Tuesday 15th December 2015 ~ Early to Bed

Well since my last offering, there has been a revised timetable introduced on the eastern section between Norwich, Yarmouth & Lowestoft. These alterations mean a slightly reduced service at Lowestoft as a few services now terminate at James Paget Hospital. There have also been big changes on the X2 with the main service now running fast from Beccles to Norwich and the X22 supplementing this by calling at Loddon and the villages. Kieran Smith explains the changes in greater detail here : http://norwichbusesblog.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/major-changes-to-first-x1-and-x2-this.html

Lowestoft now have Geminis 37575/6/7/9 in addition to 37563 -72 inclusive on their books to cater for the increased vehicle requirement. While on the subject of Lowestoft, Plaxton Pointer Dart 42943 (ex Camborne) has arrived at the expense of 43865 - the latter a 7'6" wide Caetano Nimbus bodied Dart which may be more suited to Cornwall's narrow lanes, assuming this was a straight swap and East Norfolk bus blog reveals that this is indeed the case with 42358 and 43861 also heading west. Back at Yarmouth, ex Green Line 37275 is now expected to appear in these parts before long to increase the fleet of X1 vehicles. Thanks to East Norfolk Bus Blog for this gen. Paragon coach 20501, formerly of X1 fame, along with 20515 has been busy operating rail replacement services on the eastern part of the X1 route during the recent diesel unit crisis at Crown Point

Photo copyright : Kieran Smith

At the Western end of the X1, the late night services are being curtailed from next month. Currently the last two buses arrive back at King's Lynn around 01.00, but in the revised timetable the last bus is believed to be due back an hour earlier. On Sundays the service finishes much earlier from January, the present 01.00 finishes being scaled right back so that the last arrival at King's Lynn garage is at about 22.00. It is not known whether the new schedules will see the evening services revert to an hourly interval pattern rather than the ragged departure times in the present timetable. 
Looking back over the last month, the usual causes for delays have been evident, namely incidents on the A47, in particular the Acle Straight. On the western section, Tuesday 17th November was a poor day with the peaktime 07.15 Swaffham - Peterborough leaving Wisbech 17 minutes late (33815), however, some smart driving saw it come back just a minute behind schedule,  The next bus ran to time, but an hour later the 09.44 ex Wisbech westbound (07.15 from Norwich) passed by 16 late with 33814, this also regained most of the deficit though coming back just 2 minutes late. Later the 11.44 Wisbech - Peterborough came past 18 late with 33804 but the arrears had been reduced to 7 minutes on its return eastbound. Finally on 17th the 13.15 King's Lynn - Peterborough and 14.45 return were cancelled due to no driver being available. An accident on Wisbech Horsefair roundabout caused a few problems on the morning of 19th and 33803 on the 10.44 Wisbech - Peterborough eventually got away 18 minutes late. The 07,30 Peterborough - Norwich due through Walpole Highway at 08.31 was delayed on Monday 23rd, 33814 running 16 late and next day 33803 was 10 late on the same service. This one is usually a fairly good timekeeper. On the 24th also, the 09.35 from Peterborough had a unhindered run and was seen coming into Wisbech 4 early with 33815. During December thus far services have in general run quite well with the expected heavier loadings. Friday 11th was a good example when just one service was seen delayed, this being 33816 on the 15.24 Wisbech - Peterborough which had lost 15 minutes. A rather bizarre if unfortunate incident happened on Wednesday 25th November, a motorist was stung by a wasp and went into cardiac arrest causing closure of Guyhirn bank on the A47. 33806 working the 13.24 Wisbech - Peterborough departed on time by the usual route, only to be halted by the congestion, so it then turned round and came back into Wisbech at 13.42 before taking the route via Wisbech St. Mary. 
The King's Lynn fleet of Enviros seem to have been fairly well behaved over the period under review. The last week though has seen 33817 sent to Cummins for engine attention and 33811 in engine derate plus 33805 with a gear problem. 

