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Bus-Related Outings & Reviews
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Bus-Related Outings & Reviews
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RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews
The 58C is indeed what I meant, doh! With regards to the X-ANCs, I'm certainly going to have to get out and try some more of them. I did note one on the 68 yesterday sounding horrible but it was gone before I got near enough to get a fleetnumber. Thanks for the compliment though! ![[Image: 1chYP.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/1chYP.jpg)
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RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews
Busy month for me, Days, Marked (TBC) are to be comfirmed!  14th - D&G Depot Morning, Probably Around Locally in the afternoon - Saturday 21st - Shrewsbury - With a friend - Saturday 22nd- Liverpool South Parkway & Speke Hall - Sunday 23rd - Warrington - Monday 24th - Going around locally - Tuesday 25th - Mold, Chester and Ellesmere Port - Wednesday 26th - Whitby, North Yorkshire - Thursday 27th - Whitby, North Yorkshire - Friday 28th - Whitby, North Yorkshire - Saturday 29th - Whitby, North Yorkshire - Sunday 30th - Whitby, North Yorkshire - Monday 1st - Whitby, North Yorkshire - Tuesday 2nd - Whitby, North Yorkshire - Wednesday 3rd - Whitby, North Yorkshire - Thursday 4th - Whutby, North Yorkshire - Friday 5th - Whitby, North Yorkshire - Saturday 6th Whitby, North Yorkshire - Sunday 7th Going around Loacally - Monday 8th TBC - Tuesday 9th Rhyl - Wednesday 10th TBC - Thursday 11th - TBC - Friday 12th Liverpool - Saturday 14th TBC In North Yorkshire, One of the days will be in Middlesbrough, And another in Robin Hoods bay and Scarrough, 1 Will be york |
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RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews
(11/07/2012 19:09)Marshall Capital SLF Wrote: Busy month for me, Days, Marked (TBC) are to be comfirmed! I would have came to meet you in Middlesbrough and Whitby, however I am in the Lakes when you come up North 
Thanks,Thomas, Tyne and Wear Reporter Visit my photostream here (Updated often)Was SPD17 |
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RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews
I had a bit of free time today so I decided to go out into Liverpool and ride one of the new QBP's that has recently came into force. Here is what I did: 38 Rainford- St Helens (2346): A really good vehicle. Hardly any rattles or crashing and a decent turn of speed. Its nice to see St Helens finally get a decent dart instead of the rubbish we usually get! 10 St Helens- Liverpool (3024): This provided a decent ride although the driver wasn't slow. I'll happy ride a pulsar but they certainly aren't anything exciting. 472 Liverpool- Heswall Bus Station (34253): As soon as I got to the bus stop on Sir Thomas Street this turned up which was exactly what I wanted to see! It seem to vibrate pretty badly whilst idle as it could still be felt pretty badly from the top deck. It was a tad sluggish although this wasn't helped by a extremely slow driver. Interior wise it was pretty tired but it did smell very fresh, suggesting that it had a good clean before entering service. 472 Heswall Bus Station- Liverpool (4408): A tad slow and it had a really annoying squeaking noise coming from the drivers cab but it provided a decent ride and a better ride than the gemini. Granted this was helped with a driver who put his foot down a bit more! 10C Queen Square Bus Station- Thomas Lane (34805): I didn't fancy riding a pulsar or a enviro all the way home so I jumped on this. It seem to have a few gearbox issues but it had a good turn of speed. 10A Thomas Lance- St Helens (27709): A typical enviro really providing a very nice ride. It had a very good turn of speed behind it, better than the dart which was expected. For me the ride quality and the speed in both versions of the enviro 300 that Gilmoss have beat the pulsar hands down. 38 St Helens- Rainford (2274): I was gutted to see this turn up as both 2273 and 2274 are the worst darts at St Helens imo. Having said that it does seem to have had a bit of mechanical work as it wasn't vibrating half as bad when idle as it was last week when I rode it. It also seemed to have had a few new seat cushions added to it also. |
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RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews
Today, I ventured out to find ANW's Bootle-based Plaxton Pointer 2 R551 ABA (7551) on the 52/52A. I found it... just as I was heading home, luckily! Here's what I rode on: 52 (ANW) - Netherton, Glovers Lane > Queen Square Bus Station Pulsar CX58 FZE (2923) It's always a pleasure to ride on this bus! The driver was a bit slow at the start of my journey, however he soon changed. As I've said in the past, this bus has the best gearbox that I've ever sampled! In addition to that, the bus barely rattles and is quite a decent runner, speed-wise - and it features the "sensitive kickdown" issue, and kickdown sounds absolutely amazing on it! 18 (ANW) - Queen Square Bus Station > West Derby, West Derby Road Pulsar CX58 EWS (2903) A bit random of me - getting on this...! It was alright; the woman driver was quite fast. The bus sounded nice, however it rattled quite a bit. The interior, as usual, was a mess! 15 (ANW) - West Derby, West Derby Road > Liverpool, West Derby Road Pulsar 2 MX10 DCY (3060) I was glad when this showed up as it was the last ex-Malta Pulsar 2 out of Green Lane for me to sample (properly). I didn't like it, anyway! It sounded rubbish and it rattled a bit. The interior wasn't too bad. 14 (SM&SL) - Liverpool, Everton Road > Broadway, Utting Avenue East MAN/Enviro300 PO59 MXM (24178) This was a great ride! This is, by far, the fastest bus of this type that I've sampled so far - it flew off gear one and two every time, despite the driver being a bit sluggish! It rattled like hell, though... 