Round-up of the Latest News...
News reports always welcome! Please e-mail them to iansimpson@merseymail.com.

13-01-07: North West Travel, Toxteth

Former Reading Optare MetroRider R627NJM was noted at work here on January 11th; as it wears Reading's livery of cream with a maroon skirt it blends in quite well with the rest of the NWT fleet.

13-01-07: Ashcroft's, Widnes

Carrying Crosville-style fleetnumber SDC208, former Warrington Dennis Dart / Carlyle H881LOX looks good in Ashcroft's green and white livery.

13-01-07: Stagecoach Merseyside

On my way home from the Ship & Mitre last night, I spotted an unfamiliar bus at work in the shape of 34048 (R948FOO), a 9.4m Dennis Dart SLF with Alexander ALX200 bodywork. Originally a Stagecoach Selkent bus, it was with Stagecoach Manchester at Charles Street prior to its arrival in Liverpool.

07-01-07: Arriva North West & Wales

Volvo B10B / Wright 'Endeavour' 6615 (N615CKA), based at Bolton, was involved in a serious accident in the town on Friday January 5th when it left the road and crashed into the steps of Bolton Courthouse. The cause of the accident is under investigation, according to Granada TV's Granada Reports programme. If the bus is withdrawn as a result of the accident damage - it is obviously too early to say - it will be the third of the 120 B10Bs bought by Merseybus to meet a premature demise.

24-12-06: MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I'm signing off for 2006 with the news that Arriva NW&W Volvo B7TL 4104 (CX55 EAM) has received a rear-end advert for, wait for it... breast enhancements. I kid you not; these can be carried out at the Lourdes Hospital in South Liverpool for £70 a month. The advert is actually reasonably tasteful: "If you're as flat as the back of this bus, call the number below!" is emphatically NOT part of the text. Whatever, even the Lourdes Hospital would be pushed to provide a finer pair of Bristols than the ones I'm showing you completely free of charge - two Crosville RE / ECWs seen at Northwich Bus Station in the summer of 1988. Merry Christmas!

26-10-06: Warrington Borough Transport

Five more Volvo Merits have been delivered with two further examples to come. The seven will be numbered 59-65 but no further details are to hand as yet.

22-10-06: MTT South Liverpool Running Day

Organised to celebrate twenty years of Bus Deregulation, the Merseyside Transport Trust's first South Liverpool Running Day saw a number of former Liverpool Corporation / Merseyside PTE buses take to the city's streets to recreate three bus routes which are no longer operated. Services 4, 5 and 73 all linked the city centre with Woolton via different routes. The photograph above shows Liverpool Corporation AEC Regent V / MCW A267 (VKB900) - a bus which was safely in the hands of preservationists well before D-Day dawned - at the Woolton terminus of Route 4. Feedback suggests there is great interest in running the event again next year although fingers will no doubt be crossed for better weather!

05-10-06: Warrington Borough Transport

Warrington's double-deck fleet has been renumbered into a new series running from 150 to 199. 150-3 are the former Leicester Dominators 100-3. Ex-Dublin Olympians 59-62 have 100 each added to their fleet numbers to become 159-62 with former Blazefield 63/4/7-70 becoming 163 etc. and ex-Huntingdon 65/6 renumbered 165/6. Next are the former North Western Olympian / ECWs 71-8 which are now officially 171-8 but as 71/2/5/6/8 are out of service they probably won't ever carry their new identities. Native Warrington Dominators 81/2, 91-9 are now numbered 181 etc. 'Heritage' PD2 148 retains its existing fleet number.

05-10-06: Arriva North West & Wales

To begin this overdue update, some news of the low-floor double-deck fleet. Former Blue Bus Dennis Trident / Plaxton 4000-2 (Y46-8ABA) have been transferred to Speke; our photo (left) shows 4002 on service 699 in foul weather last Friday. The former Arriva London DAF DB250 / Alexanders, 4025-31 (S265-71JUA), are also at Speke which is now home to all 40 low-floor DDs in the ANW&W fleet. B7TL 4111 now has a full rear-end advert for the Capio Renacres private hospital near Ormskirk. A larger version of this picture may be seen in the ANW&W collection on the Fotopic site.

Former Liverbus Volvo Olympian 3341 (L211SBG) has had its nameplates pinched. For those who don't know, this bus was named 'ANDY' in memory of Liverbus Traffic Manager Andy Wade who died at the tragically early age of 28.If anybody reading this has the plates or knows where they are, I'm sure no questions would be asked if they were to be returned immediately to the company.

Volvo Olympians 3361 (V41DJA), 3362 (T42PVM), 3363/5 (S43/5SNB) and 3364 (R44BLU) have all been transferred from Bolton to Southport where they replace withdrawn Volvo Citybuses. 3365 was in use on Rail Replacement work in Liverpool on Sunday October 1st. The H-GEV Leyland Olympians have all been transferred out of Manchester as they are now over 15 years old and therefore too old for use on GMPTE services. 3101/4/7 are at Bootle, nominally for Rail Replacement but often to be found in normal service. 3102/9/10 have moved to Laird Street where they rejoin 3105/13-15. 3103/6/8 have gone to St. Helens and 3112 is (by my records at least) unaccounted-for.

