TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
They are also horrifically unreliable which is why many are in scrapyards!
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New Buses to Replaced Tired Solos
- Thread starter SeveerYeliab
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They are also horrifically unreliable which is why many are in scrapyards!
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R
RailUK Forums
Working pretty well in Guernsey apparently. With Wrightbus having been through the mill I’d imagine they’d be very keen to get more orders for these
Man of Kent
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It's a little unclear, but it looks like some badge engineering. It is actually a Nu-Track product. That company was owned separately by Jeff Wright and did not go into administration. It's a NuVibe when sold as a welfare vehicle and a StreetVibe when sold as a bus.
Mitchell Hurd
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What about second hand 29-seat E200's on a temporary basis for now? They're well known for excellent reliability 
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TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
What about second hand 29-seat E200's on a temporary basis for now? They're well known for excellent reliability
Wouldn't they also be 2.4m wide and so wider than a Slimline Solo?????
Yes they would.
SeveerYeliab's requirement is for a narrow-bodied bus with at least a 20-seat capacity, for which the only choices seem to be to Optare Solo SR Slimline (2.35m), the Mellor Strata (2.3m) and possibly the Wright Streetvibe (for which little to no information seems to be available). And the Strata is likely to have the lowest cost of ownership.
SeveerYeliab
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Hi all,
Thank you for your suggestions, we are going to inquire into the Strata in the new year. Possibly requesting a demonstrator. This will be for 2 diagrams on the narrowest roads. We will run 8.7m? E200MMCs/E200s from either new or recently acquired on the routes with wider roads.
Thank you all for your suggestions.
Thank you for your suggestions, we are going to inquire into the Strata in the new year. Possibly requesting a demonstrator. This will be for 2 diagrams on the narrowest roads. We will run 8.7m? E200MMCs/E200s from either new or recently acquired on the routes with wider roads.
Thank you all for your suggestions.
cnjb8
Established Member
If you have any concerns to do with prices, Mellor have a price comparison on their website for the StrataHi all,
Thank you for your suggestions, we are going to inquire into the Strata in the new year. Possibly requesting a demonstrator. This will be for 2 diagrams on the narrowest roads. We will run 8.7m? E200MMCs/E200s from either new or recently acquired on the routes with wider roads.
Thank you all for your suggestions.
A small amount of data is provided on the Nu-Track website. It gives the width as 2.28m
anthony263
Established Member
Getting hold of spares is a pain its hit and miss with solo srs.
We got 3 in the fleet 2 23 sweaters and one 29 seater. The 14 plate which is one of the 23 seater is very reliable cant fault. Our other 23 seater solo sr the 17 plate on the other hand has been a troublemaker. The 18 plate is usually reliable apart from in september when we had a problem with a sensor which took optare a while to figure and sort out .
I would avoid Paxton primos especially mark1 versions. The strata is certainly brilliant and I can see getting more popular
Eyersey468
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The main problem with the Primo was the amount of vibration from the engine and gearbox plus the 6 the company I drive for bought proved to be unreliable.Sadly no longer built but would a Plaxton Primo be up to the job, even if second hand? I'm not a driver but as a passenger they are comfy and spacious.
John Bickerton's view on operating a Mellor Strata when asked on Twitter in June 2019: https://twitter.com/alexfenlon/status/1137495113125507072
JB: We've got one. 160-char summary: Does what it says on the tin, doesn't rattle much, Merc support is awful and the doors are the hardest part to support.
AF: Is merc support that bad? Gerrard Mann commercials are in Wolverhampton - not good to hear!!
JB: All dependent on your local dealer support I'm sure. They're good at the bits with the three-pointed star on but most of the Mellor isn't a Merc product so...
JB: We've got one. 160-char summary: Does what it says on the tin, doesn't rattle much, Merc support is awful and the doors are the hardest part to support.
AF: Is merc support that bad? Gerrard Mann commercials are in Wolverhampton - not good to hear!!
JB: All dependent on your local dealer support I'm sure. They're good at the bits with the three-pointed star on but most of the Mellor isn't a Merc product so...
175mph
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That's a real eye opener seeing one of those again, especially when the picture was taken in my home town.Sadly no longer built but would a Plaxton Primo be up to the job, even if second hand? I'm not a driver but as a passenger they are comfy and spacious.
If I recall, Hornsby had two, the one in the picture and one with a slightly different livery and slightly more comfortable seating.
As a driver the Solo SR is nicer to drive than the original Solos but nowhere near as nice to drive as a MMC.
Our SRs here are Cummins 4.5 litre engines I believe, acceleration is impressive for a bus. There are a design fault or two, the cab doesn’t have much space so uncomfortable for a larger driver, the ticket machine mount is almost behind the open door, and as with earlier Solos the driving position is quite central so takes a while to get used to road position for drivers who may be more used to driving a more conventional driving position vehicle. It always takes me a while to adapt my road position when I jump in a solo from majority of driving being a MMC.
Why not pop down to Cornwall to explore narrow bodied SRs from a passenger point of view, they’re almost guaranteed to be on the first kernow 22/50/51 routes, MMCs are too wide for the 51 and they all interwork.
Our SRs here are Cummins 4.5 litre engines I believe, acceleration is impressive for a bus. There are a design fault or two, the cab doesn’t have much space so uncomfortable for a larger driver, the ticket machine mount is almost behind the open door, and as with earlier Solos the driving position is quite central so takes a while to get used to road position for drivers who may be more used to driving a more conventional driving position vehicle. It always takes me a while to adapt my road position when I jump in a solo from majority of driving being a MMC.
Why not pop down to Cornwall to explore narrow bodied SRs from a passenger point of view, they’re almost guaranteed to be on the first kernow 22/50/51 routes, MMCs are too wide for the 51 and they all interwork.
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