Tuesday 26th November 2013 ~ Almost a Week .....

Yes almost a week since the last blog which is indicative of how quiet things have been. Ongoing roadworks on the Lynn Road approach to Wisbech have been the main source of delays, though these have been largely minor. Most X1 drivers have taken to using Lerowe Road and Norwich Road to reach the normal route meaning that the Lynn Road / Walton Road stop is serviced as usual, however, there have been one or two instances of buses using Kirkgate Street to emerge at the Walsoken turn meaning the booked stop has been missed. Peter even spotted one service using the Wisbech eastern bypass with the same result.
Friday was the worst day for delays as usual and the morning services were hit harder than those in the afternoon for a change. The morning departures from Wisbech to Peterborough ran like this :
K6 08.48 33812   -2
Y7 09.18 33806  -19
L8 09.48 33807  -16
Y9 10.18 33808  not viewed
L10 10.48 33817  -19
Y11 11.18 33815  -22
L12 11.48 33803  -18

After this things settled down thankfully.

33810 at Walpole Highway on Saturday (see below)

Saturday was a very murky day as can be seen from the accompanying photographs. Punctuality was hit and miss. 33824 on L10-XL16 passed Fence Bank at 12.47 running 10 late and the next service seen was K14-XL01 due at Walpole Highway at 12.41 but which appeared here at 13.03, 22 minutes late with 33810, this despite the fact that it had been seen arriving at South Gates on the inward just 7 late. Traffic in Lynn must have been bad. After this the service gradually picked up time with L12-XL18 worked by 33811 running just 2 late eastbound.

It really is hard to believe that this picture was taken at 12.45 on Saturday, 33824 hits some filthy weather east of Walpole.

On Monday, the timetable seems to have been adhered to almost completely, so full marks to all concerned there. Tuesday (today) was a bit more hit and miss. L8-XL14 with 33822 was on time going to Peterborough, but Y9-XL15 had lost time and returned into Wisbech eastbound 17 late with 33813. At 11.22 Y11-XL17 appeared just 2 minutes late with 33803 heading for Peterborough, but then less than a minute later the late running L10-XL16 turned up running out of sequence with 33804 33 late. The only other casualty on the punctuality front was K18-XL05 which ran through Wisbech 18 late westbound this afternoon with 33809.
There has been some concern shown over the hydraulic tanks on the Enviros with cracks having appeared on two of the fleet, both buses concerned (33806 & 33813)  have been fixed. There was a more unfortunate incident this evening when 33813 was in error reversed into 33819 in King's Lynn depot and both buses will be off the road for a time for bodywork repairs. Damage to 33819 was minimal but unlucky 33813 will need more extensive work. This probably means the loan of 33423 is likely to be extended to cover for the shortage. On a brighter note, all the Enviro 400s have now completed their return trips to Scarborough for warranty work'

Five of the former X1 Geminis remain at Full Circle undergoing repaints, these are 37564/5/7/9/71. 37573/9 are not listed so may have now departed for their new home.
Elsewhere in the blog world, East Norfolk Bus Blog reports the reinstatement of old X1 regular 34108 at Yarmouth while Norwich Bus Page reports the end of the Paragons on X1 shorts, Saturday last being their last day in service on these services. Malcolm Hicks sends me his usual comprehensive reports and there is now a variety of vehicles to be found on the X2. On Saturday Palatine 34155 was still in use on this service and was seen arriving in Lowestoft at 12.25, closely followed 2 minutes later by 30901, This week though 34155 has been relegated to working one of the Bernard Matthews contracts. The X2 today (Tuesday) saw the following in action : 37566/68/70, 32655/6, 45118 and 44513. Older buses have still been appearing in Lowestoft though and on Monday 34111 worked the 14.40 service 1A to Martham with sister vehicle 34110 on the 15.10.
The Christmas / New Year early finishing arrangements have been released recently and especially for blog readers, Des speed has kindly made a simplifier :

As in previous years, there are no services on December 25 & 26 or January 1. There is a PDF version of the above in the essential info section.

Wednesday 20th November 2013 ~ Tweets and Twits

The use of 33423 on rail replacement work on Friday evening is a late addition to report. It is thought to have helped out following the derailment of the Middleton - Goole sand train in King's Lynn Yard on Friday afternoon. This brought traffic to a standstill for two hours and all trains to London were cancelled.
 After the roadworks of last week, Saturday & Sunday came as a pleasant surprise with almost all services running nicely to timetable. The only buses not to feature in service on these days were 33803 which was spare ready for its safety service on Monday and 33805 which spent Saturday in Scarborough and which was not used on Sunday. 33823 returned to service on Saturday cured of its adblue fault. 

Monday saw the start of a Twitter account devoted to service X1 :

