V470GBF was on the T1 today - was quite a few passengers on commenting on how good the service is, the bus is decent inside but doesn't have a ticket machine for some reason.

MX07LBG was on the M1 with a working blind eventually!

(17 Dec 2016, 7:41 pm)Charles41 wrote PCL are using the  North East Coach Travel yard at Seaton Burn as a parking place in addition to their main Ryton depot.

Charles

I wonder why whatever bus uses the 15 doesn't go there. PCL just seem to ditch it on any layby they find around Alnwick or Rothbury.

(19 Dec 2016, 5:17 pm)Cobalt271 wrote I wonder why whatever bus uses the 15 doesn't go there. PCL just seem to ditch it on any layby they find around Alnwick or Rothbury.

I'm guessing it does as it starts on the M1 on the morning at 0700 from Morpeth, and does a M1 back to Morpeth at 1810 from Thropton.

Am sorry to ask but dose anyone know what buses pcl currently have

Thank you

Are explorers valid on the 15 and M1?

(25 Dec 2016, 9:11 pm)NK53 TKT wrote Are explorers valid on the 15 and M1?

I don't think so, a child single is only £2 on each service anyway so not too bad.

(23 Dec 2016, 11:22 am)jaimz13 wrote Am sorry to ask but dose anyone know what buses pcl currently have

Thank you

http://www.northeastbuses.co.uk/fleet/li...eratorF=90


Sent from my iPad Pro using Tapatalk

(25 Dec 2016, 11:05 pm)TEN 6083 wrote http://www.northeastbuses.co.uk/fleet/li...eratorF=90

The NEB fleet list for PCL Travel requires a bit of a update.

Entered the fleet since last update:
MX07LBG - Enterprise Plasma/Plaxton Primo - White Rural Link.
V470GBF - Optare Solo - Green Rural Link M1 branded.
MH06WCU - LDV Convoy - The Eden liveried
LK03GHN - Dennis Trident/Plaxton President.

PN06FJC - Mercedes Sprinter - has left I believe.
X62CHJ - Volvo B6BLE/Wright Crusader - think it's still with PCL Travel but I think it's going to be scrapped.

(25 Dec 2016, 9:26 pm)Tom wrote I don't think so, a child single is only £2 on each service anyway so not too bad.

Thanks

(25 Dec 2016, 11:27 pm)Jimmi wrote The NEB fleet list for PCL Travel requires a bit of a update.

Entered the fleet since last update:
MX07LBG - Enterprise Plasma/Plaxton Primo - White Rural Link.
V470GBF - Optare Solo - Green Rural Link M1 branded.
MH06WCU - LDV Convoy - The Eden liveried
LK03GHN - Dennis Trident/Plaxton President.

PN06FJC - Mercedes Sprinter - has left I believe.
X62CHJ - Volvo B6BLE/Wright Crusader - think it's still with PCL Travel but I think it's going to be scrapped.

Thank you

I sampled PCL for the first time on Saturday with the 15 and M1 and I was impressed.

The driver on the 15 was nice and told me some things about the company and said that his boss was away in London collecting another dart that is similar to the current two but not identical. He let me on with my explorer even though he was not supposed to. It arrived in Alnwick early on 15 and then left 3 minutes early towards Sainsbury's. The bus went on to Rothbury and was quite quiet with only two other passengers. 
The bus itself was in good mechanical condition not how Jimmy described it and it had no panels missing. The only other issue was that the side destination display was stuck on S1 Morpeth. The bus was LG02 FFR. The driver also said that he takes the bus home on an evening and parks it in a layby round the corner somewhere in Alnwick as this saves the company £180 a week in fuel. 

I then boarded the M1 which was not so great. The bus was the green optare solo. It was quite old and underpowered plus it was not nice on the inside and is not very suitable for the route in my opinion. The driver was a bit grumpy and refused my explorer and singles are quite pricey for such a small route. So personally I don't know peoples issues with these services. 

Also when I went past Lionheart on the X15 I passed a Glen Valley coach that was being driven by Steve Hurst the ex MD of Spirit Buses.

