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7537 was withdrawn in late March/early April upon MOT expiry, so about 2/3 weeks before 5309/14/18/20 were withdrawn

(04/06/2012 09:57)V671 DVU Wrote: [ -> ]7537 was withdrawn in late March/early April upon MOT expiry, so about 2/3 weeks before 5309/14/18/20 were withdrawn

Thanks!

GL still has plenty of older buses that need replacing,all those rancid Marshall's to

start with,14 new pulsars would be nice to make inroads on these

What is it people have against Marshalls really? Yes some of them rattle like theres no tomorrow, but so did Ultralows, and everyone bowed down to them, seemingly because it was an Ultralow, it was ok. Marshalls do a job like every other bus and Arriva aren't going to get rid of them just because they are unliked or rattly. If they have seats, are road worthy and have wheels and an engine, it can do a job and do a job it will.

i think some other things made people love the ultralows for me it was the look of it and the engine always sounded amazing (unless you was on 5318) plus most ultralows (in my opinion ) did not rattle as much as most rattles, the only marshal i have ever said *oh i would love to go on that again* would be 7632 and now thats gone and let me down by blowing its engine

@K853, For me, the Marshalls are just an unappealing bus (I should add that I wasn't a great fan of the Ultralows either). I find the design to be dated even for a 90s vehicle, the vast majority rattle horrendously, the build quality is poor often with poorly fitting body panels leaving the vehicle prone to the cold over the Winter and I find the interior dull and unnatractive. I prefer the Pointer II Darts in general although the R-ABAs would be an exception to this with their dark interiors.

Of course they're a box with 4 wheels that will do a job until they've been run into the ground but then so is every other bus to a large company like Arriva. I think it's also worth noting that these Marshalls were always the 'cheap' option being picked up for a heavily discounted cost at the end of MTLs operation. However, I should now add that my opinion of the Marshalls is from an enthusiasts point of view, not that of a large company trying to make money and therefore, the sooner the Marshalls go, the better.

the marshals tick a lot of boxes which the ultralows never. Fully low floor with ramps for wheelchair passengers low emissions plus all round reliable vehicle

I wouldn't call the Marshalls or Darts in general of that age low emissions as the engine (which is what counts, not the specific body) is to a Euro III standard whereas we're now on V with VI coming shortly. Also, they're not all that accessible for all wheelchairs or prams as for a lot of them, the aisle is too narrow. As for reliable, I'd beg to differ but then there's no reason they'd be more or less reliable than a standard Dart anyway as, again, that's down to the engine which is not Marshall specific.

Edit: I also recall the St Helens based Ultralows actually having an electric ramp for wheelchair passengers and their bay was also larger than that on the Marshalls. Although, to clarify, I was never a huge fan of them anyway.

none of the ultralows had ramps. they were just low floor like the helms of eastham b6. to fit a ramp would of been a big job as the floor would need to be ripped up plus all wiring fitted. Euro 3 is still decent enough, lets now forget its only london with the daft emmission things

Unless I'm very much mistaken, at least some of the St Helens based examples had an electric ramp fitted that slid out. As for the emissions, Euro III is probably the lowest standard now in common use (by that I mean that there aren't masses of vehicles operating with a Euro II engine) but lets also not forget that the current QBPs require certain emissions standards to be met, it's not just London at all!