Bus Shite

[quicksilver]

44 minutes ago, SunnySouth said:

So today, owing to a regretfully unavoidable trip to Birmingham (what other sort is there?), I became aware of NX West Mids’ mysterious Miller Street depot. From my own observations today it appears to be some sort of graveyard, with stuff in residence which one would assume has not turned a wheel in service for quite some time - an original shape ALX400 in two generations’ old livery, for example. Does anybody know what this place is all about? Do NXWM maintain some sort of reserve fleet; have they just forgotten they own these just like that abandoned Air India 737; wassit all about?!

My pics from today:

Google Maps then gets even more myserious, thus:

 

It’s only a bloody Leyland National!! Two years ago, allegedly. Is it still there? And what’s that in Badgerline hue in the aerial shot?! What happened here…. What is this magical place…?! 😳

As a side note, these natty little things are interesting; they may well look at first glance like examples of the relatively common Scania Omnicity, however they are in fact the far, far lesser spotted midibus variant, the Omnilink! Scania’s idea of what an E200 should look like, essentially. Even more obscure tri-axle versions exist, I believe!

I think I read something about this place a while ago. NX use some sort of weird accounting practice that means it makes more financial sense to keep old withdrawn buses in storage for years until they're fully depreciated rather than selling them. Something like that anyway, I've no idea how it works but it obviously suits the way they do things. They're not forgotten and every now and again one that's been out of use for years will be pulled out and sold when the accountants decide the time is right.

[mat777]

This popped up on my Facebook feed today. What a groovy looking little coach!

[SunnySouth]

25 minutes ago, mat777 said:

This popped up on my Facebook feed today. What a groovy looking little coach!

That’s done well not to be plateraped by now!

[Inspector Morose]

1 hour ago, High Jetter said:

How come?

They were bought for conversion of St Andre's depot to electric but the council stuck their oar in and have held up the jnstallation of charging infrastructure at the depot for ages. The buses are bought and delivered with nowhere to go and are being stored at depots in the area.  Occasionally they are exercised and now they are coming due for their first mot. All without actually entering service. 

The sensible thing to do is to temporarily mix them in with the fleet that's already been deployed to spread the mileage and work out the snags while there's still some warranty left but as Stagecoach is finance institution driven these days, all logic is thrown out of the window. 

[High Jetter]

4 minutes ago, Inspector Morose said:

They were bought for conversion of St Andre's depot to electric but the council stuck their oar in and have held up the jnstallation of charging infrastructure at the depot for ages. The buses are bought and delivered with nowhere to go and are being stored at depots in the area.  Occasionally they are exercised and now they are coming due for their first mot. All without actually entering service. 

The sensible thing to do is to temporarily mix them in with the fleet that's already been deployed to spread the mileage and work out the snags while there's still some warranty left but as Stagecoach is finance institution driven these days, all logic is thrown out of the window. 

Thanks. Crazy 

[Inspector Morose]

1 hour ago, quicksilver said:

I think I read something about this place a while ago. NX use some sort of weird accounting practice that means it makes more financial sense to keep old withdrawn buses in storage for years until they're fully depreciated rather than selling them. Something like that anyway, I've no idea how it works but it obviously suits the way they do things. They're not forgotten and every now and again one that's been out of use for years will be pulled out and sold when the accountants decide the time is right.

Miller Street is the technical depot for NXWM. Buses are stored there for resale or selected ones for component recovery, if the units are in good condition.

Lots of things happen there, it used to be the hole of the trim shop and training school but money's tight these days and things have been cut back. 

The National was part of Birmingham Busworks, a separate company, in no wag connected to NXWM who were a dealer for second hand buses. They were spawned from the Green Bus school transport company and like that, have crumbled to nothing I. Spite of grandiose plans. The National is HHA101L, the first Midland Red  National and the only one delivered in Midland Red red as opposed to NBC red. 

[busmansholiday]

9 hours ago, Inspector Morose said:

 

The sensible thing to do is to temporarily mix them in with the fleet that's already been deployed to spread the mileage and work out the snags while there's still some warranty left but as Stagecoach is finance institution driven these days, all logic is thrown out of the window. 

Absolutely.

Torquay's Yutongs were stored at Rawmarsh Depot which has charging infrastructure and also had the first Stagecoach Yutongs but were never used on local Rotherham services.

It would make sense to try the Volvo's in Torquay to iron out the snags but these days you have to have hours of "driver familiarisation" on a new bus which costs money.  I remember when we got the first Plaxton coach bodies which had rows of switches with pictograms on them, rather than labels, you were given a (badly) photocopied piece of paper showing what they meant and told to "get on with it".

