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The 500 Group once again hosted the annual Teesside Vintage Bus Running Day with various vintage (aswell as a few modern vehicles) operating around the Stockton and Middlesbrough areas. The rally site itself is situated next to the transporter bridge and saw a good turnout of vehicles operating on five main services. All of these services operated hourly, combining a bus roughly every 15 minutes including service 0, 42, 11 which all operates different ways between the Transporter bridge, Middlesbrough and Stockton. A slightly longer service was the X19 which operated four times during the day from the Transporter bridge to Stockton and Yarm, doing a similar journey to the hourly 47 albeit this also went to Middlesbrough. Aswell as this, two excursions operated throughout the day including the ‘S’ service to Seamer operated by Dennis Loline JDC599 and the Country Excursion giving a tour of Teesside as far as Great Ayton operated by Bristol LS6G / Eastern Coachworks 304 GHN. One of the most popular vehicles throughout the day was Stagecarriage’s recently acquired Dennis Condor / Duple Metsec G303 FWC which did a number of journeys,  along with a few other vehicles as shown below:

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The annual Teesside Running Day hosted by the 500 Group was held on the 21st April 2013, bringing a start to the 2013 rallies in the North East of England. Journeys all start or end at the Transporter bridge with a variety of different routes taken throughout the day, most regularly to Stockton and Middlesbrough although there were also longer trips running to Hartlepool and Great Ayton providing a range of trips throughout the day. As per usual a wide range of both vintage and modern buses were used with different vehicles in use on the services during the day. One of the highlights of the event was the appearance of Leyland Tiger / Alexander D278 FAS although Generation Travel’s Leyland Olympian / Alexander J123 XHH also proved popular. Below are some photos from the day:

More Photos at Northern Transport Photos

Arriva North East

Alexander Dennis Enviro 400’s 7514 NK09 FMZ and 7515 NK09 FNA have transferred to Ashington allowing Enviro 400’s 7501 NK57 DXX, 7502 NK57 DXY, 7503 NK57 DXZ and 7504 NK57 DYA to transfer to Whitby. These arrivals at Whitby have led to Scania OmniCity’s 4652 NK05 GXF, 4653 NK05 GXG, 4658 NK05 GXN and 4659 NK05 GXO transferring to Darlington. Dennis MPD’s 1793 W166 PNT and 1794 W631 RNP have been moved into the reserve fleet while DAF SB220 / Plaxton Prestige 4024 R424 RPY has moved to Redcar. United branded Volvo B7TL / Alexander Dennis ALX400’s 7445 NK05 GWX and 7446 NK05 GWY have returned to Jesmond and Volvo B10BLE / Wright Renown’s 4509 V509 DFT and 4513 V513 DFT have moved to Ashington. Dennis MPD 1772 NK05 GWO has moved to Stockton, DAF SB220 / Alexander ALX300 4098 R459 KWT has moved to Redcar and DAF DB250 / Alexander ALX400 7459 T306 FGN, 7460 T307 FGN, 7461 T308 FGN, 7462 T309 FGN, 7463 T310 FGN and 7464 T311 FGN have moved to Durham along with VDL DB300 / Wright Gemini 2 7620 NK61 EBL. DAF DB250 / East Lancs Lowlander 7439 Y689 EBR and 7440 Y690 EBR have moved to Ashington while VDL SB200 / Wright Pulsar 1411 NK09 BRF, 1412 NK09 BRV, 1413 NK09 BRX, 1414 NK09 BPZ, 1482 NK61 CYV, 1499 NK12 FFL and 1500 NK12 FLM have transferred to Jesmond. Many vehicles have been withdrawn after these moves including Dennis MPD’s 1701 T701 RCN, 1705 V705 DNL, 1710 V710 DNL, DAF SB220 / Plaxton Prestige 4008 P10 LPG, Scania N113DRB / East Lancs E-Type 7261 M172 GRY, 7262 M176 GRY, 7263 N162 VVO, 7264 N164 VVO, 7265 N160 VVO and 7266 N163 VVO. However, some of the Scania N113DRB remain in service at present despite the rest of the transfers taking place. A sum of new vehicles have also been delivered in the past month including MAN EcoCity 4801 NK13 CFD, 4802 NK13 CFE, 4803 NK13 CFF, 4804 NK13 CFG, 4805 NK13 CFJ, 4806 NK13 CFL, 4807 NK13 CFM, 4808 NK13 CFN, 4809 NK13 CFO, 4810 NK13 CFP and 4811 NK13 CFU which are all based at Darlington. Blyth have received a batch of new Volvo B5LH / Wright Gemini 2’s for service 308 which are 7801 NK13 AZA, 7802 NK13 AZB, 7803 NK13 AZC, 7804 NK13 AZD, 7805 NK13 AZF, 7806 NK13 AZG, 7807 NK13 AZJ, 7808 NK13 AZL, 7809 NK13 AZN and 7810 NK13 AZO. Dennis MPD 1759 NK53 VKA has been painted orange for use on the Whitby Sainsbury’s services while Optare Solos 2854 YJ59 GJV, 2855 YJ59 GJX and 2860 NK59 GKE are the first of the Park and Ride batch to receive an advertising livery for Lindisfarne Gospels.

