Trip to Leigh / Wigan 28-07-2012

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
37305	Leigh BS	Wigan BS	600	First Manchester
31946	Wigan BS	Pemberton, o/s House 563 Ormskirk Road/Enfield Street‎	628	First Manchester
4102	Pemberton, o/s House 563 Ormskirk Road/Enfield Street‎	Wigan BS	375	Arriva NW&W
31934	Wigan BS	Leigh BS	598	First Manchester
7676	Leigh BS	Lane Head, Newton Road/Travellers Rest (SW-bound)	34	Arriva NW&W

Today we decided to go to Leigh. I though it would give him a choice of buses to do, but still be linked to St Helens if he decided he wanted to cover some of their buses before the new Solo SR's were deployed. Matthew had a late night and didn't go sleep until after 03:00. After such a late night he didn't get up until 11:00. The weather forecast for today was for a cooler day with the chance of the odd shower. After a quick breakfast we set off around 12:15. We headed North on the A500 and onto the M6. He saw Z carz V690 EBC. The M6 to junction 18 was slow due to an earlier accident. We got on Winwick Lane at junction 22 and then turned right at Lane Head onto the A572. We decided to follow this road into town as opposed to going on the quicker A579 route so we could see what buses were on the #34 service. As we headed into town we passed required Arriva NW&W 2346 on what would have been the 13:20 off Leigh to St Helens. As we pulled up into town we could see an Interurban liveried Pulsar about to work the 13:40 off Leigh. We parked by the Spinning Gate shopping centre and walked into town via the market. After using the toilets in the bus station we decided to eat at the burger van by the corner of the bus station. Matthew had a sausage and egg barm and a bottle of Coca Cola. We then walked down to the end of the bus station to see what was working. We saw 40386 arriva on a Higher Fold bound #658 service.

First Manchester 40386 in Leigh bus station

We the decided to wait to see what the 14:20 #34 was. We waited patiently until about 14:15, when required Arriva NW&W Cadet 2489 appeared to work the service. Matthew decided not to do this and instead decided to do a newish required double decker, First Manchester 37305.

First Manchester 37305 in Leigh bus station

We got on and booked 3 System One bus only tickets, as once again mum was coming with us. We went upstairs and Matthew took a picture of the empty top deck of this bus.

Inside First Manchester 37305

We sat down on the front seats to enjoy the journey. I wasn't sure how far we were going on this service so I had booked Matthew ticket to Wigan just in case. As we set of in a South Western direction out of town it started to rain. We passed required Arriva NW&W Scania 1055 on the next #34. I asked Matthew if he wanted to get off and waited for it and Matthew said no. As we went further along through Lowton and then towards Golborne I asked Matthew if he wanted to get off to cover the #360 service and Matthew once again said no. A group of 3 lads got on in Lowton as the bus headed Northwards toward the top end of Golborne. The lads who where already drunk got on the bus and sat at the back. They carried on drinking, swearing talking very loudly about how they had beaten this person up and about their sexual exploits. They were "on the way to Blackpool to get wasted" as they were "currently on bail and they were likely to go back to prison anyway". Before get off at Wigan North Western railway station they dropped a glass they had taken from a pub and it smashed. I think everybody on the bus let out a collective sigh of relief when they got off. As we were getting off the bus in Wigan we spied required First Manchester 31946 on a #628 Kitt Green circular on the opposite stand and it was bout to start loading. We pretty much got straight off the one double decker and got straight on to 31946, with Matthew stopping briefly to say hello to someone before we got on. We went straight up to the top deck and Matthew got a picture of the empty bus.

Inside First Manchester 31946

We sat down at the front to enjoy this trip around Wigan. We also saw Arriva NW&W 4105 which would be working out towards Southport later. We had been on this circular before last time we came to Wigan, so we knew exactly what we were going to do. The plan was to do the service around the circle until we got back onto the main road at Pemberton, and then to do something else back into town. The rain had now stopped and we were in bright sunshine again. As we left Wigan we past a #395 service going into Wigan. As we went around the circular route we passed 3 Excels on the #621. These were First Manchester 60146, 60148 and 60141. We also went past a Co-op with Matthew got a picture of. As we got back onto the main road we got off the bus and Matthew got a picture of this beast as it headed off towards Wigan.

First Manchester 31946 in Pemberton

We checked the time and it was 15:53. A quick consultation of the bus stop timetable said the next bus was due at 15:53 and it was a #375 service. We looked up and we saw it was a double decker and bang on time. As it got closer we could see it was required 4102.

Arriva NW&W 4102 in Pemberton

We got on to do the short journey into town. When we got into Wigan Matthew took a picture of the empty top deck.

