Trivia - which depot has gone the longest without receiving new buses?

[Redmike]

I read that the last buses delivered new to Stroud depot were a batch of Bristol VRs in 1981 which made me wonder if that was some kind of record. Is there a big company depot (ex NBC, PTE or municipal) that hasn't received any brand new vehicles in the last 40 years or longer?

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

I read that the last buses delivered new to Stroud depot were a batch of Bristol VRs in 1981 which made me wonder if that was some kind of record. Is there a big company depot (ex NBC, PTE or municipal) that hasn't received any brand new vehicles in the last 40 years or longer?

Not certain if that’s right. They have had some minis at Stroud. L804XDG is pictured here in 1994 and would’ve been new then https://flic.kr/p/qUzrXM

There were a couple of Solos (one was VX54LMK) that were there certainly by early 2006 but can’t recall if they were there from new.

I might suggest Yeovil where I can’t recall anything new since c.1995 and definitely nothing in 20 years of First ownership.

 

[507021]

Rock Ferry depot is probably the record holder for Merseyside, I would say.

It's received a decent amount of new buses since the Stagecoach takeover, but prior to the delivery of brand new Enviro200s in 2013, the last new buses the depot received were a batch of six Technobus Gullivers which were actually ordered by Merseytravel in 1998 for their E1 "SMART" service in Birkenhead town centre. I don't recall First ever buying anything for the depot themselves.

 

[Whistler40145]

Could this include any depot whereby they receive cascaded vehicles when another depot has received new vehicles?

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Could this include any depot whereby they receive cascaded vehicles when another depot has received new vehicles?

Surely not as that would cover virtually every depot??

I doubt it’s been as long but wonder when First’s Lowestoft depot last had a new bus?

Perhaps some of the rural Scottish ones?? Wonder when Balfron or Stranraer or Tain or Portree last had a new one?

 

[Bus9120UK]

The first bus depot to ever close down, technically?

 

[RELL6L]

Surely not as that would cover virtually every depot??

I doubt it’s been as long but wonder when First’s Lowestoft depot last had a new bus?

Perhaps some of the rural Scottish ones?? Wonder when Balfron or Stranraer or Tain or Portree last had a new one?

Didn’t Lowestoft get some of the E400s in the last but one refresh of the X1 as it was then?
And did Balfron get some new Mercedes 0405s in the mid 1990s?

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Didn’t Lowestoft get some of the E400s in the last but one refresh of the X1 as it was then?
And did Balfron get some new Mercedes 0405s in the mid 1990s?

I'm a little confused about how the X1 in Norfolk was managed; were the vehicles in a pool all based out of Kings Lynn but some were operated by Yarmouth and Lowestoft? Genuinely don't know.

You may be right about Balfron.

 

[cnjb8]

I'm a little confused about how the X1 in Norfolk was managed; were the vehicles in a pool all based out of Kings Lynn but some were operated by Yarmouth and Lowestoft? Genuinely don't know.

You may be right about Balfron.

I'm sure up until the E400s got replaced most were at Kings Lynn but five or so were based at Lowestoft. Now the Scanias are all at Kings Lynn I believe

 

[Redmike]

Not certain if that’s right. They have had some minis at Stroud. L804XDG is pictured here in 1994 and would’ve been new then https://flic.kr/p/qUzrXM

There were a couple of Solos (one was VX54LMK) that were there certainly by early 2006 but can’t recall if they were there from new.

I might suggest Yeovil where I can’t recall anything new since c.1995 and definitely nothing in 20 years of First ownership.

You could be right on Stroud - still no full size buses in 40 years i suppose!
Yeovil is a great shout. They've probably had nothing new since Southern National transits. Last new full size buses maybe in the 70s?

 

[alphabravo43]

Didn’t Lowestoft get some of the E400s in the last but one refresh of the X1 as it was then?
And did Balfron get some new Mercedes 0405s in the mid 1990s?