You can access the new page at : https://twitter.com/First_X1

The day began with a resumption of the roadworks in Lynn Road, Wisbech. What appears to be happening in recent days (weekends excepted) is that the road is closed every other day from around 09.00 - 16.00 with temporary lights in force on the days when the road remains open. X1 services have been diverted via Walsoken with delays being minor except during the late afternoon. On Monday other incidents on the A47 accumulated to make morning services between 10 & 15 minutes late heading for Peterborough. Y9-XL15 with 33823 ran very late though and was seen leaving Wisbech 26 minutes late on the 10.18 to Peterborough. Delays further east were less, but K16-XL03 arrived in Lowestoft with 33811 13 late prior to working the 10.00 westbound. 
On Tuesday, Peter and myself went on an X1 pilgrimage to Norwich taking the 08.05 ex Peterborough (K3-XL09) with 33809. Running a few minutes late, we soon became so comfortable in the leather seats that this seemed a minor detail. Having taken an interest in the route since we were both pupils at King's Lynn Grammar School in the early 1970s, not surprisingly we were not shy at coming up with some suggestions as to how things could be improved. One thing we couldn't moan about though was the bus itself which seemed capable of a good turn of speed on the odd occasions that the A47 traffic allowed. Why though are there no bus stop signs at Middleton ? I daresay the Council are the people to ask. Two passengers boarded here as well as a handful at Narborough. At Swaffham there was a good crowd waiting for our bus and we did well to get away just 4 minutes late at 10.11. 
Leaving the A47 for the Toftwood 'experience' we once again bemoaned the fact that this locality being served seems to add more time than the number of passengers joining warrants, although I'm sure the people in the know at 'First' would dispute this. Approaching Dereham we came up with another of our bright ideas. Why not move the Matsell Way stop nearer to Morrisons and the Mid Norfolk Railway ? I'm sure there must be a good reason why this has not occurred. The traffic in Dereham was heavy and the clearances in the Market Place are very tight for the Enviros to negotiate requiring some intelligent driving skills. Our trip off the A47 into Hockering was, in the event, not required, but fortunately we didn't have to wait very long to regain a path on the busy main road. 
Before long we had arrived at Norwich bus station, our (and most of the other passengers) destination. We waited until most passengers had left the bus before getting off ourselves, but having been sitting in the front window seat suddenly became aware that we were being watched. Eight pairs of senior citizens eyes no less were glaring at us fiercely - were they being polite allowing us to disembark first ? No - they were just intent on having a fight for the front seats, such is their popularity! 

On a personal note, I was delighted at seeing Paragon coach 20514 still in use on an X1 short and later on we also saw 20515 also in use.

33822 was working K16 10.00 Lowestoft - Peterborough seen here departing Norwich with Calvin at the controls.

After taking a few photographs we retired to the excellent Trafford Arms nearby where we met our old friend Richard Adderson. He had come along with a recently acquired collection of photographs taken in Eastern Counties days from the 1960s/70s and these were examined in great detail. Now I happen to be a bit of a pedant when it comes to spelling, not that this means you won't find any spelling errors in the blog I hasten to add. Whilst in the bus station though I had noticed an Anglian bus with (to me anyway) a glaring spelling error - here it is ....

Emissions with two Ms ?? Surely not ? - but our second example of an additional letter being manufactured occurred on the Trafford Arms lunch menu - the fish and chips are highly recommended, but WHERE does the fish come from ?

Oh well, it tasted jolly good as did the Adnams Bitter and Winters Mild. As usual, whiling away our time looking at old buses meant it was soon 15.40 and time for us to make tracks for Norwich bus station in torrential rain and the 16.00 departure, Y6-XL12 which was 33805 with a friendly Lowestoft driver. The queue for the bus was a long one and considering its new construction, the bus station's shelters here give scant protection on a day like today. Inside, the warmth and comfort of the new bus was very welcome, though it is such a shame that some passengers show little consideration for their surroundings as shown here 

Do they really do that at home ? Well yes they probably do don't they ?

The traffic heading away from Norwich on this Tuesday evening was exceptionally heavy and by the time Dereham was reached, we were running about 25 minutes late. Further delay ensued when we joined a queue trying to rejoin the A47 after Toftwood and this added a good 6 minutes to the journey time. We also had an unscheduled stop just after leaving Swaffham when (it looked like) the driver had to reprimand some youngsters for smuggling fish and chips onto the bus. The offenders got off at Narborough, which I'm guessing was not their intended destination. The return journey was devoid of the recorded announcements for some reason, but at least this spared us from the continuous commentary for the stops at every blade of grass in Toftwood - it also meant we could value a little snooze en route. 

Arriving back at Lynn, I thought something was afoot when King's Lynn controller Wayne Sheppard took us forward from the South Gates and sure enough, 33803 was standing in the bus station with a Yarmouth driver waiting for us to swap vehicles, 33805 being taken back to Vancouver Avenue. Aware of the substantial delay, the new driver set about making up time with commendable speed. The bus which was still cold having only recently been started soon warmed up and we were whisked back to Walpole and Wisbech quite swiftly. The driver even apologised for the delay when I alighted, so full marks there. Certainly an enjoyable day out and one which we plan to repeat soon.

Meanwhile, Des had an afternoon to remember on Tuesday with 33820 on L10-XL16. He says " On time till a five x Tractor Convoy spread along the A47, caught up with between East Winch and Bilney, I still ended up behind it coming out of Narborough and just managed to get in front of it at Swaffham McDonalds roundabout. Despite numerous opportunities, they never pulled in at any lay-by at all.

Arrived Norwich 14.46, departed after loading -9 (14.59), no time made up. Receive VIX message 'A12 Closed follow 1 route'. Arrived Lowestoft -20 (16.32), bus departed eastbound -4 (16.36)".

So to Wednesday and lighter traffic levels meant that the diversion via Walsoken which was in operation once again, added very little to any delays experienced. Something clearly delayed K18-XL05 though, this passed me leaving Wisbech at 15.05, just 6 minutes late with 33823 but later it was seen returning east following K19-XL06 with 33821. The latter came through Walpole Highway 3 late at 17.21 with 33823 following less than a minute later now running 33 late ! The programme of rectification work is now nearly complete. 33813 was at Scarborough today with 33824 going back north late this evening. L10-XL16 began the day at Lowestoft with 33814 but it was swapped at King's Lynn for 33807 which in turn after a trip to Peterborough gave way to 33806.

