Spottings & Jottings - nr. 65 February 6th 2013
Visit the "OXFORD & CHILTERN BUS PAGE " Current archives from October 2002
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Editorial
Floods in Oxford along the Abingdon Rd 310113 M
Crowe
Floods in Wheatley with Heyfordian heading for
the M40 310113 M Crowe
Floods in Wheatley with SCO 50204 heading for
London 310113 M Crowe
Floods in Wheatley with X90 heading for Oxford
310113 M Crowe
Bus stop sign showing no S3 180113 R Sharman
Golden Tours have taken delivery of some
Volvo/MCV deckers which are presently working the Harry Potter tour from
Victoria.
The introduction by Megabus of the Interdeckers took place in January making
a significant new model into service.
Picture from Pete Hancock.
Running Days
Amersham & District Motorbus Society
Nearly nine years ago and on 5 October 2003,
RLH48 takes a happy group of enthusiasts on a run
Running Days 2013
Sunday 5 May
HARLOW marking 50 years since Harlow Garage opened to replace Epping.
Sunday 12 May SLOUGH moved from 19
May to avoid clash with Sevenoaks. Slough & Windsor Railway Society to join
with us for the first time and to open their premises opposite the bus
station for stalls etc. Also hopefully the launch of a green RT (a former WR
one) now fully restored.
NEW DATE
Sunday 14 July UXBRIDGE moved from 30 June as London
(Cobham) Bus Museum are having an event that day and from 7 July to avoid
North Weald.
Sunday 19 August HEMEL HEMPSTEAD
Sunday 6 October AMERSHAM – this
year celebrating its Silver Jubilee!
ADVANCE NOTICE OF AN EVENT BEING PLANNED FOR END OF MARCH 2014 IN THE BUSHEY/WATFORD AREA TO MARK THE CENTENARY OF CENTRAL BUS ROUTE 142.
Please advise me
(petercartwright673@yahoo.co.uk)
of the events you would like to
attend/participate in as soon as possible please. Tel : 01494 437750.
Thank you and a big thank you to those who were able to participate in 2012.
Peter Cartwright
Other Running Days in 2012
Sunday 19 August HEMEL HEMPSTEAD based at bus
station, Waterhouse Street
Sunday 7 October AMERSHAM based at car park near railway station
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oxfordshire Bus Enthusiasts Society
The Oxfordshire Bus Enthusiasts Society was formed in June 2010 and aims to
provide an informal monthly social meeting in Oxford for those with an
interest in buses. Meetings are normally held on the 3rd Tuesday of each month
and normally take the form of a picture show with local and guest
speakers. A small charge is made to cover the cost of hiring the function
room and this is usually around £1 for members per meeting depending on numbers.
For non-members a charge of £2 per head is made.
Next Meeting:
Tuesday - February 19th 2013
Matt Bullock on Deregulation
Meetings are held in the upstairs function room at:
The Folly Bridge Inn
38 Abingdon Road
Oxford
OX1 4PD
Some limited parking at the back of the pub, also close to bus stops (frequent X3/X13 or 35 routes stop outside)
or a short walk from Oxford City Centre - For directions click HERE
A detailed programme of meetings can be found at the following link and we hope many of you will attend future meetings.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When readers take copies of pictures from the OCBP site
Some of the contributors to this site have noticed that their pictures are appearing on e-bay sites selling such things.
Needless to say this is a theft of copyright and one which I deplore!
I would not wish to have to watermark photographs, thereby making them unsalable as such but if this practice continues I shall be left with no alternative. I am sure this would detract from the pleasure so many of you get from the OCBP.
May I please ask readers to do two things?
1/ If you see any photos on sale please let me know and where they are appearing.
2/ If you are someone who has copied and sold photos please desist as this is theft and I will have to take legal action against anyone found doing so.
The site is free to all readers and I pay a price to publish the pages which is not passed on.
Please respect those freedoms and I hope I may not have to mention this matter again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The level of contribution to this page by readers, as ever, remains excellent! Thank you all.
Malcolm Crowe - Editor - OCBP - February 6th 2013
Spottings
Observations and pictures
Glenn de
Sousa
Courtney Buses of Finchampstead, near Bracknell placed an
order in October for 11 Optare Solo SR's. So far, four have been noted on
the company's Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead routes (by 28/12/12).
They are as follows:
YJ62 FCC
- Optare Solo SR 8.9m Slimline
YJ62 FEH
- Optare Solo SR 9.5 Normal Width
YJ62 FEW
- Optare Solo SR 9.5 Normal Width
YJ62 FMA
- Optare Solo SR 9.5 Normal Width
As far as I could see,
YJ62 FCC was
in plain white. YJ62 FEH
was in a new blue and white Courtney Buses fleet livery. As with all
Courtney Buses now, these new buses do not have fleet numbers.
YJ57 XWM-P,R-U
are advertised for sale. In August, RK07
KOA (Optare Solo 7.1m) was sold to Chelton
Leisure Services. Already owned Optare Solo 7.1m
YJ08 PGU
replaced RK07 KOA
on the Windsor Home Park contract.