X1s gather for their roost at King's Lynn garage

The delights of Chapelfield are being extolled on many Enviros at the moment, but the weather has not been encouraging for would  be shoppers

Wednesday 11th November 2015 ~ More Pix and things

Thanks to Cameron Robinson we can see 'newby' 37274 at work today on the X1 , firstly at Great Yarmouth and later at Norwich :

Photos copyright Cameron Robinson

Doesn't look like 37274 will get the disfiguring adverts either ! Cameron also reports that similarly liveried 37578 put in an appearance on the 14.50 service 7 to Belton this afternoon, while 32061 worked the 07.40 Lowestoft - Norwich returning as far as Yarmouth where it was swapped for an Enviro 400. This might possibly have been 33821 which was due to receive a new alternator ar Great Yarmouth today. 

In response to Richard Adderson's queries about diversionary routes a driver ( whose anonymity has been respected) says "Just read your latest posting. I think you will get different responses from different drivers on the subject of how much discretion drivers are allowed. One thing to keep in mind is it is my belief that our route is not fixed, just the stops are fixed, although some are missed during major disruptions on the A47.

I can really only speak for myself. Most of the time when one sees X1 buses on secondary roads it is usually due to being diverted by controllers to get around road blockages. Whether a Controller will divert a particular bus comes down to an individual drivers experience. At the Peterborough end of the route  I personally have several ways out of the city if the usual route is blocked or congested, especially during school/peak hour traffic. In the evenings after 1800, drivers are generally left to their own devices, I have been known to take the bumpy little road between Thorney and Whittlesea when the A47 was suddenly closed for roadworks without any notification as an example. So drivers do have some discretion, depending on the time of day and the circumstances"

Norwich Bus Station on 27th October at midday showing 33821 & 33822 , one just arrived the other departed a few seconds after I took the photo. Photo : A Nonymous

Tuesday 10th November 2015 ~ More X1 News !

Two updates in two days - good grief whatever next ? Well firstly here's a nice pic from Grahame Bessey (http://eastnorfolkbus.blogspot.co.uk/) of the ex Greenline Gem 37274 about to commence its first day working off Great Yarmouth. Grahame says it's not up to his usual standard as the light was very poor, but it looks good to me !

More news from the east is reported by Malcolm Hicks where on Monday 9th 32348 newly repainted in urban livery performed with the 09.40 Lowestoft - Yarmouth X1 while another stranger was 32629 on the 10.40 an hour later. 
Richard Adderson wrote to me last week and said " I went out for lunch at Cantley today (3rd Nov) , and was driving towards Thorpe End on the B1140 around 11.50 when I was confronted with an X1 coming the other way (into Norwich), which I later discovered was avoiding the A47 owing to the latest accident at North Burlingham. Fair enough, this had obviously been diverted from Acle via South Walsham, a straightforward alternative.
Later though, around 2.50, I met another Enviro, destination blind Norwich, heading south on the byroad which runs from Blofield, through Blofield Corner up the the B1140. I can only imagine he too had come from Acle via South Walsham, but had chosen to rejoin the A47 at the Brundall roundabout, west of the blockage, and take the normal route into Norwich from there.

 The latter makes me wonder how much discretion drivers are allowed in altering their routes to avoid road closures – is there some sort of central control which tells them where to go, when the usual route is unexpectedly blocked, or are they left to their own devices? The earlier bus would have had a straight run on the “back road” from Acle, but would have become ensnared in the city traffic from the Heartsease onwards, while the other would have had a tortuous journey from the B1140 to Blofield but the benefit of dual carriageway as far as Trowse.  Any idea what the policy is with this? Or if not, maybe worth putting the query on the blog one day?

And sorry, no photographs nor bus fleet numbers – I was driving in the opposite direction on both occasions! "

Well over to you dear readers, I know some of you will know the answer or have tales of your own on this subject.

Yesterday (Monday) saw what is (thankfully) an ultra rare spectacle, when two X1s arrived in Wisbech following each other - not even a car separating them - these being 33815 & 33806 working the 13.45 and 14.15 services from Peterborough respectively. The 13.05 service with 33812 had arrived on time at 13.50 but there was then a gap of 74 minutes before the pair of buses turned up at 15.04. This seemed to be an isolated incident and other services ran to time. In contrast, today (Tuesday), the 10.05 from Peterborough was seen arriving at Wisbech 5 minutes early with 33809.

