(23 Nov 2014, 5:01 pm)DaveyBowyer wrote Well I'll weigh the pro's and cons of lightweight (small engined) and heavyweight (big engined) deckers up for interurban and long distance work:

Lightweight pros: Cheap to buy, good warranty, good on fuel.

Lightweight cons: Small engines that can't cope with the type of work given, rattles, more breakdowns, p***ed off passengers, poor timekeeping (excluding unforeseeable circumstances such as traffic and weather), over-reliance on turbochargers, don't hold the road as well, less custom with more people walking out Blyth and Alnwick test centres with a happy faces, don't age as well and unhappy drivers.

Heavyweight pros: Big engines that can cope with with the type of work given (not too foot to the floor though like the TTX which could do with coaches), fewer breakdowns, happy passengers, good timekeeping (excluding unforeseeable circumstances such as traffic and weather), not too reliant on turbochargers, hold the road well, fewer rattles, happy drivers and more passengers using the types of services given due to better reliability and timekeeping and they age well.

Heavyweight cons: Initially expensive to buy, warranties aren't as good, parts more expensive but needed less as in conjunction with the warranty, warranty and parts not needed too much due to good reliability, can be heavy on fuel.

No, it's not the size of the engine - it's the way the ECU is set up. As yet again, First Manchester's E400s used on their cross-county 184 service to Huddersfield improved the reliability since they replaced B9TLs on there.