Also, does anyone know whether Optare Solo SE
7.1m RX57 MDZ
is still in service as I have not seen it out and about recently.
A full list of the Optare Solo SR’s for Courtney
Buses:
YJ62 FCC in Plain white (for Blue routes 4 & 239)
NB. Still in plain white on 04/2/13
Yj62 FEH in a Purple and White Courtney livery for
Purple Route 6
YJ62 FET in an Orange and White Courtney livery for
Orange Route 8
YJ62 FEU in a Green and White Courtney livery for
Green Route 7
YJ62 FMA in a Green and White Courtney livery for
Green Route 7
YJ62 FMD Delivered (Livery unknown 04/2/13)
YJ62 FME Delivered (livery unknown 04/2/13)
YJ62 FYA in a Red and White Courtney livery for Red
Route 5
YJ62 FYB in a Purple and White Courtney livery for
Purple Route 6
There are two more Solo SR’s that I have not
seen (04/2/13), they are YJ62 FYF/H.
All are 9.5m Standard width except for FCC which is
an 8.9m SlimLine model.
YJ10 EZB is still on loan (03/2/13) at Courtney.
Optare Versa 11.1m demonstrator YJ61 JHF is on loan
to Courtney Buses, Finchampstead covering for an Optare Tempo on the
Chineham Park contract.
MX11 JYV has been returned to Mistral in Knutsford
(dealer). This was around a week or two ago.
A few spottings in Maidenhead and Slough:
I am attaching two pictures of Courtney’s
Maidenhead Foundation Park Shuttle bus (YJ10 EZX) that I took last year, but
just found on my phone.
There are are a number of new vehicles at Andersons Travel in London. Some
of them are:
VDL Bova Futura 2: WA62 BGF / HJC
(What I think is a Sitcar Beluga??) WA62 BBU
Plaxton Panther 2: YN62 GXA / K
They have also launched a new livery.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wanderer30/8430968044/
Another Volvo/Plaxton Panther 2 is YN62 GXX.
Also, SN62 DNJ is a new Enviro 350H demonstrator
for Alexander Dennis.
All of Epsom Coaches’ Quality Line
local fleet (NOT THE TFL FLEET) are in the process of being
repainted from TFL’s London Red to a new beige and brown livery with a
maroon skirt.
First Berkshire Dennis Dart
SLF/Marshal Capital 41174 (R174 TLM) has been withdrawn.
Compass Travel are expecting a
new Enviro 200 Dart, GX62 CSF, for East Sussex route 261. It will be to
B29F. It was ordered on the 21st January 2013.
Indeed there are various snowy pictures in this
issue as the weather in much of January showed.
Gavin Francis
New Stagecoach E200 36762 on the 14A dated February 1st 2013 - G Francis.
Full house and almost in numerical order, three
of the 61 plate Volvos being made ready for departure.
The use of these coaches on the X90 has seen an
increase in recent weeks. G Francis.
Megabus Mid Devon YSU895 Bulleid Way 010213 G Francis.
Stagecoach Oxford hired SGBC Levante in Stokenchurch (with Stokenchurch on
blind!)
A new coach from Excalibur working for Terravision at Stansted on January
24th by Gavin.
Arriva Dart MPD 3492 on route 61 at Luton
Airport on January 24th by G Francis. Quite a small bus for this route !
London Go-Ahead WVL 145 in trouble with a flat
tyre on January 31st by G Francis
A few Citaros have appeared on the parking services at Luton. This one has
come from Central Parking at Gatwick.
Luke Braham
Arriva 3227 (T491 KGB) on Line 150 towards
Aylesbury Bus Station. This bus is in Line 500 livery.
Arriva 3923 (BK58 URR) on Line 100 towards
Aylesbury Bus Station.
Z&S P550 WGT on the 165 towards Leighton Buzzard.
This is an ex-Sullivan Bus.
As we can see from Luke's pictures, snow was
persistent for many days in January.
Richard Sharman
At least two Enviro 300's are branded.
Only a few Van Hool's and a Jonckheere remain in
Heyfordian style livery.
Mean while a number of Paramounts remain in use
for School Contracts.
The Villager who operate into West Oxfordshire
using a number of Minibuses inc Transits and an Optare Alero have recently
taken delivery of a Fiat based Bluebird.
Seen turning round in Foscott, near Kingham is
YX12 CJV
Pulhams Prima departing on the Thursday only 806
Service to Banbury from Chipping Norton
Ex London Trident departing Chipping Norton on
Warwickshire's 50 Service
Recently Purchased from York Pullman is this
Paragon at Grayline
An empty Car Park at Bicester Village on a
Sunday! due to the Snow many did not venture to the shops
and TGM
Seen at Booker ready to depart to Micklefield
5127 makes a brave sight. M Crowe.
Pictures to evoke memories, the interior of 5127.
Along with 5127 are 3181, in a state of disrepair, 3214, looking as good as
many in service and 3701 which recently had an altercation with a car.
By the way this means that all three Park & R
Whilst waiting for my bus to Wycombe, 40 regular 3217 passed by heading for
Thame. It looks a lot better than it really is!!!