[mat777]

A couple more from the open weekend at Avro Heritage today (In Woodford, if anyone local fancies popping along tomorrow!)

[CreepingJesus]

Stageroach have only recently got the electric Volvos working out of St Andrews, despite the charging infrastructure having been put in 18 months ago. No idea what was going on there, because seemingly Fife Council greenlit the project. The buses are all 25 plates, a couple sat round the side of St Andrews garage for a while, but presumably the rest were parked up at Glenrothes or Methilhill. They had them advertised on the literature for the 99 service to Dundee last year, and quietly dropped it...

[busmansholiday]

2 hours ago, mat777 said:

A couple more from the open weekend at Avro Heritage today (In Woodford, if anyone local fancies popping along tomorrow!)

I must be getting old but I remember (and have pics - in B&W) of SELNEC EX30 (the National) when it was brand new !!!

[Inspector Morose]

8 hours ago, busmansholiday said:

I must be getting old but I remember (and have pics - in B&W) of SELNEC EX30 (the National) when it was brand new !!!

Second oldest National in existence and first production version. 

Oldest is FRM499K, now owned by John Cherry of Aintree Coaches and under restoration and there possibly is an earlier preproduction left hand drove one somewhere in Belgium.

Oddly, the engine and box from FRM is in a LT short National somewhere. 

[colino]

McGills are now suing the Scottish Government for cutting them out of a massive grant rolling out stage three of funding.  The Easdale brothers aren't the nicest guys on the planet, but they do what makes money and what complies with juicy grants.

[cms206]

On 17/06/2026 at 12:43, cms206 said:

In an unusual twist, this employer has bought a bus from my other employer which I had nothing* to do with whatsoever.

Volvo B7RLE HF54 HHK was new as Wilts & Dorset's 132 on the Salisbury Park & Ride, did a spell with Morebus as their 2232 before doing several years with Go-Ahead London as their VWL53, latterly based in Folkestone. Despite the East Yorkshire colourscheme, I don't think it ever actually ran there.

This B7RLE has caused many, many stirs amongst local spotters as it is extraordinarily tuneful and an absolutely mental purchase for a operator who only really runs Optare Solos on tendered minibus services.

Naturally, my boss - a relative youngster like myself, but one I have worked on a parallel with much longer than I have as an employee - has been highly amused by the attention this 22 year old Volvo has garnered.

Therefore, unannounced and without ceremony, this arrived on Friday and entered service that evening... a second former Wilts & Dorset (122) and Go-Ahead London (VWL51) B7RLE, HF54 HGP...

... picture borrowed from Dexter McArthur on facebook to illustrate.

Sadly their sisters, VWL50 & VWL52, look to have bitten the dust so no more B7RLEs are to follow these ones north. I've not driven this one yet but I am told it could not be more different to the other one and the gearbox is entirely silent, but it's apparantly a nicer bus to drive - praise indeed as 53 is an absolute sweetie.

[SunnySouth]

2 hours ago, cms206 said:

This B7RLE has caused many, many stirs amongst local spotters as it is extraordinarily tuneful and an absolutely mental purchase for a operator who only really runs Optare Solos on tendered minibus services.

Naturally, my boss - a relative youngster like myself, but one I have worked on a parallel with much longer than I have as an employee - has been highly amused by the attention this 22 year old Volvo has garnered.

Therefore, unannounced and without ceremony, this arrived on Friday and entered service that evening... a second former Wilts & Dorset (122) and Go-Ahead London (VWL51) B7RLE, HF54 HGP...

... picture borrowed from Dexter McArthur on facebook to illustrate.

Sadly their sisters, VWL50 & VWL52, look to have bitten the dust so no more B7RLEs are to follow these ones north. I've not driven this one yet but I am told it could not be more different to the other one and the gearbox is entirely silent, but it's apparantly a nicer bus to drive - praise indeed as 53 is an absolute sweetie.

I well remember these prowling the mean streets of Dorset, almost always with a blown exhaust!

They’re all now gone except a couple of trainers, but a full complement of their newer 12 plate cousins continue to make up a large chunk of the fleet; lovely!

[Remspoor]

I will just leave this here.

 

[High Jetter]

59 minutes ago, Remspoor said:

I will just leave this here.

