(29 May 2013, 5:42 pm)Adam Malarkey wrote Just had a thought regarding the 51reg Presidents that are at Chester le Street and due to transfer to Depford as mentioned on another page.
So here is my thought
Would it be possible that these deckers will be used to temporarily replace Wright Solars on the 56/20 until the new deckers arrive later in the year. I don't think they'll be used on the X3/X36 as I don't see the need for them on the X3, the Renowns cope fine with the service.
I can't think of anything else other than a straight swap with the Vykings.
It was mentioned by me on here and on a Facebook group actually. :p
Passenger numbers on the X3 has increased massively since the announcement of the service being partially cut, in my opinion. From personal observation alone, I firmly believe that on a fair amount of journeys, Renowns can no longer cope with the demand set by the X3's passengers. Of course, as with all services, lower passenger numbers are set at specific times of day, and this is when the Renowns are more suitable once more.
A minimum of one Vyking has been allocated to the X3 for the past week or so now, which to me, certainly suggests that Deptford are considering other options for the X3 - besides Renowns. The X3 has actually had quite a few allocations as of late repeatedly occurring on the same board and then moving onto a different board for a few days which makes you wonder what Deptford have planned for the service(s) - if anything. A few other services have also had the same treatment, and I don't believe that this is just Deptford up to their usual allocation antics.
Having ridden the X3 late afternoon from Heworth to Sunderland earlier today on a Vyking allocation where the lower saloon was full and the upper saloon was about half full too, I can say that a double decker would be justifiable on this service now, and if they're going spare at Chester-le-Street, I see no reason why this couldn't happen.
Conversely, we must consider that the X3's competitor (the 56), undoubtedly has occasions where passenger numbers are excessive and double deckers would also be justifiable. I understand that - so speculation suggests - double decker vehicles are to be purchased for the service, but how long has the service waited for those? If I recall correctly, Deptford did introduce briefly a few months ago an allocation of one or two Presidents/Vykings on the boards that required higher capacity vehicles at some point during the day, but I don't believe this happens anymore.
The amount of times I've seen Solars on the 56 at full capacity (seating and standees) is unreal, and that certainly hasn't happened on the X3 yet - and I'm fairly certain it won't happen any time in the future either... So with that in mind, I could be totally wrong thinking that these Presidents are indeed to help out with the X3 and its variants that the service will be interworking with.
