Bus crashes into bus shelter (again!)
http://m.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/1139...arlington/

Darlington town centre bus stops are badly laid out especially in that area where stands H/I/J are very close together and often two buses want to be on the stands but there isn't the space, for example at 45 mins past the hour on stand H the 8 is due to depart from the stand plus the 16 also leaves at the same time and also the 7 is due to arrive at 45 mins past too but often arrives early meaning the 16 often has to pull in all over Darlington such as on that corner and one day it had to pull up outside Bright House little wonder it never has anybody on it.

Also the stops on Northgate are far to close made worse as as well as town services using them stands the longer distance routes also drop off there too and at times the bus has to either wait for a space to free up to pull in and block the road or pull onto the 13A/13B stand around the corner.

When these stories come up about bus incidents in Darlington town centre there are always people saying that Darlington needs a bus station but the simple fact is there is nowhere to put one in Darlington town centre also people say that don't want to walk miles to the shops.

Something really needs to be done as its ridiculous how buses are often end up blocking the road on Tubwell Row and having to board a bus in the middle of the road is brilliant for passengers in wheelchairs which is poor and not seeing your bus because its half down Tubwell Row because it can't get on the stand because there is three buses booked to use one stand at the same time.

22733 on the 37

(31 Jul 2014, 10:13 pm)beefcake wrote In my opinion Hartlepool doesn't need any double deckers. Passenger loadings wouldn't justify the outlay in them. Whilst it does make sense for them to extend the last service 7 across to Manor, it would also make sense to put an extra service 6 at 2215 from Town to Clavering so people who live that way can use the last 7 and connect in town. Looking at the short service 6 though it wouldn't surprise me if it was withdrawn after the trial period.

. I think Hartlepool needs double deckers at certain times though like school Hollidays and at School Times buses can get packed. The eveing 6 doesent work because they are only going as far as the it needs to be South Fens and Owton Manor like before on a eveing.

Does anyone know if anything is transferring to ashington

(31 Jul 2014, 11:20 pm)Stuart Phin wrote With you saying that I have heard rumours that 3 gas buses are going on the 8/8a was told by a driver that works at darlo

You can't believe everything drivers tell you, one driver said last year that service 7 was getting double deckers, which of course we knew wasn't the case.

They could be going on the 8/8A but then again they could go on the 21 or something else, we'll just have to wait and see.

Probably been asked before, and sorry to change the subject, but why were the optare excels withdrawn from the fleet so early? Because they weren't really that old were they, same age as some renowns if I'm right

We're half way thru now, has anyone been watching it.

I have enjoyed the Swimming, Judo, Boxing and will be watching some of the track and field.

Upto now, my favourite moment had to be Scottish Swimmer Erraid Davies winning bronze in para-swimming, that would be an achievement most would be proud of, but she is only 13 and does not have an Olympic Sized pool to train in.



Never seen anyone so happy to finish third

And how did she celebrate...Nutella on Toast and a can of Irn-Bru

Anyone else been watching

Both past and present!

(26 Jul 2014, 8:39 am)Dan wrote Good job other hardware can be used to ensure that all vehicles can be traced! We've already discussed Arriva's system for real time information being less than ideal - Go North East won't have this problem.

I'll be quite interested to see it in action. It's bound to be an improvement on the Siemens AVL system they purchased...

A criticism I have of the Arriva live map is that when a vehicle (presumably) loses data signal, which happens a lot in rural Durham, it disappears from the map completely. It should display an estimated location with a different icon colour instead, until it picks data signal back up. I also think the live map should indicate zone boundaries, and I'd hope GNE's solution would say shade different parts of the map different colours, depending on the Buzzfare zone.

Aside from buses, I've always had a bit of an interest in railways, particularly Heritage Lines and Model Railways. I've got a 'bucket list' of preserved railways I want to visit in the future - hopefully in the long summer between finishing Sixth Form and starting University, when I'll have my own flat etc, and do everything alone. These include;

• The Bluebell Railway
- I think it's one of the most beautiful railways around, got so much character, very large as well, I especially like their LB&SCR Terriers, P-Class', and 'Captain Baxter'
• The North Yorkshire Moors Railway
- Nice and close to the North East, very vast in quantity, fortunately they've got Class A4 'Sir Nigel Gresley' still within it's boiler certificate. I just love the sound of it on the whole!
• The Severn Valley Railway
- After I downloaded it in Train Simulator 2014, I just fell in love with the SVR. Got a lot of variety, nice and open in the country, and their facilities seem endless.....
• The West Somerset Railway
- Not 100% sure, but I think it's the longest preserved line in Britain, lovely and scenic, filled with the countryside, it's just a must for me!

As for model railways, if I got one of those 2 bed flats, I would without a second thought, strip one of them, place a massive table in there and just build and build until there's no more room! I can just picture an entire fleet - Class A3s, Class A4s, Black Fives, Standard Fours, Deltics, and little Pannier Tanks shunting all of their trains! - does anyone else have a passion for railways?