A few more photos of the Enviro 400

Seat not looking good on first day out.

Back of the bus upstairs.

CCTV camera and emergency hammer.

New Buses Coming This Week?

Several sources told me that 23 Scania bodied Enviro 400s were coming to Torbay sometime soon to replace the present fleet of Dennis Tridents that are running on the 12 route. The Tridents came into service in March 2004 which makes them almost 7 years old. A bus on the 12 service does 50 000 miles a year so these buses have done almost 350 000miles. When they came into service they all started on the same day but the Enviro are apparently coming in dribs and drabs. Word is that 3 will be here by the middle of next week.

These sources were unofficial and as yet unconfirmed so we will just have to wait and see.

The photo is of Dennis Trident 18065, WA04CRK leaving Paignton Bus Station for the first time on 1 March 2004. Doesn't it look good.

Green Buses?

I am up in Manchester for my annual family visit. Very warm day for the time of year so I went in to town to take a few photos, Never seen a green Stagecoach before and here are two in Piccadilly Bus Station. Did some colour blind painter get hold of the wrong can of paint or is there some reason for this new colour scheme?

I travelled up to Manchester yesterday by train instead of by coach. It took 3 hours less and travelling by train is much more comfortable than by coach. The lower ticket price on the coach used to be worth the extra time and discomfort but our wonderful, much loved government recently removed the subsidy they paid to Nation Express to provide us over 60s with half price coach tickets and now the difference in fares is almost insignificant. Still we must all make some sacrifices other wise the country will end up like Greece and Italy, sadly about to go broke.

Bristol VR LFJ862W

River Link here in Devon have got a new bus. Well not exactly new, it was registered in 1981 by the Western national Omnibus Company and has passed through several hands since then. I saw it making it's way up Torbay Rd Paignton yesterday morning running in service between Paignton and Totnes ( service 100). Later in the day it appeared to have been replaced by a single decker.

Click on the link to learn more of this bus's history.

Open Top Buses

Yesterday, May 1st, there was an Open Top Running Day. Eleven old open top buses were on display between 10:30 and 11 at Quaywest in Paignton. After that they all set off on journeys round the Bay, giving free rides to all and sundry. The star of the show for me was a 1934 AEG, reg OD 7497. This bus is so old that in 23 years it will be due a telegram from Buckingham Palace and I hope it is still around to get one, even if it is from Charles III.

Doesn't look all that easy to drive, I have to say.

Many of the other buses can be seen here on my Flickr page,

Torquay Trivia

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Bits

Started dull and cool then rain by lunch but brighter in the afternoon but only just. The rest of the country had wall to wall sunshine. The space in front of our bus stop is for loading and unloading and is clearly marked "Loading Only. 8am to 6pm". Nothing about, unless you are from out of town or you are only going to be five minutes or you don't thing rules apply to you. Nothing about not being able to read either. I have tried warning a couple of motorist not to park in the bay but I'm only a bus driver so what would I know. I have given up warning people, it doesn't work. Anyway the photo shows the car with a parking ticket in the loading bay. The last person I warned had a Blue Badge and told me he could park anywhere, which is true, anyone can park anywhere. Some places however the risk of getting a ticket is pretty high. Like here.






What you can also see in the photo to the right are a few Motor Bikes. There are hundreds of them in town this weekend, most parked on Paignton Sea Front but if you stand still long enough they will all ride past. Don't worry, It isn't the Wild Ones in town for some mayhem, it's just a social gathering that takes place this weekend and every Wednesday through the summer. Got a bike; bring it to Paignton and say hello. It's run by BMAD .


Tomorrow there is a gathering of old open top buses at Quaywest, a mile from Paignton Town centre. Catch a 12 heading towards Brixham and have a ride round on one of these old masters. Car drivers can park, not for free in Torbay Leisure Centre just across the road.

Bus Hits Bridge

Well M'Lud you wanted a bus crash photo, here it is.

Another item from our notice board at work. Bus drivers love it when an other bus driver, particularly from an other bus company, make a gigantic cock up like this. My question is; what was the instructor doing to let his pupil hit this bridge?

Ex Devon General.

A 1965 AEC, the last AEC to go into service with Devon General, seen on Torquay Strand on Sunday. Part of a Historic Vehicles Rally that took place in the Bay. Here it is loading up before heading off to Babbacombe sporting the Number 2. Service 2 was used on the Coast run and is presently called the 85 but from May 19th will revert back to the number 2.

And thanks to all those who gave me information re the black and white photo I had at the top of the page.

Happy Birthday

Four years old today. On 01 March 2004 this bus with 28 other buses was lined up on Paignton sea front waiting to be brought into service. It had 100 miles on the clock.
Now it has 208 082. All together now, "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you." etc etc.

