Tuesday 15th September 2009 ~ Blimey That Was Quick !

Bearing in mind - and I'm trying desperately not to sound cynical here - the speed at which changes of policy at 'First' take to actually happen as a rule, it came as a big surprise to find that Norwich Volvo B7TL Wright Eclipse Gemini AU07DXW, alias 37159 has arrived at King's Lynn. It was collected from Norwich Volvo this evening and one therefore assumes that certain modifications may have been carried out. If it does actually work an X1 tomorrow, it is likely to knock out Scania 65528 which was deputising for the third consecutive day on K3. We may be jumping the gun here though, so let's not get too enthusiastic. The B9 VOR list at the moment is 37571, back home in Northern Ireland/collision repairs, 37576/7 both Volvo, Norwich awaiting parts, 37578 King's Lynn MOT and 37579 requiring four replacement injectors and pending transfer from King's Lynn to Volvo.
Sam says "The BEAST (20107) worked the 17:38 X2 to Beccles from Norwich and also noted was 65528 on K3 at 11:20 leaving Norwich". Rob Brooks adds "I'm on 37565 Y13 1218 Wisbech - Peterboro arr 1215 dep 1218 ; also seen 37567 at Thorney Toll on L11 1237 to Lowestoft and 37569 K14 13.35 Pb - Low with an Un/id B7 for K16 1435 Pb - Low. A little shunt at Thorney Toll with a lorry, van and car held us up for 10mins or so. New timetables set out at Wisbech, seems they've missed the X1 out!".
Jamie Vendy writes " From Terry on Essex gen : The operation of X22 will be extended to Clacton in November, and no longer run from Colchester. A batch of Volvo coaches are coming for this service, & the existing stock is to be returned to FEC". So little doubt then that the B7 Profiles are indeed to move on following a distinctly undistinguished career on the X1.
A little milestone for Gemini 37567 today as it passed the 100,000 miles mark. As things stand, none of the Lynn based examples have yet reached the 100k, but 37575 looks likely to be first this coming weekend.
Traffic was exceptionally light today and the timetable was therefore pretty much adhered to. Biggest delay I saw followed the shunt described above by Rob which meant 565 was 5 late arriving at Wisbech for the 13.56 to Lowestoft. Andy James witnessed the worst offender timewise today, this being 20106 on K2 which was 21 late from Lynn on the 15.45 to Peterborough and was ironically followed by 65528 on the 16.15 departure running to time.
More B10M workings today were the noisy 20103 on Y7 and 20104 on K4. Finally returning briefly to last night and 104 was poorly for the 20.50 to Peterborough and Rob reports 20106 being used instead.

Monday 14th September 2009 ~ A Masterpiece Of Timing

Today, for once, the X1 timetable seemed to actually work out as forecast. The first turn from Yarmouth (Y6) was the exception, being 13 late with 37568 and 37570 was 7 late on the 12.45 Lynn - Peterborough (K15), but these were the heaviest delays noted. There are just about enough vehicles to cover at present and this morning this required all the allocated buses at King's Lynn to be available. In the event this didn't happen and 37578 was kept in (possibly for servicing) meaning that K3 had 65528 as on Friday. It worked all day and was spot on time departing Wisbech on the 16.48 to Peterborough.
B10Ms in action were 20103 on K4, 20104 on L12 and 20106 on K5.


I promised last week to air your views on my mini rant about the B9s. Here are some of your comments.

Rob Brooks says "You said you'd like to hear our thoughts, so here's mine: Parks Of Hamilton & Tratherns Services (although the same company in essence) both used double deck Neoplan Skyliners on National Express duties from Scotland (Parks) and the deepest darkest south west (Tratherns) recently, until NatEx decided they didnt want double deck coaches on their approved list, so Parks & Tratherns got rid of them, and replaced them with tri-axle 14m B12B(T) Plaxton Panthers. Thinking about it they went at roughly the same time the B9s came on.... It would be great if the same could happen with the X1, I think these coaches seat 65, but knowing what FEC are like they could squeeze them up a bit and get 70"

Bruce adds "Really gonna exercise my thoughts following the invitation in the blog. Will keep the expletives out but this on a morning when so far I have seen 20105,20118,34108 and 37570 and its only 09.30!!!!!!"

Jim Long writes : " Hi Gerard and all. Yes I think you may be right about the choice of bus being used on the X1, but! may I just point out that the B9 is a 9.4litre turbo diesel designed by Renault,and the Volvo is only a 9.6litre turbo,but,designed by Volvo. As I have said to numerous people,why did they drop such a successful engine as the TD100 series ? It beats me, probably unable to get the emissions right, but, one would have thought a few electronic mods coupled to the fuel system, may?? have cured this, but I'm sure they would have looked at that,wouldn't they???
As for coaches,why go back to being overcrowded, unless we get say 25-30 of those I'm sure the route will pay in the long run for them,but, please bare in mind the Volvo coach on offer is now a B9R which is the same engine as the Decker and you have already condemned that as unsuitable, so what's left ? Why not try the Scania Omnidecker or even the latest versions of the Enviro400. Those two may just have the edge over the Gemini engine,but,what ever way we look at this,can you see Fec getting another batch of new buses for this service ? I can't, maybe after 5 years. Mind you, if it were to become Greyhound sponsored route Caetano Levante's may be the answer,and this then would be a flagship in this area.... Regards to all, Jim".

Thanks to those of you who wrote in and if anyone wishes to comment further, please get in touch.

Sunday 13th September 2009 ~ Showbus Countdown

Andrew informs me that Gemini 37572 is scheduled to represent the Eastern B9s at Showbus in a fortnights time. I'm surprised that they are confident enough to predict which bus will be available. 572 may have been chosen because it doesn't carry adverts on one side and shows the route destinations instead.
37574 completed 49 consecutive days in service today, but this is the exception rather than the rule. 20103/4 both worked Monday to Saturday inclusive this week. Profile 20352 was out today as was one other, the remainder of the turns were B9 operated.

Saturday 12th September 2009 ~ A Social Event

20351 on L12 11.15 Lynn - Peterborough overtakes the East Anglian Bus Forum tour this morning

The public queue up to value a rarity ! 37573 on K5 10.32 Lynn to Lowestoft this morning.

Sam Wickham captured 20106 departing from Dereham this afternoon on L9.

Today the 'Anglia Bus Forum' had a day out visiting Norfolk Green and Konectbus, so Bruce and myself took the opportunity to meet up with various contributors to the blog at King's Lynn bus station around 10.30. Sam, Jamie V and Andy joined us for a chinwag and Suzie Scott presided over things. Around 20 bus enthusiasts left on a Norfolk Green 'Coasthopper' Solo at 11.15 having had time to get photographs of the various arrivals and departures.

37579 remained at King's Lynn garage today and it now requires injectors replacing, something which are in short supply at the moment and the reason for the delay in returning 37576/7 to service. 37573 DID return today though and was on K5. It retains the 'G Force' ad having not worked for about a month.

34108 was a bit of a surprise this morning, Bob saw it going west on his way to King's Lynn and it did L8, however, it was knocked out at Lowestoft by 37566 which came back tonight and indeed had been expected this morning. 20104 was K4 today and 20103 was on Y7, although it required fitters attention at Lynn before working the 11.32 to Lowestoft. One other B10M out was 20106 on L9. The return of 37573 meant 65528 was able to return to town work.

Friday 11th September 2009 ~ Flagship Scania

Looking very smart after a repaint, Scania 65528 heads for Peterborough on the 12.55 from Lowestoft today. It was running 8 minutes late which is good for a Friday.

Scania/Wright 65528 which has been off the road for many months at last returned to service today having had an MOT yesterday. Instead of returning to its town work at Lynn though, it was called upon to work K3 06.45 King's Lynn to Peterborough and it worked this turn all day until it ran out of fuel at Peterborough at 18.00 ! The reason for its appearance was that 37579 was stopped with an oil problem and a technician from Volvo travelled to Lynn today to carry out repairs. This meant the Gemini tally was once again down to 12. With all three B7 Profiles and 65528 in action, the B10M quotient was reduced today with only 20103 on K4, 20104 on L10 and 20106 on K2. Yarmouth's 20126 returned to traffic on Wednesday but has yet to come west on an X1.

Thursday 10th September 2009 ~ Rumours Rumours Everywhere

2007 registered B7 Gemini 37158 at Norwich Thorpe station this morning. Could these be added to the X1 fleet before long ?

It would seem that the planned impending changes to the X1 vehicle allocation are now common knowledge. Two drivers told me independently today confirming what I'd heard at the end of last week. The B7 Profiles are apparently to go to Essex and in return B12 Paragons 20500/1 are supposed to be returning. Very odd considering that they have been repainted and branded for the Colchester to Stansted Airport service only six months back. The B7 Geminis at Norwich in the 37156-60 series are to make up the shortfall, although these will need repainting and other attention if they are to join the X1 fleet. The influx of Tridents at Norwich will presumably cover the deficit here.

I was away today, so once again Bruce has provided the blog details : K1 37566, K2 37572, K3 20351, K4 20353, K5 37579, Y6 37574, Y7 20103, L8 37563, Y9 37564, L10 37567, L11 20352, L12 20106, Y13 37565, K14 37568, K15 37570, K16 20104, K17 37575, K18 37569 and
K19 37578.

The number of substitutes was down today as 37578 was back bringing the Gemini total to 13.

Wednesday 9th September 2009 ~ A Scania returns

Because of the failure of 37578 at Swaffham last night, K3 was Scania 65540 today. 578 cut out and a faulty starter motor was the cause. Today Volvo technicians attended 578 to get it fit for service tomorrow.
20106 was Y7 this morning but 37569 took over at Lowestoft this afternoon. All other turns seemed to stick with their allocated vehicles. 20103 was K4, 20104 L12 and 20107 K16. School buses today were 20105/118/121. Thanks to Bruce for today's sightings as I was out of the area.

