father_jack
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Snipped- I believe that is 47558.
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90sWereBetter
Member
In news that might provoke a cheer or two, former Bristol Dart 43849 (SN05HEJ) has finally been repainted, at its new home in Glasgow. 
Private Baxter
Established Member
- Joined
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- 1,789
Wayyyy!In news that might provoke a cheer or two, former Bristol Dart 43849 (SN05HEJ) has finally been repainted, at its new home in Glasgow.
Only thing is they have to be transferred in order to be repainted.
That's 47558, an ex A3 Streetlite, just stripped of it's stickers. 47557 is the same but still in Weston, but should be being used on the A2 rather than an E200.
TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
Wayyyy!
Only thing is they have to be transferred in order to be repainted.
Painting it is one thing but the seats are threadbare on it so a refurb wouldn't be a bad move!
ValleyLines142
Established Member
33966 just left Bristol on the 47!
DaveHarries
Established Member
Had a ride on one of the Enviro400s used on Excel services this afternoon on my way from Portishead to Bristol. Found the seats to be rather hard.
Dave
Dave
TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
Hmmm.... depends what batch you enjoyed. One of the ex Leicester ones?
If it is one of the ex Hengrove/Leicester/London 08/58 plate examples with grey leather seats without head rests, they are horrible and cramped. The 12/63 plate examples with grey leather seats and headrests have more room and are not too bad. The comfiest are the 56 plate ex Plymouth examples with green leather coach seats which are very comfy with plenty of room, just a bit rough around the edges, but the heating is not to good, particularly on 33415.
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ValleyLines142
Established Member
Well most of you, GrandWazoo in particular, will be delighted to know that I finally got round to doing some more inter-urban journeys yesterday on a trip over from Cardiff.
Upon arrival in Newport off one of their bog standard Scanias, I had about twenty minutes until the Severn Express. Whilst Market Square bus station looks remarkably more pleasant since the major works, the only let down for me personally is where stands 15-24 are (mostly non-Newport Bus services e.g. Stagecoach, First, NAT Group) and the frosted glass, so you can only see when your bus arrives once it arrives in the stand as you can't see it approach! However, for those of you who remember the old Newport bus station, it is a vast improvement!
Luckily I only required one more of the three Enviro 400MMCs used on the Severn Express, and the final one (33488) turned up! Have to say I was probably the only fare paying passenger on the bus; all other passengers were concessionary pass holders.
Not that many joined at Newport. Upon arrival at Chepstow however we departed with a full load on both decks. Good to see the service is well used; I would like to see a later departure from Bristol however. With Cribbs Causeway being only half an hour across the bridge, I can safely say that as a resident of Chepstow I'd prefer to make the journey over the border as opposed to popping into say Newport on the 74, as I think Cribbs does have more to offer.
After a couple of hours in The Mall I had about six hours to spare. I was going to perhaps do a journey on the 19 and then perhaps a 42/43 journey somewhere, but instead I decided to venture out of Bristol and head to Portishead on the X5. A bright orange Excel Enviro 400 turned up. It was 33666. I was the only one on the top deck from Cribbs Causeway to Portishead. For a bus of just under six years old, and considering the original Enviro 400 model is my favourite bus, I have to say that this particular example is looking very tired already inside. The floor boards were brown and needed a good soapy scrub, same for the front panels.
After a hour or two in Portishead (beautiful place I think, lovely harbourside), I returned to Coombe Road for the X3 back into Bristol. The X3 has always been my preferred of the two routes as it serves Portbury Wharf. On this occasion though it didn't, due to roadworks. I was hoping to be carted in Bristol in one of the ex-Plymouth P&R or 33825-33830 examples, however shoddy ex-Hengrove 32342 showed up! Again returning into Bristol I had the top deck to myself. The journey went fairly smoothly.
