(Yesterday, 10:45 am)Storx wrote Hartlepool can't do full length vehicles because of the pits, so the only way they could do that would be upgrade routes elsewhere.

The likes of 3/4/7/8 at South Shields due to recent frequency cuts and interworking or the 23 at Sunderland would seem the obvious routes if you wanted to do something and then displace the E200's to Hartlepool. I'll let someone else choose, which ones.

Means everyone gets a little upgrade.

Hartlepool seemed to manage a few years back when they temporarily had a couple of MAN ALX300 running there. So there must be a way around it.

(Yesterday, 11:03 am)stagecoachfan wrote Hartlepool seemed to manage a few years back when they temporarily had a couple of MAN ALX300 running there. So there must be a way around it.

As I understand it, when that happened, any work requiring use of a pit saw them go to Stockton depot - which naturally they won’t be able to do once Stockton is 100% electric.

I've just come over the Wearmouth Bridge and saw a '74 plate Yutong Coach in Stagecoach long distance orange come the opposite way... It had the logo on the front but didn't display any route info on the destination. 

I initially thought Megabus but probably not....

Any ideas why this is here?

(Yesterday, 12:03 pm)logidoodah wrote I've just come over the Wearmouth Bridge and saw a '74 plate Yutong Coach in Stagecoach long distance orange come the opposite way... It had the logo on the front but didn't display any route info on the destination. 

I initially thought Megabus but probably not....

Any ideas why this is here?

It's at the Sunderland depot. Bustimes says it did the M96 yesterday on two trips

(Yesterday, 12:03 pm)logidoodah wrote I've just come over the Wearmouth Bridge and saw a '74 plate Yutong Coach in Stagecoach long distance orange come the opposite way... It had the logo on the front but didn't display any route info on the destination. 

I initially thought Megabus but probably not....

Any ideas why this is here?

They're for Bluebird, it's 57003.
001 and 002 have already been through. Presumably they're using Sunderland as a pit stop for tacho/recharge purposes.

E400EV 80000 has arrived at Stockton, once prep’d and familiarisation has taken place it should enter service on the scheduled decker working on 5197, UTC and 58

(Yesterday, 10:45 am)Storx wrote Hartlepool can't do full length vehicles because of the pits, so the only way they could do that would be upgrade routes elsewhere.

The likes of 3/4/7/8 at South Shields due to recent frequency cuts and interworking or the 23 at Sunderland would seem the obvious routes if you wanted to do something and then displace the E200's to Hartlepool. I'll let someone else choose, which ones.

Means everyone gets a little upgrade.

To be fair looking at the route maps of Hartlepool's Services 3/3A/6 & 7 could easily be merged with Stockton's 34/35 from Billingham and the 36/36A, only issue would be if the E12 can manage the pits.

(Yesterday, 10:45 am)Storx wrote Hartlepool can't do full length vehicles because of the pits, so the only way they could do that would be upgrade routes elsewhere.

The likes of 3/4/7/8 at South Shields due to recent frequency cuts and interworking or the 23 at Sunderland would seem the obvious routes if you wanted to do something and then displace the E200's to Hartlepool. I'll let someone else choose, which ones.

Means everyone gets a little upgrade.

Make most sense for the E300s to be cascaded to Sunderland/South Shields, make them full single decker operations (if possible) and then move the E200s down to Hartlepool as the stand alone Midi fleet depot. Then I'm sure Mr Houchen and Stagecoach can make an arrangement of 30 something E10s for Hartlepool depot...

(Yesterday, 6:58 pm)Teessider2014 wrote E400EV 80000 has arrived at Stockton, once prep’d and familiarisation has taken place it should enter service on the scheduled decker working on 5197, UTC and 58

Take it it’s a trial vehicle?

It a Electric yutong u11dd double decker for stagecoach Stockton depot this is trail is E400 ev Stockton depot

(Yesterday, 10:04 pm)benji123 wrote Make most sense for the E300s to be cascaded to Sunderland/South Shields, make them full single decker operations (if possible) and then move the E200s down to Hartlepool as the stand alone Midi fleet depot. Then I'm sure Mr Houchen and Stagecoach can make an arrangement of 30 something E10s for Hartlepool depot...

Aye that's my thoughts aswell, could send something to Slatyford aswell to get there's out aswell (unsure what) since they've got 13 for a PVR of 6 and they're completely inappropiate for the express routes and 70's which they keep ending up on lately. 

