Wednesday 29th April 2009 ~ Like It Should Be

The blog would be very brief if all days followed today's pattern. Sixteen of the B9s were out and B7s 20351/2, both of which incidentally finished on the coast last night - my reference to one doing K17 yesterday was an error and should have read K18. Fifteen consecutive turns were viewed by either Bruce or myself with the exception of Y10 which should have been 37566. Later tonight 37564 off Y9 was on this turn, so may be a swap similar to Mondays was effected.
Peter saw 37565 ready to work K1 07.00 from Peterborough this morning, still with the faulty destination screen reading 'Owestoft'. 20351 was Y8 and 20352 L11. The first B10M noted was 20107 on the second part of K16 (09.55 ex Lowestoft), 37573 is believed to have done the first part of this turn and it later appeared on the second leg of K4, the 13.25 ex Lowestoft. K4 had started with 37572, so may be this went onto an X2 ? Only one other B10M was in evidence today, that being 20126 which did K18 - a turn which should see it terminate at its own home depot of Yarmouth. Many thanks to Rob Brooks for a comprehensive report on early evening turns and as ever to Bruce who would like to point out that it was he who spotted the Scania first yeterday. So you really are a bus spotter Bruce !!

Tuesday 28th April 2009 ~ Settling In

The new X1 vehicle requirement is as I predicted (pause for head to expand !) now for 19 turns rather than the 21 used previously. The turns can be classified and best explained as follows ;

1. Turns which start and end at King's Lynn : K3, K5, K15, K17, K19. It will be interesting to see if any of these end up being allocated Profiles on a regular basis or whether they will now be used indiscriminately.
2. Turns which begin at Yarmouth / Lowestoft and terminate at Lynn : Y7, and turns 9 - 13 inclusive. Of the three turns which start at Gorleston, it is not known yet where they originate.
3. Turns which begin and end at Yarmouth / Lowestoft : Y6 and Y8
4. Turns which begin at King's Lynn and end at the coast : K1, K2, K4, K14, K16 and K18.

As you may have seen in 'comments', Des was involved in yesterday's delays which were caused by an A47 accident. K14 with 37564 was so late arriving that 20121 was sent out in its place and a cascade then took place with 564 becoming K15, 577 off K15 became K16, 568 off K16 was then held over and replaced 20121. Thanks to Des for explaining things.
Today was quite eventful too. K5 with 37574 was very late arriving at Wisbech for its 08.18 departure to Peterborough and because of a problem with the doors not closing it was terminated and passengers transferred to the first through westbound service Y6 05.50 from Yarmouth which (rather unfortunately from an accommodation point of view) was Profile 20352. Jamie R reports that it was very full. 574 was repaired and was able to continue eastbound at 09.56.
An accident at Guyhirn about 08.15 also meant some services were diverted via Wisbech St. Mary and Tholomas Drove.
Y13 08.15 from Lowestoft had a B10M for the second day running. This time it was 20104 which was removed at Lynn and replaced by 20131 which then did a quick spin to Peterborough and back before 20104 took up its booked turn. Sam reports 104 "departing Norwich for Lowestoft at 16:25 full and having to leave people behind. Good start!"
37564 worked K2 07.30 Peterborough - Lowestoft but it was swapped there for 20107 which then did the 12.25 return. Sam then saw 37564 on the 15.38 Lowestoft - Norwich X2.
The two available B7 Profiles were in use today, 20352 as mentioned above and 20351 out on K17 which now begins with the 06.52 Lynn - Lowestoft.
The biggest surprise of the day though was undoubtedly the use of Scania/Wright 65526 on K3 16.15 King's Lynn - Peterborough and 17.40 back. 37570 had been on the turn but was despatched to the garage where it was due to be serviced. All the B10Ms were in use on either schools or Hunstanton services and 20126 which arrived late last night was out of service having its door sorted out (again !) and having attention to its gears which were slipping. What is even more unusual is that 65526 was used on Park High School (that's Gaywood Park for us oldies) contract this afternoon as reported by Andy. Now I wonder how they managed without seatbelts ? Shhhh !
It was a bad day for A47 accidents as the 17.10 from Peterborough with 20107 lost 25 minutes thanks to another smash near Guyhirn, the 17.40 with the Scania was similarly affected as was K4 18.10 with 37563 and Angela on board who sent a text to say she was most definitely not impressed with the standard of comfort afforded by the B9.
Last night 37567 was seen at Terrington with its destination display having changed to support the bold font as found on 37575/6/8/9 and today 37574 had been similarly re-programmed.
The little men with sticky posters appeared at King's Lynn last night and plastered small rear ads (not sure quite what for yet as I've not seen one at close quarters) on 37563/6/79 and no doubt others too. . 20131 also has a drivers side ad affixed at the rear again now.

Monday 27th April 2009 ~ Some Things Don't Change

Today was the start of a new era, revised timetables with additional time allowed for congestion and the end of many short haul journeys. Shame nobody had thought to tell the passengers. Bruce found himself waiting at Wisbech bus station for the 10.26 to Lowestoft (Y6) and was the only person in the vicinity in posession of a new timetable, there being none on display in the bus station other than the now defunct one. Bruce is convinced that the new service is actually the old one but retimed to allow for buses running 13 minutes late !
Overall impressions are that the new timetable may well be an improvement, with the majority of turns running to time, however there was a definite blip in the middle of the day with Y13 with 20126 due past Bruce at Walpole at 12.03, turning up 21 minutes late. I saw it leaving Wisbech 18 late, but it was down to 12 minutes in arrears returning. K14 (the next westbound service) was also delayed, some of which can be attributed to it changing vehicles at Lynn - 37568 off for 20121 on. 121 then set about regaining some time with gusto. She was 22 late at Walpole going west, but only 11 late into Wisbech on the way back and by the time it passed Walpole eastbound it had made up all but seven minutes ! On arrival at King's Lynn it was changed for a rejuvenated 37568. Worst performer today was K15 09.25 from Lowestoft with 37564 which was 17 late going west but 26 late arriving at Wisbech to do the 14.56 to Lowestoft. Fortunately things then improved and K16 was on time with 37577. Last major delay befell 37570 on K17 which was 24 late westbound and 16 late returning from Peterborough. Profile 20351 was off the road for a scheduled service today and 20352 was turned out for K4 07.15 Lynn - Peterborough. This stuck to diagram and was seen leaving Lynn with the 19.35 to Lowestoft, so will overnight at the resort.
The B9 Gemini fleet were all in action today save 37575 which I can confirm is receiving repairs at Full Circle. One other B10M not hitherto mentioned was 20104 which worked K18 06.51 Wisbech - Lowestoft etc.

