d really recommend it. Bus was not well used, myself and two others. Just an old lady and myself from Ebchester to Hexham. The Solo coped well with the narrow country roads and also idiot bikers stupidly speeding near Whittonstall and Slaley. Did a good bit of spotting at Hexham and had a look around town. The Oxfam bookshop has closed down, damn got some good bargains there. Guy in his 50s with an M&S bag taking photos at the bus station. Spotted 9105, 9106 and PCL’s dual door Dart driven by the owner. The new bus station is taking shape.

558, 16.05 Hexham – Newcastle 74.

A great thrash though cracking countryside. The slow route from Hexham to Newcastle, I love this scenic journey and was gutted when Sunday service to Matfen ceased. The Dart was brilliant and we arrived in Newcastle on time. Passed Bells’ garage at Stamfordham, 6 vehicles present. I’m going to miss the Darts when Solos take over. This service is a lifeline for local people. Matfen’s worth a visit for the cracking ales in the Black Bull. No spotters at clingon corner in town.

6304, 17.39 Newcastle – Gateshead X21

Decided to wait for the X21 and got another table seat. Young lad with a camera and his mother in the front seats. Could have been an enthusiast or just on a day out. Got off at the Metro and got a quick photo of 6304 as it departed. Traffic OK heading through Newcastle. Loads of drunks and idiots near the Gate including a guy in Spiderman outfit getting on a bike.

5295, 17.55 Gateshead – Deckham 57

Jumped on this busy Citaro for my last journey of the day. Got a good seat and watched the world (well Gateshead High Street) go by. Alighted at Deckham Bank and went to see my dad.

All in all a great day out, will have to try the new X21 again sometime. Just what I needed to recharge my batteries after a long week at work.

Thanks for reading…Charles

---

Great review!
The 74 is a great route - I also like the darts and a lot of them are in good nick so it'll be a shame when they go. Will miss them from the NTL.

Ive never written about my Outings for quite a long time, Ive decided to start it again because I enjoy reading everyone's outings.

Yesterday involved a early start ( For a Saturday! ) of 8:00 to catch the 8:40 VTEC Service to Edinburgh, Which I failed miserably at catching.
I managed to leave the house at 8:50, Some 50 Mins late accompanied by my Nana who hasn't been on a outing in ages with me.

We made the short walk from my house to Brockely Whins Metro Station and I was admiring the pleasant weather that was on offer today and in short time we made it to Brockely Whins.

We had just missed one so a 12 Minute wait prevailed, Which passed over quickly after a quick chat with my Nana.

Our first journey formed of Metrocar 4029 on if I can remember properly was train 109.

J1 Brockely Whins Metro Station - Gateshead Interchange Metrocar 4029?Train 109

We boarded and as usual no seats were available and only the Disabled bay was available, A handful of seats became available after Heworth though I remained standing for the rest of the journey.
NSAs weren't working on this Metrocar which is on the increase, Only had 2 Metrocars that had them working this week!
Also 2 Nexus Surveyors were onboard and asked me and other customers about where there going and other things involving transport, She advised me to get off at Monument but I got off at Gateshead and got the Q1 to save my Nana walking.
We alighted at Gateshead, Oblivious to the fact DanPicken and Lee had just boarded the Metro I had just got off DanPicken has noted about the encounter in " Stalking and Such "

A short hop to the Q1 Stand took 2 Minutes and at the top of the escalators was stood Streetdeck 6301 on the X21 which reminded me of the night befores nightmare Outing on Sister 6307 -
Where I got the most blurry photograph of it ever imaginable.

Anyways back to today we found ourselves with a mere 2Min Wait for the Q1, Which was formed of 8334 which I needed for haulage.

J2 Gateshead Interchange - Newcastle Central Station GNE 8334 Optare Versa

Only 2 passengers were onboard with another one boarding on the Quayside, The driver was early and as such was only gliding at 15Mph around the whole route which still didn't take long.
We got held up outside Central Station in the usual gridlock that's around there and the journey was over.

