Friday 31 October 2014

Poppy Vinyl

Displaying a poppy, 32629 roars past Gorleston Parish Church at Lunchtime today
With Breast Cancer Awareness Month coming to an end, First have replaced the pink ribbon vinyl displayed on their buses with a poppy version in support of the Poppy Appeal

As I had an errand in Gorleston High Street this morning I thought I would take the camera with me to get a photo of a decker with the poppy on display in its top deck screen

Unbelievably, the first bus coming into my viewfinder, that I was able to photograph, was Enviro400 33423 SN60CAA! (No I can't use a photo of that again!)

After another couple of photos I settled on this one - former First Leicester Gemini 32629 KP54KAX passing Gorleston Parish Church on the 8 to Great Yarmouth (and eventually Caister)

Steam Bus In Lowestoft

The Steam Bus at Kensington Gardens
Regular contributor Tim Major writes

'An event that may not have got on the radar of East Norfolk Bus Blog was a Model Engineering Exhibition at Pakefield School last weekend. 

At the same time a Model Boat Exhibition taking place at the Kensington Gardens on the clifftop at Kirkley. 
The Sentinel is seen here outside Pakefield School

Linking the two locations was a service provided by a 1932 Sentinel S4 Steam Bus from Bressingham Steam Museum. 

I believe the bus forms part of the Saunders Collection and the bus previously ran on a route in the Lake district. 

The Body of the vehicle is of fairly recent construction, the vehicle spent a large portion of its life as a lorry.'

Many thanks for the report and photos Tim and yes I didn't get to hear of the event!

Thursday 30 October 2014

The Wright Renowns

60813 on a Burgh Castle service in Gorleston High Street on 24th October last
At the beginning of the year First's Great Yarmouth depot had six Wright Renown bodied Volvo B10BLEs on its books

The number has been slowly whittled down to just three today - 60813 S664RNA, 60814 S665RNA and 66126 S116JTP

The others have found other employment; both 60807 S658RNA and 60808 S659RNA have
60814 on arrival at Belton on the same day - Photo: Jamie Skinner
been converted to driver trainers whilst 66168 W368EOW moved to First Essex in early January this year

Both 60813 and 60814 were new to First Manchester as 664 and 665 in October 1998 and were transferred from Ipswich to Caister Road in June 2011

66126 was delivered to First Southampton in August 1998 where it
Ex First Southampton S116JTP in Gorleston High Street
received fleet number 116. The saloon had its engine rebuilt in June last year and spent a short period on loan to Lowestoft in December 2012

All three appear to be nearing the end of their useful life and could be under threat when the new StreetLites arrive at Caister Road next month

However, on revisiting this post I realised that I had forgotten to mention the arrival of a fourth example in August this year from First Ipswich - 60622 R785WKW is a 'temporary loan' from First Yorkshire

So catch them while you can

Wednesday 29 October 2014

Service Alterations Registered ~ 29th October 2014

The Eastern Area Traffic Commissioner's latest Notices and Proceedings Report was published on the Gov.UK website earlier this morning

Publication 2191 contains no information regarding changes to local services in our area. However, there is notice of a public inquiry to be held

Ian Trussler & Partners, trading as Goldline Taxis of Moor Business Park in Beccles, are to appear on 18th November 2014. The inquiry will consider disciplinary action under Section 17 of The Public Passenger Vehicles Act of 1981 and under Section 28 of the Transport Act of 1985

The complete Notice and Proceedings Report can be viewed on the website by clicking HERE

Tuesday 28 October 2014

First Service 4 & 8 Diversions

The 8 diverting to Barnard Avenue yesterday with President LT52WTO in charge
Two First routes, serving the north part of the town, are being diverted following a road closure at the junction of North Denes Road and Beaconsfield Road

The services affected include the 4 which is diverting via Sandown Road, North Drive and Salisbury Road in both directions

Meanwhile, the 8 operates via Northgate Street, Caister Road, Barnard Avenue, Beatty Road and Jellicoe Road in both directions

The diverts commenced yesterday and will last until Wednesday (29th)

Lowestoft PBJ2F Update

PBJ2F complete with its El Alamein destination display
Another email from Syd Eade awaited me in my inbox this morning, updating the situation as regards Leyland PD2 PBJ2F

'The PBJ article was originally done before we got the bus, but when we met David Jukes this summer, who did the article, we took him out for a run and he was so impressed he did an
update to his Part 2 to include us. Fame at last and I am sure the
Daniel takes advantage of his slimness and height!
sales of the magazine have rocketed. 