Go North East

Mercedes Citaro’s 5310 NK08 MXY, 5311 NK08 MXZ, 5312 NK08 MYA, 5313 NK08 MYB, 5314 NK08 MYC, 5315 NK08 MYD, 5316 NK08 MYF, 5317 NK08 MYG, 5318 NK08 MZV, 5319 NK08 MZW, 5328 BJ10 VUN, 5329 BJ10 VUO, 5330 BJ10 VUP and 5332 BJ10 VUS have all now gained vinyls at Gateshead for Crusader service 27. This has displaced Volvo B10BLE / Wright Renowns 4906 W906 RBB, 4907 W907 RBB, 4908 W908 RBB, 4909 W909 RBB for new ‘Wear Tees Xpress’ service X7. Similar B10BLE 4841 R841 PRG is in Toon Link livery and is now based at Winlaton along with 4846 R846 PRG which is now in Northern livery. In turn this has displaced 4837 R837 PRG to Chester le Street, 5164 T814 CBW and 5165 T815 CBW to Percy Main, Dennis SPD 8239 NK51 MKN, to Chester le Street 8240 NK51 MKO to Deptford and 8126 V216 ERG to Washington. Scania OmniCity’s 5243 NK56 KHM, 5244 NK56 KHO, 5256 NK56 KHP and 5257 NK56 HKR have been branded Cobalt Connect for service 19. Also branded this month are Scania L94UA / Wright Solar’s 4950 NK51 OLR, 4951 NK51 OLT, 4952 NK51 OLU and 4953 NK51 OLV for Great Park service X40, competing directly with Arriva’s service X40. On demonstration is Wright Streetlite 9132 LK13 AEJ which is currently being used on Citylink service 58 as a possible replacement to the unreliable articulated Mercedes Citaro’s.

Stagecoach North East

Delivery has now began of Dennis Trident / Alexander ALX400’s from Hull with 17025 S825 BWC and 17026 S826 BWC the first to arrive. A further 8 will soon arrive at Stockton and will see the present Volvo Olympians withdrawn. Euro 6 engined Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 10000 MX12 EOC has arrived for long term loan from Stagecoach Manchester. Alexander Dennis Enviro 300’s 27506 NK05 JXE, 27507 NK05 JXF, 27508 NK05 GXG, 27509 NK05 JXH and 27510 NK05 JXJ have been painted into a revised Metrocentre livery for service 100.

Compass Community Transport

Acquired are DAF SB120 / Wright Cadet’s YJ53 VEB and YJ04 BZD with both painted white and carrying Compass vinyls.

Croft Coach Travel

Optare Solo W959 PAU has been repainted into standard livery of purple and white.

Leven Valley

Acquired is Dennis Dart / Alexander ALX200 Y10 DPC.

The Eden

A further Mercedes Vario / Plaxton Beaver acquired is P534 PNE.

Tyne Valley Coaches

Acquired is Volvo B6BLE / Wright Crusader X62 CHJ.