Sunday 9th November 2015 ~ All's Well

A few things to report since the last update. 37274 has arrived at Yarmouth painted in Excel blue livery and 32348 is due shortly in Urban livery. 33819 suffered a rear end smash in Gorleston last week and is now at Full Circle for repairs, but otherwise the Enviro 400 fleet are all in service. 33816 was in trouble on Friday night (6th November) when it shut down soon after leaving Peterborough near the A15 junction on the last eastbound service to King's Lynn. Engineering staff attended bringing 33807 to rescue about a dozen passengers and 33816 was restarted and returned to King's Lynn for investigation. I hope to do a more detailed update shortly.

Tuesday 13th October 2015 ~ Blue Bus Blues

A bit like the X1 blog - another magnificent obsession. 33814 in King's Lynn garage on the evening of 10th October.

With several buses having sustained body panel damage in recent months, affected vehicles are being dealt with at the bodyshops at Full Circle near Norwich. In the past month 33807 has spent a fortnight being repaired and on its return on October 6th, 33817 went to the same destination for attention to a nasty crease in the rear bodywork sustained many months back. From an operational point of view, the Enviro 400s at the west end of the route have been quite well behaved. Yesterday (12th) however, 33811 broke down at Thorney Toll on an afternoon working and it is believed to require new injectors / injector linings before it can be returned to traffic. Other casualties have been few and far between though, notably on 16th September when the 09.44 Wisbech - Peterborough was cancelled because of a problem with 33805 and on 5th October when 33816 was unable to work the 16.15 King's Lynn - Peterborough I think because of a problem with its water pump. On the positive side 33814 & 33815 have worked on 40 out of the last 42 days, the latter having been out every day since September 7th.
Showbus this year was at Woburn Abbey on 20th September and 33808 represented the X1 fleet in what I'm told was a rather muddy affair ! Over in the East, the highlight - if that is the right word - appears to have been the use of Streetlite 47505 on the 10.00 Lowestoft - Yarmouth on 24th September, Malcolm wonders if it went through to Norwich ? Well according to the East Norfolk bus blog, it did Malcolm and ENBB also report the recent arrival at Great Yarmouth of former X1 Paragon 20501 for contract work after a pending MOT.
Here are a few recent pictures as I decided it was high time I got out and about with the camera again - gosh I've even got some drivers requesting to appear in the blog, whatever next :)

After a rather scrumptious lunch at the Woolpack at Terrington St. John (recommended for generous portions and if you feel so inclined, a good place to spot passing X1s !) we were just about to leave on Friday 2nd October when, rather conveniently 33806 appeared heading east working the 12.55 Wisbech to King's Lynn otherwise known as the 12.05 Peterborough - Norwich service.

Having been rather pleased with my Friday photo, I decided to take a few more next day although the weather wasn't quite as bright. This is one of my favourite spots as you will probably know, near Walpole Highway and here 33804 was captured working the 11.35 Peterborough - Norwich.

Having seen 33804 at Walpole, the opportunity seemed too good to pass up, so my chauffeur drove back along the route so that I could try and get two Enviros  in one picture. This was the rather poor result at Terrington St. John with 33804 peeling away in the distance as 33815 passes by on the 10.30 Norwich - Peterborough. 

Once the sun moves round after lunch it is not easy to get good pictures of eastbound services in this locality, hence this rather head on shot of 33812 passing through Walpole Highway while working the 12.35 Peterborough - Norwich again on Saturday October 3rd.

Westbound afternoon services are a totally different prospect photographically and on a very pleasant Sunday 4th October, Bruce and myself were having a chinwag about all things X1 when 33812 (again) passed by at just after 2pm working the 12.05 Norwich - Peterborough.

On an altogether greyer Saturday 10th October, 33806 is seen again heading for Wisbech near Walton Highway forming the 09.50 Norwich - Peterborough X1.