New in February 1999 it is now fourteen years old. M Crowe.
New Citaro 3931 was working the 300 on January 4th, This bus started life at
the 2012 Olympics.
Note the interesting use of the rear route number to include the
destination. M Crowe.
Olympian 5151 heads past 5127, the newer bus being on it's way to
Micklefield on January 4th 2013. M Crowe.
Dart MPD 3482, once the spare bus for the U9 and painted red, seen working a
40 service through Stokenchurch on January 31st by M Crowe.
Older Citaro 3931 on route 280 at Green Rd, Headington, on January 31st,
makes a comparison with new 3930 at Oxford Rail Station on the same day. M
Crowe.
These Citaros now often appear on the 280 as Aylesbury seems short of the
intended E400s.
A bit of a surprise, 3213 passed me on Desborough Avenue. It is now
repainted in a most attractive livery for driver training. M Crowe.
Arriva 4519 on route 33 in Desborough Rd on January 4th by M Crowe
Recently arrived DAF 4531 on the PR1 in Cressex on February 4th by M Crowe.
The use of this bus was probably down to the present loss of 3701.
The one remaining withdrawn Olympian/ Palatine II, 5153, seen at Wycombe
Cressex on February 4th. M Crowe.
Visitors for attention at Arriva Cressex on February 4th. The "hotelbybus"
is an MCV from Gatwick!!! M Crowe.
Glenn de Sousa
KE55 GVY (3608)
KE55 GVZ (3609)
KE55 GWC (3611)
KE55 CVG (3612)
...are in service in Stevenage.
Also, link to the newly repainted and refurbished
bus in Aylesbury:
http://allaboardblog.co.uk/arriva-shires/?p=3401 .
Arriva the Shires are expecting ten Optare Versa’s
for their Garston depot to work route 10. They will be 3413-3422.
Their registrations are:
3413-KX62 JJO
3414-KX62 JKE
3415-KX62 JKN
3416-KX62 JMU
3417-KX62 JNZ
3418-KX62 JPV
3419-KX62 JPY
3420-KX62 JUT
3421-KX62 JVE
3422-KX62 JWA
At least 3413 and 3417 have been delivered.
When the Arriva/Sovereign takeover took place
around 2005, most vehicles transferred with the operation at Stevenage and
Hatfield, but it appears that Sovereign 139, W139 XRO, transferred up north
to Harrogate and District previously working Centraline 300 301 at
Stevenage.
Here are some links to pics from Flickr pictures to back it up:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/routemaster_rml2323/3093066228/
- Sovereign
http://www.flickr.com/photos/psbusdriver/7585630148/
- Transdev old livery
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dansbusphotos/4711937569/in/photostream/ -
Newer livery
I thought that this fact may be interesting to you
and your readers:
The two KE51 WUO/P Green Line 797 coaches were also
retained by the Blazefield group, now operating for Transdev.
Arriva Medway Towns have recently taken delivery
of 2 Optare Versa’s with more to follow. At the moment, they are:
Martin White
Further to my email regarding the DAF DB250 ALXs that are displaced from the
142 at Garston & with be refurbished to single door to replace
At Arriva the Shires, the 52-reg 'DLA' buses that
had been on route 142 until replacement recently by 55-reg 'VLA' buses from
London, are now going for refurbishment. They will return within the next
couple of months and are due to be allocated to Aylesbury, Hemel Hempstead
and Ware to replace (mostly indirectly by transfers of older Tridents) the
remaining G- and N- reg Olympians at Luton. Other 'DLA' buses are due to
transfer to Arriva Southern Counties.
Looks as if the Olympians have a very short life
left then.
Also Arriva Shires Garston are to receive later
this year some of Enfield’s displaced Enviro 200 darts 'ENL' class, when
they lose the 491, For the renewed tender contract on the 'H' routes in the
Harrow area replacing Pointer Darts, & there Wright DAF SB120 Cadets used in
the Edgware area & in Golders Green on TfL routes are to be refurbished for
the renewed contracts on those routes.
Olympians and cascade Tridents around the Shires
Fleet, a couple of already departed & 6001 has been seen at Bus & Coach
World Blackburn ready to be done,
So the next couple of months will start to see the
nail in the coffin for the Olympians that are remaining,
With regards to the DAFs heading to Arriva Southern
Counties i would at a guess say they will be surplus DLA class ones from
within Arriva London T, V, W,
Ones that are about to be displaced from Tottenham
& Enfield as further New Hybrids enter service on the 73 and the existing
DWs move to Tottenham with further
New Vehicles due soon as well to start the DLA
cascade.
Two more E400s are to be transferred from HH to AYL
for the enhanced 280 service. The 200 is to be withdrawn and replaced by the
above enhanced service. Thus there will not be an express anymore.
The 542x batch of Tridents are to be concentrated
at Luton finally replacing any remaining Olympians.
The arrival of the DLA deckers will help this.
Olympian 5127, new in 1991, was originally
allocated to LRT services 142 and 340 and is now one of the oldest buses in
service with AtS.