Tuesday 8th September 2009 ~ Feedback

Thanks very much to all those of you who responded to my recent assessment of the current state of the X1. I will put together your comments and produce an extra blog item. Anyone else who wishes to have some input, please email me before Saturday. Any First employess who wish to contribute, please be assured that your anonymity is guaranteed.
Sam says he's heard the complete opposite of the B10Ms being replaced which goes to show you never know. I heard only this week that a decision to repaint a couple was only recently shelved.
The weather was very hot today considering it is now September and may have been a contributary factor with a couple of failures.
Mike from Lowestoft was in touch today and says : "On my travels today from Lowestoft to Norwich on the 12.55 departure (forgot to note the number!), - it was 37575 Mike - I passed 20351/37578/37568/20??? (passing too fast along the Acle straight to get the number) - that was the flying 20103 - , 37566/37570/37564 and later saw 37579 in Norwich all heading for Lowestoft. 20351 worked back from Lowestoft but on arrival at 3:30 in Norwich Bus Station it was displaying "Sorry Not In Service" and after unloading its passengers went to one of the parking bays where it was still receiving attention from a fitter in the engine compartment when I departed on the 15:38 X2 service back to Lowestoft. The next arrival on the X1 into Norwich from Lowestoft which I passed on the way out of the city was 37578 which looked pretty full. 37565 has been working on the X2 service today and I saw it doing two round trips this afternoon ".
Thanks very much for that Mike and a postscript to this, 20351 did get back to King's Lynn on K4 but was taken off at 19.27 sounding very unhealthy having arrived late and 'school bus' 20106 did the 19.35 to Lowestoft. This turn goes empty to Yarmouth, so expect 106 to work out on one of the 'Y' turns tomorrow morning. 37578 which you mention as being well patronised was on K5 and is believed to have expired at Swaffham at teatime, certainly an X1 failed here and fitters were summoned. There was no sign of 578 at Lynn by 20.30. More news on this when we get it.
B10Ms filling in today were, as reported above, 20103 on Y7, 20107 on L12, 20104 on K2 and 20105 on K15. The latter was very surprising as K15, like K19 is a solid B9 turn normally. 37566 was sent out by Lowestoft on L8 today, while as Mike reports 565 was on the X2. Sam and Michael Bryant also reported this and it was on the old K19 turn, presumably after servicing. Whilst on the subject of the X2 Michael reports the use of Darts on the service for a couple of days now and Sam adds : "43437 failed on the 16:08 leaving 34109 to work the 16:38 full, then Trident 32863 turned up showing Lowestoft X2 but didn't see it leave in service". On EABG Syd says "60307 and 60309 have been delicensed, they have signs saying 'Do not remove parts' and are officially 'In Store' The operators discs have been removed. 60306 is still in use however and Volvo Olympian 34155 has been transferred to Gt Yarmouth".
Michael Bryant adds that 34157 is now back in service after a four month lay off and 34158 has had its rear repainted and lost the 'Thatchers Cider' all-over ad.
Back to the X1 and a number of Geminis have appeared with an advert for Fifa World Cup Tickets today and 37563/568/570 have been noted so far. The three Hunstanton schools contracts allocated B10Ms had 20106/118/121 today, but with 106 having been purloined to do K4 tonight, it remains to be seen what will get used in its place tomorrow - most likely candidate is 20105, but a lot depends on whether 37578 is fit for service. If it is not don't discount the possible appearance of a Scania on either K3 or K5 as none of the three B9s at Volvo have returned as yet.

Monday 7th September 2009 ~ B10M Swansong ?

37567 was standing in for a Lynn Gemini today and is seen arriving at Wisbech for the 17.48 departure to Peterborough.

An everyday scene with 20104 loading at Queensgate on L11, the 12.15 to Lowestoft today, but for how much longer ? Photo by Rob B.

20353 running anonymously these days without front fleet number photographed near Queensgate on L10 this morning by Rob Brooks.

Can't say any more yet because I'm sworn to secrecy, but it is looking increasingly likely that the remaining B10Ms will be replaced before too long, so get your photos while you can. Not a surprise really as the contrast between the coaches and the Geminis is quite stark. Today again a dozen B9s were available, but 37566 was kept at Lowestoft and 20104 used instead on L11. L12 had 20105 and K4 20103, while 20107 was on K16 and behaved well enough to be used on the return trip to Peterborough. 20351 was K3 and 20352 Y13 - running 11 late on the last one to P'borough tonight. 20353 was L10.

There was a timekeeping issue early on with 20103 on K4 being 16 late into Wisbech to work the 09.26 to Lowestoft, it was however on time this evening. The previous service, K3 had been 10 late goimg east. On the B9 front, 37569 stood in for a Lynn example on K19 as did 37567 on K5.

Sunday 6th September 2009 ~ Juvenile Delinquents

The X1 was Gemini operated today with one exception, this being 34108 which did the turn which begins at Yarmouth and conveniently finishes at Lowestoft. Tonight as it entered Wisbech it was stoned by three lads, but without damage. Fortunately a motorist following 34108 into Wisbech spotted them and dispersed them (me !).
37563/4/5/8/72/4/5/8/9 were the B9s used today.

Saturday 5th September 2009 ~ Light At The End Of The Tunnel ?

Today there was a glimmer of hope for the operators of the X1 when 13 Geminis were in traffic plus the three Profiles. This just left 34108 on K1, 20103 on Y7 and 20107 on Y9. 107 was in trouble with slipping gears at Toftwood this morning and fitters had to attend. It was roadtested as far as Lynn but performed without fault and was allowed to complete the turn. 20106 began the day on K2 and was replaced about 09.00 at Lynn by 37579.
Lowestoft kept 20105, so the schools buses for next week will be 20106/18/21 as things stand. Timekeeping was OK today but 37572 on K5 slipped down the Wisbech bypass on the 17.15 Lynn - Peterborough to regain lost time. K19 had a Lowestoft B9 for the second consecutive day, yesterday it was 566 and today 567. In addition today 37564 was K17.

Friday 4th September 2009 ~ Changing Times

Grahame reports that the latest fleet list shows 20123/131 as withdrawn, rather than unfit for service. Word is that 20123 is to be looked at next week and if its engine can be made good it will be repaired and returned to traffic as the bodywork is good. Unfortunately the same cannot be said of 20131 which needs a lot of welding and if the engine in 20123 turns out to be dud, then the engine from 131 will be used if compatible. This means it really is the end of the road for dear old 131 which owes First nothing. For the record its last X1 use was on July 15th and its last working of all two days later on Hunstanton schools. Schools contracts resume next week which will deprive the X1 of three B10Ms and the vehicles in the frame are 20105/118/121. 105 is still in use on the X1 and did Y6 all day today sending it through to Lowestoft tonight. The plan is to replace it in the morning with Gemini 37579 off a safety service. 118 was taken off X1 duty this morning - it had done K3 to Peterborough and back - and was replaced by 20352.
Volvo engineers attended to 37572 at King's Lynn today and it should be back functioning tomorrow. A shortage of parts means 37573/6/7 remain at Volvo and it is hoped that at least one will be back on the road by midweek. 37565 returned today on L8 and 37564 which had a day off yesterday came out on Y13 today meaning 20107/127 could be rested until they are next needed.
I don't think the B7s will be around for much longer - the ramp on 20351 which was repaired recently has now failed again and as these take almost 20 minutes to function, they are hardly suitable for a service with a 30 minute frequency. Having said that all three were once again in action today. Royale 34108 did Y7 today and a reduced number of B10Ms were in evidence : 20103 on K4, 20105 on Y6, 20106 on L10 this morning and L11 tonight and 20118 as described earlier. Punctuality suffered as usual on a Friday with afternoon services running up to 20 minutes behind time.

Thursday 3rd September 2009 ~ The Wrong Choice

I am told that the Volvo B9/Wright Gemini is the standard double decker in the 'First' fleet. I'm sure many of you can tell me exactly how many the company own, certainly hundreds. The whole point is though that they are normally employed, typically, on cross-city work or urban short hauls such as Leeds to Bradford. The X1 Lowestoft to Peterborough route is probably the most intensively diagrammed bus worked long distance route in the UK. I'd certainly be interested to hear of any other examples of longer distance routes which demand such prolonged activity of vehicles. Bruce has cited the Oxford to Cambridge link which, although shorter, seems to work very well with a fleet of coaches.

What all this is leading up to is I'm afraid, a pronouncement (albeit by me !) that the Geminis are not doing well and that considering we are less than a year into their careers on the X1, I think that only the most optimistic of 'First' managers would have sanctioned their use with what we know now. Yes hindsight is a wonderful thing as we so often hear said, but last October's glittering launch now seems like many moons ago and may be it is time for those in a position of authority to admit that this 'experiment' has been a failure. Although this is very unlikely to happen, the crux of the matter is that a decision then has to be made about where the route goes next. The preferred option of many is a new fleet of suitably equipped coaches, but this would not solve the overcrowding problem which is a feature of the eastern end of the route. Low floor they may not be, but the use of the Alexander Royale 34108 has been popular with enthusiasts and public alike, the comfortable seats are much better than the Geminis and the 10 litre engine means there is no shortage of acceleration. The other obvious change that could be made is to provide a separate express service hourly but just calling at the major towns and leaving an hourly stopping service to cover the other settlements. Many years ago, the services prefixed with an X were exactly that 'Express'. What would the operators of those days made of a supposedly express service serving a community like Toftwood, accessed by narrow roads totally unsuitable for large vehicles and a location already adequately served by an independent operator ? Do let me know your thoughts on this minor rant and I will publish your responses.


