Ipernity HFF

Monday 22 June 2015 (1049) – Stagecoach in Chester 21259 (YJ09 FWG) seen in Northgate Street, Chester. It is a Wrightbus bodied Volvo B7RLE new to First West Yorkshire (69312) in April 2009.

Tuesday 11 April 1995 – Eastern Counties Omnibus Company DP78 (M378 YEX) was one of the Plaxton Pointer bodied Dennis Darts equipped with guide wheels to use the short stretch of guided busway track in Kesgrave, east of Ipswich. It was new in January 1995 at the time when the guideway first opened. The guideway gives a direct link between two housing estates and allows buses to avoid a busy section of the A12 trunk road. When first opened it could only be used by a selection of single deckers that were narrower than standard width buses and were branded as the ‘Superoute 66’. In 2005 the guideway was re-gauged to allow standard width vehicles. Over the ensuing years the somewhat bare landscape is now bordered by hedgerows and shrubbery. There were three buses per hour on the service at the time, two were service 66 and the third was a 66A that featured a slight variation from the 66 in Martlesham. DP78 was heading towards Ipswich working the 1438 trip from Martlesham which was a 66A working.

Sunday 19 April 2015 (0843) - The Stagecoach (East Midland) Worksop garage site includes a small open air parking area at the Newcastle Avenue end. Hardy Street runs down to right side. The building opened in July 1957 when East Midland Motor Services was owned by British Electric Traction and at the time performed the dual role of a garage and a bus arrival/departure station. (WP 20150419 08 43 29 Pro)

Friday 29 May 2015 (0843) - Stagecoach (East Kent) 15916 (GN09 BCY), an Alexander Dennis Enviro400 bodied Scania N230UD new in May 2009, seen in Canterbury city centre leaving for Margate and Broadstairs on service 8A.

Saturday 28 March 2009 (1133) – Trent Barton (trentbarton) 448 (FE02 KDU), an Optare Solo new in March 2002, seen in North Parade, Matlock Bath when working the 1130 Matlock to Wirksworth service 6.1. It carries red fleet livery with a rear panel advert for the ‘Frio’ multi-journey ticket. Matlock Bath rose to fame when warm springs were discovered in 1698 which attracted the wealthy and influential visitor but the arrival of the railway in 1840 opened it up to the masses. Today it is rather like an inland seaside resort – landlocked Derbyshire doesn’t have any coastal resorts of its own of course! Set in a steep sided gorge with the river on one side of the main road, the buildings are only found on one side of the road many of which housed an array of amusement arcades, fish and chip shops, gift shops, cafes and the like at the time of my visit. A number of family fun parks have been built on the hilltops connected to the road by cable car.

Thursday 24 June 2021 (0856) – For a long time Bury St. Edmunds has been served by quite a number of bus operators and continues to be so. Four double deckers from four different companies are seen here in the bus station. A Stephensons (green and white) East Lancs Omnidekka bodied Scania N94UD stands beyond. The other vehicles are: Mulleys Motorways LW51 ZHJ, an Alexander ALX400 bodied Volvo B7TL new to Dublin Bus in December 2002 (AV215 (01 D 10215)). Konectbus/Chambers (Go-Ahead) 803 (YN55 PZE), an East Lancs Omnidekka bodied Scania N94UD new to Metrobus (also Go-Ahead owned) in February 2006. Coach Services of Thetford CS63 BUS, a Wright Eclipse Gemini bodied Volvo B9TL new in October 2013.

Tuesday 1 September 2020 (0826) – A sunny Autumnal morning shot of Stagecoach in Cambridge (Cambus) 19164 (MX07 HNF) in Emmanuel Road, Cambridge as it arrived from Ely. This was the 0546 service 12 which travels via Soham and Newmarket therefore taking about 45 minutes longer than the direct service 9. It is an Alexander Dennis (ADL) Enviro400 bodied Trident that had been new to Stagecoach Manchester (Greater Manchester Buses South) in August 2007. The grassed area is New Square which many years ago was where buses of different independent bus companies, notably Premier Travel and Whippet Coaches, where parked when on layover. The ‘M’ in the registration indicates a Manchester issue under the current registration system. People of a certain age that remember the old system might relate to seeing the letters HNF on a Manchester registered vehicle. ‘NF’ was one of the series issued in the city which commenced in 1926 with 'HNF' reached in 1947.

Tuesday 30 June 2015 (1302) – Lloyd’s Coaches of Machynlleth YJ14 BCY, an Optare Versa new in April 2014, seen at Aberdyfi when working the 1250 service X29 from Tywyn to Machynlleth.

