Bus-Related Outings & Reviews

[B10B6514]

Road Trip
Hi all,
Been a while since anyone has shared their trips on here.

I've just got home from a a couple of dsys away and would like to share my log.
If you're on the Facebobook "Trains And Buses of Lancashire (and etc)" page you'll know me but if you're not here goes....

Thurs 28th
Left our house at 0623 to get the first 46 from Blowick into Lord St, Southport on Arriva 3042 onthe 46 route.

Then the first X2 to Preston at 0647 from the old Rlbble bus station, (free with my staff pass) which was Stagecoach MCSL 15295.

At Preston I boarded Stagecoach North Lancs and Cumbria 15818 on the 40 to Lancaster.

After which I rode a route that I've wanted to ride the full length, from start to finish, since I was a kid, the most scenic route in the country the 555 from Lancaster to Keswick- my chariot on this leg was Lakes branded 10554 again those northern Ribble lot.

A really tight connection in Keswick meant I sampled Stagecoach Gold for the first time because my plans on this stretch went pear shaped!(more later)

But instead of getting a 554 to Carlisle I had to re-evaluate my itinery so Gold Scania 15224 came to my rescue and whisked me to Penrith for just after 1300 hrs. (All this on a Stagecoach £11.30 Explorer ticket plus)

Cheated for a leg or 2 from Penrith and got Pendolino 390 010 to Carlisle, then a brief break and picked up Scotrail 156 442 to Dumfries so I could ride the other route I wanted to.

This was a little hot and cold because the X74 at 1545 from Dumfries to Glasgow (after much waiting) ended up leaving 25 mins late, but we're talking Scotland here where laid back is an Aussies wound up, so relaxed to us!

Anyway Stagecoach, always out to impress, provided a Volvo B whatever(think B13R)/ Plaxton Elite i, to whisk me to Glasgow, 54258.


Got to Buchanan St 15 late but didn't matter after such a smooth 100 odd miles in just on 2 hours.

Determined not to let me down (yep right....but it sounds good on a blog) I resorted to the X24 to my final port of call some 13 hours later with one of my favourite coaches- a Volvo B11R/Plaxton Elite, Stagecoach Western 54332.(B13Rs are slighly better, Parks of Hamilton bought them by the bucket load for STG/Citylink work)

Dunfirmline reached at about 1940 after 13 odd hours on the road....food, sleep in the Wetherspoons there ,The Guildhall and Linen Exchange, which is also a hotel! What a bonus!!

Already booked a room for a bargain £39 for a night before the aforementioned chaos.

DEEP BREATHE team..cocked up cos was gonna get the 554 from Keswick to Carlisle and then the 79 to Dumfries but had to get a train or 2 as I've noted previously so didn't complete the trip 100% bus but wasn't far off.

SAT 29/9
Woke up 0620 sh*t,shower, shave, shampoo in that awesome 'spoons hotel ready to nip downstairs for a damn good brekkie with extra haggis (only £6.49 I'll have you know).

Then the highlight for me of the trip was 54514 , one of those brand spanking new, out of the box Plaxton Leopards, unique to Stagecoach Fife at present. A low floor front with standard coach rear. Belting design which would be ideal on the X2 or 47.

Met a couple of train driver mates in Edinburgh on the premise of visiting Lothian's Central garage open day.(Well that was our excuse )


The following ensued on route 7:-
Leyland National 2 104
Ex- London (rebuilt by Wrights) 1005, 1012
Atlantean 801
Olympian 332
RCL2241 (one those Lothian have just rebuilt)
Trident 542 (now preserved as part of the Lothian Motorcoaches fleet- I know wouldn't have thought so myself)

Anyway after a race we got the 1652 from Waverley back to Preston (390 117 By the way).

Darren left us at Lancaster
Myself and Mark- Preston then I got Stagecoach 15304 on the X2 back home to Southport.

Have you caught your breath after that??? Still catching mine!!

But the trip was well worth it. Spirit of being an enthusiast and that's what keeps me going after over 23 years in the job.

I get very frustrated the way Merseyside is basically a polished turd, transport wise, when north of the border, primarily on the Central Belt, is how transport should be sold and delivered.

Look at that new Stagecoach X5 from Widnes to town with those 11-12 year old Volvos they've transferred down from Scotland- mark my words 2020's order will include coaches of 54514's spec. Search "54514" on flickr and you'll see what I mean. Market for them on both X2s (Chester and Preston ones) as well.

At least I've shared my last 2 days with you. Hope you have enjoyed this blog!