Bus |
From |
To |
Service |
Operator |
|
| 257 | Derby BS | Oakwood, Adj Smalley Drive | 11 | Notts & Derby |
| 454 | Oakwood, Opp Smalley Drive | Derby BS | 11 | Notts & Derby |
| 767 | Derby, Derwent Street (Stop C7) | Derby, Adj Meteor Centre Park-and-Ride | D1 | Notts & Derby |
| 792 | Derby, Adj Meteor Centre Park-and-Ride | Derby, Derwent Street (Stop C7) | D1 | Notts & Derby |
| 264 | Derby, Derwent Street (Stop C7) | Derby, Adj Meteor Centre Park-and-Ride | D1 | Notts & Derby |
| 264 | Derby, Adj Meteor Centre Park-and-Ride | Derby, Derwent Street (Stop C7) | D1 | Notts & Derby |
| 600 | Derby BS | Smalley Cross, Rose & Crown | 59 | Notts & Derby |
| 766 | Smalley Cross, Rose & Crown | Derby BS | 59 | Notts & Derby |
Today we decided to re-visit Derby. We had received a tip-off from one of our Flickr/Facebook friends telling us that this Saturday was going to be an unofficial running day for the last remaining Optare Excels in the Notts & Derby. Our previous visit to Derby was for the Notts & Derby Olympians running day which had been well publicised. We couldn't find anything on the web regarding this running day, so we decided to take a chance that it was true and visit Derby regardless. The night before I had received a message stating that required Notts & Derby 257 was going to be on the #11 service to Ilkeston, dud Notts & Derby 258 was going to be on the #73 to Weston-on-Trent and required Notts & Derby 264 was going to be on the D1 Meteor Retail Park service. Research for the trip consisted of downloading and e-mailing myself the relevant 3 timetables. I for to check the weather, which turned out to be overcast and bitterly cold! Matthew got up around 10:00 and had toast an orange juice for breakfast. We set off around 11:45 and we ran down to the A5035. We drove through Dresden up to Longton and we took the Westbound A50 to the next roundabout and we turned right into Baths Road. We filled up with petrol at Tesco and then we went Eastwards along the A50. As we travelled up towards Meir tunnel we passed D&G 139 on 'The Orange ONE' service to Newcastle. We passed the Copeland's Tours depot and we saw orange coach MIB 118 parked up there. We continued East and we saw Copeland's Tours coach MIB 246 parked up in a lay-by with a L plate on the back. Travelling East along the A50 we saw Linburg IIG 7743, a Blue coach (possibly Jones) reg like ?14 JPC & Midlands Classic 21(#401). We came off the A50 at the A511 and we travelled down to Hatton. We stopped at the Salt Box Cafe where Matthew used the toilet. After using the facilities Matthew had a breakfast washed down with a small bottle of Coke. Whilst we were there we saw Trent Barton 659 (V1), Midlands Classic 76 (#401) and a green and cream Derby Corporation half cab double decker 27. When we had finished eating we got back into the car and we ran up to Derby along the A516 and onto the A38. We ran into town along Ashbourne Road and we went around the inner ring road, turning right onto The Cock Pitt. We entered the Riverside car park and we parked up. We crossed over Morledge inside the car park and then we went down the lift down to level 2. WE said goodbye to mum and we went down the steps onto the street below. We walked under the car park bridge and we saw Arriva Midlands 2517 on a #7 from Sinfin.
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| Arriva Midlands 2517 in Derby bus station |
We hadn't seen any of the 3 Notts & Derby buses yet, but there was plenty of interesting buses around. Derby County where playing at home and there were buses of supporters past every few minutes... Most of the buses were older high floor vehicles. We saw Hawkes Coaches Volvo single decker R978 XVM heading South towards Pride Park. We crossed over Morledge and we stood on the corner by the bus station whilst we waited for one of the buses appear. Whilst we waited we saw Trent Barton coach 88 on the Red Arrow express service to Nottingham.
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| Trent Barton 88 in Derby bus station |
A few minutes later we saw Trent Barton 87 on another Red Arrow express service to Nottingham.
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| Trent Barton 87 in Derby bus station |
Outside of the bus station we saw Notts+Derby double decker 34 on a shuttle service to Pride Park.
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| Notts+Derby 34 in Derby bus station |
Traffic in and around the bus station was running slow due to it being a matchday. A few minutes later we saw Trent Barton 687, branded for the Sixes services towards Belper.
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| Trent Barton 687 in Derby bus station |
This was followed by Arriva Midlands 4400 which had just arrived on a #38 service from Sinfin.
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| Arriva Midlands 4400 in Derby bus station |
This was followed by Arriva Midlands double decker 4217 on a #1 from Alvaston.
