• Although today is my final day at University until late January, I will probably still make one update on the guestbook before Christmas, and several proper updates throughout January.  Hope you like the Christmas message on the main page - I never did get those graphics working, so text will have to do!!!  I will start to put the older news items  into an Archive News section, so as to speed up loading times for this page.  News is that Arriva will be running NO services on either Christmas or New Years Day, they will be running a Sunday service finishing at 20:30 on Christmas and New Years Eve, and a revised Saturday service between the 26th and 30th - Normal service resumes on the 2nd January 2001.  Please keep your eyes open for any odd workings over the holiday (which there certainly will be), and check to see who is operating what on Christmas day.  Only hospital links or VERY important services run on Christmas day, though last year neither of the 202 or 204 ran on Christmas day, though I did see an ELC Spryte Dart on the 10, traveling past Whiston Hospital, which was the terminus, but who was operating it I'll never know, but I didn't recognise the livery.  Please e-mail you observations to me at this address - buses7675@altavista.com

• A big thanks to all who have visited the web site over the past few months - your support has been invaluable. Thanks for keeping the fleetlists up to date or even supplying all of the info for an operator, for sending in photographs or even just leaving your thoughts on the guestbook (reading the guestbook is one of the best bits of the site, reading which Darts you like best, 7817 and James Rowland come to mind and hearing you complaints about Marshall Capital bodywork!!!) - I shall try to personally send you all an e-mail of thanks for your help,as I believe some of you are now not only helping to build the site, but you have become my friends! - Considering I set up this site just as a go at using HTML for my I.T. work in university, it just goes to show what mentioning the web address on the Unofficial Arriva Merseyside Web Page's guestbook was worth!!!

• As I noted yesterday in the guestbook, I saw Arriva Southport 7653 on the 284 on Saturday - As I was able to take a photograph of this, I will add it to the site early in the new year.  Christmas Graphics are still on there way, Wednesday probably, but as University finishes on Friday until early January I will not be able to update the site for around two weeks over Christmas / New Year - during this time please continue to e-mail me, and use the guestbook & chat room. - When I do come back though, I will have Warrington Borough Transport info & Express Travel info - Thanks to all who have helped in the recent fleetlist update - details on the fleetlist page!!!

• Apart from correcting many grammatical errors in Fridays news, I have not altered the site too much over the weekend, as I have been ill, I have been unable to purchase the current Buses Focus, nor was I able to see the battery Dart.  Does anyone know if it ran this Sunday?   I will try to get Buses Focus today, and sort the notes out by the end of the week - Christmas Graphics are coming tomorrow!!! - I see that most of you dislike Marshall Darts, though the survey would suggest otherwise,  as I dislike them myself, I think someone has voted more than once for Marshall over the weekend!!!

• I have now altered the bodywork types on Arriva 2261 & 2262 - In response to what somebody asked on Simons guestbook, this morning, I noticed the driver of CMT 2018, which was in service on the 79B, was wearing a Fareway jumper!!!!  I have now added a photo of 7540, to the photograph page courtesy of Dave Root (Sorry about the delay Dave!) - I am pleased to see that over 50 visits have been made to the site since I added the counter - Thanks!!!- I am pleased that not too many people like Marshall Capital bodywork, as living on the route 79, around half on the buses on it are Marshall Dart,then there is also Halton's on the 14 & 61 - They, in my view are very poorly built, as even the newest rattle non-stop, and I think Halton 20 has a problem, as it seems to clunk when going around bends.  It appears that the current issue of Buses Focus has a large section on the history of the Dart, so I intend to buy this at the weekend, and let you know of any interesting points - As a result, the Warrington fleetlist & the Mersey Dart Facts pages are now going to be delayed until next year - I will try to make the site more Christmassy over the next week!!!

• Sorry about not updating the site to regularly this week, but this is due to me having a lot of work on at university, on the run up to Christmas. Anyway, I hope you like the quizlet & counter - The counter started at 50, as this is around the number of times I estimated the site has been visited.  Hopefully the chat room is working, or will be working shortly- The link is at the bottom of the main page.  I was very intrigued to hear about the 10.1M Wright Crusader (A body which you all appear to like!!), battery powered Dart.  I will try to get a photo of this on the E1 at the Albert Dock this weekend and get it on-line as soon as possible, though with the speed that I generally get films developed, that could be January!!!