I think if I remember correctly the O405's weren't a Balfron new allocation, like most of the newer stuff, even today,they'd have only reached Balfron throught a swap from Bannockburn for engineering purposes, I still remember being surprised in the early 2000's when we had a low floor bus appear in the village. I think prior to that period it was either Duple coaches for Citylink duties or the B reg Metrobuses that were last new to the depot.
The 90s were very much of an appearance like this photo in Balfron:

82 TMS 412X Leyland Leopard PSU3 AYS DP49F Midland Bluebird Balfron 5-7-98

Explore edwardjbusst's 21423 photos on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

Edit: I've done a bit more digging since my first post, I was wrong about it being a B reg Metrobus, the last new bus was Alexander Metrobus MRM112 (D112ELS) along with MPT145 (D145HMS), a Leyland Tiger with Duple 340 bodywork:

Midland MRM112 D112ELS Balfron 1987

Seen at Balfron depot in autumn 1987, is coach-seated Metrobus MRM112. I am reliably informed, and I worked there for a while and still know some of the guys out there, so I'm pretty sure it is right, that this was the last brand-new bus ever delivered to Balfron, and it was whipped away pretty...

www.flickr.com

 

[Class465pacer]

Arriva Southern Counties, Sheerness depots last new buses were 2006 Darts

 

[Statto]

Rock Ferry depot is probably the record holder for Merseyside, I would say.

It's received a decent amount of new buses since the Stagecoach takeover, but prior to the delivery of brand new Enviro200s in 2013, the last new buses the depot received were a batch of six Technobus Gullivers which were actually ordered by Merseytravel in 1998 for their E1 "SMART" service in Birkenhead town centre. I don't recall First ever buying anything for the depot themselves.

There was a batch of low floor Wright Scanias new in 97/98, then a batch of Wright Solar in 04/05

 

[philthetube]

It would not surprise me if some of the small operators have never had new buses, at least not for many many years.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

You could be right on Stroud - still no full size buses in 40 years i suppose!
Yeovil is a great shout. They've probably had nothing new since Southern National transits. Last new full size buses maybe in the 70s?

Our resident Yeovil experts @henairs and @CD will probably be able to confirm. I think Yeovil did get something like a pair of Merc 811s in the mid 90s. In terms of full size buses, I'd be guessing at something like the late 1970s - possibly something like a DP Bristol LH like this https://www.flickr.com/photos/fray_bentos/14265691899/in/photolist-nJBpca-4ww2XY

I'm sure up until the E400s got replaced most were at Kings Lynn but five or so were based at Lowestoft. Now the Scanias are all at Kings Lynn I believe

I know that with the splitting of the route, it's all run directly by Kings Lynn; tried to work out from the X1 blog but it was impossible to do so! Seemed that all the batch were at KL at some time but that Lowestoft and Yarmouth had boards so wondered if it was a fluid allocation?

 

[M803UYA]

Our resident Yeovil experts @henairs and @CD will probably be able to confirm. I think Yeovil did get something like a pair of Merc 811s in the mid 90s. In terms of full size buses, I'd be guessing at something like the late 1970s - possibly something like a DP Bristol LH like this https://www.flickr.com/photos/fray_bentos/14265691899/in/photolist-nJBpca-4ww2XY



I know that with the splitting of the route, it's all run directly by Kings Lynn; tried to work out from the X1 blog but it was impossible to do so! Seemed that all the batch were at KL at some time but that Lowestoft and Yarmouth had boards so wondered if it was a fluid allocation?

There were two Wright Nimbus 811s, new in March 1995 as 770 (M241 VYA) and 771 (M242 VYA). Prior to that in November 1994 726/7/8 were new to Yeovil. All 5 were for the 212/216 service and my late father drove all 5 in service as he was on the Dorset roster.

2 of the N-EYB (738/9 N556/7 EYB) and 785 (P448 KYC) Alexander Mercedes new in 1996/7 were also allocated to Yeovil, but I think all ran from Taunton at first. 738/9 were operating from Yeovil by June 1996 but show on Bus Lists on the Web as new May 1996.

