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I went out today to hunt down the GL loan bus 7557. This is what I rode:

6 Huyton to Liverpool (2718) - This was nice. Held a good turn of speed and didn't rattle. It did have the fan on, which was annoying. Worthy of note was it's fanbelt squealed a fair few times, just like the old B10B's.

407 Liverpool to Birkenhead (4200) - OK. It vibrated in idle, but sounded nice compared to the other examples.

437 Birkenhead to Liverpool (4416) - Great! It was very fast, kicking down a lot. Only grudges are a really annoying seat towards the back which possessed the most annoying rattle in idle.

10B Liverpool to Sheil Road (2994) - Having just missed 7557 on Victoria Street, I decided to get whatever came first to attempt to beat it to Sheil Road. 2994 was OK, it was solid compared to other Pulsar's but had clearly had it's revs turned down/in safe mode.

26 Sheil Road to Liverpool (7557) - This came minutes after getting off 2994. What a let down it was! The engine sounded nice, and that's where the praise ends. It rattled violently, with the biggest headache coming from the rear axle. I'm not sure if this was the driver, but it also seemed incredibly sluggish.

437 Liverpool to Birkenhead (4038) - Pretty poor. It was sluggish, but wasn't rattly. Stank of burning as well.

407 Birkenhead to Liverpool (4141) - Fantastic! It was very fast, kicking down a lot. It didn't rattle at all, which was great!

13 Liverpool to West Derby Road (2964) - Awful! It rattled a lot, but seemed to be a fast bus off the line. Was let down by an incredibly slow driver though, an amazing 20MPH down West Derby Road...

18 West Derby Road to Liverpool (2954) - Fantastic! It absolutely flew, and the kickdown was fantastic! It was solid for a Pulsar, rattles were there but not too intrusive.

8 Liverpool to Huyton (2313) - Quite nice. It was a tad sluggish off the line, other than that I couldn't fault it really!

Today, I Also went to find 7557, As well as go to New brighton, To find the 15PR

V665 DVU 7665 9 East Prescot Rd - Liverpool, Queen Square
Horrible Bus! When ever we stopped, We had to rev a lot, Beofre we could set off again!, The rattles were horrible, And the gears would not cgange! Very Poor

MX59 FFV 3017 52 Liverpool, Queen Square - Liverpool Sir tohmas street
The very nice driver of this bus, Took me around the city centre, to his waiting stop, and then took a picture of me next to the cab!, The bus itself was quite rattely, But fast in places, Impressive!, Good

CX58 FZN 4401[b] 433 Liverpool, Sir thomas Street - New Brighton - Promonade
I Wanted a leather seated example! This bus is quite rattely, and had a miserable, But fast driver at the wheel!. Average

V411 ENC 2411 410 New brighton - Woodside
It was very slow, And very rattely, But it sounded strong, Good

Y458 KBU 2458 410 Woodside - Birkenhead Bus Station
It was quite good!, Not too many rattles, fast, and a good sounding engine, Smooth ride! Good

CX58 GAU 4414 437 Birkenhead Bus Station - Whitechapel
Great Bus, NO Rattles, It was fast, And smooth!, But all the lights went off in the middle of the tunnel! Good

R557 ABA 7557 27 Liverpool ONE - Kensington/Prescot Rd
What a dissapointment! It was Very, Very slow!, and extremly rattles, But as V671 DVU Says, It had a good sounding engine! Poor

CX58 EWC 2960 Kensington/Prescot rd - Old Swan
A Good bus, Not Too many rattles, a good thrashy driver!, And a good sounding, Smooth ride! Good

After Getting lost in Old swan I Ended up getting a Un ID enviro back towards old swan then walking to green land depot then....

V631 DVU 7631 8 Prescot Rd/Green Lane - Huyton Bus Station
This bus seems to have improved since last time, A Few rattles, but a brilliant engine, and a quick driver! Good

Y721 KNF 2721 7 Huyton Bus Station - East Precot Rd - Page Moss
This was excellent!, A Good Rattel free, OK inerior, With a good fast driver! Good

2721, tidy interior, are you taking the mick? Half of the seats have exterior aquamarine paint slapped on them with many reading '*name* woz ere 2k10' or other pointless graffiti.

