Bus-Related Outings & Reviews

[V671 DVU]

RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews
Cheers for that CX54, makes sense now!

[R311 WVR]

RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews
I was planning a route to do, And i did it, Until i got to crewe and bumed into A Friend and we stayed in crewe All day!

First though i had to go the doctors.
ANW 29 Grange Est-Winsford Town
2619 CX56 CFA Plaxton Centro/VDL SB120CS
A Pretty average ride to be honest!, Not too rattely, And quite fast!

I got a lift back home, Gatherd my stuff (Camera, Pens, Notebook, Phone ETC) and went to wait for the next 29

ANW 29 Grange Estate - Winsford Town
3329 R329 WVR Northern Counties Palatine II/Volvo Olympian
on a rare duty!, Very rattely and a rough sounding engine!, Not the best of the batch!

ANW 37 Winsford Town - Sandbach Common
2612 CX56 CEJ Plaxton Centro/VDL SB120CS
My fave centro!, A Great sounding engine, and a rattle free body!

ANW 38 Sandbach Common - Crewe Rail Station
4491 MX61 AUR Wright Gemini 2/VDL DB300
Not my fave here!, But it had a almost rattle free body, And it was quick!

ANW 6 Gresty Road, Rail House - Crewe Bus Station
2615 CX56 CEO Plaxton Centro/VDL SB120
After hearing that this was on it!, I couldnt resist!, It was very rough and rattely, and a dissopointing ride!

ANW 38 Crewe Bus Station - Crewe Rail Station
4489 MX61 AUN Wright Gemini 2/VDL SB300
Rattle free and fast!, Not much else to say about it, Apart from it was very scruffy!

*MET UP WITH FRIEND*



After walking back to the Bus Station (Via Tesco!) we stayed untill out buses home.
He took 2503 CX54 DLK on the 84
I took

ANW 31 Crewe Bus Station - Winsford Town
4156 S286 JUA ALX400/DAF DB250RS
Very rattely but a pleasent quick woman driver!

ANW 29 Winsford Town - Grange Est
3330 R330 WVR Northern Counties Palatine II/ Volvo Olympian
Not very rattely, and a Genrall All-round good bus!

[M113 YKC]

RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews
Tomorrow, I have a few depot-visits planned - including HTL Buses' depot in Huyton.

[K853 MTJ]

RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews
I had an excellent day out with a mate, heres all the reviews!

Arriva 2537 DK55 FYA
Service 79C from Hough Green to Runcorn, Halton Hospital
Average, moved well but was rather slow off the mark. No idle vibrations or excessive rattling though so all was good. Had an interesting ride listening to the odd word said between the driver and another Runcorn driver who was on the bus! They both said how this particular example had a tendency to lose its water rather easily for some reason, which meant we had a nice detour to the depot while the bus was refilled with water.

Arriva 2937 MX09 EKT
Service 1 from Palacefields to Halton Lea
I went on one of my usual wanders around the area and ended up in Palacefields. I didnt like it and decided to make a swift escape. It was a short ride so I can't say all that much about it really!

Arriva 2938 MX09 EKU
Service X30 from Halton Lea to Chester Bus Exchange
A boring boring ride. No kickdown and was rather slow (Hence it was running at least 5 mins late throughout). Only good thing was that it didn't rattle, however there was a massively annoying idle vibration coming from the panel behind the back row of seats that covers the destinations and number plate.

Met up with friend

Arriva 7533 P533 MBU
Service 10 from Chester Bus Exchange to Connahs Quay
I was made up when I seen this enter the Bus Station just after I arrived. The bus performed absolutely flawlessly, not rattling all that much, only rattling when hitting violent potholes in the road. Idle vibrations were there but nothing untolerable. The bus sounded absolutely fantastic, the driver for the first part of the trip floored it down the country road making for the best thrash I have had in a long time. Either he held the gears or it has a great gearbox, either way, it couldn't half shift and he was afraid to give it full welly. Wouldn't think this is 15 years old this year, wouldn't be a bad one for preservation, being the 3rd low floor Dart to operate with MTL and all that!

Arriva 2354 V584 DJC
Service 10 from Connahs Quay to Shotton.
Not to my taste at all unfortunatly. Tidy interior with very few rattles, however the engine sounded terrible, with the fan on throughout the journey, the engine sounded pretty poorly, not to mention the driver was being somewhat frugal with the accelleration, the sooner I got off this the better!

