10/3/17: Solo on the 2!

Here we have Ex-Leamington Goldline G1 Optare Solo 47511 (KX57 KGG), which is seen here arriving at Northgate Bus Station, Northampton unusually on service 2 to Rectory Farm, a route usually operated by Scania K320UB Enviro 300 or Enviro 200 buses.

47511 on 2 (10/3/17)

8/3/17: A non-DDA bus still lurks around and new videos!

Here in Northampton, a small company that operates bus services called Country Lion still has some non-DDA buses, specifically East Lancs Lolyne Dennis Trident buses. In a photo I have here, this is E7 CLN, which used to work in Brighton and Hove, and is operating the 11 to Parklands, a route that usually has double deckers on during the day, which would then work the 23 from Brackmills, where the Country Lion depot is.

E7 CLN on service 11 8/3/17

As well as this, sister Lolyne Trident E6 CLN was swapped over for this on the 11 later on in the day, which is also non-DDA. E6 CLN is also Ex-Brighton and Hove. Here is a photo below for reference.

E6 CLN on service 11 22/2/17

In addition, I also got videos of Ex London General Wright Gemini buses WVL88 & WVL89. These buses are now under the operation of Uno and are numbered 277 & 278 respectively. I captured them both working different segments of the service 19.

An album with all my photos from today can be found here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/aswans1234567/albums/72157677687589224

3/3/17: Trident on the 12!

Here we have Stagecoach Midland Red TransBus Trident ALX400 18102, which is seen here leaving Northgate Bus Station, Northampton unusually on service 12 to Kings Heath, a route usually operated by Dennis Enviro 200 buses. 37059, a 12 branded E200 was also seen on the 10 today.

18102 on service 12 to Kings Heath (3/3/17)

37059 on service 10 to West Hunsbury (3/3/17)

28/2/17: 15453 has been repainted!

Here is recently repainted Stagecoach Midland Red Scania Dennis Enviro 400 15453 is seen here at Northgate Bus Station, Northampton before leaving on the Monday-Friday only service X88 to Brackley. Before this, this bus had an all over advert for Homesense and was also painted into a special livery to celebrate 100 years of United Counties, which was first seen in 2012. This bus was new to Manchester in 2008, then moved to Kettering for the X4 in 2009, then to Northampton in 2012 when new Gold buses arrived for the X4.

15453 on service X88 (28/2/17)

26/2/17: Buses on loan to Kettering from Corby

Yesterday I went out and saw some more buses. I was able to grab a photo of both of the buses that are currently on loan from Corby to Kettering, Dennis Enviro 400 19084 & TransBus Dart SLF 34593. 19084 was working the short X4 between Northampton & Corby, and 34593 was on the X10.

34593 on X10. I have previously have been on this before on the X10 too! (25/2/17)

19084 on the short X4 to Corby (25/2/17)

I also have a album of all the photos I got yesterday. They are at this link: 
https://www.flickr.com/photos/aswans1234567/albums/72157678914312861

22/2/17: It seems double deckers are appearing more often on the 1 in Northampton

Here we have TransBus Trident 18150 standing at bay 13 in Northgate Bus Station, Northampton on service 1 to Brackmills. Last week saw an appearance of ADL Trident 18405 on the 1, and there were several other double deckers on this route in December last year, such as 18152 (a TransBus Trident ALX400) on both the 5th and 6th of December (it ran the 16 in the morning of the 5th), 18127 (another TransBus Trident ALX400) on the 17th and 15454 (a Scania Enviro 400) on the 29th. As I am aware of, I did not see a double decker in January this year on the 1.

Front and rear photos of TransBus Trident ALX400 18150 on service 1 to Brackmills (22/2/17)

As well as this, I also went on this bus and got a video of the Bus Station to Rectory Farm leg of the journey, if you want to see it will be down below this text.

21/2/17: Some of the best sightings from the last few days

Sorry about the lack of an update recently, I had work that needed doing for college so today I am going to post some of the best sightings I gathered from the 16/2/17 to yesterday (20/2/17).
First of all, we have a very unusual working from the 16th. Here is a Stagecoach Gold X46/X47 branded Scania Enviro 400 on the D1 to Daventry at the Drapery, Northampton. The fleet number is 15940, and as far as I am aware this does not happen very often (probably as often as getting a double decker on the 15!).

15940 on the D1 (16/2/17)

Next, on the same day for some reason 28632 and 37055 swapped places. As a result 37055 was on the X7 and 28632 went on the 8, which is very rare (if a replacement bus goes on the 8, it is usually a E200).

37055 on the X7 (16/2/17)

28632 on the 8 (16/2/17)

On Saturday that week, I was in Newark-on-Trent. Whilst I was there I grabbed a photo of 36450 which was a recent transfer from Banbury to Lincoln. This bus was operating the 3 to Hawtonville, a local route in Newark. Stagecoach outstation any buses that they use in Newark at the Travel Wright depot in Newark Industrial Estate.

