(20 Feb 2014, 9:09 pm)Dan wrote Imagine it... A Tyne Tees Xpress branded Astromega appearing on the Highwayman...
In all seriousness, we're still faced with the same issue - where would the cascaded Astromegas go to?
They would have to spend a decent chunk of their lives on the X9/X10 before being sold off to coach operators who would see a chance of a decent investment for a decent price. Say 10 years or so, with a "mid (GNE) life" refurb after 5 years? This would therefore justify the increased initial outlay...
If the B9TLs are going to be replaced every 3-4 years then you'd end up spending the same initial cost (more or less) over the 10 year period of the service life of Astromegas (as an example) - just without the cascade possibility at the end of said period. Having said that, the last examples of cascades off X9/X10 haven't exactly set the world alight with their reliability have they!