Many older buses have been withdrawn since our last update. In particular it is sad to record the withdrawal of 'celebrity' Leyland Olympian 3122 (C212GTU), the last former Crosville bus in the fleet. Also withdrawn are the other two ECW-bodied Olympians, 3071 (B251NVN) and 3073 (B513LFP), thus consigning the Lowestoft bodybuilder to the history books as far as this fleet is concerned. The last closed-top ex-Merseybus Leyland Olympians have also left the fleet; these were Northern Counties-bodied 3263/3/6 (F262/3/6YTJ).

The withdrawal of the last Citybuses from Southport, Alexander-bodied 3674/6-80/2 (F104/6-10/2TML), was overshadowed there by the more significant withdrawal of open-top Atlantean 3981 (OLV551M) which has been saved for preservation. Similar 3980 (GKA449L) remains for now, retained for occasional private-hire use, as Arriva's last Leyland Atlantean.

The other Citybuses withdrawn were 3646 (H661DTJ), 3650/1 (G650/1EKA) and 3690/2 (H660/2GPF). Also extinguished from the fleet are the Ikarus-bodied DAF SB220s (1790-4 all withdrawn from Bolton), Alexander-bodied Lances (1925-31/5 were the last survivors, also at Bolton) and East Lancs-bodied Leyland Olympians (3146-9 from Winsford). There are now no coaches left (5003 at Aberystwyth was the last one) nor are there any former National Bus Company vehicles remaining with ANW&W.

05-10-06: Stagecoach Merseyside

Spectacular repaints, in connection with the 2006 Liverpool Biennial Festival of Contemporary Art, are Volvo B10BLE 21118 (W467CRN) and Optare Solo 47158 (S33ABC) which have been repainted in colourful designs created by a group of Romanian artists. The picture (left) shows 21118 at the Wirral Bus & Tram Show on Sunday October 1st. The 8.8m Dennis Dart SLF / Marshall 'Capitals', 33164-9 (T702-7JBA), have all been withdrawn and sent to Preston for storage. Volvo B10M / Alexander 'PS' 20145 (R645LSO) and 20171/4/8 (K171/4/8LTS) have been transferred to Glasgow whilst former Harrogate & District B10B 'Striders' 21003/5/7 (M388/91/3VWX) have gone to North West at Morecambe thereby eliminating B10Bs from this fleet.

01-10-06: Avon Buses

Enterprise Bus Plasma / Plaxton 'Primos' YN56 NHA - C are numbered 456/556/656 and are the first of their type for a Merseyside operator. They are 28-seaters and 656 (left) was exhibited at the Wirral Bus & Tram Show. Further new deliveries to record are Alexander-Dennis Dart SLF / MCV 'Evolution' B40F 156/256/356, registered AE56 LWJ-L.

29-09-06: Napier Point - Castle Buses

Two new acquisitions to record are former Go-Ahead London General Volvo Olympian/ Northern Counties R376/8LGH, but former Grey Green Volvo Citybus G149TYT has been sold.

Ex-Nottingham Olympian L489NTO has received a large red fleet number (02) - perhaps the entire fleet is to be so treated?

25-09-06: North Western

This great name from the past returns to record the withdrawal of the former 720 (A112KFX) from the Arriva London Sightseeing Tour. Numbered ML12 in the ALST fleet this was one of four MCW Metroliners acquired by North Western from fellow Drawlane fleet Shamrock & Rambler in 1988; the MCWs had only a short stay in Liverpool but all four went on to become highly successful large-capacity open-toppers in London. It was pictured (left) at Showbus yesterday and was the last Metroliner in the London fleet. Parts 1 and 2 of the North Western history which I have written for the Merseyside Bus Club Review are now available from the 'Articles' page of this site. You will have to wait for Part 3 until after it has been published by the MBC.

11-07-06: Arriva North West & Wales

With my apologies, we have something of a catch-up session tonight as I have been otherwise committed (Degree course and house repairs) for about the last two months.

The 34 VDL SB200 / Wrightbus 'Commanders' based at Speke (some were temporarily allocated to Green Lane when first delivered) are 2574-88 (CX06 BHA / D - F / J - L / N - P / U - W / Y / Z), 2589 - 97 (CX06 BJE / F / J / K / O / U / V / Y / Z) and 2598 - 2607 (CX06 BKA / D - G / J - L / N / O). 2601/2 are in dark blue / cream 'Airlinks 500' livery and to B40F configuration with extra luggage accommodation while the rest are in standard Arriva colours and to B44F layout. Dart SLFs 2603-8 have been renumbered to 2103-8 to make way for the new arrivals.

Former Nova Scotia, Winsford, Dart MPDs 812/3 (T64/5JBA) have moved from Wythenshawe to Bootle for use on CATCH-funded Liverpool City Centre services S2/S3 now that the unsuccessful hybrid Solos 651-6 are officially regarded as withdrawn. This service has seen a variety of buses since the Solos were first taken out of service with possibly the least appropriate being Bootle's three Plaxton-bodied Volvo B6s given that the contract specified fully-accessible low-emission buses!

Huyton depot closed after operations on Saturday June 10th with most of its 62 buses going to Green Lane. The reason for closure was the lack of space at the Wilson Road site.

At least four DAF DB250-LF / Alexander 'ALX400' have arrived from Arriva London. These are currently at the body shop in Bootle for single-door conversion and repaint prior to entering service from Speke which is expected to become a 100% low-floor depot soon. Interestingly in March this year the ANW&W fleet had a majority of low-floor buses for the first time as 705 of the 1,400 licensed buses were to the accessible layout.

Leyland Olympian / ECW 3122 (C212GTU) continues to defy retirement; officially allocated to Bootle's Rail Replacement unit, this immaculate bus - surely a preservation prospect - has been noted on services 60 and 168 (Bootle - Aigburth Vale by completely different routes) recently.

