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Stagecoach North West Discussion

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Dave The Bus

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13 May 2009
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Well, firstly I'm going to give up the fortune telling, I'm not very good at it, or at least i would have been had i not tried to be clever with some inside info and tried to make myself look clairvoyant, only for two things to kind of upset things ever so slightly!!

Anyway, sod all the messing around, the arrival of the Scania E400s i was alluding too in early October (was supposed to be the 2nd to be exact) has been put back due to the fact the buses had to be taken back to the factory after it emerged that you couldn't fit the engines in them!!

So the supposed arrival of 15466 or whichever it was, has been put off and its possible that one of the new ones will come in early instead for VF'ing

Anyway, the revised timetable for arrivals is now out, but i must stress this is subject to delay whilst they fix the technical issues.

22 In total - As follows

23/10 - 15563/4/5/6 - PX59CUA/C/G/H (These four will have tachos)
30/10 - 15567/8/9/70/1 - PX59CUJ/K/O/U/V
06/11 - 15572/3/4/5/6 - PX59CUW/Y/SY/SZ/TE
13/11 - 15577/8/9/80/1 - PX59CTF/K/O/U/Y
20/11 - 15582/3/4 - PX59CTY/Z/VA

Why the number plates are random i dont know, but thats straight off the list the chassis numbers seem to be totally random too!

All buses have ZF 5 speed gearbox with 5+EEV Emission, practico seats and ACIS real time.

As for displacements, well I'll get to that in a minute, firstly the second thing i was on about that changed things was the GMPTE, apparently the Tridents are not welcome on school contracts for reasons i wont bore you with at the moment, so rather than sort it out, its been decided to fling out all the tridents from Chorley and update the Volvo fleet instead,which means the likes of 16669/70 which i thought was about to go back to Preston will be staying permanently, although whether or not the branding gets removed is another matter, as Preston would be keen on borrowing them in the summer holidays and the branding would probably help, anyway, we shall wait and see for that one.

So, displacements, the Enviro's will displace the tridents which will all go to Preston.
That will displace, among others, some S-reg Volvo's to Chorley
which will in turn displace the older Volvo's to a place as yet undecided..

Now the last bit to this is, had the Preston Bus takeover gone smooth then the Volvo's would have gone there to displace the old fleet, but things are still up in the air with that one...

Which brings me to the 'And Finally..' now, whatever you do, take this next bit with a pinch of salt, the latest rumour going around is that Chorley depot is closing down.... allegedly, had the PB takeover gone to plan, the 125/6 and 109 services would have moved depots to Preston, using the new fleet which would have gone to Preston instead of Chorley, this would have been done by now as apparently if Stagecoach decided to sell Chorley, they wouldn't be able to take the cream routes, and have to prove that those routes belonged to another depot, which means that they would have had to operate from Preston for a set amount of time, this is turn would leave Chorley as an outpost doing minibus work and GM schools, after whatever period of time, Chorley would be sold on as the other work doesn't generate enough revenue!!

Added to that was the usual rumours about a super depot at Walton Summit and apparently Fullwood? has been mentioned now too..

All i will say to that is 'Whadda loada tripe' true the 124's 10/11's and 1's have been thrown in, and after that we will be 14 drivers over staffed, also true is the fact that volunteers have been asked to transfer to Preston on a permanent basis, but the union have said if Preston are understaffed and we are overstaffed, surely the logical thing to do is move a couple of routes (some X61's and 113's) or something to operate from Chorley, this is still ongoing and we await an outcome to that suggestion.

anyway, i think thats enough for now, as i think this post is long enough, dont want a whole page to myself!!
 

Dave The Bus

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I'd be interested to hear why that is! Surely newer=better for GMPTE?