Sunday 26th April 2009 ~ A New Timetable

Ready for action, but will these B10Ms be required on the X1 from now on ? 20118/104/5 at Rowan Road tonight.

Our friend the late lady driver seen heading east at Walpole today with 37574 on the 12.10 Peterborough - Lowestoft.

.....and yes I admit I forgot !!! I thought Monday was the first day, but today seemed to catch a few passengers out too. The service was entirely Gemini worked, but some services were delayed, for example K6, the 13.22 Wisbech - Peterborough (09.48 ex Lowestoft) was 22 late arriving with 37568. 37569 is believed to have done the first part of this turn and was swapped at Lowestoft. 37577 was seen 10 late on K1 12.48 from Lowestoft.

The last bastion of sensibility, that being 37572 , has now been the target of the advertisement army and sports the Easy Jet ad which seems to have spread like wildfire this week. In the case of 37571/2, the drivers side which can accommodate ads with dropdown panels is still free of these thus these retain the X1 route branding.

With the weekday new timetable starting tomorrow, here is an update on the whereabouts of the X1 fleet (including B10Ms) this evening.

King's Lynn 20104/5/9/18/21/23/31. 20351/2, 37564/8/70-74/6/7.

Yarmouth / Lowestoft 20103/7/26/7, 37563/5/6/7/9/78/9.

Missing from these lists are 20353 and 37575 which are still off the road.

Saturday 25th April 2009 ~ All Is Calm

37564 near Walsoken on the last 'proper' L13 07.45 from Lowestoft. Traditionally a B10M turn, from Monday this turn will be renumbered L12

37567 arrives at Walpole Highway today on the 08.49 to Lowestoft (K1) . Still carrying a Mars Planets advert, only five B9s now retain this.

Yes not a lot to report today really. I didn't see or get reports of all 18 turns, but the seven originating from Yarmouth & Lowestoft were all Geminis. King's Lynn almost had enough B9s to cover too, but I think K18 was possibly a B10M and I would guess at 20126. Any reports to the contrary would be welcome.

37564 was 13 late on the 10.59 King's Lynn - Peterborough, but other services seen were nearer time.

Friday 24th April 2009 ~ Mobile phones and all that .....

In yesterday's blog, brief mention was made of the chaos in King's Lynn yesterday evening. Having abandoned my mobile phone in the car after work yesterday (unintentionally I might add - well I'm getting old you see), this morning I found two messages pertaining to last nights X1. Peter sent a message to say that at at 18.57 he'd seen 20109 followed by 37573 entering Wisbech - as we said last night 37573 was L9, but 20109 is believed to have been on K6, in which case it was running 95 minutes late. Bruce sent a text saying that 20109 passed going east at 19.38 so it obviously turned round at Wisbech. I'm not sure what did Y8, nor whether it terminated at Lynn. In the morning it had been 37567, but 20126 somehow got to Lynn, so this may have replaced it.
This morning 20126 was K1 and 37567 was L13. It's just possible that 37567 replaced 20109 at Lynn this morning, as this was on Hunstanton schools work later. 126 now has two rather unsightly adverts on the back. Another possibility is that 126 did the last part of K17 last night as 20352 which had been on the turn was seen today on the afternoon part of K1 instead of 20126.
37572 returned to traffic today after its MOT and did K4. Yesterday's announcement of 571/2 both being devoid of adverts was premature as today 571 was seen with the EasyJet ad and another seen with this for the first time today was 37569.
During the afternoon, delays were generally around 15 minutes, but 37564 on K5 was held up in traffic at Eye and was 22 late into Wisbech to do the 16.39 to Yarmouth having been 13 late going over. Jamie Robinson was on board and said time could have been saved by diverting through Eye village. 564's 'New In Town' advert is leading a charmed life having again avoided the most recent round of replacements. In contrast K3 14.31 Wisbech to Peterborough was dead on time with 37574. B1oMs out today were 20105 on K19 for the second day running, 20104 on L11, 20107 on K18 and 20126 as reported previously.

Thursday April 23rd 2009 ~ Short and Sweet

L13 12.18 Peterborough - Lowestoft makes haste through Walpole Highway with 20107 today.

20104 was today's vehicle on K18, seen here near Walsoken with a good payload.

37576 was used on K1 today and has had new ads fitted for Nokia on the drivers side and EasyJet on the passenger side. During the day 37566 & 37578 also appeared with the new Easyjet ad affixed. 37571/2 still seem to have escaped acquiring any bodyside adverts. Bruce visited Lynn today and reported 20121/131 at Rowan Road whilst Andrew says 20121 later worked on the 40 and 20123 was out on the 41. Bruce saw 37572 (MOT) and 37569 (K20) at Vancouver Avenue.

There was a slight reduction in B10M activity today with K18 getting 20104 on the 10.25 ex Lowestoft having replaced whatever King's Lynn sent out (quite probably 20103). K2 was 20127 and L13 20107 throughout. There was a big delay to Y14 at lunchtime, due off Wisbech westbound at 12.01, it was seen departing 31 late with 37577, otherwise things ran fairly well.

Finally Andrew says that London Road came to a stand in King's Lynn this evening after a pedestrian was fatally injured. This adversely affected the X1 as well as local services. L9 which is due to depart Lynn for Peterborough at 17.59 was seen on the return trip 10 late (37573) which is very unusual, so this was probably one of the services delayed.

Wednesday 22nd April 2009 ~ Dedication

This was the scene from my car window while stationary in a queue entering Wisbech this morning with 37564 approaching on K1 and a late running K6 with 37567 visible in the background.

"Well" said Bruce, "Today I'm going to paint the wrought iron gates at the top of my drive so I should see everything". Such dedication - but we are talking about the X1 here, so nothing is for certain. Having seen 37569 heading east on K4 passing at 09.48, Bruce carried on painting and watched for K6 due at 10.18 and Y8 at 10.48. it was quite surprising therefore when the next eastbound service viewed was at 11.23 ! This was 20104 running 5 late on L9. Now to be fair I could have told Bruce that he might not see K6, this was because earlier it had been 18 late entering Wisbech and by the time it had negotiated the rush hour queue, arrived at the Horsefair 27 minutes late on its way to Peterborough. I know because I was behind it going to work (see pic above). The vehicle was 37567 incidentally, so it would come as no surprise if on the return 09.18 from Peterborough, it took the A47 bypass to regain some lost time. What was distinctly odd though was that Y8 which was seen leaving Wisbech dead on time westbound at 09.01 with 37571 (in fact only 5 minutes behind 567) took the bypass route too on its way back east on the 09.48 ex Peterborough giving a big gap in the morning service for the villages of Walton Highway, Walpole Highway, Terrington St. John and Tilney All Saints.