Well, Apart from that, Tidy interior :P, I did notice the seat backs though

(23/06/2012 14:49)V671 DVU Wrote: [ -> ]10B Liverpool to Sheil Road (2994) - Having just missed 7557 on Victoria Street, I decided to get whatever came first to attempt to beat it to Sheil Road. 2994 was OK, it was solid compared to other Pulsar's but had clearly had it's revs turned down/in safe mode.

When I was on it the other day, it seemed sluggish, but revved pretty high. So I'd be inclined to suggest it was your driver as it definitely didn't seem like it was in safe mode when I had it

Cheers, it seemed odd as it was sluggish/low revving off the line, but once it got going it was like a normal Pulsar!

I liked it tbh, I have been on very few Pulsars of late that can actually rev reasonably high. The only other ones being 2935 and one of the ex Malta Pulsars on the 18.

Definitely the driver I had, didn't exactly put his foot down. And, with it being sods law, as I was in a rush we were stopping at every single set of lights... 3060/1 are the two good ex Malta ones, the former flies but doesn't kickdown and the latter has great kickdown in the right hands.

Harrow yesterday, so apart from Virgin Trains to/from London:

London Midland from Euston to Harrow & Wealdstone - class 350/1

H9 to North Harrow - London Sovereign DPS629
183 to Harrow Bus Station - London Sovereign SP83
258 to South Harrow - Arriva the Shires 6027
Piccadilly Line to Alperton - 1973 stock
224 to Harlesden - First London DML44220
206 to Wembley Park - First London DMV44312
Jubilee Line to Stanmore - 1996 stock
324 to Honeypot Lane - London Sovereign SDE21
79 to Edgware - Metroline VW1206
288 to Queensbury - Arriva the Shires 6013
114 to Burnt Oak - London Sovereign VLE30
292 to Edgware - London Sovereign VLP25
186 to Harrow & Wealdstone - Metroline TE718
182 to Wembley Central - Metroline VP341
223 to Harrow Bus Station - First London DM44203
H11 to Northwood - London Sovereign DE85

Metropolitan Line to Balker Street - S class
Bakerloo Line to Oxford Circus - 1972 Mk II stock
Victoria Line to Euston - 2009 stock

(23/06/2012 02:15)27701 Wrote: [ -> ]Today, I'm going out with my friend. Where we're planning on going, however, remains a mystery - we usually agree on a place when we meet up. (If we go by one of his usual plans, it'll either be to Runcorn on the X1 or to Southport...! I don't really like going to the same places over and over again, however I think that he finds my plans boring! )

Yesterday, I went out with my friend. We met up later than expected (my friend was late - typical!). The day was great - one of the best that I've had in a long time! My blog (the link is on my signature) provides a review of my day, however I'll review the buses properly below...

57C (Cumfybus) - Netherton, Glovers Lane > Bootle Bus Station (Vermont Way)
Optare Solo M780SL MX05 OSW
I missed riding on this bus yesterday due to the horrible weather; I couldn't resist riding on it for a second time! The bus was great! It sounded quite nice and was quite fast; the interior was also well-presented and tidy. The nice, fast driver wasn't nasty when I knocked my money off the tray and into the cab when paying my fare and he seemed to have good communication skills with his passengers.

300 (ANW) - Bootle Strand Shopping Centre (Stanley Road) > Queen Square Bus Station
Renown Y727 KNF (2727)
I was happy when this turned up with a familiar (decent!) driver at the wheel! The ride was fantastic (kickdown reminded me of the old days riding on Dennis Lances)! The driver flew down Scotland Road in Liverpool in the third lane (only to be held up by somebody else...)! The only issue was when the bus was turning or going fast, there was a strange vibrating feeling...

(Met up with my friend...)

