Thursday February 11th 2010 ~ When It All Goes Right

Nick Youngman has taken advantage of some rare winter sunshine to record these pictures for us. Here is 37570 heading for Peterborough on K18 today, seen near West Bilney

37156 seems determined to become the most photographed X1 bus this year ! Nick's photo shows it working Y13 13.05 from Peterborough today near Swaffham.

37572 departs from the Hardwick stop this afternoon while working K15 14.05 Peterborough - Lowestoft with one of our favourite drivers. Photo : N Youngman

37578 is now back in traffic with a much smaller front fleet number. Nick photographed it in action on K19 today on the course of the old railway line near Wendling.

As you probably know if you read this blog regularly, there are now 19 diagrams on the X1 Monday to Saturday. This means that if the 17 Geminis are available (and for this purpose I include 37562 as a direct replacement for 37571), then just two other vehicles have to be found. With 37156-160 in theory being available too, there should seldom be a problem covering the booked turns.

Of course, scheduled maintenance, MOTs and out of course repairs mean that it is quite uncommon to see a day where all seventeen B9s are in service, however, that not inconsiderable achievement was accomplished today. The two other turns which were not B9 worked were Y13 with 37156 and K3 with 37159. This left 37157 at Lowestoft and 37158/160 at Lynn for local work and today was noteworthy in that 37160 started the day on the 44s to North Lynn, a service normally worked by a Dart and one which has some tight clearances. Being an old fool though, I can remember the days of LKDs on the 38 & 38a - anyway I digress.

The Hunstanton school buses today were 20118/121/123. Ironically with 20123 just returning to service this week, it is due an MOT next week. Paragon 20500 which had been at Lowestoft for rail replacement duties returned to King's Lynn today after it sprang a water leak. Royale 34108 was out on the X2 today, but for once 20107 was not noted. 20104/5, both withdrawn at Rowan Road compound were moved within its confines today and within a week, the massed ranks of withdrawn Olympians here has dwindled to just four, the remainder being sent for scrap. The quartet remaining are believed to be blocked in by Christmas fire victim 30902 which is still on jacks.