Sunday 13th September 2015 ~ Time Flies By

'Time flies by when  you are the driver of a train' - that's how the song went and some of you will know where it is from ! Probably the same when driving a bus, certainly when you are a blogger.
Over a month since the last report and my house is approaching completion, so may be more frequent updates before long.
Nothing groundbreaking to report, in fact the pending arrival in Lowestoft of 30888 in Lowestoft Corporation colours would be much more noteworthy. Gemini 37579 is a transfer from Yarmouth to Lowestoft and reports that 34108 (former X1 standby) and 34114 were to be retired at the beginning of September appear to have been premature as both have been seen in service since. When this does happen, 34111 will be the only remaining Royale at Yarmouth in use. Keep up to date with developments at
http://eastnorfolkbus.blogspot.co.uk/

32203 was at King's Lynn last Wednesday but  not for X1 standby, instead it was en route to Rotherham for refurbishment.

Now where were we ? I suppose we ought to start with a fleet update on the Enviro 400s. 33807 is back from bodywork repairs and 33816 also visited Full Circle for roof repairs in the period under review after low tree branches caused some damage. As I write all the fleet are to my knowledge available for service. 33807 has yet to have its full rear advert reapplied and looks a little undressed at the moment, see picture below.

One issue that has been causing concern for sometime are reflections from the passenger saloons experienced by drivers at night. Back in March 2015, 33808/9 were fitted with inverters to the lower deck saloon lights, reducing them by 50%. After further testing, in May 33814/5 were modified to an 80% reduction and this was agreed to still be a safe level of lighting for customers. This has virtually eliminated the reflection problems and feedback is now being received which if positive, will probably result in the modified lighting settings being adopted for the entire fleet.

On the road, the last four weeks has seen more than the usual number of incidents on the A47 resulting in delays and diversions to the X1. There has also been a shortage of drivers at the western end of the route which has even caused a few cancellations which is extremely unusual. As recently as Friday (11th) all three supervisors at King's Lynn had to supplement the rostered drivers to maintain the service. A job to say which was the worst day for delays, but the Friday (28th) prior to Bank Holiday weekend must be favourite. I popped down to see Bruce at Walpole Highway at lunchtime and things were already disrupted. 33805 working the 11.35 from Peterborough came by dead on time at 12.37 (did it terminate at Wisbech I wonder ?) but at 12.51, the 10.35 from Peterborough finally appeared running 76 minutes late with 33813 ! There was no sign of the 12.05 or 12.35 from Peterborough and the next eastbound service came through after 2 hours 5 minutes at  14.56, this being the 13.05 ex Peterborough with 33812 running 51 late - it had only been 16 minutes late going to Peterborough so the traffic congestion had seen it lose a further 35 minutes en route.

Matthew Holland kindly sent these pictures of 33818 departing from Lowestoft on the morning of September 1st. Note the trio of former X1 Geminis in the bus station and (below) the lengthy destination information.

Finally Cameron Robinson was having some fun with 37562 yesterday (12th) when it was being used in connection with the Reload Festival on a Service no.100 from Norwich Thorpe railway station. Something makes me think the blinds may have been tampered with !