18 (ANW) - Queen Square Bus Station > Queen Square Bus Station, via Croxteth
Pulsar 2 MX09 JHH (2954)
We were both intrigued onto this bus when we seen the familiar (decent!) woman driver at the wheel! She drove fantastically out of Liverpool, however in West Derby, she seemed to get in the way of another driver (which led to an angry confrontation!). As usual, she must have gone about 45-MPH up and down Muirhead Avenue and she must have been doing the same through Croxteth! She slowed down a bit towards Liverpool - probably because the bus was getting a bit busy. Still, a fantastic ride!

Merseyrail Replacement Service (Abellio/Selwyns) - Liverpool, Lime Street > Moorfields Merseyrail Station
Trident/ALX400 YN51 KVC (9746)
Slow driver. Short ride. Not a nice bus, really.

508131 (Merseyrail) - Moorfields > Brunswick
After we missed our train towards Southport, we decided not to wait around and catch the next one in Brunswick to kill time! This train was a bit tatty inside.

507026 (Merseyrail) - Brunswick > Moorfields
I missed the train-number of our previous train, so we decided to meet it at Brunswick again so I could get the number of it!

508136 (Merseyrail) - Moorfields > Brunswick
This train wasn't too bad.

508131 (Merseyrail) - Brunswick > Hall Road
Back on the tatty train...

206 (PeoplesBus) - Crosby, The Serpentine N(?!) > Crosby, Islington
MPD W869 YNB (0704)
This bus was great! The interior, refreshed to the company's new standard specification, was really well-presented and tidy. The driver was cautious around the narrow roads of Crosby and he was OK in the communication department. A good ride!

62 (ANW) - Crosby, Islington > Bootle Strand Shopping Centre (Stanley Road)
Pulsar 2 MX09 LYH (2946)
I was happy to see this bus, however the driver was a familiar slow one - who decided to leave the bus and turn back up about five minutes late! He was fast today (no kickdown, though), which was nice! The back of the bus was a mess... I've always liked this bus, though!

58 (ANW) - Bootle Strand Shopping Centre (Stanley Road) > Queen Square Bus Station
Pulsar CX58 FZL (2929)
This bus has evaded me for a while, however I finally got it today! Its tidy, interesting interior featured lots of advertisements! The driver wasn't too bad in the speed department. The bus seemed to be nice - the gearbox was fantastic!

500 (ANW) - Queen Square Bus Station > Liverpool John Lennon Airport (Bus Station)
Volvo/ALX400 CX06 EAY (4120)
This was an excellent sight, after we'd just missed a bendi-bus! The ride was fantastic, however rattles upstairs were annoying (I tried to fix them, however that solution never lasted very long...).

89 (ANW) - Liverpool John Lennon Airport (Bus Station) > Speke, Hale Road
Renown Y714 KNF (2714)
Excellent, short ride! I need to ride on more of these! (We were going to that road to watch the aeroplanes come into the airport - we seen ONE, and it wasn't a big one. The adrenaline as it goes above you is amazing!)

89 (ANW) - Speke, Hale Road > Liverpool John Lennon Airport (Bus Station)
Renown X708 DBT (2708)
Another excellent (and fast!) ride, however rattlier than 2714. Again, I want to ride on more of these excellent buses!

86A (ANW) - Liverpool John Lennon Airport (Bus Station) > Liverpool South Parkway Interchange (Bus Station)
Volvo/ALX400 CX06 EAM (4116)
This wasn't as good as 4120 earlier in the day. The engine sounded awful. It was fast, though.

158847 (East Midland Trains) - Liverpool South Parkway > Liverpool Lime Street
A nice train.

58 (ANW) - Liverpool, Sir Thomas Street > Netherton, Chapel Lane
Pulsar 2 MX59 JJU (3028)
This bus has been in this "slow mode" for months now! The driver was quite slow, however he was alright!

130 (Cumfybus) - Netherton, Northern Perimeter Road > Netherton, Glovers Lane
Hybrid Solo YJ12 GXE
This was a surprising sight! The driver was very fast and the bus sounded amazing! If local Netherton kids weren't on-board, it would have been a better ride.