Trip to the POPS rally 24-06-2018

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
JTF 218F	Bet 365 Stadium	Stone, Crown Street	Special	Stanton's of Stoke
JTF 218F	Stone, Crown Street	Bet 365 Stadium	Special	Stanton's of Stoke
2599	Bet 365 Stadium	Trentham Gardens	Special	Ulsterbus
2599	Trentham Gardens	Bet 365 Stadium	Special	Ulsterbus
14	Bet 365 Stadium	Trentham, A34 adjacent Gardens	Special	Stevesons
DVG 266	Trentham, A34 adjacent Gardens	Bet 365 Stadium	Special	Crosville
312	Bet 365 Stadium	Stone, Crown Street	Special	Green Bus
312	Stone, Crown Street	Bet 365 Stadium	Special	Green Bus

Today was the highlight of Matthew's social calender, the main POPS rally at the BET 365 stadium. There was no research to be done as we did not know what buses would be in attendance or the timetable being used until we arrived on site. The weather was forcast for fine sunny weather all day. Matthew got up 08:00 and was bouning around with excitment. Uncle Dave who stopped over ready for today's trip made him soem toast and gave him some orange juice for breakfast. Matthew had to wait until gone 10:30 before I returned home from work. We made some sandwiches and packed a bag and we jumped into the car. It was only a 2 mile trip or so to the BET365 stadium. We set off onto the A5035 and we turned right onto Stanley Matthews Way. At the other end we turned left at the roundabout by the stadium and we parked up as direct by the stewads in front of the West Stand. We set off up the car park and onto the service road in from of the staium and headed towards the Boothen end behind which all the buses were parked up. As we got to the corner we saw Invincible coach NTU 191L arriving on site.

Invincible NTU 191L in BET365 Stadium

At the corner of the site were a group of stalls. Supporting one of the stalls was WM BUses Leyland Lynx 1266

WM Travel 1266 in BET365 Stadium

We decided to go around and take picture of as many of the buses as we can before we did anything else. We set off up the row and we saw Blackpool Transport Leylane Atlantean 353.

Blackpool Transport 353 in BET365 Stadium

Further up the row was ex PMT Leyland Olympian 757 which has be re-painted back into the colour it was delivered in back in the late 1980's.

PMT 757 in BET365 Stadium

Towards the top end of the row we saw Bassetts Leyland coach JRE 354V.

Bassetts JRE 354V in BET365 Stadium

Towards the top end of the row was ex National Express West Midlands Plaxton President 4112, now 312 in the Green Bus fleet.

Green Bus 312 in BET365 Stadium

We said hell to the ice cream man who is our own ice cream man, and we went to the top end of the site where there more coaches and buses parked up. We saw Stanton's of Stoke new coach 222 GGX in this row.

Stanton's of Stoke 222 GGX in BET365 Stadium

whilst we were up there we saw Stanton's of Stoke JTF 218F going out on a short run.

Stanton's of Stoke JTF 218F in BET365 Stadium

We walked down the back end of the site and down the row of buses and coaches. We saw dud GM Buses Leyland coach 81 there.

GM Buses 81 in BET365 Stadium

Also in the row was First Potteries newest vehicle 67159.

First Potteries 67159 in BET365 Stadium

Towards the bottom of the site were the Copeland's Tours coaches. One of the 4 Bovas on show was Copeland's Tours coach MIB 746.

Copeland's Tours MIB 746 in BET365 Stadium

At the very bottom of the site was Orion Travel tri-axle coach OR10 NTX.

Orion Travel OR10 NTX in BET365 Stadium

We found the control bus and we brought a program for the event at £3. We walked up towards the middle of the site and we saw Midland General Bristol 148.

Midland General 148 in BET365 Stadium

Further up the site was required Crosville DVG 266 which had just arrived back on site.

