Tuesday 30 April 2002
First in Glasgow are about to be the lucky recipients of 22 of a batch of 24 Dennis Dominators/Northern Counties (DDN251-274, minus 254 and 256 which were fire-damaged in two seperate incidents). These were new to Ensign Citybus, now known as First in London of course. Some of these are presently sitting at First in Mainline's Rotherham works, while some are working Service 369 Ilford - Barking - Thames View Estate UPDATED 05/05: 1 is also working 25 Ilford - Oxford Circus, and two/three are spare for Rail Replacement work, until July when the (369) route goes to Stagecoach East London. Anyway, one of the benefits of my time in London, was that I got photographs of two of these with the first "digi-cam" I had during 2000.

	DDN269 (or just 269, as it carried at the time - and still does) is seen on Service 215, catching a rare layover spot at the sardine-can like Walthastow Central bus station.
	DDN272 (again, carrying just plain 272), is seen at the same location, on the same day. This was around the time when the 97 was about to recieve its (first) batch of Dennis Trident low-floor double deckers.

Monday 29 April 2002
When I mentioned about an Optare MetroRider being used as Travel Dundee's "peak extra" on the Fintry services last Wednesday, and that I felt sick for missing it, I did not think it would happen again! (P.S. Hoping to get out of town later this week - giving the digicam a good warm-up first!)

208 is seen here in Union Street. Not quite low-floor! This route is apparently (according to the new Travel Dundee website!) to be the first re-branded route, with new style route-branding and "Fintry Shuttle" lettering. Well, the 20/22 got Darts short and long, MetroRiders, and B6BLE's, in its last days before it became PrimeLine 22/22C, so a "system clear-out" of odd workings can be expected again, perhaps?
Add to that, Scania 110 was on the Kirkton. Just behing Citybus 99, so 50% non-low floor allocation. Still, keeps the bus enthusiasts on our toes I suppose!
Dennis Dart SLF 121 worked the last Service 88 from Peebles Drive 1620 to Broughty Ferry for 1640 - by 1655 ish it had got back to the garage, left, and was en-route to Whitehall Street for Service 17, to replace a Volvo B10L. It is seen in the Seagate, where someone tried to hail it down - without success! (The 17 came this way until a few week ago, but the Dundee City Council-produced bus timetable incorporating the 17 is still on display at the newly-installed bus shelter!)
Strathtay were at it as well, adding a touch of luxury to the 1705 77 Dundee-Gauldry and back. Former Citylink coach 402 was pressed into service, and is seen here just before going on route.

Saturday 27 April 2002
I have compiled a list of the First in Glasgow changes, due in about four weeks. This has been taken from information in N&P. Click here to view/download the MS Word 97 file.

Some more Dundee bus pix... Remember: click on the smaller image, to view a larger one!

Nicolls brought down a different Toyota/Caetano - P127 FRS - compared to those that they usually bring. AFAIK these are N2, 3 CLL re-registered - will confirm this later! It is seen here at Ninewells Hospital on new Service 262, started last Monday. The plates on this vehicle, incidentlly, are stamped Dingbro Montrose, so must have been re-registered locally.

Fife are slowly slogging through a few more St Andrews-based Volvo B10M/Alexander PS types, after a lull when St Andrews had both liveries about 50-50. (On PS types anyway!). So, 310 leaves Ninewells at 1924 for St Andrews. (Bet you can't see where I removed the car wing mirror! Actually, the job I made on it actually makes the state of the tarmac at Ninewells bus stands look BETTER than it actually is!)

Friday 26 April 2002
A slightly longer run-out for the new camera today, included the first non-low floor bus on Service 22/22C since relaunching 12 days ago. Remember: click on the smaller image, to view a larger one!

Volvo Citybus 97 brought me back to the "nostalgic" days of having these things up & down the Blackness Road - well, less than two weeks ago, actually! Fun, nonetheless!
New Volvo B7TL double deckers 181 and 182 at Downfield. (After seeing us taking the pictures, the school kids wanted in on the picture too. Was that some kind of set up? If I took pictures of them wouldn't I get arrested? Or was that the idea?) When you tally up yellow/blue 97, plus the eight "PrimeLine" branded vehicles, there were three "gaps" to be filled by white (non-branded) buses.
Starthtay Leyland Leopard 542 pictured at Dundee High School, about to run onto a school contract.

