An enjoyable day out on the South Coast

What an enjoyable day out on the South Coast yesterday was. Today's post gives some of the highlights of the 2013 Stokes Bay rally, organised by the Provincial Society and supported by large numbers of bus owners, stall holders and visitors. The sun came out from behind the clouds more and more as the day went on, and it was a really lovely day. Just one quick piece of housekeeping - to reminisce over the last rally in 2011, please click here. 

I'll start with a line up of preserved Provincial buses, as the rally was started in 2003 originally to support 125 years of the company. From left to right are unique ACE Cougar H523CTR, Bristol RE ECG112K, Leyland National A301KJT, and Guy Arab II EOR875. There are a wide selection of Provincial vehicles preserved and I've always wondered why - especially when some former fleets do not have any buses preserved. This preservation of history is perhaps why my local fleet is so fascinating - the history seems to effortlessly live on into the present day.

Two companies the rally couldn't have happened without now - First Hampshire & Dorset are the first. They supplied eight buses from Southampton and Hoeford depots, and two of them are illustrated here - former Sheffield Volvo B10BLE 66196 (S796RWG) alongside native Scania Omnicity 65017 (YN54NZP). I do think the Scania would look far more attractive if the front was finished though - the new First livery really sits well on the Scania and has the potential to look even better - this just looks rather wierd. If a FHD manager is reading this, please at least paint one up round the front to see what it looks like? I trust you will be convinced that a full frontal repaint is the right way forward...

Secondly, Brijan Tours, who also sent a large number of buses, including three Darts and this Volvo B10M - affectionately known as Reggie - and formerly N502HWY. Without the support of Brijan, the rally would not be able to take place, so thank you very much - it is very much appreciated!

The local southern fleets were well supported, with various buses from the Go Ahead South fleets or their previous incarnations. Here is preserved Solent Blue Line VR NDL637M heading out of Stokes Bay on the cavalcade.

Sister Go Ahead company Brighton & Hove brought one of their brand new Volvo B9TL/Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 double deckers for route 5. This is 470, interestingly registered BK13OAP.

Stagecoach were well supported with a Volvo B10M and this, an early Leyland Olympian new to Hampshire Bus. F601MSL is still owned by Stagecoach, and is one of an ever increasing number of preserved buses owned and operated by Stagecoach internally - an excellent initiative which recognises the service these buses have given in the history of the company. Still numbered 14951 in the Stagecoach fleet, here she enters the rally site having completed one of the free tours around the south coast. 

Preserved Southdown buses also featured frequently at the rally - here is PUF586R with the destination set for the old X16 express service to Southsea. She is pictured heading out on the cavalcade.

Sticking with Southdown and also veering slightly left to Hants & Dorset, here are two well known and loved buses passing each other at the entrance to the Stokes Bay rally site. Hants & Dorset 5677EL heads out onto the cavalcade, while Southdown PRX189B deposits passengers from one of the free tours. The dedication shown by the owners of all the preserved buses must be applauded as all buses were turned out looking spotless. In addition, without the support of these preservationists, rallies like Stokes Bay would not take place, so it is much appreciated!

Two further glorious buses - this time from Portsmouth. Atlantean VTP262L is blinded up for route 17, alongside BBK236B on the 148B route. Suddenly, you can see the benefits of First's simple network in Portsmouth today!

Finally, this is preserved Wilts & Dorset Bristol VR JJT437N. This is the first time that I've seen this bus, and I was very excited to see it pull into the rally site in the morning. It is pictured heading out of the rally site onto the cavalcade.




Yesterday's rally was well attended with visitors, buses and traders. It seemed all the stronger for missing out a year earlier, due to the consistent and persistent heavy rain suffered in 2012. Yesterday, the sun was out, the buses were rolling, and it was almost like it had never been away. Thank you to all of those individuals - the Provincial Society, officials at First & Brijan, preservationists, traders and enthusiasts themselves - who made the day so successful and enjoyable. Here's to next year!