Today it looked as though the Gemini count was going to dip below 50% availability at one stage, but repairs were completed on 37570 in time for it to be used on K17. Here is a status report for the B9s today ;

37563 K1

37564 - expected to work L10 but 20103 substituted, so may be it is next for MOT ?

37565 - last reported on MOT at Yarmouth but expected Ok about now

37566 Y7

37567 L8

37568 Y9

37569 L11

37570 K17 (see above)

37571 - long term accident repairs

37572 - King's Lynn garage pending movement to Volvo at Norwich for Injector replacement

37573 - Norwich Volvo Injector repair

37574 K15

37575 Y13

37576 - Norwich Volvo Oil fumes

37577 - Norwich Volvo Injector fault

37578 L12

37579 K19


So ten Geminis were available in the end, but 'First' must be dreading the end of warranty work. Fortunately once again the B7 Profiles came up trumps when they were needed. 20351 was due for a service so did K4 until 16.37 when it retired to the garage. 20352 was active on K5 and 20353 was sent to Lowestoft on K16. The B10M tally was : 20103 L10, 20105 K18, 20106 Y6, 20107 K14 from 15.03, 20118 K3 and 20127 K2. Royale 34108 did K14 until 14.57 but was then taken off at Lynn with 20107 working forward and it then relieved Profile 20351 on K4. The use of 20105 on K18 - a working surely which 20107 was allocated to - confirms that 107 was unwell and this would explain its use on K14 forward to get it back to Lowestoft for attention. Timekeeping was typically 5 minutes late today, but delays in excess of this were few and far between.

Wednesday 2nd September 2009 ~ Trials and Tribulations

37572 was sent out on K15 this morning after attention, but it was removed at Lynn at lunchtime and the 12.45 to Peterborough ran with 20118. 37570 which failed yesterday afternoon spent the day in King's Lynn garage and there was no sign of 37573/6/7 returning from Volvo.
Lowestoft's 37564 was back today and worked L8 throughout. The other three turns originating from Lowestoft had more old fashioned power with L10 being 20105, L11 20127 and L12 Royale 34108. The latter presented a beautiful sight descending from the A47 flyover at walpole according to Bruce who says "That's what the X1 should be like !".
Yarmouth managed to ground 60863 today and instead produced a refreshed 20353 on Y9. Other B10Ms on the road today were 20104 which did the first part of K4 before being replaced by 37568 at Lowestoft, K18 was 20106 and Beast 20107 was on Y7.
Punctuality was an improvement on yesterday, but by teatime services were generally 10 late and K19 was 13 late arriving for the 16.56 Wisbech to Lowestoft with 37579. A quirk generated by 579's recent visit for accident repairs is that its destination displays have been reset to the narrow font used on earlier examples. 579 had carried the larger version from new.

Tuesday September 1st 2009 ~ Troubled Times

Michael F had a day out today and reports : "I had a pleasant journey on 20103 on the 9:55 departure from Lowestoft to Norwich (K16), which, by the time it left Yarmouth was full. Passing westward services were as follows in order K17 20352/K18 60863/K19 37578/K1 37567/K2 20127/K3 20351 followed while observing in Norwich by K4 20107/K5 20118/Y6 37568. So out of the 10 westward services seen only 3 were Geminis! I had a comfortable run back to Lowestoft on 34108 which was back home on the 12:38 X2 today".
Thanks for the comprehensive report Michael and this only leaves turns 7 - 15 which were viewed by Bruce and myself as follows : Y7 37575, L8 37563, Y9 37566, L10 37569, L11 37574, L12 20106, Y13 20104, K14 37570 & K15 37579.
So, from this it would appear that only ten out of seventeen Geminis were in service. There was more to it than this however. Let's start by returning to yesterday then and mention was made of 20352 unexpectedly being on the 16.48 from Lowestoft. This was because in the morning 37572 had failed for the 10.50 Lynn to Peterborough on arrival from Yarmouth with a suspect injector. Tests were carried out today and an oil problem was also found. More tests should be done tomorrow when hopefully it can return to traffic. This morning another Gemini in trouble was the normally ultra reliable 37564 which started out on L12 but was failed at Norwich and sent to Volvo for repairs, but no fault was found. This was the reason for Lynn digging out 20106 for the 11.15 to Peterborough and it carried on for the rest of the day. As if all this wasn't enough there was yet another B9 failure this afternoon when 37570 had to be taken off K14 13.35 Peterborough - Lowestoft with an oil leak and its place was taken by 20105. With 37573/6/7 still at Volvo, the situation tonight was quite acute with in total eight off the road.
The heavy post Bank Holiday traffic coupled with resurfacing work near Tilney meant delays in the middle of the day. Worst affected service was Y13 which was 18 late going to Peterborough and 25 late returning. Neil saw 20118 on K5 tonight along the Guyhirn bank and it looks set for another stint on the X1 tomorrow. 20121/23/31 remain at Rowan Road and 20109 is still awaiting a slot for repairs at Vancouver Avenue. 37578 appeared with a new advert for the film 'White Out' on the passenger side today while a late recipient of the 'Daily Star/Daily Express' ad is 37575. 37568 which had a small rear ad for Flick & Son is now running devoid of a replacement.

August Bank Holiday Weekend

Sunday 30th

My observations were limited today, but I did see 20127 leaving Peterborough at lunchtime with the 12.20 to Lowestoft. It returned this evening and ended up at Lynn.

Monday 31st

The big surprise today was the appearance of 60863 with the 09.30 Yarmouth - Peterborough & 13.10 Peterborough - Lowestoft, not a very good advert on a Bank Holiday. Y5 16.48 from Lowestoft was 20352 tonight and as this was at Lynn last night, looks like it was a replacement. The 18.10 Peterborough - Lowestoft failed to run west of King's Lynn and the 19.10 with 37566 was heavily loaded as a result.The 15.48 from Lowestoft was 17 late at Walpole with 37574 due to heavy traffic.

Saturday 29th August 2009 ~ Beer Festival Part 2

37569 loads up at Wisbech tonight on the 21.00 to Lowestoft. Picture by me after a few beers !

My second visit to Peterborough beer festival today saw me take L8 09.48 Wisbech - Peterborough with 37569 along with some friends. The Gemini took 37 minutes to arrival in Queensgate and in just under 40 minutes we were at the rail station. Eastbound morning services seen were K4 with 20127, K5 37574, Y6 37575 and Y7 20105. Other non-Gemini worked turns were K18 with 60863, Y13 with 20107 while 20351 was Y10, 20352 K3 and 20353 on K1. Thanks to Bruce for additional observations and our good wishes to his daughter who was unfortunately in a riding accident today and now has a broken collarbone.

Our journey back was once again on L8 and with 37569.

Friday 28th August 2009 ~ Post No. 400

60863 is out on the X1 again, seen at Wisbech tonight on L12 23.00 to King's Lynn. Earlier it had cut out in Lynn bus station around midday and fitters repaired it. Photo by Rob Brooks.

Yes the 400th post and its about three days late ! Y13 was a mystery this morning. It came through Wisbech about 10 late at 12.30 with 37572 which had come on at Lynn. It looks like it swapped turns with 37568 on K14. Lowestoft sent out 60863 again on L12 while 37567 had a day off and Grahame reports 37565 on MOT at Yarmouth. L11 was 22 late with 20127 and other B10Ms seen were 20103 on K4 which was later taken off at Lynn and replaced by 20105, K2 was 20104 and 20107 K18.

Thursday 27th August 2009 ~ Miles Better

Following its recent argument with a muntjac, 20351 has lost its 'First' branding, but at least it has a fleet number on the front unlike 20353. 351 passes Walpole Highway this morning.

37569 now sporting a rather vivid pink ad for T Mobile arrives at Wisbech on K1 at just before 8 this morning.

A few weeks ago I mentioned that two of the Lowestoft Geminis had inoperable hub meters registering the mileage. Well lo and behold 37565/9 have now both had them reset, so although not displaying the accumulated mileage, at least they are working again, so thanks to whoever acted on this.

37579 returned to service 0n K3 today. 60863 was sent to Lowestoft on K16 and 34108 was back on its old route working the X2 for a change. Michael Bryant also reports 20127 on the 10.38 Lowestoft - Norwich X2 today. The vehicle on L10 was changed at Lynn this morning for 37575 off a maintenance check, but I'm not sure what it was - Bruce seems to think it was a B10M . This afternoon 37572 was taken off K19 and replaced by another 'unknown', so probably the bus which worked L10.

20107 began the day on K4 with 20351 on K5, but by this evening they had swapped turns. An accident on the A47 between Eye and Thorney caused disruption at teatime. 20105 on K17 was 30 late and 37568 on K18 was 36 late into Wisbech, K19 was also affected and was 14 late with 572. 37575/9 have had new ads for 'Dorian Grey' fitted. B10Ms out today were 20103 on Y7, 20104 on Y13, 20105 on the second leg of K17 and 20107 as mentioned above. 20106/18/21/23/31 were all at Rowan Road today.

Wednesday August 26th 2009 ~ It's That Time Again

Peterborough Beer Festival time that is. My first visit this evening meaning that this entry is appearing a day late. Timekeeping was not particularly impressive today. I left work at 17.03 and saw 37570 on K19 passing 37575 westbound on K3, both running 13 minutes late. K4 was more heavily delayed and 20103 was still 15 late arriving at Wisbech to work the 19.00 to Lowestoft.
Like the return of a bad penny, 60863 was back on the route today. It did Y13 because 37577 expired with engine problems on K1 at Dereham last night. 577 has now joined 37573/6 at Volvo.
Todays B10M count was six : 20103 on K4, 20104 on K18, 20106 initially on Y6 but replaced at some point at Lynn by 20352, 20107 on L12, 20118 filling in to Peterborough and back on Y7 this morning after 20351 presumably came in late. 351 was seen by Bruce sitting in the bus station at Lynn mid morning seemingly on standby. Finally 20127 did K2 and was seen by Rob Brooks heading to Peterborough about 20 late this afternoon.
37579 was at King's Lynn garage on maintenance today and so didn't return to service.

