Trip to Hanley 'Finale Running day' 17-02-2013

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
53829	Ladybank Grove, Blurton	Hanley BS	23	First Potteries
60100	Hanley BS	Burslem	3	First PMT
60100	Burslem	Hanley BS	3	First PMT
4546	Hanley BS	First Adderley Green depot	13A	Wardle Transport
4546	First Adderley Green depot	Hanley BS	13A	Wardle Transport
SUX 476X	Hanley BS	Newcastle	33	Bassetts Coaches
SUX 476X	Newcastle	Hanley BS	33	Bassetts Coaches
604	Hanley BS	Stoke station	5A	PMT
EFM 181H	Stoke Station	Hanley BS	5A	Crosville
537	Hanley BS	Adderley Green	13	Devon General
537	Adderley Green	Hanley BS	13	Devon General
EVD 406	Hanley BS	Twigg Street	12	Joseph Wood
EVD 406	Twigg Street	Hanley BS	12	Joseph Wood
GJW 43N	Hanley BS	Burslem	3	Midland Fox
GJW 43N	Burslem	Hanley BS	3	Midland Fox
3999	Hanley BS	Burslem	3	Arriva Midlands
3999	Burslem	Hanley BS	3	Arriva Midlands
677	Hanley BS	Stoke station	5A	PMT

Today we were going to Hanley for the "Hanley Finale" running day. We got up before 09:00 and had crumpets and orange juice for breakfast. I went to fetch uncle Dave and whilst out I saw 41492 on a #23 and Scraggs Mercedes minibus DX09 LAA parked up on Grove Road. For a change I didn't see the #22. We set off just before 10:00 as we were catching the 09:54 from Ladybank Grove. It rounded the corner and we saw it was a new liveried Solo so we knew it would be required. It was First Potteries 53829. We travelled through Blurton and passed the temporary traffic light on Blurton Road which wee out of action. Traffic was being controlled by the police. As we travelled down we saw that someone had sent a picture into the Staffordshire and Merseyside Yahoo bus group of an Arriva Streetlite parked up at Hanley. In stoke we saw Wardle Transport 2539 on the #41 service. We were diverted from the normal route due to the dangerous building on Liverpool Road. We went along Hartshill road, Shelton Old Road and Copeland Street before going back onto the proper route. when we reached Hanley Matthew got a picture of the inside of 53829.

Inside First Potteries 53829

We got off and Matthew cheekily honked the horn. He then got a picture of 53829 which wasn't great due to the sun being behind the bus.

First Potteries 53829 in Hanley bus station

We walked down to the side stand where all the action was taking place. At this time of year I expected there to be perhaps a dozen buses at the most, with the majority of them being local ones. As we reached then end we saw that the majority of the parking stands were filled with buses of all ages and colours, and quite a few of the side stands contained buses too. more than 20 buses had made the journey into the potteries for this event. The first bus that caught our eye was newly preserved ex First PMT 60100, which we decided that we were going to do first. We saw it was leaving the parking area so we knew it was about to work, so we walked up to the stands. It came in and Matthew got a picture of it.

Preserved 60100 in Hanley bus station

We asked the driver where we could get a programme and he said off the control bus which was PMT single decker SL805. So we asked the driver where he was going and he said "Burslem". That would do :). We could get a programme when we got back. The bus set off out of Hanley and up Waterloo Road. We stopped in Burslem for a few minutes, We got off and took a picture but the sun wasn't favourable. We got back on and travelled back down Waterloo Road into Hanley. When we got back Matthew waited for the bus to empty and he got his empty bus shot of this fine beast with PMT Grey seating.

Inside 60100

We purchased a programme from the control bus and then we decided to stop for an early dinner. We went to Tony's cafe and matthew had a breakfast and a can of Coke. It was around 11:30 now, so we decided to go for trip on the Wardle tri-axle double decker 4546 which along with 60100 was going up to Adderley Green. It pulled onto stand and Matthew got a picture of it.

Wardle Transport 4546 in Hanley bus station

We got on and went upstairs. As it was empty behind up Matthew got a picture of the top deck of this vehicle.

Inside Wardle Transport 4546

A few minutes later we set of out of hanley and down limekiln bank. 60100 which was also on this rum as a duplicate was in front of us. At the bottom of Dividy Road 60100 pulled over to let us catch up, we passed the bus and then pulled over ourselves whilst 60100 caught up. This seemed a little odd but we didn't know why this was happening. the reason soon became apparent when we got to Adderley Green. 60100 was being driven by a First driver, and we saw him indicate to pull into the depot. Then we pulled into the depot behind 60100 and we proceeded to go clockwise around the back of the depot piloted by the First Driver! As we went around we passed a collection of Solo's on our left followed by Dennis Darts old and newer one too we also saw withdrawn 40379. On the right was a solitary Solo and a Stafford branded Scania in the bus washing plant. The at the very back was a large collection of scania's. It was easy to get pictures of them through the misted bus windows, but #26 branded Scania's 65026 and 65027 can be seen in the photograph below with 60063 in front of them.