Inside Arriva NW&W 4102

When we got into the bus station, we visited the facilities before making a choice of what we were going to do back to Leigh. There were at least 2 #360's to Warrington / Golborne which were turned down including required Arriva NW&W 2454. We also turned down a Volvo's on the #600 to Leigh which was 60397. We also saw Arriva 2680 on a #575 service. He also turned down a #658 to Leigh. We had a bit of a wandered around and Matthew took a picture of Arriva NW&W Pulsar 2679 which was stabled up between #362 services.

Arriva NW&W 2679 in Wigan bus station

Just when we were thinking that we were never going to leave Wigan we saw required First Manchester 31934 Arriva on a #598 from Leigh. It dropped it passengers off and then drove around about as it tried to get onto stand H. There wasn't a space and so it did a lap of the bus station. Eventually it parked up on stand H behind another bus. I checked the timetable to see what what going on. If it was going to work out on the #598 then it would be on the 16:38 to Leigh in about 6 minutes time. The bus in front moved and then Matthew took a picture from the front.

First Manchester 31934 in Wigan bus station

After a driver change to bus drew fully onto stand H and changed it's desination to Leigh. We got on the bus and Matthew took a picture of the empty top deck.

Inside First Manchester 31934

After a couple of minutes we set off. As we left town we hit a bit of a bump in the road and mum dropped her Kindle! One of the downside to riding on the older vehicles is that they are often a little less comfortable when it come to ride quality. We had never done the #598 before so it was an interesting ride through Hindley and Hindley Green. We hit familiar territory when we reached Tamar as we had done the #658 service last time we visited Leigh. We passed a variety of vehicles on the opposite workings including 2 Darts, newer Volvo and a Volvo B10 on the #658. When we got to town it was just past 17:00. Matthew used the toilet and had us walk around the corner into town. The shutters were down on Greegs so we knew we couldn't get sausage rolls today. The was a butcher and delicatessen on the corner which sold gigantic cooked sausages and spiced chips for £2 a portion. We decided to have 2 portions between us. As we walked back we saw a shearing coached parked up by the side of the road. It was Shearings 540 (MX03 AEW) a Volvo B12M coach. Matthew didn't like the spicy chips much. which me and mum shared, but he did like the sausage which he ate, as well as eating some of Uncle Daves too. He turned down Arriva NW&W 2489 again on the 17:20 to St Helens.He did however get a picture of Newtwork Warrington 56 on a #28A service to Warrington.

Network Warrington 56 in Leigh bus station

He also turned down 60397 which was on a #600.

First Manchester 60397 in Leigh bus station

We asked Matthew if he wanted to wait until. 17:40 for the #34 service, which we though would be Arriva NW&W Scania 1055. He said yes to that. We thought we could get off at the pub The Travellers Rest and have a drink on the seats at the front of the pub like we had done before. Mum would drive the car down to meet us to take us home afterwards. When the bus turned up it wasn't 1055, but was required Arriva NW&W Dart 7676.

Arriva NW&W 7676 in Leigh bus station

He stilled wanted to do the same move to the traveller rest, and so that is what we did. We usually avoid doing bus at this time of the day because they are too crowded. There were only about 6 people on this bus as it left Leigh and it was a very pleasant ride. The bus was nice and cool. As we left town we passed Arriva NW&W 7563 on an inbound #34 service We got off as planned but when we got to the pub we found that the table at the front of the pub had been removed. We decided to wait for mum at the bus stop. Whilst we were waiting we saw Arriva NW&W 2314 on another inbound #34 service. When mum turned up we told her about the table predicament and we decided it would be better to go to the local Co-op for drinks and lottery tickets. We drove back towards Leigh and stopped at the Texaco Petrol station / Co-op on the A580. He used the facilties here to. We brought some Coca Cola and few other bits and pieces and then we head homewards. We set off along the A580 towards the M6. Before we got there it started to rain. We got onto the M6 and then the heaven opened. It was quite an heavy shower and the road was under a cm of water of so. The rain had stopped by the time we reached the M56 junction and then the sun came out again. As we drove past a couple of cars we were driving through rainbow coloured spray as the sunlight defused through the fine water droplets. We reached junction 15 and then turned off onto the A500. we then went onto the A50 at sideway before turning off at Longton to go passed the Z Carz depot. As we were about to turn onto the road past Z carz Matthew batteries ran out in his camera. I drove back and forth between 2 rounadbout whilst uncle Dave changed the batteries on his camera. We then when passed the depot where Matthew got his picture of the 2 buses parked up. D104 XAN and YN03 HJC.