Tuesday August 25th 2009 ~ One Hundred Not Out

Well I guess it had to happen ! The first Gemini to exceed 100,000 miles is 37564. Its nearest rivals 563 & 568 both failed at the final hurdle but 564 just kept going and going. There is a discrepancy however between the miles recorded on the odometer and the wheelhub meter. The former actually reads about 2,500 miles more and this suggests that the hub meters were fitted shortly after entry into service. Probably by coincidence 564 is the B9 that I personally have travelled on the most and had all the B9s emulated its reliability I'm sure that we would now be talking about what a superb fleet the Geminis are. Regrettably this is not the case and once again today other vintage vehicles were making up the numbers.
Nine turns were entirely B9 operated today and in addition 37566 managed to do the first leg of K1 before being replaced at Lowestoft by 37577. The latter began the day on K19 but was changed at Lowestoft for 20103. B10Ms (and there were plenty out today) were 20105 : K2, 20106 : K18, 20118 K5 and 20127 Y13. The appearnce of 127 was unexepected and meant 20115 remained at Yarmouth. 20104 was also out on K4 but was taken off this afternoon and replaced by 20351. Possibly in this connection Bruce viewed 20352 followed 1 minute later by 20351 departing Lynn this evening bound for Peterborough. 351 despite carrying a full passenger compliment had 'not in service' on the front and was only 6 late at Walton Highway in contrast to 352 which was 38 late and went down the bypass to Wisbech. 34108 was also substituting today and did K16.
Two new advertising campaigns began today with T. Mobile partnering the Daily Star/Daily Express. 37564/9/74 all appear to have received these ads at Lowestoft last night.
37579 was back at Lynn tonight after body repairs at Full Circle. After a service it should be back in traffic.

Monday 24th August 2009 ~ 10 Months Down the Line ....

It is now 10 months since the Geminis were unveiled as the new face of the X1. Few would have envisaged at this early stage of their careers that availability would have dropped so drastically. Today just 11 were available for service again with 37563 a new casualty due to an electrical fault. 37568 once again failed to appear from Lowestoft while 37576 joined 37573 at Volvo. 37571/9 with accident damage completed the picture.
News that the B10M s which were transferred to Glasgow at the turn of the year are being sold off to private companies for further use has been met by derision from local enthusiasts. 20119 was the first to go for a new life re-registered down south somewhere and now a Newton-Le -Willows firm has taken delivery of 20114 and 20120. With Hunstanton schools contracts due to restart soon, these would have been ideal to supplement the X1 fleet.
Today the B10M fleet were once again belying their years on the X1. Remarkably the two coaches involved in yesterday's private hire which arrived back after midnight were barely cold before resuming X1 use with 20106 on K17 and 20118 on K5. Three out of the four Lowestoft based turns were old vehicles with 37578 on L8 being the only Gemini. The other turns were L10 with 20104, L11 with Royale 34108 and L12 being worked by the rejuvenated 20105. In addition 20107 was on K2 and 20115 on K4 - quite remarkable.
Profile 20351 was failed today, but 20352/3 did Y13 and K18. One good point about today was punctuality which was exceptional.
Sam reports 20103 in use on the X2 today and Michael B adds that there was the odd B10M out in the Beccles area last week with 20107 on the 13.38 X2 ex Lowestoft on Thursday unusually running 20 late, so may be a last minute substitution, whilst on Friday 20104 was in use on a Bernard Matthews contract. Jamie R says that the most remarkable aspect of his journey on 34108 today was an X rated display of lesbian affection from a couple of punters on the top deck, much to the amazement of fellow passengers. J says ' Obviously attention seekers, they could have at least sat on the back seat instead of at the front !' They were probably just excited about having 34108 Jamie !

Sunday 23rd August 2009 ~ All Aboard the Charabanc

Wayne brings 107 into Walton Highway this morning.

"A charabanc or "char-à-banc" is a type of horse-drawn vehicle or early motor coach, usually open-topped, common in Britain during the early part of the 20th century. It was especially popular for sight-seeing or "works outings" to the country or the seaside, organised by businesses once a year. The name derives from the French char à bancs ("carriage with wooden benches"), the vehicle having originated in France in the early 19th century".(Source Wikepedia).

So it was that 20106 and 20118 set out at 07.00 this morning on FEC staff outings to Chessington 'Land of Adventure'. They had not returned by 21.45 so a long day was had by the punters - more news when we receive it.

It was possible to have a B10M on the X1 as well today, when 20107 came out on Y5. This turn finishes at King's Lynn at 22.30 tonight. All the other turns were Gemini operated. 37569/576/577 were at King's Lynn this evening, but 576 is unfit for service.

Saturday 22nd August 2009 ~ An Adventure for 105

Back in action after a five week lay off, 20105 departs Wisbech on time this evening on L8 19.22 to Peterborough with Jason at the controls.

20105 is one of the dedicated coaches designated for schools use, 20118/131 normally being the other two. With the new schools term now only a few weeks away, 20131 is still off the road awaiting MOT, so it looks as though 20106 will take its place when the new term starts - but back to 105, which did K3 on 16th July and Hunstanton schools contract 5 on 17th on which it was reported 'running hot'. Since then its only movement has been to Vancouver Avenue for a service. That was until this morning when L8 arrived at Lynn, 37566 having a smashed destination window. With 20106/118 on special prep for tomorrow's excursions, this meant a B10M had to be summoned from Rowan Road. With a choice of 20121/23 & 20105 , the latter was chosen as best bet to make it to Peterborough and back. So it was that 105 worked L8 forward and was seen running 38 late on the return leg at Walpole. Later Michael Bryant saw it arrive at Norwich with 'not in service' on the front, but still with passengers on board. It departed for Lowestoft at 14.00, just 10 late, so presumably ran direct from Lynn to Norwich to make up time. This evening despite a Norwich City home match, it was on time departing Wisbech for Peterborough at 19.22. Following 105 just 3 minutes behind on on L9 this morning was 37578 which was making its first appearance since Monday. This picked up a disabled passenger at Walpole Highway who had been unable to board 20105 - in fact it was doubtful if 105 even stopped there as it was so full.

Gemini 37576 was in trouble again this afternoon, it was removed from K19 for the second consecutive day and a repaired 37566 worked forward at 14.45 to Peterborough. Later on 37569 on K4 was retired at Lynn at 19.30 and 37578 went forward having just arrived on L9.

B10Ms other than 20105 on X1 frontline duty today were : 20103 on K16, 20107 on K1 and 20115 on Y7. The X1 Royale, 34108, did K14.

Friday 21st August 2009 ~ Consolidation

The initial vehicle allocation for today's X1 was B9 Gemini : 12, B7 Profile : 2, B10M Premiere : 4. The missing turn was expected to be 37568, but whether or not this did the morning part is unknown as both Bruce and myself failed to see L12 which was the turn concerned. Tonight it was Royale 34108.
Punctuality was on reflection pretty good for a Friday, though things went wrong tonight - presumably after an A47 incident and L8 was seen departing Terrington St. John 39 minutes late at 19.44 heading for Peterborough with 37564. It hadn't managed to make up much of this by the time it passed Bruce coming back and was still 30 minutes behind time. 34108 was also affected and this was 17 late at Hardwick, 13 late at Walpole Highway and 7 late when viewed near Eye by Jamie Robinson this evening.
Gemini 37576 began the day on K19 but didn't last long - it is not known where it was replaced, but it seems likely that it was 20352 which took over. B10M coaches in use were 20115 on K4, 20118 on K5, 20103 on L10 and 20107 on L11. 115 was in trouble at lunchtime with an old problem, a loose panel, but this was fixed and it was able to continue. 20118 is not popular with drivers because of its poor acceleration at low speeds - particularly a nuisance at roundabouts and such places as the Hockering turn where gaps in the A47 traffic are sparse. Once up to speed however, it is as good as the others I am told.

Thursday 20th August 2009 ~ Providing A Service

37570/2/4 & 20351 were all due for servicing today at King's Lynn and in order for this to be carried out, various vehicle changes took place. 37570 was done first and this was completed in time for it to do K5 07.45 to Peterborough. 37574 was next and when completed it took over K4, the 10.03 to Lowestoft which had come in with 20351. This was then serviced and done in time to take over K15 the 12.45 westbound in the place of 37572 which then in turn came in for its scheduled attention. 572 was completed in time to take out K18 14.15 to Peterborough in the place of 20115 which retired to the garage. All this was carried out very efficiently and shows what can be done when everything goes as planned.
L11 which had 20127 in the morning arrived back at Lynn tonight with 20352 which had been worked into Yarmouth on Tuesday. 20123 remained at Rowan Road today along with 20105/21/31 and also getting a rare day off, 20106.
The number of B10Ms used today was down on that of late. 20103 was K2 and 20118 K3. Y6 had 20104 (reported by Rob Brooks this evening, having worked all day).

Wednesday 19th August 2009 ~ A Small Proportion

37568 has been on unofficial loan to King's Lynn so far this week. It did K19 on Monday and K3 today on which it is seen at Walpole Highway this afternoon.

Running 42 minutes late, Royale 34108 passes Bruce in glorious weather on Y7 this morning.

Just recently Bruce has been pointing out a factual error on the blog header. "It says ' a small proportion of services are still coach worked', now that is hardly true is it ?". Well no , not at the moment certainly Bruce. Just to prove it he has been bombarding me with daily percentages of the proportion of services not worked by Geminis !

