(16 Feb 2016, 10:21 pm)R852 PRG wrote Tuesday 16th February 2016


When I boarded, I noted that this was the 16A, and thus only travelling as far as Stanley before terminating and then returning to Durham. With this in mind, I decided to therefore alight at Stanley and then catch it back to Durham. The interior was very well kept, and as I usually do with Lolynes, I sat at the back downstairs, on the offside. Seating was very comfortable, with the graffiti moquette seating clearly being reupholstered recently. While some of the Lolynes have the traditional graffiti moquette seating, some are refurbished so that they sport the commonly found blue ''Go'' moquette seating. It was a typical run behind a Lolyne up until the University Hospital, not really topping any great speeds, but the harmonious sound of the Cummins L10 engine hard at work provided some makeshift entertainment. When we began to hit the countryside (as many of you will know, the 16/16A between Durham and Stanley has some very scenic parts to the route), the driver started to put his foot to the floor; thrashing 3876 along at some tremendous speeds. I was absolutely astonished at how fast we managed to go at one point, it must have been close to 50mph, which I don't think I've ever had occur in my experience of riding the Lolynes. An excellent run up to Stanley, but I wasn't sad to alight here, as I intended to catch 3876 back to Durham. A few minutes passed, as the driver had thrashed it so much that we'd arrived well ahead of schedule, and then I opted to board again. Decided to sit upstairs this time, though. Even from the upper saloon, I could hear the soothing sound of the mellifluous engine hard at work. Once again, the driver caned 3876 on some of the open stretches. I was saddened to have to get off in Durham, but, luckily, this wasn't to be the end of my Lolyne bash. 

I headed back up to the top of the bus station, and stood for only a short period of time, before I could hear the unmistakable sound of a Lolyne approaching (again!). This time, it was on a Newcastle-bound X21, with Chester-le-Street's 3878 in charge. 3878 is my favourite of the 4 Tridents still in service at the depot, for sentimental reasons. I opted to jaunt back to Chester-le-Street on this vehicle, as I'm always quite happy to see it. Once more, I took the offside seat at the rear of the downstairs saloon. I noted how hot it was coming from the engine, as I was able to feel the tremendous heat coming through the seating. Sadly, the interior of 3878 was much more worn than that of 3876, but it was yet another unrefurbished Lolyne, so I was completely fine with that. The euphonious sound of the Cummins L10 powering along the A167 was marvellous. I don't understand why the Lolynes are so maligned by the wider enthusiast community, as I think they're fantastic. Each to their own, I suppose. 



Marcus