Life Saver; that's me.

Nothing dramatic I should point out, before you get your hopes up for a desperate dive into a raging sea type story or even an open heart massage on a passenger who had succumbed on the upper deck. Nothing like that but just as life saving. Well I like to think so. What happened was this; I was coming out of Brixham this morning driving a 12A. They only run every 30 minutes from Brixham these days so it's a long wait if you miss your bus to the college. I had stopped to pick a couple of passengers up at the top of New Road. The stop is 50 metres before the lights at Monk's Bridge. The road there is a long bend with overhanging trees and bushes and you can not see too far ahead. The lights were on red and being a careful driver, and in no hurry I stopped. after a few seconds a young man who looked like he was on his way to South Devon College came out of a side road on the right and stopped at the curb. He saw the bus and looked hopefully at me and gestured in a way that suggested I would be his new best friend for ever if I opened the doors and let him on. At this point he was on the right hand pavement and standing less than 5 metres away from me. I immediately and vigorously shook my head to indicate that he had about the same chance of getting on the bus as Tony Blair has of getting an invite round to afternoon tea. None what so ever.

I learnt my lesson about opening bus doors at traffic lights over ten years ago. A dear sweet little old lady she was, walked up and knocked on the door. I wasn't going anywhere what with the lights being on red and it was raining and I had only been a bus driver about 3 weeks so I opened the doors, she got on and smiled sweetly and said, "My husband is just coming only he can't walk too fast." She was right, tectonic plates move faster than he did. By the time he got on the lights had changed about three dozen times and I had almost brought West Acton to a stand still all on my own. Then she shouted at me for moving of before she was comfy. Never again.

I've gone of the subject, where was I, Oh yes; the end of New Rd and the young man standing on the right hand pavement. He looked disappointed and started to mouth something in my general direction. What it was I have no idea because just at that moment round the bend came a 38 tonne HGV (1)and he must have been late for his deliveries because he had his foot down. The wind created by his passing make the bus sway. Think what would have happened if I had opened the doors and waved the hopeful maybe bus passenger across the road. Instead of waiting 30 minutes for the next bus he would have been heading for Brixham at well above 30 mph pressed up against the front radiator grille of a Juggernaut feeling a little more than very sorry for himself.

Footnote 1. Not the one that was feature on Monday's post.
Footnote 2. I was going to include a photo of Monk's Bridge taken earlier but it wouldn't download.

Devon General

Here is a bus done up in the livery of Devon General who preceded Bay Line who preceded Stagecoach. A Blast form the Past.

It just appeared, I got a quick shot and it vanished into the distance never to be seen again.

New Buses

It would seem that we are to get new buses down here in Torquay. I have had no official confirmation personally but enough people have said we are so we must be. The aging Trident that we have had for the last 3 years are going to Exeter and we are getting Enviro 400 's like the one pictured here at Ringway Airport last year. If you click on the link it takes you to Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 question and answer page and shows a 400 with entrance and exit doors which I hope we don't get down here. An other thing I hope we don't get are fixed security screens. All buses have security screens now adays. Most of our existing fleet have sliding screens which we leave open almost all of the time and us drivers like that choice. One or two of the fleet have fixed screens and we all feel that they come between us and the passengers and make life a little harder and in some cases passengers feel aggravated by the screens. In other words they can course more trouble than they are worth. Also I hope the electro-magnetic retarders that are fitted to the buses to aid braking are not as sharp as the ones fitted to the Tridents. They were sharp and took some getting used to. Oh yes, bigger water pumps would be a nice idea. We are having some over heating problems with the present buses.

Oh yes; I missed a couple of words out of the end of my last post:- at 28mph. Sorry about that.

New Buses

There is a rummer going round the depot that we are shortly getting some new buses. Now in the first 5 years I worked there this news would have been greeted with much interest as the only new buses we did get were in actual fact second or even third hand, they were just new to our depot. Over the last 3 years our Managing Director Mr Chris Hilditch has brought in dozens of new buses for us to play with. So today when I went into work and was told one of the new buses was outside and that I should go and take a photo of it I wasn't that interested. To me a bus is a bus provided it has powered steering and an automatic gearbox and a comfortable seat. Well I don't think this bus has powered steering or an automatic gearbox. Didn't sit in the seat but I am sure it is comfortable.

Number 43

It is a 1962 Leyland PD2/37 and is in the colours of Halifax Corporation. I did ask if it was going to be repainted in Stagecoach colours before it went out on service. I think the answer was No!

P.S.

I took 5 or 6 photos, if you are into buses and would like copies of these, or any other photos that appear here email me and I will send them to you.