Sunday Lost Scenes - Sunday 18th August

Once upon a time, these were an every day sight in Portsmouth...

First Hampshire & Dorset 52070 - L170TRV - Southsea (South Parade Pier) - 15th February 2005

The Iveco TurboDaily - bouncy, vibrating, rattly buses, but a type of bus that I think you'll find nearly every enthusiast growing up in the People's Provincial area will have a small soft spot for. L170TRV was the last one I needed on camera from the batch that was in service at the time in February 2005, and I was rather chuffed to catch it by luck at Southsea's canoe lake, just up from South Parade Pier. 2005 saw the slow beginning of the end of the Iveco, with mass withdrawals in 2006, before the final buses went in 2007.

These Ivecos, new between 1993 and 1995, and then supplemented by a predominantly Mellor bodied batch acquired from Blue Admiral with First's take over in 1996, dominated the Portsmouth bus scene for over a decade. With the withdrawal of most of the former Blue Admiral buses, combined with the shift of several Iveco-operated routes to bigger buses, the former People's Provincial Hoeford based buses were shifted over to Hilsea. They were allocated to high frequency routes, such as the 3, then at five buses an hour between Paulsgrove and Southsea, or the 6, 13 and 14, all Portsmouth city services with six buses an hour. Long after the last regular Iveco service disappeared from Hoeford, Ivecos still ran all the way through Fareham to Warsash on the 57.

With Portsmouth routes receiving 37 Streetlites later this year, it is likely the entire network will be operated by large low floor buses. The smallest bus found will be a Solo. The goal will have finally been achieved - large, more comfortable low floor buses at lower frequencies - set in motion with the beginning of the end of the Iveco, back in 2005.

Why not try these...?

Just a quick prod in the direction of my photo website for those of you interested.

Click here to view photos from Appledore and Bideford in North Devon.

Click here to view photos from the North Cornwall town of Bude.

Click here to view photos from the west Dorset town of Lyme Regis, and the Devonian town of Seaton.

Photos from Plymouth, Christchurch and Portsmouth, amongst other areas, to be uploaded over the coming weeks.

Ride the North Devon Wave...

Stagecoach now rule the roost in North Devon following the closure of First's Barnstaple depot, and now they are cementing that advantage, with a fleet of brand new Scanias...

The North Devon Wave is the brand Stagecoach introduced in 2010 for the main North Devon route - connecting Barnstaple to Bideford, and onwards to the towns of Westward Ho! and Appledore. First used to operate these as the Atlantic Goldline and Atlantic Connection, amongst other brandings, but it is Stagecoach's version that now operates the main corridor in North Devon. A large batch of Scania N230UD/Enviro400s have been placed into service, with 15887 (WA13GDF), or 'Poppy', indicative of the batch.

The 22 North Devon Wave Scanias have been introduced, upgrading the corridor beyond Barnstaple, up to Ilfracombe too. The two routes combine on the Barnstaple - Bideford corridor, giving 6 buses per hour - three via East-the-Water and three via Instow. 15894 (WA13GDY) heads along Bideford Quay for Braunton on the 21. 

A number of unbranded buses have also entered service alongside the Wavers- what seems to be a standard policy where Stagecoach introduces a brand new fleet of buses. 15899 (WA13GEY) is named 'Abbie Rose' - I believe the names the buses carry are the names of bus drivers' children who won a competition. 15899 is pictured heading along the quay at Appledore, past a particularly attractive ice cream van.

The old order were former Stagecoach Oxford Transbus and ADL Tridents. These buses have literally run First off of the roads in North Devon - the old order pictured to the right. On 9th August 2010, Stagecoach's 18394 (KX55TLN) is pictured next to First's 42449 (R449CCV) - a bus now in service in Weymouth. An image of the Dart was perhaps a little unfair on First - most journeys were operated by Tridents (new in 2000 or 2005), with a few ex-London Tridents chucked in too. However, First had recently upped the route to a 10-minute frequency and they didn't have enough Tridents to cover all the workings - hence the drafting in of a couple of Darts each day.

