Fleet News

Bus Fleet News

November 2015

Latest News

***Littles: Gain Matlock area services. ***notts+derby: Omnideckers arrive from NCT*** ***Trent: New Volvos for Red Arrow and the TWO. . *** ***High Peak: Transpeak Enviro 200s in service***

Here you will find all the latest bus fleet news for many bus operators in and around the Derbyshire area. If you have anything to report please contact me by clicking here.

| Arriva Derby |

| Midland Classic |

Andrews of Tideswell

NEWS
27th July
New here is Mercedes (FJ15 EJC).

25th April
Two Neoplan Euroliners have arrived here from K B Travel, Penrith. They are (J6/7 AOT).
Merc minibus (TIW 2654) is now white.

| Arriva Derby |

| Midland Classic |

Arriva Derby

NEWS
6th October
DAF/Wright Cadet 2716 (Y356 UON) is currently in use here.

Major changes are being made to the Arriva Derby network of services from 25th October 2015. More details can be found here.

New service X39 now operates from Chaddesden in Derby to Burton Centrum park (Boots) 3 times per day 7 days a week. Although the service starts and finishes in Chaddesden, it is operated by Burton garage.

Darts 2104 (JJZ 5278) and 2384 (Y50 TGM) have joined the Burton fleet (PVR increase).

2384 (Y50 TGM) has joined the Burton fleet.
(C) G W Girling

| Arriva Derby |

| Midland Classic |

Bakewell Coaches

NEWS
15th June:
Former BM Coaches of London tri-axled 61 seater Van Hool T917 Astron (YJ59 BAA) has arrived from Arriva Bus & Coach with former Johnson Brothers Neoplan (A16 BNX), previously (YN03 AVE), leaving in part exchange. The private reg will be used on BAA.

Ex Mayne, Neoplan Tourliner (C49Ft) A15 NBX (ex KM11 GSM) has joined the fleet.

5th June:
Setra (S31 5GT), (RJI 4525) has left the fleet.
Caetano Algarve bodied Dennis Javelin (P179 ANR) has been sold to Warringtons of Ilam.
Former Johnson Brothers of Hodthorpe, Neoplan Euroliner (YN03 AVE) has been re-registered (A16 BNX).
Allover white Temsa Safari (YJ10 DVF) is currently on loan from the Arriva Bus & Coach dealership.

| Arriva Derby |

| Midland Classic |

Bowers / High Peak

NEWS
5th November
Former NCT Omnicities (FG52 WFW) and (FG52 WFX) are here. They have been re-registered and are now 721 (HP51 BUS) and 722 (HP52 BUS).

9th October
Four E200s here branded for transpeak are:

525 (YX65 RFY),
526 (YX65 RFZ),
527 (YX65 RGO),
528 (YX65 RGU),

Transpeak branded E200 528 leaving Derby Bus Station.
(C) DBD

18th September
Transpeak E200 525 (YX65 RFY) entered service last week, but has since returned to ADL with teething problems.

E200 518 (YX63 ZVU) is currently in use here.

30th August
4 E200s are expected here soon for transpeak. They will be in full green transpeak livery and used alongside two of the branded Scanias. The 4 E200s currently here for transpeak will move on to elsewhere within Centrebus. The transpeak branding has already been removed from some vehicles.

24th August
Three more new Solo SRs arrived in June as 287 (YJ15 )AOK, 288 (YJ15 AMK) and 289 (YJ15 AMO).
Solos that have left the fleet are 226 (scrapped March), 266 (to Centrebus May), 263 withdrawn July, 266 withdrawn August.

The last Excel 682 (X233 WRA) was used until 12 August before withdrawal and has now been sold into preservation.

Paladin 680 (L104 LRA) was withdrawn in April, and 679 (L103 LRA) now also withdrawn (still at the depot on 20 August). 681 (L102 LRA) remains in service.

Centro 648 has recently been reregistered back to (FJ09 ZKC). This and 650 are now normally on town service 185/6.