With new buses in mind I would recommend the following fleet allocation when the new dart arrives:
LG02 FFR M1
LG02 FFP S1
V470 GBF (solo) T1
MX07 LBG (travelsure primo) 15/16
BAZ7053 (Van Hool Ailzee) 808
Other primo Northumberland local services and 79
New Dart Hexham local services

(02 Jan 2017, 11:13 am)NK53 TKT wrote I sampled PCL for the first time on Saturday with the 15 and M1 and I was impressed.

The driver on the 15 was nice and told me some things about the company and said that his boss was away in London collecting another dart that is similar to the current two but not identical. He let me on with my explorer even though he was not supposed to. It arrived in Alnwick early on 15 and then left 3 minutes early towards Sainsbury's. The bus went on to Rothbury and was quite quiet with only two other passengers. 
The bus itself was in good mechanical condition not how Jimmy described it and it had no panels missing. The only other issue was that the side destination display was stuck on S1 Morpeth. The bus was LG02 FFR. The driver also said that he takes the bus home on an evening and parks it in a layby round the corner somewhere in Alnwick as this saves the company £180 a week in fuel. 

I then boarded the M1 which was not so great. The bus was the green optare solo. It was quite old and underpowered plus it was not nice on the inside and is not very suitable for the route in my opinion. The driver was a bit grumpy and refused my explorer and singles are quite pricey for such a small route. So personally I don't know peoples issues with these services. 

Also when I went past Lionheart on the X15 I passed a Glen Valley coach that was being driven by Steve Hurst the ex MD of Spirit Buses.

With new buses in mind I would recommend the following fleet allocation when the new dart arrives:
LG02 FFR M1
LG02 FFP S1
V470 GBF (solo) T1
MX07 LBG (travelsure primo) 15/16
BAZ7053 (Van Hool Ailzee) 808
Other primo Northumberland local services and 79
New Dart Hexham local services

The singles are cheaper than Arriva on the X14 - £4.00 isn't bad for a 17 mile journey considering what some prices are for less, it's £5.20 on the X14.

I don't think they have 2 Primos though, and the M1/T1 interwork (with the bus off the S1 doing a couple of T1 runs). But yeah I had no problems with them when I used them.

(02 Jan 2017, 11:13 am)NK53 TKT wrote I sampled PCL for the first time on Saturday with the 15 and M1 and I was impressed.

The driver on the 15 was nice and told me some things about the company and said that his boss was away in London collecting another dart that is similar to the current two but not identical. He let me on with my explorer even though he was not supposed to. It arrived in Alnwick early on 15 and then left 3 minutes early towards Sainsbury's. The bus went on to Rothbury and was quite quiet with only two other passengers. 
The bus itself was in good mechanical condition not how Jimmy described it and it had no panels missing. The only other issue was that the side destination display was stuck on S1 Morpeth. The bus was LG02 FFR. The driver also said that he takes the bus home on an evening and parks it in a layby round the corner somewhere in Alnwick as this saves the company £180 a week in fuel. 

I then boarded the M1 which was not so great. The bus was the green optare solo. It was quite old and underpowered plus it was not nice on the inside and is not very suitable for the route in my opinion. The driver was a bit grumpy and refused my explorer and singles are quite pricey for such a small route. So personally I don't know peoples issues with these services. 

Also when I went past Lionheart on the X15 I passed a Glen Valley coach that was being driven by Steve Hurst the ex MD of Spirit Buses.

With new buses in mind I would recommend the following fleet allocation when the new dart arrives:
LG02 FFR M1
LG02 FFP S1
V470 GBF (solo) T1
MX07 LBG (travelsure primo) 15/16
BAZ7053 (Van Hool Ailzee) 808
Other primo Northumberland local services and 79
New Dart Hexham local services

I stand by my statements about the state of the Dart I had on the 15 a few months back, the fact that there was a panel that was just dumped on the back shelf was not a pleasing sight, I uploaded the same photo of that panel that I uploaded to this forum to my photo Facebook page and I had a few comments saying that is was probably worthy of a PG9. The fact that a few weeks later Charles41 reported that it was in the same state weeks later worries me.