Z Carz YN03 HJC in Longton

we also. We then headed home. After a short sit down we had sausages and mash before bedtime...Mark

Trip to Leigh / Golborne 26-05-2012

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
1057	Leigh BS	Newton Road, Hesketh Meadow Lane‎	34	Arriva NW&W
66932	Newton Road, Hesketh Meadow Lane‎	Golborne, o/s House 11 Church Street/Manor Street	600	First Manchester
2565	Golborne, o/s House 11 Church Street/Manor Street	Newton le Willows, nr Lowton Old Station	360	Arriva NW&W
1054	Newton le Willows, nr Lowton Old Station	Leigh BS	34	Arriva NW&W
31941	Leigh BS	Platt Bridge, Warrington Road/Millers Lane (N-bound)	658	First Manchester
40387	Platt Bridge, Warrington Road/Millers Lane (S-bound)	Leigh BS	658	First Manchester
2274	Leigh BS	Lane Head, Newton Road/Travellers Rest (SW-bound)	34	Arriva NW&W
2211	Lane Head, Newton Road/Travellers Rest (NE-bound)	Leigh BS	34	Arriva NW&W

Today Matthew decided we were going to Leigh. He point to the destination of one of the buses he had photographed last week. Research for this trip was fairly sparse. Other than look for the direction to get there, checking where we could find toilets and it there was a travel shop in the bus station vary little was done. We packed the Wigan South bus map and a few bottle of pop for emergency rations. Afterall, it was a very hot and sunny day. We set off a little early than lately at around 11:15, but we had to make a few stops before we left town. We stopped at a garage to put some air in the tyres, we picked up uncle Dave, and then we got some LPG from near the Festival Park. We then traveled along the A53 and then Northwards on the A500 until the last lay-by before the M6. We stopped for bacon and sausage sandwiches which we ate in the car. As we ate the sandwich we could see that the Northbound M6 was looking very busy, in fact almost at a stand. I was considering what to do for the best. Radio Stoke had said there were no problems which was a little worrying. We left the lay-by around 12:30, and i was still wondering what to do for the best. As we went around the roundabout I remembered the road to Alsager just before the M6 North slip road and so we went in that direction. After going into Alsager I followed direction for Sandbach, traveling along the A533 and the the A534 to get back on the M6 at the next junction. After that slight detour we were back on track. We came off the motorway and onto the A579. We did a short stretch of the Eastbound A580 and then into Leigh along the A572, passing an Arriva NW&W ALX200 Dart heading out of town. There was a bit of traffic in the town centre and we had to queue for a few minutes on Spinning Jenny way. We parked adjacent to the shopping centre before saying goodbye to mum and walking down to the bus station. As we entered the bus station Matthew got a picture of 31926 on an unidentified service.

First Manchester 31926

After a quick toilet stop and a visit to the travel shop for time tables, the first thing of interest we saw was required Arriva NW&W Scania 1057 on a 34 service.

Arriva NW&W 1057 about to work to St Helens

We waited by stop M for the bus to come around. whilst we waited i worked out that the ALX200 dart would be back at 16:20. Eventually just before 14:00 it did. Matthew then took a picture of the inside of this bus.

Inside 1057...

We tried to book a System One bus only ticket but as this is a St Helens bus and driver he wasn't sure how to do one. He let us all on for free as we were going to be buying one anyway. We were hoping to go on this bus beyond the A580, but as this was the first time on this bus I got up to early. As we went south we passed a Wright bodied bus and then another Dart. We got off and Matthew got another picture.

1057 in Lowton

We then waited for another bus. I decided the best move would be to catch a First Manchester bus as we would definitely be able to get system one tickets on this bus. We had already seen a modern decker go out on a #600 so with a bit of luck perhaps we would get another one. When the bus appeared it was a Volvo single decker. As it got closer we could see it was First Manchester 66932 would almost certainly be required.

First Manchester 66932 in Lowton

Whilst on the bus, I consulted the map and realised we could do this onto the #360 route, and then get the #360 to meet the #34 at the edge of Newton-le-Willows. When the #600 we were on turned towards Golborne onto the route of the #360 we got off. almost immediately behind 66932 was an Arriva bus. It was required 2688.

Arriva NW&W 2688 in Golborne

We got on and asked if we could go to the junction to meet the #34 ans he said yes, but not on this bus as it was only going to Golborne. In the excitement we forgot to check if it was going to Warrington! He said there would be another on in approximately 10 minutes ans so we let it go. We decided to use the time to visit a shop to get some pop and lottery tickets. We returned to the stop and eventually we could see a bus in the distance. it looked like an Icarus bodied bus and as it got closer we could see that it was. It was almost certainly going to be required as we had only been on one if this type before. Closer inspection revealed required Arriva NW&W 2565.