Don't really see the point in messing around with E300's at Hartlepool personally when there's E200's displaceable all over imo.

(Yesterday, 11:17 pm)Storx wrote Aye that's my thoughts aswell, could send something to Slatyford aswell to get there's out aswell (unsure what) since they've got 13 for a PVR of 6 and they're completely inappropiate for the express routes and 70's which they keep ending up on lately. 

Don't really see the point in messing around with E300's at Hartlepool personally when there's E200's displaceable all over imo.

They can’t really give anything to Slatyford. Remember we had the 272’s and a few 271’s and had to replace them with the 262’s as they’re Euro 5. So only places they can go in North East are Sunderland Hartlepool or South Shields. I’ve heard most of the E300’s are heading to Carlisle though so have to wait and see what’s happening.

(Yesterday, 10:15 pm)ReDemPTiion wrote Take it it’s a trial vehicle?

It's one of 5 supplied by Alexander Dennis to the "big 5" groups as seed vehicles.

AR/FB/GA/NX/SC74ZEB for Arriva, First, Go-Ahead, National Express (West Midlands) and Stagecoach respectively.

(Today, 2:07 am)ReDemPTiion wrote They can’t really give anything to Slatyford. Remember we had the 272’s and a few 271’s and had to replace them with the 262’s as they’re Euro 5. So only places they can go in North East are Sunderland Hartlepool or South Shields. I’ve heard most of the E300’s are heading to Carlisle though so have to wait and see what’s happening.

Aye no arguments, it's what I meant by the unsure what. Be interesting to see what they replace at Carlisle mind, as there's not really anything over there which needs replacing. 

Wonder if we might see something in return ie. the microfleet of 7 E200MMC's which would be useful over here at Slatyford and/or Walkergate. They don't appear to have a specific route and are just all over the place, even known they've just got them a few month ago from Fife.

(Today, 8:01 am)Storx wrote Aye no arguments, it's what I meant by the unsure what. Be interesting to see what they replace at Carlisle mind, as there's not really anything over there which needs replacing. 

Wonder if we might see something in return ie. the microfleet of 7 E200MMC's which would be useful over here at Slatyford and/or Walkergate. They don't appear to have a specific route and are just all over the place, even known they've just got them a few month ago from Fife.

There was talk when we were receiving Stocktons 262**’s that we were due some from other depots as well so I do wonder if the 27***’s from Stockton would free them up to move to Slatyford. I work at Slatyford and a few of the controllers did mention other 26***’s coming in from other depots so it could be them.

Anyone know why most of the Sunderland Yutongs aren't in service?

Or are they not tracking?

Was the same yesterday too.

(Today, 9:47 am)Michael wrote Anyone know why most of the Sunderland Yutongs aren't in service?

Or are they not tracking?

Was the same yesterday too.

Must be a tracking issue as no E1/2/6 services shown on Bustimes. If there was an issue with the electric buses, non electrics would be running and tracking I guess.

E400 EV want at Stockton right now is on loan or is it Stockton buses.

(Yesterday, 11:17 pm)Storx wrote Aye that's my thoughts aswell, could send something to Slatyford aswell to get there's out aswell (unsure what) since they've got 13 for a PVR of 6 and they're completely inappropiate for the express routes and 70's which they keep ending up on lately. 

Don't really see the point in messing around with E300's at Hartlepool personally when there's E200's displaceable all over imo.

Because quite a few Journeys on the 1 6/7 need full size buses that’s why.

(Yesterday, 8:39 pm)Malarkey wrote To be fair looking at the route maps of Hartlepool's Services 3/3A/6 & 7 could easily be merged with Stockton's 34/35 from Billingham and the 36/36A, only issue would be if the E12 can manage the pits.

It wouldn’t work the 6/7 struggle as it is to keep time it’s going to be  no good for someone at the Headland or Hart Station waiting about for buses because they 20 minutes late due to the A689 being closed and getting stuck in traffic at the seal sands.   How would it work as well you can’t very easily do a service from Stockton that goes though South Fens, Owton Manor, Rift House and Oxford Road to Hart Station it would take to long and be an absolute nightmare to manage.  They is a reason Hartlepool has always been separate from the rest of Teesside network.

