Bus-Related Outings & Reviews

[M113 YKC]

RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews
Today, I ventured out to find ANW's Bootle-based Plaxton Pointer 2 R551 ABA (7551) on the 52/52A. I found it... just as I was heading home, luckily! Here's what I rode on:

52 (ANW) - Netherton, Glovers Lane > Queen Square Bus Station
Pulsar CX58 FZE (2923)
It's always a pleasure to ride on this bus! The driver was a bit slow at the start of my journey, however he soon changed. As I've said in the past, this bus has the best gearbox that I've ever sampled! In addition to that, the bus barely rattles and is quite a decent runner, speed-wise - and it features the "sensitive kickdown" issue, and kickdown sounds absolutely amazing on it!

18 (ANW) - Queen Square Bus Station > West Derby, West Derby Road
Pulsar CX58 EWS (2903)
A bit random of me - getting on this...! It was alright; the woman driver was quite fast. The bus sounded nice, however it rattled quite a bit. The interior, as usual, was a mess!

15 (ANW) - West Derby, West Derby Road > Liverpool, West Derby Road
Pulsar 2 MX10 DCY (3060)
I was glad when this showed up as it was the last ex-Malta Pulsar 2 out of Green Lane for me to sample (properly). I didn't like it, anyway! It sounded rubbish and it rattled a bit. The interior wasn't too bad.

14 (SM&SL) - Liverpool, Everton Road > Broadway, Utting Avenue East
MAN/Enviro300 PO59 MXM (24178)
This was a great ride! This is, by far, the fastest bus of this type that I've sampled so far - it flew off gear one and two every time, despite the driver being a bit sluggish! It rattled like hell, though...

14 (ANW) - Broadway, Utting Avenue East > Queen Square Bus Station
Renown Y719 KNF (2719)
Just the bus that I was expecting - how disappointing, anyway! It sounded rubbish. It rattled a bit, however not too bad! The interior was a disgrace! And this is a "Quality Bus Partnership" - at the moment, ANW should be impressing their passengers more than SM&SL (for obvious reasons)...

52 (ANW) - Liverpool, Sir Thomas Street > Bootle Strand Shopping Centre
Pulsar CX58 FZK (2928)
I was in a rush - nice that THE worst Pulsar that I've ever sampled to turn up... It was as good as ever today - sounding absolutely dreadful past gear one and absolutely horrific on gear four! By gear four, the bus was actually vibrating whilst moving! I don't have a clue what the issue is, but it must be serious! Oh, and it's in the "slow mode" - absolutely horrifyingly slow! It also rattles bad... As soon as I got on it, I seen 7551 in Queen Square Bus Station... Just my luck!

52A (ANW) - Bootle Strand Shopping Centre > Netherton, Glovers Lane
Plaxton Pointer 2 R551 ABA (7551)
Yay! This was fine. The first driver was a bit slow, however the second driver was excellent! The bus was quite sluggish as its' gearbox definitely had issues, however it sounded excellent and the ride-quality was nearly perfect!