11-07-06: Stagecoach Merseyside

A new service, operated jointly with Stagecoach Ribble, was launched on June 11th linking Liverpool, Southport and Preston. Service X2 runs hourly (two-hourly on Sundays) and two Volvo B10M / Plaxton have been acquired for Merseyside's share of the service; they are 52172 (L582JSA) and 52179 (L579HSG).

9.3m Dennis Dart SLF / Plaxton 34213-5/8/9 (W213DNO etc.) have been acquired from Stagecoach London and these will be among the last vehicles ever to be cascaded thus from London to provincial Stagecoach fleets as Stagecoach London was recently sold (on June 23rd) to an Australian bank.

Those who took part in the Merseyside Bus Club trip to Barnsley, Retford and Lincoln on June 24th were delighted to see former CMT Volvo B10B / Wright 'Endurance' 21008/9 (M647/8YLV) at work in Barnsley with Stagecoach Yorkshire. 21008 retains CMT red livery but 21009 has been smartly repainted into Stagecoach colours.

11-07-06: Southport Corporation

Mark Youdan is seeking a buyer for his preserved Southport Corporation Leyland National 4 (YFY4M) due to the difficulty of finding secure undercover accommodation for the bus. He has advertised it on Ebay (click here for off-site link). If anybody is seriously interested, email me and I'll put you in touch with Mark.

11-07-06: Halton Transport

Two more Marshall 'Capital'-bodied Dart SLFs have been sold due to the loss of Merseytravel schools contracts. 1 (R712MEW) and 90 (R410XFL) were sold to Rossendale Transport which collected them on June 23rd. I am grateful to Halton's M.D. Chris Adams for regular updates on Halton happenings.

11-07-06: Norbus, Kirkby

A blast from the past, I caught up with a former member of the Norbus fleet in Birmingham on Saturday. Dart MPD X171BNH is now with Birmingham Motor Traction, and looks gorgeous in BMT's Birmingham Corporation Transport-inspired cream and dark blue livery.

11-07-06: Supertravel Omnibus

Dennis Dart SLF / Plaxton T102KCC isn't a new arrival here; it is in fact T6 STM re-registered. Similar T7 STM has been sold.

11-07-06: Liverpool South Parkway Opens

The long-awaited Liverpool South Parkway opened on Sunday June 11th. Incorporating the former Allerton and Garston stations, the facility has a six-bay bus station and over 200 car parking spaces. A number of bus routes now use 'LSP' but whilst the Airport-bound 80A and 86A services call in, the 'ordinary' 80 and 86 do not as I found out on Saturday when, arriving back from Birmingham, I was faced with a choice of a 25-minute wait for the 86A back home to Wavertree or a 100-yard dash in the rain to the nearest bus stop served by the 86! This, I presume, is what is meant by 'integrated transport'....

02-05-06: Arriva North West & Wales

First of all, thanks to Jack Sumner for details of 2584's registration, which is CX06 BHU. Speke-based 2592 is registered CX06 BJK and at least up to 2596 have been delivered now.

The end of an era occurred on Saturday April 29th when the last two Leyland Lynxes were withdrawn from service on 29th April; the last survivors were 1743 (G49CVC) and 1752 (H254PAJ). Olympian / ECW 3122 (C212GTU) was transferred from Winsford to the Bootle Rail Replacement fleet at the same time.

16-04-06: Arriva North West & Wales

Thanks to Martin Conolly, more new VDL SB200 / Wrightbus 'Commanders' noted today are Green Lane-based 2587/8 (CX06 BHY / Z) and 2589-91 (CX06 BJE / F / J), all of which were out on rail replacement work in Liverpool City Centre today. I still haven't seen 2584 - can anybody confirm its registration mark please?

15-04-06: Arriva North West & Wales

Wrexham-based Dennis Dart SLF / Plaxton 2601/2 (R601/2MHN) have been renumbered 2101/2, bringing them into line with their former North Eastern fellows in the S-KHN batch and clearing the way for further deliveries of VDL SB200 / Wrightbus 'Commanders'. Interestingly, 2603-8 (R603/4/85/06-8MHN) all retain their existing fleet numbers - at least for the time being.

15-04-06: City Sightseeing

City Sightseeing's Liverpool and Chester tours have come out of their annual hibernation. The same vehicles appear to be in use as last year with the Chester tour using Chesterbus' Leyland Fleetlines and the Liverpool one using City Sightseeing's own Metrobuses. No photograph of the Liverpool tour yet, I'm afraid, as some idiot walked right in front of me while I was trying to take one yesterday! The Chester tour is illustrated (left) by this view of 997 (SDM97V) at the soon-to-be-closed Chester Bus Exchange at lunchtime today.

14-04-06: Arriva North West & Wales

2580-3/5/6 (CX06 BHL / N / O / P / V / W) are new VDL SB200 / Wrightbus 'Commanders' now in service at Speke. When first delivered a couple of weeks ago they were used on a rail replacement service. Presumably there is a 2584 as well but I haven't seen that yet. As can be seen from the photo (left) taken at Queen Square this afternoon, they are to the 'classic' Wrightbus design which has now been a feature of the Merseyside scene for 13 years. Doesn't time fly? A larger version of this picture may be seen in the ANW&W collection on the Fotopic site.

14-04-06: Stagecoach Merseyside

A second former Harrogate and District Volvo B10B repainted into Stagecoach corporate livery is 21003 (M388VWX).