Friday November 15th 2013 ~ Four Trying Days

Roadworks and road traffic accidents took centre stage this week. Tuesday was a nightmare of a morning as this capture of the rush hour traffic info details :

So I think yes, the A47 does need major investment, shame the powers that be don't see the same urgency.
Incoming morning arrivals from the coast at King's Lynn were a bit of a shambles. L8-XL14 was not seen by me and neither was L10-XL16 and I suspect that one of these may not have run. L11-XL17 had set out from Lowestoft with 33820, but the late running meant 33423 had to be inserted at Lynn for the 10.40 to Peterborough. Des Speed was in charge of Y11-XL17 mentioned above and became embroiled in the chaos following the Acle Straight accident, he says " I was quite close to it and could not turn around. -27 (08.49 at Acle). Queueing into Norwich -33 (09.23) at Norwich . I realised that I could not make any time up so decided to run this service as the next car line. At 11.07 at South Gates outward the passengers were transferred to another bus (33423).
Afternoon buses ran better, but at teatime delays of around 15 minutes were evident through Wisbech. Engineers were working on the collapsed manhole on the Ouse Bridge in an effort to reopen the closed lane on the A47 today. 33824 was sidelined with an adblue fault today and when 33814 came in from Scarborough tonight, 33817 went back north.

On the diversion via Norwich Road in Wisbech. 
Photo copyright : Peter Risebrow

Wednesday would have been better for punctuality had it not been for the closure of Lynn Road in Wisbech for resurfacing work. Buses were once again diverted via Walsoken to join the A1101. The Swaffham - Peterborough turn (K6-XL12) was the first turn to use the diversion and this passed me leaving the town 15 minutes late. Average delays were in the region of 7 - 9 minutes until late afternoon when 33810 passed by on K18-XL05 20 late, followed by 33807 on K19-XL06 19 late and 33821 on K1-XL07 16 late.

Roy reports an unusual visit by 33818 working K4-XL10 14.17 Great Yarmouth - Peterborough on Thursday. The Enviro 400 was an unexpected visitor to Caister Road garage at around 14.25 and departed towards town a few minutes later :

33818 at Caister Road on Thursday afternoon. Photo copyright : East Norfolk Bus Blog

Whatever was wrong with 33818 was not apparent, but it was replaced at King's Lynn by 33808 for the 16.50 to Peterborough. Earlier 33808 itself had been taken off Y13-XL19 13.05 ex Peterborough because of noisy front suspension. 33820 took over the turn. 33423 had a day out today on K3-XL09 as 33823 was still unavailable.
The usual problems with Friday afternoon punctuality were added to by a further closure of Lynn Road in Wisbech to continue the resurfacing. I unusually had to go in to work at 06.00 so was able to view the following :

K1 33804 -1 / RT
K2 33815 -1 / -1
K3 33819 RT / +3
K4 33810 RT / RT
K5 33818 -1 / +3
K6 33822 -9 / -8
Y7 33820 -12 / not seen
L8 33803 -6 / RT
Y9 33807 -3 / -1
L10 33812 not seen / -10
Y11 33808 -13 / not seen
L12 33816 -2 / not seen

So not at all bad during the morning and both K3-XL09 & K5-XL11 returned from Peterborough 3 minutes early. Once again K6-XL12 was the first service to be affected by the roadworks. 33811 was at Scarborough for attention today.

Elsewhere, two more repainted Geminis have appeared to Yarmouth. 37574 & 37577 were first seen in service on Thursday.

37574 working a service 8 on Thursday : Photo copyright East Norfolk Bus Blog

The Geminis destined for the X2 are coming through at a slower rate and 37564/5/7/9/71 are still due to arrive. This has meant a stay of execution for 34155 which has been in use every day this week according to Michael Bryant. Malcolm Hicks always sends me a comprehensive report including the X2 and Service 1. This week as seen the following vehicles in use :
X2 37563/66/68/70, 34155, 32655/6, 30886/889/900/901, 44512

Service 1 & 1a to Martham : 37562/576/78, 32204/05/06/09/12

Following the restructuring of the management levels at First, it was officially announced on Tuesday that the new interim MD for Eastern Counties will be David Squire who will be based at Lansdowne Road office in Norwich.  David joined First with 35 years of experience in the bus industry. David was Managing Director for Network Warrington, Head of Operations in Manchester for Arriva and General Manager, Dewsbury for Arriva Yorkshire.

Monday 11th November 2013 ~ Bus Service Runs Normally Shock !

Well it is nice to report that things are still running very smoothly on the 'new improved' X1. I had chance to speak with Richard Tucker, King's Lynn depot manager, today. He says that the Enviros are all being returned to Scarborough, mainly for water ingress checks, but that this is being completed on a 24 hour turn around basis, so not really affecting the service requirement. As a precaution, 33423 is being kept at King's Lynn, on loan from Yarmouth until the warranty work is completed. 
Since the last report, little of note has occurred. though a report of Des Speed's day on Wednesday makes interesting reading and shows how accumulating delays can affect the service. His shift began with 33803 working the 06.41 from James Paget Hospital which he drove as far as King's Lynn South Gates. The journey ran on time until a crawl out of Norwich made the service 5 late at Easton. Three way traffic lights at Wellington Road / Kings Road in Dereham were set up but with nobody working, just the lights and men having a teabreak in their van. This meant an arrival at Dereham 12 minutes late. The queue to leave the town saw 33803 running 21 late at Necton then 18 down at Swaffham. Des left the bus at South Gates inward at 09.47, 17 late. His trip back eastbound was with 33811 on the 10.38 South Gates - Lowestoft. This was on time until Norwich bus station where congestion meant loading on Bay 1, departure being 3 late. Temporary lights on Bridge Road / Southtown Road at Yarmouth made the bus 7 late at Gorleston (Library) and Lowestoft arrival was 3 late.
On Thursday K5-XL11 07.45 King's Lynn - Peterborough was seen running in the path of K6-XL12, departing Wisbech at 08.49 with 33813, however, the rest of the day ran well. 33807 came back to King's Lynn in the evening with 33806 going back north.

Friday saw 34109 still in use on an X1 short, captured here by Jamie Skinner.

