A 'Day out with Dennis' to Sheffield

For the past year or so, I have been writing articles for a community magazine based in the Derbyshire village of Kilburn. The magazine called 'all Things Local' is distributed free to 9,000 homes in Belper and Ripley. Apart from advertisements it carries all manner of general interest articles and information. It is widely read and indeed, copies of it can be hard to come by if you do not live in the two towns.

My contribution is to describe a variety of days out more or less locally that can be undertaken by anybody of any age. The purpose is to get folks out and about to enjoy the beautiful part of England in which they live.

I have provided a link from the articles to illustrations of the vehicles used that can be found here on by blog. So here goes !!

First bus of the day is a ‘trentbarton’  (tb) ‘red arrow’ to Chesterfield. Here we see a Swedish built Scania chassis carrying a Spanish built body by Irizar arriving in Chesterfield.

The ‘Stagecoach’ service to Sheffield is usually in the hands of another Scania chassis with a Scottish built body by Alexander Dennis Ltd. (Although they also have a manufacturing plant in Scarborough).

From Sheffield to Bakewell recently ‘Hulleys of Baslow’ have been using an all white single decker. This is another bus produced entirely by Alexander Dennis Ltd.

 

‘Hulleys’ are a long established company with a history dating back for over a hundred years. Being smaller than either ‘trentbarton’ or ‘Stagecoach’, they operate a varied fleet and it might be that another bus other than the white one turns up which will normally be in the fleet livery.

 

It might be this which is another product of Alexander Dennis Ltd. 

 

Or possibly one of the double decker buses in the fleet like this earlier Alexander product built on a Dennis Trident chassis. This particular bus spent many years working in London before coming North.

 

The journey from Bakewell will be aboard one of ‘tb’s Scania’s this time carrying a body produced by ‘Wright’s of Ballymena in Northern Ireland. The buses on the ‘sixes service have recently been refurbished and given a much brighter coat of yellow paint than they had before.

 

Passengers returning to Ripley from Matlock will probably do so on one of these which is another bus built by Wright’s. This particular model is called the ‘Streetlite’ although like Hulleys, ‘yourbus’ by virtue of being a small company a different type could be substituted.

A 'Day out with Dennis' to Derby

For the past year or so, I have been writing articles for a community magazine based in the Derbyshire village of Kilburn. The magazine called 'all Things Local' is distributed free to 9,000 homes in Belper and Ripley. Apart from advertisements it carries all manner of general interest articles and information. It is widely read and indeed, copies of it can be hard to come by if you do not live in the two towns.

My contribution is to describe a variety of days out more or less locally that can be undertaken by anybody of any age. The purpose is to get folks out and about to enjoy the beautiful part of England in which they live.

I have provided a link from the articles to illustrations of the vehicles used that can be found here on by blog. So here goes !!

A Day out with Dennis to Derby

 

 The major local bus operator is ‘trentbarton’ (tb) which covers a large area of the East Midlands. Here we see a Swedish built Scania chassis carrying a Spanish built body by Irizar operating a ‘red arrow’ service in  Derby bus station.

 

 

Another Scania chassis this time with a Wright built body again in Derby bus station.

 

The body this time coming from Wright’s factory at Ballymena in Northern Ireland.

 

The ‘sixes’ service another ‘tb’ route links many towns along the A6 corridor going as far North as Bakewell, East to Ripley and West to Wirksworth.

 

 

A 'Day out with Dennis' to Buxton

For the past year or so, I have been writing articles for a community magazine based in the Derbyshire village of Kilburn. The magazine called 'all things Local' is distributed free to 9,000 homes in Belper and Ripley. Apart from advertisements it carries all manner of general interest articles and information. It is widely read and indeed, copies of it can be hard to come by if you do not live in the two towns.

My contribution is to describe a variety of days out more or less locally that can be undertaken by anybody of any age. The purpose is to get folks out and about to enjoy the beautiful part of England in which they live.

I have provided a link from the articles to illustrations of the vehicles used that can be found here on by blog. So here goes !!

A Day out with Dennis to Buxton

 

The major local bus operator is ‘trentbarton’ (tb) which covers a large area of the East Midlands.

 

'tb' is an operator that has been known by various names including the word 'Trent' and during 2013 celebrated its 100th. birthday

 

Here we see a Swedish built Scania chassis carrying a Spanish built body by Irizar operating a ‘red arrow’ service approaching Derby bus Station.

Another Scania chassis this time with a Wright built body again approaching Derby bus station.

 

The body this time coming from Wright’s factory at Ballymena in Northern Ireland.