To expand upon, and slightly correct, my comments about the former GTL Alexander 'Dash'-bodied Darts and B6s (30-03-06), Dart 32695 (J701YRM) was out on route 103 early on the morning of 3rd April although I haven't seen any of these since. The former London Plaxton- and NC-bodied Darts are on the way out too; I noted 32179 (K767OGK) and 32917 (L119HHV) at work on April 5th. The former CMT Dart / Northern Counties of the N-CHF batch are to be retained for the forseeable future; they are in much better condition than their former London counterparts.

30-03-06: Halton Transport

Halton Transport has launched its own Day Ticket, available from bus drivers for £3.00. All vehicles have had advertisements applied for the tickets which allow unlimited travel across a fair area when one considers that Halton serves not just Widnes and Runcorn but Liverpool, Huyton, Warrington and St. Helens as well.

Service 14 between Runcorn and Liverpool will have some extra journeys as of next week as Halton responds to the increased activity of Arriva on this key corridor since the end of last year.

30-03-06: Stagecoach Merseyside

The first of Stagecoach Merseyside's Volvo B10B / Alexander 'Striders' to be repainted into corporate colours is 21004 (M389VWX), pictured (left) approaching P.S.I. today. Meanwhile, the last of the order for 75 Alexander-Dennis Dart 'Pointers' has arrived in the form of 34820 (PX06 DWF) also pictured at P.S.I. Larger versions of these pictures will be uploaded onto the Fotopic site shortly.

The registrations of the latest deliveries are 34808 (PX55 EHE; this retained its booked registration despite arriving in March), 34809-15 (PX06 DVR / T - W / Y / Z) and 34816-20 (PX06 DWA / C - F). These new buses have now seen off the last of the Alexander 'Dash'-bodied Volvo B6s and Dennis Darts reacquired by Stagecoach with the GTL fleet last July.

30-03-06: "EDWINA" hits the road

Merseyside has been chosen as one of the trial locations for a new initiative aimed at improving the lot of partially-sighted bus drivers throughout Europe. Funded by the EU, the British pilot project is called Euro Dog With Intelligent Navigational Ability (EDWINA). EDWINA is a Boston Terrier who has been trained to assist the driver by barking once when it is time to stop the bus, twice when it is time to move again, and three times if the bus is too full to pick up any more passengers. EDWINA, who has been trained to respond to commands in Polish as well as English, will make her début from Speke depot on Saturday morning in specially-modified Volvo B7TL 4130 (AP06 RYL) which has been diverted from Arriva Southern Counties and which will be identified from a distance by signs at the front and rear of the bus reading 'Partially-Sighted Driver - No Hand Signals Please'.

I managed to get into the top secret training facility in Wavertree and sneak a photo of EDWINA who was relaxing at the time by reading the Merseyside Bus Club Review, proof that she is indeed a very intelligent animal.

From March 18th, 2006, this Latest News section is now available via the Merseyside Bus Club's official website which is provided by bus-enthusiast.com. A warm welcome to anyone joining us for the first time, and indeed to all our return visitors!

18-03-06: First PMT

First PMT has closed Ellesmere Port depot, latterly regarded as a sub-depot of Chester, as expected (see report, 1-12-05). When I passed the empty site on March 15th a notice outside announced '0.4 Acre site for Lease'. Presumably the buses based there are now all at Chester. Further to the December report, there are no plans to close or relocate Rock Ferry depot.

18-03-06: Helms of Eastham

Volvo 'Citybus' D10M / Northern Counties H76F G638BPH is in use here in full red / cream livery which suits it rather well. It was latterly Arriva Southern Counties 7636 at Gillingham but was new to London & Country in 1989.

Best wishes to Helms' owner Mr. John Cherry who I gather hasn't been too well lately. Get well soon John!

05-03-06: Arriva North West & Wales

The final member of the batch of thirty Volvo B7TLs for Speke is in service as 4102 (CX55 EAJ). Note that it has retained its original '55' registration despite its entry into service having been delayed until March 13th. 4128 is registered CX06 EBL.

Four more VDL SB120CS / Wrightbus 'Cadets' are 2570 - 3 (CX06 BGU / V / Y / Z); these are at Chester. The first of a batch of VDL SB200 / Wrightbus 'Commanders' is 2574 (CX06 BHA) and this batch is expected to be split between Winsford, Rhyl and Llandudno Junction.

Crewe depot closed on February 25th, with most of its allocation - and responsibility for the Macclesfield outstation - transferring to Winsford. Those which didn't were Varios 374/5 (S824/5MCC) which went to Llanduno Junction whilst Varios 301-4/10 (R801-4/10YJC), Lynx 1755 (J655UHN) and Olympian / ECW 3022 (A152UDM), 3039 (A139MRN) and 3064 (B964WRN) are all withdrawn. Thanks to Elliot Stuffins for the non-Liverpool news!

12-03-06: Stagecoach Merseyside

Volvo B10M / Northern Counties 20603 (L603VCD) and 20605 (L425TJK) were in use on rail replacement services between Blackpool and Preston today alongside a number of Stagecoach North West buses and three very impressive Scania / Irizar coaches from Walsall-based Sania International.