 Friday was another good day with few delays, although congestion on the western approach to Wisbech saw K17-XL04 with 33817 pass me running 16 late on the 15.15 from Peterborough. Des relieved 33824 working K18-XL05 15.45 from Peterborough at the South Gates inward - it was due at 17.09 and appeared at 17.39. Friday traffic meant it never regained much time and was 22 late into Yarmouth. 33806 returned from repairs today and 33810 went to Scarborough. 
Again on Saturday the service appears to have done well, although K14-XL01 is reported by Doreen  not to have appeared at Peterborough to form the 13.45 eastbound departure and I passed its bus, 33817 near Tilney just after 15.00 running slightly late but showing 'Not In Service' on the front. Des had brought 33817 westbound and the first delays it encountered were at Yarmouth where an overload of passengers saw it leave 4 late. Eventual arrival at the South Gates (inward) was at 12.27, by this time 14 late.  His return eastward was not without incident as 33819 was suffering from a recurrence of its DDA interlock problem meaning that the doors were taking longer to close than normal and this meant a 22 minute late arrival into Yarmouth. 33819 was repaired at Yarmouth garage on Sunday. 33809 became the next bus to go north for repairs and this returned on Sunday with 33821 going the other way.

33813 on K17-XL04 06.50 from Lynn seen arriving in Lowestoft on Saturday. Surprisingly, not all the Enviros are plastered with adverts yet and 33813/20/23 have so far escaped altogether. Photo copyright : Grahame Bessey.

K18-XL05 11.00 Lowestoft - Peterborough seen here departing with 33819. The 'Philomena' advert is currently carried by 33809/11/16/19. Photo Copyright : Grahame Bessey

The former X1 Geminis are a daily sight in Lowestoft and this Yarmouth based example, 37572 is seen working a service 1A to Martham on Saturday. Photo copyright : Grahame Bessey,

Many thanks indeed to Grahame for allowing me to use his excellent pictures. Here is a final shot of 37563 in the new X2 livery taken on Saturday.

 Sunday seemed to be without incident, but Monday (today) saw the B198 closed at the Freedom Bridge exit in Wisbech for resurfacing work. I joined the 13.11 departure from Walpole Highway with Karen F which was 33809 and we travelled as booked to the Walsoken stop, but then went left down Lerowe Road to join Norwich Road and then come into the Horsefair from the A1101 Churchill Road. We were 2 minutes late from Walpole and a minute early at Walsoken (strange timetable !) and following the diversion arrived at Wisbech 4 late. Coming back on Y13-XL19, a last minute passenger meant we were almost a minute late departing and after congestion on Churchill Road, 7 minutes behind at Walsoken. Our driver Bob then really showed what 33822 could do with an impressive run through to Walton Highway which was passed in less than 3 minutes from Walsoken at 14.06/30 and now just 3 minutes behind schedule. I left at Walpole and again could quite easily have stayed on the bus such was the comfort and also, on what was a dank and miserable cold day, an excellent ambient temperature on the bus, so much better than the often cold Geminis. The diversion at Wisbech didn't unsettle the timetable greatly, although K16-XL03 (33810) ran slightly late being seen undergoing its driver change at the South Gates at 16.31, about 13 late. Des reports an eventful journey westbound this morning with 33805 on Y11-XL17 07.15 from Lowestoft. At Toftwood, they caught up the preceding service (L10) which disgorged its passengers onto 33805 and the late bus, 33807 then ran light to Lynn to make up time. 

Wednesday November 6th 2013 ~ Day Trips

This week has seen a continuation of the remedial work being carried out on the Enviros. Last week 33819 spent the entire week in Scarborough ADL, but 33804 which went north on Saturday was back on Monday evening ready to resume work on Tuesday. The driver who returned 33804 then took 33818 north and then on Tuesday night 33818 arrived back and 33822 went north. This pattern continued today (Wednesday) with 33822 returning and 33807 going back to Scarborough for attention.

33822 after coming in to Vancouver Avenue from Scarborough on Wednesday evening. The dire weather today has had a predictable effect on the paintwork and shortly after this picture was taken, 33822 was given a good bath.

The fleet seem to have settled down well now and on Monday there was only one delay of note. Y9-XL15 was held up by an earlier accident at Honingham and departed Wisbech for Peterborough 23 late at 10.41.
Tuesday was even better and the worst delay noted was just 13 minutes to L10-XL16 and 33811, but by the time it came back the arrears had been reduced to a mere 3 minutes. X1 Driver Calvin was 50 today and at one stage had the passengers upstairs on his bus singing Happy Birthday - what a friendly lot they are ! Since the relaunch with the new fleet, X1 drvers are now smartly attired with white shirts and name badges.
Wednesday saw an unexpected swap at teatime when 33818 was taken off K17-XL04 and 33808 off servicing went forward.
 Y9-XL15 06.41 ex Gorleston was delayed again and this time 33803 was 10 late westbound through Wisbech. Des reports three way traffic lights in Dereham which at one stage had made Y9 21 late. L10-XL16 following was 15 down with 33819 and then after a period of stability, K1-XL07 15.58 Wisbech - Peterborough came past 16 late with 33815. The other 16 turns were all seen at some point and all ran punctually.
Over at Lowestoft there are now four Geminis formerly on the X1 now working in new livery on the X2, these are 37563/6/8/70.
Thanks to all my regular correspondents for continuing to support the blog.

Sunday November 3rd 2013 ~ All Quiet on The Enviro Front

33805 entering Norwich on Wednesday. Photo : Joe Watson

Since the last blog posting on Wednesday things have calmed down nicely. Thursday ran as well as any day in the new timetable so far. Just one of the nineteen turns ran late, this being K14-XL01 which departed Wisbech for Peterborough 22 minutes late with 33814 being followed 11 minutes later by 33809 on K15.