...said the crane driver. 😀

[SunnySouth]

Bit more Brum stuff in case anyone is interested/bored…



Livery contrasts: the two tone red is nice, the dark grey is a bloody awful colour to paint a bus - especially when it gets as hot as it is currently! I think originally there were a red and a grey variant, the grey for the ‘posh’ stuff, but it appears that the whole lot has now been superseded by a slightly different version of dark grey. All very confusing… Old gen diesel E400 sits in central Brum with an electric version behind, on BYD chassis I think.
 

The rarity that is the Scania Omnilink; I had to have a go on one having driven the bigger Omnicity cousin more than a few times! Odd little things, and quite obviously not the pride of the fleet any more; some 57 platers still clinging on as well as this one on an 09 plate.
 

When heavyweights meet! Lovely solid old Wright/Volvos plying their trade on the 66, along with the Omnilinks above. Evidently not a priority route for new motors!
 

More nice old Volvo and city centre content!

[busmansholiday]

On 12/07/2026 at 09:23, Inspector Morose said:

Second oldest National in existence and first production version. 

Oldest is FRM499K, now owned by John Cherry of Aintree Coaches and under restoration and there possibly is an earlier preproduction left hand drove one somewhere in Belgium.

Oddly, the engine and box from FRM is in a LT short National somewhere. 

Here's FRM when about a year old on loan to Sheffield Transport. They ordered four, which turned out to be the first new buses delivered to South Yorkshire PTE.  IIRC, FRM was in a pale brown colour scheme.

 

 

And here's EX30 when new,

 

 

Few detail differences for the eagle eyed.

 

 

[lisbon_road]

Winchester yesterday, can't be many of these with Stagecoach now.  Looks a bit battered, like one of those pictures of B-17 Flying Fortresses that just made it back over the channel (this might be a shade melodramatic).  

Winchester benefits from a spacious bus station.  Apparently there are plans to close this and move to on street parking, but not until 2029.  I hope that's long enough that they can change their minds.  I for one really use buses round here.  

 

[CreepingJesus]

Wasn't quick enough on the draw, to snap this when it passed me yesterday, but I found it interesting so here's someone else's pic...

[Metal Guru]

12 minutes ago, CreepingJesus said:

Wasn't quick enough on the draw, to snap this when it passed me yesterday, but I found it interesting so here's someone else's pic...

That’ll be “cosy”. 

[Yoss]

2 hours ago, lisbon_road said:

Winchester yesterday, can't be many of these with Stagecoach now.  Looks a bit battered, like one of those pictures of B-17 Flying Fortresses that just made it back over the channel (this might be a shade melodramatic).  

Winchester benefits from a spacious bus station.  Apparently there are plans to close this and move to on street parking, but not until 2029.  I hope that's long enough that they can change their minds.  I for one really use buses round here.  

 

There have been plans to close it for decades which they've never quite managed to go through with. Although they have managed to knock down quite a lot of it.

I assume the plan for on street parking means The Broadway which can hold a few buses but I wouldn't have thought it would be big enough to take all the extra buses from the bus station. 

[Crackers]

On 10/07/2026 at 20:27, Inspector Morose said:

things are sitting doing sweet F.A.

Same with this lineup in Chichester. All brand new, been sitting around for ages, utterly covered in dust and bird poo. They'll be ruined before they see service. 

[busmansholiday]

4 hours ago, Crackers said:

Same with this lineup in Chichester. All brand new, been sitting around for ages, utterly covered in dust and bird poo. They'll be ruined before they see service. 

Presumably those are Yutong electric buses that have been ordered before anybody bothered to find out how long it would take to install the necessary electrical supplies or even if it was possible. Exeter has a load of Volvo's in a similar state,Torquay's electric fleet was about 7 months behind schedule. 

Electric buses may be the future, but the infrastructure needs installing BEFORE the buses are ordered.

[High Jetter]

We've had a load of bus shelters removed, starting at least 6 weeks ago. New ones are delayed at manufacturers.

Why not keep customers sheltered until replacements arrive? Well done, ESCC.

[Homersimpson]

I saw this today, its a long way from home on a crazy golf course in Teneriffe.

Must be a story of how it got here.

[busmansholiday]

East Midlands B138 originally. Been around the UK with several operators.  Front windows have been replaced as it has curved screens.

[MT606]

This was braving it in the local tesco cp last week..... bit far from home...must have been an away game  

[colino]

I guess you would have no knuckles left on your left hand driving with that gear lever.

[busmansholiday]

35 minutes ago, colino said:

I guess you would have no knuckles left on your left hand driving with that gear lever.

I did less damage to my knuckles driving those Bedfords than I did with manual box Scanias.