(02 Dec 2014, 5:25 pm)MarcTheA4 wrote Mmm, not sure I could make Darlington with the plan I have prepare for this Saturday!
Would have to be by train! - and I'm crap at navigating around in the dark!
'Tis a bit annoying for those of us enthusiasts who have work or educational priorities, meaning that we can't attend weekday daytime launches. It's something which has always annoyed me about Go North East's launches and other marketing stunts too, which are typically held on weekdays rather than weekends. Go North East has started to grasp onto the idea of appealing to a larger audience by having some of the marketing stunts during peak times or on weekends though - hopefully Arriva will follow suit in the near future... After all, it's not just enthusiasts who have work and educational priorities during the day time!
(02 Dec 2014, 5:34 pm)mb134 wrote They're having to keep some of them on local routes too... https://www.flickr.com/photos/arrivanort...273192463/
Not good!
Had to say something when I saw the photo, knowing how much DB loves ADL Enviro400s!
Admittedly, I had one of Ashington's normal ADL Enviro400s on service X20 at the weekend, and I thought it was fairly quick off the mark and handled the A1 decently.
(02 Dec 2014, 5:50 pm)mb134 wrote When they are working, what are the Omnicities like? Are they suitable for the X15, power wise?
(I did have 4653 a couple of weeks back on an X18, but as it was an X18, there were no real opportunities to see anything power-wise, we were stuck in a long chain of traffic on the A1 from Berwick till the turn off)
I was blessed with an OmniCity or two on service X93 earlier this year, and it was such an improvement to the Volvo B7TLs currently allocated. They're full of power and handle the banks no bother. Capacity of OmniCitys is the only thing which worries me with the X15 though; whilst I appreciate they're being allocated to the 'quieter' runs, who is to say these runs will remain quiet and growth doesn't come due to the "MAX" impact?
Really was surprised to see Arriva go for the split allocation with the X15 - can't help but feel it adds unnecessary complexity to route costings, if nothing else...