14 (ANW) - Broadway, Utting Avenue East > Queen Square Bus Station Renown Y719 KNF (2719) Just the bus that I was expecting - how disappointing, anyway! It sounded rubbish. It rattled a bit, however not too bad! The interior was a disgrace! And this is a "Quality Bus Partnership" - at the moment, ANW should be impressing their passengers more than SM&SL (for obvious reasons)... 52 (ANW) - Liverpool, Sir Thomas Street > Bootle Strand Shopping Centre Pulsar CX58 FZK (2928) I was in a rush - nice that THE worst Pulsar that I've ever sampled to turn up... It was as good as ever today - sounding absolutely dreadful past gear one and absolutely horrific on gear four! By gear four, the bus was actually vibrating whilst moving! I don't have a clue what the issue is, but it must be serious! Oh, and it's in the "slow mode" - absolutely horrifyingly slow! It also rattles bad... As soon as I got on it, I seen 7551 in Queen Square Bus Station... Just my luck! 52A (ANW) - Bootle Strand Shopping Centre > Netherton, Glovers Lane Plaxton Pointer 2 R551 ABA (7551) Yay! This was fine. The first driver was a bit slow, however the second driver was excellent! The bus was quite sluggish as its' gearbox definitely had issues, however it sounded excellent and the ride-quality was nearly perfect! View my new Flickr  Updated!
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RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews
I decided to do 2 days out this week, so I'll publish Tuesdays day out first, with Wednesdays following suit shortly after this Train from Hough Green to Hunts Cross Arriva North West 2470 Y733 KNF Service 81A from Hunts Cross to Childwall Fiveways Very disappointing. This is a type which is fast growing on me, and mechanically, this one demonstrated why. A very healthy engine which powered the bus along nicely. It sounded excellent and didn't miss a beat. The interior was lovely a bright, possibly one of the brightest interiors that can be found in the Arriva fleet once they have been P&P'd. Thats where the praise ends unfortunately. It was rather rattly and squeaky, with every bump in the road being felt much more than I would like to. Plenty of crashes and bangs meant I didn't want to stay on this one for too long. Unfortunate really! Arriva North West 4451 MX61 AYK Service 79 from Childwall Fiveways to Wavertree Clock A good ride. Lovely strong engine with no rattling or banging, just slight squeaking from the cab door. Great bus! I will comment on the fact I was waiting well over 10 minutes for a bus however, 10 minutes on one of the most well served corridors in Liverpool. When 4451 pulled up to the stop, it was followed was a 79D, a 79C and a 14. Come on Arriva, get your backside into gear and use some common sense for all passengers' sake! Arriva North West 7657 V657 DVU Service 68 from Childwall Fiveways to Old Swan I had been having withdrawal symptoms from by beloved Marshalls so I was delighted to see one turn up. Not too bad, definitely much better but there are a few worse ones out there. It seemed to have a nice engine which could gain a good amount of speed. The interior however was scruffy, rattly and generally poor. Would benefit from P&P, whether it will live long enough to see Green Lane have its turn though is another issue! A really nice driver as well which was a positive! Arriva North West 2215 X215 ANC Service 9 to Queen Square Bus Station I would have preferred something else, but I didn't want to waste any more of the day letting Pulsars, Enviros and ADL Darts past, so I decided to get this straight to town. This actually wasn't as bad as I anticipated, it's been represented that these ex Bootle ones are all the sheds that left them with a smile when they left for Green Lane. It had a very good engine that sounded rather nice as X-ANCs go. The only criticisms I did have were the idle vibrations and the rattles coming from certain rows of seats, which drove me insane. 10 minutes with a socket set would soon put that right however! Arriva North West 2976 MX09 OPG Service 10 from Queen Square Bus Station to Prescot After a lengthy lunch break thanks to O2 Priority Moments and Pizza Hut (The only thing O2 can give me it seems after the past 2 days!), I wanted to head to St Helens. Its one of those places I never give myself chance to visit even though its home to some of the oldest (and arguably best) buses on Merseyside. The only thing which puts me off is the distinct lack of options to get there considering a lot of the time I'd much rather poke my eyeballs with cocktail sticks multiple times and seeing how long it takes before they pop. Today was exceptional circumstances though, I wanted to get there ASAP and seeing as the train was another 20 minutes wait, I decided to get this instead, the first thing that turned up. It was a mediocre ride, few rattles but not very fast unfortunately. It had the typical reaction to slowing down that most other Pulsars do, and that's vibrate horrendously for a few seconds while slowing down, something which I despise. Other than that, I've been on worse! Arriva North West 1042 P42 MVU Service 89 from Prescot Bus Station to St Helens Bus Station. Prescot Bus Station, the home to... not actually all that much. There was no Hattons step Darts in sight unfortunately, so I decided to make an exit at the next opportunity. 