Issue 76
(OBP-292)
Sunday 9th May 2004
 next update week ending 19th May 2004

Please note that any comments made in this news page are those of the Editors' and in no way constitute 
any official points of view from the bus companies mentioned,  or indeed any other official body. 
As a news page we reserve the right to make valid comments as seen from an editorial point of view.

If you wish to be included on a mailing list where I will advise of any mid week news please
let me know on malcolmhc@aol.com

Last Friday was a kind day to photographers and I snapped away to my heart's content during my breaks from an X90 trip followed by a rounder on 500s and then two rounders on 13s. Altogether a very nice day with plenty of variety.

It was interesting to note that two foreign coaches chose to unload on St Giles blocking the nearside lane for buses running into the centre of Oxford at Magdalen Street East. I was reminded of the experiment a year or so ago when provision was made by the City Council for left hand drive coaches unloading in St Giles. This has of course now gone and perhaps facilities need to be re-thought as it did seem rather dangerous as the picture below shows.

The Oxford Times this weekend carried quite a big piece on an unfortunate incident involving Thames Travel in Jericho, when a Solo got out of control and several cars were badly damaged. I remember once working the Jericho service in the days when OBC used a Metrorider and thinking how impossible it was for a bus route. This was due to the parked cars.

This Sunday saw a parade in High Wycombe with Sikhs and bringing up the rear of a very colourful pageant was this Volvo of unknown origin.

 

Well, now on to the reports for our area. Your contributions continue and I am pleased to receive them each week. My thanks to everyone who sent information.

Malcolm Crowe, 9th May 2004.

Visit the "OXFORD BUS PAGE" Archive 1998 - 2002

Visit the "OXFORD & CHILTERN BUS PAGE " Archives from October 2002

News of the local companies – 8th May 2004

Abbey Coaches


A visit to Abbey Coaches today revealed this Olympian which I had not seen before.
There were several other interesting vehicles including a Guide Friday open topper and a Leyland National


What a superb shot it would have made if Thames Travel's 501 and one OBCs remaining 5xx Darts
had been passing Arriva's 3833, once OBC 503.


Gavin Francis writes, including the photo above saying "I notice this week's News Page
shows Lynx 3070 still in service. Just to confirm 3069 was running last Monday, 26th April and is
seen here in Uxbridge at the end of the 300 route from High Wycombe.


A visit to Newlands Bus Station saw the vinyl man added the livery to Volvo 3852.


A rear shot showing the finished product, though this time on 3842


The site for Arriva's new garage in High Wycombe. This is opposite the old location in Lincoln Road, Cressex.

Paul who writes under the name Stagecoach888 reports that "5160 and 5161 were treated at Cannock.  The local engineers don't know if any more are expected as work is often sent from Derby / Thurmaston depending on capacity at Cannock. As I said, there are 4 Fox vehicles here at the moment, but one is ready so no doubt it will be replaced in the workshops by something."

Steve writes "Just a couple of unusual workings today on the 280 as there is a chronic shortage of DD buses for the 280's.

10.30 dep was worked by Dennis Dart, 3099 and the 15.30 dep was worked by Volvo B6, 3137

Charlton Services

I had not seen much activity by Charlton Services around Oxford recently and was pleased to catch their ex OBC Olympian BBW217Y turning into St Giles on the sunny lunchtime last Friday.

  

   

Coach 70 has not yet entered service but will shortly do so. From today, May 9th, the X70 goes to every 20 minutes which requires three additional vehciles.

Coaches 25 and 71 have still to return from outside contractors upgrading these coaches.

Keep you eyes open as I think a couple more stored Darts may return to service next week. These will be two out 512, 515 and 519. It appears there are a few more mods to do on the Citaros.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that the refurbished coaches on the X90 are now called "Excalibur class". The Irirzars are logically therefore called Century Class. The branding is shown below.


Century class branding.

Bus Monkey sent in the following sightings from last week.

Tue 4th
-----------
833 on 4A in morning
647 on 400

Wed 5th
------------
603, 608 and 630 on 5

Interestingly an 8xx Volvo B10BLE was also on 35 road on Friday last.


I often find the destination displays on the Tridents fail to register in my camera.
Here 102 and 114 both oblige and are both out of service last Friday.


Earlier on Friday 114 was on 300 road and I got a friendly wave from the driver as he spied
me sitting on St Giles waiting for 826 on my 500 rounder to appear.

Heyfordian.

Roland Cox sent a further fleet list and details of the re registered Olympians.

Leyland Tigers 

NIL 4580  (RNY 305Y)    PN    C49F

TJI 6301   (YPJ 209Y)     PN    C50F

TJI 6302   (YPJ 210Y)     PN    C50F

TJI 6303   (A115 PBW)   PN    C50F

TJI 6304   (A116 PBW)   PN    C50F

TJI 6305   (A117 PBW)   PN    C50F

EAZ 8412 (E75 VKO)     PN    C57F

EAZ 8413 (E76 VKO)     PN    C57F

8779 KV   (????????)     PN    C53F 

LIL 9664   (FAV 564Y)    PN    C53F

HUI 4566  (FAV 566Y)    PN    C53F

LEYLAND OLYMPIAN   ECW

FIL 7662

FIL 7664

FIL 8317

FIL 8441

2185 NU

7958 NU

7209 RU

7298 RU

8216 FN

8548 VF

B739 GCN

DAF

7845 LJ  (B623 JRC)  PN   C51F

8252 MX (F135 LJO   PN   C53F

2779 UE (F139 LJO)  PN   C53F

MAN

L26 CAY (9467 MU)

