Forgot about that - guess it'll help give them time to work out what isn't going to ground out. I know that ANE aren't the only operator to have issues with the E200MMCs design in terms of clearance, First Aberdeen also have issues with theirs (https://flic.kr/p/2mgP81f) for example, so the Streetlite DF may be an option

While it is good to see the investment, it is going to be needed sooner rather than later as more CAZs inevitably spring up. Would imagine the target will be to rid the fleet of all Solo's and B7TLs by next year if the rumours of planned investment in ADC are true?

Yeah totally agreed with the B7's and Solo's.

One other thing they could possibly do either is maybe order something midibus length and upgrade the 1 and 2 in the process possibly. I'm not sure they really need full length singles on, maybe they could get something say 10.2m in length or so giving a slight upgrade for the 55 (maybe drop to every 30 mins?) and 57/57A and a slight downgrade for the 1 and 2 in capacities which would help for allocating things and remove the microfleet of minibuses from Ashington.

Would make a move to start and get the 09 Pulsar's into reserve work which are in a shocking state inside and get arid of the random Centro's etc still lingering around.

The main issue with the Solo reliability on the 57 is the length and frequency of the service though. Most of the Darlington minibus routes are reasonably frequent as far as I can remember, and are reasonably close to base should an issue develop. The 57 goes approximately 20 miles away from it's depot, and if there's an issue at the southern end the next run is definitely not running - so you're then leaving folk with a 2 hour gap in the service. 

I don't disagree with Darlington needing theirs replaced, I just question the logic of returning life expired vehicles to a route that they were struggling to operate reliably.

That's fair enough. I do wonder if the 59 plates may be in slightly better nick than 08 plates at Ashington, I seem to recall many saying 2809/12/13 were absolute heaps. The 59 plates do seem to stretch their legs a bit at Darlington on the 7 and such so will remain to be seen how they cope on the 57/57A.

When Darlington gain 2701-14 presumably Ashington will gain 5 Solo's for the 57/57A and Jesmond will gain 3 for the 55, so 6 Solo's should be withdrawn, presumably the remaining Darlo 08 plates 2830/32/33/35/36/41. That would leave 2815/16/18/20/23/38/39/50 of the 08 plates at Durham, with 2824/34 presumably due for withdrawal when no longer needed as repaint floats. Assuming only 8 of the 59 plates go to Northumbria that would leave 2 at Darlington, with 4 of the 11 plates at Whitby for the 95, 4 at Durham and 2 at Darlington. 

Hopefully Durham will either get some new MMC's of its own or at least some secondhand replacements to replace the 8 08 plates and displace the 11 plates back to Darlington, I reckon the 11 plates could last on the likes of the 3 and 19 for another year or two.

When Ashington had the Solo's they had to have 7 minibuses to provide 4 on the 57. (6 Solo's + 1 dart). They did require 5 of these 7 but when they lost the 58 contract all of them remained in service due to poor reliability meaning they needed 3 spares for the PVR 4. They would struggle with only 5 solo's I think for this reason unless they are more reliable than the ones they used to have.

Personally i see the 51 and 55 getting canned, 51A is withdrawn so its only a matter of time until the 51 joins it, and the 55 is also dropping to half hourly, which Arriva say is temporary, but i personally don't think it is temporary, i personally think its the end of the 55, but as Storx has suggested a few times, if the 55 is merged with the 52, then that might potentially solve the E6 issue

Medway Estate used to boast the M55 and 355 using Volvo B10BLEs. However having driving around the estate recently photoing the ADL E200MMCs on the 55, it looks tricky for full length buses to get around it now due to the amount of cars that park on the estate. I think Arriva will end up chopping the service leaving Nexus to fund the replacement either in the form of a like for like bus service or rerouting the 335/342 through the estate whilst arranging for "Express" services to stop on the unserved part of the routes from Four Lane Ends to Newcastle.

Not sure if this has already been noted or not, but there is a Cadet in service at Jesmond depot. It is on the 55 today.

Noticed an Arriva London Gemini and an E400 on the backs of Thorntons' trailers yesterday afternoon, on the Spine Road headed towards Ashington. It's been rumoured in the past that there may be London stock coming up for the region?

Medway Estate used to boast the M55 and 355 using Volvo B10BLEs. However having driving around the estate recently photoing the ADL E200MMCs on the 55, it looks tricky for full length buses to get around it now due to the amount of cars that park on the estate. I think Arriva will end up chopping the service leaving Nexus to fund the replacement either in the form of a like for like bus service or rerouting the 335/342 through the estate whilst arranging for "Express" services to stop on the unserved part of the routes from Four Lane Ends to Newcastle.

The X7 and X8 already stop at every bus stop now. It's just not very well advertised and no-one knows about it. Has been like that since March with the 52 doing between Four Lane Ends and South Gosforth. It's a strange bus route which isn't really needed at all (subsidy wise), Meadway having the Metro which does pretty much the same route or 62/63 (whichever one it is) doing the other side.