36450 on the 3 (18/2/17)

And finally, yesterday saw the appearance of 37064 (a D1/D2/D3) on the 7 to Moulton Park, which replaced a broken down 18406. 37064 was on the 1 for the day until this happened.

37064 replacing a broken down 18406 on the 7 (20/2/17)

14/2/17: Some photos from yesterday

Yesterday I had a good day out and got some really good photos in the sunlight, much better than what I usually get. Of course, there were some misplacement of buses like 18405 on the 1 and 28628 on the 16. Here are some of my personal favorites from yesterday:

Stagecoach East TransBus Dart 34479 next to 18405 on the 1

28628 on the 16, 37043 was also on the 16 too!

18405 on the 1, my personal favorite photo from yesterday!

19889 on the 41, unusual to get a double decker on this route

Corby's 34593 helping out on the 10, 15403 was also on X4

Of course if you want to see all my photos from this day,  here is a link to an album of all the photos on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/aswans1234567/albums/72157680202990646

13/2/17: New video: 15455 on X10!

13/2/17: New video: 18405 on 1!

9/2/17: 18405 on 9!

Here we have ADL Trident ALX400 18405 departing Drapery, Northampton on service 9 to Duston. This is a bit of an unusual working, as double deckers usually operate the 9/9a on Saturdays, but this occurred on a weekday.

18405 on 9 9/2/17

8/2/17: New videos!

Today I have uploaded 2 new videos that I have recorded, these are Stagecoach 15403 on X10 and Uno 285 on 19.

6/2/17: New bus in Northampton!

Here we have Wright Gemini Volvo B9TL 285 (C14 UNO) which is seen here arriving at Northgate Bus Station on service 19A to University of Northampton Park Campus. This bus is here to replace the burnt down Wright Gemini B7TL 276 (LF52 ZNM), which happened on 27/1/16.

285 arriving at Northgate on service 19A

And another photo with it along side Country Lion Wright Gemini LJ03 MGY for comparison:

6/2/17: Ex-London Trident spotted!

Over the last weekend I went to visit some family in Newark-On-Trent and when I went out on my bike I saw a Trident approach me. I whipped my phone out and grabbed a photo of Centrebus 888, which used to operate in London as Stagecoach 18255. Centrebus also have 18254, which is operating as fleet no. 887. This bus also had its licence plate changed after being acquired by Centrebus. Here is a photo:

888 (W40 PJC) at Balderton, Newark arriving on service 24 from Grantham

3/2/17: Centrebus 248 on 62!

Small announcement about what I have seen today! Here we have Centrebus Optare Solo 248 at Northgate Bus Station in Northampton after arriving on service 62 from Scaldwell. I boarded this bus on my way to college today. This bus is also equipped with seatbelts, and it was quite a nice ride. I also totally did not expect this to arrive as well, was expecting to get 366, which is the usual bus for this route.

Bus review of week ending 3/2/17

This is a new feature that I will be including in this blog, and it will be all about the buses that I have seen in the space of this week. So, a week from today there has been quite a few unusual sightings for me, and it begins on last Friday.

Friday 27th January 2017:
I must of got extremely lucky this day, as I was able to see the rarest allocation possible in Northampton! A Gold X46/X47 branded Scania Enviro 400 (namely 15942) managed to escape onto the service 5, which rarely ever gets double deckers for a start, the last time I ever captured one was on January 25th 2016! However, that was only an unbranded Trident (18158). If you want the clearest photo of 18158 on the 5, here is a link to that photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/aswans1234567/24610405555
I also got a video 15942 on the 5, directing to Southfields. The video and photo of 15942 will be down below this text.

15942 on 5

Sadly, as reported by another bus enthusiast I know, this bus was taken off the 5 and replaced with another bus (possibly a 5 branded E200). There was also news of Uno's Wright Gemini 276 burning down whilst running the 19. News link is here: http://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/video-bus-bursts-into-flames-near-houses-in-northampton-1-7794409

Saturday 28th January 2017:
Quite a bit was seen on this weekend, we had Corby's 34593 help out on the X10 and Corby Star Branded Omnidekka 15405 on the X4, along with your usual double deckers on the 9/9A (this week 19012 & 18408). I also saw an appearance of an Enviro 300 on the Daventry routes (D1/2/3), and this was 27685 on the D2. I also took a ride on 34593 on the X10 that day, the video will be down below this text.

If you want to see all my photos from this day, click on this link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/aswans1234567/albums/72157679675919195

Sunday 29th January 2017: Did not really see much this day, only really a unbranded Enviro 300 on the service 16, and that is typically usual for a Sunday. Can't even remember the fleet number! Boring!