A quick change of 10Mins for our ( Now 9:40 service ) to Edinburgh was done with 5 mins to spare and in came Durham Cathedral branded 91114 on Platform 2 of a very busy Central Station

J3 Newcastle Central Station - Edinburgh Waverley 91114 1S04

We grabbed the priority seats and watched Newcastle disappear from sight and into Northumberland, The scenery gets better once past Alnmouth and is always a great journey every time use it.
91114 is a unique Class 91, with a special Brecknall Willis Pantograph which faces forward instead of backwards on other 91s.
Once past Berwick-Upon-Tweed the line speed drops to 90-100Mph till Edinburgh and involves tight curves through hand dug cuttings and near cliff edges
We passed Dunbar and the Drunk Ladies infront of us started getting louder and more drunk we wernt surprised when theysaid to eachother " Lets go to the bar " when we arrived at Waverley.
We arrived in Edinburgh on Platform 8 and we went straight for our Dinner.

We had Dinner at M&S café, Where I had a grilled Halloumi Bun and my Nana had typical Bacon sandwich

I took photos around Princes Street and the surrounding areas with some photos on my Flickr now, I was there for a hour and a half.

After this we got day tickets and used various services, The traction was a Volvo7900, Euro 3 Voith Volvo B7RLE, Euro 4 Voith Volvo B7RLE , Voith Volvo B9TL and a Dennis Trident ( Long Wheel Base )
on services 30, 38 , 2 , 22 and 19 respectively.

we came back home in my dads car after his conference in Edinburgh and arrived home for 20:00

Hope you enjoyed my outing and will post my next outing next week : )

(13 Mar 2016, 9:55 am)Jimmi wrote Well, I do tend to stalk enthusiasts, pretty much everywhere I go I tend to find one, saw a few in Chester-le-Street on Monday with Adrian, Lee Calder also Gary Hunter being on the same X21 as me. Saw one I knew in Darlington on Wednesday afternoon and judging by the time I saw him I'd have probably been on the same bus as him had I not opted for the 7 instead. On Friday afternoon the Stagecarriage 84 became the enthusiast bus, passenger numbers on that service probably went through the roof that afternoon! Yesterday I didn't actually see anyone but after reading Marcus' review he went past me just outside Eldon Square Bus Station on the X21 at around 16:10.

Out of intrest, where did you came close to spotting me?

Oh and yes, I am now sick of the sight of Boldon after going through it three times yesterday.

I actually saw the President you got off at Heworth, although I didn't see you.
The other time would have been at Sunderland when you went through for the firt time.

(13 Mar 2016, 12:53 pm)Andreos1 wrote I actually saw the President you got off at Heworth, although I didn't see you.
The other time would have been at Sunderland when you went through for the firt time.

Ah right, at first in Heworth I went to figure out where the 58 leaves from then stayed on the 58 stand until I boarded it. On my first visit to Sunderland I just stood where buses enter Park Lane Interchange.

Great reviews everyone, I am now on a rare Sunday outing with me currently travelling on the 7 to Durham.

(13 Mar 2016, 12:57 pm)Jimmi wrote Ah right, at first in Heworth I went to figure out where the 58 leaves from then stayed on the 58 stand until I boarded it. On my first visit to Sunderland I just stood where buses enter Park Lane Interchange.

Great reviews everyone, I am now on a rare Sunday outing with me currently travelling on the 7 to Durham.

We're out in the car today. Currently taking the scenic (Stanley) route home from the Metrocentre. Little'un and I did spend the best part of an hour in the bus station. He knows how to make a packet of sausage rolls last. I'd contemplated taking him on the train into Newcastle, but didn't really have time to make the most of it as the film Husband and big'un had goe to see the was only 90 minutes long.

(13 Mar 2016, 12:57 pm)Jimmi wrote Ah right, at first in Heworth I went to figure out where the 58 leaves from then stayed on the 58 stand until I boarded it. On my first visit to Sunderland I just stood where buses enter Park Lane Interchange.

Great reviews everyone, I am now on a rare Sunday outing with me currently travelling on the 7 to Durham.