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| Arriva Midlands 4217 in Derby bus station |
A few minutes later we saw Trent Barton 257 arrive into the bus station. It didn't some straight on stand it went on layover. We went and stood at the correct stand for the #11 service and a minute or so later a Solo arrived with #11. It emptied out and then disappeared again. Whilst we stood waiting for a bus to appear we saw dud Trent Barton 258 come in on the #73 service. A few minutes later to our relief we saw Trent Barton 257 come onto the stand.
|
| Notts+Derby 257 in Derby bus station |
We got on the bus and we purchased Notts & Derby Enthusiasts Day tickets for £6 each. We were first on the bus so Matthew took a picture inside Notts & Derby 257 before we sat down.
|
| Inside Notts+Derby 257 |
We set off out of the bus station, passing Hawkes Coaches R557 LGH on a football service. We continued onto the anti-clockwise ring road where we were passed by Harpurs Coaches P403 MDT. We then came off and under the ring road onto Eastgate. At the roundabout we came off onto Nottingham Road and we ran Eastwards out of town traffic was slow due to it being a match day and we crawled out of town until we got to Chaddeston Lane where we turned left. As we travelled North we passed Harpurs double decker X423 PFE on a #23 Football service. We turned left onto Morley Road and we ran North for around 1 1/2 miles. The #11 service is a 1 hour 45 minute round trip, and an hourly service. If we wanted to get in more than 4 or 5 buses, we had to get off somewhere and catch the other bus on the route or be out of town for a further hour. We had planned to go to Stanley, but the late running due to football traffic meant we had to get off earlier than we planned. As we went up Morley road we spotted two bus tops opposite to each other in Oakwood, so we decided to get up and get off the bus. The bus continued North up to Derby Road and neither of us managed to get a decent picture! We crossed the road and we stood at the stop on a narrow pavement next to a fast road. We didn't have to wait to long before we saw a bus approaching... Disappointingly at was Notts & Derby Solo 454 on the #11 to Derby.
|
| Notts+Derby 454 in Oakwood |
We got on the bus and we flashed the N&D Enthusiasts Day Ticket to the driver. Matthew tried to beep the horn and we had to wrestle him away from the cab before we sat down towards the back of the bus. We travelled South for around a mile and a half and we continued onto Chaddesden Lane. At the end we turned right onto Nottingham Road and we ran into town. We crossed the Pentagon roundabout and we went under the ring road onto Exeter Street and we saw required Notts and derby 264 on the D1 service go past on Derwent Street. The bus emptied out in front of us and we encourage Matthew to take a picture inside Notts & Derby 454 at this point.
|
| Inside Notts+Derby 454 |
We turned left into Corporation Street and forwards onto Morledge before we turned left into the bus station. We tried to get Matthew off the bus without him honking the horn, but despite two of us wrestling with he managed to do it :( Adjacent to the Solo that we had just got off was national Express liveried Edwards Coaches BX16 CHY on a #321 to Bradford.
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| Edwards BX16 CHY in Derby bus station |
We decided to take a few pictures before visiting the toilet and then walking over to Derwent Street to get in the last required Optare Excel on the D1 service. We had a clear view of the Hawkes coaches double decker R557 LGH which was on layover, so we went up the side of the bus station to get a picture. As we got there Hawkes Coaches single decker R978 XVM pulled up in front of it.
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| Hawkes Coaches R978 XVM in Derby bus station |
We walked back into the bus station and we saw Chalfonts BK14 LEF on a #230 to Gatwick Airport
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| Chalfonts BK14 LEF in Derby bus station |
We went inside the bus station and Matthew used the toilet before we left the bus station out of the East exit and we walked along the River Derwent to Derwent Street. When we energed onto the street we crossed the road and we saw Trent Barton 163 on layover in between services on the Nines.
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| Trent Barton 163 in Derby |
We waited at the stop outside the registry office for the next D1 service. A few minutes later the bus turned up and it was required Notts & Derby 767 on the D1 to the Meteor Retail Park.
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| Notts+Derby 767 in Derby |
We got on the bus and we flashed the N&D Enthusiasts Day Ticket to the driver before we sat down towards the back of the bus. The bus set off along Derwent Street and we turned left onto Stuart Street. We went under the ring road and then we joined Mansfield Road going Northwards. Where Mansfield Road became Alfreton Road we turned right and we crossed over the railway line. Just to the South we could see the Linburg bus and coach garage where we could see a line of double decker buses. We joined the Northbound A608 and we went past the Rollerworld roller rink before we turned left into the Meteor Retail Park, passing Notts & Derby 792 which was on the other D1 turn. It appeared that Notts & Derby 264 had been taken off the D1's :( At the first roundabout we did a u-turn so that the bus was facing the right way to return into town. We let the bus empty and Matthew took a picture inside Notts & Derby 767.