Something went badly wrong on the Peterborough stretch of the A47 this morning. Y6 09.35 from Peterborough came through Walpole Highway 34 late with 37567. This evening it had cut the deficit to 15 minutes and by the time it passed through on the 19.10 from Peterborough it was all but on time. Back to this morning though and Y7 which had Royale 34108 returned from Peterborough no less than 42 late having been on time going west. A number of swaps took place at Lowestoft because of late arrivals and the Royale and 37566 on Y9 were swapped for 37563 and 20115.

For the second day running 37578 wasn't in service (reason currently unknown), but 37576 returned from repairs at Volvo and quickly replaced 20118 on K4. Another B10M replaced today was 20106 which did half of K18 but was then replaced as the 14.15 King's Lynn to Peterborough by 37565 which had its cameras back in action. Profile 20352 didn't appear today having gone into Yarmouth last night. 20103 was out instead of it on Y13. Three other old coaches were out, these being 20104 on K1, 20107 on K2 - on which Jamie R had a stifling journey from Peterborough this afternoon - and 20127 on K16.

Tuesday August 18th 2009 ~ Where Do You Start ?

34108 still extols the virtues of Somerset Cider - guess the operators could have done with one today ! Photo : Michael Bryant

Yes where do you start with a day like today ? Perhaps a good place would be to look at the blog for Tuesday 19th August 2008 which was reflecting on the B12 Paragons and their history ? Today the ratio of Geminis to B10M coaches came pretty much the nearest to parity we have seen since the double decker fleet were introduced. There has been much grumbling in high places of late (apparently) because of the failure to give the advertised low floor service. The stopgap idea that disabled passengers can telephone First to check if their chosen service is suitable falls down as there are so often changes of vehicle, meaning that what starts the day on a diagram is often substituted somewhere along the line. It is not so bad if the B10M coaches are scattered about, but when one gets a day like yesterday where four ran in succession it can mean a gap of two and a half hours between low floor services. The use of the 'emergency' Royale has at least given passengers a decker with more comfortable coach style seats, even if it is not low floor.

The missing Geminis today were 37565 (Rowan Road / CCTV fault), 37567 (MOT), 37571 (Rebuild), 37576 (Volvo repairs), 37578 (Lowestoft unavailable) and 37579 (Full Circle repairs).

The last thing that was needed then was for another B9 to come a cropper, but that's exactly what happened. 37573 on only its second day back in service after a three week layoff at Volvo for engine repairs worked K4 08.35 from Peterborough but expired at Hockering with a failed injector. It was hastily scooped off to Volvo for repair and passengers travelled forward on K5 which was following with 20353. Whether this meant K5 was heavily delayed too is not known, but with passengers waiting at Norwich for an eastbound service which hadn't turned up (K4), 20123 was dug out to run in the times of K5. Now this was not a good choice but was probably the only suitable vehicle on hand and before the day was out it had overheated at Peterborough and on arrival back at King's Lynn (who bless them thought they'd seen the back of 20123 after a series of failures at the beginning of July) was spouting copious quantities of oil.

Back to this morning though and 20115 was turned out by Yarmouth on Y6, this worked to Peterborough on the 05.50 and then back to Lowestoft where 20353 relieved it (off K5). K4 was restarted at Lowestoft with eveyones favourite standby, Royale 34108. More swaps involved 37568 on K1 being changed at Lowestoft for 20103 and later 37564 on L12 was taken off and 37568 came back.

20115 has now been reallocated to King's Lynn for X1 use until 37571 returns from Northern Ireland, a situation which is likely to last several months I am told. The timetable was pretty much adhered to today apart from the events described above. 20103/15/23 have already been mentioned and today also saw the use of 20104 (Y7), 20106 (K3), 20107 (L10) and 20127 on Y13. At least good fortune smiled on the trio of B7s which were all in service.

20105 remains at Rowan Road spare along with 20121 and also there today was (unusually) 20118. 20109 is at King's Lynn garage awaiting a reconditioned fuel pump. A private hire this coming Sunday will see two of the Lynn B10Ms have a trip out to Chessington World of Adventure and 20106/18 are looking favourites for this as things stand - maybe they should try a day on the X1 if they want a world of adventure !

This evening 20107 cruised past King's Lynn South Gates at 19.35 having completed the journey from Swaffham via Narborough in just 21 minutes while 20123 (despite its problems) came steaming past the same location at 19.47 having done the trip from Wisbech in just 17 minutes. Gemini 37577 is involved in a bit of a mystery at the moment, yesterday it was 3 early departing Wisbech on L8 09.48 to Peterborough and today 2 early on Y9 10.18 westbound. Geminis do have a dashboard clock apparently, so may be 577s is out of sync. X1 drivers have all been issued with time signal controlled watches in an effort to improve punctuality. On a positive note the widespread early running commonplace until about 12 months ago is now extremely rare.

Some time ago we reported an advertising campaign for insurers LV.Com. The small rear adverts were made sub-standard and became heavily degraded in the washers. 37575/6 were B9s which carried this ad. Today 37575 which had just recently been carrying one for NCC part time educational courses, was seen with a new LV Com ad. 37565 is also fitted with one. 37573 has a new unidentified rear ad but we will have to wait until it re-emerges to identify it.

Locally at King's Lynn Olympian 34921 which is required at Yarmouth has stayed put so far to alleviate a vehicle shortage. Scania 65528 has returned from repairs and is now awaiting MOT along with 20131.

Monday 17th August 2009 ~ None Runner Number 15

Another Gemini reappeared in traffic today after a lengthy lay off. 37573 came out of Lowestoft on L11 in place of 20103. There were B10Ms out today though with 20104 on K4, 20106 on K5, 20107 on K2, 20118 on K3 and 20127 on K18. In addition 20115 had a tyre change and was then despatched to Peterborough on K1 at 15.15 after the CCTV on 37565 failed again. The latter was dumped at Rowan Road tonight.
It was not a bad day for punctuality although for some reason K15 failed to run west of Lynn (it had started the day with 37572) and a gap in the service like this is thankfully rare these days. The following service, K16 with 34108 was well loaded as a result. K17 which had begun with 37578 came back from Lowestoft with 37563. B9s in service today were 37563-6/8/70/2/3/4/5/7/8.

Sunday 16th August 2009 ~ Camera Shy

On recent Sundays, services during the middle of the day have often run around 15 minutes late because of congestion at the Hardwick Roundabout. This has been caused by traffic on the A149 backing up as queues develop with cars en route to the coast meaning that through traffic on the A47 is affected. Today the 12.50 King's Lynn - Peterborough was a victim, though by the time it returned it was only about 5 late. This turn (K6) had started with 37574 and 565, as is the custom now, took over at Lowestoft. On arrival at Lynn at 15.30 565 was failed with its cameras not working, so 20107 took over the turn.
107 was not the only B10M out as 20127 was once again plying the route on Y9 09.30 Yarmouth - Peterborough etc. Another non-Gemini worked turn was Y4 which had Profile 20353.
There was a severe imbalance of power this evening when (including VORs) Lynn was custodian of 20104/5/6/7/9/15/18/21/27/31. This just left 20103 at LFT, 20126 awaiting a replacement engine at Yarmouth and 20123 now presumed back at Norwich, but by all accounts in a bad way with oil leaks etc. Royale 34108 was kept at Lynn today.

Saturday 15th August 2009 ~ Stud Needed !

37563 heads east on L9 today. Whether it was abducted by the Aliens shown on the advert is unclear, but Royale 34108 came back this evening.

Jamie Vendy sent in this picture of a rather lost looking 37568 on L11 which was awaiting admittance to its correct bay at Queensgate this lunchtime after it was occupied by one of several National Express additionals to London.

The mystery of why 37572 has never received any advertisements on the drivers side was explained to me tonight. The reason is that it has a stud missing and this should be fitted soon to enable it to carry ads. Apparently Summer can be a testing time for the ad-man. Adverts on a black background attract the heat and cause expansion which can in extreme circumstances cause boards to bulge or even become detached.

20353 came out of Lowestoft today and did the single out and back turn (L12). B10Ms in service were 20127 on K1, 20106 on K3, 20118 on K5, 20103 on the morning part of Y7 gave way to 20104 this afternoon and Y13 had 20107. Probably the biggest surprise was 37563 on L9 which was changed at Lowestoft for Royale 34108 and this came back to Lynn tonight.

This evening only six of the overnight occupants at King's Lynn were B9s and of these 37574/5 were due to arrive on the late turns which under normal circumstances would see them spare at Rowan Road tomorrow. timekeeping in the middle of the day was far from ideal with 37570 15 late on K16 and 20353 16 late returning to Lowestoft on L12.

Friday 14th August 2009 ~ Bruce to the Rescue

After arrival at work today, I was sent over to our South Lincs branch due to a staff shortage. Because of this I am indebted to Bruce for monitoring today's X1 workings.
37576 had been expected to re-enter service today following MOT, but instead it went to Volvo with an oil problem. Grahame confirms that 37567 is now stopped at Great Yarmouth for its MOT. 37566 and 37569 returned to the route today on L11 and Y6 respectively and as a result 20353 had a day off at Lowestoft. At the King's Lynn end, 20352 was stopped with a faulty drivers seatbelt and 20118 (what else ?) came out to deputise on K5. Rather surprisingly 20115 was tucked away in Rowan Road compound all day parked next to off road B10M 20131. 20105/121 remained here also.
Punctuality did a typical Friday nosedive today. Bruce says " Y13 the 12.03 westbound at Walpole Highway with 20106 was 23 late and so was the corresponding eastbound service, Y9 12.05 to Lowestoft with 37575. An hour later 20351 on K15 was 19 late, congestion meant 37563 on K16 was 23 late coming in to Wisbech to form the 13.48 to Peterborough and this had lost a further 9 minutes making it 32 down on the return. K17 with 37574 was 25 late, but then 'the beast' 20107 bucked the trend by being only 3 late on K18 - a quality vehicle you see".
Tonight 37572 on L10 was given an early finish and 37575 off Y9 took the service forward to Peterborough from Lynn at 19.50.
Today's B10Ms were 20103 (K4), 20104 (K2), 20106 (Y13), 20107 (K18), 20118 (K5) and 20127 (Y7).