Tuesday 11th August 2015 ~ Still Going

This blog I mean - well just about ! Troubled times for the X1 since my last report. Firstly back on 22nd July, 33811 was involved in a collision with a lorry on Wisbech Horsefair roundabout whilst departing as the 14.35 to Norwich. Damage sustained meant that 33811 had to be taken out of service  This incident unfortunately made the local press : http://www.wisbechstandard.co.uk/news/bus_driver_s_alleged_lack_of_concern_after_wisbech_crash_sparks_complaints_1_4176162
This happened the day after 33807 had experienced an altercation with a coach resulting in some damage to the rear of the bus. Plans to send 33807 away for repairs were put on hold to allow 33811 to take precedence and 33807 patched up continued in service.
From an operating point of view, this caused problems but fortunately 33808 was back out on the road on Friday 24th after extensive repairs. The 24th was a day of heavy rain and quite appaling road conditions for July, indeed it was the first Friday for several months where the service fell apart on the western section due to huge traffic problems in King's Lynn and congestion along the route.
The 13.24 Wisbech - Peterborough (33810) departed 18 late but came back from Peterborough exactly 30 late. The following service ran 20 minutes late from Peterborough and arrived in Wisbech at 15.50, there was then a gap before the next bus (33809) passed me at 16.36, this being the 16.03 arrival running over 30 late.  Traffic paralysis in King's Lynn was worse though and the same service which had arrived inbound at the South Gates about 25 late proceeded to lose a further 35 minutes simply running to the bus station and back to the South Gates !! The following service with 33817 caught up at Narborough and all passengers transferred to this bus to allow 33809 to go light to Norwich to make up time, In the event 33817 departed Norwich at 19.12 as the 18.40 to Peterborough. The fun was not yet over however, as 33817 was in trouble at Wisbech with an engineer having to be called. Eventual arrival at Peterborough with replacement bus 33814 was about 45 late at 22.20 and to make matters worse about fifteen or so very bedraggled passengers were then told that the bus had to go empty back to King's Lynn and would not operate as the 21.40, leaving them in the damp to catch the last bus at 23.30. Expecting one of my lodgers off the 21.40, far from amused, I drove to Peterborough to collect him and ended up taking a further two people and dropping them at Wisbech bus station on a foul night. I am told by 'First' that the matter is under investigation.
The new King's Lynn Transport Interchange as the revamped bus station has been christened opened on August 4th. Two days later 33811 returned to King's Lynn after repairs and 33807 at last went the other way to Full Circle for attention. 33816 had an examination by Alexander Dennis last week after continuous reports of sluggish acceleration and running.
A slight diversion to the X1 in Wisbech is in operation during August. Yet another closure of Nene Quay eastbound means Norwich bound buses are once again using Weasenham Lane, That said , on Monday 10th at least one service was seen negotiating the sharp angle onto Town Bridge and through the Old Market to regain the usual route after Freedom Bridge. Friday 7th was another day of disruption with the A47 closed at Middleton after an accident for much of the morning entailing X1 diversions via the A10 and Stradsett to reach Swaffham.
My apologies to Malcolm and my friends in the East for not keeping up with their reports, I hope to rectify this before long.
Finally news that , as one might expect, the first of the Enviro 400s has now passed the 200,000 miles mark. 33806 was the first to achieve this with 33812 and 33811 very close behind. Following its prolonged lay off, the lowest mileage example in the King's Lynn fleet is now 33808 which has run just over 172,000 miles.

Tuesday 21st July 2015 ~ Disruption

So far it has been an eventful week. Yesterday (Monday) a fatal accident between Thorney bypass and Guyhirn called for full closure of the A47 at this point between 06.30 & 15.00 and early morning services were forced to divert via Whittlesey.
The first return service from Peterborough was seen at Walsoken running 44 minutes late with 33814 and not far behind was K2 seen leaving Wisbech bus station 21 late with 33803. 33806 came past me on K3 running 31 late and while I didn't see K4, K5 which is due past me at Wisbech at 09.50 turned up at 11.19, 89 minutes late. Clearly at this point a decision had to be made. The alternative route was completely congested and a number of buses were stranded in the affected area. As a consequence it was decided to terminate westbound services at Wisbech where they laid over until their due departure eastbound. This situation prevailed until the 15.24 departure (K6) which was the first bus able to continue onwards to Peterborough.
During the day buses stabled in Wisbech bus station resulting in some unusual photo opportunities as seen below

Passengers prepare to board the first through service to Peterborough at 15.24

Four Enviro 400s at Wisbech on Monday afternoon. 

33805 is ready to depart on the 15.24 Wisbech - Peterborough while 33806 and 33809 await their departure times for Norwich. Nice to get three different adverts too !

Tuesday was relatively incident free, but the 06.45 King's Lynn - Norwich failed at Dereham and later the 12.54 Wisbech - Peterborough failed to run. Its vehicle 33805 left Wisbech at 13.52 westbound ' not in service' presumably running empty to Thorney before taking up the return working.