Upon arrival into Bristol, I noticed Scania E400MMC 36816 on the A1, as well as 32345. I then required a trip to UWE, so caught the UWE Express with 36821. Lovely machines inside, the red handrails certainly blend in with UWE's red colour scheme. Did not realise they no longer stop on Rupert Street; now that the centre bus stops have been opened they call by the stop on the end of Baldwin Street where Yates used to be.
After meeting my friend up in UWE, we returned on 36822. Then I had a unused train ticket to use on my way home!
Upon arrival in Newport off one of their bog standard Scanias, I had about twenty minutes until the Severn Express. Whilst Market Square bus station looks remarkably more pleasant since the major works, the only let down for me personally is where stands 15-24 are (mostly non-Newport Bus services e.g. Stagecoach, First, NAT Group) and the frosted glass, so you can only see when your bus arrives once it arrives in the stand as you can't see it approach! However, for those of you who remember the old Newport bus station, it is a vast improvement!
Luckily I only required one more of the three Enviro 400MMCs used on the Severn Express, and the final one (33488) turned up! Have to say I was probably the only fare paying passenger on the bus; all other passengers were concessionary pass holders.
Not that many joined at Newport. Upon arrival at Chepstow however we departed with a full load on both decks. Good to see the service is well used; I would like to see a later departure from Bristol however. With Cribbs Causeway being only half an hour across the bridge, I can safely say that as a resident of Chepstow I'd prefer to make the journey over the border as opposed to popping into say Newport on the 74, as I think Cribbs does have more to offer.
After a couple of hours in The Mall I had about six hours to spare. I was going to perhaps do a journey on the 19 and then perhaps a 42/43 journey somewhere, but instead I decided to venture out of Bristol and head to Portishead on the X5. A bright orange Excel Enviro 400 turned up. It was 33666. I was the only one on the top deck from Cribbs Causeway to Portishead. For a bus of just under six years old, and considering the original Enviro 400 model is my favourite bus, I have to say that this particular example is looking very tired already inside. The floor boards were brown and needed a good soapy scrub, same for the front panels.
After a hour or two in Portishead (beautiful place I think, lovely harbourside), I returned to Coombe Road for the X3 back into Bristol. The X3 has always been my preferred of the two routes as it serves Portbury Wharf. On this occasion though it didn't, due to roadworks. I was hoping to be carted in Bristol in one of the ex-Plymouth P&R or 33825-33830 examples, however shoddy ex-Hengrove 32342 showed up! Again returning into Bristol I had the top deck to myself. The journey went fairly smoothly.
Upon arrival into Bristol, I noticed Scania E400MMC 36816 on the A1, as well as 32345. I then required a trip to UWE, so caught the UWE Express with 36821. Lovely machines inside, the red handrails certainly blend in with UWE's red colour scheme. Did not realise they no longer stop on Rupert Street; now that the centre bus stops have been opened they call by the stop on the end of Baldwin Street where Yates used to be.
After meeting my friend up in UWE, we returned on 36822. Then I had a unused train ticket to use on my way home!
TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
Why single me out? Only kidding
Take it your plans to move to the mother city are still on hold so visiting to get your fix?I do agree with your assessment of Portishead. Despite it being rather middle class (it has a Waitrose!), I quite like the town though I’d prefer the marina on a warmer day!! Not surprised you had a 53 plate on the X3 - very common on there as the repaint programme is completed.
Good to see you back!
Whiteway215
Established Member
Interested to see on Steve White's website that 66732 will be coming to Bath ex FHD. Also purple 42910 has gone from BH to Weston.
TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
Curious that 66730 heads to Essex and 66732 reappears - Mr Harris will be happy though!
freetoview33
Established Member
Still saw at least 1 E400 out today still in Express Yourself
I think that is 33825, caught it the other night and has no heat at all.
33415 appeared in Bristol today Excel orange.
Marcus Fryer
Member
- Joined
- 27 Dec 2014
- Messages
- 735
33417 was on the 14:00 X4 from Bristol and 33825 was on the 14:10 X2 from Bristol.
Streetlite 47546 was on the 15:55 19A Bath to Cribbs Causeway.