33821 pulls into Norwich on Wednesday. Photo copyright : Joe Watson

Friday was as usual a poorer day for punctuality and in the early evening driving back from west of Peterborough I saw 33811 on K1-XL07 at Eye Green at 17.03 being followed by three cars and then 33806 on K2 - XL08. I then thought I must have missed seeing K3-XL09, when at the Clarkson Arms on Lynn Road in Wisbech I saw 33820 on K4-XL10, however, just a few cars behind it in the queue running out of sequence was the delayed K3 with 33822, so buses appeared to be running in pairs !
Saturday finally saw the return to traffic of lame duck 33803. It actually managed to do K1-XL07 diagram in its entirety without incident, so maybe it has been cured of its problems. 33819 which had spent the week at ADL in Scarborough for repairs to water leaks in its bodywork, was seen by Peter at Swineshead on the A17 heading back to Lynn at lunchtime. On his return he met 33804 going the other way, again for body repairs. 33809 had to be removed from Y7-XL13 today, but only because a passenger had been ill and it required cleaning, 33805 worked forward.
I had a very pleasant trip to King's Lynn this afternoon on Y13-XL19 with 33813 running nicely to time and I was able to sit on a front seat upstairs in my luxury seat. Other passengers had clearly made themselves even more comfortable (?) and there were dirty boot marks on the front panelling which makes me despair. Coming back we departed King's Lynn bang on time with 33822, but such was the traffic congestion in the rush to leave the town following a sharp downpour that it took us ten minutes to  reach the Southgates driver changing point. This was accomplished swiftly though and in less than two minutes we were on our way and arrival back at Walpole was only slightly late.
Sunday seems to have passed without incident and 33423 has not seen any use during the period under review, it does remain at King's Lynn as a spare vehicle though. 33809 had its first day off since the inception of  Enviro working today and its mileage is now 12,290.

The sun highlights 33821 as she arrives at Norwich. Photo copyright : Joe Watson

Wednesday 30th October 2013 ~ Scarborough Fair

Back on the first day of Enviro operation, this stunning photo of 33804 was captured by Russell Young near Swaffham. Photo Copyright : Russell Young

I had expected ADL staff to attend to 33819 on Monday, but what I didn't expect was that it would return to Scarborough for attention. The reason is water ingress in the bodywork. This has meant a reprieve of sorts for ex demonstrator 33423, details to follow,

Niggly faults have been the order of the week so far, beginning on Monday morning with 33804 losing its gears at Swaffham while working Y7-XL13 05.41 from Gorleston, 33814 was provided to work forward and this continued to Peterborough and back to Lynn where a revived 33804 was given the all clear to resume the duty. 33804 then had an extended day and instead of finishing at King's Lynn just after 18.00, it was called upon to take over from 33813 on L8-XL14 19.01 King's Lynn to Peterborough believed to be because the latter required cleaning.

 The DDA Interlock fault which seems to have affected a few Enviros occurred with 33807 at Norwich at lunchtime and this was temporarily fixed so it could continue to Lynn. Here 33814 went forward. Punctuality was fairly good, but Y9-XL15 had 33808 which arrived back in Wisbech from Peterborough at 12.18, 27 minutes late. On the other hand 33823 on K15-XL02 came in from the west at 14.56 which was 5 minutes early.

Wi-Fi problems with 33804/23/24 were fixed on Tuesday. 33803 was allowed out on the road, it took over from 33817 on Y7-XL13 11.31 King's Lynn - Lowestoft but only reached Toftwood before it suffered a complete loss of power. 33815 was sent out to replace it. At teatime 33807 had to be taken off K1-XL07 and with 33817 undergoing a safety service, 33423 was used to work the 15.20 to Peterborough and back.

K5-XL11 09.05 Peterborough - Lowestoft came bounding into Wisbech 5 minutes early at 09.46 with 33824 this morning and timekeeping was pretty good save early afternoon when K14-XL01 was seen by Bruce with 33818 passing Walpole at 15.09, 24 late.

33804 spinning along nicely on Wednesday morning's 07.33 Swaffham - Peterborough

On to Wednesday then to bring the blog up to date. Following its latest hiccup, 33803 was kept in Vancouver Avenue all day and with 33819 still at Scarborough, this just left one spare bus. K3-XL09 08.05 from Peterborough had 33820, but this came off at Lynn for 33818 to go forward. The fresh bus was in trouble near Dereham however with loss of drive and this once again meant it was the 'stealth bus', 33423 to the rescue and this completed the turn. The day was marred by a number of A47 accidents, beginning with an accident between Acle and West Caister which resulted in a morning peak closure and subsequent diversions, simultaneously there were problems further west at Brundall due to another accident. This meant some services were on time, but others delayed.

Here in the west my day began with encountering the 07.33 from Swaffham and the 07.30 eastbound ex Peterborough, both due at Walpole Highway at 08.31 and both passing each other in the village exactly as timetabled at that time. Y9-XL15 with 33816 was clearly affected by the incidents further east as it was seen departing Wisbech 21 late on the 10.18 to Peterborough. The early morning delays combined with those caused by the temporary lights on Lynn Road in Wisbech (these are only in operation between about 09.30 & 16.00) saw lunchtime services well behind time. K15-XL02 turned up passing my window at 13.56 , 27 minutes late still at the time with 33824 though this came off later with 33820 going forward as the 15.41 Lynn - Lowestoft. K14-XL01 fared even worse returning past me on the 13.45 from Peterborough with 33822 running 31 late. A further accident at Rings End on the A141 at about 14.30 saw traffic backing up to beyond Guyhirn affecting the A47.

Tonight 33823 had to visit Lowestoft garage for a replacement ticket machine before continuing to Yarmouth and forming the 20.35 to King's Lynn, it was on time on arrival.

Just before I sign off this one, I ought to add that there are encouraging signs that the Enviros may well end up giving the Geminis a run for their money. 33809 has now completed 31 continuous days in traffic on the route - yes it has been on the road daily since day one (30/9/13). Its accumulated mileage is now 11,417 !

Sunday 27th October 2013 ~ The Late Show

Just a very brief posting for now as it is past my bedtime. It has been a very quiet weekend on the X1 route, though the storm forecast for Monday morning could mean tomorrow's early services are subject to change or even cancellation.
The last two Geminis at Lynn, 37571 & 37579 have now left for Full Circle and 33423 remains at Vancouver Avenue undergoing work. 33819 is due to have work done by ADL tomorrow and 33803 remains out of service, it last worked on 17th. 33822 needs minor repairs, but the other Enviros are behaving themselves.

