As I was free today, I decided to have a little adventure on a Get Around day ticket. I had still yet to see one of the fully branded ''indiGo'' Solo SR vehicles for myself, let alone ride one, so that was one of the primary objectives. Also on my list of priorities was to hunt down one of the Volvo Olympians that are still seeing occasional service over the course of the summer. Rather than babble on about my objectives for the day, let's just see what I got up to...
#21 – Chester-le-Street Clifford Terrace to Durham Bus Station – (10:06 --- 10:22) – Go North East 6069 – Volvo B5LH/Wright Gemini 2 – ''Angel''
Last night, I decided I would catch a bus through to Durham in order to make the 10:40 265 service (which would hopefully be an ''indiGo'' vehicle), so I set my alarm for 09:15; to catch the 10:05 ''Angel'' to Durham. After wakening, I got myself dressed and prepared for the day ahead, before leaving the house at 09:50. Rather surprisingly, I made it to the Clifford Terrace bus stop a whole five minutes before my bus was due, I must have walked quicker than usual. The moment I got within arm's reach of it, a ''MAX'' X12 service to Middlesbrough flew past me; a VDL Pulsar was operating that service. I didn't have long to wait before I sighted an ''Angel'' branded Volvo B5LH coming along the road; as it got closer, I identified it as 6069, one of the better examples in my opinion. As I boarded, I asked for a Get Around day ticket and received one from the ETM, before making my way up the stairwell. Two people were sat at the offside front seats while a woman was positioned behind the top of the stairs; I ended up a few rows from the back. The journey passed by without any issues, before I knew it, we were spinning around the North Road roundabout and entering the bus station.
#265 – Durham Bus Station to Hetton-le-Hole Interchange – (10:35 --- 11:02) – Go North East 664 – Optare Solo SR M925/Optare – ''indiGo''
After getting a few photos at the top of the bus station, I walked around to North Road and made my way down to Greggs for my usual bottle of water. Upon re-entering the bus station, I was surprised to see my 265 was already on it's stand, it was only 10:32 and it wasn't due out until 10:40. Joining the end of a short queue, I overheard the driver arguing with two elderly ladies about their bus passes being invalid or something. One woman turned to the two men behind, and said she didn't understand it because the only place she knew her pass wasn't accepted was in Scotland, and she'd used it before in London. After a very confusing faff-on, I finally boarded. The driver didn't seem to have any issues with my Get Around day ticket, can't understand what the problem with their concessionary passes was. I sat at the nearside seats just above the step, and opened the window conveniently next to me. All I could hear was the roaring of a ticking over Arriva Solo parked in the next stand; the noise was so loud that it seemed to draw the attention of some of the roughly ten other passengers. When we finally got moving, the journey was quite nice. The driver radioed to control about the roadworks traffic lights being stuck on red just before Low Pittington, we were only there for about a minute... Nonetheless, when we finally got to Hetton-le-Hole, I prepared to alight. I'll probably give the ''indiGo'' vehicles another go in the near future.
#X1 – Hetton-le-Hole Interchange to Newcastle, Eldon Square Bus Station – (11:08 --- 12:12) – Go North East 6050 – Volvo B9TL/Wright Gemini 2 – ''Red Arrows''
I felt the ride on 664 was adequate; it wasn't anything spectacular. The ''new bus smell'' was still vaguely lingering like a strong fart after an air freshener had been sprayed, but aside from that, it was okay. The Solo SR handled the route faultlessly, however the god awful e-leather seating was a slight downside. Having never alighted nor even passed through Hetton-le-Hole before, I was curious to see what the place was like. Rather quiet with a few bus stands, it wasn't bustling with life or activity. After a short wait, a ''Red Arrows'' X1 service arrived; Newcastle-bound, so I jumped on that. Whilst I abused the free WiFi on offer; Craig Smith (owner of the Northern National Restoration Group's 4710) offered me a role in the group as ''Young Enthusiasts Moderator'', which I happily accepted. With a smile like a Cheshire cat for the remainder of the journey (which I have done from Houghton-le-Spring to Newcastle many times), I listened to my music. Passenger numbers were pretty good throughout the entire journey; Dan messaged me to inform me that a couple of Stanley's Olympians were out playing. After receiving their boards from him (3830 on some of the ''Venture'' routes and 3831 on the 130/131 circulars in Stanley), I decided I'd head up there next. Upon arrival in Eldon Square, I did not have to wait long before I sighted a Scania OmniDekka on Percy Street...
#X31 – Newcastle, Eldon Square Bus Station to Stanley Bus Station – (12:19 --- 13:03) – Go North East 6123 – Scania N94US/East Lancs OmniDekka – ''Corporate livery''
I saw 6123 pull into the stand. A queue of passengers for both the X31 and the X12 were mixed up together, I gave up trying to work out who was waiting for what and just went for it... 6123 was one of the OmniDekkas I still need for haulage so this was another that I could happily tick off. My favoured spot at the front seat above the driver was available, so I parked myself there. The bus had came into Eldon Square at about the same time as it should have been leaving, so we departed about five minutes late. With about five passengers in the upper saloon when we left Eldon Square and about a dozen seated downstairs (at a guess), a further ten or so boarded in Gateshead Interchange. Who knew that a service at just past noon could be this busy on a Tuesday? While we boarded passengers there, I saw DDA-compliant B10BLE 4902 was parked in the layover bay next to us. I could see clearly some of the improvements around the wheelchair bay area, it's not too bad although I've yet to ride a DDA-compliant example (an aim for another day). As per usual, I enjoyed the journey after we'd made it out of the Gateshead area, and we were flying through the countryside between Sunniside and Stanley.