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| Inside Notts+Derby 767 |
Once we got off the bus Matthew took another picture of Notts & Derby 767 before it returned into town.
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| Notts+Derby 767 in Meteor Retail Park |
We let the bus go as they were every 10 minutes and we required Notts & Derby 792 anyway. Whilst we waited for the bus to appear Matthew shared a somewhat battered double Milky may with me and uncle Dave. A few minutes later we saw the bus approaching and as expected it was Notts & Derby 792.
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| Notts+Derby 792 in Meteor Retail Park |
We got on the bus and we flashed the N&D Enthusiasts Day Ticket to the driver. This bus was out of a different batch off Plaxton Centro's acquired form elsewhere, as such it was very different inside compared to our last bus. Matthew took a picture inside Notts & Derby 792.
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| Inside Notts+Derby 792 |
We set off out of the retail park and onto the Southbound A608. We joined Mansfield Road and we crossed the railway line before we followed the road to the left and into the town under the ring road on Pheonix Street. We turned right onto Derwent Street and as we crossed over the river we spotted required Notts & Derby 264 about to work the next D1 service. The bus must have gone with the driver back to the depot for a meal break and had promptly returned for the second part of the shift :) The bus stop at a set down only stop opposite to the Optare Excel so we quickly crossed over the road and Matthew got a picture of Notts & Derby 264 before we jumped on it.
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| Notts+Derby 264 in Derby |
We flashed the N&D Enthusiasts Day Ticket to the driver and we sat down towards the back of the bus. The bus that we had just got off was now displaying X17 and it went around the corner towards the bus station. We set off as we had done before up Derwent Street and left into Stuart Street. We continued as we had done on the previous run on Pheonix Street, Mansfield Road the A608 and into the retail park before we did a u-turn at the first roundabout ready to return back to Derby. We let the bus empty and Matthew took a picture inside Notts & Derby 264.
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| Inside Notts+Derby 264 |
We got off the bus and we made a decision to do the bus straight back to Derby, as we had been on the other bus on the route and the withdrawal of this bus from service was imminent. We took another picture of Notts & Derby 264 whilst we waited for the bus to be readied for service of the return trip.
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| Notts+Derby 264 in Meteor Retail Park |
We got back on the bus and we flashed the N&D Enthusiasts Day Ticket to the driver before we sat down towards the back of the bus. A couple of minutes later we returned back to town via the A608, Mansfield Road, Pheonix Street and onto Derwent Street. This time the bus did a u-turn outside the Derby Assembly Rooms and onto the Derwent Street C7 stop. We got up and got off the bus and Matthew took another picture of Notts & Derby 264 before we headed back to the bus station.
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| Notts+Derby 264 in Derby |
We crossed over Derwent street and we walked back to the bus station alongside the river. Once in the bus station we decided that we would have time for one quick out and back before the parking ticket ran out. We knew that we didn't have time to do dud Notts & Derby 258 on the #73 as we would only get one bus in and it would not be a required one and we would be late! We looked at the display and we saw that there were two Notts & Derby service at 16:30. One was a X17 Borrowash express service and the other was a #59 to Ilkeston via Breadsall & Brackley Gate. Both buses were on adjacent stands 2 & 3. We had around 15 minutes to wait for these buses,so we went outside of the bus station to the corner of Morledge to take a few pictures whilst we waited. It was starting to go dark and it was very cold, so we didn't stay here too long. We did see Arriva Midlands white single decker YJ58 FFD on a #7 to Sinfin.
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| Arriva Midlands YJ58 FFD in Derby bus station |
We had seen required Notts & Derby 600 on layover and it was displaying 59 so we assumed that this was going to one of the two buses. We went into the bus station and we dcided there was just time for Matthew to visit the toilet before the buses were due on stand. There was only just time, as we had to wait for the toilet to become vacant! We walked back to the stands and we saw required Notts & Derby 765 on the X17. We then saw Notts & Derby 600 pull up on stand as we expected.