The X53 - the last 10 years

Arguably, First in Dorset's premier route is the X53, connecting Poole with Wareham, Weymouth, Bridport, Lyme Regis, Seaton and Exeter at a frequency of every 2 hours. The route has been developed in cooperation with Devon and Dorset County Councils over the last decade, but now First stand alone. They've just relaunched the route as the Jurassic Coaster, and this blog entry documents the changes to the route over the last 10 years.

2002 was the last year of the former Volvo B10M mini-coaches that operated the route. Then at an irregular frequency and only Weymouth to Exeter, three of these coaches in Southern National green connected the two places. Following improvements to the X53, G804XLO was transferred up to Hoeford (one of the first transfers of the newly formed First Hampshire & Dorset), to act as a driver trainer. It is pictured on those duties, as it reverses into one of the bays at Gosport bus station.

For the summer of 2003, five Scania L94UBs with Wright Solar bodywork operated the route, now extended to Wareham. The buses were diverted from a delivery to First in Essex, and here is one of the batch - 62408 (YS03ZKE). With the increased publicity of the route, standing loads were more common, which brought in the next new batch of buses...

Six Scania Omnidekkas and one single decker joined the fleet between 2004 and 2005 for use on the X53, now extended to Poole. These carried a new dedicated livery for the X53, advertising it as the Jurassic CoastlinX53. Here is 36003 (YN04GNY), heading to Weymouth on a Sunday X53 through Lyme Regis.

2008 saw the delivery of 8 brand new Volvo B9TL double deckers - thus far the only examples in the First Hants & Dorset fleet. The livery remained fairly similar. Over the next couple of years, relationships with councils would be strained, frequencies chopped and changed, Sunday services dropped and reintroduced, and it did not seem that the X53 would remain the same for long. Here is one of the batch - 37584 (HX08DHG), pictured heading through Seaton for Exeter in August 2013.

As First now tackles the X53 commercially, the requirement for buses no older than 4 years to be used on the X53 is redundant. Thus, the present 7 Volvo B9TLs are now being re-seated with high back leather seats, and rebranded as the Jurassic Coaster. The base of the livery is First's refreshed livery, using the colours of the existing livery. Thus far, only 37580 (HX08DHL) is the only one to be upgraded but the others will follow. It is pictured in a rather glum summers day in July 2013 in Lyme Regis while heading for Seaton and Exeter.

What next for the X53? Well, the two-hourly frequency is still stretched during summer months, especially when the holiday traffic causes long delays. Furthermore, the buses are still quiet during the winter, which saw the evening and Sunday services withdrawn last year - the Sunday service has recently been reintroduced for the summer but whether this will continue through the next winter is not clear. First seem to be investing long term in the route despite it now being an entirely commercial venture. It will certainly be interesting to see what the future will hold for the X53.

Stokes Bay Rally tomorrow

Just a quick reminder that it is the annual Stokes Bay Rally tomorrow, as organised by the Provincial Society.

The weather is supposed to be light cloud with sunny spells tomorrow - much like the last Stokes Bay rally, in 2011. You may remember last year's rally was rained off... For full details, please visit the Provincial Society's website.

First serving Salisbury... again

First in Avon & Bristol have announced that they will be re-entering the Salisbury bus market, with their brand new extended route 265...

The 265 sees First return to Salisbury for the first time since 2008, when the joint X4 service with Wilts & Dorset was withdrawn, and First cut back their part to Warminster as the 264/265 route. Bodmans took over the X4, operating between Warminster and Salisbury. From 28th July, First will have a larger presence in Salisbury than ever before, operating hourly into the city as early as an 0718 arrival from Warminster - the earliest from Bath arriving just after 10 o'clock. 

The existing buses on the 265 are Volvo B7RLEs new in 2005-6. 66939 (WX55TZA) illustrates this batch perfectly as it leaves Trowbridge for Warminster in March of last year. With brand new Streetlites being introduced onto the X39 (Bristol - Bath), this should free a few more Volvo B7RLEs to operate on this service. Bath depot has also just repainted their first B7RLE into the new colours - sister 66943. 

I wish First well on this service - a route that competes against its own train service from First Great Western from Salisbury to Bath. In addition, this service is being introduced against the background of cuts across the former First Somerset & Avon district, with Bridgwater town services decimated, frequencies withdrawn in Wells, and more. 

