Trivia: Bus routes that cannot use double decker vehicles

[PTR 444]

Two examples that no longer exist:

Before it was truncated to Carvel Lane, Southern Vectis route 1 was always operated by single deckers due to the low entrance at the Red Jet terminal in Cowes. Was an incredibly challenging turning manoeuvre too.

Unilink route U6 in Southampton used to do a loop of Wessex Lane which involved buses passing beneath the low bridge at Swaythling. Since the route was amended a decade or so ago, double deckers have been able to operate the service.

 

[dpsilverba]

First Solent 3 (Fareham - Southsea South Parade Pier) due to the railway bridge at Portchester .

Den

 

[DunsBus]

Stagecoach Hants & Surrey service 3 (Aldershot - Camberley - Yateley), due to the low bridge at Frimley Green.

 

[GusB]

Two examples that no longer exist:

The scope of the thread is broad enough as it is without adding historical routes. Let's keep this one for discussing matters as they are now.

 

[Lewisham2221]

I'd imagine there are dozens, if not hundreds of routes across the UK that can't use double deckers. To confuse matters further, there are probably dozens (or hundreds) more that can use some types of double decker but not all types.

Service 3 between Hanley and Crewe

being an example of a route (under the guise of the 320, later 20) that used to be operated by double deckers which did fit under the bridge at Kidsgrove, however is now exclusively single deck operated as none of the current First Potteries double deck fleet are low enough to clear the bridge (out of interest, does anybody know the lowest height currently available/possible for a DD vehicle?)

 

[m79900]

6.1 Derby to Bakewell and 72 Belper town service due to the very low bridge over the A517 at the North Mill.

A year ago I would have said that no Wirksworth buses could use a double decker due to the C&HPR bridge at Steeple Grange, but the X17 has proved this possible.

 

[dodecahedron67]

The Reliance 30 does use deckers, it must avoid the restriction.

The only 30 runs that use a double decker are the outbound (which go via Bootham) evening peak services, and the 30SE which goes around the York ring road from Skelton to Askham Bryan & York College, avoiding York Centre itself entirely

 

[bgbus21]

Couple that aren’t far from me, Rosso’s R4/6 Rochdale - Milnrow - Newhey - Peppermint Bridge circulars goes under the Milkstone Road bridge next to Rochdale Rail Station that’s 12’ 3” and the Go North Wests 415 where it passes under the 9’ 9” bridge under the same line, but at Middleton Junction.

 

[Ianigsy]

The Ilkley-Grassington 74 and Dales Bus 874 have to contend with an archway at Bolton Abbey which advertises 10’9” headroom. The 874 and Ilkley-Otley 961 also go under the railway bridge at Ben Rhydding.

 

[JGurney]

Arriva NE routes X4 and 5, due to low bridges under the Saltburn - Boulby line. Double deckers can get from Middlesbrough to Whitby on the 93 route along the Moors Road but all routes north of that are confined to single deckers.

 

[Deerfold]

Only routes in Leicester that I know of are:

Stagecoach X7 (Leicester - Kibworth - Market Harborough- Northampton) the low bridge on New Road in Kibworth is 3.8m (12.9ft)

Presumably that also affects the Arriva X3 through Kibworth?

 

[Class800]

291 in SE London was always single decker for many years due to narrow streets, but a couple of years ago was switched to double. This often causes tailbacks when the bus struggles to pass parked cars, and if there are any roadworks on the top section between Plumstead Common and Woodlands Estate, the bus is now simply curtailed at the common, as the diversions are too tricky for a double decker

 

[moogal]

One interesting one I've experienced was the 950 Thorpe Park shuttle bus from Staines - normally run with single deckers, but have occasionally seen double deckers used on it that had to take a different route to avoid a low rail bridge on the edge of Staines.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Arriva NE routes X4 and 5, due to low bridges under the Saltburn - Boulby line. Double deckers can get from Middlesbrough to Whitby on the 93 route along the Moors Road but all routes north of that are confined to single deckers.

That does read that all routes north of the 93 are single decked

The low bridge is at Brotton, and it meant that the United/Tees depot at Loftus was entirely single decked UNTIL they took on the Whitby outbase. They had two deckers that would have to come up for maintenance but not for service.