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| Notts+Derby 600 in Derby bus station |
We decided to do Notts & Derby 600... I think Matthew based the decision on the fact that it looked similar internaly to the First Potteries Wright Solar Eclipse buses 65727-65733! We got on the bus and we flashed the N&D Enthusiasts Day Ticket to the driver before we sat down towards the back of the bus. We set off out of the bus station and onto Morledge and we went North up to Derwent street where we turned right. The route was the same as the D1 as far as the retail park. We turned left onto Stuart Street and we crossed under the ring road on Pheonix Street and onto Mansfield Road. We crossed the railway line and we ran north up the A608 and past the retail park. It was now proper dark and we quickly went out of the city in open countryside. I had already seen that this service was hourly and had a 1hr 50 round trip time, so we had to get off somewhere and come back on the other bus on the service. The problem was that we didn't know the area and we were trying to time get on a bus coming the other way or get well and truly bowled out! I resorted to find where I wanted to get off on google maps and using this to plot our position against the time. We followed Arriva Midlands #38 branded double decker bus 4404 up Mansfield Road which was on a #24 Chaddesden circular service. We travelled about 1 1/2 miles and then we turned sharp left onto Brookside Road. We ran into Breadsall and we turned right onto Church lane and then Moor Road. We then we stormed North through the night for around 2 miles where the road turned sharp left. We continued straight onto Cloves Hill and we ran for a further 1/3 of a mile before we turned right onto Woodside to head into Smalley Cross. The bus had emptied out so I encourage Matthew to take a picture inside Notts & Derby 600.
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| Inside Notts+Derby 600 |
I could see we were getting close to the point where I wanted to get off, and when I could see streetlight I assumed correctly that we were coming to the crossroad where I wanted to get off. We stood up to get off the bus and the bus stopped at the lights on the crossroads. I asked the driver where the returns stop was and he pointed to a stop just across the road barely visible in the dark. He told us there was a bus due to pass us soon to which I replied "I know, that's why we're getting of here to go straight back!". We went forwards onto the A609 and we got off the bus. Matthew took another picture of Notts & Derby 600 as it disappeared into the night...
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| Notts+Derby 600 in Smalley Cross |
We waited for a gap in the traffic and we crossed over the road. We looked up and we saw the bus approaching a few hundred yards up the road! We made it with around a minute to spare! As it got closer we saw that it was required Notts & Derby 766.
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| Notts+Derby 766 in Smalley Cross |
We got on the bus and we flashed the N&D Enthusiasts Day Ticket to the driver for the final time today before we sat down towards the back of the bus. We set off Westwards along the A609 and we crossed over the crossroads onto Woodside. It was properly dark as we travelled back via Brackley gate, Breadsall and down the A608. As we passed the Meteor Retail park we saw Notts & Derby 264 waiting to work the D1 back into town. It was probably going to be the last time we saw a Notts & Derby Optare Excel working a bus service. We continued back into twon along Mansfield Road, Pheonix Street and Derwent Street and we turned right into Morledge. We entered the bus station and as the bus was now going onto the #73 we went right the way down to the bottom end of the bus station onto the outdoor coach stands! The bus was empty so Matthew took a picture inside Notts & Derby 766 before we got off it.
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| Inside Notts+Derby 766 |
We met up with mum and we went into the shop in the bus station. This has to be probably one of the biggest bus station shops in the country where you could probably buy everything to make a 3 course dinner,albeit at a premium price before you caught your bus home! Matthew brought a couple of cans of Coke and some chocolate bars before returned onto Morledge towards the car park. on the way was saw required Trent Barton 911 on a Skylink service.
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| Trent Barton 911 in Derby bus station |
We got in the lift up to floor 2 and we validate the parking ticket before we got back into the lift to go up the level 4. We went out of the car park and Matthew very helpfully put the ticket in the machine so that we could leave the car park. We came out of the car park and i turned in the wrong direction onto ring road. We then ended up going East along the A52 towards Nottingham. We spotted a sign for the A6 so we took that down to the A50. We then travelled 35 odd mile West along the A500, passing close to Uttoxeter and Blythe Bridge. We came off the A50 a Longton so that we could check out what was on Z Carz this evening. In the first row we saw Z Carz Volkswagen minibus OV05 WSW.
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| Z Carz OV05 WSW in Longton |
Also in the first row was Z Carz Vauxhall minibus X599 WDY.
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| Z Carz X599 WDY in Longton |
Next to the Vauxhall was Z Carz Renault minibus BU04 GYW.
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| Z Carz BU04 GYW in Longton |
Closest vehicle in the front row was Z Carz Ford minibus GL04 CVE.
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| Z Carz GL04 CVE in Longton |
In the second row was Z Carz Renault minibus Y568 XFV. We turned left into willow Row to see what was parked in the compound. In the yard we saw Z Carz Iveco minibus YJ53 WPD.
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| Z Carz YJ53 WPD in Longton |
We also saw Z Carz new Mercedes minibus LV52 TZY. We turned around and we got back onto the Westbound A50 which we did as far as Heron Cross. We travelled through Blurton along Blurton Road and we turned right onto Church Road. We turned right onto Beaconsfield Drive and we got home just after 18:30. For a late tea Matthew had bangers & mash with carrots followed by a slice of lemon meringue pie. We then chilled out on the computer until bedtime around 01:00... Mark
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