Scania Solar 690 was also refurbished after 693, in plain Centrebus until this repainting was stopped in March. Scania Solar 697 has returned refurbished in a new style red Skyline branded livery in July, followed by 692 in August.

New transpeak Enviros are still expected. 703 is thought to be due a repaint into a 'new' unibus livery.

Thanks to Guy for this update with help from Centrebus Yahoo group and Peak District Enthusiasts Facebook page.

8th May
2 brand new Solos arrived here in March as 285/6 (YJ15 AYA/B). Seating is B31F.

8th March
Skyline Scania 693 was painted into Centrebus livery last month. It currently carries no fleetnames. It is not known if Skylink branding will be applied, or if subsequent repaints will be into a branded Skyline livery.

It is thought a batch of new transpeak branded (green) Enviro 200s may be on the way.

| Arriva Derby |

| Midland Classic |

NEWS & Sightings

| Arriva Derby |

| Midland Classic |

D W Coaches

NEWS
5th October
The latest arrivals here are: Alexander ALX400's (T319 FGN), (W438 WGJ), (X454 FGP), (Y475 UGC) and (Y529 UGC).

4th June
Short 36 seater Plaxton Premiere / Volvo B10M-48 (R960 RCH) has joined the fleet. This was recently operated by Johnson Brothers of Hodthorpe.

3rd February
Former Wallace Arnold Jonckheere Deauville bodied Volvo B10M (L903 NWW) has arrived here. It still carries Abbey Coaches of Darwen livery.

2nd January:
Three recent arrivals are:
(GIL 3113) Volvo B10M / Plaxton Paramount.
(R955 TSL) Volvo Olympian / East Lancs Pyoneer.
(S63 TNA) Scania L94IB4 / Irizar Century.

| Arriva Derby |

| Midland Classic |

G&J Holmes

NEWS
6th October
Volvo B7R / Plaxton Prima (YV07 PVF) has joined the fleet from Howard Snaith of Otterburn. This has replaced DAF / Van Hool Alizee (W186 CDN) which has now left the fleet.

3rd February
White E200 (MX59 AVN) is on loan here. This was used by Powells, and was branded for the Rotherham Free Bee service.
Solo (MX59 AVP) was with First Devon and Cornwall by November 2014.

| Arriva Derby |

| Midland Classic |

Glovers of Ashbourne

NEWS
6th October 2015
Scania / Irizar Century (XJI 2964) has passed to Black & White Coaches of Scunthorpe.
Mercedes Benz / Plaxton Cheetah (W635 MKY) has been re-registered (AIG 1346).

27th July 2015
Paladin (AIG 8338) has reverted to its original reg (K123 BUD)

2nd March 2015
Volvo/ Alexander Q type (M54 PRA) is here now reregistered as (AIG 4114).
The former (AIG 4114) now carries (L923 NWW) and has been sold.

| Arriva Derby |

| Midland Classic |

Harpurs Coaches

NEWS

6th October 2015
Ex Merseyside Arriva Volvo Olympian (N294 CKB) withdrawn and sold. Sister (N297 CKB) has also been withdrawn.

3rd April 2015
(A14 GTA) left for Barnsley on 31st March.

27th March 2015
(R309/10 WVR) are both withdrawn and are up for sale.
(A14 GTA) is withdrawn, unserviceable.
Plaxton (J723 EUA) has been advertised for sale but is still in use.
(X423 PFE) will be back out soon with seatbelts fitted. 424 being fitted next. Once complete the other two Dublin B7s, currently in store, are likely to be painted and join the fleet.
(00-D-70111) and (00-D-70113) are 423 and 424.

| Arriva Derby |

| Midland Classic |

Hawkes Coaches

NEWS

| Arriva Derby |

| Midland Classic |

Hulleys of Baslow

NEWS + SIGHTINGS
29th October
Wright Streetlite (MX62 AXN) is here on hire for at least a week, until the Enviro 200 (ex Whitelaws of Stonehouse) Hulleys have bought is ready.

This week should see the arrival of the new spare bus, a 52 plate Dart MPD from Ensign (ex South Lancs Travel).

