(25 Apr 2025, 5:16 pm)Storx wrote Personally I'd do:
Angel Streetdeck's | Riverside (51/52/93/94)
6149 - 6158 | Sunderland (X20/56 Spares) - with a small refurbishment
B5TL | Withdrawn - these are a waste of space up here
6959 - 6966 | Consett (16/16A/X5/X15/Spares) - with the drug lights replaced with white lighting
B5TL to Hull in return for the 10x 11 Plate E400's, those 11 E400's doing
10x E400 | Consett (16/16A/47/X5/X15/Spares)
6043 - 6048 | Washington (34/Spares) - these are also shot to bits because of the X10, and as a result, unreliable.
Newer isn't always better and right now the B5TL's are just useless junk which were killed on the X10 and there's not enough of them to throw onto a city route so just get rid of them imo with something GoNorthEast might actually be able to keep on the road. The Streetdecks's which are as bad are much better being together aswell rather than 4 depots having them aswell. Personally I'd be looking for a replacement for 6301-7 at Washington aswell as these are just as bad as the B5's and throw them on the urban routes at Riverside aswell.
See, the main reason why I'd be more inclined to use the Cobalt B9TLs and others as part of the cascades is:
- Improved fuel economy with StreetDecks on 307/309 including the misc 353/4/5/6 workings where a B9TL is overkill. Obviously the StreetDecks would need taken off the road and properly sorted before cascade.
- 6101-17 have had very charmed lives compared to the rest of GNE's B9TLs. x8 of these would be a decent stop-gap on the X21. They'd also handle the 16/16A/47 fine too.
- Clearly the X10 is struggling to meet demand on an hourly frequency. Increasing this to every 30 minutes Ncl > Peterlee could solve some issues.
- X30s/X70s keep the E400MMCs with x2 spares covering PVR of x12. Power kept on the more challenging Derwentside > Newcastle services as opposed to chancing StreetDecks / B5TLs.
- Other than a few fiddly bits between Shotley Bridge and Consett, the X45 isn't that challenging in comparison to the X30s/X70s. StreetLites coped fine on the 45/46/47 and the B5TLs would be fine with some heavy TLC before use. Also not forgetting that they'd likely be parked on Sundays due to the 6/12/X30/X45/X72 interworking patterns which nornally use E200MMC / E400MMC. There'd also be x2 B5TL spare covering a PVR of x5.
Also and although not ideal, some of the East Gateshead B9TLs when freed from the 58 could fill any stop gaps at Consett and effectively remove E400 classics from front line work at Consett. Other than 6377, there'd also be some manufacturer standardisation too for deckers on front line service
Consett - Volvo / ADL
Riverside - Volvo / ADL / TBC (EV)
Deptford - Volvo / WrightBus integral
Percy Main - WrightBus integral
Washington - WrightBus integral