Thursday 13th August 2009 ~ Chances are .....

.... that if you travelled westbound on an X1 this morning you would most likely have had a B10M coach to whisk you along. Lowestoft sent out no less than three in a row : 20107 on L10, 20103 on L11 and 20115 on L12 and these were followed by 20104 on Y13. From the King's Lynn end, 20127 was on K4 and 20106 on K18. Quite extraordinary when one considers that there were days at the start of the year where a full compliment of B9 Geminis were in service. Today absentees were 37566 (unknown reason - may be MOT ?), 37567 (not seen since it was replaced by 20127 on Tuesday), 37569 ( replaced by 20115 yesterday), 37571 (rebuild), 37573 (Volvo warranty repairs), 37576 (MOT completed today) and 37579 (at Full Circle for collision repairs).
Fortunately once again all three B7s were in service and actually could be found on three consecutive turns : 20351 on K15, 20353 on K16 and 20352 on K17. the latter was 19 late this afternoon heading east on the 15.05 from Peterborough. Earlier 20351 had also been 16 late on K15.
37578 on K2 was removed from this duty at King's Lynn at 08.55 and it is not known what worked the rest of this turn. This afternoon 37570 which had begun the day on K1 was noted running in the times of K2, nothing having been seen on K1. It is possible that 20118 filled the breach, though it was not seen. Earlier L12 had arrived at Lynn at 13.55 with 20115 and this was then replaced by the aforementioned 37578. Following its MOT, 37568 has been back at work for a couple of days now and 37576 should also be back tomorrow. An unusual working today was Lowestoft's 37565 on K3.

Wednesday 12th August 2009 ~ Regent Bingo

'Regent Bingo' proclaimed the destination display on 37572 when it arrived at King's Lynn garage tonight. This is not the first time I've seen this on an out of service bus, so who is responsible I wonder ? Come on you 'First' employees/managers, I'm sure one of you must be able to give a plausible explanation ?
37569 did K16 this morning, but this afternoon 20115 was on this duty. This may indicate a fault with 569 as 20115 normally only performs if a B9 has blown up en route.
Timekeeping was pretty much Ok today, but K15 lost time with 20352 and ws 15 down at lunchtime. 20118 began the day on K19, but 37577 was able to relieve it at some point. B10Ms out today were 20103 K2, 20104 K18, 20106 Y13 and 20127 L10 in addition to 118. The new Gemini adverts which I'd up to now been unable to identify are for ESPN, the firm now entrusted with bringing us live Premiership football this season.
20105 was at last being worked on this evening at Vancouver Avenue so may be back soon.

Tuesday 11th August 2009 ~ Calming Down

A classic picture of the X1 as we will no doubt love to remember it in years to come. The Beast, 20107 departs Wisbech for the coast this evening with a very capable driver at the wheel ! Photo : Rob Brooks.

B9s 37570/5 at Wisbech on Monday around 18.30 : Photo by Rob Brooks

This rather art deco look advert is apparently encouraging us to buy a new type of chocolate confectionary !

After a pretty awful couple of months on the X1 with anything but the booked vehicles appearing, today saw what may possibly be the gradual return to 'service as advertised'.

37577 was back in traffic on K19 and this just leaves 37568 on MOT and 37573/9 inactive plus long term casualty 37571.

Once again most turns kept the bus they'd started with and the only known swap was on Y6 which ran late this morning with 37567, it was later changed for 20127 and Rob Brooks valued the thrash from 127 down the Parkway and says "20127 managed 61mph down the Stoke Parkway, with full roar from the cooling fans. Quite spectacular!! ". Great stuff but what a shame they don't give it a repaint, the Barbie livery is looking well worn now and quite dated. Imagine 127 in the colours now worn by 20111 (see our 'Where Are They Now' feature on July 16th), now that would look smart and also show that First Eastern were making an effort.

Other B10Ms out today were 20103 on Y9, 20104 on L12, 20106 on K18 and 'beast' 20107 on K2. The latter was three minutes early at Walpole Highway on the 07.30 P'bo - Lowestoft and caught out Bruce and myself. Similarly this evening another service running 3 minutes early was L10 19.50 Lynn - Peterborough which had a healthy number of passegers enjoying the delights of 37563. Again all three Profiles were out and 20351 returned from the coast on Y13.

Punctuality was fair today but K19 with 37577 was 16 late into Wisbech to form the 16.56 to Lowestoft.

There appear to be two new adverts adorning various B9s, one is a dropdown drivers side commercial for Mikado Milk ( If, like me, you had no idea what this was, go to the following dubious website to read one of the most cringeingly gushing reviews I think I've ever read - it had me in fits of laughter such is the pretentious nature of the narrative)http://www.chocolatemission.net/2009/04/april-30th-mikado-milk-chocolate.html

The new advertisements on the passenger side of various B9s are the first to replace the series of Easy Jet ads. The new vinyls can hardly be described as effective for despite noting the fact that 37563 (possibly), 37564/5/7/70 all carry the new ad, I've not actually managed to establish what it is for yet !!

Monday August 10th 2009 ~ A Model Day

I've entitled this post 'a model day' and this refers to the fact that there appear to have been no swaps of vehicle whatsoever ! Perhaps not surprising following Saturday's blog ?
On this basis I've decided to report things 'by vehicle' as it were, so let's see what was going on today.

37563 K14
37564 K16
37565 L12
37566 - presumed to be the unid Gemini on Y13
37567 K1
37568 Yarmouth on MOT
37569 K4
37570 Y6
37571 collision damage assigned to Wrights
37572 Y9
37573 Norwich Volvo - warranty work
37574 Y7
37575 K3
37576 King's Lynn Vancouver Avenue Sched Servicing
37577 Norwich Volvo - King's Lynn for traffic
37578 K19
37579 Full Circle : Collision damage repairs
20351 K18
20352 K15
20353 K17
20103 L8
20104 K2
20105 King's Lynn Rowan Road : pending overheating investigation, last worked on July 17
20106 L11
20107 L10
20109 King's Lynn Vancouver Avenue pending repairs
20118 K5
20121 King's Lynn Rowan Road on test (gears)
20126 Yarmouth - engine change required
20127 Yarmouth
20131 King's Lynn Rowan Road MOT expired, last worked on July 17

In addition to the above 20115/123, 34108 and 60863 have all appeared on X1 in recent weeks but none were active today.

Most notable event was the return of 37577 to King's Lynn and it should be fit for traffic tomorrow and so 20118 may be the B10M to take a well earned rest having substituted for the missing B9 recently.
37570 appeared in service with new side adverts today and 37565 has also been modified , more news tomorrow.
Thanks to Rob B and Bruce for reports today.]

Sunday 9th August 2009 ~ The microscope

A fairly quiet day today with Yarmouth sending out 20106 on the first westbound turn and Lowestoft providing 20352 on the second part of K6 being the only relief to B9 operation. Michael B enlarges on yesterday's swap betwen 37576 and 20103 which did not take place at King's Lynn. Instead 20103 was sent empty from Lowestoft to Norwich and worked L8 forward from there. 37576 then took L9 from Lowestoft to Lynn. Michael also saw 37578 being tailed into Norwich by 37564 on L12 & Y13 respectively. 20118 on K15 preceded 60863 on K14 into Norwich, but they then departed eastbound in the correct order.
News today that another First employee was indeed threatened with dismissal for contributing to this blog. I hope the people concerned feel proud of themselves and just to reiterate that it will have absolutely no effect on this blog which will continue reporting the facts as we see them incorporating as ever information from employees, but now reported anonymously. Anyone from First management who has the courage to contact me via the usual address will rise in my estimation ! Have a good week you all.

Saturday 8th August 2009 ~ Can you get off now please ?

Scania lookalike 60863 at Wisbech bus station today departing on K14 14.26 to Lowestoft. Photo courtesy of Rob Brooks.

Rob Brooks photographed 34108 departing from Peterborough rail station this evening

37563 with new destination display on the delayed 09.25 from Lowestoft at Walpole Highway this afternoon. It was taken out of traffic later due to a broken window.

You will be used to reading in this blog of days where wholesale changes take place to a buses rostered work. Usually this takes the form of swapping vehicles at Lowestoft so passengers are inconvenienced as little as possible. When, however, this takes place at King's Lynn it inevitably means that passengers are asked to disembark and await the relief bus. This has been happening for years of course, but was illustrated today on a grand scale.

Here is the full list of changes today ;

Y6 : this started the day with 37574 but on arrival at Lynn at 10.54 this was changed for the repaired Royale, 34108. As this turn finishes at Lowestoft this made sense.

L8 today was 37576, but this was taken off at Lynn at 18.44 and the 18.50 departure to Peterborough must have been late leaving as it was 20103. This was on L9 which is not due to arrive at Lynn until 19.12, though invariably arrives about ten minutes before this. 20103 was on time departing eastbound from Wisbech at 21.00.

Y10 was 37575 until a change took place at King's Lynn at 12.54, 37574 (off Y6) working forward as the 13.02 to Lowestoft.