Friday 25th October 2013 ~ That Friday Feeling

Before we look at Friday, let's go back to Thursday - surely there will be nothing to report now with the new fleet up and running ? Well certainly the timetable was kept fairly to schedule today, but a very rare occurrence saw some unusual activity this evening. It would appear that due to an oversight, Enviro 33824 was not filled to its maximum fuel capacity on Wednesday evening and so it was that tonight it came to a halt between Acle and Norwich having run out of diesel. It was working the longest turn, K14-XL01 and this is the last through service to Peterborough, As a result Norwich produced good old Gemini 36180 out of a hat and this worked forward to King's Lynn where 33813 had been prepared to take over for the last leg.

Over at Lowestoft there was another new liveried arrival on Thursday, thanks to Syd Eade for the tip off.
37566 is back and being prepared to work on the X2 :

37566 was not best positioned in Gasworks Road says James, but thought you'd like to see it.                                   Photos copyright : James Race

Friday was also reminiscent of days past when heavy traffic levels coupled with temporary lights at Little Fransham and in Wisbech brought numerous changes of vehicle to keep the timetable running.
As early as 07.20, K18-XL05 had a vehicle change with 33818 which had just worked light to Wisbech and back coming off  in favour of freshly serviced 33811. Then at 09.35  33810 had to be taken off Y9-XL15 06.41 from Gorleston and 33824 which had been retrieved from Norwich (see above) was able to take the turn forward to Peterborough.
 By 11.00 the impact of the roadworks at Little Fransham was being felt and L12-XL18 ran very late with 33819 being noted departing Wisbech 32 late. Y13-XL19 the had 33818 inserted at Lynn replacing 33822 which Des brought into Lynn 32 late. This then heralded a cascading of vehicles to prevent too much time being lost.
 K15-XL02 was also heavily delayed and was 28 late from Wisbech on the 13.28 westbound with 33815, 33817 which had earlier arrived on K14-XL01 then took K15 to Lowestoft at 15.41. K16 ran with 33816 throughout. There were other changes too numerous to mention through the day and into the early evening. On the Gemini front, 37574 made its way across Norfolk to Full Circle today and this evening loan Enviro 33423 was back at Vancouver Avenue receiving attention.

Wednesday 23rd October 2013 ~ Consolidation

Well that's the excitement over for another five years ! The all new Enviro X1 service is now underway, so how have the new buses been performing on the rigorous duties ? Fairly well actually.
 On Tuesday there were no swaps of vehicle necessary. 33818 joined 33803/10 off the road for attention. The whole service seemed to run well with a few delays of just five minutes or so. The A47 has been relatively road works free and apart from temporary lights on Lynn Road in Wisbech, which have been well regulated, the service has been unhampered by the like. There are of course delays which take place on every weekday in the peak. In the mornings this can notably affect eastbound services between East Tuddenham and Honingham and further east on the Acle Straight approach to Great Yarmouth. 

On Wednesday afternoon services ran a little late. K15 - XL02 14.15 from Peterborough came into Wisbech 16 late with 33817 and K19 - XL06 11.30 ex Lowestoft went westbound 18 late with 33813. 
In order to fit in scheduled safety checks, 33808 was used on K5-XL11 and 33806 was taken off K6-XL12 09.35 from Peterborough at Lynn with 33807 (which had just had its service completed) working forward. Things were going to plan until 33805 expired on K3-XL09 08.05 Peterborough - Lowestoft in Gorleston, a recurrence of its DDA Interlock problem being the cause - see Thursday 10th's blog. 33806 was sent out fresh from servicing to take over the duty. 33810 appeared to be ready for a return to service this evening, but 33803 remains dumped at the overflow yard awaiting repair.
Gemini 37564 has now left King's Lynn for repainting at Full Circle.
Not mentioned before has been the retirement of old X1 regular Alexander Royale 34108 at the end of last week. This has meant a reprieve for 34113 seen here :

34113 photographed on Monday by Jamie Skinner.

For those of you who can obtain a copy, there is an excellent article on the X1 Enviro launch by Mel Holley in this week's Route-One magazine. www.route-one.net
Finally welcome back to Des Speed who is now back on the road after his prolonged lay off and thanks to all our regular contributors with a special mention for Angela who is in hospital at the moment, but will hopefully be home for the weekend.

Monday 21st October 2013 ~ The Enviro Revolution Starts Here

33819 working L12 12.35 Peterborough - Lowestoft this afternoon. Photo copyright : Roy Northcott/ENBB

Today was (as we suggested yesterday) the first weekday of an all Enviro service. This marked a significant event in the history of the X1, as it is the first time ever that such an intensive timetable has been run entirely by one batch of vehicles. This was never possible with the Geminis as only 17 were built specifically for the route, the other five B7s being drafted in to make up the numbers. 33822 which required a fault with its bus stopping sign to be fixed, was ready mid morning and it was able to re-enter service at 12.30 to take Y9-XL15 to Lowestoft, 33815 being removed from this duty.
The service ran almost without a hitch, I say almost because 33824 on its first day out disgraced itself by being unable to reverse out of Lowestoft bus station to work the 13.00 to Peterborough (K3-XL09). Moves were made to get 33815 into position to take over the duty and 33824 eventually made it back to King's Lynn.

