So I think it's been nearly 3 years now since the Scania CN94UB OmniCity were last seen on the 685. Ever since then it's been allocated deckers and VDL Pulsar. 

Is there a reason there not on the 685 anymore. I heard it was the couldn't handle the journey. Also in my opinion I don't think they should be debrand if they won't appear on the route anymore 

Cross Pennine has to be one of Arriva nice looking branding (alongside 1499 NHS) and it would look strange with the new Arriva blue they came up with

(10 Jun 2021, 8:38 pm)Micheal Aaron wrote So I think it's been nearly 3 years now since the Scania CN94UB OmniCity were last seen on the 685. Ever since then it's been allocated deckers and VDL Pulsar. 

Is there a reason there not on the 685 anymore. I heard it was the couldn't handle the journey. Also in my opinion I don't think they should be debrand if they won't appear on the route anymore 

Cross Pennine has to be one of Arriva nice looking branding (alongside 1499 NHS) and it would look strange with the new Arriva blue they came up with

Because they can't be arsed to keep retrieving the omnicitys from cumbria if they break down there.

As for branding, effort. It'll look tackier if they remove it and it's probably not viable to repaint them.

(10 Jun 2021, 8:38 pm)Micheal Aaron wrote So I think it's been nearly 3 years now since the Scania CN94UB OmniCity were last seen on the 685. Ever since then it's been allocated deckers and VDL Pulsar. 

I mean, it just hasn't. Here's a photo from 6 months ago: https://flic.kr/p/2kgpddw.  

They were regularly on there before lockdown, reliability after spring of 2020 (while not fantastic beforehand) plummeted. It's much easier to keep them relatively local and use the more reliable VDLs. Deckers need to be allocated on one board/run a day regardless due to school loadings.

As Omnicity4659 says in terms of branding, realistically they don't have much longer left on paper. Given DB have turned off the money tap, ANE likely don't see repainting 14 year old buses as a priority.

(10 Jun 2021, 8:57 pm)mb134 wrote I mean, it just hasn't. Here's a photo from 6 months ago: https://flic.kr/p/2kgpddw.  

They were regularly on there before lockdown, reliability after spring of 2020 (while not fantastic beforehand) plummeted. It's much easier to keep them relatively local and use the more reliable VDLs. Deckers need to be allocated on one board/run a day regardless due to school loadings.

As Omnicity4659 says in terms of branding, realistically they don't have much longer left on paper. Given DB have turned off the money tap, ANE likely don't see repainting 14 year old buses as a priority.

From what I heard they probably won’t have much done but the solos they ordered were cancelled from whay I heard and the plan is to Wack them on the 51 or 55 to boost capacity from what I was told but doesn’t look too likely with the transfers of older solos all over for a while now

My suggestion would be:

Debrand 4660-62 and just keep them in the 2 tone green base and just put arriva logos on the front sides and rear.

Then

Either
Repaint and rebrand 1408/11/80to cross pennine seeing as the X16 is only the Kirkhill circle and operated by Blyth now so realistically 1408/11 are branded for a route that For the most part doesn't exist any more so 1408/11 don't need branded. And the 306 pulsars rarely actually go on the 306 and 1480 is numerically the first 306 pulsar after 1411

Or

Repaint and brand 7557/8/60 to Cross pennine and add USBs to the seat backs seeing as they'll be up to cross pennine spec with the addition of USBs.

Or Repaint & rebrand 1480/95/96 to cross pennine seeing as they're rarely on the 306

Or

Go down the sapphire route and Repaint and rebrand 1479/1512/1513 to cross pennine spec and add NSAs to the 685 so that the 685 is sapphire spec with cross pennine branding

(11 Jun 2021, 7:27 am)GNE6312 wrote My suggestion would be:

Debrand 4660-62 and just keep them in the 2 tone green base and just put arriva logos on the front sides and rear.

Then

Either
Repaint and rebrand 1408/11/80to cross pennine seeing as the X16 is only the Kirkhill circle and operated by Blyth now so realistically 1408/11 are branded for a route that For the most part doesn't exist any more so 1408/11 don't need branded. And the 306 pulsars rarely actually go on the 306 and 1480 is numerically the first 306 pulsar after 1411

Or

Repaint and brand 7557/8/60 to Cross pennine and add USBs to the seat backs seeing as they'll be up to cross pennine spec with the addition of USBs.

