Thursday 31 May 2012

New Bournemouth - Poole Volvos

In my final Wilts & Dorset instalment for the week, this blog entry covers the entry to service of the brand new Wilts & Dorset Volvo B7RLEs. This blog brought you some of the first photos of the newly branded buses back here, and here I can bring you photos of some in service.

Numerically the first of the new Volvos, here is 2251 (HF12GVP) arriving into Poole on the m2. Apart from the Wright Eclipse Urban #2 bodies, the buses differ from the existing Volvos by having red visible on the front of the bus, and by having more of a swoosh on the More logo.

The buses are quite easy to find in Poole and Bournemouth now. As far as I know, none have gone off of routes m1 and m2 yet. However, with the forthcoming upgrade of routes 8 and 9 to More status, they may venture further west than they have so far. Here is 2255 (HF12GVV) arriving along Kingland Road, Poole. 

Another shot of a new More Volvo. Funny to think just 8 years ago, the bus behind was forming the backbone of the Bournemouth - Poole routes. 2257 (HF12GVX) arrives from Castlepoint shopping centre.



For anyone wanting an easy snap, the new More Volvos serve Bournemouth rail station every few minutes on the m1 and m2. Jump off the train and you'll have 4 or 5 on camera within 15 minutes! Here is 2264 (HF12GWG).


They're not the only Volvo B7RLEs new in Bournemouth either - RATP Yellow Buses have their own recently acquired batch of Plaxton Centro bodied Volvo B7RLEs. Here is 804 (YN08NKH). These can usually be found on the 5 and 6, both passing Bournemouth rail station. This one is on a 4 - I would have loved to photograph this out in Wimborne on the 4d. That would have been a rare snap!

6 comments:

  1. the new volvos have been on the 5/6 recently, on a sunday :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I was in Poole/Wimbourne last Friday - the 12 Reg Volvos do get out and about - I saw one on the 3 - happened to be the Jubliee one! And the Yellow Bus ones do get to Wimbourne.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The jubliee bus is not a new bus! Alot of people seems to think it is but in actual fact its a 54 reg orginal volvo

    ReplyDelete
  4. The jubilee bus has worked on most routes as there has been a photographic competition on the WD web site for snaps of it in different places. Only the m1 goes to Bournemouth Station, every seven and a half minutes each way. For m2 you need to be at the Lansdowne or Square. On Sundays the new buses do tend to get used everywhere, and finally there will be 8/9 branded buses these being 2222-2227 2229 2230 2233 I think. (2228 is in old blue more livery so will not be branded)

    ReplyDelete
  5. "Here is 804 (YN08NKH). These can usually be found on the 5 and 6, both passing Bournemouth rail station. This one is on a 4 - I would have loved to photograph this out in Wimborne on the 4d. That would have been a rare snap!"

    Mon - Fri the 0715, 1255 and 1355 4d's from Bournemouth are scheduled for a large single deck so the Centros or the pair of E300's can be seen in Wimborne on those trips, arrive at 0810, 1351 and 1451 respectively. They also end up on 4c's at 0825 and 1745 from Bournemouth so I would say the West Moors shot is your rarer one to get James!!

    Other than that they can be found on three lines of "short" 6's to Wallisdown or two lines of the 5a/b under normal circumstances, although as 7 out of 8 are required everyday if the eighth is fit for purpose then it could appear anywhere in theory . . .

    Regards, Ant

    ReplyDelete
  6. As an aside, the new Eclipses are in the process of having the fronts smoothed off between the headlights in the same way as the Gosport Busway examples with First so I would guess there will be a "more" logo on there soon . . .

    ReplyDelete