Having seen 104 on L9, the other Lowestoft originating services produced 20105 (L11), 20127 (L12) and 37570 (L13). 105 was 17 late going west but this had reduced to a 6 minute deficit returning. In addition to 37571 mentioned above, the Yarmouth turns were 37578 (Y10) and 20103 (Y14) leaving 37566 spare to do Y21 it would seem.

With all the B10Ms for the X1 being at the east end this morning, this meant a rare occasion where King's Lynn were able to send out eleven Geminis and the two available B7 Profiles without resorting to using B10Ms. Instead of sending a Gemini east to spend the day on the X2 (K19) though, Profile 20351 was sent instead and as a result 37576 found itself on K17 with 20352 on K3. Timekeeping had some shoddy moments today, 37573 on K2 16.31 Wisbech - Peterborough was almost 20 late departing and 37579 on the 15.31 westbound was 10 late.

Michael reports both 20107 & 20109 active on the X2 today, while Sam viewed 20126 on the 878 contract.

Rob Brooks reports that the reason for three consecutive services commencing with the 19.18 not reaching Peterborough rail station on Monday evening was a suicide attempt on the roof of Perkins car park.

Bruce is now running out of jobs at the front of his house. On Monday he weeded the drive, on Tuesday he mowed the lawn and today he painted the gates - how much longer before Tina realises the jobs at the back of the house are being neglected and come to that, will she guess the reason why ? Tune in tomorrow for another exciting episode !

Tuesday 21st April 2009 ~ In Detention !

Today was glorious, not that you need an excuse to photograph a fine vehicle like this one. K18 heads for Wisbech just before 2pm.

20118 and 20123 after doing Smithdon High School contracts this afternoon.

20123 seen this evening minus its Excel lettering, but otherwise looking like it had never been away !

Eagle eyed Jamie Vendy spotted this anomaly today - a new rear light (of sorts) on 37568.

Yes the new term has only just begun and already I am in detention. I've also implicated Bruce in yesterday's blog and he will have to join me. The reasonable assumption (or so we thought) that Norfolk schools had returned yesterday - they certainly did at Marshland High School - turned out to be selective as Hunstanton Smithdon High didn't go back until today ! This means much of yesterday's blog is a work of fiction - well almost. So let's start again, well corrections I can make are that K19 was certainly not 37570 and more likely 37568 which was the failure culprit on Sunday night when 20352 worked and not 37571 as stated. 571 therefore did Y8 throughout yesterday. L13 simply swapped 37566 for 20105 at lunchtime and 37566 then did K20, but came off this turn too at 21.37 for 37563 to work forward to the coast. 566 then had a service (Lynn doing Lowestoft's allocation again this week). The opportunity was taken yesterday to service 20131 before the schools contracts began, but this was still off the road today. Last night 20118 was removed from K2 and 37570 worked forward to Lowestoft at 18.42. Rob Brooks reports that not only did a five vehicle pile up on the A47 mean services last night were diverted via Wisbech St. Mary, but also that an unspecified 'incident' closed Bourges Boulevard in Peterborough and that the 21.18 to Lynn (20105) started at Queensgate instead of the rail station leaving poor Rob stranded until the 22.18.

So what of today ? Well the schools contracts really did start and with an unexpected twist too. With 20131 still being serviced plus other B10Ms being sent out on the X1, only two were available for the three turns. This had been foreseen however and yesterday 20123 was sent over from Norwich to help out. Apart from the removal of the Excel lettering, it looked much the same as usual and is on loan temporarily. The school runs today were 20118/121/123.

On the X1 20109 was sent over to Lowestoft on K19, but then changed turns and was on another X2 diagram. 37568 took its place on K19. 20105 meanwhile did K16 which overnights at Lowestoft, 20103 did K1 all day so that should be at Yarmouth tonight, 20104 did K2 and 20127 K18 both of which finish at Lowestoft. 20107 was also out on the X2 and Sam says "It feel's like I haven't been away! 20107 was on the 12:38 X2 from Norwich pinging whenever stopped and not put in neutral! This now has some kind of square badge stuck above the tax disc but didn't get a close enough look to see what it was. Driver trainer 20122 was in Norwich also and it looks really smart, clean, shiny and sounded rather nice!". Back at King's Lynn the dire power situation was exemplified by K4 starting out with Scania 65526. At some point during the day though it was swapped for 37576 showing off its new panels after return from 'Full Circle'. It looks as though 37575 has gone the other way now, it has certainly gone away somewhere for collision repairs following Saturday's incident. As predicted (well I had to get one thing right !), 37572 has been stopped for MOT.

Geminis now with the 'Nokia' ad in situ are : 37565/66/68/9/70/3/4, while 20131 has at last had its M&S ad removed.

Timewise today, the service ran pretty well, but K17 with 20352 for some reason didn't run through the villages between Lynn and Wisbech and presumably took the bypass - it may possibly have worked empty from Lynn to Peterborough direct due to being delayed. It was seen entering Wisbech a minute early at 15.03 and it then passed Bruce 3 early at Walpole.

K18 with 20127 was slightly late but had a full load of passengers heading west, maybe because K17 didn't run. Maximum lateness recorded today was 10 mins.