So the gap is either 25 or 26 years in the case of Yeovil. It was rumoured a batch of new Solos were to be used on the September 2002 network change at Yeovil, but a batch of 3 year old Solos arrived from PMT. Prior to this the one low floor working was provided by one of the Taunton T reg ALX200 Darts which was swapped onto a 54 working on the Saturday evening.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

I don't think Yorkshire Tiger at Huddersfield has had any brand new vehicles since the Plaxton Centros from 2008, which were ordered under Centrebus.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

There were two Wright Nimbus 811s, new in March 1995 as 770 (M241 VYA) and 771 (M242 VYA). Prior to that in November 1994 726/7/8 were new to Yeovil. All 5 were for the 212/216 service and my late father drove all 5 in service as he was on the Dorset roster.

2 of the N-EYB (738/9 N556/7 EYB) and 785 (P448 KYC) Alexander Mercedes new in 1996/7 were also allocated to Yeovil, but I think all ran from Taunton at first. 738/9 were operating from Yeovil by June 1996 but show on Bus Lists on the Web as new May 1996.

So the gap is either 25 or 26 years in the case of Yeovil. It was rumoured a batch of new Solos were to be used on the September 2002 network change at Yeovil, but a batch of 3 year old Solos arrived from PMT. Prior to this the one low floor working was provided by one of the Taunton T reg ALX200 Darts which was swapped onto a 54 working on the Saturday evening.

Those will be the ones I remember - should've guessed with your ID that you might know

The whole BoS business has had a dearth of new vehicles. Now, they did get a batch of new Streetlites but they were only on loan when Webberbus was unceremoniously stripped of the Taunton Park and Ride; diverted on delivery (from Scotland?) and replaced after about 6 weeks by some hired fleet that wasn't quite new and don't know if they are still around.

So if those are discounted, it might be 2009 when Bridgwater received some e200s when that part of First last had a new bus?

 

[507021]

There was a batch of low floor Wright Scanias new in 97/98, then a batch of Wright Solar in 04/05

The R/S-reg Scanias were delivered before the Technobus Gullivers, although you are correct about the 05-reg Solars which I'd forgotten about. The 04-reg examples were delivered new to the Midlands and transferred to Rock Ferry later.

 

[L401CJF]

Rock Ferry depot is probably the record holder for Merseyside, I would say.

It's received a decent amount of new buses since the Stagecoach takeover, but prior to the delivery of brand new Enviro200s in 2013, the last new buses the depot received were a batch of six Technobus Gullivers which were actually ordered by Merseytravel in 1998 for their E1 "SMART" service in Birkenhead town centre. I don't recall First ever buying anything for the depot themselves.

They bought the R plate Scanias and Dart SLFs in 1997, although as they were for the SMART 41 I'm pretty sure Merseytravel part funded their purchase too. Surely the last investment before that was by PMT with the J reg Darts?

 

[rcro]

Midland Red West new buses have been few and far between under First and generally gone to Worcester/Digbeth. Not in the same league as Yeovil but, by my reckoning

Hereford 1988 (E reg minibuses) to 2002 (pair of Solos) - 14 years, followed by 11.5 years 2004 (Enviro 300s) to closure in 2015.
Redditch 1988ish (1 E reg minibus) to 2005 (54 reg Enviro 300s) - 17 years - but they would have got 5 Tridents in 2004 if they weren’t loaned out for a year. And to be fair, they got Lynxes nearly new in 1990.
Evesham - not sure if they got a V reg Leopard/National before NBC split Midland Red up, but think the first new vehicle allocated since 1981 was one of the 2005 Enviro 300s - 24 years

Worcester “only” managed 9.5 year gaps between new buses - 1985-1995, and 2005-2014, although most of the 1998 and 2015 deliveries and been swapped out of the division for older vehicles within 6 years.
And Kidderminster had fairly regular new buses (albeit many leased) for various contracts - I think it’s biggest gap between receiving new vehicles was before deregulation.

 

[cnjb8]

Has the new Bridgwater depot had any new buses so far?
Wasn't the last new buses for Taunton those short Enviro200s in 2008?

 

[swifty]

Has the new Bridgwater depot had any new buses so far?
Wasn't the last new buses for Taunton those short Enviro200s in 2008?

