Monday October 10th 2011 ~ Manic Monday Morning

37158 seen at Lowestoft this evening arriving on the 12.05 from Peterborough, but already showing its return destination. Photo from Grahame Bessey.

The new week began with chaos at the western end, with a collision between an ambulance and a Royal Mail lorry at around 6am at the Guyhirn Sex Shop junction (sorry, can't recall its proper name - didn't it used to be Guyhirn Little Chef ?). This caused all manner of mayhem and I was texted at some early hour while still in the sack by Mark Chaplin to inform me of impending delays.
Setting out at my usual time, I met 37579 at Walpole Highway heading east only 1 minute late on K2, but of course, stupid me, it was in fact K1 running 31 late ! Things then began to get interesting. Cheryl catches Y6 to get to her new job in Thorney and today 37576 was her bus. Due to congestion it was eleven late from Wisbech and proceeded down to the Cromwell Road roundabout junction with the A47 bypass. Here the driver saw the queueing traffic and did a U turn back into town. Such was the heavy traffic that 576 passed me at 09.01 and came back at 09.20 before being glimpsed in the Old Market at 09.22 heading for Peterborough via Wisbech St. Mary.
 The next two services westbound were alerted to the situation and both went via Wisbech St. Mary, these being Y7 with 37573 and L8 with 37567, the latter being seen about 4 late in the Old Market at 09.56. Judith then phoned to say she'd met two Geminis separated by a single car on Barton Road heading west. This turned out to be 37573 on Y7 followed by the delayed Y6 with 37576 !
Eastbound services meanwhile were all over the place, K1 as we said was 32 late at Walpole and next to appear was K3 with 37157 on its normal route passing me 17 late. 37569 on K2 then got through having travelled via the Wisbech St. Mary route and passed the Old Market at 09.28 (about 74 late). K4 had better luck taking its normal route and with 37575 was only 15 late. After this K5 was relatively unaffected with 37570 just 4 late, but next up, the late running Y6 had done very well to be just 22 late going east. The original intention was that this would go light from Peterborough to Lynn to make up time, but in the end it was 37573 on Y7 which did this, being seen by Jamie R on Wisbech bypass.
This evening 37576 on Y6 was 2 early at Walpole on the 19.10 from Peterborough, so all lost time was eventually regained.
20115 which had been a candidate for use on the X1 today, was probably collected by a Yarmouth driver as it didn't work and was not at Lynn this evening. Coming the other way was 37566 which Dale says expired in Dereham on Friday with an air problem. It was sent to Volvo and was back at Lynn today, but still in a bad way. 37566 regular readers will know, is the bus that was built on a Friday afternoon if you know what I mean.
37565 had its MOT today, but the disgraced 37160 was absent.