Sole survivor from Oxford days Dart 3821 (N521 MJO)
has made it into February! I saw it on route 33 on the 4th.
Among the buses noted as Vehicle Off Road on the
list in Wycombe bus station on 4th Feb was 3444 (R204 VPU), a DAF. I would
be surprised if that is a transfer in, as many of that batch have already
been withdrawn. But maybe it is in for 3701.
The back row of
withdrawn vehicles at Cressex comprises 3852,3431 and 3822. The only change
in recent weeks is that 3827 has disappeared.
I can inform you that this bus has not yet been
removed at all and is still operating from Cressex depot as I got on this
bus tonight (04/02/2013) at 18.35 running the 32 blue route from Eden Bus
Station to Booker Asda. It is clear to see that Arriva is holding onto these
buses and running them on the 32 route quite frequently as the recently
transferred ALX400's tend to struggle on the incline of Booker Hill Road.
Many times I have been on one of these buses as it has ground to a halt half
way up the hill after reaching full rev without producing enough power to
get up the steep incline, even with only a handful of passengers on board.
Funny how the Volvo Olympians thunder up this hill at a steady 20 mph both
empty and full of passengers, never have I been on one that has struggled
half as much as the ALX400's."
These are of course the Eclipse 1.5s, they are on
the newer B7RLE chassis but still use older style bodywork. These are still
in the Arriva National livery as opposed to the newer Arriva Interurban
livery.
An unusual working with Volvo 3861 on route 40 at
Stokenchurch on Saturday February 1st. 2013 by Gavin Francis.
Recently transferred into Wycombe 4525 works
route 40 at Stokenchurch on January 7th by Gavin Francis
Several buses are still with Thames Travel, though with the import of Citaro to that operator most buses should be back soon. I was told that one or two of the ex Oxford Scania coaches were still active at the beginning of the school term.
Three older buses, 471/2/3 have entered service
with Beacon Buses, Holsworthy, Devon.
Carousel Olympian 931 in the snow on January 14th
by Gavin Francis.
Centrebus |
At the heart of your travel needs |
Gavin Francis
Mike Penn
New arrivals are Plaxton bodied Darts 562 (R462
LGH), 553/63 (Y301/52 FJN) and 542 (LN 03 AYL). These have moved from
Harlow where Centrebus operations ceased in early November. 542 is now
in Centrebus livery having arrived still in Trustybus livery. 562 may
not be in service yet.
Other arrivals are are former Newport East Lancs
bodied Scanias 711 (L71 EKG) and 756 (K106 YTX) which have transferred from
Bowers and are needed for increased school commitments although they appear
in normal service as well. 711 has had a partial repaint and is now
white with a blue skirt while 756 entered service still in Bowers’ red
livery but has since had a blue skirt added. There are now four former
Newport Scanias in service – all in different liveries! 710 (L170 EKG)
is in the earlier Centrebus livery while 712 (L172 EKG) is in the latest
livery. The University shuttle service normally employs two of these.
One further ex Newport Scania is 754 (K104 YTX) which regained its original
registration in December 2011, having been TIL 4051, but is withdrawn at the
depot still carrying the TIL 4051 plates.
I am attaching photos of 711 and 756. 711 was
working the 231 service back in November while the first photo of 756 shows
it in as acquired condition on the University shuttle service in November.
The second photo of 756 shows it in its current condition on the 231 service
earlier in January.
553/63 (Y301/52 FJN) have Alexander bodies, not Plaxton.
I should have added that two of the vehicles replaced at Dunstable are 107/58 (P27/158 MLE) which have moved to Hinckley.
I’m not sure if L713 JUD has gone yet. This was the oldest Dart in the fleet and was the last former Thames Transit bus remaining. "
The X74 Slough-Wycombe service continues to be operated by a mix of vehicles including blue Citaros and ex Reading Volvos.
NEx Travellers Choice PO62LMK r341 at GG Oxford
on January 7th by Richard Sharman.
This is one of the few 62 plate Levantes to operate through Oxford.
Contrasting with the other Levantes ex Oxford's
59211 is seen ready to operate a 007 service to Dover from VCS on January
20th by M Crowe.
The following Olympians from Oxford were exported to Malta.
The new Hybrid deckers are now almost all in service and mainly working the 5. However one was seen on an X13 working and pictures below show one on 2 road.
Details of the current
Hybrid 351 meets two police horses on January
7th by Richard Sharman.
Hybrid 357 in Frideswide Square operating route
5 on January 4th January by Gavin Francis
Hybrid 367 before full application of decals on
route 2B showing front and rear on 31st January 2013 by Gavin Francis
E400 228 on route 13 by Queens College on
January 4th 2013 by Gavin Francis.
Hybrid 300 on route 2B in Magdalen St East on
February 1st 2013 by Gavin Francis.
Flag ship 351 seen by Hugh Jaeger on January 4th
2013.
Hybrid 300 on route 5 leaves Oxford Rail Station
seen by Hugh Jaeger on January 4th 2013.
