Bus-Related Outings & Reviews

[Metroline1511]

RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews

(02/01/2016 22:06)Dentonian Wrote:  It would be interesting if (for buses and trains at least), these journeys included notes on journey times/punctuality. It might help illustrate patterns that I was pondering in my Punctuality thread - in terms of times of day, days of the week, and individual routes/corridors.

I recall the 22 being on time but the First 42 and 181 being just over 5 minutes late. Admittedly the incoming 182 that turned into a 181 was late too, and the driver took a short breather before setting off again. The Stagecoach 42 was on time, helped perhaps by the preceeding 23 being late. I shunned it in favour of the 42 so that I had an excuse to use both operators on the route!

[Metroline1511]

RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews
Last Saturday, January 23rd, Warrington & St Helens. All trains were Northern, and all buses Arriva except where stated:-

Trains Heaton Chapel - Manchester Piccadilly - Wigan Wallgate class 150/1 then 142
360 Warrington - Pulsar 2965 with green seats
110 Widnes - Cadet 2532
17 St Helens - Halton Enviro200 14 refurbished with brown leather seats
352 Wigan - Pulsar 2697 with old blue seats
Trains Wigan Wallgate - Manchester Piccadilly - Heaton Chapel class 150/2 then 323

[Metroline1511]

RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews
Chester & Birkenhead day trip on Monday May 2nd on my way to Barmouth. All buses and trains Arriva unless otherwise stated.

Mon May 2nd
Northern Heaton Chapel to Crewe - 323 238
84 Chester - VDL-Plaxton Centro 2618
1 Chester via Blacon - VDL-Wright Pulsar 3145
1 Birkenhead - Stagecoach Gold Enviro300 27270
492 Upton - Avon Buses MCV 407
437 Birkenhead - Volvo B5LH 4509
423 Birkenhead via Wallasey & Arrowbrook - VDL-Wright Pulsar 3008

Tue 3 May
MerseyRail Birkenhead Central to Chester - MerseyRail 508 143
Arriva Trains Wales Wrexham General - 175 001
T3 Barmouth - GHA Traws-Cymru Scania-Enviro400 SN15ETE

Wed 4 May
Arriva Trains Wales Barmouth to Shrewsbury - 158 834
Arriva Trains Wales Stockport - 175 101
Northern Heaton Chapel - 323 235

At Chester I shunned a Stagecoach 1 and Arriva 1a to Blacon so that I could sample both operators' seperate route 1s at Chester Bus Exchange!

[Metroline1511]

RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews
Last Saturday, July 2nd, Leigh & Ashton, as follows:-

22 Withington - First Eclipse 66899
42 Middleton - Streetlite 63154
112 Manchester - Stagecoach MAN-ALX300 22323
V1 Leigh - First Volvo B5LH 39246
34 Manchester - Stagecoach Enviro400-MMC 10444
216 Ashton - Stagecoach Enviro400-MMC 10580
231 Manchester - First Volvo B9TL 37465
192 Heaton Chapel - Stagecoach E400H 12194
84 Heaton Moor - Stagecoach Enviro400 19427

I shall do other Manchester routes eg 178, 263, TP with the Metrolink 2CC early next year.

[Metroline1511]

RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews
I made it to Liverpool last Saturday, October 1st, a week later than my long-intended date. All my buses were Arriva unless otherwise stated. My Arriva buses were from BT, RU & SK (which are respectively ex-Drawlane North Western, ATLCrosville & MTL!). Anyway, apart from inevitable Stagecoach Manchester Enviro 400Hs to/ from Manchester, my itin was as follows:-

Train Manchester Piccadilly - Liverpool Lime Street - Northern 319 377
173 Childwall in Bloom for Five Ways - HTL Buses Solo SR YJ16DYD
14a Liverpool - Halton Transport Scania OmniCity 86
X1 Speke Banks Road - Sapphire Pulsar 3139
82a Liverpool John Lennon Airport - Cadet 2546
81a Bootle - Volvo B7TL- ALX400 4122
144 Netherton - Avon Buses Pointer 554
58 Bootle Strand - Pulsar 3022
Train Liverpool South Parkway - MerseyRail 507 020
86 Gainsborough Road - Stagecoach Enviro 400-MMC 10568
60 Aigburth Vale - Enviro 400 4427
500 Liverpool - refurbished Gemini 4478
Train Manchester Victoria - TransPennine 185 128

[Metroline1511]

RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews
Saturday November 26th was Reddish & Trafford. The reason for my delay in sharing this is because that weekend I caught up with the London bus forum and last weekend I had a birthday celebration.

I shall mark Stagecoach & Arriva buses with an S and an A respectively.

84 Reddish - S Trident 18110
178 Wythenshawe - A Solo 667
11 Altrincham - S Enviro 200 36417
263 Stretford Mall - A Sapphire Enviro 300 2746
18 Trafford Centre - A Pulsar 3104
247 Altrincham - A Commander 2621
370 Home - S MAN-AKX300 22395

I concentrated on these companies so that I could buy my first ever Arriva Manchester Daysaver and not weep at missing other companies' buses by daylight. I omitted route 130 as I plan this in conjunction with route 289 at Wilmslow next year. I have a Stagecoach Smartcard Megarider for their own buses.

[Y727 KNF]

 RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews
Had a day out a while ago which might be worth posting about, although it was quite a while ago and some of the buses I went on have since moved to other depots. All buses mentioned here are Arriva.