We all spent most of yesterday (Sunday) checking over her too, prior to having an MOT test shortly, and it is definitely a 'Big Boys Bus' when it comes to trying to reach everything in the engine bay...... a job made for Daniel as he is both slim AND a great length from head to toe so he can reach those far away bits! Perhaps the Lowestoft fitters had a bench to stand on and very long handled spanners!

I also got a chance to fit a very rare destination blind, which I was given in 1966, that has El Alamein Road as a terminus, which was changed to 'Tedder Road' on all other buses on service 9, and the 3 never went beyond Yarmouth Road.'

Many thanks for the update and photos Syd - all remain his copyright

Monday 27 October 2014

Need A Loan? Part Two ~ Syd To the Rescue!

37146 YN06UPZ at Lowestoft in 2008 - note the Olympians
Regular correspondent Syd Eade comments on Grahame's report on loans to First Eastern Counties

'I see you gave poor Gemini 37146 YN06UPZ a poor write up, well I want to stand up for her! She was running happily in June 2008 on City Services and also ventured to Lowestoft for the Air Show shuttles during July and managed two arduous days without problem. I later found 
30902 stops at Fleet Hargate before heading to Norwich
her running in Leicester in March 2010 and also had a ride back to the Railway Station.

I was lucky enough to collect a few of the buses mentioned and bring them down to Norwich, so this photo of 30902 may be of interest. I took it at the Farmhouse Kitchen at Fleet Hargate in April 2008 on its way from Bradford (I stopped there to 
Optare Solos 50274 S305EWU and 50273 S304EWU on their way east
attend to the needs of the 'Inner Man' with tea and a fry-up)

By the way 50273 and 50274 did not move on from Great Yarmouth to Ipswich after they arrived... they went the other way round. Again I drove 50273 down myself, collecting it from Leeds, 50274 accompanied me on the journey. I have a photo of them both at 
Syd at the wheel of Solo 50273 on arrival at Ipswich
the now famous Farmhouse Kitchen and also of me in the cab of 50273 on arrival at Ipswich 

They stayed there for at least 6 months until I was again sent to Ipswich to drive them to Great Yarmouth. When they left First Eastern Counties they went to work local services in Livingstone in Scotland.... but I didn't get asked to drive them all the way there, thank goodness!'

Many thanks for putting the record straight Syd and coming to the defence of 37146! The photos are all copyrighted to Syd Eade and are very much appreciated

Bus & Coach Preservation ~ November 2014

The November issue of Bus & Coach Preservation contains content of much interest to the local bus enthusiast

A total of three articles refer to operations in the Lowestoft area with the first concentrating on the restoration of Lowestoft's last Leyland - the Massey bodied Titan PD2 PBJ2F.

The report also includes a photo of the new owners Richard Alger, Daniel Peart and regular blog contributor Syd Eade (as exclusively reported on this blog!)

To compliment this there is a two page feature of Lowestoft Corporation/ Waveney District Council buses operating in the Suffolk town together with many photos

The final article is headed 'Nocturnal Trolleys' and features a wide range of preserved vehicles in action on the Saturday evening of the East Anglia Transport Museum's Autumn Gala Weekend held in early September

Apart from that, the magazine is always a good read

Saturday 25 October 2014

Need a Loan? Part Two

Part two of our special post regarding the changes to vehicle emissions in Castle Meadow, Norwich will show an assortment of First group vehicles that were loaned in to cover for modifications to the Eastern Counties fleet.

First West Yorkshire supplied Volvo B7L & Volvo B7RLE, the latter being brand new 69329-69331 YJ08CDE/CDF/CDK, the B7L's came from York and were 60903/5 YG02DHM/DHO & 60924 YG02DHE.

First Manchester supplied Volvo B7RLE 66932 MX55FHG which arrived by mistake at Caister Road in Yarmouth before making the trip up the A47.

Leicester based Gemini 37146 YN06UPZ also arrived to assist but if memory serves me well it spent more time out of use than actually working, i pictured it whilst broken down outside Castle Mall in May 2008.

Another elusive vehicle which saw limited use whilst in Norfolk was First Glasgow B7L 61637 SJ51DHE, I never managed to capture her in use but David Waters did see her briefly working in Castle Meadow and let me have a copy of his photo.