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freetoview33
Established Member
Yes I believe it was 33825! Also a Lilac fronted Gemini on the 43 earlier. What are all these lilac fronted buses for?
ValleyLines142
Established Member
The lilac branded Gemini will be 37331, the last of the B9s that were painted orange for the 2. It's a spare one. Not sure why it was lilac instead of plain livery but it matches 35150.
Why single me out? Only kidding
I do agree with your assessment of Portishead. Despite it being rather middle class (it has a Waitrose!), I quite like the town though I’d prefer the marina on a warmer day!! Not surprised you had a 53 plate on the X3 - very common on there as the repaint programme is completed.
Good to see you back!
Because it was you telling me to move away from the likes of the 75/76 and do more rural stuff!
still would like a trip on the 376.Plans to move to Bristol are on hold atm, as I've met a new guy. We may move over eventually!
Perhaps it is easier to repaint a front panel to a different colour as it is allready marked out rather than repainting back into Urban and having to try and match the paint up.The lilac branded Gemini will be 37331, the last of the B9s that were painted orange for the 2. It's a spare one. Not sure why it was lilac instead of plain livery but it matches 35150.
Because it was you telling me to move away from the likes of the 75/76 and do more rural stuff!
Plans to move to Bristol are on hold atm, as I've met a new guy. We may move over eventually!
Dhassell
Member
- Joined
- 22 Mar 2015
- Messages
- 1,011
The Severn Express is very convenient! Especially the 08:00 bus from Bristol which gets to Newport in an hour! £8ish for a return from Weston to Newport during peak time is great compared to the £19 on the train!
A West of England day ticket is £7.50 from the driver or £7 on the Mticket app. So very cheap compared to the train. It is the same for Weston to Bristol peak.
DaveHarries
Established Member
Having looked at the timetable for Service 5 in Weston-super-Mare I can't help wondering, in view of the fact that it is now hourly as far as Uphill Hospital and then alternately either to Hutton (Service 5) or Bleadon (Service 5A), how much longer the 5/5A will last. I have a few ideas that, given the means, would aim to attract more usage whilst providing faster links between Oldmixon, Hutton and Worle Sainsburys. I will give those some thought and then elaborate on those in due course.
On another side I wonder how long the 126 will maintain its current route and whether it might eventually be rerouted through the new housing development around Locking Airfield: I would be surprised if someone, be it First or CMS, doesn't route a bus service of some sort through there later. If I was a betting man (which I am not) then I would think one of the following options to be likely:
a) Some Service 3 journeys given a different number (Service 4?) and rerouted through the housing develpment and then via the A371 and Elm Tree Road to terminate at Locking Green
b) Rerouting of Service 126 through the housing development and then via. Winterstoke Road to the Town Centre. Additonally introduction of extra journeys, as Service 26, which would operate the same route between Locking (The Green), Locking Airfield and the Town Centre as that rerouted 126.
Just a thought.
Dave
On another side I wonder how long the 126 will maintain its current route and whether it might eventually be rerouted through the new housing development around Locking Airfield: I would be surprised if someone, be it First or CMS, doesn't route a bus service of some sort through there later. If I was a betting man (which I am not) then I would think one of the following options to be likely:
a) Some Service 3 journeys given a different number (Service 4?) and rerouted through the housing develpment and then via the A371 and Elm Tree Road to terminate at Locking Green
b) Rerouting of Service 126 through the housing development and then via. Winterstoke Road to the Town Centre. Additonally introduction of extra journeys, as Service 26, which would operate the same route between Locking (The Green), Locking Airfield and the Town Centre as that rerouted 126.
Just a thought.
Dave
The 5 may only be hourly now to Weston General Hospital, but there is still the 20 which is currently hourly and half hourly from April. Weston General is also less than 5 minutes from the last stop on the Coronation where the 7 serves every 15 minutes.
The 126 going down Winteratoke Road has been tried before and wasn't a succeas. It quickly reverted back to using Locking Road.
