Trip to Middleton / Oldham 07-09-2013

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
61240	Middleton BS	Higher Blackley, o/s Hse 506 Victoria Avenue/Glenbrook Road	64	First Manchester
454	Higher Blackley, o/s Open Land Victoria Ave/Glenbrook Road‎	Middleton BS	156	JPT
513	Middleton BS	Moston, opp Moston Lane/Blue Bell	112	JPT
184	Moston, before Moston Lane/Blue Bell	Middleton BS	112	JPT
34098	Middleton BS	Oldham BS	59	First Manchester
34102	Oldham BS	Moorside, Ripponden Road/The Moorside (NE-bound)	83	First Manchester
66858	Moorside, nr Garage Ripponden Road/Turf Pit Lane	Oldham BS	83	First Manchester
40369	Oldham BS	Middleton Junction, Greengate/Middleton Junction (Stop D)‎	415	First Manchester
27598	Middleton Junction, Greengate/Middleton Junction (Stop C)‎‎	Middleton BS	112	Stagecoach Manchester

Today we decided to go to return Middleton. The initial plan was to perhaps ride on the the remaining Darts n the #415 service. Research consisted of only checking the weather which initial was for rain. Matthew got up a little before 10:00 and had orange juice and toast for breakfast. Re-cheking the weather forecast, we saw it was now forecastng sunny intervals and the occasional rain showers. We set off at 11:30 going to the garage to drop something off, and up Blurton Road to pick something up. We then went to Heron Cross and joined the West bound A50. At the A500 we headed North and onto the Northbound M6. Traffic was slow up to junction 18, the aftermath of an earlier accident. We then made good progress up to the M62, onto the M60 ring road around to the A576. We headed into Middleton along this road for a couple of miles passing Healings coach R902 WEC and the we parked by the Dusty Miller pub. We walked to the bus station and we ate at the van on the pavement adjacent from it. Matthew had a bacon and egg barm washed down with Irn Bru. Whilst we ate we saw a few buses. First Manchester 40369 was on the #415 to Oldham. We also saw First Manchester 30880. When we had finished we headed into the bus station and we saw Stagecoach Manchester 17011 on a #112 service.

Stagecoach Manchester 17011 in Middleton bus station

Matthew went to the toilet, but by the time he was done Stagecoach Manchester 17011 had left. We had a look around the bus station to see what we could do. We visited the Travel shop and got some bus maps, and then we saw First Manchester 61240 on a #64 service.

First Manchester 61240 in Middleton bus station

We didn't know the route of the #64, so I looked on the board by the stop and we got on and decided to ask for Heaton Park. We brought System One tickets and before we sat down Matthew got a picture inside this bus.

Inside First Manchester 61240

As we left we saw First Manchester 41781 on a #415. We headed out of Middleton along the A576 and crossed over the M60. Here we passed Heaton park and then turned left on the A6104. We got off the bus and then crossed the road to go back the other way. at our stop there were 3 services. There was the #64 back to Middleton which we had just missed which ran at a 30 minute frequency. There was also a #149 to Manchester via Cheetham Hill. Catching this would mean returning on the #149 and #64 or doing a #135 to Bury for a #163 to Middleton. There was also the #156 to Middleton run by JPT which was often a double decker. We decided to see what was on the #149 and if it wasn't anything special we would turn it down and wait fr the JPT service behind it. We then saw a bus going the other way which was little Gem 1801. Research suggests it was on a service #61 to Manchester. What we didn't know that one stop further up the road would have give us an extra service in each direction, the #115 and #116. We found out when Stagecoach Manchester 34116 approached us and then turned the corner on the #116.

Stagecoach Manchester 34116 in Higher Blackley

We saw Stagecoach Manchester 36075 heading the other way on a #115 service. We waited to see What the #149 to Manchester was, and it was an uninspiring Volvo B7RLE First Manchester 66871.

First Manchester 66871 in Higher Blackley

That wasn't worth going to Cheetham Hill with. The #149 in the other direction was a different story. It was required First Manchester Mercedes Citaro 60228

First Manchester 60228 in Higher Blackley

A few minutes later we could see a JPT bus in the distance. Disappointingly it wasn't a double decker. It was however required JPT 454.

JPT 454 in Higher Blackley

We got on and sat near the back. The journey back was along the same route as the #64 back along the A576. It didn't take long to do the 2 miles back into Middleton and when we reached the end of the run Matthew got a picture inside JPT 454 too.

Inside JPT 454

We had a quick look around and we saw Stagecoach Manchester 33075 on a #80 service. We then took a picture of this bus.

Stagecoach Manchester 33075 in Middleton bus station

We were considering doing 33075, when we spotted JPT step entranced bus 513 on layover.

JPT 513 in Middleton bus station

We saw it was on a #112 service, so we decided to wait a few minutes and catch this bus. We waited for the driver to appear, and when he got in we went around to stand B. A few minutes later the bus came around and we got on it. We booked to Moston and we went upstairs. It was empty at the back so he got his picture straight away.