The fleet replacement which has taken place since Stagecoach acquired GTL means that only seven of the Volvo B6 / Alexander 'Dash' and eleven of the similarly-bodied Dennis Darts acquired from Ensign remain in service at the time of writing. The B6s are 30905/6 (M720/7BCS), 30911 (L405JBD), 30929 (L439LWA), 30941 (M462VHE), 30942 (L453YAC) and 30951 (L833CDG) whilst the DArts are 3266 (K107XHG), 32670/3-6/9 (J514/21/3/7/8/43GCD) and 32684/5 (K554/7NHC). The last surviving Wright 'Handybus' Dart is 32285 (K988SCU) whilst the only step-entrance Pointers left in service are 32173/5 (K582/5MGT), 32179 (K767OGK) and 32182/5/7/8 (K857/61/70/2LGN). Gather ye photographs while ye may!

12-03-06: Huyton Travel (HTL Buses)

SN06 BMY is an Alexander-Dennis Mini Ponter Dart noted in service on route 101 (Vauxhall Circular) yesterday in full HTL green livery.

05-03-06: Arriva North West & Wales

Further Volvo B7TL / Alexander-Dennis 'ALX400s' at Speke are 4124-7 (CX06 EBF / G / J / K) and 4129 (CX06 EBM), all of which entered service yesterday. Presumably 4128 - which I haven't seen yet - will be CX06 EBL; I can confirm that the correct registration of 4121 is CX06 EBA. There has still been no report or sighting of 4102. The B7TLs, though intended for routes 82 and 86 / 86A / 86N, have strayed on to the 79s once or twice in the last few days.

12-03-06: Stagecoach Merseyside

Another Volvo B10M / Alexander 'PS' transferred here from Scotland is 20177 (K577LTS).

05-03-06: Arriva North West & Wales

At least eight more Volvo B7TL / Alexander-Dennis 'ALX400's entered service from Speke on March 1st, complete with '06' registration marks, the first 06s noted for a Merseyside operator. The eight are 4115 - 20 (CX06 EAK / M / O / P / W / Y) and 4122/3 (CX06 EBC / D). I haven't seen 4121 in sevice yet and so am unable to confirm its registration details. Most of these buses entered service without fleetnames or logos.

The two Dominators (26-02-06) which were at Green Lane have now moved on, and the former Speke-based F-YTJ Olympians have been sold to Ensignbus. Former Stevensons Leyland Olympian / Alexander 3227 (F97PRE) is now dumped out-of-use at Runcorn following the completion of its Rail replacement duties on the Wirral.

26-02-06: Go-Ahead London Central

No, your eyes are not deceiving you! Both Neil Hilton and Martin Connolly spotted London Central WHY6 (LX55 EAJ) in the Laird Street area of Birkenhead on Friday 24th. It is a Wrightbus / VDL 'Electrocity' diesel-electric hybrid bus with 'Commander'-style bodywork and quite what it was doing in Birkenhead we aren't sure but it is possible that it had simply taken a wrong turn after coming off the Belfast ferry.

On Saturday 25th, I spotted two '06'-registered Alexander-Dennis Dart Pointers heading down the M6 in the livery of a London operator, possibly Go-Ahead London General. The registration numbers were SN06 BKK and BKL.

26-02-06: Arriva North West & Wales

Volvo B7TL / Alexander-Dennis 4102 (CX55 EAJ) has not arrived on Merseyside yet; it suffered a mishap on its delivery run and was taken away for repairs. 4120/1/3 have all been noted at Green Lane in the last few days; they were getting their Hanover destination displays programmed-up ready for their entry into service which is scheduled for March 1st. These three carry registration marks CX55 EBP / EBU / EBZ but it is expected that these marks will be voided in favour of '06' registrations.

Dennis Dominator 3833 (H803AHA) has been sold to Ensignbus (dealer), Purfleet, whilst similar 3831/4 have been withdrawn. There are two Dominators parked-up at the back of Green Lane depot but whether they are 3831/4 or another pair is not known.

Transfers have taken DAF DB250 3618 (R203CKO) from Speke to Birkenhead; Leyland Olympian 3221 (G521WJF) has gone from Speke to Huyton whilst Bootle has its first Volvo B6s in the shape of 7218/41/2 (L218TKA etc.) from St. Helens. Some B6s have moved to Manchester. The Bootle trio may frequently be seen on CATCH services S2 / S3 in Liverpool which are supposed to be the preserve of the six hybrid Solos of which little has been seen or heard recently - what has happened to these buses?

26-02-06: Stagecoach Merseyside

Les Long tells me that Leyland Titan 10850 (A850SUL) managed a last run on service in Liverpool on the evening of Monday February 6th, two days after the Farewell Tour. Three Dennis Dart / Plaxton 'Pointers' are expected here as 32139-41 (L139-41VRH), from Stagecoach Devon, Exeter.

19-02-06: Arriva North West & Wales

Volvo B7TL / Alexander-Dennis double-deckers upto number 4114 are now at work from Speke. 4109-14 are registered CX55 EBA / C / D / F / G / J.

Over on the Wirral, Martin Connolly notes that the last journey to be operated by an Ikarus-bodied DAF SB220 took place on Friday February 17th when 1793 worked the 1701 495 from Woodside and the 1745 return from Moreton Cross. This bus will now join the rest of its type at Bolton.

A genuinely unusual working which I noted on Friday 17th was the use of a former Blue Bus Alexander 'PS'-bodied Dennis Lance on service 700 (Manchester - Liverpool Airport). I was heading down the opposite carriageway of the A562 at the time so I couldn't tell you which one it was though!

