One of the success stories in the bus world of the last 20 years has undoubtedly been the Optare Solo.
Built in a variety of lengths and width’s, there cannot be many bus fleets in the country that the type has not appeared in.
My regular stamping ground for many years has been Derby and so I thought I might put together a compilation of the various liveries that have appeared before my camera in the City.
This is the third and for the moment the last of a short series which have appeared from time to time.
No doubt Part 4 will appear as more liveries become known .
Part 1 appeared on 17/01/2016. Part 2 appeared on 14/03/2016.
Dennis Basford’s ‘railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk’
FE02 KDZ 'trentbarton’ 451 Optare Solo.
Has appeared in two variations of the ‘Harlequin’ livery that I know of. Both are seen here on the same bus.
The ‘Harlequin’ is a little known route that has its departure point on Gower Street, then serving Littleover before terminating at Heatherton.
Dennis Basford’s ‘railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk’
FE02 KDZ ‘Kinchbus’ 451/3 Optare Solo.
Seen earlier in ‘Harlequin’ livery, this bus eventually moved to fellow ‘Wellglade’ group member ‘Kinchbus’.
Kinchbus of Loughborough who are a member of the same ‘Wellglade’ group that owns ‘tb’ normally use their Solo’s in and around their home town but as the indicator advises, they are sometimes turned out on ‘skylink’ trips to Derby.
Dennis Basford’s ‘railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk’
FG02 BGE ‘trentbarton’ 463 Optare Solo.
Dennis Basford’s ‘railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk’
YJ12 NBE ‘trentbarton’ 496 Optare Solo SR.
The upgrading of the rolling stock to the Solo SR saw the change to blue which is still current.
‘tb’ for some years now have had there own pre payment travel card which is called ‘MANGO’.
Not surprisingly a variety of buses have been used to publicise it.
Dennis Basford’s ‘railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk’
FE02 KDK trentbarton’ 455 Optare Solo.
Dennis Basford’s‘railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk’
YJ12 NAU trentbarton’ 500 Optare Solo SR.
Seen on the ‘amberline’ linking Derby to Hucknall via Heanor and although the livery is the same, the base colour is markedly different.
Dennis Basford’s ‘railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk’
W412 YAL ‘trentbarton’ 412 Optare Solo.
Dennis Basford’s ‘railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk’
X627 ERB ‘trentbarton’ 427 Optare Solo.
Dennis Basford’s ‘railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk’
FP51 GXS ‘trentbarton’ 433 Optare Solo. on
In the earlier fleet livery but running on a ‘villager’ service to Burton on Trent.
Living in Ripley, one of my local services to Derby or Mansfield is by ‘tb’s ‘the nines’.
To be honest the buses are not big enough for the loadings nor at 4 an hour are they frequent enough.
Leaving Derby with standing passengers in the middle of the afternoon is not unusual.
Dennis Basford’s ‘railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk’
FJ09 MVU ‘trentbarton’ 470 Optare Solo.
‘Felix of Stanley’. An operator who’s bus operations eventually disappeared into the ‘Wellglade’ empire used this bus which eventually went to ‘Midland Classic’ of Swadlincote.
Dennis Basford’s ‘railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk’
FE02 LWD ‘Felix of Stanley’ Optare Solo.
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