Hope it is ok to post this here, if it should be bygone era, then please move it...Just looking through Youtube and came across a canny photovid, who, over the age of 25 remembers what happened to 3789 between Easington Lane and Murton Depot back in 1986???

3789 Go Ahead Northern MCW Metrobus

I was only 4 at the time but I seem to remember someone telling me about it.

(08 Sep 2013, 9:58 pm)fozzovmurton wrote Hope it is ok to post this here, if it should be bygone era, then please move it...Just looking through Youtube and came across a canny photovid, who, over the age of 25 remembers what happened to 3789 between Easington Lane and Murton Depot back in 1986???

3789 Go Ahead Northern MCW Metrobus

I was only 4 at the time but I seem to remember someone telling me about it.

I can't remember it, but have seen the video. There are photos on flickr too.

The only thing that puzzled me on seeing it, but why on a wet, wind night, did the driver go up onto the exposed Seaham Road to get back to Murton Depot?
He couldn't get onto the A19 at Seaton, I doubt he could have taken it through the back lanes of Murton across the lines - so will have had to go all the way through Seaham.
Why didn't he just go through Hetton and along through to Murton that way?

(08 Sep 2013, 10:08 pm)Andreos1 wrote I can't remember it, but have seen the video. There are photos on flickr too.

The only thing that puzzled me on seeing it, but why on a wet, wind night, did the driver go up onto the exposed Seaham Road to get back to Murton Depot?
He couldn't get onto the A19 at Seaton, I doubt he could have taken it through the back lanes of Murton across the lines - so will have had to go all the way through Seaham.
Why didn't he just go through Hetton and along through to Murton that way?

I was always under the impression the bus was heading back to Murton from Easington Lane light coming off an X5 and that it happened just before Murton Moor Farm just as you come into Murton.

Even if he was coming from Houghton, time and distance wise I dont think it makes a difference going up Seaham Rd to Seaton and into Murton that way or coming up through Hetton as the depot was at the bottom end of the Village

(08 Sep 2013, 10:17 pm)fozzovmurton wrote I was always under the impression the bus was heading back to Murton from Easington Lane light coming off an X5 and that it happened just before Murton Moor Farm just as you come into Murton.

Even if he was coming from Houghton, time and distance wise I dont think it makes a difference going up Seaham Rd to Seaton and into Murton that way or coming up through Hetton as the depot was at the bottom end of the Village

You could be right, on looking again, it could be the road into Murton from Easington Lane/Four Lane Ends.
With it being so exposed and the road so straight, I guessed it was up by the Copt Hill.
Either way, he has terminated at Houghton by the look of his destination blind.

Either way it was a good bus that. Looked shocking in the Go North East livery

The Go North East Livery was shocking on any bus, never really liked it, I liked the Expresslink livery, but my memory of it is mostly photos, the plain Go-Ahead-Northern was nice and simple, but I grew up mainly with Wear Buses Livery, the colour scheme was shocking, it looked like a Dinosaur Turd and Puke, but I liked it

I think the most surprising thing about this, is that it managed to spend a night in a field in Murton, without being nicked.

I hated that express livery. My earliest memories was when everything started getting repainted into Wear Buses colours round this way.

(09 Sep 2013, 8:06 am)aureolin wrote I think the most surprising thing about this, is that it managed to spend a night in a field in Murton, without being nicked.

I hated that express livery. My earliest memories was when everything started getting repainted into Wear Buses colours round this way.

It aint bandit country mate, we ain't cut-throats and desperadoes.

I remember the day the first Wear Buses Livieried bus came into Murton, it was a 254 I think, Optare MetroRider, I had known the livery was being introduced that day...I had been sleeping at my grandparents the night before. So the next day, I hung around Station Road and Station Estate, hung around, no new liveried bus, so hung around some more and hung around a little bit, after about 40-45 minutes of loitering around, finally it came, the Two Tone Green and Grey Metrorider, and to be honest I was dissapointed when I saw this


Not my photo,
Credit goes to John Carter

I was

As regards driving buses in the wind, yonks ago when I was working for Busways at Byker we had a little trip over to the Northern depot at Bensham for a spare part. (One of the fitters used to work there and knew someone who knew someone etc....). Yours truly drove an Atlantean over there to pick up the part as it was needed for that bus and as it was a windy day I decided to take the Tyne Bridge instead of the Redheugh due to the winds. Anyway crossing the Tyne Bridge heading south I was in the right hand lane ready to turn right into Hills St and a huge gust of wind from the right hit the bus and before I knew it I was putting a half turn to the right on the wheel to keep it straight and even then I was still blown over into the left hand lane. If anyone was there I would have hit them but luckily there wasn't. Scared the ever loving doodoo out of me that is for sure. Wasn't even doing 20mph at the time. I can totally imagine the driver of the Metrobus in the video being caught unaware by a rogue gust. Scary stuff.

Just reading this, reminded me of a gust of wind that nearly toppled a Goahead Gateshead Metrobus over at Eighton Lodge one morning in the early 90s.

The bus wasn't particularly busy, but sitting upstairs (at the front as you have to do), the gust hit us sideways and it felt (whether it did or not), that the bus lifted off the road.

(11 Mar 2014, 11:00 am)Andreos Constantopolous wrote Just reading this, reminded me of a gust of wind that nearly toppled a Goahead Gateshead Metrobus over at Eighton Lodge one morning in the early 90s.

The bus wasn't particularly busy, but sitting upstairs (at the front as you have to do), the gust hit us sideways and it felt (whether it did or not), that the bus lifted off the road.

That stretch of Durham Road by the Petrol Station at Harlow Green is really exposed.

I loved that video purely for the Metrolink minibuses.

(11 Mar 2014, 12:02 pm)gtom wrote That stretch of Durham Road by the Petrol Station at Harlow Green is really exposed.

I loved that video purely for the Metrolink minibuses.

This was the bit between there and the angel, by the old colliery houses - beyond the Harlow Green flats.

That minilink was no ok travel minibus though

Memories of driving Volvo Olympians up and down the A19 enroute to do Sunderland P&R, good fun when it was windy with an empty decker!

http://youtu.be/wy52t3rvpik

Does anyone know which Renown this was?

(15 Jun 2015, 12:57 pm)Andreos1 wrote http://youtu.be/wy52t3rvpik

Does anyone know which Renown this was?

The vehicle involved was 4910 - operating service 15 at the time.