19-02-06: Stagecoach Merseyside

Further Alexander-Dennis Dart Pointers to enter service here are 34790-4 (PX55 EFV / W / Y / Z, EGC), 34797-9 (PX55 EGD / E / J) and 34800-8 (PX55 EGK / U / V / Y / Z, EHB - D). This suggests that 34795/6 have been diverted elsewhere and will not be coming here. 34780-7 and 34805-7 are based at Aintree depot.

Further rationalisation of the Liverpool-area network inherited from GTL takes effect today. Service 217 (Halewood - Kirkby) is cut back to operate from Huyton to Kirkby only; Merseytravel has secured a replacement Halewood - Belle Vale - Huyton service, also numbered 217, and this will be operated by ACE Travel. Services 4 / 4X and 5 (City - Tower Hill) are withdrawn and 14C (City - Croxteth) is renumbered 14 with certain journeys extended to and from Tower Hill. Services 17B / 17C and 17D are all renumbered 17 and all journeys will operate via Everton Road with an increased daytime frequency of 10 minutes. All journeys on the complicated 19 / 19B / 19C / 19E group of services will be numbered 19 and operate every 7-8 minutes between Liverpool and Kirkby; the service is taken out of Paradise Street Interchange (and this commentator supspects that others will follow) to terminate at Victoria Street instead. Stagecoach is withdrawing from the 26 / 27 (Shiel Road Circulars) and the 341 (Liverpool - Lydiate).

19-02-06: Warrington Borough Transport

I have obtained the registrations for Volvo SB120CS / Wrightbus 'Merits' 53-8 from WBT's website (www.warringtonboroughtransport.co.uk); they are registered DK55 OMM / O / P / R / L / M. Seating capacity is 39 but buggies and wheelchairs can reduce this to as low as 32.

19-02-06: John Flanagan, Warrington

In the best traditions of Have I Got News For You, this week's guest publication is Frodsham Life, from which we learn that Appleton Thorn-based Flanagan's has placed into service the UK's first wheelchair-accessible Esker Touring coach. The Esker Touring is built by Spanish coachbuilder UNVI on Mercedes chassis and can carry up to 35 passengers. The new vehicle joins an eight-strong fleet which is dedicated to providing accessible private hire services and which includes a rare Wright-bodied Bedford YNV coach (D864AHG) and a UVG-bodied Dennis Javelin (R570UOT). The Esker's registration mark can't be discerned from the photo.

05-02-06: Stagecoach Merseyside - Titan Running Day Report

Stagecoach Merseyside yesterday said goodbye to its last four Leyland Titans with a farewell event which was a fitting tribute to a type which has served Merseyside well since the first examples came up from London to join the Merseybus fleet in November 1992. The date too was appropriate, for it was 43 years to the day since Liverpool Corporation's first production Leyland Atlanteans entered service on February 4th, 1963. The last four survivors were 10046 (WYV46T Nerys), 10337 (KYV337X Richard S.S.), 10624 (NUW624Y, Poppy) and 10850 (A850SUL Stevie-Leigh), of which 10046 and 10337 were in GTL red livery and 10624 and 10850 still in MTL-style cream and maroon. These were joined for the day by Stagecoach Lancashire's 10698 (OHV698Y), the former GTL 2698 which looks very good in Stagecoach corporate livery, and Stagecoach London's 10001 (THX401S) resplendent in as-new London red with white upper-deck window surrounds and lettering announcing 'A new Leyland Titan for London Transport'. Preserved Titan A910SYE, originally London T910 but more recently a Merseyline vehicle, also joined us for part of the day. A number of visiting vehicles provided added spice with the star being Stagecoach Chesterfield's open-top former Grimsby-Cleethorpes Daimler Fleetline 15513 (MBE613R). Stagecoach Manchester sent Magicbus-liveried Scania / NC 15344 (J144HMT). Two preserved Atlanteans joined us as well, with former Merseybus 1055 (A135HLV) returning to its old patch accompanied by former GMPTE 8551 (ANA551Y). Preserved Arriva London AEC Routemaster RML2716 (SMK716F) was the oldest visitor. 10046 was unable to take part in the farewell tour due to a problem with her steering, but the other three survivors together with 10698, the RML and the open-topper set out in convoy. The first leg of the tour took us out down the East Lancs Road and into Liverpool City Centre where a brief photo-stop was held (only a few yards from where I took my first Merseybus Titan photo back in 1992) before proceeding through the Wallasey Tunnel to New Brighton.

At New Brighton the vehicles were lined up along the front (much to the amusement of a Happy Al's driver who squeezed between two Titans to find upon emerging that approximately 100 cameras were trained upon his bus!) for photographs before parking up in a line on some hard-standing while we adjourned for lunch. The local café had what must have been its busiest day all winter as a result; the staff coped triumphantly with the bus-spotting hordes and the fish and chips were superb. From New Brighton the procession headed back through the tunnel to Mann Island where more photographs were taken before the convoy split into two to allow a choice of routes to be sampled. One group (10337 and 10850) took the 217 route and the other (10624, 10698 and 15513) followed the 20 route out to Speke and then the 81. All the buses in the Speke group were driven by Chesterfield drivers so yours truly took on the task of directing Steve in the lead bus (10624) through the heavy city centre traffic and out along Park Road, Aigburth Road and through Garston to Speke. This is not a particularly scenic tour, but it has quite a few Titan connections. When we got to Speke we were soon encircled by local yobs and so we didn't stay there very long before taking the 81 route through Hunts Cross, Woolton, Childwall and then up Queens Drive. Rather than going all the way to Bootle, we turned right along the East Lancs Road to get back to the depot while it was still light enough to get a few last pictures. 10046 had been repaired and was out own her own last run when we got back and thus became the last Titan on the road with Stagecoach Merseyside, getting back to Gillmoss at around 4.55pm. The story of the four suvivors doesn't quite end here. 10046 has been sold for preservation and I am told that the other three are to become Yorkshire Traction's first ever Titans. I can't actually confirm that this is so, but if it is, one thing's for certain. The Traction Titan era won't last as long as the Merseyside one! Finally, a vote of thanks on behalf of the enthusiast community to all those who put so much effort into making the day a success: Les Burton, Gillmoss drivers Taff and Peter, and everyone who bought a bus along. It was an excellent day and a fitting end for a class of bus which won its place in the hearts of Merseyside enthusiasts.