Thursday 25 April 2002
Having seen an Optare MetroRider out yesterday on the Fintry, and promptly felt sick at the thought of leaving the print film camera at home, I have acquired another digi-cam. Not quite brand new, but a lot better spec than I would get for the same money, than if I went to another retailers (who, incidentlly, were selling the camera I bought before - see below - for £30 LESS PLUS another CF card! ! Really felt sick!) Also, have you tried getting a digicam recently that is non-USB? I've got Win95 - the version that supports USB. Not on my PC....

Anyway, did a few "practice" shots today... here are some of them that came out! Remember: click on the smaller image, to view a larger one!

	The new Volvo B7TL with "Primeline" branding have not yet been shown off on this website, mainly due to the tech problems above and below! Here, 183 is seen at Ninewells Hospital, Dundee.
	When we got to the High Street - wot's 160 doing in the 22 stop?
	Aah, transpires someone has decided that 184 should come off (the bus I took the picture from the top deck of) to be replaced by 160, which worked the Douglas until earlier in the day. No-one was aware of a change planned, least of all the driver! This consituites the first bus-change off involving a Volvo B7TL double decker coming off before the end of a shift, AFAIK.
	One of the re-branded singles, 179, is seen at Commercial Street.
	Strathtay have been using Olympian/Alexander 901 - the one with the ECW front - on Service 40X/30 between Dundee and Montrose, and Montrose and Stracathro. Despite management assurances that this bus (which normally works as an Angus spare - being loaned to Montrose or Forfar if need be) would not be used into Dundee, it has been down most weekdays during the past week and a half or so. It's loading at the High Street for a run to Montrose, then a run onto Brechin, then back to Montrose, then onto Forties Road, then a sit at the station before returning to Dundee.

Wednesday 24 April 2002
Well, haven't updated this in a while, have I? Been very busy working transferring the LondonBus group to a new server - it's working really well so far! While working on this, and my "never-ending" mystery project, I've also been waiting for my digital camera (yes, four weeks old and it's f****d!) to be replaced (see 14 March panel below) .... however... mail order company do not want to know! Same place has also sent me two duff items the same, neither of which worked beyond 4 days.... If you get bad service, you have to complain... if you still get fobbed of, take your money and go elsewhere!

Anyways... I've updated the site (below) to include what I've been up to in the last few days. Graeme Smith has supplied most of the digi pix on this page, bar my own ones!

Monday 22 April 2002
Nicoll's new Service 262 Laurencekirk - Ninewells Hospital commenced this morning, using (rather oddly) a Toyota/Caetano minicoach N544 WSS. Is this one of the N2, 3 CLL "batch" re-registered?

Saturday 20 April 2002
The Dundee vs. Dundee Utd match today at Dens brought a few buses, mostly local but one or two from further afield. These included a Watermill Volvo/Van Hool coach, MIL-registered coaches from McKendry of Loanhead, and JJ Travel, as well as a Ford Transit minibus from the Manchester area.

Friday 19 April 2002
Angus/Perth hurl today... managing nearly 12 hours out for a £5er, which was not bad! Here are just some of the many buses we saw! Remember: click on the smaller image, to view a larger one!