The RAF Locking (Locking Parklands) site may be an oppurtunity for the A2 to be retained serving there rather than Locking Village, as may the Haywood Village on the old Weston Airfield. A E200 or Streetlite going round there would be better than a B7. It wouldn't be plausible for the 3 to go round there, it's too far out of the way when it reaches Sainsburys. The 5/5A is more feasible as it serves West Wick. It could go from West Wick to Locking Parklands via Woolvershill Road and Banwell, then through Haywood Village and the Oldmixon to the Hospital, or after Locking Parklands Ellborough Village and Hutton along the route of the old 122.
TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
Hi all
Had to visit Brizzle yesterday. Caught the 178 in from MSN on one of the former Southampton B7s (66885). Not bad in splashing through the countryside and certainly the loadings are better now the 379 is no more. After doing what I needed to do and with some time on my side, I had a few little trips around the city etc and it really did show the best and worst of First WoE.
Had my second trip on one of the new U1 deckers and, it has to be said, they are absolutely lovely inside. Much better quality seating than the standard or even the P&R e400mmcs. If you've not had chance, I'd recommend that you experience them. Also had a trip on 39401 (the Biobus) back down from Clifton. In addition, I had a trip on one of the more venerable machines, 32257 that has been refurbished for the 6/7. Very nicely done and hardly a rattle on a 15/16 year old bus. As with other services, the internal advertising and promotion is pretty good. Good for an older machine.
I also decided to have a last trip on a Bristol Dart, if the rumours of their imminent demise are true, on the 5 with a very busy journey on 42966 through St Werburghs and St Pauls. Amazingly, I'd never done that bit of the route and so glad I did - I think it may be my favourite city route in Bristol!! Not a bad machine but I can't see the short e200s managing on that route. This was 3.30 so lord knows what the peak loading would be like!
Now the downsides. I also had a journey on another ALX in 32281 of Bath depot, working the 19. Unlike the older one, it hadn't been refurbished. Threadbare seating aplenty (though again an absence of rattles - I never liked the ALX but they have proved to be really well built).
I also caught the 177 home - 66731 duly arrived. Went well but again, the interior is very, very tired. The only promo ads inside were for pensions and the NHS - not a thing about First and promoting their product! Also, 66731 has lost all its headrests, instead getting standard seat handles with the curious exception of any seats where a handrail slots into the headrest. The headrests there are still in situ but without any padding at all. Not being OCD - it just looks weird. One wonders whether more of these might not head away, hence the lack of money spent on their cosmetics.
Incidentally, the 177 was a curious thing. I was wondering how the loadings would be. For a layperson seeing it leave Temple Meads, it seemed impressive with a healthy 34 people. However, 5 got off at the top of Totterdown, another 4 at Broadwalk, 1 just after, 2 at Happy Landings. That was 12 that could have got the 2 or 376. Upper Wells Road meant 2 more off and 4 more at Whitchurch - yep, more than half the load had gone by Whitchurch. More left at Pensford and Temple Cloud so that we had a hard core of a dozen who actually needed the 177 (rather than the 376). Makes you think given that at the same time as the 379 being withdrawn (and the 177 being introduced because of the uproar), the 178 lost its late night run.
Had to visit Brizzle yesterday. Caught the 178 in from MSN on one of the former Southampton B7s (66885). Not bad in splashing through the countryside and certainly the loadings are better now the 379 is no more. After doing what I needed to do and with some time on my side, I had a few little trips around the city etc and it really did show the best and worst of First WoE.
Had my second trip on one of the new U1 deckers and, it has to be said, they are absolutely lovely inside. Much better quality seating than the standard or even the P&R e400mmcs. If you've not had chance, I'd recommend that you experience them. Also had a trip on 39401 (the Biobus) back down from Clifton. In addition, I had a trip on one of the more venerable machines, 32257 that has been refurbished for the 6/7. Very nicely done and hardly a rattle on a 15/16 year old bus. As with other services, the internal advertising and promotion is pretty good. Good for an older machine.