05-02-06: Stagecoach Merseyside - Fleet News

Further Alexander-Dennis Dart 'Pointers' delivered are 34788/9 (PX55 EFT / U) and 34803 (PX55 EGY).

At least a further eleven Volvo B10M-55 / Alexander 'PS' have arrived from around the Stagecoach Group in recent days. 20152 (R652VSE), 20305/6/9 (L305/6/9PSC) and 20317/20 (N317/20VMS) are all from Scotland whilst 20895 (R985XVM) and 20902/5/10/23 (R902XVM etc.) have all moved from Manchester. Also transferred in are Northern Counties-bodied 20653 (R653HCD) and 20674/7 (R674/5HCD) from Stagecoach South.

Leyland Titans 10293 (KYN293X), 10332 (KYV332X), 10442 (KYV442X), 10570 (NUW570Y) and 10612 (NUW612Y) were all withdrawn in the two weeks leading up to the Farewell event.

Optare Solos 47158/60 have been repainted into corporate livery.

05-02-06: Arriva North West & Wales

A major Rail Replacement operation began yesterday to cover for trains between Birkenhead Hamilton Square and Rock Ferry, and Arriva has amassed a temporary Olympian fleet at Laird Street depot for the service which is intended to last for nine days. ECW-bodied 3073 (B513LFP) has moved over from Bootle's rail replacement fleet. Northern Counties-bodied 3206/9/13 (G506SFT etc.) have moved over from Speke as have 3253/5/8 (F253YTJ etc.), all displaced by the arrival of the B7TLs there. Similar 3261 (F261YTJ) has transferred from Huyton and 3266 (F266YTJ) is another bus from Bootle's rail replacement fleet. Finally Alexander-bodied 3227 (F97PRE) from Winsford is a surprise transfer; this had been expected to be withdrawn following recent accident damage but it was obviously deemed repairable after all.

03-02-06: Stagecoach Merseyside

With thanks to both Hugh Barker and Elliot Stuffins I can confirm that Stagecoach Merseyside will be holding a Titan farewell event tomorrow from 10.00am at Gillmoss depot. The event will be free but donations will be collected towards the MacMillan Nurses charity which provides support for people living with cancer and their families, so please be generous as this is an excellent charity and it is a lovely gesture on the part of Stagecoach.

The last four Titans at Gillmoss will be the stars of the show, aided and abetted by at least one ex-Gillmoss Titan (10698 possibly) from Preston depot, 10001 from London (this was London's first Titan and is Stagecoach's lowest-numbered bus), the open-top Fleetline from Chesterfield (15513: MBE613R) and one or more 'vehicles of interest' from the North West area. There may also be some non-Stagecoach vehicles attending. The day will be organised so as to allow rides and photo opportunities both at the depot and in the Titans' old haunts.

02-02-06: Arriva North West & Wales

Arriva's low-floor double-deckers have started to enter service, with the first examples noted on service 86 on January 31st - Les Long very creditably managed to get a photo of 4100 (CX55 EAF) at work on the 86 into the Merseyside Bus Club Review for February which was distributed at the meeting the following day. The complete batch will number 30, 4100 - 29; they are Volvo B7TLs with Alexander-Dennis 'ALX400' H45/27F bodywork and so far in service are 4100 - 8 (CX55 EAF / G / J / K / M / O / P / W / Y) whilst at least 4109 - 14 are at Speke depot being prepared for release into traffic. Routes 82 and 86 / 86A / 86N will benefit from these new buses although some are being run-in on University service 699 for now. The recently-introduced service 86N between Liverpool and Speke Airport has been temporarily withdrawn from January 25th following a missile attack on one of the buses; it is hoped that this will be reinstated soon. A large number of vehicles will be transferred away from Speke once all 30 B7TLs are in service, including the depot's contingent of F-YTJ Leyland Olympians, which are to be withdrawn and sold. 3255 and 3256 (F255/6YTJ) have received rear-end adverts for a film called Chicken Little which starts on February 10th (who says no-one reads these adverts?) so I'd guess they will remain on the road until then.

I have heard - and this is from a semi-official source - that a number of DAF DB250 / Northern Counties will move to Manchester where they will replace H-GEV Olympians as these become too old to operate on Greater Manchester PTE contracted services. The G-SFT Olympians will join their fellows at Laird Street whilst the G-WJF Olympians are destined for Huyton depot. Our two photographs show 4101 (CX55 EAG) at Liverpool University on the 699 and 4104 (CX55 EAM) in the run-down surroundings of Berry Street, Liverpool, on the 82. Both were taken at lunchtime today and clicking on either image will bring up the full-sized version.