L11 began the day with 37570, but this was required for servicing and was taken off at 13.24 with 37575 (off Y10) going forward as the 13.32 Lynn to Lowestoft

There was another enforced change this afternoon when 37563 on K15 suffered a broken window near Tilney on the 14.05 from Peterborough and 20118 worked forward at 15.32 to Lowestoft. It was unusual for a Lowestoft Gemini to be on a Lynn internal diagram to start with, but such was the B9 shortage today that K2 (which ends at Lynn on a Saturday night - as opposed to Lowestoft in the week) had 37569 and as we've said K15 began with 37563. 563 now has an operable destination screen once more and the opportunity has been taken to re-programme it with the larger type font carried by 37567/574/5/6/8/9.

More non-Gemini variety was provided today by 20109 on K3, 20106 on K4, 20104 on Y7 and 60863 on K14. It was also one of those rare days where all three B7 Profiles were in service with 20351 back on K19, 20352 on K16 and 20353 on K17.

The single out and back turn, L12 was today worked by 37578. It befell some misfortune en route though and was seen entering Wisbech 40 minutes late on the 12.35 from Peterborough.

Rob Brooks reports the following today :

Finally I get some luck with the X1, despite travelling on 37575 (had this for nearly 100miles these past two days) I had 60863 Pbro - Wisbech and 34108 Wisbech - Peebo! Result! Anyway, here's today's sightings:

20103 L9 0945 Lynn - Peterborough depart ontime

20106 K4 1002 Lynn - Lowestoft arr 1000 & 1805 from Peterborough leaving Thorney 1836

37575 Y10 1015 Lynn - Peterborough arr 1008 dep 1020

37572 at South Gates 1025 for the K5 1032 Lynn - Lowestoft

37574 passing Bruce Land Y6 1040 to Lowestoft

20104 Y7 1005 Peterborough - Lowestoft at Thomas Clarkson lights 1053

37576 L8 1035 Peterborough - Lowestoft at Thorney Toll 1107

60863 (R641CVR) K14 1335 Peterborough - Lowestoft departed Queensgate 1349

37563 heading for Peterborough at Thorney on K15 at 1410. 35 minutes late

Un/id profile at Guyhirn 1425 to Peterborough

37569 K2 1756 Wisbech - Lowestoft depart Wisbech 1800

34108 Y6 1818 Wisbech - Peterborough arr 1814 dep 1818. Gemini speed checking device has this pegged at 50.

20109 K3 1826 Wisbech - Lynn arr 1820

Oh, finally in case you are unaware, Main road through Thorney will be closed on the 16th August from 1030am - 1130am for a "road race"

Thanks very much to Rob for the above. It would seem that an A47 incident affected L12 and K15 as they seemed to be the only workings noted running excessively late.

Friday 7th August 2009 ~ Mid Afternoon Siesta

Before the problems today, 37569 is seen at Walpole on Y13
The half hourly service seemed to disappear this afternoon. Bruce was in his field working and saw nothing going west between 14.30 & 15.40 when an unidentified B9 passed by. It had all begun quite well with delays of less than ten minutes average during the morning. K14 08.55 from Lowestoft was seen by Bruce 21 late with 37570 and this was followed by K15 with 37572 which was 10 late. K16 was only 8 late with 37576 and K17 similarly behind time with 20118. K18 and K19 were not seen at all but it is quite plausible that the B9 seen at 15.40 was K19 about 40 late rather than K1 ten late. It seems likely that at least one service took the A47 bypass to regain time.
Rob Brooks was out and about and sends this report :

20353 K5 1032 Lynn - Lowestoft dep 1100 dep Norwich 1304 not in service !

20103 Y6 1102 Lynn - Lowestoft arr 1104 dep 1114 Nor dep 1303, now ahead of 20353 !!

20109 L12 1115 Lynn - Peterborough arr 1105

37569 passing Middleton at 1132 on Y13 for Peterborough later arr Norwich 1634 going to Lowestoft

37570 passing Narborough on K14 1135 for Peterborough

37572 approaching Necton 1158 on K15 for Peterborough

20352 passed near Hockering on K16 turning for Peterborough

Travelling on 20103 to Norwich, we ran straight down the A47 after Dereham to Norwich as we had caught up 20353.

60863 departed Norwich at 1252 to Peterborough on K18 27 late

37574 departed Norwich 1304 on K19 to Peterborough & seen on the outskirts of Lynn near Hardwick roundabout 1811 to Lowestoft (now running in the timings of K1)

37575 arrived Norwich on Y7 1315 to Lowestoft and later did 1625 Norwich - Lynn arr Norwich 1626 dep 1632

40114 (some sort of M reg Dart) showing X1 Yarmouth arrived Norwich 1635

My Gemini speed checking device has 37575 at 55 down the A47, and it clocked 20103 at 60 for the most part of our express trip avoiding the villages of Easton and Hockering.

37576 arr Dereham 1712 to Gorleston JPH on K16

20118 leaving Little Fransham at 1736 to Lowestoft as K17

Well you might have thought with all that fine detail from Rob that no other questions would remain unanswered, however, K16 which had been 20352 then 'became' 37576 which had started the day on K14. K14 returned from Lowestoft with 570, so the conundrum is how did 576 get back from Lowestoft to Lynn to become K16 ? K15 was 572 throughout and K14 was seen by Rob at Narborough with 570. Answers on an email please.....
As today was quite complicated I'm breaking the rules and providing a list !

K1 37564

K2 37578

K3 20106

K4 20109 am 20104 pm. Note 1

K5 20353

Y6 20103

Y7 37575

L8 37567 to 18.43, 37575 fwd

Y9 37565 ~ Note 2

L10 20107 ~ Note 2

L11 37566

L12 20104 ?, 20109/20352 Note 3

Y13 37569

K14 37576/37570

K15 37572

K16 20352 / 37576

K17 20118

K18 60863**

K19 37574**

Note 1 : 20109 began the day on K4 but 20104 took over this turn at 16.45
Note 2 : 37565 did Y9a and 20107 was L10a, 37563 returned on one of these turns but the other is a mystery !
Note 3 ; L12 was a mess today, it looks like Lowestoft sent out 20104, but 20109 took over as the 11.15 Lynn - Peterborough and on return to King's Lynn was itself replaced by 20352
** Some confusion as to how the day ended but 60863 did the last part of K19 with 37574 remaining at Lowestoft.
Time for Bed said Zebedee.......................

Thursday August 6th 2009 ~ What next ?

These days one never knows what's going to turn up next on an X1 - today there was more variety with only ten Geminis on the road. The absentees were 37563/8/9/71/3/7/9. Of these it is quite possible that 37569 did the first return trip on Y7 as this ran late and nobody seemed to view it, equally though it could have been 20104. Whatever did it, possibly due to the late running, it was changed at Lowestoft and the 14.55 to King's Lynn was our old friend 34108. On arrival this had an air leak so it will need repairs before use tomorrow.
Grahame has reported on EABG that 37568 is at Yarmouth for MOT, though it was in traffic yesterday so should be off the road for a few days now. 37571 has not as previously rumoured moved to Northern Ireland, though it was due to move today under cover. 37573/7 remain at Volvo and 37579 at Full Circle.
B7 20351 should be back on the road tomorrow, slightly later than planned. This morning some slight accident damage to 20352 had to be repaired so 20121 was risked on K5. It has been more reliable lately and did Ok today until early this evening when it expired near Thorney. 20352 is believed to have attended with a fitter. It was not back at King's Lynn by 21.00 (due 19.57). 20353 did K15 for the third successive day.
The reappearance of 34108 was not the only imposter out today. After a day off 60863 was out again on L12, instead of 37563 which had been expected. The reason for the removal of 20127 from K18 yesterday afternoon was not due to a mechanical fault, but because of a broken skylight. This was repaired today , but Lynn then had to carry out a safety service on 127 before it could be used (Yarmouth had advised it was due). Because of this 20109 was utilised on K4 until 16.37 with 127 working forward at 16.45. There were other B10Ms deputising today and not mentioned thus far were 20106 on K3, 20107 on Y6, 20118 on K17 and 20103 on K18.
B9s with the 'Orange' ad are 37566/568/576, while the G Force ad now adorns 37565/7/9/73/4/9. The Easy Jet series of ads are still in situ on all the B9s except the absent 37577.

Wednesday 5th August 2009 ~ It's That Woman Again

The X1 drivers turns are intriguing. In particular the driver who works the 08.15 King's Lynn - Peterborough also appears to do the 12.45 and 16.45 departures westbound, so in my case I pass the same chauffeur three times every day. Jamie R travelled on the 08.15 today (Y6) with a charming lady driver & 37576 and she duly drove K15 (20353) and later K4 (20107).
A couple of the absent B9 Geminis returned to traffic today, these were 37566 on Y9 (37578 had been expected) and 37572 which was L11. Lowestoft also produced 20103 on L12 meaning that of the four arrivals there last night, only two - 37570/4 reappeared with 37564 and 60863 being the replaced vehicles. Later though 564 did work, replacing 37568 on K16.
There was a series of swaps involving B10Ms this afternoon. 20107 on K2 was taken off at King's Lynn - late running possibly ? - and replaced by 20121, the first time 121 has worked on the route since it disgraced itself on May 20th. On arrival back at Lynn, 121 was replaced by 37565 which had just come in on the first terminating turn (Y7) and this duly worked the 18.35 eastbound. 20107 itself then worked forward to Peterborough on K4 on which 20104 was the replaced vehicle. 104 then in turn replaced 20127 on K18 which had been running around 15 minutes late for unknown reasons. Otherwise punctuality was very good today.
37579 is confirmed as being at Full Circle for bodywork repairs and 37573/7 are still at Volvo.
20351 was undergoing servicing this evening and its return to service is imminent. Thanks once again to Bruce for a comprehensive list of sightings today.

