Bus Related Outings and Reviews

[Ambassador]

I believe they were quite low today, mainly because there was only one return journey on the 477 today (as opposed to 2 return journies) due to the time of the tides. But my last visit to the causeway did result in one of the Mercs appearing on the 477. It does advise in the timetable for you to ring the company if there is a large group of you travelling.

Yeah I got caught out last year on one of the 2 return days. The Solo was rammed to the point i was practically pressed to the windscreen, no hope if we'd crashed.

Sure it was 047 that ran the return journey and was standing room only. 

A heavy loading at Haggerston was the issue, I guess they can't account for that

[Jamie M]

All of the following are GNE.
0600 GX03SVJ X71 Sunniside -> E.S
~ambled around town realising the world was not yet awake~
0815 NK05GZP 10A E.S -> Blackhall Mill
0903 649 V9 Chopwell -> Consett
0940 5170 15A Consett -> Durham
1015 6070 21 Durham -> E.S
1120 793 10B E.S -> M.C
1145 NK04ZNE M.C -> ASDA
~shopping~
1200 NK04ZNE ASDA -> M.C
~lost detail~
1300 NK06JXE E.S -> B.H.m
~traffic~
1603 649 Chopwell -> Consett
1645 X71 3996 Consett -> Sunniside
~ate shopping~
1846 X31 NK56KHZ Sunniside -> E.S
1915 45 5337 E.S -> M.C
1933 UID Venture M.C -> Stanley
2015 5397 78A Stanley -> Consett
2040 5397 78A Consett -> Stanley
2112 5286 6 Stanley -> E.S
2230 5286 6 E.S -> Sunniside

[Rapidsnap]

I photoed the 1645 X71 from Consett at Byermoor.

[Jamie M]

I photoed the 1645 X71 from Consett at Byermoor.

You won't have seen me, I was on the middle back row between two larger members of public.

[Jamie M]

Don't normally rant during outings, but anyways. The long 19 is such a joke of a service. It would make more sense to extend the 309 to Ashington to ease pressure off the service. It's often as much as 40 minutes late on runs where it started on time. On top of the 310, you can see journeys in excess of 3 hours from Ashington to Newcastle - which is frankly stupid. Blyth -> Ashington would be an extra 20-30 minutes at the max - halving the time from Newcastle to Ashington.
The solars are alright, the journey on the 19 is alright - just excessive end to end. Will write up a suggestion later..

[BusLoverMum]

Don't normally rant during outings, but anyways. The long 19 is such a joke of a service. It would make more sense to extend the 309 to Ashington to ease pressure off the service. It's often as much as 40 minutes late on runs where it started on time. On top of the 310, you can see journeys in excess of 3 hours from Ashington to Newcastle - which is frankly stupid. Blyth -> Ashington would be an extra 20-30 minutes at the max - halving the time from Newcastle to Ashington.
The solars are alright, the journey on the 19 is alright - just excessive end to end. Will write up a suggestion later..

Remember with these routes, it's never about the journey from end to end. You can drive from Durham to Sunderland or Hartlepool in under half an hour, but the 22, 24 and Scarlet band 58 all take almost 90 minutes. If they didn't, they wouldn't pick up that many passengers because not many people live on the A690, or whatever!

Delays can be problematic with longer routes, mind. That's why GNE split up the 43/44 into the 16/16A and the 6.

[mb134]

Don't normally rant during outings, but anyways. The long 19 is such a joke of a service. It would make more sense to extend the 309 to Ashington to ease pressure off the service. It's often as much as 40 minutes late on runs where it started on time. On top of the 310, you can see journeys in excess of 3 hours from Ashington to Newcastle - which is frankly stupid. Blyth -> Ashington would be an extra 20-30 minutes at the max - halving the time from Newcastle to Ashington.
The solars are alright, the journey on the 19 is alright - just excessive end to end. Will write up a suggestion later..

Or, you could get from Ashington to Newcastle in 42 minutes using the X20.

[Jamie M]

Or, you could get from Ashington to Newcastle in 42 minutes using the X20.

I use day tickets so that would be more of an expense on top of the hideous GNE all day fare.

[mb134]

I use day tickets so that would be more of an expense on top of the hideous GNE all day fare.

Ah, is there no way to get a cheap single(/return) then Arriva day ticket from there?

[Jamie M]

Ah, is there no way to get a cheap single(/return) then Arriva day ticket from there?

GNE doesn't come close to cheap, even with returns! It's better value for money to get a day ticket and go West/South rather than one trip north.

[Jamie M]

5:20 97 UID Solar Sunniside -> Newcastle
~many trips to E.S -> M.C
0915 309 UID B9 Haymarket -> Colbalt
1022 19 UID Solar Colbalt -> Ashington
1203 19 UID Solar Ashington -> Colbalt
1359 309 UID B9 Colbalt -> Haymarket
1405 10A NK05GZO E.S -> Blackhall Mill
1553 47 NK15EOH B.H.M -> Chopwell
1603 V9 NL63XYW Chopwell -> Consett
1635 X71 W20FWL Consett -> Sunniside
1911 X70 NK51UCS Sunniside -> E.S
2007 21 6061 E.S -> C.L.S
2059 21 UID B5 C.LS -> Gateshead Interchange
2200 6 W864PNL E.S -> Whickham

[Rapidsnap]

Don't normally rant during outings, but anyways. The long 19 is such a joke of a service. It would make more sense to extend the 309 to Ashington to ease pressure off the service. It's often as much as 40 minutes late on runs where it started on time. On top of the 310, you can see journeys in excess of 3 hours from Ashington to Newcastle - which is frankly stupid. Blyth -> Ashington would be an extra 20-30 minutes at the max - halving the time from Newcastle to Ashington.
The solars are alright, the journey on the 19 is alright - just excessive end to end. Will write up a suggestion later..

The vehicles used on the 19 are normally the Volvo B7RLE / Wright Eclipses.

[Jamie M]

The vehicles used on the 19 are normally the Volvo B7RLE / Wright Eclipses.

Full solar allocation from my perspective.
I thought all of the eclipses were at riverside or cls also.

[NK53 TKT]

Full solar allocation from my perspective.
I thought all of the eclipses were at riverside or cls also.

No, 4978-4982 came off the 5 when 5243-5247 came off the 19, 4978-4982 are the only B7RLE's in the GNE fleet and all are at Percy Main for the 19

[Jamie M]

No, 4978-4982 came off the 5 when 5243-5247 came off the 19, 4978-4982 are the only B7RLE's in the GNE fleet and all are at Percy Main for the 19

Sorry, I was thinking of the Gemini Eclipse deckers - I forgot there was a few single decks with B7s.

[NK53 TKT]

Sorry, I was thinking of the Gemini Eclipse deckers - I forgot there was a few single decks with B7s.

They are pretty identical to the Solars though so it is easy to get them mixed up

[Jamie M]

They are pretty identical to the Solars though so it is easy to get them mixed up

Yeah, they used to be toon link purple right?

[S813 FVK]

Yeah, they used to be toon link purple right?

Yes, they were.

A way to identify the difference is by their seats. If they are all forward facing, its a B7RLE and if they have the backward facing seats, they are Solars.

[NK53 TKT]

I didn't know that, is there any other way of identification, or not

[Andreos1]

I didn't know that, is there any other way of identification, or not

Registration plates and fleet numbers?