It was quite a busy time in Norwich, the batch of Volvo B7TL ALX400's 30886-30903 were arriving from West Yorkshire and started life with Eastern Counties in the city before visiting most, if not all of the depots at some time in their life within the company.

Two Optare Solo's arrived at Great Yarmouth 50273/50274 S304/305EWU also from Yorkshire with plans to use them on the 4 service in the town, but they were short lived due to reliabilty issues and they moved on to Ipswich.

Back to Norwich and a few step entry Darts were still in use alongside an ever decreasing Olympian fleet, 2008 was certainly an interesting year for the camera in the city.

Norwich 2008, Need a Loan? Part One

Dart MX56HYB carried Scania number 65563
Enviro Dart KX07OOW carried 65568
Early 2008 saw changes to the rules regarding vehicle emissions in Castle Meadow, Norwich. Eastern Counties begain sending their Scania single deck vehicles away for engine modifications to comply with the new regulations meaning various vehicles were loaned in to cover the missing fleet.

Various different types were noted on the streets of Norwich , some noted carrying fleet numbers of the vehicles they were standing in for.

Other First Group companies supplied vehicles including First Manchester, Glasgow, West Yorkshire and Leicester.

The first set of photos show vehicles that came from various dealer stock which included a pair of Alexander Enviro Darts KX07OOW/OOX which carried an array of odd destinations whilst in use as you can see from the photo of one of them!

HV52WSU as 65559 in Norwich Bus Station
Plaxton Darts SN53LWR & MX56HYB were noted along with Caetano bodied HV52WSU

In the second part of this special post I will show some of the various vehicles from other First companies that were loaned in which included brand new Volvo B7RLE's from West Yorkshire, a troublesome B7TL Gemini from Leicester and a very elusive B7L from Glasgow!

Part two will be online shortly!

Thursday 23 October 2014

The Three Setras

The three Setras parked up together at Beach Coach Station late this afternoon 
After about a month away from the hobby, I escaped my decorating duties and met up with fellow blogger Steve W in Great Yarmouth

We adjourned to the Troll Cart at Market Gates for a pint and a chin-wag whilst observing bus activity

The time passed so quickly and I returned home via a quick look in at Beach Coach Station

There I found three Setras; two in Shearings Holidays' colours and one in National Holidays' white. The Shearings examples were 221 BF10VCD and 636 BT63GCV whilst the latter was represented by NH13VWH

A fourth Setra coach subsequently arrived in the form of National Holidays NH11LTH to even up the numbers

Jackpot!

34108 leads 34111 on Bernard Matthew duty on 16th May last
For some time now our Beccles contributor Tim Miller has been hopeful of observing Volvo Olympians operating all four journeys through the Suffolk town in the early afternoon

There has been some close calls recently with three passing him with the fourth turning up as a President or a Gemini!

However, yesterday he hit the jackpot with all four workings being provided by Olympians - 34186, 34111, 34109 and 34108

My thanks for the report Tim and hope you enjoyed your jackpot winnings!!

Recent Border Bus Addition

KX54NKH hiding in Brands yard in Beccles yesterday
Border Bus of Beccles recently added another single decker to its fleet

The ever vigilant Tim Miller was passing Brands yard yesterday and espied KX54NKH present and speculates it was possibly in for tacho work

The Alexander Dennis Enviro300 previously operated with Premiere Travel of Nottingham

My thanks to Tim for the report and photo

Monday 20 October 2014

Milestones & Moan

Firstly, this is the 400th post on the blog this year and thanks to everyone who has contributed news items and photos to help us to attain this figure. We have already passed the previous highest annual total (obtained in 2013) and we are still only in October!

Another milestone is that of some 500,000 visitors viewing the blog - something I never thought the blog could ever achieve. The audience has been global with the USA and Ukraine providing a considerable number of views after the UK. Thank you each and everyone of you for making this happen

And now the moan....... It has become apparent that some bloggers are copying news (and photos too) from this site without our approval - despite the copyright clause at the bottom of the blog! Often no mention is made of the information source and accordingly claiming it as their own. I would like to think imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!           Rant over!

Sunday 19 October 2014

Farm Workers Blues

Two Blue Double Deck vehicles are currently transporting workers to Mill Farm in my home village of Ormesby St. Margaret.

The first is GOX78V an Alexander bodied Volvo Olympian which has been converted to single door, unfortunately Google has no records of her history.

The second vehicle noted was P484MBY which was new to
Metroline as their AV4, it then began its East Anglian life with Chambers of Bures in Suffolk.