Coach 5 with 2012 Coach operator branding seen
leaving Gloucester Green on January 31st by M Crowe
Not all the buses on route 5 are Hybrids as seen
by E400 in Park End St on January 21st by M Crowe
I was about to take a short ride on my first
Wrights Hybrid as runs out of Park End St on January 9th. M Crowe
357 turns into St Aldates at Carfax on January
9th by M Crowe
Oxford fleet movements
last period |
|
47549 |
VX07 LXZ |
Optare Solo - Witney to West |
47551 |
VX07 LYC |
Optare Solo - Witney to West |
47433 |
V395 KVY |
Optare Solo - West to Witney |
47434 |
VX51 ABF |
Optare Solo - West to Witney |
|
|
|
33454 |
S454 CVV |
Dennis Dart SLF - Oxford to Midlands |
33455 |
S455 CVV |
Dennis Dart SLF - Oxford to Midlands |
Oxford vehicles awaiting disposal |
||||
33655 |
R155 CRW |
Dennis Dart |
OX |
Oxford vehicles in reserve |
||||
22935 |
S935 CFC |
MAN ALX300 |
OX |
|
22936 |
S936 CFC |
MAN ALX300 |
OX |
|
22940 |
S940 CFC |
MAN ALX300 |
OX |
|
22941 |
S941 CFC |
MAN ALX300 |
OX |
Richard Sharman writes "On the 18th of January 2012 severe Snow disrupted Bus Services through out Oxfordshire. The Chipping Norton area was particularly badly hit, Services X8/X9 and S3 operated from start of service until around 10.30 due to dangerous driving condition's.
A selection of pictures
from the day show how heavy the snow fall was.
SCO 15834 on S3 in the snow 180113 R Sharman
SCO 15836 at Chippy outstation 180113 R Sharman
SCO 33947 in the snow 180113 R Sharman
SCO 33970 at Chippy outstation 180113 R Sharman
SCO 47237 and 47238 at Chippy outstation 180113 R Sharman
SCO 47237 r X8 180113 R Sharman
SCO 47237 r X8 at Stn interchange 180113 R Sharman
SCO 47437 - VX51ABF ex Wye and Dean on X8 180113 R Sharman
SCO DaRT IN THE SNOW 180113 R Sharman
SC 15761 Bicester buses at outstation 1800113 R Sharman
SC Gold Bicester buses at outstation 1800113 R Sharman
By January 26th conditions had improved as this picture of SCO 47037 on the
X8 by R Sharman shows.
Another transfer in is from Wye and Dean with this Solo 47433 on route X8 by
R Sharman.
Richard
Sharman
The S3 going all Gold on a Sunday has meant
Stagecoach in Warwickshire have reverted to numbering all journeys between
Stratford-upon-Avon and Oxford as the 50 and is by passing the village of
Yarnton.
Of course the 50 is what used to be the X50. A
Route that has operated for many years, going back to National Bus Company
days and then operated by Western Travel under the Stratford Blue name
before Burman Travel operated it for some time using all sorts of Leopards
inc Alexander bodied examples.
Then came the expansion of the X50 with Stagecoach
Express running a fairly frequent service all the way to Birmingham using
Tigers.
Pete's Travel then took on the route using near
enough any vehicle they had in the fleet inc the Trident/Presidents that
ended up at Reading Buses, when Pete's Travel failed the service past to
Ensignbus's Stratford Blue operation using Countylinks Enviro 300's and a
Mini Pointer Dart.
Stagecoach have been running the route on a
Sunday every since they took over Stratford Blue in 2004.
15673 illustrates how the 50 has now returned to
its original route of many years ago.
Frazer Peddle writes to send a picture of E200
33763 which he drove one evening on the no.9 route, which isn't the usual
bus for this route. It was taken whilst waiting for time Speedwell Street.
SCO 15436 on route 3 at Carfax on January 9th by M Crowe
E300 22764 on the X30 in New Rd on January 9th by M Crowe
E200 36768 on route 10 in Speedwell St on January 31st by M Crowe
Gold in George St on January 31st by M Crowe
East
The X5 must have been experiencing difficulties on January 30th as there were a lot of changes to vehicles operating the X5 as the picture below shows.
21123 passes 52644 on X5 working in Gloucester Green by M Crowe.
Following accident damage the rear of 50201 has
lost its branding when compared to 50224 and 50218 at Horspath depot on
January 10th by M Crowe.
A nice picture from Richard Sharman of two Astromegas in Oxpens.
Showbus 50226 leaves Gloucester Green for London on January 10th by M Crowe.
The Interdecker fleet is now getting into full swing on the Megabus services to London.
Branding varies and this coach promotes Stagecoach involvement with Formula
One.
54207 is seen next to an Oxford Tube in Sammy's. M Crowe.
Driver Training tool pace in early January and 54209 spent some days in
London for that purpose.
Astromega 50233 leaves VCS for Newcastle.
50242 heads towards Sammy's on an inbound journey from Newcastle.
54051 loads for Manchester alongside new Astromega TX 50247 loading for
Aberdeen.
As shown in the last issue Freestones have a new coach for their operation
of the M16 Norwich service.