24th July
The oldest bus in the fleet, DAF SB120 / Wright Cadet 7 (Y293 HUA) has been withdrawn after suffering major gearbox failure, and after cannibalisation for useable spares will be scrapped. The replacement, as the new number 7 is ADL ENVIRO 200 (MX60 BXA) bought from Mistral (dealer), and operated previously as 2600 in the fleet of Hansons of Stourbridge. Entering service initially in all over white it will gain fleet colours in August.

6th January
New here on 5th January as number 4 is (MX59 ZCL) an Enviro 200 (B29F) last recorded with City Sprinter, Renfrew.
VDL SB180/ MCV 22 (YJ62 JWF) returned to ARRIVA (dealer) off loan on 23 December 2014.

| Arriva Derby |

| Midland Classic |

Johnson Bros / Redferns

NEWS & SIGHTINGS
12th January
Volvo B10M coach (K67 BKG) is here based at Mansfield.

Trent Excel 260 has been on loan here for a few days, but has now returned to Lanley Mill.

| Arriva Derby |

| Midland Classic |

Linburg

NEWS + SIGHTINGS
26th June
4 Northern Counties Olympians are here from London Suburban:

(L204 SKD) now (OUI 4770),
(L205 SKD) now (BUI 471),
(L210 SKD) (not yet reregistered),
(L215 TWM) (not yet reregistered).

Former Yorkshire Traction ECW Olympian (C669 GET) (this was BUI 471) and ex Cambus (F513 NJE) and (G757 UYT) have all been withdrawn.

Two Darts to join the fleet are ex Stagecoach London Plaxton Pointer bodied examples which have also be re-registered!

(V173 MVX) is now (OUI 9980),
(V175 MVX) is now (IIG 9382).

| Arriva Derby |

| Midland Classic |

Littles Travel

NEWS + SIGHTINGS
29th October
Four E200s have arrived for services around Matlock. They are:

(SN65 OEZ),
(SN65 OEY),
(SN65 OFA),
(SN65 OFB).

28th July
Another Elite here is EX4 (DF60 VNR). This arrived in May.
All three former P&R E200s are thought to have left the fleet.

24th June
Levante (YX07 HJF) is in the fleet. Ex Whittles (still has blue skirt).

Volvo B9 Elite EX5 (SE60 LWO) has joined the fleets. It was previously with Parks as (HSK 646).

E200 (YN62 AOH) has been sold to Ensign.

| Arriva Derby |

| Midland Classic |

Midland Classic

NEWS
29th October

Former Arriva London Gemini 45 (LJ53 BGO).
(C) Daniel Louch

E200 (YY64 YKC) has been re-registered as 3 (JB64 MCL). This also now carries fleet livery.

4 DAF / Geminis have arrived from Arriva London. All are now painted. They are:

42 (LJ03 MWA),
43 (LJ53 BFP),
44 (LJ53 BGK),
45 (LJ53 BGO).

Tridents 91/94/95 have recently departed for scrap. 92 was briefly reinstated, but has since been withdrawn, leaving 93 as last Trident in service here.

| Arriva Derby |

| Midland Classic |

Nottingham buses

22nd January 2015

Nottingham buses now operate route 17 between Long Eaton, Sandiacre and Stapleford. Former Go Northern Dart (X224 FBB) is seen here. Similar Darts (X227 FBB) and (X232 FBB) are also in the fleet.
(C) Calum Maclennan

| Arriva Derby |

| Midland Classic |

Paul S Winson

10th November
Former Paul S Winson of Loughborough ADL Dart SLF / ADL Mini Pointer (DW05 PSW) is now in use with Travel Wright of Newark.

14th August
Olympian (G129 NRC) is now preserved with Nottingham Heritage Vehicles.

NEWS

| Arriva Derby |

| Midland Classic |

Skills, Nottingham

NEWS 18th September

Elites (SN10 JJZ) and (SW10 VNS) are now in use.

