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Which depot has the oldest fleet?
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David Goddard
Established Member
Based on the UK-Buses website stagecoach fleetlist:
*Cumbria has seven 51 plate Solo M850s. Five at Carlisle and two more at Kendal.
*East Midlands has three 02 plate ALX400 Tridents. Two at Mansfield and one at Gainsborough
*South East has three 52 plate ALX400 Tridents at Herne Bay, and South has one at Portsmouth.
*Cumbria has seven 51 plate Solo M850s. Five at Carlisle and two more at Kendal.
*East Midlands has three 02 plate ALX400 Tridents. Two at Mansfield and one at Gainsborough
*South East has three 52 plate ALX400 Tridents at Herne Bay, and South has one at Portsmouth.
Strathclyder
Established Member
First Glasgow's Caledonia. From a sole 02-reg President-bodied Trident through a few late 2002/early 2003-vintage Caetano-bodied Dart SLFs, 5 53-reg ALX400-bodied Tridents, various 53/54/07/57/58/09 Geminis to 19-reg E400MMCs/Cities and a pair of 69-reg BYD E200MMCs.
CBlue
Member
Some of the Eastern Counties and Essex depots must be in with a shout. Shedloads of knackered early 2000s ex London Tridents / B7s seemed to be the order of the day for the most part.
Strathclyder
Established Member
The Eastern Counties B7s/Tridents on the whole seem to be fairly tidy for their age/astronomical mileage, at least from what I've seen gleaming from online photographic evidence (I should note that I am not familar with either of these divisions, so am willing to be further informed/corrected if need be); the relatively flat topography of the area no doubt helps with mechanical health. As for Essex, Hadleigh depot has always seemed to the leader in terms of vehicle upkeep, their ALX400 Tridents (same batch as the Glasgow examples cited above) always seemed to be expectionally tidy.
cnjb8
Established Member
Maybe correct but I wouldn't trust UK Buses fleetlists as far as I can throw them
TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
First Ipswich has a rather aged fleet dominated by low height ALX that can fit into the depot with the newest being some ex Scottish 2013 e300s.
First’s Colchester is quite mature with some 65 plate Streetlites, some more 2013 e300s, and a lot of 2005 vintage Volvos
David Goddard
Established Member
Fair enough, only went by information I had. Wont quote from it again
CBlue
Member
Hadleigh is definitely a leader, just a shame the rest of the depots can't seem to keep to the same standard. Basildon and Colchester both used to be fairly bad but the crowning depot for poor presentation in Essex is definitely Chelmsford. I was impressed in some respects how virtually brand new fleets of vehicles seemed to become scruffy almost overnight!
Eastern Counties used to be far worse out of Lowestoft and Ipswich but I think they've been trying to up their game recently - definitely not the days of "Sheds r us" which was their nickname 15 or so years ago.
Strathclyder
Established Member
Yeah, Hadleigh is certainly the leader as far as Essex is concerned, at least in terms of vehicle upkeep/presentation. A pity the others in that division lag behind as much as they do.
Eastern Counties seems to have been making a real turnaround in the vehicle presentation department; most of the remaining Presidents they have seem to be kept reasonably tidy externally (Again, not a division I'm familar with, so can only go off of online photographic evidence).
Wyrleybart
Established Member
National Express West Midlands (NXWM) are still using 03 plate Tridents and Geminis in the Birmingham / West Midlands area.
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cnjb8
Established Member
Nevermind 03, they still use 51/02/52 plates in regular service!
Wyrleybart
Established Member
I wasn't going to go that far after quite a cull of the Tridents in the last couple of months. They have had a clearout from Pensnett I believe. Not sure if National Express West Midlands (NXWM) have started disposing of the 03 plate Geminis but I saw a Green bus Gemini today - a company which took some of the old Plaxton Presidents from NXWM. I know they do a lot of school and college work with their fleet.
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No Gemini have been disposed of yet AFAIK. The Green Bus ones are ex Lothian.
4284 was on the 11 Outer Circle yesterday, so 51 plate being used there.