Despite my previous statement saying that I would never ride them again... I did actually ride the Primo on the S1 on Christmas Eve and I have no complaints there.

As for your allocations:
M1/T1 interwork, so it has to be the same bus and I think some T1 runs are covered by the Primo on the S1 (not 100%). This method of interworking keeps the number of buses required down to two, rather than requiring one for each service which would potentially cost more to do.

Think BAZ7053 left the fleet? Also, why would you put a coach on service which is contracted for a 16 seater bus? Apart from a few Saturday's on the run up to Christmas, it has never needed anything bigger than that, so putting that on would just be ridiculous.

There is only one Primo. The 79 was withdrawn when the M1 was introduced as the 79 route was incorporated into a diversion of the M1 route on Wednesday's and Saturday's (now just Wednesday's).

As for the Hexham services, LG02FFP is usually allocated to the 885 on a Tuesday. The 613 which runs on a Tuesday and 885 which runs on a Saturday normally use LDV Convoy MH06WCU, both of these services also run on the 808 in the morning and afternoon. No idea what does the 815 on a Friday but would imagine it's MH06WCU or if not that, LG02FFP, Asda MetroCentre Free Bus from Prudhoe? on a Monday uses LG02FFP.

(02 Jan 2017, 11:13 am)NK53 TKT wrote I sampled PCL for the first time on Saturday with the 15 and M1 and I was impressed.

The driver on the 15 was nice and told me some things about the company and said that his boss was away in London collecting another dart that is similar to the current two but not identical. He let me on with my explorer even though he was not supposed to. It arrived in Alnwick early on 15 and then left 3 minutes early towards Sainsbury's. The bus went on to Rothbury and was quite quiet with only two other passengers. 
The bus itself was in good mechanical condition not how Jimmy described it and it had no panels missing. The only other issue was that the side destination display was stuck on S1 Morpeth. The bus was LG02 FFR. The driver also said that he takes the bus home on an evening and parks it in a layby round the corner somewhere in Alnwick as this saves the company £180 a week in fuel. 

I then boarded the M1 which was not so great. The bus was the green optare solo. It was quite old and underpowered plus it was not nice on the inside and is not very suitable for the route in my opinion. The driver was a bit grumpy and refused my explorer and singles are quite pricey for such a small route. So personally I don't know peoples issues with these services. 

Also when I went past Lionheart on the X15 I passed a Glen Valley coach that was being driven by Steve Hurst the ex MD of Spirit Buses.

With new buses in mind I would recommend the following fleet allocation when the new dart arrives:
LG02 FFR M1
LG02 FFP S1
V470 GBF (solo) T1
MX07 LBG (travelsure primo) 15/16
BAZ7053 (Van Hool Ailzee) 808
Other primo Northumberland local services and 79
New Dart Hexham local services

PCL don't accept Explorers, So it was just pure luck you managed to get on the first time.

He moved to manage the Social Media Relations at Glen Valley, But retain's his PCV licence.

(02 Jan 2017, 12:22 pm)South Tyne Lad wrote PCL don't accept Explorers, So it was just pure luck you managed to get on the first time.

He moved to manage the Social Media Relations at Glen Valley, But retain's his PCV licence.

A few points to add to today's posts. Firstly the Morpeth services all interwork to an extent. The vehicles used are kept at the Rush family yard at Seaton Burn. The solo and primo were present there on my last visit.

Secondly BAZ has left the fleet as indeed have all of PCLs coaches. It was not present on my last visit to their yard last August.

Thirdly you also need to include the transit and trident in any potential list of workings. I've seen the transit on the 613 and the old 79 route. I'm not sure where the trident would be used as none of their current routes justify the deckers seating capacity.

Finally I believe X62CHG is still owned but currently not in use

Charles

(02 Jan 2017, 4:34 pm)Charles41 wrote Finally I believe X62CHG is still owned but currently not in use

Charles

X62CHJ is indeed still with PCL but is no longer in service and I think it's due to be scrapped.

Think some of the seats have been robbed from it (in some way) and may be used in the Solo.