The flagship of the Interdecker fleet is in a special 10 year livery and is
seen in Bulleid Way by Gavin Francis.
Megabus New Bharat BC09NBC 011213 G Francis
Finally a late picture of Interdecker 54206 in another special livery by
Gavin Francis on February 6th.
Much better pictures to follow in the next issue.
Several old TT buses have gone to New Zealand and Iwan Jones has sent a useful link.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53052625@N08/sets/72157626787678997/with/8286412487/
Link to Thames Travel MANs/MCVs in New Zealand:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53052625@N08/8260937544/in/set-72157626787678997
...these buses were photographed in Auckland, New Zealand. They are destined
for Go Bus Transport through Associated Coach Sales for operation in their
Christchurch depot.
These buses will have a rear door fitted before entering service.
A source close to TT has written "
First and foremost the loaned Carousel buses have been withdrawn from service with the exception of DPL 480 and DAF 981 (481). 480 is to be retained and branded for the 98 contract service, Great Western Park estate - Didcot Town Centre, and 481 is to be disposed of once no longer required. Tempo 804 is also still in the yard but it understood no longer for service.TT now has twelve Citaros (849 - 860) in full
colours and 861/2 in a temporary plain red livery. These are mainly for use
on Oxfordshire commercial routes such as the 32, X2, X32 & X39/40
Carousel's EVO12/15 (418/419) have
been transferred to Wallingford and are to receive full colours in the near
future.
DAF 976 has had its destination board salvaged and
is for disposal any day now.
As of Sunday 3rd January the route diagrams will be
changed, the X32, X39/40, 101/106 will no longer interwork, neither will the
36/X36, 139 and 136.
804 on 6the 106 in Oxford on January 4th by Gavin
Francis.
TT 851 on route 106C on January 4th by G Francis.
TT DPL480 on route 116 on January 4th by G
Francis.
TT 709 on route 101 on January 7th by R Sharman
TT 856 on route 106C on January 7th by R Sharman.
At this time the bus was still awaiting repaint into full livery.
A decker to Watlington ! TT 916 on route 106C on
January 7th by R Sharman
A late addition to the fleet, TT 861 on route X32
in St Aldates on January 27th by M Crowe
Rotala buys parts of First Worcs
First has sold some of its Worcestershire operations to Rotala for £1.5m.
The deal includes two freehold depots
(Kidderminster and Redditch), 36 vehicles, plant and equipment and 120
staff. Rotala will take over all the existing services.
In the year ended 30 June 2012, the two depots
recorded a £270,000 loss on a £5.2m turnover.
Rotala says the deal will “enable it to expand and
consolidate its position in those areas of Worcestershire which are
contiguous to its main areas of operation in the Birmingham conurbation.”
It will integrate the depots into its current West
Midlands Rotala network, trading as Red Diamond, Blue Diamond and Black
Diamond, to gain operating efficiencies.
Stagecoach New Year boost with over £75 million investment in more than 430
new buses and coaches
09 Jan 2013
·
Hundreds of new low-floor vehicles for local bus networks in UK
·
Special order for innovative sleeper coaches for megabus.com network in
Britain
·
New left-hand drive coaches for megabus.com services to Continental Europe
·
Total investment in buses and coaches for UK now over £445m in last six
years
Stagecoach Group today (9 Jan 2013) announced it is to invest more than £75
million in hundreds of new buses and coaches for its bus and coach
operations in the UK and Continental Europe.
The Perth-based transport group has placed initial orders for more than 430
buses and coaches for financial year 2013-14. Most of the new buses and
coaches will be produced in the UK, helping support hundreds of British
manufacturing jobs.
The latest orders follow an annual competitive tendering process and the
first of the new vehicles will be delivered from May 2013.
It brings Stagecoach’s total investment in new buses and coaches for the UK
over the past six years to more than £445 million.
Highlights of the latest investment are:
·
More than 380 low-floor double-decker, single-decker, midi and mini buses
for Stagecoach regional bus networks in the UK
·
A special consignment of 10 innovative double-decker sleeper coaches for
megabus.com in the UK, providing 55 luxury seats during the day and 41 beds
at night.
·
10 further inter-deck coaches for megabus.com services in Britain
·
10 left-hand drive 72-seat inter-deck coaches for use on megabus.com
services in Continental Europe to replace existing 49-seat standard coaches.
·
A total of 18 other coaches for inter-urban bus routes in the UK
All of the new vehicles meet the current Euro 5 emissions standards and a
number will also be low carbon hybrid or gas versions. Full details will be
confirmed following the announcement of successful applications from the
fourth round of the Department for Transport’s (DfT) Green Bus Fund. The DfT
has allocated an extra £20 million to encourage further investment in
greener buses and an announcement on successful bids is due in May.
Stagecoach is already the UK’s biggest investor in green hybrid electric
buses, which produce 30% less carbon emissions than standard buses. The
company has around 180 hybrid electric buses already in service in the UK,
with nearly 60 more being introduced by the end of March 2013.
