12th - 18th August 2013 ~ End of an Era

Yes it would seem that the end of total Gemini domination on the X1 is imminent. I am informed that 37158 is to be the first of the existing fleet to be taken off the road for repainting (scheduled for tomorrow, Monday). Loan Enviro 400, 33423 is now ready for service and may well appear on the X1 this week, possibly as early as tomorrow.
So a quick look at the past week on the route, beginning on Monday 12th  when only two services were noted running behind time, both B7 workings. L11-XL17 is never a surprise in this respect and 37574 left Wisbech 10 late on the 11.19 to Peterborough. Later 37156 on K18-XL05 was 15 late going westbound. 37578 meanwhile was undergoing MOT prep. Things ran pretty well on Tuesday but delays affected K14-XL01 and by the time 37572 reached Walpole Highway it was 24 late. At Wisbech it was decided to transfer passengers to K15-XL02 which was 37576. As a result 576 passed me first at 13.24, with 37572 following less than a minute behind 'out of service' in an attempt to regain some time. K17-XL04 changed vehicles with 37566 being replaced at lunchtime by 37564.
Wednesday was a very strange day for punctuality. The morning services seemed to run to time, but from late afternoon, things went awry. K18-XL05  being 15 late from Wisbech westbound was not very surprising as this service often runs behind time, 37157 was the bus concerned today. At teatime K3 with 37576 appeared 24 late on the 16.15 Lynn to Peterborough , followed by K4 just 4 late with 37563. Peter saw 37159 on K5, which Malcolm had seen just 8 late at Lowestoft, but arriving at Wisbech 'not in service' at 18.10 with passengers aboard, now running 24 late. Later L8 18.54 Peterborough - Lynn left around 24 late with 37565 but had regained all but a couple of minutes by the time it came back. Normally delays are minimal by evening but L12-XL18 was 23 late at Tilney All Saints with 37573 at just before 21.30 westbound and 37568 on the last westbound service was 7 late.
On Thursday things ran very well but Des encountered delays while driving the 16.55 from Lowestoft (L11-XL17) because of races traffic in Yarmouth making the service 17 late at Acle. With 37157 only two minutes were regained en route to King's Lynn. Friday punctuality was above average with just some late afternoon delays. K16-XL03 was 15 x 18 late through Wisbech with 37570 and K17 with 37578 went eastbound 20 late. About the same time westbound, 37572 on K1-XL07 passed me at 16.21 and 37563 on K2-XL08 at 16.22, 31 and 2 late respectively. The evening service saw diversions to avoid roadworks at Middleton with the X1 being diverted via Stradsett, adding 11 minutes to the schedule.
Saturday ran smoothly and on Sunday, the 09.50 from Lowestoft came past Bruce at Walpole 13 late with 37571, but some smart running saw it come back just 2 late. I had a trip to Peterborough with 37578 on the 15.12 from Walpole, we were 5 late departing and 4 late arriving. My return westbound on the 19.15 departure from Peterborough was with 37579 and a brilliant run was enjoyed back to Walpole, on time throughout and commendably we were 2 minutes early into Wisbech. Full marks to the driver for such a fine performance.