Having read BigLugs review I am wondering if I almost stumbled on him too! Had a large bench seat all to myself

Here is my outing from Saturday
Ashington-Regent Centre (Arriva X21)
Regent Centre-South Gosforth (Metro Green Line)
South Gosforth-Four Lane Ends (Metro Yellow Line)
Four Lane Ends-North Shields (Metro Replacement 900)
North Shields-North Shields Ferry (Phoenix 333)
North Shields Ferry-South Shields Ferry (Nexus Shields Ferry)
South Shields-Heworth (Metro Yellow Line)
Heworth-Newcastle (Northern Rail)
Newcastle-Chester-le-Street (Go NE X21)
Chester-le-Street-Gateshead Interchange (Arriva X12)
Gateshead Interchange-Monument (Metro Green Line)
Monument-South Gosforth (Metro Yellow Line)
South Gosforth-Regent Centre (Metro Green Line)
Regent Centre-Newcastle-Ashington (Arriva X21)
Ashington-Seaton Hirst (Arriva 1)

Had a really enjoyable day out today, so much so I've decided to write a little about it. I am a North-East exile currently residing in Stoke-on-Trent so my outing today was in North Staffordshire. Getting this out straight away as not to waste your time if something non-local won't interest you! Thank you to anyone still reading, I'll try to tie in some North-East references as best I can.

Started off in Hanley, which is better known as Stoke-on-Trent's city centre. Stoke's a peculiar place in that the folk here consider the city to be six towns as opposed to one city. Hanley is the centre, commercially, politically and somewhat geographically. Most importantly the big bus station is here. 

First 65027 YN05HCL Scania CN94 Omnicity  Route 18: Hanley Bus Station - Leek Bus Station
My plan for today was to sample some of First Potteries' long distance and rural services, something I've yet to do despite living in the area for over a year now. Route 18 is semi-fast run out to the Moorlands town of Leek, not too from Alton Towers. The standard allocation is of Scania Omnicities which are route branded as 'Fast, Frequent & Fabulous' *Ahem*. I think Best Impressions, of trentbarton fame, are at least partly responsible for that one. My ride, however, was not one of the branded examples but one of two Omnicities in Potteries' fleet which proudly wears the classic red & yellow PMT colours; the link below shows it off well and I think it's fair to say the boxy Omnicity wears the horizontal livery very well indeed:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/128987711@...465366323/

The branding for route 26 came off over a year ago leaving the plain livery as a sort-of heritage bus. As good as the Scania looks, it's difficult to imagine a Streetlite would pull it off as well. The bus itself is well-kept, clean and comfortable inside with unique Scania branded seats. I would go as far as this older example performed better than Go North East's 56 plate examples or even Arriva's. Maybe there's an argument Scania took more care with this batch as I believe it was part of the first major order for Omnicities in the UK, starting in 2003. The main thing I did notice about the interior is that all of the coving adverts were either about cancer or diabetes. To top it off there was an advert raising awareness about suicide on the cab wall. By the time the bus had finished loading I was feeling suitably morbid and wondering what was going to kill me first, cancer or myself.  

The bus left the station fairly full, cue screaming baby. I couldn't see the offending infant from were I was sat at the rear offside quad, but I could certainly hear it. The wails were muffled every now and then, presumably as the mother attempted to smother it. When more passengers boarded at the high street I gained a seat neighbour who had a poor concept of personal space. At least the screaming died down. As we headed away from the city and the bus emptied out I was wondering if my neighbour was going to move onto a now free set of seats. What's the correct etiquette here? The bus was now less than half-full but she still seemed intent on seat sharing. Starting to hope for a sharp right turn; the lack of grab rails in this section of an Omnicity would have sent her flying into the aisle. Had to wait until arrival into Leek for my freedom, surprised to see mother and now-quiet baby still on bus, maybe she had smothered it. 

Leek bus station is a simple affair, essentially one long bus bay with aprox six stop flags affixed to the canopy. Some research shows it's looked exactly the same since at least the 1960s. Noticeably absent was any information about buses. No times, routes or places served. Presumably as Leek's bus services are a hodgepodge of different operators not one has decided it's worthwhile investing in some publicity. I gave up on council provided information around here a while ago. It was refreshing to see some public toilets still open in these times of council cuts, especially in a rural area. The graffiti on the walls inside served as a reminder as to quite why local authorities have decided it's generally easier to close such facilities. I swiftly left, taking care not to touch anything or look at anyone. 

