The Ex MTL Marshall Darts 7601-7676

[MPTE1955]

RE: The Ex MTL Marshall Darts 7601-7676
Indeed 32923 was.

[mathias]

RE: The Ex MTL Marshall Darts 7601-7676

(16/10/2014 20:42)Dentonian Wrote:  Do we know which ones are still owned by ANW&W OR still on ANW&W land? Apart from 7660, I have the following as still awaiting disposal/collection:

7619/26/30/3/6/7/47/53/4/5/7/8/61/2/4/5/7/8/70/1/2/4/5/6

ta

Bootle's 7674 (V674 DVU) finally left the depot this week after many weeks in storage, possibly for scrap??

[MPTE1955]

RE: The Ex MTL Marshall Darts 7601-7676
That was rumoured to be going to Yorkshire Tiger when it was withdrawn from service, however it probably is going to Yorkshire but probably scrap.

[mathias]

RE: The Ex MTL Marshall Darts 7601-7676

(17/10/2014 15:19)MPTE1955 Wrote:  That was rumoured to be going to Yorkshire Tiger when it was withdrawn from service, however it probably is going to Yorkshire but probably scrap.

Aye, most likely a one-way ticket to Barnsley!

In its place is Green Lane's Interurban 2204 (X204 ANC) DartSLF/Pointer2.
No idea what its doing dumped at Bootle, but it's had its front panel removed and its got a yellow 'NFS' sticker on the windscreen.

[mathias]

RE: The Ex MTL Marshall Darts 7601-7676
Looks like at least 90% of the Marshall Darts are ending up as scrap at PVS, rather than being sold on.

I know they rattle a lot, but are they REALLY that bad??
Seems a bit unfair to me.
Latest arrivals are both ex-St Helens vehicles, 7647 (V647 DVU) and 7665 (V665 DVU).....
https://www.flickr.com/photos/61188429@N06/15595684911/
(Photo Credit; STAN-BUTLER)

[CX06 EBK (Administrator)]

RE: The Ex MTL Marshall Darts 7601-7676
Buses of this age are flooded on the second hand market now, there are plenty of newer Dart SLFs on the market too which can't help matters. I wouldn't be surprised if the next lot of Darts compromising of the X-ANCs and such follow the same way.

[MPTE1955]

RE: The Ex MTL Marshall Darts 7601-7676
The X-anc's/hja's/obn's will almost certainly go the same way, most of them are pretty knackered and there will be better vehicles on the market. The Marshall, well we have Been having shake,rattle n roll on them since they were quite new, so most of them were fit for nothing but scrap.

[Phil]

RE: The Ex MTL Marshall Darts 7601-7676
Let's not forget that a good number of the Marshall's have seen use on routes completely unfit for purpose ever since they entered service with MTL fifteen years ago and when you consider that they rattled when new, they've stood the test of time really well. Some have even continued service with Yorkshire Tiger.

[MPTE1955]

RE: The Ex MTL Marshall Darts 7601-7676
I'm not sure that I agree that they have stood the test of time as some were withdrawn a bit earlier than what you might expect, some of the ones stagecoach acquired were scrapped quite a while ago. However, I do agree that they were used on routes that darts were not really designed for

[H101GEV (Administrator)]

RE: The Ex MTL Marshall Darts 7601-7676
In terms of ride quality they varied quite wildly. Some of the ones Southport had for most of their life (e.g. 7651/54/55) were impressive till the end considering their age, but some of the ones they received when Skem closed were sheds.

7665 was utterly terrible when Green Lane had it. That's one I'll never forget for its crashy ride and rancid smell of diesel internally. A world away from the likes of 7654.