Les Warneford, Managing Director of Stagecoach UK Bus, said: “This latest
multi-million-pound investment is a great New Year boost for Britain. It
will deliver better bus services to local communities across the country and
will help support British manufacturing jobs. It is also great news for our
customers, who continue to benefit from the best value fares of any major
bus operator in the UK.
"We are continuing to see consumers switch to smarter, better value bus
travel as motorists feel the effect of high fuel prices and the increasing
cost of running a car. These new buses will also be better for the
environment and continue our market-leading investment in greener
technology.
"The new orders will also see further investment in our budget coach service
megabus.com, which now carries more than five million passengers a year in
the UK alone. We have placed a special order for new double-decker sleeper
coaches, which will allow us to run a luxury service during the day and
offer greater comfort to our customers on overnight services."
Details of the new orders are as follows:
·
113 ADL Enviro 400 Dennis and Scania double-deckers
·
98 ADL Enviro 300 Dennis and Scania single-deckers
·
140 ADL Enviro 200 Dennis midibuses
·
1 Optare Versa midi-bus
·
32 Optare Solo mini-buses
·
10 Plaxton Panther Volvo B13R coaches
·
8 Plaxton Elite Volvo B13R coaches
·
10 Plaxton Elite Volvo B11R coaches
·
10 Van Hool Altano TDX 21 left-hand drive coaches
·
10 Van Hool Astromega double-decker sleeper coaches
Blackpool by Geoff Cunliffe
There has been very little to report about
Blackpool for several weeks since the illuminations finished in November and
the tramway assumed its winter timetable. It has been said that there will
be a review of the first year’s operation to see what lessons can be learned
(run enough tram to cope with the queues!).
The Fylde Coast escaped the worst of the winter weather, but Balloon 701,
newly fitted with its snowplough, has made journeys to Fleetwood on a couple
of occasions, although there was hardly enough snow to dampen the bottom of
the plough! At least they have tried it out! Attached is a picture of 701 at
the Pleasure Beach on 18th. January, courtesy of my usual source with their
permission, the Buses Train Traction Engine and Tram blog at
http://busestractionengines.blogspot.co.uk/
The other item of slightly curious news is as follows: after a lengthy absence from passenger service, Flexity 002 has returned to service for the first time since it returned to Germany in May last year. Now it is back in service, there is no dedicated training tram, so 006 has taken over the role. The curious bit is that 006 was withdrawn last summer and has been out of use for so long as it has had parts removed whilst spares were on order for the other 15 trams.
Makes you wonder what state the other 15 are in after twelve months!
Finally, Blackpool Council has re-affirmed its intention in principle to extend the tramway up Talbot Road from Talbot Square to serve the new development around the North Railway Station to be named Talbot Gateway. Much play is made of the fact the Fleetwood has no railway station of its own (now) and this will link residents to the train network directly. Welcome news provided it happens.
Trips & Events
Mark Smith
Also an E400H on the 94 in Regent Street.
Clive King writes to send pictures of Winchester on Tuesday 1 January, 2013.
The Wilts and Dorset livery looks absolutely
splendid but the seats do not appear to be the original.
The ever-present Dennis passes through a patch of
sun into the Bus Station.
The 1935 Paris Bus is extremely popular with its
cheerful conductress.
The seats are in facing bays like a MK1 TSO and the
second seat in the cab is for a policeman or soldier to direct the driver in
the event of civil emergency.
Roger Burdett is deserving of great appreciation
for bringing a different coach from his collection each year and driving it
with a certain no nonsense gusto on circular tours.
He always stops at a well chosen location and waits
very patiently until everyone has taken their photograph.
POU heels to the nearside on the roundabout by the statue.
This is preferable to heeling to the offside when
upper deck passengers slide along the brown vinyl seats towards the sunken
gangway.
The Olympic has returned to the arrival point in
The Broadway following an oil change believed to have cost two rounders
before running round to depart on Service 4.
It is a wonderful restoration and performed very
well indeed.
History
John Bristow
From Chris Loddington
"
Seeing the picture also brought back some
memories. I lived on the outskirts of Dunstable from 1960 - 1971, which was
served by the Luton - Aylesbury 61 service, (And still is). I worked in
Luton from 1964 and remember vividly coming home on 730 on its first day in
service. The 61 was almost exclusively worked by FLF's from Luton and
Aylesbury depots, but they had a reputation of being heavy and sluggish, but
this later batch seemed to be a vast improvement. Aylesbury was allocated
624, 630 and 631, which were regulars on the 61. However, 631 was eventually
blacked by the unions on the 61 as it was more sluggish than the others and
unable to cope properly with the terrain with some quite substantial hills.
I still visit the area quite frequently, (My
sister lives nearby in Studham), and the 61 seems to have been served by a
mixture of elderly vehicles in recent years. In fact the age profile of the
whole Arriva the Shires fleet is very high, and I think they are in need of
a big injection of newer higher quality vehicles. This I think has been
commented on in your Bus Page column concerning the High Wycombe operation.
Well that's it from me, and I do hope my
information, although a little vague, goes some way towards answering the
query regarding route 370."