• I have now FINALLY got the revised First PMT fleetlist on-line - The Warrington fleetlist should be ready by the end of the week.  Arriva now have Dart 2265 at Speke - It seems this batch of ALX200 Darts are not allocated to any route as they can be seen anywhere on the Speke network. On Saturday I saw an unidentified white Alexander ALX200 Dart passing the Albert Dock - It looked like it could have been an MPD, as it was short- Does anyone know who operates it?

• Thanks to a huge amount of info from John Cooper, by the end of the week, we should have the complete First PMT fleetlist, including allocations. I have now actually amended the Supertravel & Arriva fleetlists, having had noted there changes on news, I forgot to alter there fleetlist. Arriva now have yet another Alexander ALX200 Dart at Speke - 2266 X266 OBN - This bus was operating the 79 yesterday.

• Although not a Dart,this was too good to miss, according to photographs in the Echo, it seems that one of Speke's DAF SB120CS's, ran a ground in Liverpool City Centre yesterday, after mounting the kerb on a turn, and after some work with a crowbar - on a 2/3 week old bus, they ended up breaking the pavement below the bus to free it!!!!

• I have now been able to start a Norbus Fleetlist, thanks to info from Dave Root. I noticed on Saturday that Supertravel have another white MPD on the 224, registered W365 ABD.  I shall get some graphics for the Factfile page by tomorrow, along with the Warrington Borough Transport fleetlist, and allocation for First Red Rider & Crosville - I may possibly enlarge this list to cover the entire of First PMT, as with Arriva I have included Manchester.  On the Arriva fleetlist, it appears my allocation info for 1114 & 1115 was incorrect, as I had said the were allocated to Bootle, when it appears they are allocated to Manchester - I know these buses are now route branded, but does anyone know which route they are branded for?

• I have now finally added some more of my own photos to the Photographs Page, so it now has wide a range of photos - Next week, I will add my photo's from the Wirral Bus & Tram show 2000 - I know it was a longtime ago, but I am VERY slow at getting my films developed.  It will probably take 6 months before the shot of First Red Riders Caution Nimbus Dart get to this site!!!!!  I am getting on with the Warrington Borough Transport page, although Warrington 220 didn't look to clever in yesterdays Echo, after nearly falling into a canal.  Yesterday, I saw 2264 X264 OBN on the route 79 - This is the first time I have seen Speke's second ALX200 out.

• I now have the factfile page working, though there is not too much on it yet - I will get some graphics on it soon.  The photograph page is now much larger thanks to the generosity of Simon Ackers, who is the photographs of all of the new shots.  I will get some of my own on it tonight,as I have found some interesting ones, including a Plaxton Dart in the original white/gold North Western Warrington Gold Line livery - Check the site out tomorrow to see it!!!

• I have made many alterations to the site since yesterday.  These include re-adding A2B Travel, as they now have an MPD, correcting and adding to info on Arriva, Avon, CMT Buses & First Crosville / Red Rider. I have also corrected Dave Roots link on the links section.  I have added allocation info to the Arriva list, and hope to be able to add it to the First Crosville / Red Rider page. Also hopefully coming soon - although not strictly in Merseyside, then neither is Arriva Manchester!!, I hope to add Chester garage to the First Crosville / Red Rider list, and Warrington Borough Transport.  I also still hope to be able to add the Factfile page soon.  I also forgot to alter the update info on the main page- sorry, as the site was updated yesterday - I will probably update it most weekdays, but I am currently unable to update it at weekends. Thanks to John for nearly all of todays updates

• I have now added the remaining Arriva Manchester X-reg Plaxton Darts to the fleet list, along with 2264 X264 OBN, another Alexander ALX200, reportedly at Speke.  I will get some more photographs of my own on the site during the week, but as well as my own, we now have a photo of Arriva 7632, from Dave Root, who runs the Southport Transport Website, where you can now also see my photograph of 6248.  I have now added a few more pages to my links section, which are the pages of people who have contacted me.  I hope you like the Overview page, but still to come will be a Factfile page, including general facts about Darts, and facts about particular Merseyside Darts.  If you have any information that you think may be useful, please e-mail it to me at buses7675@altavista.com

• Over the weekend I have corrected all of the information on Nip-On, thanks to info from Ian, and added V337 CVV, to Supertravel's fleetlist, as this was operating the 222/224 on Friday.