Monday 30th January 2017: Surprise hospital appointment! I was only told that I missed an appointment I did not get a letter about, and they re-arranged it for the 30th January. Lucky me the College that I study at let me have the day off! Everything was seen to be usual at first (Optare Solo 47414 on X10, Enviro 400 19020 on 3), but Optare Solo 47509 took me by complete surprise when I saw it arrive at the bus station from Rectory Farm on the 1. This was the bus I got to hospital, as upon arriving at the bus station it continued to Brackmills. After a long drawn out hospital appointment that took longer than it should of done, I arrived back in town only to find out that 18149 on the 10 was pursuing me on the bus that I got from the hospital (Dennis Enviro 300 27684 on 1). When I approached Northgate Trident 18410 left on a short X4 to Corby, and after seeing 18149 leave, 5 branded Dennis Enviro 200 37039 arrived at the Drapery on a 15! Not only this, I was also able to get a glimpse of a blind display that I have not seen before, which was the 88 to Buckingham! After switching from a 50 to Swan Valley to an 88 to Buckingham, then finally deciding it was operating an X88 to Silverstone for Brackley. This said bus was Trident 18151 for anyone wondering.

18151 displaying the 88 blind to Buckingham at Northgate of all places!

All my photos for this day have been compiled into an album, and can be found on my Flickr page at this link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/aswans1234567/albums/72157677991761551

Tuesday 31th January 2017: Quite a bit happened on this day also. To start things of, there was a delayed X4 from Corby, which was half an hour late (the one to Peterborough was boarding when it arrived). To make this seem worth photoing, it was Trident 17729 with its blind stuck on the 19 to Kettering. 17729 is on loan from Stagecoach West to Kettering at the moment (along with 17728) until March this year, which is to cover for some withdrawn non-DDA compliant buses (17037 & 17613), which have now been scrapped. On closer inspection of the photo I have (which is at https://www.flickr.com/photos/aswans1234567/32475615442), you can see a piece of paper on which has "X4" written on it. We also had 15 branded E200 37047 on the 3 (37074 was on the 15 to cover this), and Centrebus offering an E200 on the 62/37 for a change instead of the usual Optare Solo! This was also a bus that I have not seen before, its fleet number is 510, and I have both a photo and video of it, which will be down below.

510 arriving at Northgate before departing on service 62. This bus is fitted with seatbelts, along with some of the Optare Solo buses in the Centrebus fleet.

There also was an appearance of Uno's Dennis Dart DP124 on the 21. This bus usually runs the 86.

As with most of my other photos from this review: there is a link to view them all, which is here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/aswans1234567/sets/72157676212436433

Wednesday 1st February 2017: I enjoyed a small ride on Centrebus Optare Solo 231 on the 60 up to my local ASDA supermarket, and that is really about it (apart from me getting Stagecoach 18405 on my way back on the 16). 231 used to be a bus that operated for Stagecoach in the Kettering residence.

Thursday 2nd February 2017: I went back to college today after taking my usual two days off, and my first bus to the bus station was one of the early morning service 60 buses (operated by Centrebus). It was another Optare Solo, but this time it was 268, one I have not got before. It was quite comfortable to ride on, and it was also equipped with seatbelts. I also saw the return of Stagecoach Trident 18152, after not seeing it for a long time. It was operating the service 16 that day. Thursday was also the first day that I saw a Dart operate the 58, which is usually operated by a 50 branded Scania Enviro 400. The 08:15 departure from Northgate Bus Station is operated by a bus from the Kettering depot and unusually it was 35178, a bus transferred last year from Leamington Spa. 2 branded Scania Enviro 300 28635 also made a really rare appearance on the D2 as well.

 

Thank you for reading my review on what buses I have seen this week, I will publish another one next week.

Alex Swanston

Announcement! I have a YouTube channel!

Unless you know about me and see the content I have uploaded onto YouTube before, I tend to post videos of buses. This is a thing that I started on the 20th August last year, when I uploaded a short clip of 16699 during the Olympian farewell day, when it was operating the 1 to Rectory Farm in Northampton. I liked this idea, and the next video I uploaded was recorded on the 23rd August in the same year, a small ride on 18152 on the service 16 to Sunnyside.

If you want to check out my content before going on my channel, I have a 16 minute long video of Stagecoach Trident 18152 on the 1 to Rectory Farm that I recorded on the 6th December.

Anyways, here is the link to my channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFW5U7IoHNUyNB4xxHcd4OQ

Welcome to my blog!

Hello to all my visitors to my blog. This blog will be all about my bus sightings that I have seen and I will post regularly, on the circumstance anything new to me pops up or an unusual allocation has been made. I will also post videos of buses that I have recorded.

I hope you like my blog, and the content I put on it.
Many thanks,
Alex Swanston
Owner of this fine blog