2102 isn't too bad at all in fairness. General passenger concensus though that K853! I was sat on a broken down Marshall on 33s on Friday (7634) and the local route users spent the whole time waiting for the next bus comenting on how they hated the Marshall and thought they'd rather have every newer bus that passed us (including a Cadet)!
I wasn't planning on doing much over the next week, however since I have to cover somebody's morning paper-round ALL WEEK (
), I'll be up anyway so I'll probably just make use of each day! I plan on visiting Birkenhead, Southport and St Helens, along with maybe Wales (Wrexham and/or Rhyl), which would cover Chester too.
this week will be good i made a *wish list* of buses i want to ride, i picked 22 from the following arriva depots
birkenhead,bolton,bootle,green lane,rhyl,runcorn,southport,speke,st helens,winsford and wrexham
the way i picked the buses was by personal best buses,buses i heard good things about and buses ready to be withdrawn, if you want to know what buses am after pm me i dont feel like clogging up feeds
Today, me and my friend went out and visited SM&SL's Gillmoss depot; we also went on a few bus-rides after our depot visit. Here's what I rode on (with my friend on most journeys):
52 (ANW) - Netherton, Glovers Lane > Queen Square Bus Station
Pulsar 2 MX09 LYH (2946)
I was happy when I seen this preparing to start this journey in Netherton; I was also happy to see a decent driver at the wheel! The ride was excellent - maybe a bit slow to start off with, however 100% enjoyable throughout, with plenty of kickdown! The only disadvantages were a very eye-watering warm interior and constant rattles - the latter I couldn't care less about because the bus was excellent! An excellent start to the day...
(Met up with my friend in Queen Square Bus Station)
14A (SM&SL) - Queen Square Bus Station > Croxteth, Willow Way
Enviro300 PO11 BAA (27701)
After us spotting this bus coming into the bus station, we ran like mad for it! It's always been an excellent runner, as it was today, however the rattles become worse every time! I remember the days when it barely rattled... It was a disappointing ride in that respect, however the driver was quite fast and the bus sounded fantastic as always!
(Visit to SM&SL's Gillmoss depot)
14 (ANW) - Croxteth, Callestock Close > Queen Square Bus Station
Pulsar 2 MX61 AWF (3076)
This journey was fine! The bus was quite rattly, however the woman driver was quite fast and created an enjoyable ride!
18 (ANW) - Queen Square Bus Station > Queen Square Bus Station, via Croxteth
Pulsar CX58 EWR (2902)
This journey was absolutely fantastic! The bus was clearly in the famous "slow mode", however the woman driver floored it all the way - kickdown (slow kickdown like!) on gears one and two every time, with some one-off extraordinary high-pitched engine sounds too around Croxteth! She seemed to be in a rush (she ran off the bus when she came off towards Liverpool), which created an exceptional ride! The driver that took over wasn't bad, however she was better! Absolutely fantastic!
500 (ANW) - Queen Square Bus Station > Liverpool John Lennon Airport (Bus Station)
Citaro BX04 NDD (6032)
We enjoyed this journey, however a bunch of Irish women at the back close to us, who were very loud, ruined it slightly! The driver was fast and the bus was definitely a better example of the collection!
501 (ANW) - Liverpool John Lennon Airport (Bus Station) > Liverpool South Parkway Interchange (Bus Station)
Citaro BX04 MXM (6014)
This journey was fine - the driver was good enough for us! The bus wasn't very good though, ride-quality wise!
Railway Replacement Service for London Midland (Shropshire Bus & Coach) - Liverpool South Parkway Interchange (Bus Station) > Liverpool, Lime Street
Alexander PS TSU 651 (414)
This was a surprise arrival that we didn't plan on getting on, however we did anyway just for fun! The dual-purpose seats were very comfortable and the engine sounded fine, however an annoying, repetitive buzzing noise from the cab-area ruined the ride!
(Left my friend on Sir Thomas Street in Liverpool)
52 (ANW) - Liverpool, Sir Thomas Street > Netherton, Glovers Lane
Pulsar 2 MX59 FFY (3019)
This ride was so boring... I nearly fell asleep! The driver wasn't very fast and there were too many loud children on-board for most of the journey! The bus itself rattled a bit too. Not the best way to end what was a decent day...
