OmniCity999
Established Member
East Coast still have 10195-10199. Just looked like you said they were withdrawn or sold? Their very much not.
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Lothian Group discussion (Lothian City, Lothian Country Bus and East Coast Buses)
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Certainly the driver has no control over the stop/start - a few of them have it disabled but I don't know for what reason - someone else might know better. They still pull off on electric but with the engine idling.
I think it's 12mph they're supposed to be able to accelerate purely on electric power to when they were new - a small number can but quite a few only manage up to 4-5mph before the gearbox engages diesel drive along with the electric (as they're parallel drive). My personal record is 18mph on electric power but that was downhill - if I ever beat that I'll let you know
.As for the LEDs no, driver has no control. Although I'm sure it's possible, I knew how to login to the settings of the Hanover units when I worked in Cardiff but I wouldn't dare play about with them (only reason I knew was I was talked through a procedure to fix an issue with a faulty blind by a supervisor).
Same for the heating on the 7900s - on most you can't even control the cab heating properly and the saloon heating isn't set from the cab so again, no driver control. That's what I like about the heating system on the Wrights - you can set the exact saloon temperature on most of them (17-26c) along with the cab heating level and fan power.
computerSaysNo
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Ahh okay, it must have been one of those that I had been on then.
4-5mph is a big drop on what they could do when new then, is that just because of the battery degrading over time?I think it's 12mph they're supposed to be able to accelerate purely on electric power to when they were new - a small number can but quite a few only manage up to 4-5mph before the gearbox engages diesel drive along with the electric (as they're parallel drive). My personal record is 18mph on electric power but that was downhill - if I ever beat that I'll let you know
To be fair, you could probably roll a diesel-only B9 down a hill at 18mph with the engine off and only the electrics turned on too!
Oh, that's weird then. And they don't automatically adjust brightness to the amount of light outside?
Maybe the ones I saw had just been accidentally set less bright by the garage or something then.
Oh, that doesn't sound ideal.
Aaronb2601
Member
What about 167-173, I take it they all will be out in service?
OmniCity999
Established Member
What they need in service will be in service. We can't see into the future. You'll just need to keep checking daily.
No idea, way above my job description. I only post here what I know and it's mostly stuff you could see by standing around outside Longstone anyway or checking various tracking websites/DVLA tax checker.
I'd like to see more B7RLEs out but I think 174/5 are probably just a stopgap as although they have enough 7900s (minus two long term VOR and 10 which rarely gets used) it's always good to have more spare incase a bus needs to get changed quickly off a 30 or 38. Saves faffing about swapping one off a 36 for a decker if there's no spare singles.
Have long wondered why the 7900 mirror is so bulky - I see the First Berkshire ones on a regular basis and wonder how many they've had to replace! Looks like the cab door arrangement gets in the way of having the mirror by the door, which seems like an unusual design.
They're Mobitec displays which can sometimes be set to be minimum 50% brightness which at night is far too bright. Ours were like that initially so I found out how to reduce them - now they're at a far nicer 10% minimum. It can be done on both ICU402 and ICU602 controllers in the settings menu, but I highly doubt the drivers would have / be allowed access to that.
For me,
Driving position, derated engine doesn't work well with the I-shift,
The nearside mirror is unnecessarily bulky, low hanging and sticks out too far - have to be extra wary of this at bus stops in regards to people and places where you're tight against walls or foliage.
See - View attachment 85307
When battery charge is low they're very jerky in low gears, in regen mode / low charge they're jerky pulling away and difficult to drive smoothly and struggle climbing hills often trying to use almost every gear. Gear changes can be slow so if you've pulled out safely on a roundabout or junction traffic quickly catches up to you so you have to bear this in mind when making decisions to pull out.
There's certain situations (e.g turning left off Hailesland Road onto Murrayburn Road) where they'll try to pull off on electric power but the motors aren't powerful enough so they'll just stop, engage gear and try again in diesel. Occasionally the 13 plates just stall in that situation.
General build quality isn't very good, I believe they were made in Poland - I've driven Swedish and Polish built Scania OmniCitys before and the difference was night and day in regards to build quality. The cab area in particular is quite rattly on a 7900.
Capacity is/was an issue before covid.
Don't know why the B5LHs are so different to drive, rarely have any of the above issues when I've driven those so can only really put it down to the single deck chassis being derated in terms of engine power and presumably the motors. The 14/64 plates with the more powerful euro 6 engine are better but still suffer with the same issues.
Obviously they're maintained to the highest standards so there's no issues there - but in my opinion they're just a flawed design.
Probably why there's so few of them in the UK but I don't think there was any real full diesel alternative at the time for single decks?
That's my Top Gear review of a 7900 - brought to you from inside a 7900
Thanks for the detailed answer, sounds like quite a few niggles over all that would contribute to the negative view. Shame as I like the idea of them in principle!
Overall they're okay, those are just the negative points. I've driven worse but I just don't particularly like them - as a passenger they're perfectly pleasant if a little cold in winter. I drove the ADL E350H demo in Cardiff and in comparison that was much nicer though I understand reliability is an issue with the few that were built.
