Stagecoach North West Discussion

[Dallamlad]

Well the OT deckers were in scrappers corner and I spotted a trainer at the other end of the fence. I was looking at the depot from the back you see. They may have been near the entrance as they have a space that they sometimes store solos etc in. Anyway their there and thanks for the 47003/4 confirmation Look forward to seeing them around and hope the B6's disappear for ever lol.

 

[cainebj]

from rosswatson:
20757 on 300! (i'd guess that out of the 6 Volvo Olympians able to run the route, 3 are in workshops for repairs or servicing, but with 20904 running it yesterday, i'd guess one has died).
52408 (Seasonal Reserve at Carlisle) on the 554, which is usually operated by 14232 or 14268.


i will be going out myself later to see what is happening on the local services in Workington, and possibly Whitehaven if i can be bothered lol.

 

[KendalKing]

Tridents 18278 & 18279, on X35's, nice see them again! 18380 on 755.

Bike rack fitted Long Marshall bodied Dart 33170, on Kendal Town services.

Does anyone know what is being used on 618's nowadays? The last time I saw this service it had 709d on it. The driver left more passengers behind, then there were seats on the bus.

 

[pickles]

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[cainebj]

33167 on Harrington & Seaton.
42534 was on the annexe with "Workington 47" on display.
47023 on Moorclose Circular 50.
40025 on Moorclose Circular 51.
47024 on Mirehouse Circular 3.
47616 on Mirehouse Circular 4.
20129, 20752 and 42534 were on the annexe. 20752 later left on Staff Shuttle.

i havnt seen 33168 around for a while, and its a time like this (47617 off 'cos crash damaged) when its needed most! especially when 33169 is in workshops! and the 2 solo's for service 1 havnt arrived!

 

[K768 DAO]

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[cainebj]

Still no sign of the four, three or even two 51 or 04 plate solo's???? You can hazard a guess at the combination yourselves, I will wait and see what arrives, if anything!!

47016 and 47017 have been marked down as Lillyhall, arriving some point this month, and due to enter service nearer end of month apparently. they are currently at Morecambe in storage.
as we know, 47003 and 47004 went to Morecambe.
2 of the 07 reg solo's from Preston have went to Chorley to replace their last vario and a 51 reg solo (47009 i think).

was 33168 out in service yesterday? cos there were 2 709ds on 46/46A/47 along with 33167, and 40013 was on Moorclose with 47024. 47023 and 47616 were on Mirehouse. i didnt see 33168 on saturday either.

 

[K768 DAO]

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[cainebj]

Well the word at LL is that at least three solo's are due and they are 04's, but as I said I'll just wait and see what turns up.

i've attached a draft version of the latest fleet list. i must emphasise this is a DRAFT copy, and isnt finalised. i'll attach the finalised version when i get it. this draft copy is password protected, so i'll send the password in a private message :-P

it shows which solo's are currently listed as "spare". 47003 and 47004 are listed, but they're entering service at Morecambe.

 

[K768 DAO]

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[cainebj]

i thought they'd have went for disposal as well, but oh well, they'll go eventually.
it would make sense for the 3 51 reg's to come to Lillyhall, then the 04's go to Barrow when they've finished at Preston (i think theres 5 coming out of service, which are currently covering for buses being painted into corporate livery apparently).
its interesting that 13297 has gone to Carlisle for service though, probably school work. its also interesting that 13296 is listed as Deepdale when it has been back at Lillyhall for like, 2 week or something.

 

[driver9000]

Maybe the former Preston Lynxes and MetroRiders will go for disposal once the current disposals list is dealt with, possibly trying to avoid flooding the market with second hand buses? Have they been fully delicenced of do they still carry tax discs?

 

[KendalKing]

I was in Preston early this evening for a meeting, and noted the following oddies whilst I was there.

20725 Parked at the back of the bus stn, displaying Morecambe via Westgate 6A, and on the stands, Citi 1 branded 19040 displaying Blackpool 61, and Citi 2 branded 19037 displaying Blackpool 68.

 

[K768 DAO]

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[cainebj]

a fair mix across the depots would be better, but it would widen the rivalry between Workington & Whitehaven, cos Whitehaven's town services would then be operated by vehicles newer than Workington's. it is already a problem (a good few of my mates keep asking why Mirehouse Circular gets 08's and Moorclose Circular gets 51's). adding 04's to Lowca & Kells when Harrington & Seaton has just got T's would just make my mates havea go at me for how they've been allocated when it has nothing to do with me lol.
used to have quite a bit of trouble with 25225 when it was on the 2, cos Whitehaven had 3 08 reg's dedicated to town routes, and Workington just had the 2 51's.

i think its about time something was done about the 48. would be so much easier if they just integrated Northside into the 30 / 31, or maybe 300 / 301. 300 / 301 would be better cos its hourly. it would save so much cash (30 / 31 / 300 / 301 all go past Northside anyways) cos they wouldnt need to run a bus of whatever size to carry like, 3 passengers all using NOW cards (when i seen Northside 48 yesterday, it was a 709d carrying 3 old people).

 

[KendalKing]

i think its about time something was done about the 48. would be so much easier if they just integrated Northside into the 30 / 31, or maybe 300 / 301. 300 / 301 would be better cos its hourly. it would save so much cash (30 / 31 / 300 / 301 all go past Northside anyways) cos they wouldnt need to run a bus of whatever size to carry like, 3 passengers all using NOW cards (when i seen Northside 48 yesterday, it was a 709d carrying 3 old people).

Can I ask, do you know if the 48 Northside service is commercial or a subsidized service?

Does it ever carry more than 3-passengers at a time?

