• Welcome to the first update to this site in the second half of 2004!  I'm still busy working extra hours of overtime at work until I get a full time job, so please excuse the gaps between updates - Graduation is next week, so there won't be an update next Wednesday for sure either!

• Arriva NW&W are to being their 'attack' on GTL later this month, July 25th mooted as the starting date of new services, as after July 15th, Arriva are allowed to compete of the original services that operated from Gillmoss, at the time of its sale from Arriva, three years ago on 15/07/2001.  As a result, a good number of vehicles have been drafted into the fleet from Arriva Medway towns, which are starting to get repainted in preparation for the new services.  Below is a list of them, showing the proposed new numbers and registrations and chassis/body types!

Dennis Dart SLF/Plaxton Pointer B40F

2280 P180 LKL, 2282 P182 LKL, 2283 P183 LKL, 2284 P214 LKJ

Dennis Dart SLF/Plaxton Pointer B39F

2285 P419 HVX, 2286 P420 HVX, 2287 P422 HVX, 2288 P430 HVX

Dennis Lance SLF/Wright Pathfinder B39F

2395 M761 JPA, 2396 M762 JPA, 2397 M763 JPA

DAF SB250/Plaxton Prestige B39F

2475 T917 KKM, 2476 T920 KKM, 2477 T922 KKM

Volvo Olympian/Northern Counties Palatine H47/30F

3340 M921 PKN, 3350 N705 TPK, 3351 N706 TPK, 3352 N707 TPK, 3353 N708 TPK, 3354 N709 TPK, 3355 P938 MKL, 3356 P939 MKL, 3357 P940 MKL, 3358 P941 MKL, 3359 P942 MKL, 3360 P943 MKL

DAF DB250RS/Northern Counties Palatine II H43/24D

3616 R201 CKO, 3617 R202 CKO, 3618 R203 CKO

Dennis Dominator/East Lancs H45/31F

3837 N716 TPK (This is the last Dominator built!)

• Of these, a few of the Darts have already been noted repainted, running towards Green Lane, and as suggested, most of the competing services will operate from that depot, although I wouldn't expect all of those buses (considering how many there are) to all used directly against GTL - The three DAFs 3616 - 3618, along with the other two recent acquisitions3614 - 3615 all still require single door conversion prior to them entering service on Merseyside.

• Other recent arrivals at Arriva NW&W from other Arriva areas are a number of open top Metrobuses to replace the Bristol VRs at Rhyl, one of which, 3979 KYV 689X [photo] is seen pictured at Rhyl depot by Neil Hilton, looking very smart in the revised Arriva livery, with a much sharper curve, albeit the standard version, not the open top version of the livery!

• GTL Glenvale Transport have yet to react to the potential threat from Arriva, although I'm sure they have some plan up their sleeves, but meanwhile the Alexander Dash bodied Darts and B6s have continued to enter service, whilst the three Handybuses at the Aintree garage that were in the CMT series have all been repainted and named, 2093 TAYLA, 2094 NICOLE & 2095 SIMON.

• Neil Hilton was able to visit the CMT depot last week (now officially GTL Aintree, even on the O disks!), and reports that no fewer than four Lynxes are scrapped, including 2082 F311 AWW [photo], the last Lynx to arrive at CMT, Volvo B6 7245 L245 TKA [photo] which never entered service after its repaint and naming VALERIE and has been dumped at the CMT depot for some reason since at least last November.  Other very surprising 'scrappers' (very heavily stripped and not likely to renter service too quickly anyway!) include an Optare Solo, thought to be 6028 S44 ABC [photo], the already mentioned Optare Excel 6032 R642 MBV and even a Volvo B10BLE/B10L [photo] (not clear which type, or which one, but apparently missing a lot of parts, including its entire dashboard!), and even Dart SPD 2087 PN02 KCC is out of service, with a suspected blown engine - This too has even had its speedometer 'donated' to another working bus!  Good news is that National 1074 SPC 286R is still on site (CMT branded!) and largely complete!

• One final piece of news for this update (and an excuse for another of Neils photos!), is that of one of two newly acquired Dart MPDs by HTL, one being YN04 HHU [photo] which is seen in fleet livery at the company's depot in Huyton, whilst the other, DK04 SUU has been reported in unbranded yellow/white Merseytravel livery by both Graham Ashworth and Bevan Price, pending application of route 111 branding, a route which HTL took on from Supertravel in May.  HTL also acquired a secondhand Dart, step entrance Pointer J139 DUV from KMP, Llanberis in April.  Meanwhile, the bus Supertravel previously used on route 111, 031 V331 CVV has has its 111 branding removed, and Smart Eco replacing it, so its now almost identical to the other Smart Eco Darts in the Supertravel fleet, although its window frames are still black from the previous livery!

• More news and fleetlist updates very soon!

• Avon Coaches have now acquired a further three MAN 11.190s from Metroline, one with Marshall Capital bodywork, P472 JEG, and two with the older Marshall C37 bodywork, N130 XEG & N135 XEG.   Paul Redfern who reported these managed to get a [photo] N315 XEG at the Avon depot, still in Metroline colours, and also reports that they have also rather unusually acquired a Marshall C32 bodied Volvo B6 [photo] L668 MFL from P&O Lloyd, Bagillt.  Seems that Avon like anything with a Marshall body!