Before its misbehaviour, 33824 is about to enter Brasenose Avenue in Gorleston today on its way to Lowestoft. Photo Copyright : Roy Northcott /ENBB

Timekeeping was good and only two duties were noted significantly late : 33816 was 10 down on the 07.30 Peterborough - Lowestoft (K2-XL08), seen at Walsoken and 33805 on L10-XL16 06.50 ex Lowestoft left Wisbech 17 late and returned 23 late. Tonight though it had regained all the lost time.
The mileages of the new fleet will differ considerably due to the staggered delivery times. As of this evening for example, 33824 had done just 398 miles, while top machine 33809 has already amassed over 8,100 miles. That said none of the rest of the new fleet had yet reached 7000 miles, but 33804/6/7/8/11/12 are all expected to pass this milestone tomorrow, as will 33810 if it is repaired following its failure on Saturday. So this evening is almost a Gemini free zone - not quite though as 37579 has arrived from the yard for an MOT which is scheduled for Thursday.
Michael Bryant, Malcolm Hicks and Syd Eade all report the first showing of new liveried 37570 on the X2 today, first seen working the 13.45 from Norwich this afternoon. Fortunately Syd was out with the camera to capture 570 on its inaugural day on its new route :

37570 at Pakefield today working the 15.15 Lowestoft - Norwich X2. Photo copyright : Syd Eade

So its farewell to the X1 Geminis for now and Andy Bunn who works at Lynn depot kindly took these pictures of 37574 after its arrival on the very last (it would seem) X1 worked by a B9 on Saturday night :

Sunday 20th October 2013 ~ Going Going, Almost Gone

All washed up ? 37577 & 37574 await instructions at Vancouver Avenue tonight.

With all the interest in the new Enviro fleet, this weekend the attention switched to the two remaining Geminis left in service with X1 branding, or as they have become known more recently, 'the white buses'.
Saturday dawned with an almost complete compliment of Enviros for the 19 duties, all except K3-XL09 that is which had 37577. This situation didn't last long though, as 33810 operating K15-XL02 only reached Norwich before being failed with a hydraulic oil leak. This meant Gemini thunderbird 37574 had to be called into action to replace it and this stayed on the turn for the rest of the day.
Other Enviros out of traffic were 33822 with inoperative 'bus stopping' signs and 33817 + 33824 both awaiting commissioning. 33803 is still at the temporary compound awaiting attention to an adblue fault amongst other things.

37576 at Acle today (see below). Photo copyright : Grahame Bessey.

Grahame Bessey reports 37576 in trouble on an X1 short on Saturday morning with fuel issues and terminating at Acle. Grahame adds "33820 was next to arrive very full and not enough space for those waiting at Acle plus the 37576 passengers, however Ambassadors NX 497 Coach pulled up and kindly gave myself and a dozen others a free trip into Norwich!"

33807 departs Norwich for Peterborough working the 11.55 ex Lowestoft (K1-XL07). Photo copyright : Grahame Bessey

33814 working K6-XL12 09.35 from Peterborough at Acle. Kev Summers at the wheel is not camera shy ! Photo copyright : Grahame Bessey

The Sunday service ran without incident, all Enviros and from those seen, all on time. This does however, leave things on a knife-edge for tomorrow. Will the timetable become 100% Enviro with the entry into service of 33817 & 33824 ? If so it looks as if the spare bus will still be a Gemini until either 33803/10/22 can be fixed. Malcolm Hicks reports Paragon coach 20514 at Lowestoft railway station this afternoon working a rail replacement service. 

Here for the detail enthusiasts is the full log of registrations and rear advertising.

Friday 18th October 2013 ~ And then there were two.

The decision was made overnight to take Geminis 37572 & 37573 out of traffic today and introduce 33822 & 33823 to the route. In the event 33822 didn't last the course, doing K17-XL04 until lunchtime when 33820 off servicing took its place. 33822 was then sent to the temporary compound to join 33803 which is due to be examined by Alexander Dennis personnel on Monday. 33823 took over from 37574 on K5-XL11 for the 10.31 Lynn - Lowestoft, but 40 minutes later, 37574 was back on the road relieving 33821 which had come in on L12-XL18 from Lowestoft. The only other Gemini left on the route, 37577 was working Y11-XL17 today. 37567 left for repainting today and the final two Enviros to be delivered arrived in King's Lynn, 33817 which is registered YX63 LKF and 33824 which is YX63 LKO.
Now all the new fleet have arrived, I will shortly be listing full details of arrival dates, into service dates, rear vinyls etc etc.
37571 requires new brake discs before it moves on and 37579 needs an MOT which should be done next Thursday. 37573 was undergoing attention today with its adblue problem, but 37564 which passed its MOT yesterday is now ready to depart for repainting, along with 33423.

37574 awaits its fate at Vancouver Avenue this evening, 33811 had just arrived with the 22.49 arrival from Lowestoft.

Thursday 17th October 2013 ~ Meeting the Public

Wednesday saw the appearance of 33808 in Lowestoft and 33811 in Norwich at the press events to mark the official launch of the new X1 bus fleet. By all accounts, the day was a success, although the weather in Norwich was pretty awful. There was an enthusiastic reception from the residents of Lowestoft though and feedback shows that the public are really liking the new vehicles.
37564 is now being prepared for an MOT at King's Lynn and 37566 has now joined some of its sisters at Full Circle for repainting. 33803 was sidelined on Wednesday with electrical faults, but the rest of the new buses had a successful day.
Zak Nelson from the Norwich Bus Page was present at Wednesday's launches and his enthusiasm in handing out timetables and goody bags resulted in him joining us today (Thursday) in King's Lynn and Peterborough. 
The day began for me with my first trip on one of the new fleet - yes well I've been spending too much time talking /writing about them to get to actually travel on one !
33816 turned up at Walpole Highway 17 minutes late due to heavy traffic in Peterborough and roadworks in Wisbech. I took a seat upstairs and settled into the 'leather luxury'. At Terrington St. John (I know it was there because of the on board announcements !) three ladies boarded and came upstairs. Despite the late running they were full of praise for the new bus, 'lovely seats', 'very comfortable' etc and best of all when they got off at Lynn, 'I'll definitely come on the bus again". Meanwhile, I was so comfortable in my seat, I was the last person to leave at the bus station. 
33811 which was the bus on show, was already parked outside Argos inside the pedestrian area when I arrived and present were various familiar faces from First and also a few fellow bus enthusiasts including Zak, David Bell and Andy James 

No 'First' launch would be complete without Freddie the Frog and he kept the youngsters entertained again today.
Photo copyright : http://andysbusblog.blogspot.co.uk/

33811 with Zak handing out timetables for the cause.