I also decided to have a last trip on a Bristol Dart, if the rumours of their imminent demise are true, on the 5 with a very busy journey on 42966 through St Werburghs and St Pauls. Amazingly, I'd never done that bit of the route and so glad I did - I think it may be my favourite city route in Bristol!! Not a bad machine but I can't see the short e200s managing on that route. This was 3.30 so lord knows what the peak loading would be like!
Now the downsides. I also had a journey on another ALX in 32281 of Bath depot, working the 19. Unlike the older one, it hadn't been refurbished. Threadbare seating aplenty (though again an absence of rattles - I never liked the ALX but they have proved to be really well built).
I also caught the 177 home - 66731 duly arrived. Went well but again, the interior is very, very tired. The only promo ads inside were for pensions and the NHS - not a thing about First and promoting their product! Also, 66731 has lost all its headrests, instead getting standard seat handles with the curious exception of any seats where a handrail slots into the headrest. The headrests there are still in situ but without any padding at all. Not being OCD - it just looks weird. One wonders whether more of these might not head away, hence the lack of money spent on their cosmetics.
Incidentally, the 177 was a curious thing. I was wondering how the loadings would be. For a layperson seeing it leave Temple Meads, it seemed impressive with a healthy 34 people. However, 5 got off at the top of Totterdown, another 4 at Broadwalk, 1 just after, 2 at Happy Landings. That was 12 that could have got the 2 or 376. Upper Wells Road meant 2 more off and 4 more at Whitchurch - yep, more than half the load had gone by Whitchurch. More left at Pensford and Temple Cloud so that we had a hard core of a dozen who actually needed the 177 (rather than the 376). Makes you think given that at the same time as the 379 being withdrawn (and the 177 being introduced because of the uproar), the 178 lost its late night run.
Bristol_Buses
Member
Is bristol branding any new routes this year? They seem to be recolouring them all to generic grey to cover for branded routes, 3 now including 32074 which was branded for 6/7
I would have thought any further route branding in Bristol is on hold. There will probably be some route changes once Metrobus has been introduced and also the gas buses introduced for the 42 to 45. Until this happens, there is probably little point as branded vehicles will be displaced elsewhere.
The vehicles which have been debranded neutral lilac are buses which previously carried route branding for a different service e.g. 2. It was probably easier to just repaint the egg yellow wedge at the from to the neutral lilac, than back into Urban. If painting back into Urban, the new paintwork would have to be matched up with the old and would probably look funny with the old paint having faded.
On the topic of paint jobs, the B7s which recently transferred from Hengrove to Weston, even though in Urban look very tatty. In several places the red is coming though from there previous guise in London. Also on the back, the darker purple is rubbing away in places. These didn't receive a very good job!
freetoview33
Established Member
Those Ex London B7's weren't great when they came from London to begin with. The paints been peeling for the last few years too.
TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
Would concur with your take on things.
There's so much "up in the air" and the 75/76 are doubtless going to be impacted by Metrobus as will a number of other routes like the 73 and 24. Hence, route branding is likely to be taking a back seat for a little while. Also, the 42-45 would seem to be likely candidates for the first biobuses so yeah, agree with your appraisal!
Also, agree that just repainting the front a) makes it easier for a match with the rest of the vehicle and b) saves money/time repainting the whole vehicle. The two Geminis do look a little odd with the lilac front IMO.
The ex London B7TLs have enjoyed 6 years hard labour around Bristol so the red showing through is perhaps excusable. Not like repainting barbie on top of barbie that isn't so noticeable. Certainly better than the BoS repaints that were showing white through the green (see photo attached) after about 2 years.
Attachments
freetoview33
Established Member
I can't see the 24 being majorly impacted by metrobus as we said before it serves different roads so I expect a minimal impact. Those B7's weren't even too good when they were in London! haha
TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
Thinking that Ashton Vale stop on MetroBus will impact the 24 at that end. Who knows how wide ranging the changes may be in SW Bristol?