27th July

Vehicles here for National Express work are:

Scania tri axle Levante (white livery), ex National Express:
(MIG 9439) former (FJ07 DVR),
(MIG 9440) former (FJ07 DVP),
(MIG 9442) former (FJ07 DVK),
(SHZ 5733) former (FJ57 KJE),
(SHZ 5734) former (FJ57 KHF).

Volvo B12B Plaxton Elites. Ex Parks. In Citylink livery.
(SN10 JKE) former (HSK 650),
(SN10 JKF) former (HSK 649),
(SN10 JRU) former (HSK 647).

(SN10 JJZ) and (SW10 VNS) also reported here, but havent been seen in use.

New for Skills is (YN15 ENC) with brand new (YT15 AVN) alongside.
(C) G W Girling

New Levante (BK15 AHO).
(C) G W Girling

| Arriva Derby |

| Midland Classic |

TM Travel

NEWS:
See Wellglade section.

| Arriva Derby |

| Midland Classic |

Translinc

NEWS

| Arriva Derby |

| Midland Classic |

The Wellglade group
trent barton, kinchbus, notts+derby and T M Travel.

NEWS
31st October
Notts and Derby received their first brand new bus a few weeks ago, in the shape of Solo SR 510 (YJ65 EPF). Painted in unibus livery it is for use on route 4.

TM Travel have received 3 brand new Solos SRs for Line 6 in Sheffield. They are:

507 (YJ65 EPC),
508 (YJ65 EPD).
509 (YJ65 EPE).

Notts and Derby Solo 510 on the Unibus 4.
(C) Adrian Healey

Due to the route being extended from 1st November to Abbeydale Tesco, via the Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Hunters Bar and Carter Knowle Road, the PVR will be 4. It is envisaged a 4th Solo will be painted for the service.

28th October
9 new tri axle Volvo /Plaxton Elites have entered service on the red arrow. The 9 vehicles are:

80 (YX65 ZHK),
81 (YX65 ZHL),
82 (YX65 ZHM),
83 (YX65 ZHN),
84 (YX65 ZHO),
85 (YX65 ZHP),
86 (YX65 ZHR),
87 (YX65 ZHT),
88 (YX65 ZHU),

Scania coach 75 is still in use as a spare. 62 has moved to notts+derby. The other coaches are now withdrawn at Langley Mill.

81 is one of 9 new Volvo Plaxton Elites. Seen here in Derby Bus Station.
(C) Geoff Girling

11 new Volvo Wright Eclipse 3s have entered service on the two:
770 (BF65 WLE),
771 (BD65 EWB),
772 (BD65 EWC),
773 (BD65 EWE),
774 (BD65 EWF),
775 (BD65 EWG),
776 (BD65 EWH),
777 (BD65 EWJ),
778 (BD65 EWK),
779 (BD65 EWL),
780 (BD65 EWM),

Volvos 742 to 750 (off the two) are to be repainted for other services. 5 will be for "comet", the new name for the Chesterfield to Derby red arrow, and 4 for the black cat.

New Volvo 774 on the TWO.
(C) Geoff Girling

Former Black Cat Tempo 312 now carries trent barton livery. It is seen here in Nottingham
(C) John Whittingham

9th October
Excel 257 is now based at Langley Mill. 266 off. 264 continues in use at Nottingham.

6th October
The Ruddington Connection service will no longer operate after 22nd November.

Red Arrow will be relaunched on 25th October. 9 new Volvo / Plaxton Elites will be used on the service between Derby and Nottingham. From the same date the Derby to Chesterfield section will be branded as the Comet, using the Wright bodied Volvos currently in use on "the Two" in Nottingham. New Wright bodied Volvos are ready, and will be used on "the two" from 25th October. More vehicle details soon!

Brand new Solo 510 is due with notts + derby very soon, for unibus 4.

Paladin 135 has passed to Looms, Spondon for scrap. 138 is withdrawn (for scrap).
Olympian 25 has gone to TM Travel.

