#36 – Chester-le-Street Durham County Cricket Ground to Houghton-le-Spring Church – (09:48 --- 10:10) – Go North East 4942 – Scania L94UB/Wright Solar
I left the house at 09:35, aiming to catch the 09:50 36 service from my local stop to Houghton-le-Spring, then onto the ''Red Arrows'' X1 to Washington. I was hoping for a red Wright Renown; having seen quite a lot of them on the service recently. Also, I'm getting a bit tired of the corporate liveried Solars. I couldn't tell you the last time I had a gold Citaro on the 36. Must just be my luck. After getting to the stop for 09:45, I only had five minutes to wait until it was due. Surprisingly, I saw it coming down Ropery Lane a couple of minutes early. I boarded and asked for a Get Around; the driver seemed pleasant, however I was annoyed at how the ticket came out. It happens once in a blue moon, but it's just irritating; where the ink doesn't fully print, and it just looks like some messed up code on the ticket. Fortunately, I know how to read them in this state; but it just drives me crackers. There were two others on board; who alighted in Great Lumley. I had the bus to myself all the way up to Avenue Vivian, where two elderly women boarded. One then jumped off at the next stop, while the other alighted in Houghton-le-Spring with me. I couldn't fault the mechanics of this Solar; it offered a smooth ride, and was better than my last Solar on the 36, 4936, which had a very annoying ''hissing'' noise every few seconds...
#X1 – Houghton-le-Spring Church to Washington The Galleries Bus Station – (10:19 --- 10:35) – Go North East 6013 – Volvo B7TL/Plaxton President
After waiting for a while, I saw a corporate liveried Plaxton President coming in the way the X1 does. It was indeed on the ''Red Arrows'', covering for a branded vehicle, and it was 6013. I once had this from Washington to Heworth on the 82/82A. The driver had his blazer around the seat, while I was waiting to board; I noticed he had a few Tyne and Wear PTE driver badges on his blazer; possibly an enthusiast? He was a rather old looking driver, possibly late fifties. Rather than head upstairs, I decided to sit at the rear. One big flaw in the Volvo Presidents, for me, is the layout downstairs. With the stairwell towards the back, it means a few seats are lost. I noticed how many OAPs were forced to stand along the Washington Highway; speaking of which, it really struggled on that fast-paced section of the route. When we did get to the Galleries, I was quite pleased to be off. I had a brief walk into the shopping centre to kill some time, as I watched a ''Connections4'' branded Citaro depart for Heworth, just in front of us, as we came to a halt. Speaking of which, that was to be my next move.
#4 – Washington The Galleries Bus Station to Heworth Metro Interchange – (10:47 --- 11:06) – Go North East 5366 – Mercedes 0530N/Mercedes Citaro
This Citaro came into sight just as a ''Red Arrows'' was preparing to leave, there was about ten others waiting for the 4, and I was one of the last to board. We left the Galleries with about fifteen seats taken; I sat on the final row, resting my arm against the thing where another seat could be, on the driver's side. I don't know what it's called, but I hope you know what I mean. The seats were extremely comfortable; I've said it before, and I'll say it again, but I don't think any other Citaros in the fleet can match how nice the ones on the ''Connections4'' are. A couple of chavs boarded in Concord; which is a magnet for them, worse than Stanley. The Next Stop Announcements on the 4 are also some of the best in the fleet; it shows how Go North East have improved them over time, I recall quite a few people were initially peeved with the ones on the ''Angel'' 21 when they first entered service. Now, looking at the NSAs on the ''Coast & Country'' and the ''Red Kite'', it's obvious that improvements have been made and feedback has been noted.
#94 – Heworth Metro Interchange to Saltmeadows Road Bus Depot – (11:08 --- 11:17) – Go North East 5223 – Scania L94UB/Wright Solar
After alighting the 4, I walked across to the other side of the Interchange, and located the stand that the ''Loop'' services depart from. Looking at the timetables, it would appear the 94, which would take me to Saltmeadows the quickest, was due in a moment. From Gateshead, the 93 goes almost direct along Saltmeadows Road, where the depot is located, then to Heworth, and around the Team Valley before returning to Gateshead. Whereas, the 94 goes to the Team Valley first, then around to Heworth and returning to Gateshead via the Saltmeadows Industrial area. Having never done this section of the route before, I was on the edge of my seat; as I know Saltmeadows is easy to miss if you're not watching out for it. Fortunately, I found it with no problems, and alighted. While I took my photos of the unbranded Optare Solos, citaro5284 shouted hello. Him and Dan were sorting out some destinations, when he came up to the gates to chat with me for a while, he said they were sorting out the destination in 5302, which had just been repainted and was due to go back to Deptford soon. I'm assuming Dan was too busy to come over and talk to me............