Both vehicles are now operated by G's Holdings of Soham in Cambridgeshire who operate a fleet of vehicles for this type of work.

If I remember last year saw a variety of vehicles noted including A290TSN, which was also part of a blog post, I'm sure if you search the blog it will appear!

Saturday 18 October 2014

New Home New Name

Noted in Acle this afternoon was former Great Yarmouth Gemini 37572 which  transferred to Lowestoft last month, it had been wearing Great Yarmouth names whilst operating from the Suffolk town and then a spell minus any, It is now carrying its new depot name on the drivers side only at present, seen here at the Kings Arms in the village en route to Yarmouth.

East to West

17786 LX03BVZ
A trip to Kings Lynn was the order of the day today to catch up with all the latest goings on in West Norfolk.

Three ex Stagecoach London Tridents have recently been added to the Norfolk Green fleet and hoping to see them in action i was not disappointed with two of the three out in service, 17786 LX03BVZ & 17787 LX03BWA were seen in the Bus station on the 505 service between Kings Lynn and Spalding.

Ex Stagecoach South Solo 47244 GX55DXO
Coach Services Scania YN57FZL
Norfolk Green run all the local services in the town and connections to Norwich, Spalding and North Norfolk all leave from the Bus Station, a variety of vehicles are operated including Optare Solo,Tempo, Versa & Spectra models, ALX 400 Tridents and E400 Enviros plus recent Dennis Dart arrivals from Stagecoach Cumbria. Ex Norse Agoralines also remain in service at present.

Other operators seen today were Konectbus who run betweem Watton, Swaffham and Lynn and also Coach Services of Thetford were seen using Wright bodied Scania YN57FZL on their 40 service.

I Drove over to the Saddlebow Industrial Estate to seek out the yard where vehicles were being kept for new operator Coastal Red which is due to start operations soon, three Optare Tempos were noted including YJ55BKU and what i believe is a new arrival YJ05JWZ which last operated with Lloyds in North Yorkshire after spells in Wales, it is an ex demonstrator, another Red Tempo was also on site bit i was unable to ID it.

Last stop on my Kings Lynn Tour was Norfolk Green's Depot where all 4 on loan Olympians were noted as well as the third ex London arrival LY52ZDZ. Driver Training Coach T667XYV also noted in the yard.

Photos from today will be on my Flickr site soon at
https://www.flickr.com/photos/hemsbybus/

Magdalen Estate Diverts ~ Week Two

This weekend sees the second week of diverts around Gorleston's Magdalen Estate via Trinity Avenue for the 2 and 8 services

Full details of the diversions affecting these routes and the X1 have been reported earlier on the blog and can be found HERE

Last week was a false start but roadworks were expectedto be in place on Brasenose Avenue necessitating the diversions

Regular contributor Jamie Skinner was quick of the mark this morning to photograph the early diversion of the 8 along Trinity Avenue - a similar shot to last weeks photo!

Many thanks for the report and pictures Jamie

First Huddersfield

First Huddersfield also has a fleet of Olympian
Contributor Michael Sayer has been in contact regarding activity in his home town

He confirms that First Huddersfield also has some Volvo Olympians in service - in fact ten of them!

He provides this photo of Alexander Royale bodied 30821 R641HYG branded Holmfirth Connection

First Huddersfield 69558 BV13ZDC about to depart for Parkhead on the 316
Holmfirth is home to the Last of the Summer Wine series and the town includes Sid's Cafe as one of its attractions

First Huddersfield also has seventeen Geminis in its fleet and ten fairly new Volvo B7RLE/ Wright Eclipses delivered in 2013 to replace its withdrawn R registered Pointer Darts

An unofficial West Yorkshire fleetlist, incorporating First Huddersfield, has been prepared by Sheffield Omnibus Enthusiast Society and can be viewed HERE

Many thanks to Mike for the information and photos

Friday 17 October 2014

A last look at 34187 S687AAE inside Caister Road depot
Olympian's
Final
Journey

After escaping scrapping on a number of occasions, Volvo Olympian 34187 S687AAE has finally succumbed and been towed away to the scrapyard

The Northern Counties Palatine II bodied decker was new to
34113 on its lonesome in the depot's rear yard
First Bristol in August 1998 as their 9687

Its removal leaves a lonely 34113 W433CWX parked in the rear yard, although 34112 W432CWX is languishing in the side yard next to the depot

Meanwhile work continues in the workshop on the return of last built Olympian 34110 W437CWX to service