Crosville DVG 266 in BET365 Stadium

We walked up the side of the Botthen end where there were more stalls and we went inside so Matthew could use the toilet. He also went to see Dave Spencer on the PMP Video stall and he brought a DVD. We went outside and we sat down for a short while whilst we worked out what buses we could do. there din't seem to be much out that we hadn't already had Crosville DVG 266 was due to work at some point as was Blackppol Transport 225 and the Orion Travel coach. Everything else was the same as usually work at most of the local rallies. We saw Green Bus 312 about to depart on a Trentham Gardens service so we walked down towards it and it pulled off as we got there. The next one off was the 12:30 was booked to be Prentice of Haddington MFS 444P. It was a bus I could remember seeing today and I guess it was one that didn't make it today, as the bus was replaced by Stanton's of Stoke open-topped double decker JTF 218F. We decided to do this bus as we hdn't been on it for a while. We got on the bus and we went upstiars. One of Matthew's old bus escorts was on board but he didn't seem to keen to chat! We set off onto Stanley Matthews way and we ran to the Southern end. We turned right onto the A5035 and we ran into Trentham and the roundabout on the A34. We turned left onto the A34 and we had a spirited run past the Monkey Forest and through Tittensor. We continued down to Darlaston and we ran past Stone through the Fillybrooks before turning left onto Stafford Street and then left onto Crown Street where we stopped. We got off and we took a picture of Stanton's of Stoke JTF 218F.

Stanton's of Stoke JTF 218F in Stone

We decided to go back North on Stanton's of Stoke JTF 218F. When we got back on people on the top deck had spaced out so we had to go downstairs. The bus set off Back North up Newcastle Road and onto the A34. As we passed the Monkey Forest roundabout we saw Stanton's of Stoke double decker WSV 530 which had worked a duplicate Trentham service. We carried on North up to Trentham before taking the A5035 back to Stanley Matthew Way. As we ran down Stanley Matthews Way we passed required Blackpool Transport 225 on the 13:15 to Trentham Gardens. We turned left at the roundabout and then into the Stadium. Once we got back we walked back to the car and grabbed the supplies for the packed lunch. We ate cocktail sausage and we made up manwiches with baps and slices of chicken. We also went into the Boothen end and we got a couple of bottles of Tango Orange between us. Once we had finished eating we looked for something to catch back. We spotted Ulsterbus 2599 which was about to work a duplicate service to Trentham Gardens, so we decided to do that.

Ulsterbus 2599 in BET365 Stadium

We got on the bus and we sat down near to the front on the right hand side. The bus set off out of the stadium and onto the Southbound Stanley Matthews Way. We joined the A5035 and we headed into Trentham. We carried on to the end of the road where we crossed over the A34 and went into the main entrance of the gardens. We turned left past Frankie and Benny's and we circled around the car park to the coach drop off point. We got off the bus to take another picture of Ulsterbus 2599.

Ulsterbus 2599 at Trentham Gardens

We got on the bus and at the roundabout we turned right onto the A34. We ran down to the Monkey Forest roundabout and we did a U-turn. We ran back up North and as there was nobody waiting at the lay-by at the top end we carried on to the roundabout. We turned right at the roundabout and the bus headed back onto the A5035. We turned left onto Stanley Matthews and we ran back to the stadium. As we apporached the roundabout we passed Orion Travel OR10 NTX going the other way. As we had missed the 14:30 to Stone we went into the Boothen end and used the toilet again. We went outside to see what was on the 14:45 to Trentham. It was booked to be Crosville DVG 155, but Stevenson 14 turned up to work the service.

Stevensons 14 in BET365 Stadium

We decided to do this bus anyway, so we got on and we sat down near the front on the right hand side. The bus set off out of the stadium and onto the Southbound Stanley Matthews Way. We joined the A5035 and we headed into Trentham. We carried on to the end of the road where we turned left onto the A34. We ran down to the Monkry Forest roundabout where we did a u-turn and headed back up the A34. Towards the top end of the stretch at the back of the Premier Inn, we pulled over into the layby, passing required Crosville DVG 266 going the other way. We got off the coach and we took another picture of Stevensons 14.