1048 pulled up on an 89, which infuriatingly was going in the wrong direction for me, so I let it go. I planned to get Hattons 297, however it didn't bother stopping. Happily, just after the 297 pulled off, 1042 pulled up. I jumped at the chance of getting one of these old girls and I'm so glad I did. This has improved dramatically since at Runcorn, whether it is the change of type of route it does, or St Helens have gone round tightening up seats and poles, I don't know, but it was brilliant. Very few rattles and squeaks to be heard, which meant you could hear a lot more of that glorious engine and gearbox combo which I love! An excellent bus that I'd happily ride on all day long! Arriva North West 7561 R561 ABA Service 20 from St Helens Bus Station to Blackbrook Road, Callon Ave (No, I have no idea where it is either, but the Merseytravel stop never lies (HA!)) Another former Runcorn resident, I was curious to try this having never been on it before. I want to ride a few more of these before they are withdrawn, so theres no time like the present. Rather disappointing if I'm honest! I got on to a nice tidy interior, however the idle vibrations were ridiculous. When moving, rattles were evident but not overwhelming, and it had a pretty nice sounding engine. It wasn't exactly slow, and hit decent speeds and offered a nice ride! Arriva North West 7571 R571 ABA Service 20 from Blackbrook Ave to Jackson St Not as good as it was last time I rode this. Idle vibrations were once again evident, with a few rattles here and there. Engine didn't seem as strong as it once did, however the driver did get the best out of it at certain points. Not a bad bus but been on better! A quick visit to Jackson St garage. No buses of note, however the RNW wrecker that brought the MPD here earlier in the day was parked at the front. I could also make out another tow truck inside the depot, which is probably SH's resident. Any idea of the reg of this one as I don't believe I have ever seen it? Arriva North West 1053 P53 MVU Service 34 from Jackson St to St Helens Bus Station Not quite as good as 1042, but still a nice ride. It sounded good, few rattles and crashes, as I have become accustomed to with a lot of this type. A nice original interior as well, just needs to flip dots to complete the North Western look (As well as BeeLine livery, but lets not push it  ) Arriva North West 2714 Y714 KNF Service 89 from St Helens Bus Station to Huyton Bus Station It's very hard to believe these are the same buses to the Green Lane examples, what a fantastic bus! The interior was much tidier than the ex Speke examples, with absolutely no crashes and rattles, a flawless ride quality! The driver was running a bit late I think as he was rather fast, foot practically always on the accelerator. An excellent bus, definitely need to ride more of these, forgot quite how much I like these! Halton Transport 33 DF02 EKC Service 61 from Huyton Bus Station to Widnes Green Oaks By the time I got to Huyton, I just wanted to get home, and I realised the only thing I'd be getting from Huyton at that time was a Pulsar. I wasn't expecting this to turn up, so I just got it without realising it took me on a tour of where I had just been, and than it was a long ride to Widnes. However I wasn't complaining, this is a fantastic bus. The driver was rather fast and had the bus screaming on it's way out of Huyton. The bus itself was solid, no rattles, no vibrations, just the odd squeak here or there. Shame I don't get to ride these as much as I used to! Halton Transport 5 AJ58 PZH Service 14 from Widnes Green Oaks to Hough Green Station An average ride, nothing special, nothing I can remember that sticks in my mind anyway! |
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RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews
Good read Danny! Interesting that 7657 was on the 68, first for that one! Regarding the B10BLE's, I think St Helens have tidied a lot of them up, not getting a full refurbishment but getting replacement cushions every now and then until it gives the full refurbished affect! It appears that ex Speke ones have been un touched for all of their lives, and continue to do so today. P&P treatment wouldn't go amiss for them, why they didn't get P&P before transfer like the DAFs is beyond me. Justice is finally here. Rest In Peace the 96, You'll Never Walk Alone.
P309 HEM|N587 CKA|Y721 KNF|N302 CKB|X223 ANC |
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RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews
7657 didn't last long on the 68 mind, it was broke down near Green Lane at about 2.30! |
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RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews
If it was Bootle bound, that was more than likely the trip I was on, got off 2 stops before GL! |
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RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews
(12/07/2012 20:48)V671 DVU Wrote: Good read Danny! Interesting that 7657 was on the 68, first for that one! Was on it again yesterday I think mate! Well Bootle is in the middle of moving, so it probably wanted to wait until everything was moved over until starting work on them! St Helens appears to be rather busy as well, but with Southport out of the way now, you never know. If Runcorn had a few more vehicles as cover, they would be done a lot quicker! |
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