Arriva 2356 V586 DJC
Service 10 from Shotton to Chester Bus Exchange
Massive improvement compared to 2354. The refurbished interior and exterior looked the part and was lovely bright and airy with very little wear. The only rattle to be heard was the occasional one from the cab door. The engine, unlike the previously example, was spot on, sounded fantastic and provided ample power when required. Favourite part was going down the same country road we came on, full throttle all the way. Great engine, great driver, great bus!

First 69314 YJ09 FWK
Service 1A from Chester Bus Exchange to Melbourne Road, Blacon
Having never been on a B7RLE, I was looking forward to this ride. It didnt disappoint! The engine sounded top notch, with the lovely whine from the ZF adding an extra quality in there. The seats were extremely comfortable (Im a big fan of the leather used in seats like this), the only complaint being vandalism towards the back on the seat backs. Overall however I enjoyed the ride, if only Arriva got these instead of Pulsars!

First 69311 YJ09 FWF
Service 1 from Melbourne Road, Blacon to Chester Bus Exchange
Worse than the previous example. Although a little less rattly, 3 seats at the rear weren't dual purpose, making it look a little odd. Comfortable like FWL, but didn't sound as healthy at all, with some worrying grinding noises at times.

Arriva 3008 MX59 AAY
Service 401 from Chester Bus Exchange to Ellsemere Port Bus Station
Boring! Slow, but tidy interior and comfortable ride, nothing more to say!

Arriva 3000 MX59 AAE
Service 401 from Chester Bus Exchange to New Ferry
Far better than the previous example! Rather fast and sounded fantastic, with no rattles to be heard. Excellent ride, best Pulsar of the day thus far!

Arriva 4001 Y47 ABA
Service 464 from New Ferry to Birkenhead
Cracking bus! Sounded brilliant and revved quite high very often. In need of a gear selector in parts to aid it climbing hills, however without it, it just revved very high, so Im not complaining! No rattles to be heard, a very fast driver, however slipping gears seeming to be a regular occurance throughout the ride.

Arriva 4411 CX58 FZZ
Service 437 from Birkenhead Bus Station to Liverpool, Whitechapel
Fantastic! Engine was first class with no rattles to be heard. Not in safe mode either so it was very fast indeed!

Arruva 4411 CX58 FZZ
Service 432 from Liverpool Sir Thomas Street to Liscard
The beauty of inter-working services -_- Same as last time!

Arriva 2461 Y461 KNF
Service 410 from Liscard to Woodside
We decided not to get 4411 for a third time (No really, we were going to go to Liverpool and this was the first thing that turned up on the 433! Needless to say the driver chuckled when he seen us yet again).
This was a brilliant ride. These buses have a tendency to rattle non-stop and violently, however there was no such rattles on here. The engine sounded exceptionally well and allowed the bus to move rather swiftly on the way to Woodside! The best Myllennium I have ever been on!

Arriva 2458 Y458 KBU
Service 410 from Woodside to Birkenhead Bus Station
Another brilliant bus! No rattles, however idle vibrations were there! It was another very fast bus, and the gearbox made fantastic whines adding to the healthy sound of the bus.

Arriva 4414 CX58 GAU
Service 437 from Birkenhead Bus Station to Liverpool, Whitechapel
An average bus, sounded well, the odd rattle but not too bad overall!

Arriva 7618 T618 PNC
Service 13E from Queen Square Bus Station to Green Lane
Not nearly as bad previously made out! Not very rattly at all as Marshalls go, and a decent engine that powered us along very nicely. I've heard better sounding engines, but I couldn't complain, not a bus I'd begrudge another ride. The colour of those grab poles though is revolting I have to say, the bus itself could do with P&P with its fabric being rather worn.

Arriva 3060 MX10 DCY
Service 15 from Green Lane to Queen Square Bus Station
Excellent! No rattles at all and a healthy sounding engine! However its obvious it hadn't had a proper clean out since its time in Malta. We found stashed in the bus numerous Malta bus tickets and a Maltese coin!

Left friend
Arriva 2538 DK55 FYB
Service 79C from Queen Square Bus Station to Hough Green
Last bus of the day! Pretty good really, sounding healthier than it did last week, a fairly solid ride all round!

