Bus-Related Outings & Reviews

[M113 YKC]

RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews
Today, I went out around Merseyside because I had nothing better to do! Here's what I rode on:

55 (ANW) - Netherton, Northern Perimeter Road > Bootle, Stanley Road
Pulsar 2 MX09 LYA (2941)
Clearly still in "slow mode", however the driver wasn't driving very fast (but not too slow), either. Also, the bus only features four opening windows, rather than the usual six - horrible for this type of warm weather!

52A (ANW) - Bootle Strand Shopping Centre > Queen Square Bus Station
Pulsar CX58 EXK (2918)
This bus has been in "slow mode" since January! The driver was fast and the bus sounded nice, however it felt like it was going to fall apart!

13 (ANW) - Queen Square Bus Station > Stockbridge Village, Leach Croft
Pulsar 2 MX09 JHY (2960)
Another "slow mode" example... Unbelievably slow up hills - it was on gear one on one of them and it was slowing down even then! The driver was very fast and the bus sounded fantastic! Rattles were horrible, though.

12 (ANW) - Stockbridge Village, Leach Croft > Deysbrook Lane Tesco Supermarket
Marshall T619 PNC (7619)
Horrible bus! It stunk of burning, the back-end window was squeaking like mad and there was a strange ticking noise coming from the engine when it was in motion. The engine sounded quite nice, though.

13 (ANW) - Deysbrook Lane Tesco Supermarket > Queen Square Bus Station
ALX200 R313 CVU (2313)
I was shocked when I boarded and looked at the... disgraceful seating arrangement! Internally, the bus looked very tatty! The woman driver was fast though and the engine sounded fantastic - interestingly, it never changed to gear four at all!

18 (ANW) - Queen Square Bus Station > West Derby, Muirhead Avenue
Pulsar CX07 CTE (2643)
I missed sister-bus CX07 CSZ (2642) on the 10B, so I decided to board this one (I'll catch 2642 another time). The bus sounded very strange after gear two, and its' gearbox seemed to have been acting up, too - constant jolting out of one when going off the line. It sounded nice, though.

62 (ANW) - West Derby, Muirhead Avenue > Bootle Strand Shopping Centre
Pulsar 2 MX59 FGA (3021)
Decent driver and a decent Pulsar, for once! The only issue with this bus was the horrific "shelf vibration", which clearly disturbed other passengers! I managed to fix it using an empty cigarette box at the back of the bus - actually worked!

53 (SM&SL) - Bootle Strand Shopping Centre > Queen Square Bus Station
Enviro300 PO61 NTK (27773)
A fine bus! The driver was a bit sluggish at times - probably because he was running early. Barely a rattle, though.

52 (ANW) - Liverpool, Sir Thomas Street > Netherton, Glovers Lane
Pulsar 2 MX59 FFY (3019)
This bus makes me fall asleep with a slow driver! The second driver was OK, though. The bus squeaked absolutely horrifically from the cab-area - hard to actually fall asleep!