(29 Dec 2018, 9:36 pm)Jimmi wrote Positives:
Northern service on the Bishop line being increased to a hourly service, 7 days a week
Negatives:
Northern trains being on strike every Saturday since about the end of August with no end in sight
Whilst I don't hate Streetlite's as much as some people seem to do, they ain't the most comfortable and interesting buses to be subjected to on a regular basis and I do miss the Pulsars on the 5/5A
I've found this last year a bit dull as far as the hobby goes and not even worth bothering with at times
Interesting. I've too found this to be an extremely dull year, and I could probably count on one hand the amount of times I've been out for photographs. There's been other times that I've been out, and I've just not bothered to get any photographs... I just don't find anything at the moment massively interesting, and I've no desire to photograph tens of Streetlites.
Positives: I think the Angel upgrade has been a positive. Whilst I'm probably one of the rare B5LH fans, I do think they were starting to show signs of ageing on the 21, so it was good to see a new fleet of Streetdecks starting to arrive at the back end of last year. You'll always get the usual sheep using the 'Streetwreck' label or whatever, but I find them to be a good upgrade for what is largely a stop/start route.
A second positive was the trip down to Scarborough for the West Riding Group's 2018 BusFest. This was the second year I had been, and again, it didn't disappoint. I'd really recommend this running day to anybody that hasn't been, and its just a shame it doesn't seem to get more support from the North East - the 500 group are ever present of course!
Negatives: I'm going to say; the lack of anything radical! Whilst it has been an extremely dull year for an enthusiast, it has also been an extremely dull year as far as our three principle operators go. I appreciate that GNE have had their attention focused on the acquisition of EYMS, but Stagecoach don't seem to have done much, despite a relatively new MD, and the most Arriva have managed is to piss their workforce off.