Theres a lot more to it than that, seat layouts is one off the top of my head, certainly i know they like to inspect every vehicle to see if it is up to 'tender spec' and i know that SgM have had tridents which dont appear on tendered work as far as i am aware, and when i was at First i remember a bus being rejected for use on tenders after an inspection, despite it being nearly new..
 

cainebj

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don't think the M reg's from Carlisle will be getting LED's from LL's B10M's. not yet anyways.
the 4 ex Manchester B10M's coming are displacing 20734 (already gone), 20737 (has LED), 20752 and 20753.
3 come from Carlisle to replace the remaining 3 "standard" K reg's, of which are 20763, 20764, and 20777. but 20765 is pretty knackered, and 20777 runs much much better. all 3 coming from CE have digital tacho, so it wouldn't really matter if a bus without a digital tacho but ran better stayed a little longer. but thing is, would Stagecoach see it that way? would they put the fact of a digital tacho over a better running vehicle? suppose we'll just have to find out!

and taking a wild guess here, the Tridents are only 75 seat, and have rear facing seats at the back. on school contract work, buses are supposed to have all seats forward facing. some contracts also specify a minimum number of seats (usually 80+)
 

Dave The Bus

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and taking a wild guess here, the Tridents are only 75 seat, and have rear facing seats at the back. on school contract work, buses are supposed to have all seats forward facing. some contracts also specify a minimum number of seats (usually 80+)

That for GM or LCC ? i knew about the capacity part, but havent heard of the 'front facing' thing before, and im pretty certain Firsts schools use Arrowa which have rear facing seats, although i stand to be corrected
 

cainebj

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its just what i've heard. may be that it doesn't apply to school contracts in this area, i have no idea.
it is used down south though. something about the driver not being able to see what people are doing on rear facing seats. but oddly, they still allow side facing seats on B10M's etc, and the driver won't be able to see properly what people are doing if they're right next to the cab!
 

cainebj

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20765 is better than some of the others (20734 comes to mind), but its still pretty bad compared to some others (20764, 20777). smoke out of it is often worse than AA's 70 seat Bova (quite a few times i've ended up being covered in the smoke as its left the bus station whilst i've been there getting pictures haha). ride quality isnt the best when you're sitting nearer the back (one of biggest mistakes i ever done was sit near back of it on X4 with one of the known fast drivers).
i'll give 20765 one good point though, like 20768, 20777 and 20779, it can handle speed well!
 

Dallamlad

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My word quite a whirlwind at Chorley! Preston is probably the best place for the Tridents. Very interesting info there Dave the Bus.

20133 on the 2.
20131 on the 3/4.
18381 on "School Service" at Heysham Towers.
17021 on the 2a along with a few other Trident 2's and the normal 2005 Tridents.

Also the X1 service connecting the University with the rail station in Lancaster will no longer run through Bowerham. Instead it will run direct down Scotforth road. This is down to the University of Cumbria withdrawing funding for the route This has happened once before but it is set to stay like this now I think.
 
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cainebj

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20129, 20962 and 34616 on 31.
22596 is on annexe.
times on 30 and 31 messing up badly with the re-surfacing works in Whitehaven. 30 and 31 often running at the same time.
16447, 16653 and 16734 on 300.
34079 on 50.
20752 on 51!
33167, 33168 and 33169 on Harrington & Seaton. bright tech on 33168 is dead.
20134 done 48.
 

KendalKing

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The following noted on VOSA website:-

PC0002407/94 - STAGECOACH (NORTHWEST) LTD T/A CUMBERLAND MOTOR SERVICES, SECOND FLOOR, BROADACRE HOUSE, 16-20 LOWTHER STREET, CARLISLE, CA3 8DA
Variation Accepted: Operating between Heysham Combermere Road and Lancaster University given service number 3/3A/4/X3 effective from 14-Dec-2009. To amend Timetable.