Inside JPT 513

We set off along Grimshaw Lane towards Middleton Junction. We then turned right onto Greengate. The route looked familiar here as it is part of the #415 which we had done previously back in May this year. We carried on past the Stagecoach depot and onto Moston Lane. We got off near the Blue Bell pub in Moston and crossed the road. We didn't have to wait long. We had just missed Stagecoach Manchester 17011 again, and the next bus was another JPT one. We could see it was a single decker. As it got closer we saw it was required JPT 184. We set off back North passing JPT 182 and 154. We got back to Middleton and we spotted required step entranced First Manchester 34098 on the stand in front of us. Matthew cool as a cucumber waited for the bus to empty and then got a picture inside the now empty JPT 184

Inside JPT 184

He also got a picture of the outside of the bus as he had missed getting a picture in Moston.

JPT 184 in Middleton bus station

We walked up to First Manchester 34098 and saw it was on a #59 to Rushcroft. He got a picture before we got on it.

First Manchester 34098 in Middleton bus station

We booked to Oldham and went upstairs. As we left the bus station we saw Stagecoach Magicbus step entranced double decker 16798 on the #80. Stagecoach 16799 was also out. We also saw First Manchester Dart 41788 too. The bus left Middleton and headed out towards Chadderton. As we climbed the hill we could see another First Manchester step entranced bus in the distance! We got int the bus station and we went out of then end to get a picture of 34098. It left the bus station very quickly and we could only get a picture of it as it sped away.

First Manchester 34098 in Oldham bus station

We then headed to the toilet. We took a few pictures and within a couple of minutes another step entranced First Manchester bus had appeared on the other side of the bus station in the form of 34102. We walked along the bus station taking pictures. First Manchester 40330 was on the #415 service. We walked around the other side of the bus station ans we saw that 34102 was still there. It was on a #83 to Sholver, which we guessed was away from Manchester towards to moors. We took a picture and then we walked around to it.

First Manchester 34102 in Oldham bus station

We got on 34102 and inquired with the driver as to how far Sholver was and in which direction it was in. It was heading East so we booked to Sholver and went upstairs. We decided to get off earlier in the Moorside area so that we would get a different bus back. Just before we got off Matthew got a picture inside 34102.

Inside First Manchester 34102

We got off and we watched the bus head up the hill, and Matthew took anther picture of First Manchester 34102.

First Manchester 34102 in Moorside

Where we were there was only a choice of 2 services. The hourly #407 run by Stotts, and the #83. We saw the #407 ging in the other direction. The next bus was a First Manchester #83 service. We could see it was a single decker. As it approached we saw it was required 66858.

First Manchester 66858 in Moorside

It didn't take long to get back to Oldham. It was close to 17:00 and we had to thank about getting back to Middleton. We went to the shop to buy lottery tickets and Matthew had a can of Coke, a flapjack and a Galaxy Caramel. Matthew ate his flapjack and then we thought about which bus to catch back. Conveniently required First Manchester Dennis Dart 40369 was on the next #415!

First Manchester 40369 in Oldham bus station

Having seen that the #415 and the #112 routes intersect at Middleton junction, We decided to do 40369 to there. The bus headed South West to Butler Green and then headed North West to Middleton Junction. When the bus turned left onto Greengate we got up and got off the bus.

First Manchester 40369 in Middleton Junction

As we tried to cross the road we saw JPT 513 and Stagecoach Manchester 22182 going towards Middleton on the #112. After we had crossed we saw JPT 183 heading in the other direction.

JPT 183 in Middleton Junction

A few minutes later we saw stagecoach 17038 heading South. As that bus disappeared we saw a stagecoach single decker approaching. It turned out to be required Stagecoach Manchester 27598.

Stagecoach Manchester 27598 in Middleton Junction

We got on the bus and sat down near the back. The bus went back along Grimshaw Lane and it took us no time at all to get back to Middleton. When we reached Middleton we let the bus empty and Matthew got a picture inside this bus.

Inside Stagecoach Manchester 27598

We got off and crossed over to the other side of the road and then got another picture of Stagecoach Manchester 27598.

Stagecoach Manchester 27598 in Middleton bus station

We took a few more pictures of buses including 40369 which we had caught up with. Getting off 40369 had made the journey nearly as quick and we got an extra bus in. Also we didn't have to go over the bumps in Alkrington Gardens! We walked to the car and mum was waiting with for us with some Greggs sausage rolls. Matthew also had a drink of Ben Shaws dandelion and burdock. We set off out of town onto the A576 and this time we got onto the clockwise M60. We went west to the M56 and then we went onto the A556. We got on the M6 at junction 19 and we did it down to the northern end of the A500. We did the A500 down to the A50 and then we headed into Longton to see what was on the Z Carz depot. There were 3 buses on the spare ground. Newest coach ALZ 8539 was at the front of the row.

Z Carz ALZ 8539 in Longton

Behind this was the vehicle on loan from lightning Travel, Mercedes minibus FD53 UNX

Z Carz FD53 UNX in Longton

Last of all was LDV minibus R920 WNT.

Z Carz R920 WNT in Longton

We turned onto Willow Row and there were 2 buses in the compound. First was old school LDV minibus T408 JUX.

Z Carz T408 JUX in Longton

Then there was Z Carz Y568 XFV from the taxi fleet.

Z Carz Y568 XFV in Longton

We turned around and headed onto Longton Hall Road. In Blurton we saw First Potteries 40020 on the #22 to Longton. We got home at around 19:00. For a late tea Matthew had bangers and mash with carrots followed by cheesecake. He then chilled out on his computer until bedtime...Mark