Monday 20th April 2009 ~ On A Knife Edge

Today's X1 service was teetering on the brink as one might say. Exactly what happened at Lynn is unclear, but it looks like 37572 has now been stopped for MOT which would have been OK had 37576 been received back from repairs and had 37575 not suffered its collision damage on Saturday. With 20353 still absent, this meant K2 was 20118 and K4 20109. K19 looks to have started with 37570, but by lunchtime Lowestoft had provided 20127 which had taken over.
K20 I can only assume was a Scania this morning as 37566 was pinched off L13 to do the afternoon part. L13 then left Lynn for Lowestoft at 13.42 with an unknown bus, believed to be a Scania. When L13 was seen tonight it was 20105 which had earlier been earmarked for Hunstanton schools. 20131 was the second schools turn, while the third must (by process of elimination) have been the vehicle which worked Y8 out of Yarmouth this morning. 37571 took over Y8 at Lynn. 20126 would certainly have been a candidate for Y8. Only flaw in this supposition is that Y8 arrives at Lynn at 08.24 which as Bruce pointed out must be too late to do a school run !
More of what we do know now though and punctuality was very good today, K18 was probably the poorest performer with 37577 being seen 11 late from Wisbech westbound this afternoon, but this had been cut to just 3 minutes when it returned. We've heard about the B10Ms used by King's Lynn, but the eastern end also produced some of these fine machines today : L11 was 20103 and L12 20121. Terence saw 20104 on shuttles, but from his description it looked as though Y21 diagram was 37568. The Profiles were on the usual turns, 20351 0n K3 and 20352 on K17. Gemini 37566 is another to lose its Mars Planets ad in favour of the Nokia one.
This evening services west of Wisbech were being diverted via Wisbech St. Mary and North Brink from Guyhirn. 20105 went this way on the 20.31 from Wisbech (L13) and also noted from the comfort of the Rose Tavern were 37579 (Y14) and 37574 (K15) as well as K20 going east with 37566.

Sunday 19th April 2009 ~ Strange Goings On

The creme egg season is over and 37573 now sports an advert for Nokia as seen here at Vancouver Avenue tonight.

At just after 19.30 this evening, 20127 pases the South Gates as it heads for Lynn bus station.

Last night it looks as if both the 20.42 and 21.42 departures to Lowestoft from Lynn changed vehicles. The 20.42(L9) was 20127, but 37568 looks to have replaced it. The 21.42 meanwhile was 37574 which came off for 37569 to work forward. Then today 37579 which was spare at Lynn yesterday worked to Lowestoft but was then replaced by B10M 20104. 20127 also came out and tonight was the 19.42 Lynn to Lowestoft. As if two Premieres wasn't unusual enough, the 20.59 Lynn - Peterborough which was booked for 37571 turned up at Walpole with 20352 which had been in Vancouver Avenue at 19.50 along with 20351.

37572/8 remained over the pits at Lynn today together with accident damaged 37575. The new Nokia advert has now been fitted to 37570/3/4, the latter is the first to lose its 'Mars Planets' ad which until now had been on ten B9s.

Saturday 18th April 2009 ~ Another one bites the dust

With 37576 away for bodywork repairs and still no sign of 20353 emerging from Volvo, the last thing 'First' wanted was another Gemini off the road, however, this is exactly what has happened. 37575 which was on K15 yesterday was involved in an incident in Norwich last night resulting in the entire rear passenger side stantion being damaged. It was back at King's Lynn for assessment this evening. I would imagine that it will be off the road for around 3 weeks. The school term begins next week and B10Ms may not be as readily available to cover. Today, three examples were out, these being 20104 on K18, 20121 on K6 and 20127 on L9. Last night 37573 on K1 wa turned around at Lowestoft to do the final part of K7 back to Lynn. 37571 which had been on this turn was operating the doomed shuttles between Gorleston & Norwich today and was viewed by Jamie V.
37565 was L12 today and it has a new ad fitted for Nokia replacing that for the film 'Young Victoria'. Punctuality was excellent for a Saturday and 20351 worked K7 with 20352 on K3. Sam reports 20107 on the X2 today and Michael says it did likewise yesterday.

Friday 17th April 2009 ~ X1 Thorney

Regular blog readers will find it no surprise to hear that FST (Friday Standard Time) reared its ugly head again today. The morning saw everything running pretty much on time, but as is often the case a sudden blip threw everything into chaos. This time it sounds like it was probably an A47 accident/diversion near Dereham which caused the disruption.
First sign of things amiss was when I returned from lunch at 13.45 and on my way from Walpole to Wisbech I passed 37570 running 32 late on L13. I would have normally thought that this was Y14, but Bruce who had been in Lynn had alerted me to the fact that 570 was L13. Not far behind running a mere 7 late wasY14 with 37563. K16 13.01 Wisbech to Peterborough was seen leaving on time with 37565, but the following 13.31 departure, K17, was 32 late (a popular delay it would seem) with 20121 instead of the usual Profile. 37574 on K18 then closely followed 121 and it would seem that 121 was turned round at Thorney with westbound passengers transferring to 574. As a consequence, K17 was a mere 7 late arriving back at Wisbech for the 15.09 departure to Lowestoft. Strange then that it then proceeded to avoid the villages and travel via the main A47 to reach Lynn.
As the afternoon progressed other turns seen were K3 15.18 Peterborough - Lowestoft with 20352 running 18 late then K5 15.48 from Peterborough with a B9 seen departing Wisbech 27 late. Andy James confirms my suspicion that this was 37569 and says it was still 27 late departing King's Lynn at 17.39. K7 with 37571 for the third successive day bucked the trend by being just 2 late from Wisbech as the 15.31 to Peterborough. It was around 10 late returning and was seen arriving in Wisbech simultaneously with 20105 on K4 from the east, itself running 20 late. K1 which had begun the day nearly 3 minutes early at Walton Highway with 37577 was swapped at Lowestoft with 577 then working an X2 to Norwich and viewed by Jamie Vendy. 37573 took K1 back to Peterborough and this was 15 late going west and no less than 30 late returning by which time 37564 (still with its Rene Zellweger advert) on K2 was only 7 minutes behind it.
K6 today was 20126 throughout, a clever ploy to get it back to Yarmouth and sister 20127 looks to have gone east tonight too on K20. Both 20127 and 20351 were noted by Bruce at Vancouver Avenue today and Andy says 20351 ended up at the bus station before heading back to the garage giving weight to the theory that 127 was K20. Another B10 out today was 20104 which had been absent for a week, Bruce saw it on L12 on time. This means 20103 was most probably K19 again. One final piece of late running to report was L9 with 37578 which was 22 late this evening on the 17.59 Lynn - Peterborough.
Later tonight returning from a quiz, I expected to see K15 with 37575 and L13 with 37570. I did see both turns, but K15 was 37577 and L13 37563 ! Earlier 577 had been on an X2 and 563 on Y14.

Thursday 16th April 2009 ~ Nurse - the Screens !