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174 is out today on the 2, 175 was also at Longstone but haven't seen it around in the last two days.
The 12 also seems to have reverted to single deck with buses 2 and 3 on it this morning.
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Bus 1 is also on the 12, and 11 & 28 are on the 2 aswell.
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Does bus 175 still have the trial destination screens that are supposed to look like roller blinds?
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Not sure,
It was being moved around just as I was coming back in for my break - and yes it does still have those blinds. I wonder if the new buses are fitted with that type?
ScotRail158725
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Doesn’t look like it
Yes, was just looking at this photo someone sent to me (photographer unknown) of a rear end with the blinds on (photo description) and it seems you're right.
Jordanscot
Member
I’ve heard talk of a potential service increase from the 16th with the 30’s in particular increasing to every 7/8 minutes daytime. Will there be a push to get some of the new stock in service for the PVR increase?
I was wondering the same but didn't want to post - there's now a PVR of 26 on the 30 (with some buses doing part route 19/21/41s to start) on our new duties from the 15th so that would be it.
Would also explain why 174/5 and around 5 of the 1-10 7900s are at Longstone. So I'd guess a no to the new buses until they're all ready.
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Aaronb2601
Member
I am on 174 just now and there’s no notices regarding COVID-19 to be seen on the bus not even a sign on the floor telling you where to stand at the front of the bus so I am assuming this means they don’t have any plans to use this bus or any of the B7R’s?
Given that you're on it I'd say that's evidence that it's in use.
Aaronb2601
Member
Well obviously, but as I said I was asking if they have plans to use them in the future.
computerSaysNo
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There's talk of another national lockdown coming in, at the same time as England are having theirs, otherwise Sturgeon won't get any furlough money from England. If this happens I would assume there would be a service decrease for the four weeks we're told not to leave home for. (Or would it not be worth changing all the diagrams and rotas just for 4 weeks?)
Source: https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/new...urgeon-considering-national-lockdown-19206647
Source: https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/new...urgeon-considering-national-lockdown-19206647
I know if any stickers are ripped or in poor condition they're supposed to be reported.
At least that's what I was told but they're not a requirement of any kind so there's no reason why the bus shouldn't be in service imo. People should know by now what social distancing and mask requirements are without a sign to tell them.
At least that's what I was told but they're not a requirement of any kind so there's no reason why the bus shouldn't be in service imo. People should know by now what social distancing and mask requirements are without a sign to tell them.
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The Amazon Contract Has Started (not my pictures)
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1130 - SB19 GME
Lothian Buses Airlink Amazon EDI44A Site Transport Volvo Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 XLB Halbeath P&R Dunfermline
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1128 - SB19 GLY
Lothian Buses Amazon EDI41A Site Transport Volvo Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 XLB Halbeath P&R Dunfermline
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1126 - SB19 GLK
Lothian Buses Amazon EDI41A Site Transport Volvo Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 XLB Halbeath P&R Dunfermline
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From the Ensignbus October newsletter -
From Lothian Buses : Volvo B7RLE’s SK07CGY / CFY / CGG SN57DCV / DCX / DCF / DDA SN58BYM / BYR
Out:-
Volvo B7RLEs SN57DDA / SN58BYM : MP Travel, Manchester.
Volvo B7RLE SN58BYR : Als Coaches, Liverpool.
Volvo B7RLE SN55BJV : Grayscroft Coaches, Mablethorpe, Lincs.
Also T510SSG has gone to First Devon & Cornwall, which may be of interest.
From Lothian Buses : Volvo B7RLE’s SK07CGY / CFY / CGG SN57DCV / DCX / DCF / DDA SN58BYM / BYR
Out:-
Volvo B7RLEs SN57DDA / SN58BYM : MP Travel, Manchester.
Volvo B7RLE SN58BYR : Als Coaches, Liverpool.
Volvo B7RLE SN55BJV : Grayscroft Coaches, Mablethorpe, Lincs.
Also T510SSG has gone to First Devon & Cornwall, which may be of interest.
ScotRail158725
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509 went to First Kernow aswell last month
Looks like it's LMC/LMC Drivers operating the one from Edinburgh (I think from Longstone depot?) so good to see them getting some work.
OmniCity999
Established Member
i believe the work is being split between LMC and LCB as a lot of LMC drivers were laid off and the LMC drivers have had it included into rotas.
i believe this one is seasonal / new to keep all travel to Amazon sites internal as opposed to public transport.
Lothianbus703
Member
What do you mean by 175 having blinds that look like roller blinds, I saw it in longstone and it had roller blinds.
It has a high density LED screen designed to look like roller blinds, originally designed for London I believe. Think it's the only one in the fleet to have them.
https://flic.kr/p/2e5jY6a
OmniCity999
Established Member
They are high density screens designed by I believe Hannover.
Its an LED screen designed to look like roller blinds for London - they can even be programmed to roll like a blind. We had them fitted a couple years ago as a trial.
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