The 23rd March saw an enthusiasts tour held visiting Weardale Motor Services depots at Crook, Stanhope and Consett. The day began at 10:30 from Durham Railway Station with Volvo B10M / Plaxton Paramount GIB 8666 providing transport to Crook depot and was then used between depots during the day. While at the depots various Olympians were used in service along with the opportunity to see the diverse Weardale fleet. Originally it was planned to utilise the historic vehicles within the Weardale fleet including Leyland Leopard / Plaxton Supreme OGR 625T and Leyland Titan PD2 / Roe YUP 6 but unfortunately due to the weather this was not possible. However, Weardale provided a sterling effort by displaying many vehicles outside for photographic purposes with one of the highlights being Leyland Leopard / Alexander AY 6249 UP which was moved outside the Consett depot. Below are some photos from the day:

More Photos at Northern Transport Photos

Arriva North East

Further DAF SB220 / Alexander ALX300’s transferred from Arriva Yorkshire are 4095 S475 ANW, 4096 S476 ANW, 4097 R458 KWT and 4098 R459 KWT. 4095, 4096 and 4098 have all entered service at Redcar while 4097 is temporarily in use at Ashington.  The first MAN EcoCity gas vehicles for Darlington have now been delivered in the form of 4802 NK13 CFE, 4803 NK13 CFF, 4805 NK13 CFJ and 4806 NK13 CFL. Many Volvo B5LH / Wright Gemini 2’s have also been delivered and are 7801 NK13 AZA, 7803 NK13 AZC, 7806 NK13 AZG, 7807 NK13 AZJ and 7808 NK13 AZL.

Go North East

New Volvo B9TL / Wright Gemini 2’s have entered service on the 10 with 6071 NK62 FAA, 6072 NK62 FBA, 6073 NK62 FCC, 6074 NK62 FDM, 6081 NK62 FKG and 6082 NK62 FLF at Winlaton while Hexham have 6075 NK62 FDN, 6076 NK62 FEU, 6077 NK62 FGJ, 6078 NK62 FHE, 6079 NK62 FHY and 6080 NK62 FJE. Only 6083 remains outstanding. Volvo B7TL / Wright Gemini 3942 NK05 GZP is also branded for service 10. This has displaced Mercedes Citaro’s 5310 NK08 MXY, 5311 NK08 MXZ, 5314 NK08 MYC, 5315 NK08 MYD, 5316 NK08 MYF, 5317 NK08 MYG, 5318 NK08 MZV, 5319 NK08 MZW, 5328 BJ10 VUN, 5329 BJ10 VUO, 5330 BJ10 VUP and 5332 BJ10 VUS to Gateshead for Crusader service 27. In turn, this move has freed up Volvo B10BLE / Wright Renown’s onto other services with 4837 R837 PRG, 4838 R838 PRG, 4839 R839 PRG, 4840 340 GUP and 4841 R841 PRG moving to Winlaton while 4844 R844 PRG, 4847 R847 PRG, 4848 R848 PRG, 4849 R849 PRG are at Stanley. Of these, 4837 and 4838 have been repainted red and are branded Northern along with similar Renown 5165 T815 CBW.

Stagecoach North East

Alexander Dennis Enviro 300 27507 NK05 JXF is the second to be painted into the Stagecoach style livery without orange swoops. 27506 is pictured below.

Dales and District

New is Wright Streetlite MX62 GUG.

Hodgsons

Dennis MPD YT51 DZY has been repainted into standard livery.

Jim Hughes

Acquired are Mercedes Touro’s BX06 UMC and BX06 UMJ and Volvo B10M / Plaxton Premiere YSV 815.

Kingsley’s

Not previously reported is Dennis Trident / Alexander ALX400 238 V178 MEV has been repainted green and has received Auto Panels adverts.

Low Fell Travel

Dennis Dart SLF / Plaxton Pointers W208DNO and V383 SVV have been acquired and are still wearing vinyls for Central Connect.

Pygalls Coaches

Acquired is Volvo Olympian / Northern Counties Palatine R395 LGH.

Tees Valley Stagecarriage

Acquired is DAF SB220 / Alexander ALX300 S467 GUB.

Arriva North East

Dennis Dart / Alexander Dash 1675 P616 PGP has now been withdrawn from service. Recent movements in Northumberland include Ashington gaining VDL SB200 / Wright Pulsar’s 1480 NK61 CYT, 1481 NK61 CYU and 1483 NK61 CYW while in place Jesmond have received Volvo B10BLE / Wright Renown 4515 V415 DFT and Alexander Dennis Enviro 400’s 7516 NK09 FNC and 7517 NK09 FND.