(02 Jan 2017, 12:12 pm)Jimmi wrote I stand by my statements about the state of the Dart I had on the 15 a few months back, the fact that there was a panel that was just dumped on the back shelf was not a pleasing sight, I uploaded the same photo of that panel that I uploaded to this forum to my photo Facebook page and I had a few comments saying that is was probably worthy of a PG9. The fact that a few weeks later Charles41 reported that it was in the same state weeks later worries me.

Despite my previous statement saying that I would never ride them again... I did actually ride the Primo on the S1 on Christmas Eve and I have no complaints there.

As for your allocations:
M1/T1 interwork, so it has to be the same bus and I think some T1 runs are covered by the Primo on the S1 (not 100%). This method of interworking keeps the number of buses required down to two, rather than requiring one for each service which would potentially cost more to do.

Think BAZ7053 left the fleet? Also, why  would you put a coach on service which is contracted for a 16 seater bus? Apart from a few Saturday's on the run up to Christmas, it has never needed anything bigger than that, so putting that on would just be ridiculous.

There is only one Primo. The 79 was withdrawn when the M1 was introduced as the 79 route was incorporated into a diversion of the M1 route on Wednesday's and Saturday's (now just Wednesday's).

As for the Hexham services, LG02FFP is usually allocated to the 885 on a Tuesday. The 613 which runs on a Tuesday and 885 which runs on a Saturday normally use LDV Convoy MH06WCU, both of these services also run on the 808 in the morning and afternoon. No idea what does the 815 on a Friday but would imagine it's MH06WCU or if not that, LG02FFP, Asda MetroCentre Free Bus from Prudhoe? on a Monday uses LG02FFP.

There is now a second primo delivered just before new year

how long has PCL had a plain white optare solo sr

Apparently their white Primo was involved in an RTA recently and is currently off the road, 
I believe the white Solo SR is possibly just a Loan vehicle at present.

(10 Jan 2017, 6:46 pm)thetravelman wrote Apparently their white Primo was involved in an RTA recently and is currently off the road, 
I believe the white Solo SR is possibly just a Loan vehicle at present.

What service(s) is the Solo SR being used on?

(11 Jan 2017, 11:12 am)Jimmi wrote What service(s) is the Solo SR being used on?

i saw it on Monday on the S1 then it went on to the M1

(10 Jan 2017, 6:46 pm)thetravelman wrote Apparently their white Primo was involved in an RTA recently and is currently off the road, 
I believe the white Solo SR is possibly just a Loan vehicle at present.

The Solo SR in question is KX14 FHV.
PCL Travel: KX14FHV by Matthew Jimmison, on Flickr

PCL optare solo has gained a private registration (M14 PCL)

The second primo with this operator is cn57efj formerly with travelsure. It's currently at the Seaton Burn yard of the Rush family. It still wears the travelsure blue livery and is currently unlicensed.

Charles

Looks like PCL have possibly aquired a White 'W' Reg MPD.

Saw it this morning at Blaydon around 7am ish, then again travelling North up the A1 towards Morpeth, maybe 20 mins or so later.

The only evidence I could see that it possibly belongs to PCL, is that it had 'Rural Link' on the front. No other Stickers or ID visiible, from a distance travelling in the dark!

(06 Feb 2017, 8:34 am)thetravelman wrote Looks like PCL have possibly aquired a White 'W' Reg MPD.

Saw it this morning at Blaydon around 7am ish, then again travelling North up the A1 towards Morpeth, maybe 20 mins or so later.

The only evidence I could see that it possibly belongs to PCL, is that it had 'Rural Link' on the front. No other Stickers or ID visiible, from a distance travelling in the dark!

Possibly W363ABD that was with Hunters?

It is ex Hunters W363ABD. Passed my shop in Throckley this morning.

The M1 branded Optare Solo (V470 GBF) has been re-registered using number plate M14 PCL.

Do the T1 S1 M1 all interwork cause I've looked that the timetables I can't see how it would work

(07 Feb 2017, 6:10 pm)jaimz13 wrote Do the T1 S1 M1 all interwork cause I've looked that the timetables I can't see how it would work

Think the S1 and T1 do but not the M1.