D&G Bus 138 YJ55BHO Optare Solo M990 Route 31: Leek Bus Station - Cheadle High Street
This vehicle was parked in the station on layover when I arrived. My plan was to catch a returning First 18 to Hanley, but I worked out the Solo must be working the bi-hourly 31 route. Seeing as it was pretty lucky to land just as such an infrequent service was due to depart it seemed logical to hop on this instead. Considering my previous steed on the 18 was roughly the same age as this Solo, this bus was a real credit to D&G. Immaculate both inside and out, could have easily been passed off as a 2010-2011 model by first impressions. The ride itself was, in all fairness, as dull as dishwater - it's a solo. The route it took on the other hand was breathtaking. I'm struggling to think of a fair comparison in the North East, it really is something very different. We went through villages which charming names such as 'Ipstones', 'Froghall' and 'Foxt'. The roads linking them were not built with modern vehicles, particularly a 9.9m bus! I'd urge you to Streetview some of the roads around there to see what I'm twittering on about. At one point were wheelie bins were 'double parked' by the entrance to a farm the road was so narrow the driver had to get out and move them to get through! There were 5 to 10 passengers on the bus at any point though, some getting on and off in remote locations,; it was good to see a rural bus being supported.  

First 32639 KP54AZA Volvo B7TL/Wright Gemini Route 32: Cheadle High Street - Hanley Bus Station
I was pleased to grab a B7TL back to Hanley for a few reasons, firstly to enjoy the views of the moorlands from a height and a lovely sunny day. Secondly, they remind me of when the batch were delivered to GNE for the X10. With the metallic paint and personalised seat moquette I was blown away as a young lad by these. I still swear I once got in Middlesbrough and there was BBC radio playing through the speakers. Can anybody confirm this? Anyway, I've not been on one in a while and despite First's examples being bashed through the countryside most days I image they're fairing better than GNE's after their beatings on the A19. A great ride sat above the driver nonetheless.

What made the journey all the more interesting was the conversation of the two ladies opposite. Both well dressed, one maybe 50 years old and one maybe 25? I could't help but hear their mindless chatter but what perked my interest was when the younger casually mentioned she smokes canabis. The older lady has plenty to say on the subject and is loudly discussing what drugs she's done and where the best dealers in Cheadle are. The conversation continues on this course, with brief discourse on a holiday to New York and what they're each having for tea. As we get into Hanley the younger suggests they should go for a pint sometime, introduces her self formally to the older and goes to leave. They didn't even bloody know each other! The mind boggles. 

First 53209 CN07KZM Optare Solo Route 5: Hanley Bus Station - Bucknall
I spied this Solo pulling into the bus station in front of the B7TL I was already on. I really like this pair of Solos from first as they feature 'traditional' dual purpose seating, i.e deep cushions and cloth fabric with headrests. I imagine this was more suited when they were used in rural Wales with Veolia (remember them?!) than Staffordshire local runs. Again, nothing special about the ride. Noticed the adverts this time advertise careers with Phones 4 U who were founded and based in Stoke-on-Trent. I'm sure the hundreds of people made redundant last year in the area when the company defaulted don't appreciate First's reluctance to take these down. Still, at least there's no cancer on this one. 

First 53120 EO02NFA Optare Solo Route 5: Bucknall - Hanley Bus Station
Crossed the road to catch a bus back to town, I've attached a photo of the information in the bus shelter.
 
I'm glad it was there as in general bus information is severely lacking around here; but really? It looks like they're actively trying to put people off bus usage. Any how, I caught this ex-Norwich Solo which arrived in the area in late 2015 to replace similar non DDA-compliant X-reg examples at Adderley Green Depot. They're really showing their age and don't show off First in a good light at all. To make matters worse they feature First's standard seating for buses delivered from 2000-2003 which is not too distant from Urban 90 and Potteries have badly scrapped the Norwich branding away from the sides so most of it is still legible. Of note is the bizarrely placed information clip frames around the wheelchair bay. 
 
Can anybody shed some light on this? If they were used for information I can't help but feel a person in the wheelchair bay would feel rather self conscious with people staring at them!

First 53830 CN06BXF Optare Solo Route 28: Hanley Bus Station - Norton
I Love Solos! You may may be forgiven for thinking so, at least. There is indeed a lot more variety in First Potteries fleet than I'm portraying here, but this journey was more for the route than the vehicle. Route 28 came into existence when quite severe cuts to the network caused some backlash from the locals. To soften the blow, First offered routes 27 & 28. With a combined PVR of 1 they initially provided a bi-hourly mon-fri service to many of the locations which were having their previously decent service withdrawn. They were offered on a trial 'use it or lose it' basis. First didn't make it easy to find as neither route featured on their network maps or general publicity. From what I've seen both routes carried good loads so I was surprised by the most recent revision in February which saw both routes go to an hourly service but on alternate days. So 28 runs Mon/Wed/Fri only and 27 Tue/Thurs only. I've not done the research but I would imagine the residents of the areas served (routes do not overlap) would rather a bus every day rather than hourly some days. Surely it couldn't be that First are intentionally trying to drive down passenger numbers to justify withdrawing the services to concentrate on key corridors?

