First Group: General Discussion

[mic]

Just to add to this mic, Queens Road have also got 33841/44 from Bolton and 33848/51/53 from Oldham, Versa Yellow School buses 49230 from Oldham and 49231 from Bolton. they replace 49213/20 which have gone to Bolton and Oldham although I don't know which has gone where.
Optare Solo Hybrid 59002-08 are in reserve. Optare Solo 53065 is off fleet at Queens - it may have moved to Oldham?
In addition to Volvo B7RLE 66865 mentioned in your message 66846/64/72/73/80/92 and Volvo B9TL 37444/46/48/49 have also moved, probably to Oldham.
As can be seen from above the problem is not knowing what has moved to Queens but what has moved to Bolton/Oldham.
At the moment the fleet at Queens is 177 against a pvr of 145 and a Go North West authorisation of 165. Discounting the like for like swaps more vehicles should move out of Queens than in.

confirmed transfers seen by me are 37448/37449/66846 back at Oldham with 33853 and 63148 now at Queens Rd

 

[richw]

42941, 42944, and 42945 have moved from Manchester to Chelmsford today.

 

[mic]

42941, 42944, and 42945 have moved from Manchester to Chelmsford today.

whats happened to 42940 then

 

[richw]

whats happened to 42940 then

A comment on the post on Facebook said it broke down on the M1. The info I supplied was based on the photos and info at the time from the post.

 

[Blackpudding]

confirmed transfers seen by me are 37448/37449/66846 back at Oldham with 33853 and 63148 now at Queens Rd

Cheers Mic. For what it is worth 33833 and at least one other still at Bolton. On the 471 (Bolton-Rochdale) on Saturday.

 

[Blackpudding]

42941, 42944, and 42945 have moved from Manchester to Chelmsford today.

Thanks for the info richw - originally came to Manchester from down your way if I remember correctly.

 

[richw]

Thanks for the info richw - originally came to Manchester from down your way if I remember correctly.

Believe they were new for Falmouth to Camborne/ Troon, what was previously the 41.

 

[Goldfish62]

Believe they were new for Falmouth to Camborne/ Troon, what was previously the 41.

Correct. I think they were dealer stock, hence gasket glazing and non standard interior.

 

[richw]

Correct. I think they were dealer stock, hence gasket glazing and non standard interior.

Were they council funded too? Some carried a cornwall Council graphic under the cab window.

 

[Goldfish62]

Were they council funded too? Some carried a cornwall Council graphic under the cab window.

I think so.

 

[mic]

Cheers Mic. For what it is worth 33833 and at least one other still at Bolton. On the 471 (Bolton-Rochdale) on Saturday.

33842 and 43 still at Bolton with 33849/52 still at Oldham looks like will take days to do all these allocation swaps o and for the record 69537 has been repainted in fleet livery after a RTC and it needed new panals info comes from buses 2012 a Bolton driver on flicker

 

[mic]

Thanks for the info richw - originally came to Manchester from down your way if I remember correctly.

and while here 42941 and 42944 had to have new engines

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

42940-5 were indeed for the 41. Might have been a Kickstart funded enhancement?

42940-1/4/5 were swooped for Eclipses 69206-9. 42943 swapped for the long Caetano Dart from Lowestoft.

 

[mic]

42940-5 were indeed for the 41. Might have been a Kickstart funded enhancement?

42940-1/4/5 were swooped for Eclipses 69206-9. 42943 swapped for the long Caetano Dart from Lowestoft.

and 42942 is now at Bridgewater

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

and 42942 is now at Bridgewater

Was in Yeovil a few weeks ago!

 

[mic]

Was in Yeovil a few weeks ago!

whoops i got a bit mixed up with where it is

 

[johnnychips]

Wouldn’t it be better to start a new thread like ‘First Buses in Greater Manchester ‘ for this stuff? It isn’t really relevant to the title of the thread which is surely an overview discussion of the whole First operation.

 

[KGGXXXY]

Wouldn’t it be better to start a new thread like ‘First Buses in Greater Manchester ‘ for this stuff? It isn’t really relevant to the title of the thread which is surely an overview discussion of the whole First operation.

I created a thread for First Glasgow and it's moved all the discussion out of this thread, so I would say go forth and create.

 

[Blackpudding]

Wouldn’t it be better to start a new thread like ‘First Buses in Greater Manchester ‘ for this stuff? It isn’t really relevant to the title of the thread which is surely an overview discussion of the whole First operation.

In theory yes but in practice this has never worked. We have had at least three threads on First Manchester (if you include the fleet list thread) but all have been locked because of little use. The last one started by 'mic' in 2015 had a number of posts in that year, non in 2016 and only 2 in 2017 before it was closed and this when they had 5 depots rather that the 2 they will have at the end of the month.

In part this is because, unlike other First thread such as South West and Glasgow, service changes are covered in the 'TfGM timetable and general news thread' thread so somewhat limiting the posts in a First Manchester thread. In fact some First Manchester fleet news posts have been made in the 'TfGM' thread.