For enthusiasts unfamiliar to Salisbury, the best locations to photograph the 265 for the sun would be:
* entering the city via the railway station along Fisherton St - in the morning there are lovely backdrops.
* in the city centre along Blue Boar Row
* entering the bus station mainly around early afternoon
* departing along Brown St late afternoon, but before the bus turns left down New Canal. 
This is assuming the route follows the same course as the existing Bodmans' service.

I'd even like to contemplate that in the future the 265 Bath - Salisbury, which was the X4, may be connected to First Hants & Dorset's X4 from Southampton - Portsmouth. Now there would be a long bus route! 

New Enviros in Portsmouth

Over the course of 2013, Portsmouth is to receive many new buses for the two primary fleets that serve the city - First Hampshire & Dorset and Stagecoach South. Stagecoach's final batch is arriving at present, and this post documents the latest upgrades to the routes around Portsmouth city.

First up are an existing batch of Enviro200 single deckers, introduced to services at the beginning of the year. 36831 (GX62BFK) is one of a number of similar buses that are allocated on the Havant - Wecock Farm services, via Crookhorn and Waterlooville. These buses rarely get onto Portsea island itself, unless one strays onto the 20 or 21. 36831 is missing its arrows which inform potential customers of the frequency and other important matters.

The second change is the repainting and rebranding of the '58' plate batch of Enviro300 single deckers, allocated to route 23. The "Surf23" has been dropped for Stagecoach's colour coded route branding and arrows. 27565 (GX58GNO) shows off the new style as it heads down Bishop Crispian Way in Portsmouth. Route 23 serves The Hard on a Sunday, which brings these buses to this location.

Finally, the new order for route 20 and 21 are another batch of Enviro300s. 27862 (GX13ANV) is one of a number of similar examples being introduced into service at the moment. As illustrated, there seems to be space for a similar style of branding to be added to this bus.

Following these upgrades, the oldest buses in service from Farlington depot will be found on the 30/31 Hayling Island services, which will be no more than a decade old. Brand new Enviros on the 20/21, three year old Enviros on the 700, five year old Enviros on the 23 and seven-eight year old Tridents filling in where appropriate, and on the 37. First have announced 37 Streetlites will be introduced onto Portsea island too by November, so things are certainly looking up! 

Sunday Lost Scenes - Sunday 14th July

Today's Sunday Lost Scenes reminisces about my first Yellow Buses photo...

Transdev Yellow Buses 186 - SK07DYB - Christchurch (Bargates) - 28th January 2010

The Bournemouth and Poole area has historically always been a strange gap my photographing geography. While I've concentrated well on the south coast from Portsmouth to Lymington, Lymington to Swanage was once a great chasm in my collection. The 28th January was the first time I ventured into the gap, seeking out Christchurch, where Transdev Yellow Buses had just introduced their brand new Optare Tempos. Not knowing the area well, I made things more difficult for myself that I needed to as I went on market day...

Walking from the railway station, I was first struck with how busy the traffic was. This caused any photographing opportunities to be aborted, until I reached the Bargates. This is the location where the 1a, 1b and 1c stopped on market day, as they could not access the high street. Unique Enviro 186 (SK07DYB) was strangely the first bus I ticked off the Bournemouth Transport list - one that I thought would be challenging to find!

Following those first steps into the great gap, I've since filled in most of the locations. However, I've never done Bournemouth properly as an enthusiast - a couple of trips outside the railway station to the travel interchange but not a long period in the town centre. I tried yesterday - even achieving the satisfying photo that is now my title image - but aborted due to the crowds. 

Bournemouth Transport have indeed also come a long way in those three and a half years. Now owned by RATP, there has been a constant improvement in the fleet, coupled with a never-ending increase in variety - it really is the perfect fleet for the enthusiast! 

Blog note - I've been concentrating on the FHD enthusiasts website recently by adding new features, updating everything etc- so therefore the blog has remained a little neglected. Now the majority of the work is done (apart from continuous updates), I should be able to find time to post more blog entries again. And as one commenter said - the first rule of self publicity is to provide a link - so here you go this time! 

http://www.freewebs.com/firstprovincial/