 

[A0wen]

There always used to be a bridge between Hitchin and Stevenage which was OK for RTs back in the day but too low for Atlanteans, which kept RTs at Stevenage for a while in the 1970s. I think this prevents deckers being used on the Arriva 100/101 from Luton and I guess will mean they can’t be used on Stagecoach 9A/9B which starts next week.

Little Wymondley bridge - 14' 3" so not too bad - London Country subsequently bought Olympians which did fit under there and replaced the Leyland Nationals on the 300 / 303 with double deckers.

I don't think Stagecoach will have a problem with the 9D as it appears they're running along the Wymondley by pass which was built in the 1990s and doesn't have such restrictions.

A better example in the Hitchin area is the railway bridge just to the north of Hitchin station on the A505 which is marked as 13' 3" - United Counties had a small batch of Bristol VRs which would fit under this (and another low bridge in Luton) but nothing recent will fit under there and is the reason that the Luton / Hitchin - Letchworth services have been single deck operated for many years.

 

[Paperyostrich]

Buses of Somerset Route 58 (Yeovil - Wincanton) can't use deckers due to a low bridge at Templecombe which is 13ft

 

[ACBest]

Centrebus in Grantham have a few:

Service 9 (Grantham-Woolsthorpe-by-Belvoir) can only use singles because of two low bridges - one being Springfield Road rail bridge in Grantham (11ft6), the other being as you come in to Woolsthorpe, where one of the many driveways on the Belvoir estate passes overhead (13ft9). The latter bridge also affects school journeys on service 55 (Saxby/Sewstern-Grantham).

Service 23 (Melton Mowbray-Bottesford) is also another, and this route passes under the Old Dalby Test Track in Old Dalby itself. (13ft9)

There’s also a partial restriction on service 8 (Melton Mowbray-Loughborough), which passes under the GCR(N)’s bridge 326 on the A60 Loughborough Road. It used to be 14ft3, which restricted it to the low height OmniDekkas (which are 13ft11) only - however, the bridge was raised last year to 14ft6 - which is equal to the height of the two Geminis. Given that would leave a clearance of zero based on the sign height, I don’t think anyone’s going to be in a hurry to try it just in case!

All that said, as a controller, I’ve taken deckers on the 9 and 23 whilst taking suitable - and in the case of the 23, lengthy - diversions to avoid the bridges, in order to maintain service on a couple of bad days when we had nothing else available. The looks on the faces of some passengers was a picture, and it was a talking point for some time after!

 

[Whisky Papa]

Rosso 458 Lakeline (Rochdale-Hollingworth Lake-Littleborough) and Team Pennine 587 (Halifax-Ripponden-Rochdale) are both restricted by the railway bridge over the A58 just east of Littleborough station.

 

[SSmith2009]

Presumably that also affects the Arriva X3 through Kibworth?

Arriva X3 uses Church Road/Station Street in both directions going over the bridge

Arriva are currently using mostly single deckers because of low hanging trees along the route

 

[ajs]

The now Stagecoach 27, from Emsworth to Rowlands Castle. There is the rail and A27 low bridges a few metres apart, just by Emsworth Station. Until recently the route was operated by First and before that Emsworth & District.

 

[TR673]

In Lincolnshire the Stagecoach 31 from Lincoln to Sleaford goes under a low bridge, I think in Metheringham, but the 31X avoids it and does use deckers.

I think that's the same bridge that also restricts the Brylaine B5 between Boston and Lincoln to single deckers. However in the morning they use a decker on a Boston-bound journey that starts from Coningsby, thus never encountering the bridge.

Looking on street view the bridge is signed as 4.3m, so in theory a standard Stagecoach 4.2m decker should be able to fit through. I wonder if they avoid deckers altogether because Lincoln depot also has full height E400s and it would be easy to mistakenly assign one?

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Buses of Somerset Route 58 (Yeovil - Wincanton) can't use deckers due to a low bridge at Templecombe which is 13ft

Also the 28 (if that's the number and I'm not misremembering) from Taunton to Minehead, due to the bridge under Taunton station, and at least one further low bridge under the West Somerset Railway along the A358.

