Heanor, a small mid Derbyshire town lies at the crossroads of the A 6007 and the A 608. It used to be on the road that linked Manchester with Nottingham but a bye-pass ended that.
Once the centre of a busy East Midlands coalfield, that went the same way as most of the other English coalfields.
A bit of a backwater then in some ways so it comes as a bit of a shock for there to be what the press love to call ‘a bus war’ taking place in the town.
‘trentbarton’ (tb) whose origins can be traced back over 100 years now having recently celebrated that momentous birthday has always been the main player in the town.
‘yourbus’ (yb) are a newcomer dating from 2009 who have a depot in the town.
For many years ‘tb’ ran their service from Derby to Heanor with an hourly extension to Alfreton as the H1.
Starting in August last year, ‘yb’ started its Y1 service from Heanor to Derby even offering to accept ‘tb’ tickets. They do not cover ‘tb’s extension to Alfreton.
Between them then ‘tb’ and ‘yb’ provide 8 buses an hour each way.
At one time ‘tb’s rolling stock was the unusual Optare Vecta which utilised MAN 11.190 running units but these days it uses Wright Solar Urban bodied Scania L94UB’s in a dedicated livery although from time to time fleet liveried buses turn up.
FJ03 VVR
FJ55 ABK
Mercedes-Benz Citaro’s are ‘yb’s choice for the Y1. Here we see BK13 XYC pulling on to the stand in Heanor.
So, what else is there to see.
‘tb’ have 2 routes serving Ripley and Nottingham which pass through Heanor.
‘rainbow 1’ runs all stops via Codnor, Loscoe, Heanor, Langley, Eastwood, Kimberley and Watnall. Running time is scheduled, depending on the time of day to be about an hour and a quarter although on bad traffic days it can take longer.
Current rolling stock are Scania L94UB’s (bought 2004) with Wright Solar Urban bodies seating 44.
They are painted in a dark shade of blue which preserves the memory of the old
Midland General Omnibus Company (taken over by Trent in 1969) who ran the route back then. At Eastwood the route combines with other ‘rainbow one’ services that originate in Alfreton to provide an increased frequency into Nottingham
FN04 HSY
‘rapid 1’ runs all stops via Codnor, Loscoe, Heanor, Langley, and then non stop along the A 610. Running time is scheduled for just over fifty minutes.
Current rolling stock is with Volvo B7RLE’s (bought 2009) with Wright Eclipse bodies seating 45.
The paintwork is still dark blue, albeit a lighter shade than the Rainbow 1.
FJ09 BXE
‘tb’ have many ‘branded routes’. One of which is the ‘amberline’. This route links Derby with Hucknall via Kilburn and Heanor.
Usually operated with Optare Solo’s (of which ‘tb’ has bought over 100).
Painted in a bright shade of orange and unless my eyes deceive me, two different shades at that.
X627 ERB
W412 YAL
Other Solo’s in the ‘tb’ fleet in town were W414 YAL seen working route 1A which links Ripley via Heanor to Aldercar. This includes a number of diversions onto housing estates which are spread along the route.
and FE02 KFD
One of a number of buses in the fleet liveried to advertise ‘tb’ s ‘Mango’ card. This is a smart card which can be purchased and gives discounted travel on ‘tb’ services.
Seen working on route 23 which links Heanor to Kirk Hallam via Ilkeston. Like the 1A, it includes a number of housing estates along the way.
MX62 GVZ
One of ‘yb’s Wright Streetlite’s acquired a little over a year ago that is seen on the 138 linking Heanor to Belper via Kilburn.
Using both Wheel forward and Door forward buses, ‘yb’ have built up a significant network of routes in central Derbyshire. (see my blog entries for 17th and 28th October 2013 for details).
YJ07 VSG
An Optare Tempo 1 working on ‘tb’s lengthy ‘black cat’ route linking Derby to Mansfield via West Hallam, Ilkeston, Heanor, Kirkby and Sutton in Ashfield.
LX58 BZC
A Mercedes-Benz ‘Sprinter’ conversion working for ‘Harrison Ford Executive Transport’ of Mansfield.
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