Glenesk Travel operates a weekly shoppers bus service between Brechin, Edzell (the home town of the company), and Glen Esk, as well as a school feeder service to allow kids from Glen Esk to get to schools in Edzell and Brechin. Anyhow, last time (back in 1999!) this was an 8-seater Mazda, but the school contract has apparently grown to a 16-seater. H411 WSN is a DAF 400, with power door (not visibile in this shot!)
Despite all the images taken yesterday of Bluebird Buses Dennis Dart/Alexander 513 provided a change from the usual PS type or Mercedes, used on the Montrose - Stonehaven 101 service.
After 3 and a half years of working, the Craigo Village - Montrose Station short workings on Service 28 were withdrawn the day after this shot of MCW Metrorider 164, at Craigo Centre Cottages, was taken. Strathtay still come into the village on evening journeys on 47, and the early-evening/Saturday through journeys to/from Montrose on Service 29 (as well as the Hillside PS contract!), as do MW Nicoll on the hourly service between Laurencekirk & Montrose - which now has no other similar commercial "alternative" services outside Montrose.
This bus is not quite as it seems! Meffan of Kirriemuir (part of the Traction Group, inc. Strathtay) have just purchased this ex-Stagecoach Bluebird Leyland Leopard GSO 89V. The bus went from Bluebird to Collison, Stonehouse (un-used), to McEwan, Dumfries (also un-used), then now to Meffan. As it only arrives in the last few days, it has not been touched yet, but is likely to be used as a school bus. Funny thing is, Strathtay have just scrapped one of that batch...
Stagecoach Bluebird's Perth depot recently recieved Citylink-spec Volvo coach 604, albeit repainted in new Stagecoach livery, to provide weekend back-ups for Citlyink services at Perth Bus Station. Meanwhile, 604 does get out on service occasioanlly, so here is the next best thing - National Express-livered 625 (still to a similar spec) at Perth Bus station.
Broon's buses & Taxis provide the twice-weekly service 89 between Kinloch Rannoch and Perth's leisure pool, hospitals, supermarkets, and town centre. The end-to-end trip is arounds two hours. The regular minicoach is T560 RFS, seenlaving Mill street for a 2-hr slog up the A9 and some rural roads!

Thursday 18 April 2002
Trip around Aberdeen today - the first time I've been there since the launch of the Metro network on 13 May last year. Despite being only months old, First Group corporate standardisation will see this name dropped, and replaced by the Overground name - the one that was ripped off all the Glasgow vehicles when they arrived in Aberdeen.... oh well, nice to see my £3 FirstDay ticket money is being well spent! Remember: click on the smaller image, to view a larger one!

One Leyland Olympian provides the basis of most of the daytime Service 27 from Guild Street to Aberdeen Airport, supplemented by peak extras. The service carries very large loads to & from the industrial estate, as well as airport punters. Anyhow, here's 127 seen at the Airport.
As a complete contrast, the afternoon peak extra is seen here being worked by a year or so old 137, a Volvo B7TL/Alexander ALX400 - very similar to those just entered service at Travel Dundee! Just like Strathtay 813, this bus advertises Coors Light, and pledges to keep on going...
There has been an increase in the number of Mercedes minibuses owned by First Aberdeen and Mairs Coaches, for contract work. Most of these are in the Mairs fleet, but carry First fleetnames! Here, 406 (corrected 27/4) is about to turn into the depot on King Street.
613, one of the "new" to Aberdeen Volvo B10BLE's, is about to drive around the Springhill terminus turning point. The bus carries "orange line" branding, however the "every 10 minutes" branding from the first offside window glass is missing.
One of the ex-Glasgow Volvo B10BLE/Alexander ALX300's, 814 (W592 RFS) passes the bus depot at King Street.
Ex-Midland Bluebird/First Edinburgh Mercedes 709D/Alexander Sprint N689 WLS is seen here entering Broad Street on the Council employee's shuttle bus.

There were also some interesting vehicles in the Bluebird fleet... Remember: click on the smaller image, to view a larger one!

	Bluebird have recently recieved six Mercedes 811D/Wright minis from Wales & West, in exchange for the four Wright-bodied "sheds" that have gone south after two and a half years of nomadic existencce. Here, 253 (J417 PRW) is seen in Aberdeen Bus Station, having came in from either Balmedie or Ellon in the early evening.
	At lunchtime, this elderly Plaxton Paramount-bodied Volvo 616 (WLT 526) is seen crossing Union Terrace/Union Street/Bridge Street junction. Just before the red car got in the way...
	Here, Stonehaven-based Olympian 089 is seen working the Aberdeen - Inverurie Service 307. Rather unusual (no, there has been no new cross-city service, as far as I know!) perhaps - however, Stonehaven bring a double decker up to Aberdeen in service in the morning peak, for it to sit around the Bus Station until tea-time.

Site by Andrew Gronneberg/ScotBus/The Mod 1997 - 2002. Serving the Scottish bus enthusiast (online) community since July 1998.