 

The ‘sixes’ service another ‘tb’ route links many towns along the A6 corridor going as far North as Bakewell, East to Ripley and West to Wirksworth.

 

‘tb’ also operate the Derby to Ashbourne and then on to Uttoxeter service.

Called ‘swift’ by ‘tb’, this bus has another Wright body this time powered by another Swedish built chassis. This time from Volvo.

 

Sometimes it is necessary to substitute another bus for the regular one. The maroon bus (which is in 'standard' livery is another Scania/Wright combination doing just that.

 

High Peak Buses (HPB), based just outside Buxton is a joint operation being owned equally by ‘tb’ and a company called ‘Centrebus’ based in Leicestershire. ‘Centrebus’ is a privately owned company with wide bus interests stretching from the home counties up into Yorkshire.

 

The 442 Ashbourne to Buxton service is generally run by buses made in Yorkshire by a company called Optare. The model’s name is the ‘Solo’. The Solo has been a major successes for Optare in recent years with many hundreds in service up and down the country.

 

Another HPB vehicle is another type produced by Optare. This time called the ‘Excel’ it is a bigger bus than the Solo carrying more passengers.

 

This one is seen operating the Manchester to Derby ‘transpeak’ service which for many years was a ‘tb’ route. it was handed over to HPB when the company was formed in 2012.

 

 

Another Optare Solo in the fleet of ‘G & J Holmes’ operates the Buxton to Chesterfield route. 'Holmes’ are a small independent operator based in Clay Cross.

 

Finally we have another ‘tb’ red arrow. This time a newer Scania with a later style of Irizar bodywork fitted. 

 

This particular picture was taken on a beautiful warm summers day (do you remember them ?) in the summer of 2013.

‘Scene’ on Friar Lane, Nottingham today 30th. of September 2013

Nottingham has a variety of bus picking up points. The Victoria Centre and The Broadmarsh Centre are probably the most obvious.

 

Friar Lane is not so obvious but it does have a surprising range of services that terminate or simply call there.

 

Then there are the services that pass on their way to their own termini on Beastmarket Hill.

 

First up must be the service that is the newest which only officially started yesterday.

 

That is ‘trentbarton’s (tb) ‘sawley xprss’. The name says it all really.

 

I was a little disappointed that ‘tb’ have chosen to use fleet liveried vehicles on the service.

 

I rather thought that with (tb)’s flair for publicity that they might have been a bit more adventurous and had some form of route branding.

 

FE02 KFK 

An Optare Solo.

 

 

 

 

 

So what else was on view?

 

FJ58 KKR

A Volvo B7RLE/Wright on the ‘Indigo’.

 

 

L125 LRA

A Volvo B10B/ Northern Counties driver trainer.

 

 

FJ10 EHK

An Optare Solo on the ‘Radcliffe line’

 

 

Y12 GWL

An Optare Tempo 2 on the i4.

 

 

FD54 JYC

An Optare Tempo 1 working the ‘bingham xprss’

 

 

FN54 AEZ

A Scania L94UB/Wright linking Nottingham to the East Midlands Airport.

 

 

FH54 VRY

Another Scania L94UB/Wright deputising for a route branded Solo.

 

 

FJ03 VVU

A further Scania/Wright on route 18 from Stapleford.

 

 

two more (tb) vehicles were,

 

YJ07 VSO

another Optare Tempo1 linking Nottingham with Ilkeston.

 

 

and

FJ03 VWR

Another Scania L94UB/Wright on its way to Cotgrave.

 

 

Nottingham City Transport are represented by,

 

YN53 CFY

A Scania N94UD with East Lancs Coachbuilders body. 

 

This is operating the ‘navy line’ route No.1 to Loughborough.

 

 

YN04 AMX

Another Scania, this time a 94UB with Scania’s own bodywork.

 

 

YT09 YHW

A Scania 270UD with Optare bodywork designed to look like similar East Lancs bodies in the fleet.

 

 

YJ51 XST

An now elderly Optare Solo making a positioning journey.

 

 

YT09 YHS

Another Scania/Optare combination. this one working in from Clifton.

 

 

YJ61 CGU

An Optare Solo SR working in on a different route from Clifton.

 

 

YN04 AMV

Another of the short all Scania N94UB’s in a variation of the Network Maroon livery that I have not seen before.

 

 

 

YX62 ECT

An Alexander Dennis Enviro 200 operated by ‘Marshalls of Sutton on Trent’.

 

This route was at one time run by Nottingham City Transport and links not only to Newark but to Newark Northgate station. So giving Nottingham’s citizens a direct link with the East Coast main railway line.