citaro5284 then disappeared back towards the new buses, and I got some more photos before I heard the 94 coming along the road. #94 – Saltmeadows Road Bus Depot to Gateshead Transport Interchange – (11:36 --- 11:44) – Go North East 5221 – Scania L94UB/Wright Solar
The driver was obviously in a rush, I was too preoccupied with the goings on at Saltmeadows to realise he was running late. He opened the doors; closing them before I had even showed him my Get Around, quickly nodded, and pulled away. As it was available, and it was just a short journey, I decided to sit behind the cab in the single seat. The passenger numbers were decent, with about twenty seats occupied. I didn't pay much attention to this journey, although I did note that roughly half of the passengers alighted on Jackson Street in Gateshead. When we got to the Interchange, I walked across into the main section; there was a ''Blaydon Racers'' branded Citaro at it's stand, with the 49B to Winlaton. I thought, seeing as I'd taken some photographs at Saltmeadows Road, that a trip to Riverside was in order.
#49B – Gateshead Transport Interchange to Handy Drive, Riverside Bus Depot – (11:46 --- 12:05) – Go North East 5281 – Mercedes 0530N/Mercedes Citaro
I boarded; the driver smiled at me and seemed quite pleasant. About ten passengers were already sat down, the majority were OAPs. Two teenage girls sat at the quadrant, with their feet on the seats facing the rear; opposite the side-ways facing seats. I'll admit, trying to compare the view from the seat I sat in on 5366; it was obvious the seating was a lot ''tattier''. Also, the floor didn't seem to have been cleaned recently. Even though I decided to listen to my music through my earphones; I could hear the engine. It wasn't pleasant. Nowhere near as nice as the ''Connections4'' branded Citaro I had rode earlier in the day. Although, having said that; you can't example a bus of eight years of age to be on par with one that is only two. A couple of passengers disembarked in Dunston, with the majority seeming to stay on until the MetroCentre. However; I jumped off outside of Riverside. Walking along the perimeter of the depot, taking photos as I went, I saw the ''Pride Quaylink'' branded Optare Versa, which I was quite pleased to photograph, rather than have to hunt down. Also, two Olympians (3819 and 3824) were parked up and I got photos. I sighted 3818 parked up in Gateshead when I boarded the 49B. When I was done, I walked back to the bus stop for the first thing back to Gateshead. A bus driver was also waiting here for the X66 to Gateshead, which appeared a few minutes later.
#X66 – Handy Drive, Riverside Bus Depot to Gateshead Transport Interchange – (12:23 --- 12:33) – Go North East 5393 – Wright Streetlite DF/Wright Streetlite Micro-Hybrid
Only about half a dozen seats were remaining when I boarded, I ended up sitting just below the step up to the rear. I noticed these seats had a plush head cushion, as opposed to the plastic hand bars that the other seats have. We went along the Centrelink for this run, as opposed to Askew Road. When I alighted in Gateshead Interchange, I was tempted to stop and get some photographs. However, I noticed a few Nexus staff were on patrol, so threw that idea out of the window. I made my way across to the stand for the 21, 52, X21, etc. and waited for the next Chester-le-Street bound service. I waited, and waited, and waited; then something made my day...
#X21 – Gateshead Transport Interchange to Chester-le-Street Red Lion – (12:48 --- 13:09) – Go North East 9109 – Dennis Trident 2/ADL Enviro400MMC
Noticing the sleek new-looking blue livery, I realised I was looking at the demonstrator Enviro400MMC within seconds. I quickly went to flag it down, bringing it to a stop. The driver seemed a happy chap, and greeted me as I boarded. I couldn't believe my luck, today being the last day for this demonstrator, I didn't think I was going to get another opportunity to ride it. It was still very impressive, with no rattles or squeaks that I could note. I would have thought, having been on the X21 for nearly two weeks, it might have met the consequences of such a demanding route. When we got to Chester-le-Street; I noticed Pat Armstrong was Point Supervisor, so I briefly exchanged greetings with her. She asked the driver to pull forward or something, as there was a group of enthusiasts waiting to board. One of them, I recognised. When I went to the Lillyhall open day back on 23 May; he said something to Dan about taking photographs in Workington Bus Station. He then shouted ''thanks Pat!'' followed by a cheer from the others. I couldn't quite understand what the deal was, but he then shouted that it was ''quality''. 6063 was my ride home, on the 21.
It was a great little outing, I'm pleased that I peeled myself out of bed and decided to have a day out. I got some good photos at Saltmeadows and Riverside too, which I'll upload to my Flickr this evening. I think the plan for tomorrow is an outing with Adrian. We're going to make our way from Durham to Seaham, taking photos of the ''East Durham'' MPDs. I still need a few for haulage, as well as photographs. From there; to Sunderland for photos of the Airshow shuttles. We've found out that Stagecoach are putting double deckers on all of their shuttles. I'm going to say it's fair to suspect that we may see some of the recently acquired Enviro400s, possibly some of the R-reg Alexander Olympians, and possibly even some of the Teesside based ALX400s. It should be a good day, I'm looking forward to it. Thanks for reading the review of today.
Marcus