All of the above for £3.10, not bad at all don't you think! :P

[M113 YKC]

RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews

(07/06/2012 22:53)K853 MTJ Wrote:  I had an excellent day out with a mate, heres all the reviews!

Arriva 2537 DK55 FYA
Service 79C from Hough Green to Runcorn, Halton Hospital
Average, moved well but was rather slow off the mark. No idle vibrations or excessive rattling though so all was good. Had an interesting ride listening to the odd word said between the driver and another Runcorn driver who was on the bus! They both said how this particular example had a tendency to lose its water rather easily for some reason, which meant we had a nice detour to the depot while the bus was refilled with water.

Arriva 2937 MX09 EKT
Service 1 from Palacefields to Halton Lea
I went on one of my usual wanders around the area and ended up in Palacefields. I didnt like it and decided to make a swift escape. It was a short ride so I can't say all that much about it really!

Arriva 2938 MX09 EKU
Service X30 from Halton Lea to Chester Bus Exchange
A boring boring ride. No kickdown and was rather slow (Hence it was running at least 5 mins late throughout). Only good thing was that it didn't rattle, however there was a massively annoying idle vibration coming from the panel behind the back row of seats that covers the destinations and number plate.

Met up with friend

Arriva 7533 P533 MBU
Service 10 from Chester Bus Exchange to Connahs Quay
I was made up when I seen this enter the Bus Station just after I arrived. The bus performed absolutely flawlessly, not rattling all that much, only rattling when hitting violent potholes in the road. Idle vibrations were there but nothing untolerable. The bus sounded absolutely fantastic, the driver for the first part of the trip floored it down the country road making for the best thrash I have had in a long time. Either he held the gears or it has a great gearbox, either way, it couldn't half shift and he was afraid to give it full welly. Wouldn't think this is 15 years old this year, wouldn't be a bad one for preservation, being the 3rd low floor Dart to operate with MTL and all that!

Arriva 2354 V584 DJC
Service 10 from Connahs Quay to Shotton.
Not to my taste at all unfortunatly. Tidy interior with very few rattles, however the engine sounded terrible, with the fan on throughout the journey, the engine sounded pretty poorly, not to mention the driver was being somewhat frugal with the accelleration, the sooner I got off this the better!

Arriva 2356 V586 DJC
Service 10 from Shotton to Chester Bus Exchange
Massive improvement compared to 2354. The refurbished interior and exterior looked the part and was lovely bright and airy with very little wear. The only rattle to be heard was the occasional one from the cab door. The engine, unlike the previously example, was spot on, sounded fantastic and provided ample power when required. Favourite part was going down the same country road we came on, full throttle all the way. Great engine, great driver, great bus!

First 69314 YJ09 FWK
Service 1A from Chester Bus Exchange to Melbourne Road, Blacon
Having never been on a B7RLE, I was looking forward to this ride. It didnt disappoint! The engine sounded top notch, with the lovely whine from the ZF adding an extra quality in there. The seats were extremely comfortable (Im a big fan of the leather used in seats like this), the only complaint being vandalism towards the back on the seat backs. Overall however I enjoyed the ride, if only Arriva got these instead of Pulsars!

First 69311 YJ09 FWF
Service 1 from Melbourne Road, Blacon to Chester Bus Exchange
Worse than the previous example. Although a little less rattly, 3 seats at the rear weren't dual purpose, making it look a little odd. Comfortable like FWL, but didn't sound as healthy at all, with some worrying grinding noises at times.

Arriva 3008 MX59 AAY
Service 401 from Chester Bus Exchange to Ellsemere Port Bus Station
Boring! Slow, but tidy interior and comfortable ride, nothing more to say!

Arriva 3000 MX59 AAE
Service 401 from Chester Bus Exchange to New Ferry
Far better than the previous example! Rather fast and sounded fantastic, with no rattles to be heard. Excellent ride, best Pulsar of the day thus far!

Arriva 4001 Y47 ABA
Service 464 from New Ferry to Birkenhead
Cracking bus! Sounded brilliant and revved quite high very often. In need of a gear selector in parts to aid it climbing hills, however without it, it just revved very high, so Im not complaining! No rattles to be heard, a very fast driver, however slipping gears seeming to be a regular occurance throughout the ride.

