#775 – Chester-le-Street Durham County Cricket Ground to Sunderland, Park Lane Interchange – (07:35 --- 08:10) - Go Northern 4900 – Volvo B10BLE/Wright Renown
Ready for the day ahead, I arrived at the local bus stop for bang-on 07:30. Within a few minutes, I saw my Sunderland-bound service coming down Ropery Lane, and I prepared myself to board. As it waited to cross the roundabout, I looked hard at the fleet number; which blended in with the attractive red, blue and yellow livery the bus was wearing. It was a 49xx-series Wright Renown, when it came to a stop at my request; I found out it was 4900. Not a soul was aboard this early Thursday morning service, meaning I had a choice of seats. I opted for the pair of seats on the driver's side, just above the step. An elderly woman boarded in Great Lumley, that was the only passenger I bothered to take note of as the bus soon began to fill up after Shiney Row, with commuters going to work using the service through to Sunderland. When we got to Hastings Hill, some passengers had to stand. However, I just watched the journey go by; deciding what I was going to do with my day out. I enjoyed the ride on this B10BLE, still sounded brand new; the ''Arrow'' moquette on the seating looked very smart with the grey interior. As it was due just after I would arrive in Park Lane, I decided I was going to give the 638 a go...
#638 – Sunderland, Park Lane Interchange to Winlaton Bus Station – (08:30 --- 10:06) – Go Wear Buses 4760 – DAF SB200/Optare Delta
After floating around Park Lane for a while, I hung around the stand for the 638 service to Crawcrook. The queue consisted of seven other passengers; before long, an Optare Delta with the blind set for the 638 appeared. Driving this machine was quite a happy man, I admired his good spirits at 08:30 in the morning. Decided to sit towards the rear, three rows from the last; we departed on-time. One of the passengers who boarded in Sunderland alighted at Grindon Mill, while a handful of passengers boarded at Fatfield Bridge. More loads piled on at Harraton, and then Lambton; although the bus emptied, barring myself, at the Galleries. Throughout the remainder of the journey, the bus remained quiet; never carrying more than ten passengers at any one time. Although I enjoyed the fantastic noises of the DAF engine, the route did start to drag on by the time we'd passed through Low Fell; the sight of Winlaton was a good one. Despite going around the world, the service remained on-time, arriving in Winlaton Bus Station a couple of minutes before scheduled. Wandering around like a lost sheep, I saw 4760 depart for Crawcrook; then I noticed a 648 service, which I knew could take me to Gateshead.
#648 – Winlaton Bus Station to Gateshead Transport Interchange – (10:11 --- 10:45) – Go Gateshead 4846 – Volvo B10BLE/Wright Renown
My second Renown of the day; 4846. I was the sole passenger when the driver pulled away from the bus station, again, I opted for the row of seats on the step up towards the rear, on the driver's side once more. Having never travelled on this service before, I watched my surroundings go past. The service started to fill up after the Dun Cow in Dunston, entering Gateshead Metro with only a small amount of seats remaining. Although 4900, which was my first bus of the day, was younger than 4846; I enjoyed the latter more. It just had more of a ''kick'' in it's engine, as if it had been built to have more power than the younger example. Upon arrival in Gateshead, I considered catching a 723 back to Chester-le-Street, or possibly to continue onwards to Durham, which I then boarded a few minutes later.
#723 – Gateshead Transport Interchange to Chester-le-Street Red Lion – (10:51 --- 11:28) – Go Northern 3671 – Leyland Olympian/ECW
I sighted this attractive Leyland Olympian pulling into the stand, with a small queue to board. Joining the end of said queue, I noted around fifteen passengers sat in the lower saloon, and then just shy of ten passengers upstairs. As the front seats were unoccupied, just above the driver, I sat down at that spot. Although the power in this beast's engine was unfaultable, the traffic on Durham Road around the Low Fell and Birtley areas meant the bus lost quite a bit of time, losing just over five minutes from it's timetable when we reached Chester-le-Street. Add to this, passengers stopping the bus every couple of stops to either board or alight. Nevertheless, it was a pleasant ride back to my home town. Along with the majority of passengers, I alighted here. After a bite to eat, I returned to the Durham-bound bus stop for the next service through, deciding to head there next. When I looked up, I saw a
#724 – Chester-le-Street Red Lion to Bishop Auckland Bus Station – (11:45 --- 12:22) – Go Northern 3806 – Leyland Olympian/Northern Counties Palatine 1
When the vehicle came to a stop, along with another 723 service running just behind it, the sardines fell out of the door and poured out onto the Front Street. The bus was practically deserted when the two elderly folks in front of me boarded, and the driver closed the doors the moment I showed him my ticket. I held onto the railings of the staircase as the bus climbed up the Front Street, eventually stumbling up to the upper deck, and pulling myself up by my hands. I checked to see if anybody had witnessed my embarrassment; fortunately, nobody else was upstairs. As I had the pick of the seats, I went with my favourite; front seat on the driver's side. As we reached the top of Front Street, I remembered that 3806 is a former OK Motor Services vehicle, making the journey seem a little more special. As with the Leyland just before, the smoothness of the vehicle and the magnificent engine was just fantastic, and I enjoyed having the upper deck all to myself for the entire journey, I was quite sad to have to get off in Bishop Auckland bus station.