Sunday 19th July 2015 ~ Update

The long process of transforming my house continues, so another brief update on a few things. Enviro 33808 remains out of service at Full Circle for body repairs, although it is expected back at King's Lynn this week. Last week 33811 required its MOT so Lowestoft loaned 33824 to King's Lynn for a few days. I travelled back from Peterborough on it on Thursday evening and this has to be the most uncomfortable trip on an Enviro I've had. The rattling internally was annoying and the engine was making a high pitched whistle, as well as the suspension seeming worn out. On a minor note the upstairs information screens on both buses I travelled on were out of order and the wi-fi was very hit and miss. Bit of a disappointment really. Nevertheless both trips were on time which was a credit to the drivers,
It looks as if consideration is being given to recasting the evening X1 timetable on the western section. The likelihood is that services from King's Lynn to Peterborough and Norwich will revert to an hourly interval pattern with the final journeys of the day being withdrawn. Loadings are poor on these late services and it also means two very late arrivals at King's Lynn at just before 01.00.

37573 on a sunny Saturday July 18th is seen at Hopton working the 12.45 Norwich - Lowestoft.
Photo copyright : Russell Young.

Tuesday 23rd June 2015 ~ Update

Not a huge amount to report which is just as well while my house refurbishment continues. Main news involves the absence of 33808. This bus was involved in an accident at Scarning on Saturday May 30th  when an oncoming car is believed to have veered into the path of the bus. Damage to 33808 was considerable but nobody on board was injured thankfully. 33808 is currently at Full Circle undergoing major repairs as a result. A diversion to the X1 route in Thorney is currently seeing services use the Thorney Bypass and Station Road rather than Wisbech Road with temporary stops in situ.
Next update when time permits and my apologies for the extra brief update.

Wednesday 27th May 2015 ~ The £150 Million Specials

Photo copyright : Richard Tucker

With Norwich City emerging victorious in the Championship play off final at Wembley on Monday, NCFC fans like myself can look forward to a return to Premier League action in August. I have to confess to not being a fan of the play-off format, probably mainly because of memories of the trip I made to Cardiff several years back when Birmingham City beat the Canaries - a result that pleased at least one X1 driver I know, but deflated me.
For the Cardiff game, the almost brand new Paragon coaches took a share in transporting fans to the match, whereas in 2015 a handful of ex X1 Geminis plus X1 Enviros 33803/4/19-24 were among somewhere in excess of 120 vehicles used to take fans to Wembley. Here then are a few pictures sent in by blog readers.

33803 gets a proud moment as she is prepared at King's Lynn for the Wembley trip. Photo : Wayne Sheppard

33803 again with another variation on the blinds, this time photographed by blog reader Brian Coombes

Lowestoft allocated 33821 at Wembley Stadium photographed by Zak Nelson

Another one from Zak with 33821 and friend at Wembley.

Kieran Smith sent in this one of 33804 & 33803 on special duties

King's Lynn drivers Matthew Jackson, Karen Forshaw and Kevin Boulter posing with 33804. Photo by Richard Tucker.

Thanks to all who supplied pictures of the momentous occasion, next blog update when I can manage it.

Saturday 23rd May 2015 ~ A Few Pictures

The work on my house is continuing, so still chaos at home. Thought we ought to have a few pictures though, just to remind you all what the Enviros look like !

Looking back through my 'inbox' I found a few things that I'd failed to include so here goes :

33817 was parked in a rather unusual position when photographed by Cameron Robinson back on 28th March

Grahame Bessey was in Dereham on May 2nd and managed to spot and photograph three X1 services bearing differing destinations. 33807 shown here had Wisbech on the blinds and was carrying the latest advertising campaign for BT.

33812 was heading a westbound service destination King's Lynn. Photo copyright : Grahame Bessey

33814 was seen on an eastbound service with the rather bizarre advert for the Australian breakfast drink 'Up & Go'. Photo copyright : Grahame Bessey

Being such a lengthy route, albeit now cut into smaller sections, the number of diversionary routes used by the X1 at times of roadworks and traffic incidents are many and varied. One of my correspondents reports two such incidents on the same day, Firstly on April 22nd, at about 1300 for a few hours, outbound from Norwich (to Peterborough) there was a closure of the A47 between the A11 & B1108 junctions. Buses were diverted after the Newmarket Road stop, via the Ring Road and B1108. Later that evening a totally unadvertised closure of the A47 at Thorney for roadworks had the 2020 & 21.40 services from Peterborough caught at Thorney, then having to use the B1040 road to Whittlesey before continuing on via Goosetree and Rings End to join the A47 at Guyhirn.