PC0002407/100 - STAGECOACH (NORTHWEST) LTD T/A CUMBERLAND MOTOR SERVICES, SECOND FLOOR, BROADACRE HOUSE, 16-20 LOWTHER STREET, CARLISLE, CA3 8DA
Variation Accepted: Operating between Heysham and Lancaster University given service number 2/2A/X2 effective from 14-Dec-2009. To amend Timetable.
 

mbonwick

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Yeah, they are to make the 3A evenings only and the X3 Sundays only and to provide a better interworking with the 3/4 and 2/2A
 

Dallamlad

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So the 3a wont run on Sunday any more then. Just in the evenings. And the X3 will replace the 3a on Sundays. Right?
 

Dallamlad

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Oh great that will look good. I thought they would end up branded but never thought about the Lakes Link. Nice idea really. Don't know whether they will look as good as the deckers in it though lol.
 

cainebj

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This passed focus a few times today, and recently has sounded rough.. it sounded quite well today though... even though the driver didn't seem to be happy to be on this particular Demise Drat!

Andrew was driving it when i saw it on the 1545 from Bus Station, although, it was 1550 when he left haha.
he was the first driver to damage a bus on the new raised platforms, so wonder if he'll be the first to damage 34079 haha.
 

Dallamlad

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Oh yeah don't get me wrong I think they'll look great. Really good to see so them expanding the brand. Would be nice to have the 555 branded in a similar way. That's what I like about SC they have a good branding and advertising program :)
 

K777DAO

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17 Jun 2009
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Heard yesterday that West Cumbria's new Volvo B7R's will be in the green "Lakeland" livery and route branded for X4/X5.

These will look quite neat in the green livery... it's been a long time coming for this route. i think most vehicles operating in the lakes area (where possible) should carry tis livery, as it fits the area really well!
 

Dallamlad

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It does indeed! That's why I think the 555 Tridents should get the same treatment. I thought when they got the Tridents they may have re-branded them but they never did.
 

mbonwick

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I wonder if something is on the cards for them though? Because after a friend pointed it out, I've noticed that none of the 555s I've seen this week have "Stagecoach In Cumbria" on the offside where the blue/white meet.
 

Dallamlad

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Ahhhhh very interesting and well spotted. Well I hope so coz they would look great in "Lakeslink" livery :)
 

cainebj

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47060 on 50.
34079 on 51.
33167, 33168 and 33169 all started out on Harrington & Seaton. 42562 and 47616 were both on it later. more to come on that!
20765, 20779, 52626 and 52627 on X services.
16447, 16652, 16653 and 16734 on 300.
20757 went on for evening 301's.
20752, 20768 and 20962 all had a go on 30. 20768 later came off.
34616 and 35248 on 31.

so yeah, 42562 and 47616 replaced 33167 and 33168 on Harrington & Seaton. not sure what went wrong with 33168, but it sat on annexe for a while, and later went to Lillyhall. as for 33167, well, it decided to empty a tank of something (possibly coolant), on the return journey to the Bus Station from Harrington! stuff was pouring out of the engine bay as it entered the bus station. once it stopped emptying its contents, and was left to cool off, it was driven back up to Lillyhall.
a vario originally replaced 33168, but 47616 came down from Lillyhall replacing it. 42562 was just sitting on the annexe at the time of 33167's breakdown.

slightly off topic, but today was Workington Transport Heritage Trust Open Day. free shuttle rides were provided, connecting the town centre and Helena Thompson Museum with the storage unit. buses used for the free shuttle were ex Cumberland Leyland National MkII KHH 378W (Cumberland's 378 ) and Bristol VR PHH 149W (Cumberland's 431, later SCNW 15731). Various other ex Cumberland Motor Services vehicles were in attendance. Leyland Lynx F251 JRM (Driver Trainer livery from North East) and ex JB Pickthall Leyland National MkI wern't in attendance :(
 
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Dallamlad

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Haha sorry major typo there I did of course mean 25223 one of Lancaster's Versa's.
 
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Gez.SCNW

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Yeah, they are to make the 3A evenings only and the X3 Sundays only and to provide a better interworking with the 3/4 and 2/2A

Who the blazes has been saying this to you?
What is better interworking of 3/4 and 2/2A services?

Confused to say the least:?:|
 
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