First 53063 VX53OEF Optare Solo Route 98: Norton - Newcastle Bus Station
Anther recent cascade to compensate for DDA withdrawals. This slightly newer batch have the saving grace of conventional seating similar to a cloth version of what's found on the X66 Streetlites or Arriva's Solos, if I try to name the exact type I'll only get it wrong! Another suicide poster; I was contemplating it by now as it was my 5th Solo but decided it's only 15 minutes to Newcastle (Under-Lyme, not the real one) and I could console myself with a Greggs pasty. I clearly wasn't the only one having a bad time of it as I accidentally saw the lady sat ahead of me Googling local divorce lawyers; I mean could that not wait until you got home? Stoke's an odd place. 

First 65034 YN06WMF [b]Scania CN94 Omnicity [/b]Route 101: Newcastle Bus Station - Stone
The purpose of a bash on route 101 was to sample an Omnicity at full whack on the national speed limit dual carriageways along the route. As the solo I was previously on pulled into the station there was a sister Omnicity on stand which I could have got straight on but I was getting pretty hangry for the aforementioned pasty; something not quite appreciated in the Midlands as it is in the great North East. 20 minutes on the next 101 arrives in the form of the above described vehicle. Just to keep a theme going, the coving adverts were for the Orange and T-Mobile merger - something which started happening in 2010 so, you know, feel free to take these down as well First. The ride was powerful as expected, but again somehow this slightly newer Omnicity didn't seem as well built as the earlier, older, one. Despite many, many buses in the Potteries still wearing Barbie livery this bus was lucky enough to be repainted into Olympia. Odd then that it has repainted again into 'Olympia 2', the livery with a pink sash at the front, rather than updating one still in Barbie. Either way, it hadn't been finished and has been in service a few weeks now with no fleet names at all which again, is a pretty poor show from First. 

First 65037 YN06WMK Scania CN94 Omnicity Route 101: Stone - Newcastle Bus Station
An essentially identical vehicle provided the haulage back to Newcastle, again an anonymous looking one with no fleet name. Sat behind the driver's cab this time and noticed the cab wall is actually tinted plastic so could see the driver and road ahead; it's been a while since I've seen a bus with this. The driver did start texting every time we stopped. It doesn't bother me as long as we're still on time, but it does make me wonder what general company policy is on drivers using phones when stationary; I can't image it's really allowed? What really stood out was what is hopefully seen in the video here:  


If you can't make it out, that is go good few inches of water trapped in the front door! Goodness knows how long it's been in there. I could be wrong, it may be intentional. While Arriva and GNE are trying to woo passengers with wifi and power sockets, First are pioneering on board fish tanks!

First 65705 YN04GME Scania L94UB/Wright Solar Route 4: Newcastle Bus Station - Hanley Bus Station
Thank you very much for coming this far, you may be pleased to read this is my last journey. I was hoping for a Scania from this batch as they remind me of being a teenager a few years ago, catching the M1 from Heworth to see friends. First's versions are fairing up much the same, still putting in reliable everyday service. This batch were refreshed with help from Best Impressions to launch an ill-fated plan to introduce a colour-coded network back in 2014. This particular branding survived however, which seems good at first. The vehicles, however are now allocated to routes 3&4 which go to none of the places mentioned on the external route description. Great job First!


Well folks, thanks again for reading and please comment with your thoughts and opinions, even if it's that you don't find my ramblings in North Staffordshire relevant. I don't often get out on the buses these days, my next planned trip will be to Manchester when the busway there launches. If all goes well I may have another write-up.

I find your Staffordshire ramblings quite interesting - I used to live not far from there.

Always thought PMT was so aptly named. Out of the various services serving Uttoxeter (and I see there's still multiple operators in the town, off in various directions) it was the most likely to be late and the stock was the least comfortable.

That timetable makes Durham's new ones look nice and clear. At least Durham's are tabular and not just a massive list. The "you are here" bit is just bloody bonkers. What is the point in that?!