About a year or so ago we reported the use by Emblings of Guyhirn of ex Eastern Counties X94 / X1 coach R841DVF (20141) on the Wisbech to March service, well since then two more old X1 faithfuls have returned to the area, firstly Lynx of King's Lynn have acquired P330RVG (20120) :

20120 captured by Andy Gibbs near Downham Market Academy on a service to Southery on March 27th

Then, this week I spotted (at a distance) a rather smart B10M in buff livery on what appeared to be a schools contract to the Thomas Clarkson Academy in Wisbech, I took a distant photograph of it and was amazed to find it was N617APU (20117) now under the auspices of Fowler's of  Holbeach Drove :

20117 back in Wisbech !

This all goes to prove, you can't keep a good bus (or in this case coach) down. I've always had a soft spot for 20120 incidentally, for while being a bit unreliable when with 'First', it was the coach on my first ever X1 journey with Karen F at the wheel many years ago, It also happens to be the subject of the second ever photo on this blog back in July 2008 !

More news on events at the Lowestoft end next time plus an Enviro update.

33816 passing Walpole Highway today (23rd May) working the 09.20 ex Norwich, 11.05 ex King's Lynn to Peterborough.

Monday 11th May 2015 ~ Update

In rather unusual surroundings, 33820 at Ipswich on April 11th whilst working rail replacement services to and from Norwich. Photo copyright : Roger Bellward

At last had a few minutes to bring you some X1 news. My house refurbishment continues,hence the long delay between bulletins.
Vehicle wise 33816 is now back at King's Lynn following a lengthy lay off to receive engine attention, however, before it can return to traffic it requires an MOT and this is being sorted at the moment. 33808 had now gone to Wellingborough to have the flex plates modification.The loan of 37562 mentioned last time lasted less than a week although 33818 is still on long term loan from Lowestoft. An old King's Lynn bus, 30889 now allocated to Lowestoft has been present for nearly a fortnight at Vancouver Avenue for a major service.
On the road there has been the usual crop of incidents caused by congestion and rtas on the A47. I will do another update with pictures and reports in the next few days.

Sunday April 19th 2015 ~ Update

The blog is 'on hold' at the moment whilst the work on my house is taking place, but I will try and do an occasional update when possible.Here are a few recent highlights and thanks to all who continue to keep me informed.
Rail replacement work has seen the X1 Enviros in some unusual locations in recent weeks. On at least two weekends two buses were used to transport passengers between Ely and Peterborough. On Easter Sunday, 5th April, Andy Gibbs kindly sent me the following pictures

33811 at Ely prior to working a 14.57 service to Peterborough  (below) . Photos copyright : Andy Gibbs

On this date 33814 was also present at Ely as standby vehicle. Meanwhile over in the east of the region, further rail replacement work between Norwich & Ipswich has also seen X1 Enviros helping out. Kieran Smith spotted 33820 at Norwich railway station on 11th April pictured below :

33820 on an Ipswich rail replacement service at Norwich Thorpe. Photo copyright : Kieran Smith

There have been other unusual workings too, Cameron Robinson captured 37573 having an awayday on the service 7 to Belton on 7th April :

While yesterday (Saturday 18th), Kieran was surprised to see Lowestoft's 44513 putting in a rare X1 appearance :

Photo copyright : Kieran Smith

and as if all this wasn't enough, Easter weekend saw several services delayed due to congestion en route. Kieran spotted 33819 here approaching Thorpe station with a service diverted due to heavy traffic at Postwick. The service had diverted via Surrey Street, Red Lion Street, Castle Meadow and Prince of Wales Road.