Had a venture out today, couldn't stand staying in for another day!
10B Huyton to Liverpool (3076) - This was quite nice. It was very fast, but rattled quite a lot.
10A Liverpool to Green Lane (2992) - Awful! This bus was excellent last time I rode it, but now it's dire. The solid, rattle free body is no more. The rattles are very loud, intrusive and close to unbearable at times. It was still quite fast, but you couldn't even hear the engine over the rattles...
10 Old Swan to Liverpool (2993) - Excellent! It barely rattled, sounded excellent and looked very tidy and presentable.
79 Liverpool to Belle Vale (4472) - This was OK. It was VERY fast, but there were a few rattles and squeaks from the cab area.
79D Belle Vale to Liverpool (4444) - MUCH better than 4472. It was very fast, barely rattled and kickdowned a lot.
7 Liverpool to Huyton (2674) - This bus is a lot better than it's been made out to be. It's NOT in safe mode! It was very fast, and both drivers certainly weren't afraid to put their foot down! It wasn't too rattly, as well.
All in all a boring day out, due to it being a Sunday frequency and nothing interesting came out to play!
i nipped out for a few hours and day started with arriva st helens 2690 on the 89 it was 15 mins late but it was worth it the speed was amazing i then nipped on a few bendies (6013,6014,6024) i think 6014 was the best out of the 3 as again nothing was beating its speed we even took over cars, i took a ride on arriva runcorn cadet 2515 and that impressed me as well as for a cadet it as great
tomoz am everywhere looking for some older darts
I shall have to try and get a ride on 2992 Luke as I had it 3 mornings on the run last week and other than a minor rear shelf vibration under hard braking and the usual cab rattles, it was fine!
It's developed a really intrusive, annoying rattle on that panel in between the doors and the luggage bay. It was a cracker when it first came out, I guess it's Prescot Road which have caused them rattles!
I'll post about my day out later!
My first post on this thread (ever?) I think but I might as well give it a go - I think I had an overdose of Optare Solo however!
1. 79D (Wavertree - Queen Square Bus Station) - Arriva VDL SB300/Wright Gemini (can't remember which one sadly!)
2. C2 (Queen Square Bus Station - Canada Boulevard) - Cumfybus Optare Solo M810 hybrid YJ12 GXC
![[Image: 7345367152_ae310fc8d3.jpg]](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7102/7345367152_ae310fc8d3.jpg)
Cumfybus YJ12 GXC by
buses7675!, on Flickr
I liked this bus actually, sounds like a proper electric bus (though it would given the drive is entirely electric) though the engine seemed to rev up at rather odd times and was running the entire time. When the Arriva hybrid Solos worked a few years back the engine didn't appear to run continuously. Of note these buses are B23F, the same as Cumfybus's diesel Solo M710SEs as they are the older model! The hybrids have one seat fewer than the YJ59 Solos due to the one sideways seat at the back (no doubt due to WVTA specification) even though they are the same length and wider!
3. 84 (Great Charlotte Street - Penny Lane) - Stagecoach Optare Solo M850 47711 MX54 YZU
First time I'd been on one of these since they were converted to diesel - Seemed nice enough anyway, spotless interior!
4. 174 (Penny Lane - Belle Vale) HTL Buses ADL Enviro200 KX08 HME
Surprised to see this one out as it was one of those due to go back to Dawsonrentals so I was pleased to have a ride on this one again!
5. 193 (Belle Vale - Huyton) Cumfybus Optare Solo M850 MX53 FDF
First standard spec Merc engine diesel Solo of the day!
6. 139 (Huyton - Broadgreen Hospital) Cumfybus Optare Solo M950 MX04 VLU
Cummins engine Solo this time, first time I'd been on this particular bus - It still carries the name AMY over its doors!
7. 204 (Broadgreen Hospital - Wavertree) Eazibus ADL Enviro200 MX59 AVD
Maybe not the most interesting day out, it wasn't quite the plan to do so many Solos, but at least every one was different in some way!