• In response to my note about the Neoplans on the Liverpool City Circulars last week, Dave Root almost immediately sent me this [photo] of 0602 M302 YBG on the 2, taken on Monday 31st May!  This route seems to be the preserve of ex MTL vehicles, with the Neoplans (though of these, I've only noted 0602 myself, anyone seen the other two?), and the three ex MTL Pointers at Bootle, 7546 - 7548, although one of the X reg Pointers was unusually operating this earlier this week!

• This weekend Arriva NW&W are expecting the first of the influx of buses from Arriva Medway Towns, largely expected to be Dart SLFs!  It has also been confirmed (suprise surprise) that the story of the VDL DB250RS/Wright Pulsar Gemini for Arriva Merseyside is unfounded!

• City Sightseeing have now begun operating in Liverpool, using LMS drivers and maintenance, but with the buses operating on Ensignbus legal lettering.  Three vehicles, all Metrobuses are currently operating the service, all three have different levels of weather protection, with 257 EWF 457V having the first two upper deck bays covered, 259 GYE 359W the first three, and 361 GYE 361W being completely open top!  The fleetnumbers for these are Engisnbus fleetnumbers, as the whole national City Sightseeing fleet is in one sequence, and so it also has its own fleetlist!

• Welcome back to the Merseyside Dennis Dart Website, after the two month hiatus! Today the news is being updated now, along with a few photos, and many of the fleetlists will be updated this evening!

• During the gap, the biggest news story has been that of TransBus itself, which went into administration on April 1st, following apparent accounting problems.  The result of this has been the sale of the entire business to two parties, those being the former Plaxton coach business (the Scarborough and Anston sites) being sold to a management buyout, whilst the bus business (Falkirk, Wigan and Guilford, but not Belfast) were sold to an investment team, partly funded by two Stagecoach directors, Brian Souter and Ann Gloag.  This part of the business has now imaginatively been titled Alexander Dennis, thus TransBus is no more.  I assume that, going by 'old' rules, the chassis will once again be Dennis chassis, the bodies (even the President and Pointer) will be Alexander badged.  Why the Belfast plant was not included is unclear, but it is expected this will now close, whilst the Wigan site which was bought may also close soon, and so if President production did continue, it would have to be at Falkirk.  At least now, the DENNIS Dart is back!

• GTL Glenvale Transport has continued to amuse us with its policy of naming all repainted buses, the very best one now has to be Dennis Dart/Alexander Dash 7127 K708 PCN, which for reasons which no one I have met knows has been named 'NOO-NOO SHIMANO'!  A complete, or as complete as I can make it, list of names will be in the fleetlists section tonight, but some highlights include the renumbering of CMT Volvo B10B/Alexander Strider 2074 M393 VWX to 2000 (as this was the one that was involved in an accident on New Years Eve), and has now been named 'CATRIONA'.  A number of buses have also transferred between the Aintree and Gillmoss depots, with Handybuses 7505, 7506 & 7508 all moving from Gillmoss to Aintree, whilst in the opposite direction, up to 10 of the Dennis Dart SLF/Wright Crusaders are moving, at least three are already at GM, including 2015 P810 YCW (not yet repainted or named), 2024 P819 YCW, repainted and named 'JOSH' and an unidentified one named 'AMY'.  Three other repainted and named buses at CMT Aintree are Lynx 2064 F359 JVS 'JADE' [photo] (from the photo, taken by Karl Sutton, you can see that Lynxes can only have short names!), Dart MPD 2084 T37 CCK 'FIONNULA' and Optare Solo 6029 S111 ABC 'ELIZABETH'.

• Halton Transport have now started to dispose of its oldest Dart SLFs, which are all of 7 years old (these are being sold before the last Lynxes, as the Lynxes make better school buses), with Darts 79 - 82, P341 OEW - P344 OEW all going to Chester City Transport.  Of these the former 82 is already in CCT Blue Diamond livery, numbered 34x - Probably 344 if its matching the registration.  This, and the other three, now in unbranded Halton livery, are all currently on Park & Ride work - To see some photos of them, and some other excellent Chester City Transport photos, got to Ben Morroll's Fotopic Site - This shows the repainted P344 OEW, which now has a front panel from a newer Dart, as its sports both the older Dennis badge on the lower bumper, and the newer one below the windscreen!  Halton are due a further batch of ELC Myllennium bodied Darts in the next few months, although this could now be slightly delayed due to the TransBus problems, hopefully the new management will get thing moving again!

• Arriva's Laird Street depot was formally reopened last month, and for the event, several preserved Merseyside buses visited the garage, along with Arriva Midlands 'Bus of the Future' Volvo B7L/Wright Eclipse 6200 LF02 PVA (a very futuristic bus indeed, considering its already been superceded by the B7RLE!), and from Arriva Medway Towns, Volvo B7TL/TransBus ALX400 GN04 UET.  As Arriva Medway Towns are currently receiving a large number of new buses, many of its cast off Dart SLFs are expected to make their way up to Arriva NW&W soon.  Arriva NW&W may also be due some new buses of its own soon, as route 89 (St Helens - Speke) is rumoured that some journeys may be extended to Liverpool Airport, and then become the 89A, and for this some VDL SB120CS/Wright Cadet are expected.  A much more outlandish one too I've heard is that Laird Street are to get a number of VDL DB250RS/Wright Pulsar Gemini, but I wouldn't believe this until they actually arrive at the depot and are in service - Its just too incredible to believe!

• Fleetlists will be updated tonight, the news update again later this week, and as I've now got a decent digital camera, hopefully some more nice pics of the odd GTL names will make it online, as I hope will some of the Arriva's short Neoplans 0601 - 0603 which are now operated the Liverpool City Circular routes 2 & 3!