Tuesday 4th August 2009 ~ A Load of Rubbish

Bruce was doing his utmost to provide a detailed despatch today when he was just about to view Y13 and the dustman arrived obscuring his view of it. Recognising the familiar sound of a B10M he vowed to check it on its return from Peterborough. but Cheryl beat him to it and reported 20107 arriving at Wisbech as the 12.18 to Peterborough. Rob Brooks was at King's Lynn and viewed the following :
37568 Y9 0945 Lynn - Peterborough arr 0948 dep 1006
37576 K4 1000 Lynn - Lowestoft arr 0954 dep 1002
37569 L10 1015 Lynn - Peterborough arr 1007 dep 1015
20118 K5 1032 Lynn - Lowestoft arr 1027 dep 1033
37575 L11 1045 Lynn - Peterborough arr 1037
Un/id gemini Y6 1102 Lynn - Lowestoft dep 1110
20127 L12 1115 Lynn - Peterborough dep 1117
20121 again on Hunstantons, 20104 arrived empty at Lynn at 1100, possible swap later..?

Thanks for the obs Rob, I can enlarge further on a few things : 37568 which left King's Lynn westbound 21 late was later viewed at Walpole Highway by BB running precisely 30 late going east and with 37569 on L10 just 15 seconds behind it !
The unidentified B9 on Y6 was 37564. Earlier Y7 had arrived with 20104 but this handed over to 20109 which departed late as the delayed 08.45 to Peterborough. It was seen by Bruce 19 running 19 late. 104 seems to have been revived to continue the turn as the 11.33 to Lowestoft.

One other B10M which I've not mentioned was 20106 which was once again on its old favourite diagram, K3. So that's 20104/6/7/9/18/27 in attendance today, the missing coach here is 20103 which was kept at Lowestoft today and replaced by 37569. 20351 looks to be almost ready to return to service now and its sisters 20352/3 were today employed on K17 and K15 respectively. Volvo 60863 was used on K16 and was running 9 late when it passed Walpole westbound (due 13.33). This should mean it will end up at Lowestoft tonight.
Various B9s have been fitted with advertising for the Orange mobile phone network, 37568/76 are two of these, more details to follow. 568 also has a rear ad for Flick & Son, the Suffolk Estate Agents. Noted this evening was 37576 carrying the Lowestoft College rear ad, strange in that this was removed from 37570 about a month ago. 37563 has carried this ad since June.

Monday 3rd August 2009 ~ Jigsaw complete

Various people contributed to the sightings today for which many thanks. A grand total of six B10Ms were out, these being 20103 K2, 20104 K4, 20106 K5, 20107 K18, 20118 K3 and 20127 K16. As you can see all these were sent out from King's Lynn, the remainder being B9s. From the eastern end 60863 reappeared on Y7 and was enjoyed by Jamie R. Lowestoft produced 20352 on L10 and 20353 on L11. The day seemed fairly uneventful, though 37569 joined the list of Geminis out of service. Rob Brooks viewed 20121 again in use on Hunstanton services.

Sunday 2nd August 2009 ~ Conjecture mainly !

Due to Bruce being away and me entertaining guests, today's blog is very brief. Seen were 37574 on Y5 (Sun) 12.05 and 21.05 from Peterborough, 37567 on K3 20.35 Lynn - Lowestoft and 20352 in a very long queue on the A47 on the Y9 13.05 from Peterborough, no surprise that this was swapped at Lowestoft for 20103 then. B9s in service were 37564/5/7/70/4/5/6/8 plus an unidentified B10M on Y4 20.05 from Peterborough (possibly 20115).

Saturday 1st August 2009 ~ New Month - Old Story

34921 never found its way onto the X1 whilst based at King's Lynn, but before the tachograph implementation sisters did occasionally make it through to Peterborough. It is due to leave King's Lynn next week.

Peter took this unusual angle of 37569 on Thursday night at Peterborough station before departing on the 20.05 to Lowestoft.

Geminis still off the road today for a variety of reasons were 37566/571/572/573/577/579. Work is now progressing on accident damaged 20351, it has had its panels replaced and now needs a second coat of paint and its registration plate fitted. It is then due a service and should hopefully be back on Tuesday.

Bruce says

" Saturday report .....

K3 20109 all day and practically on time
K5 20118 on time at 08.01 and 10.04
L9 a quiet B10M
Y10 37564 19 late at 12.53
L12/Y13 Well I stood at the window at 13.34 and eventually 20127 passed at 14.21 on either L12 (47 late) or Y13(17 late) with a healthy load followed by 37569 at 14.35, only 1 late and previously having been 10 late at 12.44
K15 37570 26 late at 13.30
K16 37565 5 late at 13.39 and on time coming back
K17 37575 4 late at 14.08
K18 20103 15 late at 14.49 and only 2 late at 16.36

I didn't see any more as I was losing the will to live but believe K1/2/19 may not have been B9s either when they passed early morning.
Rowan Road held 20105 (overheating) 20131 (MOT) 37579 (damaged) 30901(shy) and 34933 (old)
Exhausted of Walpole Highway

Interestingly 20115 turned out to be the quiet B10M on L9 and this afternoon was replaced from Lowestoft by 37567. K1 was 60863 so this should be back at its Yarmouth base this evening. It was viewed heading to Peterborough in Norwich this afternoon by Michael Bryant. Y7 was 20104, L11 had 20107 and I can confirm 20127 as Y13, in fact this evening it was a minute early at Walpole. What happened to L12 is unknown, but looking at other services it is doubtful that it ran early. The two vehicles in the frame for L12 were 20352 and 37563. Profile 20353 was Y6 today. K2 was 37576 seen by Rob Brooks this evening and Neil also sent a text to confirm 20109 ending its day on K3. All turns not mentioned thus far were B9s. 37567 arrived at Lynn garage tonight with 'Welcome Aboard Bus Users UK' scrolling across the destination screen ! Bruce mentions local Olympian 34933 at Rowan Road and it may have worked its last. Its partner 34921 was seen coming in from Hunstanton tonight and is due to be transferred to Norwich on Monday. It remains to be seen whether this brings down the curtain on the older Olympian fleet at Lynn.

Friday 31st July 2009 ~ Report In Retrospect 2

I was away today, so it was left to reports from yourselves. Peter sent a text saying " Followed 20127 on the first X1 to Peterborough this morning, unusual livery : faded / peeling paint / rust. is this Worst Group's new corporate livery ? ". Ouch that man has always had an acid soh. Rob Brooks was kinder saying simply "20127 is on the 07.05 Peterborough - Lowestoft !". So K1 was 127 then and so over to Bruce for his report ;
Well for the purposes of the blog, I have risen to the occasion once again but to say I am dispirited by what I recorded (timewise) would be an understatement.
Much as though the Blogmeister does not like numerical lists, I am a mathematician not an author so a list of numbers it is.

K1 Rumoured by Cheryl to be 20127, it arrived at 15.46, 12 mins late with ..........20127
K2 37563 at 16.12, 8 late
K3 20109 on time at 09.04
K4 20104 at 17.16, 12 late
K5 20118 on time at 08.01 but 13 late at 10.17
Y6 37574 on time at 08.34 and 10.34
Y7 37567 on time at 09.04 but 6 late at 11.10
L8 37564 on time at 09.34 and 11.34
Y9 37575 on time at 10.04 but 8 late at 12.12
L10 20103 on time at 10.34 but 10 late at 12.44
L11 37565 6 late at 11.10 and 5 late at 13.09
L12 34108 8 late at 11.42 and 13 late at 13.47
Y13 60863 10 late at 12.14
K14 37568 8 late at 12.42 and 18 late at 14.52
K15 37578 29 late at 13.33 and 33 late at 15.37
K16 20352 5 late at 13.39 and 12 late at 15.46
K17 37576 6 late at 14.10 and 18 late at 16.22
K18 20353 6 late at 14.40 and 6 late at 16.40
K19 37570 16 late at 15.20

A few observations on the observations then ! 60863 was sent out instead of 37569 and Michael Bryant then saw 569 on the X2 doing 13.38 Lowestoft - Norwich & 15.08 back. It was then used on the second part of L12 replacing 34108 which was required for a Private Hire I am told. 37574 on Y6 was replaced at Lynn this evening by 37567 off Y7.
60863's appearance was not without incident - it ran out of fuel at Peterborough late tonight on the 23.05 to King's Lynn and the service was cancelled. I presume any passengers were provided with taxis. Once again huge thanks to Bruce for keeping such a comprehensive record whilst keeping his grandchildren entertained as well.

Thursday 30th July ~ Report In Retrospect 1

Timekeeping was worse than for sometime today. First offender was 20118 on K4 this morning which was seen by Bruce running 20 late to Peterborough, it had however made up almost all of this by the time it returned. At lunchtime, another B10M was running late, this being 20127 which was 8 late going west and 16 late returning. 20352 on Y9 was seen departing Wisbech westbound about 8 late (due 10.18). Royale 34108 was spot on time on K14 though at 12.48 and it had a rather odd day as on arrival at King's Lynn at 14.54 it was taken off and then replaced 37567 on K2 15.45 to Peterborough - it is assumed that this was because a driver not carded for B9s was provided. K14 looks to have proceeded with 20103, though why this didn't simply replace 37567 itself is a mystery only known to 'First'. 103 was also having a day of variety. It worked Y7 06.10 from Yarmouth as far as King's Lynn but was replaced there by 20106. 103 was then called upon to go light to Dereham where 37575 had suffered a broken window on K18. By the afternoon 37575 was back on K18 and 103 had returned to Lynn enabling it to do K14.
Afternoon puntuality was pretty poor with 37576 18 late on K19 and 37574 25 late on K1.
B10Ms out were 20103 (see above), 20104 L10, 20106 (as above), 20109 K3, 20118/127 also as shown above. Locally 20121 was at last in service this afternoon on King's Lynn town service 42.