Rosemary Parry, Richard Tucker and driver Wayne Savory were representing 'First' in King's Lynn. The public seemed very interested in the Enviro and again were well impressed in the new features employed on the bus.
At Midday it was time to move on to Peterborough and at the invitation of Mrs Parry, Zak and myself were allowed to travel 'not in service' on 33811. This gave Wayne a chance to stretch the legs of the new bus and we went sailing down the dual carriageway parts of the A47 with ease - I thought the B9 Geminis were fast, but this bus seemed even quicker. 
On arrival in the city, we had to manouevre the bus into the pedestrian area of Long Causeway, which involved some delicate shunting and reversing, all accomplished perfectly by Wayne despite the tight clearances. Rosemary suddenly became a traffic policewoman and managed to halt all the surrounding traffic for this to take place, an unenviable task in this busy part of the city, before arranging for the bollards to be lowered to allow us to progress. 

Mrs P sorts out the Peterborough traffic. Now how did that large camera appear in that tree  ?

The Peterborough public seemed just as interested as those elsewhere and there were various references made by them to the effect that 'First' would make a better job of running the local buses than Stagecoach. To be fair, I guess the dominant company in an area always comes in for some stick, not always justified. 
While we were here, the news filtered through that the 12.35 service to Lowestoft had not called at the rail station, but a prompt investigation revealed that it had needed to visit King's Lynn garage for a bulb to be replaced and by the time it reached Wisbech on the outward, the following service (Y13-XL19) had caught it up. It was because of this that the 12.35 missed the rail station, the next bus serving it instead. 

Richard and his new recruit to the King's Lynn maintenance team ! Frogs like water don't they ? Better put him in charge of the air-con.

Now what happens when you take a photo like this.......

Rosie, you are not smiling...........
Or this......

Gerard, your eyes are closed ..........

The answer is to do a bit of computer wizardry to come up with this ......

Shame that the bus now seems to have a kink in the floor, but at least we are both smiling with eyes open !

I decided to travel back from Queensgate on a scheduled service to save Wayne dropping me off at Walpole. This was the 16.15 departure (K19-XL06) with 33808. We were 6 minutes late from Queensgate and by coincidence caught up Wayne and 33811 returning to Lynn light. This resulted in the two buses following each other until we reached the Thorney bypass where the buses went their separate ways with much tooting of horns. Traffic between Guyhirn and Thorney was very slow and I actually fell asleep - told you the seats were comfy. 
Suddenly approaching Wisbech, the on board announcements came to life, in a queue, we were informed three times that we were approaching Wisbech bus station - the system was then confused by us retracing our steps out of Wisbech bus station, announcing that we were arriving again. After this though it righted itself and we were just 3 minutes late at Walpole. The new vix monitors in the driving cab are very clever and inform the driver how close to schedule the bus is running, without the need for them to check timetables or running boards. A very enjoyable day with a good positive atmosphere amongst all concerned, to whom I express my thanks. 
On the road, the delay I mentioned earlier with 33816 was still evident in a 19 minute late arrival in Lowestoft reports Malcolm. It left westbound 9 late. The Gemini's were working as follows today : 37572 K1-XL07, 37574 Y11-XL17 and 37577 K18-XL05. 37573 was out of traffic at Lynn with an adblue fault. 33423 is still at the temporary compound here and is expected to be repainted shortly, while 33803 managed to fail again today on K3-XL09, its place being taken by 33819. 
It is hoped to have 33822/3 ready for traffic tomorrow and 33817/24 are due for delivery now, again probably tomorrow. 33807 seems to have found an affinity for Great Yarmouth, it is spending its sixth consecutive night there tonight and has since Monday, worked Y13-XL19 every day. 33807/9/10/11 have now all been in action every day since the inaugural day of Enviro working, 30th September.

Now we return to the mystery (or not) of the appearance of that Norwich Gemini at Acle the other morning (see Tuesday's blog). John Hutchinson writes "I can report that Radio Norfolk's intrepid reporter Wally Webb was live on air at Acle on Tuesday morning, chatting to some 'disgruntled' passengers waiting for the 0723 and 0753 services, which are apparently rather crowded from Acle. It appears that the 0723 departed full (a saloon if I was listening correctly) and then, according to Wally, at 0749 a bus pulled up 'Not in service' and the driver then changed the screen to X1 Norwich; this is presumably the one that Graham refers to. One wonders if the company were listening to the broadcast (it was spread over quite a long period of the programme between 7 and 8) and decided to act positively. The recent re-jigging of Anglian services seems to be at the heart of Acle residents' gripes, but that rather got lost in the broadcast amongst the to-ing and fro-ing of the X1 excitement!"

Oh really ? Well here is the official explanation from a rapidly improving Des Speed : "The Norwich vehicle on X1 relief from Acle at approx 07.50 is supplied by Norwich in order to meet passenger levels. It is to run for at least the next month".
Now that doesn't really answer the question does it ? Was it as a result of Radio Norfolk's intervention, or something which had been pre-planned. 
Well I should have asked Norwich supremo Chris Speed today when I saw him, but completely forgot in all the Enviromania. I'm sure he will have something to say, so watch this space. Meanwhile, we will just, like the Acle-ites blame 'Anglian' !
Finally - what a long post this has been - we finish with a photo from Matthew Holland of one of our old B7 Geminis in use in its new environs in Stoke-on-Trent.

37156 outside Stoke-on-Trent railway station on 12th October. Photo copyright : Matthew Holland