Stevensons 14 in Trentham

It occur to us that if the other bus stopped, we could transfer over on to it. We waited at the back end of the coach waiting for the double decker to come into sight. The bus appeared from around the corner and we stuck a hand out to flag it down. To our relief the bus did dtop and Matthew got a picture of Crosville DVG 266 as it pulled up.

Crosville DVG 266 in Trentham

We got on the bus and we went upstairs and sat down. The bus set off onto the Northbound A34 and we turned right onto the A5035. We ran over the railway line into Blurton and we turned left into Stanley Matthews Way. We ran down to the stadium and we let the bus empty before Matthew took a picture inside Crosville DVG 266.

Inside Crosville DVG 266

The bus had got back quite early so we had time to go to the toilet and Matthew also brough a few pictures from one of the stalls. We were expecting a run on ex PMT Olympian, but the driver was nowhere to be seen. Ulsterbus 2599 went down to the stop first which was a little disappointing, but behind that was required Green Bus 312, which we decided to do.

Green Bus 312 in BET365 Stadium

We got on the bus and the top deck was empty so Matthew took a picture inside Green Bus 312.

Inside Green Bus 312

We set off onto Stanley Matthews way and we ran to the Southern end. We turned right onto the A5035 and we ran into Trentham and the roundabout on the A34. We turned left onto the A34 and as we ran Southwards we overtook Ulsterbus 2599 which was chugging away considerable slower than we were. We went past the Monkey Forest and through Tittensor. We continued down to Darlaston and we ran past Stone through the Fillybrooks before turning left onto Stafford Street. As we past West Bridge Park fitness centre wher they are building a new leisure centre. We continued along Stafford Road and we turned left onto Crown Street. We got off the bus and Matthew went to the toilet even though he had only just been. Behind us was First Potteries 67154 on a #101 to Hanley.

First Potteries 67154 in Stone

Eventually, Ulsterbus 2599 arrived at the stop and passengers transferred between the 2 buses. We decided to have another run on Green Bus 312 so we got back on and went upstairs again. The bus set off Back North up Newcastle Road and onto the A34. we continued past the Monkey Forest and up the A34. We carried on North up to Trentham before taking the A5035 back to Stanley Matthew Way. As we ran down Stanley Matthews Way and then into the Stadium. Once we got off the bus we had a quick walk around and took a few more picture before we went home. One of the bus had driven down to pick uo the support stall and nit's contents. Matthew took another picture of GM Buses 2032.

GM Buses 2032 in BET365 Stadium

We set off back towards the car and we took took a few pictures of the bus arrvng and leaving the site. We saw PMT Bristol VRT 604 which was on the 16:30 to Hanley.

PMT 604 in BET365 Stadium

Also seen was the award winning Robin Hood coach RIB 8289 that won the Michael Burns Memorial Trophy.

Robin Hood RIB 8289 in BET365 Stadium

We retruned to the car and we set off up to Stanley Matthews Way and over the A50. We ran up to Heron Cross and we turned left onto Blurton Road. We dropped uncle Dave off and Matthew went in to add a few dates to his calender. We said goodbye to uncle Dave and we ran back up to Heron Cross. We turned right onto Blurton Road and we crossed over the A50. We saw Lightning Travel MX54 VVF at the lightning house and we continued into Blurton. We veered right onto Church Road and we turned right onto Beaconsfield Drive. We turned left onto Finstock Avenue and we saw Z Carz PE10 MJK parked up in it's usual spot. We got home around 17:00. Matthew watched his new DVD and we uploaded the new pictures online. We continued to write Blog enterries for earlier in the week. For a late tea we had a fishfinger sandwich washed down with a small bottle of Coke. Later on Matthew had a bath and we continued to write Blog enteries. When mum got back we went to bed around 01:00... Mark.