I decided to do 2 days out this week, so I'll publish Tuesdays day out first, with Wednesdays following suit shortly after this
Train from Hough Green to Hunts Cross
Arriva North West 2470 Y733 KNF
Service 81A from Hunts Cross to Childwall Fiveways
Very disappointing. This is a type which is fast growing on me, and mechanically, this one demonstrated why. A very healthy engine which powered the bus along nicely. It sounded excellent and didn't miss a beat. The interior was lovely a bright, possibly one of the brightest interiors that can be found in the Arriva fleet once they have been P&P'd. Thats where the praise ends unfortunately. It was rather rattly and squeaky, with every bump in the road being felt much more than I would like to. Plenty of crashes and bangs meant I didn't want to stay on this one for too long. Unfortunate really!
Arriva North West 4451 MX61 AYK
Service 79 from Childwall Fiveways to Wavertree Clock
A good ride. Lovely strong engine with no rattling or banging, just slight squeaking from the cab door. Great bus!
I will comment on the fact I was waiting well over 10 minutes for a bus however, 10 minutes on one of the most well served corridors in Liverpool. When 4451 pulled up to the stop, it was followed was a 79D, a 79C and a 14. Come on Arriva, get your backside into gear and use some common sense for all passengers' sake!
Arriva North West 7657 V657 DVU
Service 68 from Childwall Fiveways to Old Swan
I had been having withdrawal symptoms from by beloved Marshalls so I was delighted to see one turn up. Not too bad, definitely much better but there are a few worse ones out there. It seemed to have a nice engine which could gain a good amount of speed. The interior however was scruffy, rattly and generally poor. Would benefit from P&P, whether it will live long enough to see Green Lane have its turn though is another issue! A really nice driver as well which was a positive!
Arriva North West 2215 X215 ANC
Service 9 to Queen Square Bus Station
I would have preferred something else, but I didn't want to waste any more of the day letting Pulsars, Enviros and ADL Darts past, so I decided to get this straight to town. This actually wasn't as bad as I anticipated, it's been represented that these ex Bootle ones are all the sheds that left them with a smile when they left for Green Lane. It had a very good engine that sounded rather nice as X-ANCs go. The only criticisms I did have were the idle vibrations and the rattles coming from certain rows of seats, which drove me insane. 10 minutes with a socket set would soon put that right however!
Arriva North West 2976 MX09 OPG
Service 10 from Queen Square Bus Station to Prescot
After a lengthy lunch break thanks to O2 Priority Moments and Pizza Hut (The only thing O2 can give me it seems after the past 2 days!), I wanted to head to St Helens. Its one of those places I never give myself chance to visit even though its home to some of the oldest (and arguably best) buses on Merseyside. The only thing which puts me off is the distinct lack of options to get there considering a lot of the time I'd much rather poke my eyeballs with cocktail sticks multiple times and seeing how long it takes before they pop.
Today was exceptional circumstances though, I wanted to get there ASAP and seeing as the train was another 20 minutes wait, I decided to get this instead, the first thing that turned up.
It was a mediocre ride, few rattles but not very fast unfortunately. It had the typical reaction to slowing down that most other Pulsars do, and that's vibrate horrendously for a few seconds while slowing down, something which I despise. Other than that, I've been on worse!
Arriva North West 1042 P42 MVU
Service 89 from Prescot Bus Station to St Helens Bus Station.
Prescot Bus Station, the home to... not actually all that much. There was no Hattons step Darts in sight unfortunately, so I decided to make an exit at the next opportunity. 1048 pulled up on an 89, which infuriatingly was going in the wrong direction for me, so I let it go. I planned to get Hattons 297, however it didn't bother stopping. Happily, just after the 297 pulled off, 1042 pulled up. I jumped at the chance of getting one of these old girls and I'm so glad I did. This has improved dramatically since at Runcorn, whether it is the change of type of route it does, or St Helens have gone round tightening up seats and poles, I don't know, but it was brilliant. Very few rattles and squeaks to be heard, which meant you could hear a lot more of that glorious engine and gearbox combo which I love! An excellent bus that I'd happily ride on all day long!
Arriva North West 7561 R561 ABA
Service 20 from St Helens Bus Station to Blackbrook Road, Callon Ave (No, I have no idea where it is either, but the Merseytravel stop never lies (HA!))
Another former Runcorn resident, I was curious to try this having never been on it before. I want to ride a few more of these before they are withdrawn, so theres no time like the present. Rather disappointing if I'm honest! I got on to a nice tidy interior, however the idle vibrations were ridiculous. When moving, rattles were evident but not overwhelming, and it had a pretty nice sounding engine. It wasn't exactly slow, and hit decent speeds and offered a nice ride!
Arriva North West 7571 R571 ABA
Service 20 from Blackbrook Ave to Jackson St
Not as good as it was last time I rode this. Idle vibrations were once again evident, with a few rattles here and there. Engine didn't seem as strong as it once did, however the driver did get the best out of it at certain points. Not a bad bus but been on better!
A quick visit to Jackson St garage. No buses of note, however the RNW wrecker that brought the MPD here earlier in the day was parked at the front. I could also make out another tow truck inside the depot, which is probably SH's resident. Any idea of the reg of this one as I don't believe I have ever seen it?
Arriva North West 1053 P53 MVU
Service 34 from Jackson St to St Helens Bus Station
Not quite as good as 1042, but still a nice ride. It sounded good, few rattles and crashes, as I have become accustomed to with a lot of this type. A nice original interior as well, just needs to flip dots to complete the North Western look (As well as BeeLine livery, but lets not push it
)
Arriva North West 2714 Y714 KNF
Service 89 from St Helens Bus Station to Huyton Bus Station
It's very hard to believe these are the same buses to the Green Lane examples, what a fantastic bus! The interior was much tidier than the ex Speke examples, with absolutely no crashes and rattles, a flawless ride quality! The driver was running a bit late I think as he was rather fast, foot practically always on the accelerator. An excellent bus, definitely need to ride more of these, forgot quite how much I like these!
Halton Transport 33 DF02 EKC
Service 61 from Huyton Bus Station to Widnes Green Oaks
By the time I got to Huyton, I just wanted to get home, and I realised the only thing I'd be getting from Huyton at that time was a Pulsar. I wasn't expecting this to turn up, so I just got it without realising it took me on a tour of where I had just been, and than it was a long ride to Widnes. However I wasn't complaining, this is a fantastic bus. The driver was rather fast and had the bus screaming on it's way out of Huyton. The bus itself was solid, no rattles, no vibrations, just the odd squeak here or there. Shame I don't get to ride these as much as I used to!
Halton Transport 5 AJ58 PZH
Service 14 from Widnes Green Oaks to Hough Green Station
An average ride, nothing special, nothing I can remember that sticks in my mind anyway!
