My visit to Bishops Waltham on Friday helped me complete my photos of all the Optare Solos that BlueStar have operated. All have been acquired from Wilts & Dorset at various times in years gone by, with the initial examples brought in to bolster Red Rocket services, and the latter ones (identifiable by the newer BlueStar logo on the front) came to replace Transbus Dart MPDs at Eastleigh. This is a pictoral post to illustrating all of these buses.
Heading for Eastleigh on route E2
4th November 2009
Allocated to Eastleigh
Heading for Winchester on route E1
4th November 2009
Allocated to Eastleigh
Heading for Southampton City Centre on route 14
12th February 2010
Allocated to Eastleigh
Arriving from Eastleigh on route F
10th December 2010
Allocated to Eastleigh
Heading for Weston on the now withdrawn route 15
2nd February 2009
Allocated to Eastleigh
2633 - T633AJT - Hythe (Ferry Yard)
Pictured on Hythe town service H2
24th April 2010
2634 - T634AJT - Hythe (Prospect Place)
Arriving in Hythe on town service H2
6th November 2009
Allocated to Totton
2659 - V659DFX - Winchester bus station
Departing for Eastleigh on Red Rocket route E1
12th February 2008
Vehicle withdrawn- now with Damory
2664 - V665DFX - Barton Park depot
Pictured out of service
29th February 2008
Vehicle withdrawn - now back with Wilts & Dorset
Pictured heading for Bitterne on route 14
8th February 2010
Allocated to Eastleigh
2669 - V669DFX - Winchester bus station Pictured arriving in Winchester on route E2Allocated to Eastleigh (now in blue!)
The Solo's are actually ideal for the routes that they are used on - basically the letter prefixed routes. Although the examples at Eastleigh are some of the oldest examples in Go South Coast, they do the work required of them admirably and passengers have few complaints. It will be interesting to see what eventually replaces them.
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