37563 emerged from its hibernation last night replacing 37565 on Y14 and another revived Gemini, 37578, did K2 today following repairs after the 'deer' incident. With the saga of 37565's faulty destination screen now running into a seventh week, I had erroneously assumed that it had been taken out of service for correction. Wrong ! Tonight it turned up back at King's Lynn on the second part of Y8 having replaced 37573 at Lowestoft. A quick check revealed it has now amassed 51,977 miles since entry into service on 30th October last and it sat outside Vancouver Avenue tonight with 'Ot in Service' on the front ! Six of the Lynn Geminis have fallen due for services this week, 37570/2/3 category 'A' and 37574/7/9 category 'C'.
Timekeeping was better today with the maximum lateness recorded being K4 which was delayed by congestion approaching Wisbech at 17.00 making it almost 15 late with 20105. The Premiere count was down slightly today and in service were 20103 (K19), 20105 (K4 as stated), 20107 (K16), 20126 (K20a only - stopped with a door fault), 20127 L12 and another believed to be 20131, but possibly 20121, which did L11 forward from Lynn to Lowestoft at 12.42 following the failure of 37568 with its door alarm buzzer activated again. Jamie V noted 37566 on the Gorleston shuttles for the second consecutive day. 20351 & 20352 were K17 and K3 today as booked.

Wednesday 15th April 2009 ~ Three In A Row

For the first time for many years, 20121 is now a King's Lynn vehicle. Here she arrives at Wisbech this evening to work the 17.01 to Peterborough (K4).

After yesterday it was pretty predictable that B10Ms would feature prominently again and today we had a mere six plying their trade on the X1. Lowestoft produced 37574 for their first turn, but the other three (L11, L12 & L13) were all B10Ms. L11 was seven minutes late with 20103, L12 three late with 20105 and L13 on time with 20107. The other coaches came out of King's Lynn and these were 20121 on K4, 20127 on K18 and revived 20126 on K19. Last night 126 gave up at Vancouver Avenue on L13 and passengers were transferred onto a Gemini which Bruce saw passing Walpole ten minutes late.
There was a maintenance swap today with 37574 on L9 being changed for 37577 at 11.42, while 574 after servicing did the light turn to Norwich (K20b). The two available Profiles returned to their usual turns today with K17 getting 20352 and K3 20351. Timekeeping was average, K15 with 37575, K5 with 37569 and K18 with 20127 were all seen around 16 minutes late, but in contrast, 37571 on K7 was two minutes early departing Wisbech as the 15.31 to Peterborough and 3 minutes early as the 17.09 to Lowestoft (a very rare turn to run early). Jamie Vendy reports 37566 on shuttles and later 37572 on Y21.
Michael Bryant says the latest 'First' fleetlist shows some reallocations in the B10M fleet. 20106 which was last seen about 2 months ago is shown as 'unfit for traffic', 20121 is now allocated to Lynn, 20123 to Norwich Vulcan Road (along with the elusive 20115), while 20124 is still at Ipswich. Incidentally Bruce points out that the new 'First' handbook continues to show incorrect registrations for two of the B7 Profiles.

Tuesday 14th April 2009 ~ A Vintage Blog

20126 passes my car at lunchtime on L13. Note the odd panel beneath the reg plate.

It was Bruce's idea to entitle today's blog as a vintage one. It's hard to argue either as I would doubt that there will be many more occasions this year - or ever come to that - when no less than seven B10Ms are called upon to help out on the X1 service.

Firstly, let's look at why this happened. Vehicles unavailable were : 37563 (unknown reason, but likely to be the first of the Lowestoft allocation to receive an MOT), 37576 ( travelled to 'Full Circle' for bodywork repairs today), 37578 (major air leak after running over a deer on Saturday evening) and not forgetting 20353 (Volvo Norwich).

The mystery of the disappearing B9 was solved today, the culprit was 37579 which worked the first eastbound service on Easter Sunday at 06.42 from Lynn, It failed on the return run from Lowestoft with an oil leak at Norwich. This explains the unusual appearance of 20352 on Sunday as this replaced the B9 forward ftom Lynn. 37579 was pronounced fit to do K20b tonight, otherwise known as the 17.17 Norwich - Peterborough, though whether it returned to Lynn beforehand is not known. Earlier 20352 had done the morning part of K20.

Whilst at the western end , things were pretty dire this morning, the opposite was the case at Yarmouth where 37572 was spare all day (viewed by Jamie V). It would normally have done Y21, but this was done by 20351 which had travelled over before the holiday. Hasty repairs were effected to 37568 and 20127 early this morning to enable King's Lynn to fulfil their X1 requirements. B10Ms out in traffic today were :

20103 K2

20105 K17

20107 K18

20121 Y8

20126 L13*

20127 K19

20131 K4

What is remarkable about this, is that the vehicles concerned all did the turns listed in their entirety. 20131 is particularly noteworthy and was only used owing to the non-availability of 20109/118. *20126 left Lynn on L13 tonight at 19.59 but was last seen on the forecourt at Vancouver Avenue just after 20.00, so presumably the driver had found a problem with it.

The timetable fell apart at lunchtime. 37577 was seen departing Wisbech for Peterborough spot on time at 12.31 on K15, but the next westbound service was no less than 41 minutes late with 37564 (K16). Subsequent westbound services were K17 20105 35 late and K18 20107 37 late. Somehow 37568 got to Peterborough on K3 - it is thought by using the A47 bypass and returned on time. 37566 which had started on K3 ended up on K5 just 11 late, but K7 15.31 ex Wisbech westbound was 25 late with 37569. By 16.30 normality had returned with 20103 on K2 being on time. 20131 was 15 late in for the 17.01 to Peterborough (K4). Due to the late running 20107 on K18 was noted entering Wisbech eastbound at 16.03 on the tail of 37568. By the time they had reached Bruce at Walpole Highway, positions had been reversed and 20107 was in front of the B9, however, they were still in convoy.

Michael reports a stranger on the X2 today, 43470, a Norwich 'Dart' on the 13.38 from Lowestoft.

News Update

The new X1 timetables (abridged) and expected diagrams can be found at this link :

http://gerards-buses-and-things.moonfruit.com/#/files/4531325751

Easter Monday 13th April 2009 ~ Where did it go ?

37565 and its faulty destination display is dwarfed by the South Gates as it passes on the 14.42 King's Lynn - Lowestoft this afternoon.

20103 and 20131 at Rowan Road today. 103 has a new odd bumper panel, believed to be from 20126.