Go North East

New Volvo B9TL / Wright Gemini 2’s delivered for service 10 are 6071 NK62 FAA, 6072 NK62 FBA, 6073 NK62 FCC, 6074 NK62 FDM, 6075 NK62 FDN, 6076 NK62 FEU, 6077 NK62 FGJ, 6078 NK62 FHE, 6079 NK62 FHY and 6080 NK62 FJE while a further three remain outstanding. These will soon displace the existing Mercedes Citaro’s onto Crusader service 27 where existing Volvo B10BLE / Wright Renown 4943 R843 PRG has been debranded. Volvo Olympian / Northern Counties Palatine II 3826 S812 FVK is a further repaint into revised Yellow Bus livery while Scania L94UB / Wright Solar 4944 NK51 OLH has been repainted into Northern livery. DAF SB220 / Plaxton Prestige 4824 P824 AFT has returned to service at Winlaton along with Volvo Olympian / Northern Counties 3910 R553 LGH which has returned to service at Stanley. DAF SB220 / Plaxton Prestige 4825 P325 AFT has transferred to Winlaton with Dennis SPD 8219 V219 ERG moving in place to Washington and Dennis MPD 513 X513 WRG has transferred to Consett.  Many Northern liveried vehicles have now received 1913 – 2013 slogans celebrating 100 years of the company.

Stagecoach North East

MAN 18.220  / Alexander Dennis ALX300 22049 NK53 KFT has been repainted into standard livery. Alexander Dennis Enviro 300 27506 NK05 JXE has been repainted into a simplified version of Stagecoach livery without orange swirls, it is currently unknown what this is for but is expected to receive a new Metrocentre style livery.

Coastal and Country Coaches

Acquired is Leyland Olympian / Alexander RH J348 BSH which has been repainted into yellow, red and blue for use on the Whitby tour.

Compass Royston

Acquired is Volvo B10M / Plaxton Premiere P316 RGS.

Gateshead Central Taxis

Acquired is Volkswagen Transport YX06 CUO.

Henry Cooper

New Volvo B9R / Plaxton Panther 754 GHO has now entered service as illustrated below.

Photos Thanks to Joe Burns

The Eden

Acquired is Mercedes Vario / Plaxton Beaver S294 UAL while Dennis MPD V732 DNL has been sold to City Sprinter.

Tyne Valley Coaches

Acquired is Optare Solo W247 PAU.

Weardale Motor Services

Acquired is ex demonstrator Fiat Bluebird YX61 BFO.

Arriva North East

Recent arrivals to the North East fleet, DAF SB220 / Alexander ALX300’s have been numbered 4091 R442 KWT, 4092 R443 KWT, 4093 R460 KWT and 4094 R461 KWT of which they are now beginning to enter service. DAF SB220 / Plaxton Prestige 4051 S351 KHN has moved to Durham along with DAF DB250 / Alexander ALX400 7464 T311 FGN in place of Dennis Trident / Alexander ALX400 7435 W501 RBB which has moved to Jesmond . Dennis Dart / Plaxton Pointer 1651 R426 COO has returned to service at Durham following accident damage carrying a Mark 2 style front end. Further repaint includes DAF SB120 / Wright Cadet 1906 W308 PPT, VDL SB200 / Wright Pulsar 2 1427 NK09 EKC and 1428 NK09 EKD. DAF SB3000 / Plaxton Prima 1213 V213 DJR has transferred to Jesmond and should re-enter service soon.

Go North East

11.7 Metre Optare Versa 9133 YJ62 FBB has entered service at Stanley for a trial period in an all over red livery with Go North East logos, currently allocated to Diamond services 43 and 44. Volvo B9TL / Wright Gemini 2 6072 NK62 FBA is the first of 13 to be delivered for service 10 with further deliveries noted as far as Heysham Docks while the current fleet of Mercedes Citaros have all been de-branded and replaced with individual slogans above the windows .  DAF SB220 / Plaxton Prestige 4867 S867 ONL has transferred to Winlaton while Volvo Olympian / Northern Counties Palatine 3915 R355 LGH has been reinstated at Stanley. Volvo Olympian / Northern Counties Palatine II’s 3811 S811 FVK, 3821 S821 OFT, 3822 S822 OFT and 3826 S826 OFT have been repainted yellow and branded ‘Yellow Bus’ minus the Taxi style checkered stripe.

Stagecoach North East

MAN 18.220 / Alexander ALX300 22671 V671 DDC has been repainted and refurbished and is now back in service at Stockton.

Classic Coaches

Dennis Dart / Caetano Nimbus HX04 HUK has been repainted in Nexus grey and red.

