It might have been the oldest in Leicester's fleet but was still looking in much better shape than the ex-Merseyside Enviro 400's that are still kicking around.
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Arriva Midlands
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Most likely been swapped for another mobile scrap heap but hopefully it hasn’t as 3022 is still quite reasonable
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It turns out to be Mx10dcz just went past my work on the 6
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It appears that 3022 has been swapped with 2960 from Telford
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Tbh i thought telford were going to get a pulsar rather than a citaro in trade for Shrewsburys versa
Yeah would have made more sense as a pulsar is standard fleet for Telford. Nice to see Tamworth has gotten a good deal again lol Shrewsbury have got one completely refurbished e200 and shortly another one too plus 15 brand new Volvo mcv’s. Telford has got 3022 which is still a decent bus and Tamworth has got about 15 scrap versas swapped for various busses or buses that were better in my opinion that went for scrap.
13 Versas and all have been repainted and refurbished in recent years, 2977/8/80/4 were done more recently that have moved over. Looking at the condition of some of the buses on visits to both Shrewsbury and Tamworth, I disagree with your comments. The buses that have gone for scrap were mainly due to chassis issues, i.e. the E300's in terrible worn Sapphire livery and the odd Pulsar from Arriva NW&W, one in a worn Sapphire 2 livery. The Versas whilst are end of life have clearly have lasted better in that respect and their condition allows them to fill void until the new E200MMCs come, so what's the issue? The two ex Shires Citaros, they were a state too, at least the Versas are tidy. 2963/4 looked a state when they came out of Tamworth to Shrewsbury, and before they moved from Arriva Cymru they were tidy.
The problems with the versas are they are not fit for purpose on the routes they are assigned to. Especially on the 6 765 and x65. They struggle to make it up hills they don’t reach high enough speeds on the a5 some not even 35mph. Drivers get frustrated driving them plus they are unreliable and often break down (mainly due to being on these routes) if the versas were assigned to local routes which they are better suited for as they more efficient and more reliable on local routes as they don’t get thrashed like on long routes and the pulsars and citaros were put on the longer higher speed routes this would solve some of the reliability problems. Whilst I agree what went for scrap wasn’t perfect. at least they were still some what reliable and capable of carrying out the routes they were assigned to. 3022 and the max citaros were still better than the versas more powerful and still decently reliable and also didn’t stink of wet dog and didn’t have squeaky fan belts.
All of Tamworth’s fleet has seen better days but hopefully the rumoured 11 byd deckers and new single deckers turn up soon or at least some new hand me downs from up north or Leicester.
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A cosmetic refresh doesn't do anything about them being at end of life mechanically, many sound pretty bad, squealing belts etc and have an obvious lack of power, especially on the dual-carriageway sections of the A5 where they actually feel somewhat dangerous.
Which Versas are doing this then a matter of interest? And don't say all of them, as that's not what was seen in Shrewsbury with them all. Granted some of the Versas were kept on locals more often than not as were quite poor, 2977 certainly springs to mind as been somewhat poor, but some could shift fine at speed on interurban routes and were allocated when needed, despite not seen suited. I'm not disagreeing they are end of life, but Shrewsbury certainly knew them inside out and kept them on the road. Tamworth had the knack of killing off 2964 and 2996 the later was a real slow one!
Pulsars out of Leicester would probably have been a much better option for Tamworth over Versas that been said, particular for interurban work. It would have been thought Versas were really for locals, so why all the Citaros and Pulsars doing locals?
On the positive note as said, investment is coming.
Pulsars out of Leicester would probably have been a much better option for Tamworth over Versas that been said, particular for interurban work. It would have been thought Versas were really for locals, so why all the Citaros and Pulsars doing locals?
On the positive note as said, investment is coming.
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No idea which ones, I'm just a passenger, I don't look at fleet numbers and I didn't suggest all were bad, but some certainly are.
Been hearing this for two years and in that time, all I've seen is the exact opposite.
How much longer are we talking?
Doubt it will be a quick process, likely LOTS behind the scenes to deal with before installation even begins, hopefully changes will start happening over the next few months.
2978 certainly fits the bill, see my post #1,706
Rode on it twice within a week and it severely struggled with any sort of hill.