10 Scania Omnidekkas are set to join the notts+derby fleet soon, from Nottingham City Transport. Some have already arrived. The 10 to join the fleet will be:
40 (YN53 CEA),
41 (YN53 CEF),
42 (YN53 CEJ),
43 (YN53 CEK),
44 (YN53 CEO),
45 (YN53 CEU),
46 (YN53 CEV),
47 (YN53 CFG),
48 (YN53 CFK),
49 (YN53 CFL).

TM Travel are having 3 brand new Solos for use on Line 6 in Sheffield. These will be numbered 507/8/9. An older Solo will also be branded for the service due to a recent increase in the PVR.

18th September
Former Greens Solo 506 is now in trent barton livery, with Mango branding. It is still based at Nottingham.
Former Black Cat Tempos 309/10/11 are painted green for Rushcliffe Mainline, with 312 being spare, in trent barton livery. All based at Manvers St, Nottingham.
Solo 438 is now based at Sutton.

At Notts and Derby Paladin 138 has been withdrawn due to corrosion. Unibus Olympian 23 has also been withdrawn.

A number of vehicles have passed to Looms, Spondon for scrap recently. These include Olympian 27, Paladin 136, unibus Excels 230 and 236 and 2 long withdrawn TM Darts SPD (S779 RNE) and Alexander bodied (W923 JNF).

Former Rushcliffe Greens Solo SR 506 in trent barton livery, after operating a peak time Ruddinton Connection (and before going onto Centrelink)
(C) John Whittingham

Tempo 306 in Rushcliffe Mainline livery.
(C) G W Girling

8th September
Volvo 741 now carries Swift livery for increased PVR on the service.

23rd August
Paladin 126 is to be repaired (not withdrawn as previously reported).

Centros 796 and 800 are now branded for the TM Travel Spira route.

Scania 666 is to be painted into Skylink (blue). Certain journeys are being extended to Coalville soon, so an additional branded bus is required.

Tempo 312 is now red and at Nottingham. Most if not all of "the green" tempos have has their branding removed ahead of the relaunch of Binghams services.

Scania 613 is once again based at Nottingham, one of 4 recently repainted for the i4 service, which now requires more branded vehicles due to a frequency increase. The vehicle was originally branded for Rainbow 5 back in 2003.
(C) Geoff Girling

Centro 796 is now back in use, after being stored for some time, branded for TM Travels Spira service
(C) Ian Moorcroft

| Arriva Derby |

| Midland Classic |

Vallances

NEWS
15th June 2015:
Just acquired is Mercedes Vario (SN53 MWW) from LL Travel, Mexborough. It is now in fleet livery.

Scania Irizar century (508 DKH) is now in a livery for Isle of Wight educational tours.

5th May 2015:
(508 DKH) ex (T405OWA) scania L94 Irizar century 49 seater has arrived from Barnards of Kirton Lindsay.

25th April 2015:
Scania irizar PB (A19 BNG) has arrived from from Solus coaches (now in fleet livery).
Scania K113 (M134 GAP) has been sold.

Yourbus, Nottingham

NEWS
18th August 2015:
At least one of the dual doored Citaros, which were withdrawn here, has returned and is back in use!
New service Y4 starts in september operating between Nottingham and Sandiacre every 15 minutes Mon-Sat and every 20 min on Sundays.

15th July 2015:
Demo Citaro (BP14 FJZ) has been in use here for the last couple of weeks.

1st June 2015:
Yourbus no longer operate any National Express services. The coaches used are currently stored at Heanor and Bradford depots.

Chalfont are operating the 230 at present with some Levantes based at Littles garage near Ilkeston. Skills are operating the 440 and 240 with tri axle Scania Levantes (ex NatEx) and Volvo B12B Elites (ex Parks, Scottish Citylink Gold).

24th March 2015:
Citaros 3004 and 3007 are now in the new livery and branded for the Y28 service.

Yourbus 3007 repainted in the new livery complete with branding for the Y28. It is seen here in Derby bus station on a Y3.
(C) Geoff Girling

| Arriva Derby |

| Midland Classic |

Last Months News

News Index Page