02-02-06: Stagecoach Merseyside

The latest Alexander-Dennis Dart 'Pointers' are 34784-7 (PX55 EFO / P / R / S), whilst a further Volvo B10M / Alexander 'PS' noted is 20310 (L310PSC) from Fife.

Saturday February 4th will see the end of Leyland Titan operation here after thirteen years and three months during which approximately a fifth of the entire Titan production found a second home on Merseyside. The details of the commemorative farewell event aren't terribly clear as yet although I gather that it starts outside Gillmoss depot at around 10.00am and some visiting Titans from Stagecoach (T1 and a Preston example) and elsewhere (Blue Triangle's T2 has been mentioned as a possibility) will be in attendance. If I hear more tomorrow I'll post it here at around 7pm.

30-01-06: Warrington Borough Transport

Another six Volvo SB120CS / Wrightbus 'Merit' have entered service here, numbered 53-58. Registration details are not to hand at the time of writing.

Sunday-only service H5 (Warrington - Farnworth - Huyton - Liverpool), which has been operated by WBT since about 1988, will be withdrawn after the last departure on Sunday 19th February. Arriva service 6 will commence Sunday opewration on a commercial basis from the following Sunday.

30-01-06: Stagecoach Merseyside

Alexander-Dennis Dart 'Pointer' 34777-83 are now in service, registered PX55 EFG / H / J / K / L / M / N.

Further additions of Volvo B10M / Alexander 'PS' "Stagecoach Standards" are of 20107 (N107LTN), 20178 (K578LTS) and 20192-5(M592-5OSO) from various Scottish depots and 20616/21 (L616/21TDY) from South Coast.

The Leyland Titan fleet has been reduced dramatically such that only nine were left in service by January 15th. Withdrawals have taken 10257 / 339 / 47 / 464 (KYV257X etc.), 10552 / 78 / 632 (NUW552Y etc.), 10703 / 26 / 30 / 3 / 53 (OHV703Y etc.), 10984 (A984SYE) and 11086 (B86WUV) out of the fleet. 10850 (A850SUL) is back in service, although probably not for long.

The G-JHG Olympians – 14180/1/3/5 – have left the fleet for Stagecoach Devon and the remaining Olympians are not expected to remain very much longer as the intention is to have an all-single deck fleet here.

Many of the Alexander ’Dash’ single-deckers have been withdrawn for the second time by Stagecoach. These include Volvo B6s 30914/5/22/3 (L408/9/20/1JBD), 30924 (L423XVV), 30925/6/34/5 (L435/6/45/7LWA), 30948 (L701FWO) and 30953-6 (L838-41CDG), and Dennis Darts 32668 (K109XHG), 32669/77/8/80-2 (J506/31/3/44/5/9GCD), 32688/93 (K566/74NHC).

Northern Counties ‘Paladin’ Dart 32913 (L113HHV) has been withdrawn as well, as have Plaxton-bodied 32171/6/8 (K577/87/92MGT), 32180 (K824NKH) and 32181 (K853LGN).

Nu-Venture, Aylesford, has taken Leyland Titans 10347, 10552, 10726 and 10984; these are all believed to be for further service. Dennis Dart 32700 (K708PCN) has gone to D&G, Adderley Green, where it is numbered 24 whilst 32668 (K109XHG) is now with Travel A-2-Z of Walsall. Volvo B6s 30948 and 30953 have joined the fleet of GM Buses, Gorton.

The surviving Leyland Titans at the time of writing are 10046 (WYV46T), 10293 (KYN293X), 10332/7, 10424 (KYV332X etc.), 10570, 10612/24 (NUW570Y etc.) and 10850 (A850SUL). A Farewell Running Day for these buses is expected to be held on Saturday February 4th, marking the type’s demise after thirteen years and three months of service to the people of Merseyside.

11-01-06: Stagecoach Merseyside

20174 (K574LTS) has arrived on Merseyside from Perth whilst in from Chichester is 20629 (L629TDY); both are Volvo B10M-55s with Alexander 'PS' bodywork.

08-01-06: Arriva North West & Wales

Major service revisions take effect today, accompanied by a fares 'revision' which sees the minimum fare on Merseyside raised to a whopping £1.20 although there is no change to the Liverpool Zone day ticket which remains priced at £2.80.

Perhaps the most radical change affects service 86 (Paradise Street Interchange - Garston) which sees many journeys renumbered 86A and extended to Liverpool Airport. Service 86N will run half-hourly through the night to the Airport with short workings to/from Penny Lane on Friday and Saturday nights. The intention had been to launch a fleet of 30 low-floor double-deckers on this service to coincide with the Airport extension but these have yet to materialise.

A number of Runcorn depot's services are also changed. Arriva takes over most of the former First PMT workings on service 21 / X30 (Chester - Runcorn - Warrington). Service X5 (Runcorn - Liverpool express) is renumbered X1 and its daytime frequency is increased to every 20 minutes although the X5A diversion via Widnes is scrapped. Service 79C (Runcorn - Widnes - Liverpool) will now operate in the evenings and on Sundays, service 82A (Runcorn - Widnes - Airport - Liverpool) likewise. Service 110 (Runcorn - Widnes - Warrington) is retimed but otherwise unchanged. These services will all now be operated by the new Cadets (2514-55) which are to receive 'Strider' branding.

The large numbers of new buses arriving will set in motion a major programme of vehicle cascades and reallocations throughout the fleet, more details when the details are confirmed.

07-01-06: Supertravel Omnibus

Yet another new Optare Solo here is registered MX55 BYF; it was in use on Garston-area route 886 today.