(Yesterday, 7:34 am)LVK 404L wrote E300 27631 looks to have joined sister 27632 at Sunderland from Shields.

Replaced at shields with 27158 that entered service Tuesday following repaint

(Today, 8:23 am)ReDemPTiion wrote There was talk when we were receiving Stocktons 262**’s that we were due some from other depots as well so I do wonder if the 27***’s from Stockton would free them up to move to Slatyford. I work at Slatyford and a few of the controllers did mention other 26***’s coming in from other depots so it could be them.

Yeah that's the sort of thing I was thinking, but not sure why they'd send them to the North West to then send them here after a few months. Mind that said it does seem, at times, that the management don't really have a clue what the plan is either and they're just going on a whim.

(7 hours ago)col87 wrote Because quite a few Journeys on the 1 6/7 need full size buses that’s why.

There's barely any difference, like 4 seats or similar. Personally, rather than pissing around rebuilding a depot, if the numbers are high enough they need more capacity I'd just source some deckers from somewhere and drop both routes down to every 15 minutes.

No-one is losing any sleep over a 12 minute frequency vs 15 minute frequency.

(Yesterday, 1:03 pm)F114TML wrote They're for Bluebird, it's 57003.
001 and 002 have already been through. Presumably they're using Sunderland as a pit stop for tacho/recharge purposes.

Is it definitely 003 ? Just asking because I saw 57002 (SJ74 UPC) on the outskirts of Sheffield today so it maybe heading south for demonstration work, or a visit to a dealer.

(5 hours ago)Storx wrote Yeah that's the sort of thing I was thinking, but not sure why they'd send them to the North West to then send them here after a few months. Mind that said it does seem, at times, that the management don't really have a clue what the plan is either and they're just going on a whim.


There's barely any difference, like 4 seats or similar. Personally, rather than pissing around rebuilding a depot, if the numbers are high enough they need more capacity I'd just source some deckers from somewhere and drop both routes down to every 15 minutes.

No-one is losing any sleep over a 12 minute frequency vs 15 minute frequency.

Want to tell that to the passengers in Hartlepool then, we have a bad service as it is half the time without losing more buses and decreasing the frequency further.  The double deckers might be nice though and they is always a way around the pit issue, don’t forget it wasnt so long ago that one of the Man 18.220 was going to be a permanent bus in the Hartlepool fleet and Stagecoach manage told the Transport users group just last year that some of Stocktons fleet would transfer to Hartlepool once Stockton went electric, so clearly they was plans either to sort the pit out or ways round it.

Can anybody remember the original route of the 6 in Sunderland? Just going off other people's version it started at Witherwack went over the QA Bridge via Pallion & ended up at Grangetown but can't find any old timetables or even photos that show the route & where it went.

I know some of the original Sunderland routes had included;
5/5A (Docks - City - Gilley Law - Doxford Park)
7 (Sunderland - Newcastle Road - Witherwack)
12 (Sunderland - Barnes - Silksworth) - Was originally every 10 minutes, combined or competed with the 35 to offer up to 12 buses per hour between the two points & then 18 buses per hour with the 13 once at every 10 minutes between Sainsbury's and Sunderland.
18/19 The original circular version of the route that covered (Sunderland - Roker Park - Seaburn - South Bents - Fulwell - Southwick - Pallion - Royal Hospital - Barnes Park - Springwell - Grindon - Thorney Close - Premier Road - Ashbrooke - Grangetown - Sunderland)
22/23/24 - I believe the 22 was the Evening & Sunday variation that went down to Seaburn Camp via Dene Estate. That still happens on the 23s on a Sunday Daytime. The 23 was how it is now & I believe the 24 missed out Dene Estate & instead just operated down to Seaburn after Fulwell.

There's possibly more routes that were originally there too, although those ones are the ones I remember the most...

(3 hours ago)S830OFT wrote Can anybody remember the original route of the 6 in Sunderland? Just going off other people's version it started at Witherwack went over the QA Bridge via Pallion & ended up at Grangetown but can't find any old timetables or even photos that show the route & where it went.

I think the 6 was:

Witherwack - Southwick - Pallion - Holburn Road - Springwell Road - Premier Road - Grangetown ASDA - Grangetown

I'm not sure where in Grangetown it terminated.

-----


I remember seeing it pass me on Springwell Road when finishing school.


