(Yesterday, 3:19 pm)AJC1991 wrote Yeah im defo NOT sayng its perfect (it isnt)- trouble is what else could you do as Electric is all about "green" etc and obviously we have the Angel deckers.

I think it looks smart-(if a bit bland/boring) but thats no bad thing- ive read forum long enough to know feelings about from both sides of argument (and old enough to remember) some of the more weird/wonderful liveries GNE have thrown out in past- see Magic Roundabout, Pink Panther, the old "Fab 56/7" series etc

I think obviously going forward in long run- this (whether be Voltra or updated version) will almost become "normal" as companies slowly transistion away to Electric (and alternative fuels) so atm it is still slightly gimmicky as not loads of buses wearing it.

Love it or hate it i think theyve made a go at it and now stuck with it for the medium term at least. All part of "going back to basics" with far fewer specialised services and more generic corporate branding- of which there are pros and cons.

Just the colours, imo for electric it needs to be shades of green or blue, which would instantly stand out to someone passing by. The Voltra brand to me just looks like another of the million brands they've had including the old Metrocentre livery. You have to remember people aren't standing there for 5 minutes looking at it, it's 30 seconds max. Ironically it doesn't even mention electric buses bar a very small little bit of writing which is white on silver - which is borderline unreadable anyway.

Also, imo without any service branding then it's just pointless unless they're a planning a rebrand to Voltra from GoNorthEast as it's meaningless.

Just use the new corporate livery and swap out the red with a bright green or bright blue instead imo, simple and does what it says on the tin...

Hi guys,sorry I don't do Facebook but has anyone got any front view pics of the new deckers thank you

Anyone know what happened to the rumour about new buses for the 56? Was quite excited personally lol!

(9 hours ago)ALavery wrote Anyone know what happened to the rumour about new buses for the 56? Was quite excited personally lol!

If hints from GNE staff on Facebook are to be believed, the 'new' vehicles for the 56 are........6362 to 6375

(8 hours ago)Kuyoyo wrote If hints from GNE staff on Facebook are to be believed, the 'new' vehicles for the 56 are........6362 to 6375

That's correct, "Old 56s" 6086-6099 are to be split between other depots

(9 hours ago)ALavery wrote Anyone know what happened to the rumour about new buses for the 56? Was quite excited personally lol!

They ended up being the new buses for the X1.

(8 hours ago)Retro Nero wrote That's correct, "Old 56s" 6086-6099 are to be split between other depots

My guess is if the 301 stays single deck and the 307/309 get the ex-Angels, the 56 & Cobalt B9TLs will contribute to the following:

- X5/X15, 16/16A/16B, 47
* Above mostly covered by ex 56 B9TLs
* 6043-48 put into backseat/spare role
* Classic E400 & Voyager B9TLs put into backseat role or withdrawn

- 10/10A/10B/12
* ex Cobalt B9TLs less leggy and will see the 10/10A/10B/12 out until next batch of new vehicles
* Most of 6071-85 moved to secondary/local routes or spare roles

Obviously 6352-55 will no doubt end up at Consett with the rest of the E400MMCs, covering a PVR of 17x with 3x spare in total

(7 hours ago)L469 YVK wrote My guess is if the 301 stays single deck and the 307/309 get the ex-Angels, the 56 & Cobalt B9TLs will contribute to the following:

- X5/X15, 16/16A/16B, 47
* Above mostly covered by ex 56 B9TLs
* 6043-48 put into backseat/spare role
* Classic E400 & Voyager B9TLs put into backseat role or withdrawn

- 10/10A/10B/12
* ex Cobalt B9TLs less leggy and will see the 10/10A/10B/12 out until next batch of new vehicles
* Most of 6071-85 moved to secondary/local routes or spare roles

Obviously 6352-55 will no doubt end up at Consett with the rest of the E400MMCs, covering a PVR of 17x with 3x spare in total

My predicted withdrawals from service.

641/44/45 & 721/723 - Optare Solo SR - Oldest SR's in the fleet, latter two are non GNE Standard second hand.

3942/43 & 3963/64 - Volvo B7TL's - Look to all now been withdrawn, 3942 not seen service since 10/12, the latter three 19/12.

5377-90 - Optare Versa - Going with the theory that the 301 goes back Double Deck as under the current operating frequency requires additional capacity thus releasing Streetlites 5470-5480 to Washington for the 4. I then think the Citaros are in better condition than this batch of Versa's for the same age and would be well suited to being allocated to the 49/49A/96.  