Arriva 4411 CX58 FZZ
Service 437 from Birkenhead Bus Station to Liverpool, Whitechapel
Fantastic! Engine was first class with no rattles to be heard. Not in safe mode either so it was very fast indeed!

Arruva 4411 CX58 FZZ
Service 432 from Liverpool Sir Thomas Street to Liscard
The beauty of inter-working services -_- Same as last time!

Arriva 2461 Y461 KNF
Service 410 from Liscard to Woodside
We decided not to get 4411 for a third time (No really, we were going to go to Liverpool and this was the first thing that turned up on the 433! Needless to say the driver chuckled when he seen us yet again).
This was a brilliant ride. These buses have a tendency to rattle non-stop and violently, however there was no such rattles on here. The engine sounded exceptionally well and allowed the bus to move rather swiftly on the way to Woodside! The best Myllennium I have ever been on!

Arriva 2458 Y458 KBU
Service 410 from Woodside to Birkenhead Bus Station
Another brilliant bus! No rattles, however idle vibrations were there! It was another very fast bus, and the gearbox made fantastic whines adding to the healthy sound of the bus.

Arriva 4414 CX58 GAU
Service 437 from Birkenhead Bus Station to Liverpool, Whitechapel
An average bus, sounded well, the odd rattle but not too bad overall!

Arriva 7618 T618 PNC
Service 13E from Queen Square Bus Station to Green Lane
Not nearly as bad previously made out! Not very rattly at all as Marshalls go, and a decent engine that powered us along very nicely. I've heard better sounding engines, but I couldn't complain, not a bus I'd begrudge another ride. The colour of those grab poles though is revolting I have to say, the bus itself could do with P&P with its fabric being rather worn.

Arriva 3060 MX10 DCY
Service 15 from Green Lane to Queen Square Bus Station
Excellent! No rattles at all and a healthy sounding engine! However its obvious it hadn't had a proper clean out since its time in Malta. We found stashed in the bus numerous Malta bus tickets and a Maltese coin!

Left friend
Arriva 2538 DK55 FYB
Service 79C from Queen Square Bus Station to Hough Green
Last bus of the day! Pretty good really, sounding healthier than it did last week, a fairly solid ride all round!

All of the above for £3.10, not bad at all don't you think! :P

Very interesting read - it looks like you got the most out of your £3.10 there!

Regarding 7618, I rode on that a while ago and it had a slow driver at the wheel and we were only on it for a short period of time anyway - the uncomfortable back seats were what deterred us off though. Horrific! Generally, most buses' quality, Green Lane's Marshalls in-particular, are overexaggerated A LOT! I rode on "the worst" a while ago and I can safely say that I've been on far worse...!

[T42 PVM (Moderator)]

RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews
today i think i will start up in bolton and see what comes my way on the 715/575

[R311 WVR]

RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews
Today, I just stayed around the local area, After My Train to crewe was cancelled. I went home and went out at about 11.30! Heres what I Had!

ANW 29 Grange Estate - Winsford, High Street, Dingle Lane
CX56 CEY 2618 VDL SB120CS/Plaxton Centro
A Almost rattle-free body but its engine was sounding very rough and loud and very unhealthy! Poor.

ANW 37 Winsford, High Street, Dingle Lane - Cledford, Coriniation Road
R331 WVR 3331 Volvo Olympian/ NC Palatine II
Seems to be fixed now! Not to many rattles and a nice sounding, Loud engine, Beast this bus was! Average.

ANW 37 Cledford, Corination Road - Northwich, Watling Street (Stand H)
R330 WVR 3330 Volvo Olympian/ NC Palatine II
This time i sat upstairs. Completly different to yesterdays 'Good' Ride on it! Very Rattely and loud!, and it was in a very scruffy condition! The engine sounded good though! Average.

ANW 1 Northwich, Watling Street - Weaverham - Northwich Watling Street
R238 AEY 3348!! Volvo Olympian/NC Palatine I Wow!, So good, So rare! I Couldnt resist a ride on this Very rare Allocation! The bus had its usual Whine, and hardley any rattles or squeks! Very good.

ANW 2 Northwich, Watling Street - Rudheath - Northwich, Watling Street
Y38 TDA 878 Dennis Dart MPD/Plaxton Pointer II
To start off with, There was a friendly, Well Known driver, Who Joked and talked to passengers all the way round the circualar! The bus had very bad, Eardrum Busting breaks!, It was fast, A Few rattles here and there, Quick But kept Slipping Gears!. Good.