Henry Cooper

New is Volvo B9R / Plaxton Panther 754 GHO which has replaced the Volvo B12 / Plaxton Excalibur with the registration passing over.

M&D Travel

Acquired is Mercedes Sprinter YN55 KVY.

Nightingale Coaches

Not previously reported is the acquisition of ex  Go North East Volvo Olympian / Northern Counties Palatine’s P818 SGP, R263 LGH and R392 LGH.

Arriva North East

VDL SB200 / Wright Pulsar 2 1424 NK09 EJZ and Dennis MPD 1758 NK53 HJA have been repainted into standard livery. New arrivals to the North East fleet are DAF SB220 / Alexander ALX300’s 442 R442 KWT, 443 R443 KWT, 460 R460 KWT, 461 R461 KWT with a further four expected, with these due to see use at Redcar depot. Dennis MPD 1767 NK05 GWF has transferred to Darlington and Volvo Olympian / Northern Counties Palatine 7361 R619 MNU has transferred to Durham.

Go North East

Mercedes Citaro AG 5357 BX54 UCO has been withdrawn from service after just under a month of service in London specification while Dennis Dart 8289 Y558 KUX has been repainted into Northern livery ending the old Go North East red and blue livery. Volvo Olympian / Northern Counties Palatine II 3826 S826 OFT has returned to service following accident damage and Dennis SPD 8221 V221 ERG has transferred to Stanley. Optare Versa 8313 NK10 GOC has gained an all over advert for Living Spaces, while Dennis Trident / East Lancs Lolyne 3804 V804 EBR has been repainted into standard livery and Volvo Olympian / Northern Counties Palatine 2 3811 S811 FVK has been repainted yellow.

Photo Thanks to S.Blair250

Stagecoach North East

Dennis Dart / Alexander ALX200 33492 R472 MVN has transferred to Hartlepool.

A Line

Acquired is Dennis Dart / Martial Capital T601 JBA.

Atkinsons

New is Neoplan Tourliner H13 ATK.

Leven Valley

Recently acquired Dennis MPD’s 31 V331 CVV, 65 W365 ABD and 93 W793 VMV have been numbered and are repainted into new livery. The fourth MPD acquired; 94 W794 VMV, is in service in green carrying Leven Vally vinyls.

Scarlet Band

Optare Solo YT51 EAW has been repainted in a pink version of fleet livery for use on service 16.

Stanley Travel

Alexander Dennis Enviro 200 MH07 EPY has been repainted into standard livery.

Tees Valley Stagecarriage

Many Volvo Olympian / Northern Counties Palatines have been acquired from Go North East and are R262LGH, R274LGH, R556LGH, R276LGH, R395LGH, R396LGH, R397LGH and R398LGH. Also acquired from Go North East is Dennis SPD V210 ERG.

Go North East

Dennis MPD 510 X551 FBB is now in East Durham livery while 513 X513 WRG has received Tynedale Links branding. Dennis Trident / East Lancs Lolyne 3803 V803 EBR has been repainted red and has gained Northern vinyls.

Stagecoach North East

Alexander Dennis Enviro 400’s 19194 NK57 DVX, 19196 NK57 DVZ and 19197 NK57 DWA have transferred to South Shields to convert service X34 to double deck operation. In place of these, MAN 18.220 / Alexander ALX300’s 22068 NK54 BFP, 22069 NK54 BFU and 22071 NK54 BFZ have transferred to Slatyford. Similar ALX300’s 22049 NK53 KFT and 22050 NK53 KFU have had X34 branding removed but are currently still in the blue variant of Stagecoach livery.

Classic Coaches

Further Caetano Nimbus’ acquired are HX04 HUH and RX07 KPJ.

JSB Travel

Newly acquired and wearing JSB Travel fleet names is Optare Solo V470 GBF.

Lees Coaches

Acquired is Leyland Tiger / Plaxton Paramount B592 XWW.

Pygalls Coches

East Lancs EL200 / Dennis Dart N755 OYR has been acquired and is in use on new service 230 (Sunderland – Hartlepool). The service began using Caetano Nimbus W424WRE though has not been seen on the service recently and may have already left the fleet.

Tees Valley Coach Travel

Leyland Olympian / Northern Counties Palatine K574 RRH and Volvo Olympian / Alexander RL N702 LTN have been repainted all over red and are expected to transfer to Tees Valley Stagecarriage.

Photos Thanks to North East and Regional Bus Photos