(14 Mar 2016, 11:29 pm)BusLoverMum wrote I find your Staffordshire ramblings quite interesting - I used to live not far from there.

Always thought PMT was so aptly named. Out of the various services serving Uttoxeter (and I see there's still multiple operators in the town, off in various directions) it was the most likely to be late and the stock was the least comfortable.

That timetable makes Durham's new ones look nice and clear. At least Durham's are tabular and not just a massive list. The "you are here" bit is just bloody bonkers. What is the point in that?!

Thanks for reading! The only positive I can gather from that timetable print is that it covers all operators services. It's ridiculous when an operator only posts their own information, especially when services don't run in competition but compliment each others & provide connections. The example above is extra confusing as 90% if the journies have the same note. Why not invert the meaning of the note and only have it on 10% of journies? At the very least use a symbol or a letter and not a bloody number!

Uttoxetter is interesting as its was served by both PMT and Trent and is now served by their modern day counterparts. It could be argued trentbarton is the success story of privatisation and commercialisation of bus services while First is, well, the opposite. The ex PMT territory stretching from Manchester, Merseyside and the Peak District has dwindled to have just one depot left with one of the oldest fleets in First's empire.

(14 Mar 2016, 11:54 pm)James101 wrote Thanks for reading! The only positive I can gather from that timetable print is that it covers all operators services. It's ridiculous when an operator only posts their own information, especially when services don't run in competition but compliment each others & provide connections. The example above is extra confusing as 90% if the journies have the same note. Why not invert the meaning of the note and only have it on 10% of journies? At the very least use a symbol or a letter and not a bloody number!

Uttoxetter is interesting as its was served by both PMT and Trent and is now served by their modern day counterparts. It could be argued trentbarton is the success story of privatisation and commercialisation of bus services while First is, well, the opposite. The ex PMT territory stretching from Manchester, Merseyside and the Peak District has dwindled to have just one depot left with one of the oldest fleets in First's empire.

The town itself was served by a local company.  There was a circular service serving the area where I ;ived - a handy 10p child fare if I didn't fancy walking into town. It also ran a couple of routes into Burton.
http://www.thebusgallery.co.uk/stevensons


Never bothered with what's now the Trent Barton route to Derby, as the train was much quicker and no more expensive.

(15 Mar 2016, 11:28 am)BusLoverMum wrote The town itself was served by a local company.  There was a circular service serving the area where I ;ived - a handy 10p child fare if I didn't fancy walking into town. It also ran a couple of routes into Burton.
http://www.thebusgallery.co.uk/stevensons


Never bothered with what's now the Trent Barton route to Derby, as the train was much quicker and no more expensive.

In fact I seen s Stevensons own brand bus stop flag out in the wilds of route 32 yesterday! Next time I'm out there I'll grab a pic to upload

Got a surprise few days off next week so planning a return trip to the NE. Hopefully going to spend one day having a bus outing. It'll be my first day on north east buses since 2013; I've always kept up to date on what's new/changed across the region but I'm wondering if anyone here has some highlights to reccomend I should cover?

Probably going to use an explorer ticket, starting point isn't an issue as will be driving but will need to return to the same point.

(18 Mar 2016, 6:30 pm)James101 wrote Got a surprise few days off next week so planning a return trip to the NE. Hopefully going to spend one day having a bus outing. It'll be my first day on north east buses since 2013; I've always kept up to date on what's new/changed across the region but I'm wondering if anyone here has some highlights to reccomend I should cover?

Probably going to use an explorer ticket, starting point isn't an issue as will be driving but will need to return to the same point.

9102, 9104-6, the loan buses.

(18 Mar 2016, 6:30 pm)James101 wrote Got a surprise few days off next week so planning a return trip to the NE. Hopefully going to spend one day having a bus outing. It'll be my first day on north east buses since 2013; I've always kept up to date on what's new/changed across the region but I'm wondering if anyone here has some highlights to reccomend I should cover?

Probably going to use an explorer ticket, starting point isn't an issue as will be driving but will need to return to the same point.

the 74 to Hexham and then the 689 to Consett is a nice journey, Though trying to connect with them can be a issue sometimes.

Would deffo like to do the 689, and maybe the demo metrocity. So possibly do-able via Durham and consett. Could get an omnidekka that way too, what do they work into Durham?