11 Rhyl - Chester Y727 KNF (2727)
Brilliant bus, my favourite one (as you can probably tell), quite fast, looked smart inside and sounds good. Definitely should stay in service for a few more years, although it will probably still be withdrawn soon. This bus is still at Rhyl depot.

12 Chester - Connahs Quay Y711 KNF (2711)
As a big fan of B10BLEs, this took me by surprise. Very slow, looked tired inside and out in terms of appearance and nothing special in terms of sound. Has since moved from Chester to Winsford I believe, although not 100% sure of that.

10 Connah's Quay - Chester CX15 BXS (4641)
Lovely bus, as far as newer ones go these are certainly amongst my favorites, sounds good, very fast and nippy and a very comfortable journey thanks to the Wi-Fi and big leather seats. Still at Chester depot.

11 Chester - Rhyl Y713 KNF (2713)
Again, very tired in terms of its appearance inside and out, however it had much more get up and go than 2711, had a fast driver too and had a very screechy fanbelt, most noticeable when pulling off from a standstill and when the bus hit a high speed. Has since moved from Rhyl to Chester and then Runcorn depot.

[Metroline1511]

RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews
I finally made it to Southport on Saturday January 28th, having considered going there early last year! All my buses were Arriva unless otherwise stated. Apart from inevitable Stagecoach Enviro 400Hs to/from Manchester Piccadilly and Northern trains (class 142 to Southport and 150/1 back to Piccadilly) my local itin was as follows:-

44 Formby - Pulsar 2 3069
F1 Freshfield - CumfyBus Hybrid Solo YJ12GXG
F5 Formby - CumfyBus Solo SR YD63VBP
MerseyRail Southport - 507 024
47 Orchard Lane - Enviro 400 4577
49 Carr Lane via Woodvale - Pulsar 2 3086
43 High Park - Commander 2622
49 Crossens - Pulsar 2 2991
44 Southport - unnoted Pulsar 2, I think 3083
X2 Ainsdale - Stagecoach Scania - Enviro400 15468
47 Crossens - refurbished Pulsar 2 3033
49 Southport - Pulsar 2 3084

My previous visits to Southport in 1991, 1996, 2002 & 2006 had been on interurban trips. It therefore made a change to do a town trip there.

[Metroline1511]

RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews
Yesterday, Saturday February 25th, I did Bury & Halifax. All my trains were Northern and as half my buses were First I shall only specify the operator in the other cases. My itin was as follows:-

Train Heaton Chapel to Manchester Piccadilly - 150 277
135 Bury - Scania bendibus 12014
469 Tottington - Rosso ex-Arriva London Volvo B7TL-Wrightbus 118
468 Bury - Citaro 60249
467 Rochdale - Rosso StreetLite 301
458 Smithy Bridge Road via Hollingwood Lake - Rosso ex-Transdev in Blackburn Volvo B7RLE-Eclipse 242
589 Todmorden - Volvo B7RLE-Eclipse 69587
T6 Todmorden via Mankinholes - TLC Slimline Solo 3536
592 Halifax - Volvo B7TL-ALX 400 31780
576 Queensbury - Volvo B7TL-Wright 37051
526 Halifax - Yorkshire Tiger Solo SR 410
20 Pellon Lane (first stop) - Yorkshire Tiger ex-Arriva London DAF-Wright 833
521 Halifax via Illingworth - StreetLite 63295
Train Manchester Victoria - 158 758
Metrolink Piccadilly - Tram 3017
Train Heaton Chapel - 323 228

[Metroline1511]

RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews
I had a short break in Liverpool & Ruthin from Tuesday May 2nd to Thursday May 4th. This was in a sense an anniversary of my Birkenhead & Barmouth trip from last year! I basically did Heart of Liverpool & Prenton on Tuesday, Ruthin & Kirkby on Wednesday and Wrexham & Rhyl on Thursday. Taking each day individually, my travels were as follows:

Tuesday: Inevitable Stagecoach Manchester Enviro 400 Hybrid then National Express Elite coach to Liverpool One, then buses Arriva unless otherwise stated:-

76 Woolton - Commander 2603
81 Childwall Fiveways - Volvo B7TL-ALX400 4114
174 Belle Vale - HTL Slimline Solo SR YD63VCC
188 Garston - HTL Mini Enviro 200 DK08AZO
82 Aigburth Vale - Gemini 4449
68 Broadgreen Hospital - Pulsar 2 3047
204 Dingle Mount - Avon Dart-MCV Evolution 107
135 Bootle - Avon Mini Pointer 454
55 Liverpool - Cadet 2504
83 Prenton - Avon Mini Pointer 152 (different moquette from 454)
423 Liverpool - Volvo B7TL-Gemini 4205

Wednesday - all buses Stagecoach with exception highlighted:-

X8 Chester - Enviro 400 MMC 10835
X1 Ruthin - Gold Solo 47513
2 Mold - Gold Solo 47513
SP2 Ellesmere Port - Pointer 34793
2 Liverpool - Gold Enviro 300 27264
14 Croxteth for Gillmoss - Arriva Volvo B5LH 4837
19 Kirkby - Enviro 300 27292
21 Liverpool - Enviro 400 MMC 10812

Thursday - MerseyRail train to Chester, then all 3 buses Arriva prior to Arriva Trains Wales loco-hauled train to Manchester Piccadilly and assorted Stagecoach Manchester buses for shopping as well as getting home. My Arriva bus itin was as follows:-

1 Wrexham - Sapphire Enviro 400
X51 Rhyl Sainsbury's - MAX Pulsar 2650
35 Rhyl - Mini Pointer 918 still with 1998 moquette

So, it could be said that my buses got smaller and less luxurious as the day went on!