In similar vein to the rest of the Holiday weekend, services were a bit unpredictable today - some ran on time, but others were up to 20 minutes in arrears. One delayed service was worked by B10M 20107 which was 17 late to Peterborough on the 10.59 from Lynn to Peterborough, just 4 late returning and on time with the 19.59 from Lynn. All other services were Gemini worked.

The mystery of how a B9 came to disappear over the weekend deepened today. Both 37573 and 37579 worked on Saturday on turns terminating at Lynn (Y14 and K7), one of these worked yesterday but was replaced by 37564 at Lowestoft but the others whereabouts is unknown. At Lynn spare today were 37568/579 in the garage together with 20352 and 20105, while 20103/131 were the only serviceable B10Ms at Rowan Road and 37576/8 were still there, both out of service.

Easter Sunday 12th April 2009 ~ A Bit Of Everything

With the normal Sunday service I expected today to be entirely Gemini operated. Strange things happen though..... Firstly 37578 hit a deer last night causing some underbody damage and an air leak, so it joined 37576 at Rowan Road. Tonight 37575 failed with an adblu fault and was replaced by 37571 for the 19.42 to Lowestoft. Highlight of today though was 20107 working 08.59 King's Lynn - Peterborough etc. This turn finishes at Lowestoft. Second surprise was Lynn providing 20352 for the turn which covers the 12.59 Lynn - Peterborough.
37568 remained at Lynn garage all day awaiting repairs. There remains a mystery however, as two Lynn turns were not seen and in theory 37573/7/9 should have been available. The 17.18 Peterborough - Lowestoft should have been one of these, but it must have run very late or been cancelled over the western section as it was not seen. There is a possibility that its B9 failed and it was replaced by another of the three mentioned. Otherwise a B9 has disappeared !! (Cue cheers).
Going back to Good Friday briefly and mention was made of 37577 being spare at Lowestoft. In fact it wasn't and Matthew reports it as being one of just two vehicles which operated a reduced frequency X2 that day, the other being a Lowestoft decker. I must have had a brainstorm too because 37563/4 were also spare at Lowestoft on Friday which I forgot to mention.

Saturday 11th April 2009 ~ Deja Vu

I was busy for most of today but did find time to pop over to Lynn early this evening to see what was about. I was at the bus station at 19.47 to witness one of those spooky moments. 20107 had arrived on L12 and was sitting in the centre when 20105 arrived on L13 and passed 20126 departing on K6 - not a white elephant in sight, it could have been 12 months ago !
Ryan reports that 20104 is now on MOT inspection at Yarmouth, while 20351 which was expected to return to Lynn today, instead was used locally at Yarmouth. 20352 did K4 and the remaining turns were Geminis. The tally of B10Ms requiring repairs at Rowan Road is now three : 20109 (oil), 20118 (tank supports) and 20127 (doors). By strange coincidence, 20103 and 20126 seem to have exchanged panels under the front reg plate and whilst 126 is looking more standard, 103 looks quite strange.
Last night 37568 failed at Necton onthe 20.42 Lynn - Lowestoft. Richard took 37573 out to replace it and 568 spent today at Lynn.

Good Friday April 10th 2009 ~ Back to Normal

37575 heads for the coast as the delayed 13.18 from Peterborough seen near Walpole this afternoon.

With only nine buses to provide with today being a Bank Holiday and therefore Sunday timetable, it was may be not surprising that the service was totally B9 Gemini operated. All yesterday's absentees were seen : 37568 which must have arrived last night on Y21, 37569 which yesterday replaced 37563 on L11 and 37575 which came out of Yarmouth this morning.

The aftermath of yesterday saw several B10Ms at Yarmouth/Lowestoft overnight, these being 20104/5/7/21 and only one spare B9 37577. In contrast at Lynn spare today were 37565/73/8/9. 37576 is at Rowan Road pending delivery to Full Circle for repairs to battered side panels on the passenger side. Two postscripts to yesterday : 20127 which was seen by Rob Brooks entering Lynn on an X1 to Peterborough could not have been K16 as 37564 did this throughout. 127 was today at Rowan Road out of service with a faulty door with 41 on the front. 20109 is awaiting attention to an oil leak following its removal from K15 on Wednesday.

Services were subject to delays during the middle of the day, probably due to heavy traffic. the two services due through Walpole at 14.18 were 37575 17 late eastbound and 37569 22 late westbound. Things were back to normal by 17.00 however.

Thursday 9th April 2009 ~ Revenge of the B10Ms

With a full load 37564 is running 27 late when photographed at Walton Road, Walsoken at lunchtime. Note the 'New In Town' ad which it has sported since 11th February.

20131 on the loose ! Here she negotiates Freedom Bridge roundabout at Wisbech this afternoon.

20131 returns to Lynn after a rare visit to Peterborough on K1. 37567 is ready to work forward. Photo : Rob Brooks

I had expected things to return to normal today after yesterday's fun, but far from it. The absence of at least three Geminis and 20353 meant B10Ms once again took a starring role.
37568/9/75/6 were not seen in service today and B10Ms deputising were 20104 which is believed to have done K19, a duty on which it was later replaced by 20103. Lynn's 20105 did K2 which ends up at Lowestoft and did the full turn. 20107 was K18, noted 18 late going west through Wisbech at 14.22 and 30 late past Bruce returning east. 20121 began the day on K4, but it ended up on K6 although it is not known whether it went through to Yarmouth this evening. 20126 was K1, but came off at Lynn at 15.24 and after a break took over K4 16.29 to Peterborough from 20121. 20127 not to be outdone was K16, but was removed at Lynn at 12.24 and 37564 worked forward 27 minutes late. Even dear old 20131 got in on the act doing K1 from Lynn to Peterborough and back this afternoon. 37567 which had come off K6 then worked back east. 20126/7 look as though they will be overnighting at Lynn together which is extraordinary.
Predictably timekeeping was a bit FST, even though it was a Thursday ! Y14 was heavily delayed with 37566 and eventually was overtaken by K15 with 37572, the two passed Walpole Highway in convoy at 14.31, 43 and 13 minutes late respectively. Thanks to Bruce for the report, however two services he didn't see were K3 going west and K16 returning east and both appear to have taken the A47 bypass to regain lost time. K3 was 12 late returning through Wisbech with 20352. the other serviceable Profile (20351) did K20 tonight.
Rob Brooks provided a comprehensive morning report from Wisbech and reports Y10 with 37565 (and faulty destination of course) 10 x 11 late; 37563 likewise 11 x 12 late on L11 and L12 the 11.01 departure from Wisbech to Peterborough with 37579 16 late arriving. Congestion saw 37577 on L9 10.18 Peterborough - Lowestoft 9 late into Wisbech but 16 late leaving King's Lynn.
Thanks to Rob and also to Bruce who did an afternoon vigil watching and reporting proceedings.
37566 had regained all its lost time by this evening and was seen entering Walpole Highway dead on time at 21.17.
The revised X1 timetable which takes effect from April 27th sees the timetable completely recast as this blog predicted sometime ago. The main changes appear to be the demise of almost all the Gorleston - Norwich shuttles including most of turn Y21 and the cancellation of the X1 parts of both K19 and K20. A new service is introduced departing Yarmouth at 05.50 and this turn seems to finish the day on the coast working a 19.10 Peterborough - Lowestoft. The first King's Lynn - Peterborough service is axed and K5 will now revert to its original format starting at Wisbech as the 07.21 to Lowestoft. Depending on how maintenance is slotted in, this could mean a reduction in vehicle requirements from 21 to 19, rather than an increase as at first thought. The 'First' website now includes a page which waxes lyrical about increased passenger loadings and sings the praises of the B9s as one might expect. Sam alerted me to this and here is the link :
http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/easterncounties/easterncounties/news/index.php?item=5871&show=1