6177-79/81/82 - Ex Lothian B9TL's
6184-6196 - Ex GNW/EY B9TL's
6944-58 - ADL Enviro 400 (Dual Door)
6970-74/75/76 - ADL Enviro 400 Optare Olympus (Dual Door) - All are second hand non-standard GNE Vehicles that are 17-18 year old and are at the end of life, will be replaced by reallocations of younger B9TL's in the fleet e.g. 63 Plates from Cobalts/Cityrider. 

8314/16/18 & 8322/24/25/26/27/28 Optare Versa - Have literally hung on for dear life due to vehicle shortages across the fleet and it is time for these to go with the releasing of Coaster Streetlites 5451-54 & Supershuttle E200MMC's 5488/91/98, latter going to Hexham for the 684.

(4 hours ago)Malarkey wrote My predicted withdrawals from service.

641/44/45 & 721/723 - Optare Solo SR - Oldest SR's in the fleet, latter two are non GNE Standard second hand.

3942/43 & 3963/64 - Volvo B7TL's - Look to all now been withdrawn, 3942 not seen service since 10/12, the latter three 19/12.

5377-90 - Optare Versa - Going with the theory that the 301 goes back Double Deck as under the current operating frequency requires additional capacity thus releasing Streetlites 5470-5480 to Washington for the 4. I then think the Citaros are in better condition than this batch of Versa's for the same age and would be well suited to being allocated to the 49/49A/96.  

6177-79/81/82 - Ex Lothian B9TL's
6184-6196 - Ex GNW/EY B9TL's
6944-58 - ADL Enviro 400 (Dual Door)
6970-74/75/76 - ADL Enviro 400 Optare Olympus (Dual Door) - All are second hand non-standard GNE Vehicles that are 17-18 year old and are at the end of life, will be replaced by reallocations of younger B9TL's in the fleet e.g. 63 Plates from Cobalts/Cityrider. 

8314/16/18 & 8322/24/25/26/27/28 Optare Versa - Have literally hung on for dear life due to vehicle shortages across the fleet and it is time for these to go with the releasing of Coaster Streetlites 5451-54 & Supershuttle E200MMC's 5488/91/98, latter going to Hexham for the 684.

I have a feeling that the E200MMC's might go onto the 4 personally, or alternatively to totally unexpected route like the 60. 

They're wasted right now being split all over the place and not having a home. 

The Mercs will go over the Versas though imo since they're expensive to run. Even Arriva got shot of their 12 Plates and they run a heritage fleet in places.

(Today, 9:20 am)L469 YVK wrote Someone mentioned on FB that the soon to be ex-Angels are for the 307/309. Is this true? I thought the 301 was going back to deckers.

Unless the B9TLs will be used on the 301 instead or....the 301 stays single deck with the B9TLs going elsewhere.

Wonder if both might go Streetdeck?

Someone has already mentioned that the Streetdeck's are going on the 56, including 2 of the X21 examples so you can assume that all the 70 plates are being displaced and there's still 6 unaccounted for.

6315 - 6330 and 6356 - 6361 is already 22/28 of the PVR of both (might be slightly off with the 28). 

I'm sure you could find a way to release some of 6301 - 6307 / 6331 - 6333 or the B5TL's to fill the PVR. It's probably better to have them all in one place anyway rather than having a microfleet at Washington. 

The ex Cobalt B9TL's would be a good vehicle for the 50 with their higher spec imo rather than it being whatever Washington has left, like now, them doing the 14 and 34 aswell.

Personal prediction for the new vehicles:

Angel:
18 new buses on the 21 displaces 16 Streetdecks onto the 301 (as rumoured) + 2 older deckers withdrawn
10 Streetlites go to Washington to displace the Citaros
5 Streetlites stay at Percy Main withdrawing 83XX Versa's
1 Streetlite goes to Consett displacing an extra E200MMC to Riverside to withdraw an 83XX Versa

X66
4 new buses displaces 3x Supershuttle E200MMC plus 1x extra as above to Hexham for 684
4 x Versa's from Hexham to Riverside withdrawing last of the 83XX Versa

58
7 new buses on the 58 displacing 7 older deckers

25 x New Buses - X1, X10 and X21
4 new buses on X10 displaces 4 E400MMC's to Consett for X-Line circuit withdrawing 4 older deckers
13 new buses on X1 displaces 13 Streetdecks to the 56, 56 B9's spread to withdraw older deckers
8 new buses on the X21 displaces 2 for the 56, 3 for Washington for 14/50 + extra spare, 3 for Riverside as 21/X21 spares withdrawing older deckers

Total of 34 older deckers withdrawn accounting for all B7's, Gemini 1's, Dual Door E400's and Olympus's