A final view of another unbranded Scania - this time 15900 (WA13GFE). 'India May' is pictured heading along Bideford Quay for Westward Ho! on the 21. These are certainly impressive buses, and despite being a rather common (boring?) design for the enthusiast, the buses still ooze class and style with their attractive curves, clever use of glass and expected high-standards of presentation from Stagecoach.

To view the timetable, please click here. The Appledore photos were taken from about 1200 until about 1430 - although as the buses turn in the car park the sun is perfect whenever you visit. Nearside shots at Bideford possible AM - don't visit early afternoon as the sun will be too head on. Offside shots possible PM, and Bideford town's bridge is excellent for photos too, if a little tricky with the traffic.

Sunday Lost Scenes - Sunday 11th August 2008

Today's Sunday Lost Scenes comes from Lymington back in 2008. I'm sure I've used this one on posts before, but I thought it was very apt for events at present...

4454 - KRU854W - Lymington high street - 10th June 2008

With Wilts & Dorset's Lymington's present use of elderly Leyland Olympians on the X1 and X2 at present, I thought this week we'd return to 2008, which was the last year of the Lymington VR. This photo is the last ever Bristol VR I photographed in service (albeit it is operating a strategic empty bus movement!), and was the only one of Lymington's VRs I ever got a decent photo of. 

This VR photo is sort of symbolic of the problem enthusiasts have in photographing Lymington's Olympians. Usually, they are strictly used on the 118 Wednesdays only service to Ringwood, and the Brockenhurst school contracts. They are a relative nightmare to photograph- a situation that will return when the New Forest Tours end, or the rumoured Scania Omnicitys move to Ringwood. This is why the opportunity to photograph them on X1 and X2 is important for anyone who would like to grab some more, final photos. Apparently two Spectras have been moved to Ringwood for use on the X1/X2, but this still leaves at least one allocation on the PVR 7 route that will be an Olympian. That's assuming all Spectras and Volvo B7TLs are fit and healthy.

Now this VR was made before I was born, so bare with me on the technical details. A KRU***W registration means this bus was new between Aug 1980 and July 1981, meaning that at the time of this shot, the bus was about 28 years old. F707RDL has been used on the X1, X2 and 6 in the past week - new in 1989 I believe. Therefore, the bus is 24 years old. As such, the present Lymington Olympians have got a little bit further to go before they can be equated with using Lymington's VRs on the same services.

Holsworthy on Market Day

Holsworthy is the first town in north Devon from Bude. It is a traditional market town, with a quiet square, library, wonderful church, two former railway viaducts and a scattering of rural bus services. On Wednesdays, however, services increase meeting the needs of the traditional market.

The standard services to Holsworthy form part of Stagecoach Devon's X9 and Western Greyhound's 599 between Bude and Exeter. Stagecoach Devon use a variety of Scania N230UD double deckers on the route, while Western Greyhound tend to use their youngest Solos since the fire. Usually Stagecoach use former Oxford 15431/2/3, but on Wednesday 31st one of their youngest Scanias sneaked onto the route, in the form of 15864 (WA62ANU), escaping off the Honiton and Seaton routes they were purchased for. 

In addition to the X9/599, Stagecoach Devon also operate about 5 daily departures on route 85, connecting Holsworthy to Bideford and Barnstaple. This route is operated by a Dart that usually starts and finishes the day at Bude outstation, as the first 85 is extended from Bude to Holsworthy, and the last arrival continues onto terminate in Bude. Finally, one service of Stagecoach's route 71 to Great Torrington is extended to/from Holsworthy early in the morning and late at night.