The 6 and the 18/19 routes were destroyed when they did work on the Queen Alex Bridge.

(3 hours ago)col87 wrote Want to tell that to the passengers in Hartlepool then, we have a bad service as it is half the time without losing more buses and decreasing the frequency further.  The double deckers might be nice though and they is always a way around the pit issue, don’t forget it wasnt so long ago that one of the Man 18.220 was going to be a permanent bus in the Hartlepool fleet and Stagecoach manage told the Transport users group just last year that some of Stocktons fleet would transfer to Hartlepool once Stockton went electric, so clearly they was plans either to sort the pit out or ways round it.

Depends what buses they are though, there's loads of E200's around which could be displaced aswell. The Stockton plans seem to be changing every other week lately though mind.

Personally though if I was allowed some investment I'd look at upgrading the 62/63 in Newcastle and displace some of the 16 Plate E400MMC's down to Hartlepool for the 1/6/7 with the 6/7 on a reduced frequency to combat the extra costs of running the deckers. 

I know it's not direct investment for Hartlepool but the 62/63 would be much easier to convince spreadsheet lovers in an office somewhere over some town routes and would be a decent upgrade as they're a different level of quality over imo pretty awful E200's. It would massively help Slatyford out aswell who's fleet isn't particularly great either who've had barely any investment either.

Seems to have combined with the 18/19 on some of the sections then. I suppose there is only the 99 that retains that link from Grangetown to Pallion without travelling via the City Centre.

I think with all the changes over the years, whether an on-demand bus alike TeesFlex would have taken off in Sunderland, with ways to avoid using 2 buses or indeed sometimes three buses for a journey. In addition to benefit some areas that only get one bus an hour.

The 594 for instance from observations seems to be a lot less used than when it was the 592 (that's from seeing passenger numbers from both operators). For some commuters a journey to & from work was 15 minutes if they lived at Hylton Castle, direct down the A19, whereas now it's 40 minutes now with only one journey each way. That's not very appealing if someone has to stay back at work or may want to leave one hour earlier for example & there isn't really many buses serving the International outside of peak time, which is likely another factor of why most people still go to work in their cars...

The 6 actually went from central bus station to grangetown then to witherwack via the route mentioned. Weird as I thought about it whilst driving along Holborn road the other day

(3 hours ago)S830OFT wrote Can anybody remember the original route of the 6 in Sunderland? Just going off other people's version it started at Witherwack went over the QA Bridge via Pallion & ended up at Grangetown but can't find any old timetables or even photos that show the route & where it went.

I know some of the original Sunderland routes had included;
5/5A (Docks - City - Gilley Law - Doxford Park)
7 (Sunderland - Newcastle Road - Witherwack)
12 (Sunderland - Barnes - Silksworth) - Was originally every 10 minutes, combined or competed with the 35 to offer up to 12 buses per hour between the two points & then 18 buses per hour with the 13 once at every 10 minutes between Sainsbury's and Sunderland.
18/19 The original circular version of the route that covered (Sunderland - Roker Park - Seaburn - South Bents - Fulwell - Southwick - Pallion - Royal Hospital - Barnes Park - Springwell - Grindon - Thorney Close - Premier Road - Ashbrooke - Grangetown - Sunderland)
22/23/24 - I believe the 22 was the Evening & Sunday variation that went down to Seaburn Camp via Dene Estate. That still happens on the 23s on a Sunday Daytime. The 23 was how it is now & I believe the 24 missed out Dene Estate & instead just operated down to Seaburn after Fulwell.

There's possibly more routes that were originally there too, although those ones are the ones I remember the most...

There have been multiple route 5's. The original was City Centre to Red House. A few other routes I remember:
2 - The current 3 route, when the original 3 terminated at Gilley Law and served Plains Farm
9/9A - Ran alongside the 8 to South Hylton
14/14A - Docks - City - Helmsdale Road via High Barnes. Was outsourced to Redby in the late 90s
15 - Ran alongside the 16 to Hastings Hill
17 - A minibus service to Seaburn via Roker
27/28/29 - The northern sections of the current 3 and 13
104 - the current 4 route, the original 4 terminated at Farringdon
139/140 - Circular routes jointly operated by Go North East

I remember at one point every number between 2 and 29 was in use. There has never been a route 1 in Sunderland post deregulation.