Today, I ventured out to try GHA Coaches' new X36 service. The weather seemed nice this morning, however it wasn't nice by the afternoon! Here's what I rode on:
56 (ANW) - Netherton, Glovers Lane > Queen Square Bus Station
Marshall V626 DVU (7626)
I decided to leave Netherton on something other than the 52 for once today! I was really impressed with this bus; it seemed very quick and it sounded great! The only problem though was the annoying back-end window, which rattled and crashed all the way! There wasn't many other rattles though, so overall it wasn't a bad ride!
500 (ANW) - Queen Square Bus Station > Liverpool John Lennon Airport (Bus Station)
Citaro BX04 MYH (6010)
This was a fantastic ride! Plenty of kickdown from the driver (same one as the other day, in the same direction on 6032!). Rattles were to a minimum. Overall, a very enjoyable ride!
501 (ANW) - Liverpool John Lennon Airport (Bus Station) > Liverpool South Parkway Interchange (Bus Station)
Citaro BX04 NDG (6033)
I boarded this to kill some time! This was a fine ride, however my seat didn't seem to be very comfortable! It rattled a bit more than 6010 as-well, however it was generally a good bus!
501 (ANW) - Liverpool South Parkway Interchange (Bus Station) > Liverpool John Lennon Airport (Bus Station)
Citaro BX04 NDG (6033)
I quickly realised that I was killing a bit too much time by riding on the 501, so I had to board the same bus back to the airport! No further comments about it really - no different!
X36 (GHA Coaches) - Liverpool John Lennon Airport (Bus Station) > Halton Lea South Bus Station
Volvo/Centro CA07 GHA (SB15)
I liked this bus! It rattled a bit, however it seemed to be quick off the line! The driver seemed fast, however the bus seemed to be limited to a certain slow speed - the same speed every time, which ruined what would have been a great ride down the many fast roads it served! I'm afraid, because of that, it wasn't worth my £4.00 (return - very expensive!).
1 (ANW) - Halton Lea South Bus Station > Halton Lea South Bus Station, via Runcorn East Railway Station
Cadet X419 AJA (2419)
What an awful-sounding bus this was! The fan sounded dreadful and the engine didn't seem to sound very nice either! It was fast though! There was an odd unheard-of-before squeaking noise which came from by the cab too. I seen Marshall T617 PNC (7617) on the 1/2 as-well - rather that to be honest!
X36 (GHA Coaches) - Halton Lea South Bus Station > Liverpool John Lennon Airport (Bus Station)
Volvo/ALX200 T510 APS (SB46)
I liked this Southport-Renown-sounding machine! The dual-purpose seat I sat on was really comfortable! The driver was very kind too! Nice ride, however I'll think again in future when spending £4.00...!
500 (ANW) - Liverpool John Lennon Airport (Bus Station) > Queen Square Bus Station
Citaro BX04 MXL (6013)
What a dreadful bus this was! It was VERY slow off the line, followed by high revs - evidently not down to the driver! After gear one, there was this drilling-type sound from the underneath, which was just awful! The interior squeaked a lot too! I'll avoid this bus in the future - the first of its type that I have a problem with, which really is a shame!
14 (ANW) - Queen Square Bus Station > Broadway, Utting Avenue East
Pulsar 2 MX59 JJY (3030)
The speed that the driver came to the stand at drew me on-board! He was really fast! The bus sounded... perfect (after being on 6013 it did, anyway)! There weren't many, if any, rattles!
14 (ANW) - Broadway, Utting Avenue East > Queen Square Bus Station
Pulsar 2 MX61 AXA (3069)
Another perfect bus really! Rattles were to a minimum and the bus was quite quick off the line! The driver seemed to be quite fast too, despite being a bit early! Faultless ride in general!
52A (ANW) - Liverpool, Sir Thomas Street > Netherton, Glovers Lane
Pulsar CX58 FZJ (2927)
I only boarded this, the 52A, because the driver was my mate who I hadn't seen for years! He thought the bus was dreadful - he had his foot right down at one point and there was NO kickdown (no reaction from it at all)! It never kicked down at all! I never really paid any attention to the ride-quality though; I was too busy catching up with my mate!
My day isn't over just yet...!