VOLVO

L740 YGE   JE  C49FT

L743 YGE   JE  C49FT

L745 YGE   JE  C49FT 

L752 YGE   JE

YAY 537 (F483 OFT)    VH

2482 NX  (E             )    VH

7396 LJ   (K906 RGE)    JE

N 802 NHS         JE

N 803 NHS         JE

N 808 NHS         JE

N 809 NHS         JE

M833 HNS         VH

M993 HHS         JE

M634 KVU         VH

M639 KVU         VH

R 415 EOS        VH

T723 UOS         JE

T725 UOS         JE

TOYOTA

VSF 438  (J27 OPC,1636 VB)

1435 VZ   (G152 ELJ,2622 NU)

2462 FD  (L535 XUT)

OPTARE

FBZ 7356 (J714 CUM)

481 HYE  (K428 HWY)

943 YKN  (K434 HWY)

SOLO  

YN 53 YGN

MB

N605 JGP

SCANIA   

5089 LG  (B156 YBW)   JE  C53F

868 AVO  (A 52 JLW)    JE  C51FT

4827 WD  (A 59 JLW)    JE  C51FT

ESU 940  (A 60 JLW)    JE  C51F

XCT 550   (B504 CBD)   JE  C51FT

SJI 4428   (B505 CBD    JE  C51FT

LDZ 2503  (D312 V V V) JE  C51FT

LDZ 2502  (D313 V V V) JE C51FT

The two below are  B157 YBW (1264 LG) and B71 MLT (6960 TU) rereg'd order unknown.

9682 FH    (??????????) JE

9467 MU   (?????????)   JE

NEOPLAN N122/3

6595 KV  (F625 CWJ)

4078 NU  (H297 GKN)

R998 KKD

The Olympians I've seen before rereg are as follows but I don't know which are which except B245/6 NVN are the NU's and the C reg. are the RU's. They are

JTY 373/5/98X,B245/6 NVN,B253 PHN,B255 RAJ,C265/6 XEF,AEF 227Y and B739 GCN,the last not rereg'd.

So over the past weeks we have three fleet lists and somewhere between the three we have all details.

Red Rose.


Other people have noticed that there is a second Solo appearing on the 275, MX03EJY.
This is in addition to RR02BUs previously featured on this page.

 

News from readers was received as follows:

Ralph Adams writes "The desired allocation of Chipping Norton outstation is now 20203 20204 20205 and 16523 from Oxford for route 20. The chosen B10Ms can reach 60 mph and have coach seats (but I find the headrests are to low and are no better than bus seats, personal opinion only). However, desires are not always met and 20204 was at excel on Sunday.  16523 is now allocated as loadings in the morning and Saturday afternoons can sometimes be high. These peak loadings are the reason that Harry had the 54 seat Derwent Tigers 996-998 at Chippy with fleetname Oxford Minibus. Rather large minibuses. Also allocated to Chippy is 40659 used on the X8, on the Witney fleet allocation."

Bus Monkey noticed

"Tue 4th 20228 on 1 in morning  and says Monkey has noticed that the side display on 16523 is stuck on 100 - saw it the other day whilst it was operating the 20. The number of times Monkey has seen it on Chippies seems to suggest to my monkey brain that it is operating from Oxford / Chippy outstation?"

Keith Wood writes "16514 had left Nuneaton by Saturday morning (1/5/04) and if Caetano, Leicester (O&CBP this week) is carrying out the single door conversion work I wonder whether Nuneaton will be used as a staging post for these vehicles ?"

Ross Aston reports "16519 will be pretty modern for a school bus!  Would of thought that an older olympian from Warwickshire would replace 14936.  

Would suppose any spare B10Ms left over would be the next to go,  when the 7 or so Olympians go to Oxford, unless they want to get rid of  non standard deckers like 16403. "

This was in response to comment by Rob Williams who writes " On the subject of Banbury, was 16519 actually seen in use? They have been storing Tridents and Olympians there, and currently they only have one school route that actually requires a decker (the Leyland). If 16519 was on town services then one might suspect that it was just helping out like 16401 did recently."


Seen on many different routes recently 16141 was on 7s on Friday but showing no route numbers at all.


Dart SLF 36733 also was working on 7 s on Friday.


My first site of a new Trident on 20 s at Gloucester Green last Saturday.


Has anyone realised that the lettering on the low deck sides has been changed on the Oxford based Megabus vehicles?
Also additional lettering has appeared on the roof panels.

Woottens

Michael Wootten writes "A Setra demonstrator is expected here shortly for evaluation.

Re-registered are Volvo B12M / Jonckheere Millennium Mistral FE02 FCC to W100TEN and Leyland Olympian ONTL11/2RSp / ECW B782 FOG to 760 BUS - a fitting number for a 76 seat bus! 

Ex-Redwing Volvo B10M / Plaxton Premiere N289 OYE  and ex-Brighton & Hove Bristol VRT / ECW WJI 2849 (JWV 273W) have each received body overhauls and are back in use complete with the latest company vinyls. 

Bristol VRT / ECW WJI 2849 will be in service at the Aldershot & District Bus Interest Group Running Day on Sunday 30th May 2004.  We have lots of spare seats if anybody wishes to join us!  More details regarding the Running Day are available at http://www.geocities.com/adbigweb/. 

A detailed Woottens fleet list can be found at http://www.woottens.co.uk/fleet.htm.

PHOTO CORNER
If you have a digital camera and wish to submit photos for this page please send them to the me at 
malcolmhc@aol.com


A National Holidays Volvo N380EAK loads in St Giles last Friday


Evan Evans Iveco LK02LKV on a Stratford-Oxford Excursion last Friday

I welcome your photos for inclusion on this page. Please send them to me at
 malcolmhc@aol.com

This is a most interesting site which I do recommend

Visit the "OXFORD BUS PAGE" Archive 1998 - 2002

Visit the "OXFORD & CHILTERN BUS PAGE " Archives from October 2002