"In the 1st January OCBP Tony sought information
on a rather splendid photo of United Counties FLF6B 730 (LBD730E) taken
during the 1970s in Aylesbury. The photographer is standing near to what is
now a BP service station/VW dealership in Bicester Road but was then Keith
Garages and the Red Rover bus depot. The bus is approaching the Royal Bucks
Hospital roundabout en route from Quarrendon to Stoke Mandeville Hospital
on Aylesbury town service 370. The 370 and companion route 369 travelled via
Southcourt as can be seen from the attached extract from a local 1971 road
and rail timetable published by London Country.
Be interesting to know when the photo of 730 was
taken. I tend to associate Aylesbury's 70 seater Lodekkas with the 61 to
Luton and the then 366 to RAF Halton via Wendover. The town services tended
to be operated by rear entrance 60 seaters although I guess by the 1970s
these were being ousted by Bristol VRs. Of note is that the 370
provided Prebendal Avenue with 2 buses an hour. These days that road is
totally unserved and surprisingly not one of Aylesbury's current network of
town services provides a direct link between the Quarrendon area and Stoke
Hospital.
Mandeville Road which Tony rightly points out
parallels the Aylesbury - Risborough railway line is the direct route from
the town centre to the hospital. Up until 1971 Thames Valley virtually
monopolised this road. For many years the only United Counties service ran
on Wednesday and Sunday afternoons. Originating in North Bucks route 386 was
clearly intended for hospital visitors. But 1971 saw the withdrawal of
Thames Valley route 80 that took the long way round to Wycombe via Great
Hampden. United Counties put on route 365 as a replacement for the Aylesbury
- Risborough section but I don't recall it lasting very long
despite a deviation round Barnard Crescent to serve the then developing
Mandeville Estate. 1971 timetables for both the 365 and 386 are also
attached should they be of interest to readers.
Variety at Binders Yard HW 140113 G Francis
RT1702 at Binders Yard HW 140113 G Francis
Unusual performer LU VE10 on r 94 Shepherds Bush
110113 M Crowe
Links & Publications
J.B. Tours
Leyland Olympian Running Days
http://leyland-olympian.blogspot.com/
MCW Metrobus Tours
http://mcwmetrobustours.blogspot.co.uk/
U.K. Bus Tours
http://ukbustours.blogspot.com/
“U.K. Bus Tours”
http://ukbustours.blogspot.co.uk/
Mike Penn's interesting web site for pictures
You might be interested to know that I have now uploaded 268 photos taken in
Beds, Bucks and Herts in the year 2000 to my website -
http://166emj.piwigo.com/index?/category/50-beds_bucks_and_herts_photographs_2000
One of the
major events of the year was the purchase by Arriva the Shires of the City
of Oxford operation in High Wycombe on December 13th. Two days later, as can
be seen from the photographs, vehicles had received Arriva The Shires fleet
names and legal lettering but retained their Oxford fleet numbers.
The other
major event was the enforced sale of the Lutonian operation by Arriva the
Shires.
Both Arriva
The Shires and Arriva East Herts & Essex continued to repaint vehicles into
Arriva livery though there were still many in previous liveries.
Elsewhere in
the region M K Metro continued their policy of purchasing various
interesting secondhand vehicles. Some of these came from Border Buses – the
company in Lancashire that M K Metro had bought.
Buffalo
Travel continued to run but Seamarks were taken over by Dunn-Line early in
the year.
Many other
independents are also represented.
Mike Penn
Todays buses - Oxfordshire
This review covers the
September 2010 video by Robin Clare
Transport. The issue costs £10 and is well worth this small cost for
over one hour of buses and coaches in our area.
THE FINAL
VOLUME IS
SO
RETAIL
PRICE £25
ORDER NOW
FOR £20+ £3
p&p
This final installment of the
4-volume 800-page history of the Thames Valley Traction Co. Ltd. brings the
story to its conclusion on the last day of 1971.
All route developments and changes
to the fleet are fully detailed, along with special appendices for the
service vehicle fleet, garages and out-stations, a route map, garage
allocations and working arrangements.
Profusely illustrated with 548
monochrome half-tone illustrations and a full-colour section of 45 photos,
this provides a very comprehensive history of this interesting decade,
including the numerous secondhand vehicles acquired during those years.
Demand will be high, so
order now from: Paul Lacey, 17
Sparrow Close
Woosehill, Wokingham, Berkshire,
RG41 3HT
If you are local and wish to
collect please call me on 0118 979 4097
A Guy Arab on the Oxford service and seen at Gloucester Green.
One of the constituent companies was Denham's.
Apart from the archaic Leylands, the company ran some AEC Regals after the
war.
These were rebodied with ECOC/ECW bodies purchased from North Western Road
Car, Stockport via dealers.
They had been new in 1936 on Bristol Jo5G chassis which were rebodied with
Brush bodies in 1946 to a similar design.
Your Editor must have travelled on one of these buses, when in NWRCC
service, as a small boy.
They would have doubtless run on service to Highclere, now well known as the
house is featured in Downton Abbey.
17 Sparrow Close
Woosehill
Wokingham
Berkshire RG41 3HT.