ANW 31 Northwich, Watling Street - Winsford, High Street, Library
S286 JUA 4156 DAF DB250RS/ALX 400
A good, Smooth, Fast ride with plenty of horrible rattles...Average.

ANW 37 Winsford, High Street, Guildhall - Road 1 Roundabout
R334 WVR 3334 Volvo Olympian/NC Palatine II
The best of the batch, IMO. A Bit ratttleyhere and there and a really beastly sounding engine! We swapped drivers half way, The first one, A Newbie was very slow but the Next one, A Driver Friend of mine was quick especially down Bostock Road! Good.

ANW 29 Road 1 Roundabout - Grange Estate
CX56 CEJ 2612 VDL SB120CS/Plaxton Centro
My favorite bus in the fleet!, A Tiny squeeke coming from the back seats, But apart from that, Its a really great bus, Quick and Nice-sounding! Very Good

[V671 DVU]

RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews
I headed out on the usual Liverpool and Birkenhead trip despite the weather, this is what I rode:

6 Huyton to Liverpool (7664) - Pretty average. It was very fast, but rattled a lot. The main culprits being a seat towards the back, and the usual cab rattles.

10B Liverpool to Prescot Road (2574) - The worst of the Commander's. It was very rattly for a Commander, with some loud rattles coming from the cab area. It was fast though. The weird thing is, this is the worst GL Commander and it's far from a bad bus!

13 West Derby Road to Liverpool (2577) - Quite nice. Held a good turn of speed, and was solid bodywise.

487 Liverpool to Birkenhead (2426) - Awful! It was solid, and sounded nice but was really sluggish. It nearly came to a standstill going up the hill in the tunnel!

72 Birkenhead to Liverpool (First 61139) - This was a nice bus. It's engine sounded nice, and it was solid. But was let down by ANOTHER slow driver!

13 London Road to West Derby Road (7671) - Awful! It rattled and banged constantly, and gave me a headache with it's stupidly loud engine. I'd happily wave that heap off to PVS.

15 West Derby Road to Liverpool (3073) - Fantastic! The driver was very fast, she pretty much floored it down West Derby Road. It barely rattled as well.

7 Liverpool to Huyton (2310) - Awful! That bus is shockingly sluggish, nearly stopping up Brownlow Hill and crawling at 10MPH up there! It also vibrated in idle. The only good thing about that bus is it's solid as a rock, barely rattling even on the rougher parts of the route.

Hope you enjoyed

[St Helens Rider]

RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews
I went out to Cheshire Oaks and Ellesmere Port. I didn't make any notes of the vehicles used but the day went like this:

10A Stagecoach - Borough Road - Prescot - think it was a 24xxx
89 Arriva - Prescot - Liverpool JLA 27xx
X36 GHA - Liverpool JLA - Cheshire Oaks - A Plaxton Centro - good turn of speed on the fast roads and no rattles.
1 First - Cheshire Oaks - Ellesmere Port - 60xxx Scania Floline
X36 GHA - Ellesmere Port - Liverpool JLA - ALX 300 - not a comfortable as the Centro but still just as well presented and again very decent turn of spped on the Motorways/A Roads.
89 Arriva - Liverpool JLA - Prescot Road - 2730 (remembered this fleet number)

The idea of the day was to sample GHA on the X36 and have to say they didn't disappoint. Luckily I have a concessionary pass but as 27701 mentioned the other day - the fares are steep. Whilst getting on at Ellesmere Port, a lady asked for Runcorn and was charged £3.30.

[SK15 GZG (Moderator)]

RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews
Today I had a brief day out with a good friend of mine:

472 - 4002 Y48 ABA
This was fantastic and we both really enjoyed the ride to Heswall. I still think 4000 is the best of the three Presidents however this is still very good. They're easily my favourite bus type in use at Birkenhead depot

472 - 4203 LJ51 DJK
My friend and I decided to wait for the next 472 back to Liverpool in anticipation of a DLA being on the next service - instead 4203 turned up. This wasn't too bad overall and the ride back to Liverpool was good

Left friend after a break

21 - 24168 PO59 MXB
This was enjoyable however a bit slow. It was quieter than I expected for an early evening 20/21 service and the driver was polite and friendly

HTIOI