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Noticed an Arriva London Gemini and an E400 on the backs of Thorntons' trailers yesterday afternoon, on the Spine Road headed towards Ashington. It's been rumoured in the past that there may be London stock coming up for the region?

Not sure which ones these are but a lot of the buses Arriva are withdrawing in London currently aren't owned by them and were leased. They've been keen in getting arid of them recently. Quite likely be one of those.

The X7 and X8 already stop at every bus stop now. It's just not very well advertised and no-one knows about it. Has been like that since March with the 52 doing between Four Lane Ends and South Gosforth. It's a strange bus route which isn't really needed at all (subsidy wise), Meadway having the Metro which does pretty much the same route or 62/63 (whichever one it is) doing the other side.

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Not sure which ones these are but a lot of the buses Arriva are withdrawing in London currently aren't owned by them and were leased. They've been keen in getting arid of them recently. Quite likely be one of those.

That's wrong. It does it only on the last trip. Its mentioned on the timetable in Haymarket that the X8 stops at every stop between Haymarket & South Gosforth

That's wrong. It does it only on the last trip. Its mentioned on the timetable in Haymarket that the X8 stops at every stop between Haymarket & South Gosforth

You're right my apologies. The Arriva announcement for the March changes was wrong then and so is the timetable on bustimes (Arriva don't show all stops). Mind I never ever see anyone at the stops along there tbh.

It’s that time of year again - Yarm Fair week with the usual Pulsar/Solo swaps.

1446/69 are off to Redcar in exchange for 2824/34 returning for the week
Meanwhile Darlington are to receive 1448/53/94 in exchange for 3 Solos - so far, one swap has taken place and 2854 is now at Stockton with 1448 at Darlington and 1453 is en-route. With the arrival of the E200MMCs at Darlington at the end of the month, this is likely to be the last year for Solos on Yarm Fair week.

It’s that time of year again - Yarm Fair week with the usual Pulsar/Solo swaps.

1446/69 are off to Redcar in exchange for 2824/34 returning for the week
Meanwhile Darlington are to receive 1448/53/94 in exchange for 3 Solos - so far, one swap has taken place and 2854 is now at Stockton with 1448 at Darlington and 1453 is en-route. With the arrival of the E200MMCs at Darlington at the end of the month, this is likely to be the last year for Solos on Yarm Fair week.

2841/60 are the other two Solos.

2841/60 are the other two Solos.

Didn't Id it (sure BusTimes will confirm the fleet number), but there's at least one Solo still kicking around at Redcar/Whitby.

Didn't Id it (sure BusTimes will confirm the fleet number), but there's at least one Solo still kicking around at Redcar/Whitby.

Only 2824/34 have moved from Redcar to Stockton - the Whitby examples are still there.

Looks as though 2516 and 1923 have transferred to redcar
And 1412 is at stockton

Looks as though 2516 and 1923 have transferred to redcar
And 1412 is at stockton

1412 has been at Stockton on-and-off since the X12 operation moved at the start of August. Due to go back to Durham shortly for MOT and likely to remain at Durham with Stockton no longer requiring it with the timetable changes next weekend (Stockton have technically had an extra spare vehicle since the start of September as the MC6 was withdrawn but the additional vehicle transferred for that in June when the X66 moved was retained).
1923 and 2516 are indeed at Redcar to assist with vehicle shortages - to be made worse next weekend when 1430/33-5 transfer to Stockton for the 7/15 uplift.

1412 has been at Stockton on-and-off since the X12 operation moved at the start of August. Due to go back to Durham shortly for MOT and likely to remain at Durham with Stockton no longer requiring it with the timetable changes next weekend (Stockton have technically had an extra spare vehicle since the start of September as the MC6 was withdrawn but the additional vehicle transferred for that in June when the X66 moved was retained).
1923 and 2516 are indeed at Redcar to assist with vehicle shortages - to be made worse next weekend when 1430/33-5 transfer to Stockton for the 7/15 uplift.

Will 1923 and 2516 stay at Redcar or will they transfer back at some point

Will 1923 and 2516 stay at Redcar or will they transfer back at some point

Given both are technically reserve vehicles, and given the upcoming service changes coupled with Jesmond's closure/relocation, I would say they're likely to stay at Redcar long-term, indeed they may end up allowing 2824/34 to be withdrawn once Redcar's vehicle shortage is sorted allowing a slightly larger vehicle to fill in for the Streetlites (given 1923 has spent the last two days on X3 boards and 2516 has been on 62s today after its own short appearance on an X3 board yesterday whereas 2824/34 are virtually expected to be allocated to 81s while at Redcar).
Of course, when a number of Pulsars also move into reserve from Ashington next weekend, no need for them to return north.

Are 1430/33/34and 35 a permanent move to stockton. Guessing there no replacement due redcars way?