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Bu75wmj has entered service being the last of the new Evoras unless things change again
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2978 was one of the worst, lack of power and squeaky belt
2976 stinks of oil and smoked badly as it left Nuneaton bus station
2974 & 75 have a noticeably lack of power and loud cluncking noises and bad jerking when turning or slowing down and accelerating
2983 wasn’t to bad as far as they go apart from the inside being filthy
These are all the ones I’ve been on recently I haven’t been on them all but from what I’ve seen and what others have said they haven’t really set a good image since arriving. Plus I know a few of the drivers who complain about driving them no specific reasons just in general.
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2978 was one of the worst, lack of power and squeaky belt
2976 stinks of oil and smoked badly as it left Nuneaton bus station
2974 & 75 have a noticeably lack of power and loud cluncking noises and bad jerking when turning or slowing down and accelerating
2983 wasn’t to bad as far as they go apart from the inside being filthy
These are all the ones I’ve been on recently I haven’t been on them all but from what I’ve seen and what others have said they haven’t really set a good image since arriving. Plus I know a few of the drivers who complain about driving them no specific reasons just in general.
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TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
It's clear that there is a massive backlog in investment caused by the DB ownership, and equally, we can see that there are many new vehicles (EV and diesel) on order and being delivered as well as judicious purchases from the secondhand market.
I'm sure that they would love to have all the cascades and deliveries being sorted but especially with EVs and commissioning new sites, these are often fraught and prone to delay (see Arriva at Blyth - four months in, new vehicles still in store). They will have a plan. I'm sure that they would like to have not bothered with moving the Versas. However, when faced with certain vehicles (Citaros, e300s) with serious chassis rot, they have a choice... to try and spend a fortune patching them up (if indeed they can be) or move the Versas across as a stop gap.
I appreciate that it's annoying and the 110 really should have better on it than 14/15 year old Pulsars - it's fairly clear that change is coming across Arriva, not before time, but that the Versas will have to manage for a while until the other parts of the puzzle slot into place.
Well, not all the Max Citaros were reliable - one went up in flames recently.
Well said, it's fairly obvious that the Versas are a better option than the junk they were having to operate prior with chassis issues etc, oh and those ex Yorkshire E200's that last lasted weeks. Lack of investment from DB for a decade really is the issue, it's already been stated on here that investment is coming to Tamworth and Versas are clearly there to fill the void for the moment. Whatever goes into Tamworth until then, will attract negative comments, some fair, some not so.
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The last Evora at Shrewsbury has entered service today and been sighted on the X5 to Oswestry. I understand as a result, 2981 YJ09 MKZ, the last 09 plate Versa has moved to Tamworth.
Surprised 2977 not on that list
2985/6/7 were decent (as Versas go) when at Oswestry. The engineering team put alot of effort making them good vehicles mechanically, they had a full refurbishment then before the depot closed and they moved back to Shrewsbury, probably not as good now.
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Penfold@658
Member
Optare Solo SR 2518 YJ09 MLY at Coalville
God is that thing still going? All the SRs were absolute sheds at derby...
Today I’ve had the pleasure of
Going on 2986 and you know what it was actually fairly decent. Clean inside and out and was smooth and comfortable as far as a nearly 20 year old bus goes and went quite well. This is a big difference from the other 4 I’ve been on.
Going on 2986 and you know what it was actually fairly decent. Clean inside and out and was smooth and comfortable as far as a nearly 20 year old bus goes and went quite well. This is a big difference from the other 4 I’ve been on.
Yeah 2985-2987 and 2959/2960 are probably the best of the Versa's that Tamworth have received
Also, I think 2141 has entered service in shrewsbury tracking as 2511
Good to hear still going well this one, probably was the best of the three 2985/6/7 at Oswestry. I remember them getting alot of TLC, then a full refurb and repaint.
Yes, a couple of them are decent.
The difference between the good and bad examples is like night and day though.
chungusgoat1
Member
A darker shade of blue used on some the new Volvos in Shrewsbury and the e200s they have had sent there, not much different to the old one but its better than what they had
derbybusdepot
Member
- Joined
- 17 Dec 2015
- Messages
- 346
Is it the same blue they put on 4222 at Derby? That was seemingly painted the wrong shade of blue?
So they are moving away from the e-leather / vinyl seating?
Shame as it's much cleaner than moquette.
joieman
Member
Agreed.
As far as the moquette goes, it's kinda naff. My personal moquette concept was for thin stripes, similar to the moquette of Kinchbus or Trentbarton, but arranged vertically to mimic the livery outside.
Bristol LHS
Member
A bit Lumo-ey, I thought.