Friday 7 October 2016 (1144) – Stagecoach East 18060 (AE53 TZM), a Transbus built Plaxton President bodied Dennis Trident new in November 2003, in St. Paul’s Square in Bedford with the steeple of the Church of St. Paul dominating the background. It was working service 9 to the residential village of Shortstown to the south east of the town. Shortstown was established in 1917 to house the workforce of aviation company Short Brothers that built airships at nearby Cardington. Stagecoach’s town services in Bedford are branded ‘Bedfordbus’.

Friday 10 April 2015 (0847) - Stagecoach East (Cambus) 18338 (AE55 DJY) seen leaving Drummer Street, Cambridge. An Alexander ALX400 bodied Dennis Trident new in October 2005 which I think was heading for Ely and Chatteris on service 9. In days gone by express coaches departed from stands along the kerbside where the bus is travelling. Photo taken from the upper deck of 19306 (AE07 KZH).

Thursday 15 June 2017 (1727) – Arriva 5004 (MX13 AAO), a Caetano City Gold bodied MAN EcoCity new in March 2013, seen from the platform at Halton Lea (South) bus station on the Runcorn Busway. On the northern and southern sides of Halton Lea Shopping Centre the busway roads are elevated above the normal roads. The destination display is set for anticlockwise service 2 although the bus is travelling the path used by clockwise service 1. I suspect it was re-positioning for the former. In the distance is another similar bus. Note also the van parked on the carriageway facing the approaching buses. This is to make a driver changeover from the Arriva garage which is located close by.

Wednesday 25 September 1991 (approx. 0800) – Pullmanor Limited E662 KCX seen passing the Marlborough Hotel in Bloomsbury Street, London WC1. It is a Duple 340 bodied DAF SB2305 new in April 1988. Lettered for Evan Evans Tours, a contract I believe rather than a related subsidiary. London Buses RML2543 (JJD 543D) and a black taxi add to this London street scene.

Friday 21 August 2015 (1731) - mbsBus Mercedes-Benz Integro BZ MBS 59 seen in Gaschurn working service 85 to Schruns. mbsBus GMBH is part of the mbs Group that has interests in the electrical and bio-mass industries in addition to operating the local buses and the Schruns-Bludenz railway in the Montafon region of Vorarlberg in western Austria. The bus services run as part of the Verkehrsverbund Vorarlberg adminsitered network, the regional buses carry the ‘Landbus’ livery and branding found throughout Vorarlberg. (Photo courtesy of Jane Slater).

Friday 7 October 2016 (1133) – Unō (University of Hertfordshire) Mercedes-Benz Citaro 309 (BV57 VHH) seen in High Street, Bedford bound for Milton Keynes on service C1. Services C1, C10 and C11 which travel via Cranfield are branded the ‘Cranfield Connect’. New in October 2007.

Monday 22 June 2015 (1323) – Motts Travel of Aylesbury GT11 MTT, a Jonckheere bodied Volvo B9R new in April 2011, seen passing the Roman Amphitheatre in Chester.

Friday 6 December 2019 – First Essex Buses 44660 (YX66 WBE), an Alexander Dennis Enviro200D MMC new in September 2016, seen just as it left Chelmsford Bus Station on cross city service 57. The entrance and exit lanes for the bus station are to the right, the tyre tracks of the bus can just be seen on the roadway. The London-Norwich railway line bisects the town centre and with a height clearance of 12 feet 6 inches (3.8 metres) the arch on Duke Street is an obvious impediment to the operation of double deckers on cross city bus services. For some time now access under the arch has been restricted to buses, taxis, motor cycles and cycles – with signs referring to it as a ‘bus gate’. In February 2019 following a legal challenge by a car driver regarding the confusing warning signs on the approaches to and at the arch the topic achieved BBC Television news coverage. The report stated that in the previous 18 months Essex County Council had fined 54,000 drivers and yielded £1.5 million in fines from drivers passing errantly under the arch. (That’s around £27 a time). The main building of Chelmsford Railway Station stands behind the Plough pub but a secondary access to the railway platforms can be made via stairs and lifts contained in the prominent grey structure added in more recent times.

Monday 6 July 2015 (0924) – First Manchester 47472 (SN14 EAF), a Wright Streetlite DF new May 2014, seen in King Street, Delph when working the 0830 service 350 from Ashton-under-Lyne which travels an indirect route via Mossley, Micklehurst, Greenfield, Uppermill, Delph and Scouthead. To serve Delph the service runs from Delph Crossroads into the village and around the Carrcote housing estate returning back to via the same route to Delph Crossroads. In this view it was on the return to the Crossroads

Saturday 30 May 2015 (1905) - Stagecoach (East Kent) Optare Solo 47373 (GX06 JXW) seen in St. George's Place, Canterbury when working the 1745 service 89 from Dover via Aylesham. New in August 2006.