Are 1430/33/34and 35 a permanent move to stockton. Guessing there no replacement due redcars way?

They are permanent transfers in line with the PVR increase at Stockton (with 1432 also due to move to Stockton from Ashington while the rest of Ashington's 09/59 Pulsars move into reserve). Redcar have, on paper, more spare vehicles than the company's requirement in-line with the depot's PVR, hence 1430/3-5 move without replacement. Stockton's PVR increases by 4, so in effect does the spare ratio. Redcar's B7s and 7609/10 also formerly move into reserve with the end of the summer season, although 7609/10 are listed as available to be used as refurbishment cover at Redcar.

Other fleet movements include:
The full displacement of Solos from the active fleet at Darlington - with 2852-6 moving to Ashington in exchange for 2701-5, 2859-61/4/5 moving to Durham while 2857/8 move into the Durham County Reserve fleet. Apart from 2824/34 (which remain on Redcar reserve fleet as refurbishment cover) and 2837, all remaining 2008 Solos are listed for disposal with Durham's displaced by the newer examples from Darlington and the reinstatement of 2868/9 from the reserve fleet.
In line with Ashington's 09/59 Pulsars moving into reserve, Ashington regain 1497 from reserve while also gaining 1538/9 (from Jesmond) and 1540-2 (from reserve). Jesmond's 1480/95/6 and 1500 transfer to Blyth
Jesmond's 'Sapphire' E400s transfer to Blyth alongside 7556 - likely with the 43/44/45 workings

The remaining Jesmond vehicles remains classified as Jesmond allocated but will move to the temporary outstation location of Stagecoach's Walkergate depot - a total weekday PVR of 28 will operate out of there, including 8 306/308 turns and 8 51/52/53/54 turns alongside the 47, 55, 553, 555 and 685 plus 3 school workings. The 55 is covered to Streetlite operation on the reduced half hourly frequency.

Is the outstation until something more feasible appears or until Blyth & Ashington are modified to take extra vehicles?

Are 1430/33/34and 35 a permanent move to stockton. Guessing there no replacement due redcars way?

Due to the ongoing vehicle shortage at Redcar, the planned transfer of the Pulsars to Stockton has been delayed until the shortage is under control.
Stockton will temporarily be gaining 1409/11/29 from Ashington reserve to fill the gap (the additional vehicle to increase Stockton's spare vehicle quota is not being filled, allowing Redcar to use that effectively to assist with the shortage).

Are 1430/33/34and 35 a permanent move to stockton. Guessing there no replacement due redcars way?

NOT GORING ANYWHERER NOW NO MOVE MENTS ARE HAPPING FROM REDCAR

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Due to the ongoing vehicle shortage at Redcar, the planned transfer of the Pulsars to Stockton has been delayed until the shortage is under control.
Stockton will temporarily be gaining 1409/11/29 from Ashington reserve to fill the gap (the additional vehicle to increase Stockton's spare vehicle quota is not being filled, allowing Redcar to use that effectively to assist with the shortage).

  1430.35 are now not transfering  and will remain at Redcar or never will be as few have been told

4 of the 5 Darlington Solo's intended for Ashington made their way up tonight, with 4 E200s making the return south.

4 of the 5 Darlington Solo's intended for Ashington made their way up tonight, with 4 E200s making the return south.

Must be entering service sooner than the beginning of next week then


1448 is still currently on loan to Darlington from Stockton

Just seen x2 306 Pulsars heading through Low Fell towards Durham or potentially Darlington.

4 of the 5 Darlington Solo's intended for Ashington made their way up tonight, with 4 E200s making the return south.

So Ashington have only had those new mini buses for a couple of month and are having to swap them for shitty Solos? Their drivers will be overjoyed about that.....

So Ashington have only had those new mini buses for a couple of month and are having to swap them for shitty Solos? Their drivers will be overjoyed about that.....

They must be forgetting about the other 19 new vehicles they also got, if they are sulking about this.

So Ashington have only had those new mini buses for a couple of month and are having to swap them for shitty Solos? Their drivers will be overjoyed about that.....

Pity about them. The vehicles physically couldn't operate from Ashington due to the grounding issue. The Solos are elderly but will need replacement soon , as they would had they remained at Darlington.  Thus in a short while, they are sure to be replaced at Ashington by new, more suitable vehicles.  Whilst Arriva have taken a while to replace its fleet, it can't hold off forever.

They must be forgetting about the other 19 new vehicles they also got, if they are sulking about this.

The driver's who drive the Solo's don't drive the Decker's and vice versa.

So the other 19 vehicles are irrelevant. They have every right to moan as the Solo's are utter crap especially if they're anything like the last wrecks Darlington sent. It's just a matter of time before the Decker's and Pulsar's are on daily again - infact they have been all week pretty much anyway. Not sure what's changed where 6 Solo's and a Dart (the most reliable) couldn't run the service but now magically 5 Solo's can.