Or Repaint & rebrand 1480/95/96 to cross pennine seeing as they're rarely on the 306

Or

Go down the sapphire route and Repaint and rebrand 1479/1512/1513 to cross pennine spec and add NSAs to the 685 so that the 685 is sapphire spec with cross pennine branding

Personally if I was them I'd send:

1408/1411/1480/1495/1496/1500/7412 to Blyth in return for 1407/1409/1461/1462/1463/1475/1497 to Jesmond

Then give the ex Blyth lot a good refurbishment for both the 685 and 306 with 7557/7558/7560/7562 joining them (just repaint them though, interior is fine) with 7414/7415 being spares for the 306. The ex Scania's can just act as spares across the 43/44/45/52/53/54

It means all the MAX buses are together at Blyth so we stop having non MAX buses on the X7/X8/X9 circuit some pretty grim now and the 306/308 can both be in new livery. 1407 and 1409 are both desperate for a refurb in particular.

Kills two birds with one stone.

I dont know why,but i would personally have spare buses painted white with the company branding on it,dont ask,its just how my mind works

(10 Jun 2021, 8:57 pm)mb134 wrote I mean, it just hasn't. Here's a photo from 6 months ago: https://flic.kr/p/2kgpddw.  

They were regularly on there before lockdown, reliability after spring of 2020 (while not fantastic beforehand) plummeted. It's much easier to keep them relatively local and use the more reliable VDLs. Deckers need to be allocated on one board/run a day regardless due to school loadings.

As Omnicity4659 says in terms of branding, realistically they don't have much longer left on paper. Given DB have turned off the money tap, ANE likely don't see repainting 14 year old buses as a priority.

However they are rebranding 16 year old buses for the x93/4

(20 Jun 2021, 5:48 pm)Ryland wrote However they are rebranding 16 year old buses for the x93/4

Those Ex London B7 ALXs are in good condition from what I've experienced so would make sense keeping them and giving them abit of a makeover.

(20 Jun 2021, 5:48 pm)Ryland wrote However they are rebranding 16 year old buses for the x93/4

'Staycations' to increase passenger use, especially over the 6 weeks kids are off. I suppose a vinyl is a lot cheaper than repainting a bus (like the omnicities would need) as well.

The Omnicities were last present en masse on the 685 around March 2020 pre Lockdown 1.  And then disappeared during Lockdown 1.  There was a brief foray of the odd one mid 2020.  But, as other have said, they became unreliable.  Prior to March 2020, and in 2019, VDLs started appearing to cover Omnicity failures.

The number 1 requirement for whatever goes on on the 685 has to be reliability and to do the roundtrip with no problems.  The 3 roundtrips per day are 330 miles.  I calculated the 2 Stagecoach 64 reg E300s were doing 110k miles per year each due to being out all day nearly every day.

Stagecoach Cumbria also had the odd reliability problem when using 55 reg ALX400s about 2 years ago when there were various school related topics all came together giving rise to more pupils on ther buses.  Hence why Stagecoach now use the 68 reg MMCs.

The Arriva E400 does one afternoon roundtrip to pass back through Brampton at schools out time.

I personally have found the VDLs much more comfortable than the Omnicities.  The VDLs are a softer ride.  The Omnicities even after their refurb and green repaint still had a boneshaker ride tendency - harder seats and harder suspension but the refurb did seem to cure the worst of the exhaust gas interior recirculation issues.

Why not look on the branding as an allover advert? Somewhere else for the local north tyneside passengers to have a day out?

The 685 took it's toll on a VDL on Friday 25th June . 1408 broken down in Brampton Market Place heading to Carlisle at 1426 - probably the 1340 at Brampton.

Arriva North East only seem to paint vehicles if they have too, either for a route branding exercise or the vehicle has had an extensive repair that requires a repaint. The number of Arriva NE vehicles that hadn't probably been touched by the paint shop in their operational lives would number at least 200 in my opinion.

The 46** buses are deffinately not longing for this world much longer,just been on 4661,and it didnt sound well at all

Yea one past me at tynemouth yesterday. Was making a horrible noise

Looks like the cross pennine brand is dead seeing as the SC MMCs have been debranded, 47921 never seem to get used on the 685 whenever I track it and the only SC cross pennine Is spare bus 27142. As for arriva 4660-2 haven't been on for about a year give or take a month or 2

(16 Jul 2021, 4:11 pm)GNE6312 wrote Looks like the cross pennine brand is dead seeing as the SC MMCs have been debranded, 47921 never seem to get used on the 685 whenever I track it and the only SC cross pennine Is spare bus 27142. As for arriva 4660-2 haven't been on for about a year give or take a month or 2

SC 47921 is the allocated bus for the Carlisle <> Brampton short working but recently Versa's and E200s have been appearing a lot - although a week or two ago there were roadworks with traffic lights for kerb renewal on the bridge at Warwick Bridge which will not have helped the very tightly timed short workings.

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Workington Transport Heritage Trust newsletter suggesting one of the 685 MMCs is going to Kendal for the summer to help out on the 599 open top route Bowness <> Grasmere.