First Potteries 65026 & 65027 at the back of AG

We then went past a couple of newer Darts inside the shed, past the back of the trainer buses 60316 and 60317. We rejoined Dividy Road and headed back into Hanley. As we travelled back we worked out what we were going to do next. We had a choice of Ex Arriva NW&W Scania 1051 or Bassetts coach SUX 476X. We decided to go for the coach as we had been on 1051 last July in Earlestown just before it was withdrawn from service. When we got back we had around 20 minutes before the coach was due off at 12:25 so we went down to the bottom of the bus station to take a few pictures. Wardle Transport 3611 had arrived and was parked up at the top of the row of buses it may have worked in on the #118 from Buxton. It didn't work out again though as a Dart took over the rest of the duty. We saw the coach pull onto stand and we walked up to catch it. Matthew got a picture before we got on the coach.

Bassetts Coaches SUX 476X in Hanley bus station

A few minutes later we set off towards Newcastle. we went around Hanley on the ring road to Etruria Road and onto the A53. At Newcastle we went around the main roundabout and then headed back. we followed the route back passing RML 467 by Broad Street on a service for Stoke Station. We decided we would do Crosville EFM 181H next when we got back. Back at Hanley Matthew got a picture inside Bassetts SUX 476X.

Inside Bassetts Coaches SUX 476X

EFM 181H pulled in and we went to get on it. The driver said he was going out of service even though he was due off in 6 minutes! At the same time PMT 604 was running as a duplicate service and that pulled in and so we got on. The bus set of and EFM 181H pulled into Hanley bus station at roughly the same time. We thought we could get off 604 by stoke station and catch the crosville single decker back to Hanley. We set off around Hanley and we went down Stoke Road before turning into Station Road. We got off and Matthew got a picture of this fine beast.

PMT 604 by Stoke station

We only had to wait a minute of so before EFM 181H made it's appearance and we got on it. The ride back was via Leek Road and Lichfield Street, and when we got back he got a picture of the inside of this bus.

Inside Crosvile EFM 181H

We got back and we saw the bus T was about to work the 13:35 to Adderley Green. There was no t in the programme so didn't know what it was going to be. Devon General 537 pulled onto stand and we decided to do this. It turned out that this bus was T. Matthew got picture of it and we went upstairs.

Devon General 537 in Hanley bus station

We set off down Limekiln bank and headed on Dividy Road. We wondered if we would do another spin around the depot, but the answers was no. We went to the roundabout on Anchor Road and turned around. We did pause briefly outside the depot before returning back along Dividy Road to the bottom of Limekiln Bank. The driver opted not to do the steep climb into Hanley and instead went along Leek Road to Joiners Square and then travelled up Lichfield Street. When we got back we managed to get back in time for the next shuttle to Twigg Street which was due out 5 minutes before we should have gotten back. As it was another interesting double decker we decided to do it. Not before Matthew coolly took a picture of the inside of Devon General 537.

Inside Devon General 537

We jumped on the Joseph Wood double decker EVD 406 and we sat down upstairs. It was a front engine half cab bus and the conductor rang the bell before we set off. The bus was quite slow compared to some of the others we had travelled on and very noisy, the gears seamed to be quite hard work. The bus went to Twiggs Street and stopped briefly. Whilst there CRU 103C made an appearance on an unscheduled journey. We set of back expecting EVD 406 not to tackle Limekiln bank but we were surpried and delighted in equal measures when it did. By the time the bus had reached the first summit over the canal the bus was moving at walking pace! The bus managed to get to over 20mph on the flat before attempting the longer climb. it slowed gradually by the tie we reached the footbridge we were down to walking pace again. and we stopped on the level for the traffic lights. We got back just in time to transfer over to single decker GJW 43N on a Burslem service.

Midland Fox GJW 43N in Hanley bus station

We sat down on this fine vehicle with its high back coach style seats. The run up to Burslem was swift. We went along Waterloo Road and this tie we paused on Market Street. We returned back to Waterloo road via Woodbank Street. When we got back there was a booked dead time at hanley for the Arriva Midland Streetlite 3999. We got back a little early and Matthew to a picture of the inside of GJW 43N before we got off.

Inside GJW 43N

The Streetlite along with Wardle Transport 4546 were going the 15:00 up to Burslem. These buses seemed way more powerful than some of the old vehicle and we made it to Burslem in less than 10 minutes. We had a quick photo stop Place before retuning to Hanley.

Arriva Midlands 3999 in Burslem

We had a booked dead time at Hanley for the last shuttle to stoke station. We made it back with 12 minutes to spare. It was enough time for Matthew to use the before the bus was due. For some reason I ha it in mind that the 15:30 was being worked by GFM 104X. It was on stand but there was no-one onboard at 15:30. I checked the book again and realised it was meant to be PMT 677. A quick look around and we saw it was still parked up in the parking area. A few minutes late, 677 pulled onto a stand. The event was winding down and this was one of the last departures. We did it to the station and called mum to arrange to be picked up. Matthew got a picture of 677 outside stoke station.

PMT 677 by Stoke station

Whilst we waited for mum, we saw First potteries 41492 headed towards Hanley on a #23A and First Potteries 32639 appeared on a Keele service.

First Potteries 32639 by Stoke station

Mum appeared and we got in the car. We drove along leek road and then up Wheildon Road dropping off uncle Dave as we went. We went up to Heron Cross. Lightning visitor WX06 VSA was being worked on in the Lightning house and then to Blurton and home. Matthew had some pizza but he didn't enjoy it because there were onion and peppers in it so we did him some chicken popcorn and fries. After a bath he chilled out on his computer before bedtime...Mark