Wednesday 8th April 2009 ~ The Magnificent Seven

20109 approaches Walpole Highway on K15 today - a very notable working. If you click on the photo to enlarge it, 37573 can be seen heading east in the background.

It is now almost 6 months since the first B9 Geminis entered service and today was the most noteworthy day since that occurrence. The guys from Volvo turned up at Lynn and the CCTV was sorted out on several B9s, while others were inspected. This could not have been carried out in the schools term due to the requirement for B10Ms, so today was as good a day as any. The upshot of this was the appearance of no less than seven Premieres on the X1 standing in for grounded Geminis. The full tally was as follows ;

20104 K19 to LFT, K4 13.25 LFT - PBO, 17.48 PBO - KLN

20105 K7 until 14.54 (replaced by 37570 off CCTV repairs)

20107 Y8 06.02 YAR - PBO etc all day finishing at KLN at 20.07

20109 K15 until 14.37 (replaced by Gemini - either 37563 or 37576 at KLN)

20121 K4 07.29 KLN - PBO, 08.48 PBO - LFT, K19 back to KLN

20126 Y21 17.25 LFT - KLN

20127 L13 07.45 LFT - PBO etc all day finishing at KLN at 22.37

The use of 20109 on K15 was exceptional and this turn has been almost exclusively Paragon and more recently Gemini worked. It has only produced a B10M for its 05.42 start on a handful of occasions over the last four years. Almost as rare was the use of both 20126 and 20127 on the main X1, something which I haven't recorded since late October and certainly a rarity following 127s transfer to Yarmouth. 20126 was a pleasant surprise on Y21 this evening and 37575 had been expected.

Bruce travelled to Dereham this morning by car and noted 37570 on Y14 and 37576 on K16 amongst others. By the time these turns reached Wisbech they had 37578 and 37574 instead. John W says "Went by Vancouver Avenue this morning with no time to spare - 37578 was outside, nothing unusual in one being outside BUT inside were 3 smart clean elephants, all in a line as if ready to go". 37578 had in fact done K20 and then took Y14 forward from 37570. 570 itself was repaired in time to relieve 20105 on K7 at 14.59 to Peterborough. L11 and L12 from Lowestoft both changed B9s at Lynn, 37564/574 off for 37573/567 forward. Later at 12.07 37563 came off Y10 and 37564 went forward to the coast. K6 09.18 ex Peterborough with 37565 had a change at Lynn with 37571 working east at 10.42. Later this evening Rob B and myself both saw 37565 heading for 'Owestoft' on K20. 37576 was removed from K16 at 12.54 and as already mentioned 37574 took over. 37576 is believed to have then gone to Full Circle for bodywork repairs, however, with 20109 coming off K15 at 14.07, it looks as if either 37563 or just possibly 37576 took over. As if all these swaps weren't enough, K1 went east this morning with 37569 only to return west with 37568.

Despite all this frantic changing of vehicles, only one service was heavily delayed, this being K2 which was 27 late going to Peterborough this afternoon at 16.58 (due off Wisbech at 16.31) with 37577. 20104 was close behind running on time.
Sorry no details. The only X1 vehicle I noted was 20107 , incoming for the 08.29 to Pboro. Special thanks to Bruce and Rob B for helping unravel today's mysteries.

Tuesday 7th April 2009 ~ Hush Hush

Despite the fact that the current X1 timetable expires on 25th April, First Group still haven't advertised the new timetable which should come into effect then. If rumours are true it should mean 22 vehicles are required and longer turn round gaps at Lowestoft and Peterborough.
Today 37570 appeared on K1 confirming my suspicion that it had replaced 20351 on K3 yesterday. The B7 came out of Yarmouth this morning on Y8 which is normally the bus off the previous evening's K6. 37578 which was K6 yesterday then turned up on Y10. Ryan confirms 20353 as being at Duffields, but on a visit to Yarmouth today Jamie Vendy says that the facility there has closed and customers are being redirected to the Norwich branch. 20352 meanwhile did K4. This left the two regular B7 turns uncovered, so 37571 - presumably fresh off MOT - was utilised on K3 and K17 was (by elimination) either 37572 or a B10M.
20104 was on L12 today and tonight K20 was 20107 as Lynn had run out of B9s. Another B10M (probably 20103) did K19 but this was swapped for 37565 tonight. Jamie V reports 20130 languishing at Vulcan Road and also present there today was former X1 stalwart 20123. Ryan says 20126 is back at its Yarmouth base now.

Monday 6th April 2009 ~ I'm Back !

Thanks to all for observations in my absence. Bruce was in ecstacy this morning with a clutch of B10Ms standing in. Unbeknown to Bruce 20104 had done K19 out of Lynn, but after this seen at Walpole Highway were 20127 on K2, 20121 on K4, 20103 on L11 and 20107 on L12. "I wouldn't have missed this for the World" says Bruce frivolously.
B7 20351 began the day on K3 but was swapped at 13.59, I expect for 37570 off K20. The B7 then did the second part of K20, witnessed by Jamie Vendy. 20352 was K17, but no sign of 20353 anywhere.
Gemini 37571 is now off road for MOT, while the CCTV man is coming to Lynn on Wednesday with B9s 37563/4, 570/8 all in need of attention. 37567 came in tonight on K19 in place of 20104.