Posts at the moment are because of the changes in preparation for the sale of Queens Road which is likely to be a one off event. One would expect posts to be minimal once the changes are known and normal service should be resumed. I would expect a Go North West thread in due course.

If you feel strongly about this then by all means report the posts for admin to make a decision but on the basis we have started in this thread I will continue as we have done until told otherwise..

 

[johnnychips]

No I don’t feel that strongly and just wondered if it’d be a good idea. I see what you mean about the ‘Service Changes’ thread removing a lot of potential material.

 

[Blackpudding]

No I don’t feel that strongly and just wondered if it’d be a good idea. I see what you mean about the ‘Service Changes’ thread removing a lot of potential material.

Thanks for the response 'johnnychips' I should have acknowledged it sooner. To continue on the theme Optare Versa Hybrid yellow school bus 49213 is confirmed at Bolton and 49231 is confirmed at Oldham. However just to note that 49212 is also at Bolton at the moment in place of 49211. I had 49212 at Oldham.

 

[overthewater]

Better Q: what is the fleet like in the other two depots? Surly you would also do other movements if sales are on the cards?

 

[mic]

FGM 30936 still in service at Oldham all though officially withdrawn

 

[Blackpudding]

Better Q: what is the fleet like in the other two depots? Surly you would also do other movements if sales are on the cards?

I've seen nothing to substantiate the fact that other depot sales are on the cards and so if/until that happens the other questions are of no relevance 'overthewater'.

 

[overthewater]

I've seen nothing to substantiate the fact that other depot sales are on the cards and so if/until that happens the other questions are of no relevance 'overthewater'.

Clearly you have misread what I have written or just clearly written if off because of my username, which one is it?

Lets reread what I wrote:

what is the fleet like in the other two depots? Surly you would also do other movements if sales are on the cards?

My Question was asking about the fleet other two depots. IE has there been any movement or rejigging that would really raise an eyebrow? Correct Answer from your good self is "NO" not a long windy post, which looks like a dig.

IE no major fleet movements means its very unlikely there getting sold off, for the time being, which is clear to most people.

 

[tbtc]

I've seen nothing to substantiate the fact that other depot sales are on the cards and so if/until that happens the other questions are of no relevance 'overthewater'.

Funny how it all went so quiet, after the idea being floated around that everything about three separate sales was going to be completed in one week, and it had to be done in the 18/19 financial year and... weeks later, we still know very little. Other than GoAhead have got a better-than-average share of the Manchester fleet if all of the E400s are part of the deal that they arranged - which presumably means that anyone picking up either of the other depots is getting a rag-tag-bunch of older vehicles (which may be reflected in the price).

Presumably the state of the fleet was part of the price when they handed over Wigan to Stagecoach - which makes me wonder whether a depot with an "older" fleet would be more attractive to someone like Stagecoach/ National Express (who'd be able to bring in replacements and fund new buses) or someone smaller (who'd pick up the depot at a lower price due to the fleet being poorer, therefore potentially making a depot sale more attractive)? Just speculation, of course...

 

[Volvodart]

I believe the buses from Rusholme were always part of the deal but First moved them elsewhere when it closed.

 

[winston270twm]

Clearly you have misread what I have written or just clearly written if off because of my username, which one is it?

Lets reread what I wrote:

what is the fleet like in the other two depots? Surly you would also do other movements if sales are on the cards?

My Question was asking about the fleet other two depots. IE has there been any movement or rejigging that would really raise an eyebrow? Correct Answer from your good self is "NO" not a long windy post, which looks like a dig.

IE no major fleet movements means its very unlikely there getting sold off, for the time being, which is clear to most people.

It confirms nothing of the sort, the Queens Road fleet swaps are happening well after the depot sale was agreed / announced.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Funny how it all went so quiet, after the idea being floated around that everything about three separate sales was going to be completed in one week, and it had to be done in the 18/19 financial year and... weeks later, we still know very little. Other than GoAhead have got a better-than-average share of the Manchester fleet if all of the E400s are part of the deal that they arranged - which presumably means that anyone picking up either of the other depots is getting a rag-tag-bunch of older vehicles (which may be reflected in the price).

Presumably the state of the fleet was part of the price when they handed over Wigan to Stagecoach - which makes me wonder whether a depot with an "older" fleet would be more attractive to someone like Stagecoach/ National Express (who'd be able to bring in replacements and fund new buses) or someone smaller (who'd pick up the depot at a lower price due to the fleet being poorer, therefore potentially making a depot sale more attractive)? Just speculation, of course...

IIRC, when First sold their Redditch and Kiddie ops to Rotala, quite a number of the e300s didn’t transfer as the book value (in First world) didn’t agree with Rotala’s. Rotala didn’t think they were worth that much. First could either sell at a loss or redeploy - they did the latter.

 

[overthewater]

It confirms nothing of the sort, the Queens Road fleet swaps are happening well after the depot sale was agreed / announced.

It nothing has happened its does confirm nothing is happening. If the other two depots were on the way out there would waste time and effort moving stuff in just to ship it back out?