 

[cainebj]

i have no idea if its commercial or not, but it is hardly used. Workington to Northside to Workington takes around 15 mins, and the service runs every 90 minutes or something, with the last bus leaving workington at 1420 or something like that.
it is mostly people with NOW cards that use the service, but most residents from the Northside estate now use taxi rather than bus. Stagecoach's argument is that 30 and 31 routes go past the Northside estate, but the bus stop coming from the town centre means passengers must cross a busy road (i think the nearest stops are at Tesco, and on the main road out to Maryport, which is a pretty bad road to cross! especially if you're legs aren't fast enough!!!!!

 

[Dallamlad]

Sorry only just looked at that draft fleetlist and since when do Kendal have a 709d?

Also how come 20725 had the 6a on its blinds? Has it ever been in Lancaster?

Spotted 20712 heading out of Carnforth yesterday. Had out of service on the blinds and another driver sitting near the front. I assume they were heading for Morecambe maybe to pick something up?

 

[KendalKing]

i have no idea if its commercial or not, but it is hardly used. Workington to Northside to Workington takes around 15 mins, and the service runs every 90 minutes or something, with the last bus leaving workington at 1420 or something like that.
it is mostly people with NOW cards that use the service, but most residents from the Northside estate now use taxi rather than bus. Stagecoach's argument is that 30 and 31 routes go past the Northside estate, but the bus stop coming from the town centre means passengers must cross a busy road (i think the nearest stops are at Tesco, and on the main road out to Maryport, which is a pretty bad road to cross! especially if you're legs aren't fast enough!!!!!

If it is commercial, then stagecoach is losing money.

If it is subsidized, then Cumbria CC is wasting tax-payers money.:-x

In Lancaster, there was a subsidized service which ran 3 times aday and only carried about 6 passengers per a journey, so Lancashire CC withdrew it claiming it was waste of time and money running it. Stagecoach re-routed one of its commercial services which had some spare capacity. Now they get an hourly service, including evenings and Sundays.

Maybe, the same could happen to Workington to Northside service.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Sorry only just looked at that draft fleetlist and since when do Kendal have a 709d?

Also how come 20725 had the 6a on its blinds? Has it ever been in Lancaster?

Spotted 20712 heading out of Carnforth yesterday. Had out of service on the blinds and another driver sitting near the front. I assume they were heading for Morecambe maybe to pick something up?

They are currently no 709d's at Kendal.

20725 was in storage at Morecambe, before being allocated to Preston. It last operated out of Gillmoss.

 

[Dallamlad]

Yes I thought there weren't any 709d's but it shows 40395 as been at Kendal on the fleetlist.

Oh I see about 20725 odd that it had Lancs programming though.

 

[pickles]

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[cainebj]

seen a lot today.

i saw 20735 going into the Lillyhall Industrial Estate.
20175 was on Seatoller 78, which is odd as the open top titans are back in service. this service is still hourly until summer holidays though
47024 was on Moorclose 50, with 40651 on the 51.
32917, 33168 and 40001 were running Harrington & Seaton this morning.
33168 then went onto Moorclose 51, with 40013 going onto Harrington and Seaton.
16651, 16652, 16654 and 16655 were on the 300 today.
16653 was on annexe this morning at around 1030.
20765 and 20757 were also on the annexe. 20765 later went on Northside 46. it carried 3 passengers plus a driver to Northside, and brought 6 passengers plus the same driver back to Town Centre. i'd guess that nearly all passengers used NOW cards.
20753 was on 31.
42670 was out on the 77A with a nice looking blonde woman driver hahaha.
Osprey bus was flying around as well. i was suprised to see that the flip dot has been programmed oddly. when its heading to the osprey view point, it changes between "The Osprey Bus" and "Dodd Wood 74". but going back to Keswick, its "The Osprey Bus 74" and "Keswick 74".

there are definately no 709d's at Kendal. 40395 is apparently a Carlisle vehicle, but it was on seasonal reserve at Lillyhall :???:

 

[Dallamlad]

Well the 709d been registered at Kendal must be a mistake.

20131 on the 4 today with a MAN and a Vol Oly on the 2.

 

[driver9000]

Both of Lancasters Leylands were on long distance work today, 14208 on the 42 heading for Blackpool aroind 14:45 and 14204 howling along the A6 towards Preston around 15:00 on a 40.

noted in Chorley this morning around 09:00 was 20130 leaving the bus station on a 125 for Preston (spelt Citi centre - marketing perhaps )

 

[cainebj]

just seen this nice pic on Fotopic (this is not my picture)

Osprey Bus (this is my picture)

 

[Dallamlad]

That first think doesn't work but that second one is good! Good shot!

 

[cainebj]

sorted the link :-P

 

[Dallamlad]

Thanks a lot and very nice pic! I do like solos but some of Lancaster's old ones are quite noisy and rattly lol.

 

[cainebj]

i love solo's. i was on 40028 on monday and it didnt ride well. the marshall darts depend on what mood the driver is in, but solo's always seem to be right (unless its 47024 with its farting, which oddly, can only be heard near the back).

it would be nice to get a picture of 47023 and 47024 together again, but they're all over the place at the minute (one being on Moorclose and one being on Mirehouse). the only place where a picture can be took like that is at the depot, but even then, it depends how they're parked up

 

[Dallamlad]

At least three Trident 2's on the 2/2a today. Nice to be reminded of how it once was (and should be really lol)

Also 17021 is the latest Trident to have an LED fitted or so I have been told. Haven't seen it myself.

Nice pic of 17012 here http://susannahmorrish.fotopic.net/p57403362.html. No sign of the damage but one can imagine.

According to this site there are 10 Optare solos expected at Lancaster for storage and one more Dart.