Arriva NW&W 2565 in Golborne

Off we went, through Golborne and across the A580. We passed Arriva NW&W 2560 which had it's hazards on, presumable broken down. at the junction with newton road we got off the bus and Matthew got another picture.

2565 on the edge of Newton-le-Willows

When we got off we had around 5 minutes to wait. Required Arriva NW&W Scania 1050 went passed going towards St Helens. Pretty much on time, we saw another Scania approaching from the distance. I was almost certainly going to be required with 1057 being out of the way for a while, and the only other one of this type we had been on before being 1053. As it approached we could see it was required 1054.

Arriva NW&W 1054 on the edge of Newton-le-Willows

We headed back to Leigh further familiarising ourselves with the route. When we got back into the bus station Matthew photographed the inside of the bus empty.

Inside 1054

As we got back we just missed First Manchester 31926 again, this time we saw it was on a #658 service. I went to get a timetable for this and whilst I was in the office 31941 appeared, the one we went on last week. Matthew decided he wanted to do this anyway and so we went to wait on stand G for the bus to come around. A few minutes later 31941 appeared on stand and we got on.

Inside First Manchester 31941

We went onto the top deck sitting near the front, and almost immediately regretted it! There are no opening windows near the front of the top deck and it was roasting hot. We set off to the north and we started drinking pop from emergency supplies to try and keep cool. We decided to go to Platt Bridge, somewhere we had been on last weeks trip. The journey to Platt Bridge was quite nice apart from the heat. The journey between Tamar and Platt Bridge is mainly through countryside and you can see for miles from the top deck. We eventually touched down in Paltt Bridge and crossed the Road for a return service. We gave matthew the choice of doing the #360 or the #658 service. When the next bus on the #360 was big and Wright bodied, Matthew turned it down. The following bus was required First Manchester 40387 on the #658.

First Manchester 40387 in Platt Bridge

We got on and sat near the back. There were numerous open windows and this journey was much cooler than the one before on 31941. The journey back was swift, but we didn't pass 31926 at any poit so it must have been wigan side of us. When we got it was nearly 16:10 and we had forgotten about the ALX200 Dart. It appeared and it was required 2274 and so when asked Matthew said yes to doing this bus.

Arriva NW&W 2274 in Leigh bus station

We got on first and Matthew photographed the inside of the bus.

Inside 2274

This time we planned on going to near the A580 junction. As we got to that area Matthew seemed reluctant to get off, ducking down in his seat. We got off a few stops later outside a pub, which had a beer garden at the front.

2274 by the Travellers Rest

Matthew seemed to want to use the toilet and so we decided to stop at the pub for a quick drink. We must have passed a bus which we didn't see, and then we saw 1057 heading towards Leigh. We guessed the next one towards Leigh would be the unidentified Plaxton Dart we saw earlier. After a quick toilet stop we ordered 2 drinks as uncle Dave didn't want one. We quickly had our drinks and waited to take a picture of the St Helens bound bus. It was required Arriva NW&W 2492. Matthew wasn't quick enough to react to get a picture of this bus. Uncle Dave was that hot and bothered he had my ice cubes, and then we crossed the road to catch the bus back. As predicted it was a Plaxton bodied Dart. As it got closer we could see it was required 2211. The picture was hard to take here as we were looking into the sun. When we got to Leigh, Matthew took a picture inside this bus.

Inside Arriva NW&W 2211

It was now time to go albeit taking a few pictures. 31926 made another reappearance on the #658 but we didn't have time to do it now.

First Manchester 31926 in Leigh bus station

Matthew also got a picture of 2211 after it had emptied out and ran around the bus station. We also saw First Manchester 60154 too.

Arriva NW&W 2211 in Leigh bus station

We also spotted Network Warrington 17 on a #19 to Warrington.

Network Warrington 17 in Leigh bus station

We then head back to the car. Mum had moved the car to a shady part of the car park which was a really welcome sight. We tucked into sausage rolls and had a drink before we set off with mum driving. We set off towards the M6 via The A572 and the A580. I told her to go the wrong way after seeing a really confusing sign at the edge of the A580 which appeared to point left. After doing a very small triangle we were back on the A580 propper and heading towards the M6. Matthew was getting a bit fidgity in the back so we decided to Stop at Sandbach service for a quick toilet and shop stop. We had some lollies and Matthew had a couple of truck magazines. We came off the M6 at junction 15 and when on the A500 Matthew directed us down the A34 past the First Newcastle depot. We then did a circle of Newcastle on way system before heading toward festival park on the A53. I decided to take us between Etruria and Shelton on Etruscan Street, but it was blocked by a fire engine with Matthew found amusing. We headed back Along the A53 and then south on the A500. We went to the A50 then back home along Stanley Matthews Way. We got home a little after 19:00...Mark