• I observed a new type of Dart for Merseyside this weekend, A Dennis Dart SLF 10.7M Caetano Nimbus B37F, on loan to First Red Rider.  This is the FirstGroup liveried demonstrator as pictured in Buses magazine recently, registered REL 905.  I think its fleet number was 662, let me know if you know otherwise.  It is on loan for evaluation purposes, apparently for around six months, and I expect it to be used on the new Wirral Smart services, as it had an advert for these services in the window, displaying a FirstGroup Solo, and a Smart branded Arriva livery Plaxton Dart. Interestingly its 'O' disc is for First Bristol.

• I have noted that Arriva 7878 has now been repainted into Arriva livery and added notes to Arriva 7549.  Does anyone have an info on First Crosville / Red Rider's Marshall C37, step entrance Darts, as I noticed quite a few of them, when I was on the Wirral at the weekend, but was unable to identify any of them.

• On Sunday I noticed something VERY odd on the 79.  There were absolutely NO Dennis Dart's, or any other single deckers on it at all during the daytime - All that was on it was Atlanteans, Olympians & Titans.  Anyone got any ideas!!??

• I should be getting some information on Norbus soon, via Lee, so keep a look out for it!!! Not quit a Dart, but Supertravel now had a third Marshall Minibus II, R101 VLX, in Supertravel livery, ex First Capital.  There was another Marshall Dart on the 100/200/202/204 services yesterday.

• Citybus may be having problems with one of its Marshall Darts, as one of the diagrams on the route 101 was today operated by an Optare MetroRider.

• Keep a look out today for what CMT put on its new & increased services, and give generously to Children in Need!!!

• Arriva Dart 7663 was on the 100/200 yesterday, substituting for a 9.3M 787x Dart, probably as they are being repainted at the moment.

• Does anyone know if CMT have got any new buses for its new 13/14 & 284 services that start tomorrow, as I doubt they will have enough spare, as many of there other frequencies are increasing too from tomorrow.

• I now actually have some photographs in the relevant section, albeit only two.  Thanks to info from Mike have now corrected Avon Coaches, and deleted A2B, as it appears that the vehicles that I had listed were Marshall Minibuses - Sorry!!!! - Thanks to info from   I have now been able to add Nip-On Transport to the fleetlists.

• I have also added the Wirral Transport Museum to the links section.  For more up to date news always check the guestbook section, as I can alter this during the day, were as I can only update this news section at night to be uploaded the following morning.

• One surprise I got from the Nip-On fleetlist is that they now operate the former MTL demonstrator 7141 R411 XFL.  I have now been able to add the correct info to the Greenbus page - Thanks Lee.

• I have now added the Go-Ahead (MTL Gillmoss) fleetlist, and have also added a First Crosville / Red Rider fleet list, and added to the A2B, and Avon lists,  thanks to info from John.

• I have also corrected all of the links that were not working, and updated the Arriva fleetlist, by adding notes to 1248 & 7637 - I have also noted that 7873, the 6000th Dart has now been repainted into Arriva livery.

• Odd workings yesterday include a Gillmoss Dart on the 20E, and although it is not a Dart, the mechanically similar 2416 was on the 79 yesterday.

• I will get some photographs on the photograph page by Friday, but if you have any good scanned, or digital photographs of Darts in the Merseyside area, and would like to have them published, please e-mail them to me at buses7675@altavista.com

• I have noticed that I forgot to put the Go-Ahead (MTL Gillmoss) fleetlist back on-line - I have all of the information for this, so it should go back online some time tomorrow.

• New type for Arriva Merseyside - Dennis Dart SLF 10.7M - Alexander ALX200.  So far I have seen, and only heard of reports of 2263 X263 OBN.  I had a ride on 2263, on the 73, from Penny Lane - Halewood on 08/11/00, and found that it was very cramped, as it is B40F.  The seats are modular, but they are not as comfortable as those in the new dart copy DAF SB120CSs, which I had just got off.  2263 is allocated to Speke garage, and appears to mainly be used on the 73/75 routes.

• Merseyside Dennis Dart Website created at http://dennisdart.20m.com/