#131 – Stanley Bus Station to Stanley Bus Station (via East Stanley) – (13:10 --- 13:27) – Go North East 3831 – Volvo Olympian/Northern Counties Palatine 2 – ''Yellow Bus''
As Dan had told me that 3831 was performing the 130 and 131 circular services in Stanley, I'd worked out some timings from what he provided and decided to catch the 13:13 131 service. After alighting the X31, I had a little gander outside of the bus station to see what was going on in the land of shit. Not much out of the ordinary; I observed several muggings - even assisting in one to help blend in - before heading back into the bus station to catch the 13:13. As soon as I located the stand; I saw my chariot entering the bus station. With a queue of roughly five passengers, I happily boarded and made my way up the stairwell. All of the passengers were OAPs, so they remained downstairs. I took the opportunity to photograph the interior upstairs, before going for everybody's favourite seat on an Olympian... Just above the driver. In my honest opinion; 3831 is the best of the Olympians left. It sounds so smooth and is all in one piece, while the others all have some issue. 3822 has a silly belt scream, 3832 rattles like a shed in a gale... The list goes on. I really enjoyed a much needed ride on an Olympian; I know quite a few people who will be reading this (I'm not naming anybody... Dan and citaro5284) much prefer the modern stuff. I disagree, they feel too plastic and cheap to me. Whereas you then take an Olympian, and you're sorted. It's such a shame they're not DDA-compliant.
#130 – Stanley Bus Station to Stanley Bus Station (via Quaking Houses) – (13:29 ---13:49) – Go North East 3831 – Volvo Olympian/Northern Counties Palatine 2 – ''Yellow Bus''
After an enjoyable ride around East Stanley on the 131 (not a bad route actually, I'd recommend it to anybody in the area who is looking for a quick 15 minute ride out somewhere), we returned to Stanley Bus Station. We were dropped off in the top stand of the bus station, before the driver reversed 3831 out, and took it down a few stands. I thought ''what the heck'', and decided I'd have another ride on it. This time, on the 130 to Quaking Houses. The driver didn't seem to notice I was coming back for seconds, rather than head upstairs again; I opted to sit at the very back to get the full engine experience. There was a sticky substance on the seat further along from me... I'm guessing Robert has sat there before. I nearly died when we pulled out of our stand and the driver just put his foot down; the noise was closer to an explosion than a very deep rev. As we headed down into South Moor, one passenger alighted. The other three all jumped ship later on when we turned into Quaking Houses. After spinning around at the turning circle (the driver didn't seem to mind me staying on), we picked up a decent load. By the time we'd reached Stanley Bus Station again; the lower saloon was pretty full, with only about five seats to spare. Rather than go for a hatrick, I decided I'd go elsewhere after alighting 3831.
#44 – Stanley Bus Station to Durham Bus Station – (13:58 --- 14:32) – Go North East 5284 – Mercedes 0530N/Mercedes Citaro – ''Midnight Blue''
Having painfully observed 3831 departing with yet another run back to Quaking Houses; I couldn't decide where to go next. It was either going to be a ''Coast & Country'' back to Chester-le-Street or a ''Diamond'' to Durham. I saw one of the freshly repainted Citaros entering the bus station, it was 5291. Had it been 5284, I would have rushed to get a photo for citaro5284 (he needs a new avatar now that he is in a different livery). However, as that was departing for Newcastle, I saw another coming in. Knowing it could only be 5284, as it was heading to Durham, I went for it. Despite looking brilliant on the outside, unfortunately, it was a little tatty on the interior. Would have been nice for the seating to be re-trimmed; however, I located a rather clean/new looking seat at the back, conveniently my favourite spot on a Citaro. I listened to my music throughout the journey and conversed with a few people over Facebook Messenger. It's a shame the ''Diamond'' routes don't have WiFi, being a pretty mainstream route, and with these possible service changes coming up, I'd like to see that provision fitted.
#X21 – Durham Bus Station to Chester-le-Street Clifford Terrace – (14:38 --- 14:53) – Go North East 6035 – Volvo B7TL/Plaxton President – ''Pronto''
With the perfect opportunity to photograph the freshly repainted 5284, I headed out of the bus station and stood at the exit for it to come around. Following a brief two-minute wait, I saw it come around. Got a rather pleasing photo, which I see citaro5284 has now used as his avatar. Upon re-entering the bus station, I sighted a ''Pronto'' liveried Volvo B7TL in the upper stands. The driver was having a cigarette outside, so I showed him my Get Around and boarded. Opted to sit in the middle of the rear seats, rather than head upstairs (couldn't be bothered to). This particular ''Pronto'' isn't too bad in my opinion, it was a smooth journey and I couldn't name any issues with the vehicle. I do hope Go North East order the Enviro400MMCs to take over on this route, god help us if we've got the Wright Streetdeck... One thing that is worthy of noting about the journey, is the chavvy couple who occupied some OAP seats with their children. They never stopped screaming and crying. I was happy to be off.
It was a nice little outing, I was overjoyed to manage a couple of rides on 3831. I stand by what I say in regards to it being the best Olympian we have left. If you ever have the choice between some Olympians, I suggest this one. Offers a great ride on the whole. Thanks for reading.
R852 PRG