‘Scene’ by Peter Rose in Dunfermline Bus Station, Scotland 1 on Dennis Basford’srailsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk’

Friend Peter Rose has been North of the border once more and has forwarded these images which are posted with his permission and my thanks.

 

LG23 FHS ‘Stagecoach Fife Scottish’ No. 30025, DUNFERMLINE ELECTRIC CITY.

BYD D8UR / Alexander Dennis Ltd. Enviro 200EV

on Dennis Basford’srailsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk’ 

 

The building behind the bus was at one time the Belleville Hotel where Peter informs me that he mis-spent many of his teenage hours.

 

Just look at that blue sky.

 

Where I live in the East Midlands, I have not seen sky that colour since ???????

 

 

 

 

LG23 EZT ‘Stagecoach Fife Scottish’ No. 30029.

BYD D8UR / Alexander Dennis Ltd. Enviro 200EV

on Dennis Basford’srailsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk

 

 

 

 

YX18 LHT ‘Stagecoach Fife Scottish’ No. 54507.

Volvo B8RLET / Plaxton Panther LE

on Dennis Basford’s railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk’

 

The LE in the body designation stands for Low Entrance.

 

A hybrid design offering a low entrance like a bus with a raised rear area like a coach.

 

I expected this type of bus to be built in some numbers as it seems a natural for operators of long interurban routes, giving them the best of both worlds.

 

However, I only know of this batch of ten buses that operate on the Edinburgh/Dunfermline corridor.

 

 

 

 

SP60 DPK ‘Stagecoach Fife Scottish’ No. 19666.

Alexander Dennis Ltd. E40D / Alexander Dennis Ltd. Enviro400

on Dennis Basford’s railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk’

 

 

 

 

YX63 NEU ‘Stagecoach East Scotland’ No. 54142.

Volvo B13RT / Plaxton Elite

on Dennis Basford’s railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk’

 

Almost ten years old but still a head turner.

 

New to ‘Stagecoach Fife Scottish’.

 

 

 

 

 

KN04 XJE  ‘Stagecoach East Scotland’ No. 18130.

Transbus Trident / Alexander ALX400

on Dennis Basford’s railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk’ 

 

New to ‘Thames Transit’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

MX11 HGG ‘Stagecoach East Scotland’  No. 36418.

Alexander Dennis Ltd. Enviro 200 / Alexander Dennis Ltd. Enviro 200

on Dennis Basford’s railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk’ 

 

New to ‘Stagecoach Greater Manchester South’.

 

‘Scene’ at Showbus 2017. ‘Plaxton’ 2 on Dennis Basford’s railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk’

The history of the British bus industry is littered with companies that like shooting stars shone for a while and then fell to Earth.

 

Fortunately ‘Plaxton’ is not one of them.

 

Now part of the ‘Alexander Dennis Ltd.’ group and turning out current standards like the E20D / Enviro 200MMC alongside its own branded coach production.

 

There is however a long history of ‘Plaxton’ production a little of which is shown here. 

 

There will be a small number of blogs about ‘Plaxton’ bodied vehicles seen at ‘Showbus 2017’.

 

For ‘Plaxton’ 1 see blog dated 26/06/2018.

 

 

EUU 117J ‘OK Motor Services’. AEC Reliance /  Plaxton Elite II

on Dennis Basford’s railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk’

 

New to ‘Glenton Tours’, London, who regularly specified the centrally positioned door.

 

 

 

 

RBY 43L ‘Hurst’s of Wigan’. Bedford Val 70 / Plaxton Panorama

on Dennis Basford’s railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk’

 

New to ‘Exclusive’, Hounslow.

 

 

 

AUP 651L ‘Blue Motors’ (Exmoor). Bedford VAS5 / Plaxton Panorama I

on Dennis Basford’s railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk

 

New to ‘Weardale’, Frosterley.

 

 

 

VWA 290L ‘Sharpe’s (Nottingham). AEC Reliance / Plaxton Panorama Elite III

on Dennis Basford’s railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk

 

New to ‘C G Littlewood’, Sheffield.

 

 

 

TEC 599N ‘Thorne’s. AEC Reliance / Plaxton Elite Express

on Dennis Basford’s railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk

 

New to ‘Jackson’, Kirkby Stephen.

 

 

 

SHH 85M ‘Galleon Tours’. AEC Reliance / Plaxton Elite

on Dennis Basford’s railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk

 

 

 

PWS 492S ‘Badgerline’. Leyland Leopard / Plaxton Paramount

on Dennis Basford’s railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk

 

Originally delivered in 1977 as OWS 178R to ‘Bristol Omnibus Co’ No. 2098 with a Plaxton Supreme body.

 

Re bodied by Plaxton in 1983 following a fire which destroyed the original bodywork.

 

 

 

SOA 674S ‘Midland Red’ No. 674 NBC D/P/ livery. Leyland Leopard / Plaxton Supreme III

on Dennis Basford’s railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk

 

 

 

HRY 698V ‘King of the Road’. Bedford YMT / Plaxton Supreme IV

on Dennis Basford’s railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk

 

‘Scene’ on a Day Out with Dennis to Worksop

This set of images is to illustrate an article written for a magazine called ‘All Things Local’.

 

This community magazine is produced and distributed from a base in Kilburn, Derbyshire and covers large areas of the towns of Ripley and Belper.

 

IF YOU ARE TRAVELLING FROM BELPER, 

 

your first bus of the day will be ‘trentbarton’s (tb) ’the sixes’ from Belper to Derby.

 

A Swedish built Scania Chassis carrying a Wright body produced in Ballymena, Northern Ireland.

 

FJ55 BZR

 

Onward from Derby into Nottingham it is a ‘tb’ ‘red arrow’.

 

Largely these days in the hands of  Plaxton bodied Volvo six wheel coaches. 

 

Sometimes the use of the word luxury is overdone but not in the case of these brand new coaches. They really are superb.

 

YX65 ZHP

 

IF YOU ARE TRAVELLING FROM RIPLEY,

 

your first bus of the day will be ‘tb)’ ‘rapidone’.

 

An Optare Versa which is produced in Yorkshire.

 

YJ14 BSO

 

The onward journey from Nottingham is provided by ‘Stagecoach’ who generally provide a bus specifically branded for the service

 

In this case a Scottish built bus being an Alexander Dennis Ltd. Enviro 300.

 

FJ08 VPY

 

Sometimes because of operational problems a fleet liveried substitute may be used which in this case has the same history as the route branded one.

 

FX61 HGD

 

Worksop to Chesterfield is another ‘Stagecoach’ route that is normally worked with double deckers.

 

YN04 KGE

 

A Dennis Trident chassis which was built in Guildford together with another Scottish built Alexander body.

 

The return from Chesterfield.

’trentbarton’ have recently re  branded as ‘the comet’ what was the Northern section of their ‘red arrow’ route.

 

This follows on from the splitting of what had been the ‘old’ ‘red arrow’ route into two sections in May 2015.

 

The current buses are all Volvo’s with Wright’s of Ballymena built bodies in a yellow livery which they retain from when they worked on route 2 from Nottingham to Ilkeston and Cotmanhay.

 

My information would suggest that the yellow livery will be replaced by a black and grey or black and silver livery in due course as buses pass through the paint shop.

 

FJ09 XPD