Sunday 5th April 2009 ~ A Happy Coincidence

Quite by chance, Rob Brooks and Bruce sent in reports which provided details of all nine turns out today. Rob says "37576 1518 Peterboro - Lowestoft got to the railway station late at 1549. 37566 1618 Pbro - Lowestoft depart Queensgate 1630 I think 2 late but arrived Wisbech Horsefair 6 early departing 1 late!! 37575 westbound at Thorney 1648 to do the 17.18 ex Peterborough.
Bruce fills in the other detail for us : 09.18 ex Peterborough 37572, 10.18 ex Peterborough 37568. 12.18 ex P'bo 37578, 11.18 ex Pbo 37563, 11.59 ex Lynn 37569 26 late at 12.34 6 late at 14.24 on the 13.18 ex P'bo
12.59 ex Lynn 37573 14 late at 13.32 21 late at 15.39 on the 14.18 from Peterborough.
Thanks for the log guys.

Saturday 4th April 2009 ~ Thanks to You

Jamie Robinson reported 37577 on K2 at Eye this morning and Cheryl saw 37579 on L9 departing Wisbech slightly late at 11.15 to Lowestoft. Bruce was busy checking things too, here are his sightings :
K4 20351 but at least 14 late at 17.02
K5 37564
K6 37567
Y8 37576
L9 37579
L11 37574
L13 20127 7 late at 11.27 and 3 early at 13.15 ... 37568 at 20.18 10 late!!!!!!!!!!
K15 37575 19 late
K18 37569

All coast services 15-16 mins late after K15

So a surprise appearance by 20127 there, though it was obviously swapped as Bruce indicates. The exclamation marks I would imagine refer to 568's tardy reputation.

Friday 3rd April 2009 ~ Over to You

Jamie Vendy kindly sent these pictures taken at Queensgate early this evening. Here 37572, which had a strange day (see below), departs as the 16.48 to Yarmouth (K1).

37574 at Peterborough Queensgate on K2 17.28 to Lowestoft.

Jamie V catches 20109 heading out of Queensgate on the early bath turn (K4).

37576 with advert for BobBooks leaves Queensgate on K6 18.28 to Lowestoft. All today's photos by courtesy of Jamie Vendy.

Being away today, the blog was down to you the readers and you managed to report as follows :

Bruce says :

K1 not seen
K2 37574 22 late at 09.40, 10 late at 16.28. 17 late at 18.35
K3 20352 8 late at 16.26
K5 37578
K7 37577
Y8 37575
L9 not seen
Y10 37563
L11 37570
L13 37567
Y14 37564
K15 37572 11 late at 14.29
K16 37566
All coast services 7 - 8 minutes late.
At Rowan Road were 20105 (Contract) 20118 (41 Kings Lynn) 20121 (Private Charter) plus 65528 (Bust) !
At Vancouver Avenue at lunchtime: 37579 plus another with 4 gentlemen in orange jackets with their heads in the engine compartment on No 2 pit and 34921 on No 3 pit

Jamie Vendy was also about and his observations at Peterborough were as follows :

37577 K7 16:28 from Queensgate

37572 K1 16:58 from Queensgate : both bang on time.
37574 K2 17:28 from Queensgate running 12 Late! Leaving at 17:40
20109 K4 17:58 from Queensgate on time
37576 K6 18:28 from Queensgate on time
37575 Y8 18:58 from Queensgate on time

20109 was the only B10M reported today, but L9, L12, K17, K18, K19, K20 and Y21 remain unaccounted for. Either L9 or L12 was 37569.

One little mystery here. K15 was 37572 as Bruce reported but it must have come off at Lynn and then returned to Peterborough on K1 !

Thursday 2nd April 2009 ~ Hang on a Minute !

At last a photo of 37565 with its faulty destination panel. here it is seen at Wisbech bound for 'Orleston' on K18 this afternoon. Photo : Rob Brooks

Early running doesn't often make the headlines in this blog. Today though 37572 was on the 11.18 Peterborough to Lowestoft (L11). The 18 minutes past departure is from the rail station of course, with the Queensgate bus station departure due ten minutes later at 11.28. 572 was viewed by me on the A1139 Frank Perkins Parkway heading east at fifteen seconds past 11.28 obviously having left a few minutes early. This was on my way to Herefordshire and other B9s passing me were 37575 at Walton Highway on K6, then after a break in Wisbech, 37570 on Cromwell Road on L9 and 37574 east of Thorney on Y10.
Bruce was on duty today viewing proceedings and punctuality was very good, however, he was very upset by the complete absence of B10Ms. Of 18 turns seen, 16 were Gemini worked and the other two B7s (20351 on K3 and 20352 on K17). Everything ran to time except K7 which was 22 late going to Lowestoft at 08.40 and 18 late returning from the coast with 37573.

Wednesday 1st April 2009 ~ Backtracking

20104 viewed at Wisbech Horsefair today complete with lower bodyside advertisement. Photo by Rob Brooks.

Sorry for the delay in producing the blog, I have been away hence the late appearance. Today only B10 seen through Wisbech was 20104 on L12, however, K1 was not noted and it now seems certain that this too was a B10M. 20126 did K19 for the third consecutive day thus avoiding Bruce's gaze once more.

Gemini 37576 came through Wisbech at 09.31 to Peterborough on L9 and may well have replaced a B10M at Lynn. still no sign of 20353. 37578 was the only B9 not seen today.

Tuesday 31st March 2009 ~ The Masterplan Works

Not only were any swaps minimal today, timekeeping was very good. The two rarely go hand in hand. Once again, certain services ran early. K1 07.48 ex Peterborough did one better than yesterday and was 3 early into Walton Highway (due 08.47) with 37568 - yes really Bruce ! 568 may have a reputation for late running but nevertheless is the most consistent B9 of the moment. It has been noted in service every day since Valentines Day.
B10Ms in use today were 20104 (K2) and 20126 on K19 (thanks to Sam for the gen). Sam also travelled with 20103 on the X2 today. Whilst on the B10 front, Andrew reports 20131 on Hunstanton services this afternoon and also due to Scania failures 20109/118 deputising at teatime.
Most delayed service was K16, but this by only 10 minutes and 37563 was in charge. K3 and K17 had B7s as usual.
I am away from Thursday until Monday so in the interim any reports may assist me to do a blog on my return. Please send any sightings info to gerardtcc@aol.com

G