#12 – Bishop Auckland Bus Station to Darlington Tubwell Row – (12:25 --- 13:25) – Go Northern 3736 – Leyland Olympian/ECW
After much contemplation as to whether or not to have a ride back to Chester-le-Street on 3806 or not, I saw an ECW-bodied Olympian standing with it's engines off, on the 12 service to Darlington. It looked so appealing in it's red, blue and yellow colours, and I couldn't see anybody sat upstairs, so I decided to go for it. My third Leyland Olympian of the day! The driver was a very pleasant chap, and greeted me as I boarded. After he checked my ticket thoroughly, he smiled and told me to take a seat. Half a dozen OAPs were sat in the lower saloon, as soon as I reached the top of the staircase, the engine kicked into life, and the bus pulled away the moment I sat down at the front. I'd never done this route before; having no need to. However, it was something that had always been appealing to me, as I've noticed whenever I've been in Darlington, it appears to be allocated a Leyland Olympian. As ever, I wasn't disappointed. Being a native to Bishop Auckland depot, I think I'd been on this vehicle before, but on the 724 as opposed to any of their other services. It was a very nice journey to Darlington, I'll do this route again at some point, hoping the allocation doesn't change.
#723 – Darlington Tubwell Row to Durham Bus Station – (13:40 --- 14:34) – Go Northern 4705 – Leyland National Mk2/Leyland
After finding the 723 stand, and noticing I had ten minutes before the next service back, I had a quick walk up and down Tubwell Row, observing the various buses in service. Being a rare visitor to Darlington, this was new to me. Before long; I was treated with the sight of a red, blue and yellow Leyland National. It was a Mk2 example, with the destination blind already set for the 723 back to Newcastle. I couldn't see the fleet number at first, but determined it was a FTN-W example, as I could see the roof pod at the back. Thoroughly enjoyed my ride on this, despite getting quite busy towards the Durham section of the route. In true National fashion, I sat at the back. Whenever I catch the 809 service to the MetroCentre, it is usually allocated a National, although I do see them on other routes in Chester-le-Street – I rarely get the chance to ride them on anything other than the 809. When we came to Durham Bus Station, I considered staying on until Chester-le-Street, but for the sake of variety; I opted to disembark.
#720 – Durham Bus Station to Stanley Bus Station – (14:40 --- 15:10) – Go Northern 4905 – Volvo B10BLE/Wright Renown
Within a few minutes of the 723 leaving, I sighted the 720 service enter the bus station. Knowing this would take me up to Stanley, where I could catch either the 729 or 775/778 back to Chester-le-Street, I went with it. The vehicle was yet another Wright Renown, this time 4905. As we pulled away from Durham, with a handful of passengers on board, I realised this was the youngest B10BLE I'd been on so far today. The scenery on the route between Durham and Stanley was fantastic, some of the sections of countryside are beautiful. Just a shame I've never been on this route, with a double decker allocated. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the sights and sounds of this ride, arriving into Stanley on-time. As we pulled into the bus station, I could see the 729 to Chester-le-Street was boarding passengers. Rather than stick around for the next thing back, I decided to run for it.
#729 – Stanley Bus Station to Chester-le-Street South Burns – (15:11 --- 15:42) – Go Northern 4864 – DAF SB200GS/Plaxton Prestige
Luckily, I made it just as the last OAP was getting their ticket. The driver nodded at me after showing my ticket, and I made my way towards the back. It was quite busy, with about thirty passengers at a guess. I sat down at one of the few available seats at the back, in the quadrant. I do love the melodic noise of the DAF engine, in any bus. Despite being crowded, the ride was fantastic and I enjoyed it very much. The gearbox seemed a bit eager to slip every now and then, resulting in a few kickdowns. One of my favourite sections for them on the route, is Pelton Lane between South Pelaw and Pelton; a very scenic view as well. Once I'd disembarked at the terminus of Chester-le-Street, I walked home.
Once again, this was just due to a mixture of boredom and interest in the past. Apologies if I've missed a few details, got an allocation wrong, a bus I've been on here was withdrawn by the time this is set, or anything along those lines. As I've got a lot of time off over the summer, I imagine I'll do another review of this nature. However, I hope to go elsewhere in the past, and I might go a bit further back. Thanks for reading.
Marcus