See post #18. 58 plate E200s for Taunton and 09 plates for Bridgwater. Somerset has mostly relied on cascades of nearly new and midlife stock for decades, apart from breadvans

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Those will be the ones I remember - should've guessed with your ID that you might know

The whole BoS business has had a dearth of new vehicles. Now, they did get a batch of new Streetlites but they were only on loan when Webberbus was unceremoniously stripped of the Taunton Park and Ride; diverted on delivery (from Scotland?) and replaced after about 6 weeks by some hired fleet that wasn't quite new and don't know if they are still around.

So if those are discounted, it might be 2009 when Bridgwater received some e200s when that part of First last had a new bus?

 

[Fokx]

There was a batch of low floor Wright Scanias new in 97/98, then a batch of Wright Solar in 04/05

The Solars were new to Chester depot who used to run the 1, not Rock Ferry. They transferred operations around the time of acquiring Chester Bus

 

[swifty]

See post #18. 58 plate E200s for Taunton and 09 plates for Bridgwater. Somerset has mostly relied on cascades of nearly new and midlife stock for decades, apart from breadvans

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It’s got me thinking about the when last new deckers for Taunton or Bridgwater were ordered and all I can think of would be VRs under Western National? North Devon had all the new Olympians IIRC.

 

[cnjb8]

See post #18. 58 plate E200s for Taunton and 09 plates for Bridgwater. Somerset has mostly relied on cascades of nearly new and midlife stock for decades, apart from breadvans

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 11 Jan 2021 ==

Ah my apologies

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

It’s got me thinking about the when last new deckers for Taunton or Bridgwater were ordered and all I can think of would be VRs under Western National? North Devon had all the new Olympians IIRC.

I think the last new deckers for Taunton and Bridgwater may well have been the FDV-V batch of VRs delivered in 1979/80. The LFJ-W ones all went to either DG or into WN's Plymouth operations with a few for the Cornish depots. North Devon did get the new Olympians with short lived 1818/9 (which quickly went to Wilts and Dorset) and then the later 1815-7 that went to Tiverton.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

"I think the only new vehicles to Yeovil in the First era were 66956/58/60 B7rles for the 54 in 2005."

They were new to Bath depot, only heading down in 2007 for the 54. Best vehicles that route has seen but sadly not brand new.

In 2006

December bus imagery - 2006

Despite only being about a year old, the winter traffic film on 23rd December 2006 made First Bath 66958 WX55TZV look older than its years in Frome Market Place. Since then, the 234 to Chippenham has come under sustained competition from Faresaver, culminating in First coming off the route.

www.flickr.com

In 2007

First 66958 (WX 55 TZV)

First Somerset & Avon Volvo B7RLE/Wright Eclipse Yeovil Bus Station 4th June 2007

www.flickr.com

 

[buslad1988]

I doubt it’s been as long but wonder when First’s Lowestoft depot last had a new bus?

I believe the last “proper local” new buses to Lowestoft were a pair of Mercedes Benz 711D/Alexander minibuses in November 1995 (N627/8GAH).

EASTERN COUNTIES 802 N628GAH LOWESTOFT 050603

Eastern Counties adopted a red and orange based version of the then GRT Group livery. At that time there were only four or five GRT Group companies, and the english trio of Northampton, Leicester and Eastern Counties all had this livery.

www.flickr.com

They received five early barbie Dart SLF’s but these had been Ipswich based beforehand.

The Excel allocations were always King’s Lynn/Great Yarmouth based I think.

 

[Jordan Adam]

Surely not as that would cover virtually every depot??

I doubt it’s been as long but wonder when First’s Lowestoft depot last had a new bus?

Perhaps some of the rural Scottish ones?? Wonder when Balfron or Stranraer or Tain or Portree last had a new one?

Tain operate the 25X which is Highlands most profitable route, so they've had a fairly decent stream of new vehicles over the years, their last new buses were 61/12 plate K230UB/E300s. I suspect when Highland next get new vehicles they'll likely be for Tain.
Portree's last new vehicles would be the 12.8M E300s new in 2006.