On Wednesdays, there are many more buses though. First into the library/church car park were two Mercedes-Benz Varios of Carmel Coaches - VX04KTT near and YK53BKF far. The 638 is a Wednesday only service from Halwill Junction, taking an hour and ten minutes to meander between the tiny villages and hamlets. The 639 is another market day service, this time from Hatherleigh. This bus takes 50minutes journey time, and on every second Tuesday, is extended from/to Northlew. Who thought rural services were on their way out?!

Next to arrive was Western Greyhound's Wednesday's only variation of route 530. The 530 is the most idyllic rural bus route, navigating tiny villages from Bude to Kilkhampton and Morwenstow to the east. However, on Wednesdays, it travels fast from Kilkhampton to Holsworthy, and then again fast into Bude. On Wednesday 31st July, appropriately registed Vario 560 (WK02BUS)  pauses outside of the library, as it allows the regular weekly passengers to alight.

Next to arrive was Turners of Chumleigh's Enviro200 KX60DVP, looking a little large and out of place to be used on a market days only route. This bus was operating the 641 to/from Great Torrington.

Finally, the smallest bus to join the market day fleet was Group Travel's BV57VGU on a 208. According to Bus Lists on the Web, this is a Mercedes-Benz O530. The 208 comes to Holsworthy from Warbstow Cross, taking 55 minutes end to end. 

Although rural routes have suffered heavily in recent years with subsidy cuts, the Wednesday market routes of Holsworthy continue to survive. The five special routes or variations of routes provide a vital service to the residents of these local villages and hamlets, who I'm sure are not provided with a regular bus service. The variety is good for the enthusiast too, giving them a chance to grab a few shots that are out of the ordinary. All buses arrive between about 1020 and 1105 (the X9 from Exeter) - you'll have to come earlier or later if you want a picture of Stagecoach's 85 though (next one arrives at 1158). Thanks for viewing.

Lymington's Olympian Swansong

Lymington depot of Wilts & Dorset is a hive of activity at present - more so than any in previous summer. Not only are they operating their usual number of routes, buses are provided for the Blue New Forest tour, the 112 to Hythe has been tripled in frequency for the summer(ish), and the Olympians are getting a good work out, earning their stay late into their service life.

As discussed in previous posts, the X1 and X2 are half hourly services connecting Lymington with Bournemouth. In 2005, the routes were upgraded with convertible open top Volvo B7TLs, such as 1830 (HF05GGY), as illustrated left. However, from the original batch of nine buses, five have been moved elsewhere for use on the New Forest Tours or simply to other depots. Thus, only four remain at present. Therefore, the X1 and X2 is throwing up some rather peculiar allocations at present. 1830 is pictured coming across one of the bridges in Christchurch, heading along Castle Street.

For the month of July, 6 Dennis Tridents were loaned in to Wilts & Dorset (4 buses) and BlueStar (2 buses). Since the schools have gone back, they have all returned to Oxford and are no longer on the South Coast. Here is City of Oxford's 113 (T113OBW), pictured heading for Lymington along Gervis Place back on 13th July.

With these gone, the former Southern Vectis Olympians, now freed from school work, rule the roost over the remaining allocations on the X1 and X2. Here's 4740 (K740ODL), heading for Lymington through Christchurch yesterday afternoon.

It isn't just the Northern Counties bodied Olympians either - this all Leyland "TIL-ley" was out on the X2 also. 4713 (TIL6713) was new as F713WDL to Southern Vectis. These are even sneaking onto the 6 up to Southampton on occasion, but the three BlueStar livered Spectras and associated Solos seem to do the work most of the time.

Three Olympians were out on the X1 and X2 yesterday, and 4736 (K736ODL) completes that hat-trick. She is pictured heading for Bournemouth through Christchurch.

This arrangement is expected by enthusiasts to last for the summer, although nothing has been confirmed by the company itself. Should complaints mount up, I can see them drafting in a few PVLs that are spare. Therefore, should anyone want to have a realistic and likely chance to get these buses in service work again, I suggest you get yourself down to Lymington over the summer - the earlier the better. Don't forget on Wednesdays there is the extra 118 to Ringwood market.