South Shields based MAN ALX300 22049 is on the E's.
One of the traffic controllers told me a few weeks ago that the roadworks at St Mary's in Sunderland is causing the E services to run off timetable at various times of the day. As such any spare vehicle (usually MANS or ADL Darts) are drafted in to keep the services running to the timetable as much as possible .
RE: Stagecoach North East: Rare and odd workings