Kieran adds "Apologies for the rather head on shot, but it took me by surprise". Photo copyright K Smith

On the X1 route the Enviros are continuing to receive MOTs. 33807 has been sidelined for this and then on Friday (17th) 33816 expired with its engine misfiring requiring a visit to Cummins this at the same time that 33806 is away being modified. To compensate, Norwich's Gemini 37562 has been loaned to King's Lynn and this was used on an Ely - King's Lynn rail replacement, however, its heating was playing up so 33814 replaced it. King's Lynn still have 33818 on loan from Lowestoft of course.

37562 in the unfamiliar surroundings of King's Lynn garage this evening.

Wednesday March 25th 2015 ~ Closures and Diversions

Apologies for the long delay in updating the blog. I am currently having my house rewired re-plastered and redecorated throughout, so time has been limited. Fortunately friends have come to my aid with some newsworthy items.

Peter writes "How's the X1 going from the new Portland Street stop in King's Lynn ?"  This of course refers to the temporary stop here while the bus station is partly closed for reconstruction work. The answer appears to be ok , here's a snap from Andy Gibbs of 33817 at the temporary stop on 11th  March :

Photo copyright : Andy Gibbs

Roy Northcott from the excellent East Norfolk Bus Blog ( http://eastnorfolkbus.blogspot.co.uk/ )

has sent me a picture taken by driver Roger Bellward of a very unusual sight on the X1 taken on 12th March. An A47 closure between Acle and Norwich for three nights from 11th to 13th resulted in the diversionary route via South Walsham being employed and the consequent use of single deck buses. Some of Lowestoft's Jersey Darts were used as was Streetlight 47504 seen below :

Photo copyright : Roger Bellward

Kieran Smith writes "I thought you may wish to point your readers over to my blog www.norwichbusesblog.blogspot.com for a bit of nostalgia (after reading yours of course!). I've recently put together a rather large archive of previous timetables dating as far back as the 1930s. Among these include the following for any X1 fanatic:

-X94/X95 (2003) and a massive amount of the other Excel services, also the Eastern Counties 34 from 1936, clearly a predecessor of the X1. Interestingly, it took 2hrs and 20mins from Lynn, a connection for a 7  for Great Yarmouth is shown too; the full timetable is also available. Meanwhile, the 2008 Full X1 timetables - featuring the old 'X1 Shorts' and a couple of short runs from Dereham are also online.

These can be found by clicking "Historical Timetables and Route Maps", just below the header. From here it is pretty self explanatory!"

A very interesting site it is too I may say.  Roy sent me another email last week, he says "Thought I would get out during the eclipse to see if I could get a pic of an eclipse during the eclipse! 

Photo copyright : East Norfolk Bus Blog

I got one of a saloon version initially at the roundabout outside Gorleston Parish Church and whilst waiting an E400 passed by at 9:18 on the X1 to Lowestoft :

Photo copyright : East Norfolk Bus Blog

After waiting some time I gave up and was heading home when eclipse 37573 shot past me on the delayed 09:08 from the JPH. I managed to quickly get a going away shot at 09:30 as the clock on Gorleston Parish Church shows 

Photo copyright : East Norfolk Bus Blog

Gordon Bruce was among hoards of enthusiasts at the Norwich Bus Running Day last weekend, unfortunately I was unable to attend as I was filming for my music convention in a couple of weeks time. GB says " Don't know if AU53 HJF ever worked the X1 or its predecessor, but here it is at County Hall on today's Norwich Classic Bus Running Day making out that it did!"

Photo copyright : Gordon Bruce

Thanks guys for all that info, made putting the blog together a lot easier I can tell  you ! At the western end of the X1 route, the Enviro 400s continue to visit Cummins at Wellingborough for attention. 33803/4/13 have now been dealt with and 33805 is there presently. 33806 is currently undergoing its MOT. On 16th 33807 failed at Necton at 19.30 but repairs to a pipe saw the vehicle able to continue to Norwich. Two days earlier a puncture on 33816 saw it replaced by 33808 at Wisbech before departure as the 10.14 to Peterborough.

Timekeeping by and large has been excellent. I will try and bring you another report including sightings from Lowestoft in the next week  or so.