One of 17 B7TL ALX400 still in use at Acocks Green. All 51 plates, except ex Dundee 4301/ST02MZO.
National Express West Midlands f (wmbusphotos.com)
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4676 was withdrawn, I think due to accident damage on the 72 route. 4497 might be accident damage and 4677 fire damage I think.
They are listed as being at Miller Street in Newtown.
National Express West Midlands f (wmbusphotos.com)
Thanks - so that's what MS stands for.
woodhouse122
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First Huddersfield and Halifax have a pretty old fleet ,with 51 plate ALX400s and 54 plate Volvo B7TLs still in traffic
Thanks a lot, I wasn't aware of those. No Gemini have been withdrawn due to age, then?
TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
Half of the fleet are 05/06 plate Darts but 60 plate Solos and 64 plate e200s are also there.
I cannot vouch for all of the other 3 still being in service but 17582 (not mentioned) was in service on 30th April when it successfully transported me to Canterbury on the 4 so almost certainly saw all-day service. One other vehicle (17587, I think) was laying over at Canterbury. Seeing two together is quite unusual. With schools operating and limits on the number of passengers still being in place, they still perform a useful role (they are also handy for wheelchair users).
Having said that, the vast majority of the work is performed by double deckers less than 12 years old so the average age is not likely to be among the highest.
EDIT: 06th May 17590 was on the 5.
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Strathclyder
Established Member
The first production Geminis (Y581 UGC & Y102 TGH; Arriva's 4200 & 4201 & both new July 2001 as Arriva London North's VLW1/2) haven't seen use for a quite a while. Don't know if either have been disposed of (as of May 2021), but the latest image(s) I can find on Flickr of 4200 date from July 2018. Meanwhile, the latest Flickr image of 4201 has it at the back of Chester depot last September missing it's rear upper deck window (linked image from the Cymru Coastliner Flickr collection), so I think it's fair to assume it has been withdrawn from active service.
Depot Scenes (25)
Vehicles parked in Arriva Buses Wales Chester depot. Identifiable are: Volvo B7TL 4201 - Y102 TGH VDL Pulsar 2662 - CX07 CVB VDL Cadet 2503 - CX54 DLK VDL Pulsar 2 3105 - MX61 AUL DAF DB250 / EL Lowlander 4191 - Y706 XJF Solo SR 703 - MX12 KVV
www.flickr.com
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So some slight improvements then, it amazes me every year to see those Darts plodding on!
Sorry, didn't clarify that one properly! I meant no NXWM Gemini have been withdrawn due to age. Lots of the early batches of London B7TLs and DB250s have been scrapped.The first production Geminis (Y581 UGC & Y102 TGH; Arriva's 4200 & 4201 & both new July 2001 as Arriva London North's VLW1/2) haven't seen use for a quite a while. Don't know if either have been disposed of (as of May 2021), but the latest image(s) I can find on Flickr of 4200 date from July 2018. Meanwhile, the latest Flickr image of 4201 has it at the back of Chester depot last September missing it's rear upper deck window (linked image from the Cymru Coastliner Flickr collection), so I think it's fair to assume it has been withdrawn from active service.
Depot Scenes (25)
Vehicles parked in Arriva Buses Wales Chester depot. Identifiable are: Volvo B7TL 4201 - Y102 TGH VDL Pulsar 2662 - CX07 CVB VDL Cadet 2503 - CX54 DLK VDL Pulsar 2 3105 - MX61 AUL DAF DB250 / EL Lowlander 4191 - Y706 XJF Solo SR 703 - MX12 KVV
Strathclyder
Established Member
Ah I see. No worries; happens to the best of us.
This might be off topic but may as well ask, why is it that some buses are withdrawn from other areas but yet still in service elsewhere?
Just an example: Plaxton President and above mentioned the Darts? Is there a reason why that is?
I was going to do a thread but felt what I might be asking maybe stupid.
Just an example: Plaxton President and above mentioned the Darts? Is there a reason why that is?
I was going to do a thread but felt what I might be asking maybe stupid.
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