The Arriva Yorkshire 260 from Huddersfield to Cleckheaton is single only due to the low bridges in Mirfield.

 

[ACBest]

I think that's the same bridge that also restricts the Brylaine B5 between Boston and Lincoln to single deckers. However in the morning they use a decker on a Boston-bound journey that starts from Coningsby, thus never encountering the bridge.

Looking on street view the bridge is signed as 4.3m, so in theory a standard Stagecoach 4.2m decker should be able to fit through. I wonder if they avoid deckers altogether because Lincoln depot also has full height E400s and it would be easy to mistakenly assign one?

There are multiple low bridges on the Stagecoach 31, Brylaine B5, and also PC Coaches 55 (which all follow the same route in this area) between Branston and Metheringham.

The first is 13ft3 at Station Road, Potterhanworth; the second is 14ft0 on Lincoln Road, Dunston.

 

[Ken H]

Arriva NE routes X4 and 5, due to low bridges under the Saltburn - Boulby line. Double deckers can get from Middlesbrough to Whitby on the 93 route along the Moors Road but all routes north of that are confined to single deckers.

The Coastliner 840 Leeds - Whitby is problematic. They used to turn to Goathland just after Eller Beck. But that goes under a bridge that carries the North Yorkshire Moors railway with a height restriction of 11'3"
But with double deckers, they now go to the next turn and double back to Goathland.
There was a time not so long ago when the single deckers turned off at Eller Beck and double deckers went the way they go today.

 

[Steelman]

First Essex’s service 28 from Southend to Basildon is limited to single decks due to Pitsea railway bridge.
Arriva’s services 7/8 used to use double deckers, but modern vehicles are too high to pass under Hockley and Hawkwell railway bridges.

I’m sure there are others locally but can’t think of them right now.

I take it you're referring to the 7/8 which run between Rayleigh and Shoebury / Wakering? I've lived in the area for a long time and had noticed they'd switched to single deck operation but wasn't aware it was because they wouldn't fit under the bridges at Rochford and Hawkwell anymore. It's interesting to note that single deckers have a longer wheel base than double deckers which mean there is a hell of a squeeze on some of the turns on that route. Don't the manufacturers offer slightly lower buses or are they all standard?

 

[JGurney]

That does read that all routes north of the 93 are single decked

The low bridge is at Brotton, and it meant that the United/Tees depot at Loftus was entirely single decked UNTIL they took on the Whitby outbase. They had two deckers that would have to come up for maintenance but not for service.

All Middlesbrough - Loftus routes north of the 93 route are indeed single deck. There are also the two low bridges at Skelton. I'm not sure a double decker would get under the railway bridges in Marske or Saltburn either.

Now that the Skelton and Brotton bypasses have been built I suppose it would be possible, to get a double decker from Guisborough to Loftus without using the A171, but only by a route that missed out most of the intermediate stops.

 

[The exile]

There are loads across the country. Off the top of my head, I can think of

5 Bath to Whiteway at Twerton
D2 Bath to Frome (though very low deckers worked it 30 years ago) at Midford
60/61/600 - Aberdare to Pontypridd at Abercynon

Sticking with Bath - I suspect the reason that double deckers don't appear on the 2 (although the route is now often as busy as routes that do use them) is now their length which would make threading through Combe Down village very challenging - but for many years anything that heavy would have risked disappearing into the mines below.

 

[Mr Manager]

Ipswich buses routes 12 and 13. The ranleigh road bridge is only just low enough for single deckers.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

All Middlesbrough - Loftus routes north of the 93 route are indeed single deck.

Yes, I know that but it didn't read that way

I'm not sure a double decker would get under the railway bridges in Marske or Saltburn either.

The 268/269 that used to operate from Darlington to Lingdale (via Marske and Saltburn) and that used deckers for many years

 

[Tetchytyke]

Don't the manufacturers offer slightly lower buses or are they all standard?

Wright do- the Streetdeck (and predecessors) come at different heights. Arriva mostly seem to go for the low height ones for some reason.

I’m six foot and I have to stoop when I’m on the top deck of the low height ones, but not on the full height ones.

Not so much use if First Essex only have the taller buses in their fleet.