christmas

Due to the Mathew Street Festival, our local bus operator, Arriva North West, just for a change wisely used double-decker buses on the 53 route today, and yesterday for that matter.

Above is 4433 (MX09LXR) a 2009 Alexander Dennis Enviro400-bodied Alexander Dennis Trident. These buses are usually seen on the rarely full cross-city 60/61 routes between Bootle and Aigburth.

Then there was 3309 (R309WVR), a 1998 Northern Counties Palatine-bodied Volvo Olympian YN2RV, new to MTL Merseybus.

It was fantastic to see these monsters working the local routes for a change, rather than the time-expired 38-seat Dennis Darts. The deckers are proper buses in my opinion. It's just frustrating that tomorrow they'll be back on their regular haunts, and the next time we'll see them in Crosby is around Christmas, when Arriva next expect bumper loadings.

This morning I went up to Southport to collect a parcel for Mum. But I managed to snap a couple of buses on Lord Street. These two shots are of currently the newest and oldest buses in the Arriva North West fleet.

3037 (MX10BZW) is a Wright Pulsar 2-bodied VDL Bus SB200CS, new to Arriva in March 2010.

And then there's my favourite - 1449 (GKA449L), the 1973 Alexander AL-bodied Leyland Atlantean AN68/1R - the last ex-Merseyside PTE bus in Arriva ownership. Apparently, 1449 is a little tired mechanically now. I read a story today that there's been recent trouble building up air in the bus which, crucially, controls the brakes. It's likely that 1449 is in its' last season of operation, finishing at the end of the week.

I'd hope that this bus goes into preservation, because it really is one of the last of its' class in existence.