Other Olympians noted in use today, by Jamie Skinner, were 34109 W436CWX and 34186 S686AAE on Bernard Matthews duty, whilst 34114 W434CWX was returning from Belton on service 7

Also unreported, is the arrival of training bus 60808 S659RNA at Caister Road after spending a few days residing at Lowestoft's Gas Works Road depot

My thanks to Jamie for the continuous Olympian updates and photos

Route Branding

First Gemini 37566 AU58ECE on the 99 to Kessingland but with X2 branding
One of the perils of route branding is the possibility that the said bus may appear on other routes

Contributor Syd Eade sent this example of a First Gemini on the wrong route in Lowestoft recently

Syd says 'it is a subject that still annoys me! The X2 route branded buses were done for a good
reason, however, it is an almost daily occurrence to see them on the 99 to Kessingland. This is really confusing to waiting passengers as it mirrors the X2 service out of town to Pakefield. My photo of 37566 demonstrates the problem.'


My thanks to Syd for the report and photo and I have some sympathy with his point of view; although I suppose any bus arriving is better than none at all!

Wednesday 15 October 2014

Service Alterations Registered ~ 15th October 2014

Van Hool M595BLC at the Lady Haven Public House in March 2010
The Eastern Area Traffic Commissioner's latest Notices and Proceedings Report was published on the Gov.UK website this morning

Publication 2190 contains no relevant information concerning changes to local services in our area. However, there has been one new application received of interest locally

This was made on behalf of R J Hipkiss & S J Atkinson whose registered address was given as Upper Staithe Road in Stalham. The operating centre is to be at 129 Mill Road, Cobholm in Great Yarmouth with one vehicle authorised

The location is that of the Lady Haven Public House which had previously been used to stable a Van Hool saloon M595BLC to transport Norwich City football supporters to home matches; appropriately in yellow and green colours. The vehicle was previously in use as a British Airway aircrew shuttle bus at Heathrow Airport

The full Eastern Area Traffic Commissioners Report can be viewed here

Galloway On Tour

Regular contributor Tim Miller was at Ringwood services in Hampshire early yesterday morning and found a little piece of Suffolk nearby!

It was one of the Galloway fleet in the shape of Volvo B13R BX12CWC sitting close to the Travelodge building

It was laying over prior to today's departure to Belgium for a battlefield tour

My thanks to Tim for the picture and information

Tuesday 14 October 2014

Monsoon Monday

An unidentified Gemini passes Acle Parish Church during yesterday morning
Monday morning was a 'little damp' as the locals will testify

There was torrential rain through Sunday night and Monday morning in this part of Norfolk with driving conditions a little different than normal

Peter Warner sent this photo in of a First Gemini negotiating the waters of Acle on an X1 service to illustrate the point

My thanks to Peter for the photo and, hopefully, the water has now subsided

Monday 13 October 2014

X1 Gemini

So far unreported on this blog is the repaint of a First Gemini into X1 livery

37578 AU58EDJ is one of two Geminis to be treated and it arrived back at Great Yarmouth's Caister Road late last week for its X1 duties

Regular contributor Jamie Skinner photographed 37578 at Norwich Bus Station this morning ready for departure on the eastern section of the service to Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft

He said that it still smells of fresh paint!

My thanks to Jamie for the continuous supply of reports and photos

Any Excuse (A Valid one I think!)

33423 on the 8's around 5.00pm
Fast becoming the most photographed bus in the Eastern Counties fleet, Enviro 400 33423 made a vary rare outing on the 8's this afternoon, pictured here on Yarmouth Road in Caister.

I passed her on her usual X1 working this morning in the town but was surprised as I followed her en route to Caister on my way home, so good job the camera was with me!

Grahame.

Saturday 11 October 2014

The Hertford Loop

32065 displays Magdalen Estate as the destination as it
passes the temporary bus stop on Trinity Avenue
With roadworks due to start on Gorleston's Brasenose Avenue today, First diverted its services 2 and 8 via Hertford Way

No sooner had they been put in place, regular reporter Jamie Skinner was on hand to photograph one of the early workings

His pic shows former First Leicester ALX400 32065 W425SRP on service 8 heading west down Trinity Avenue before turning left into St Anne's Cresent prior to ending up at the temporary terminus in Hertford Way

My thanks to Jamie for the report and photo

After all the preparations to notify the public the work did not commence today after all; but First were not told until later in the day!!

Domination

30014 F147MBC outside Caister Road
30010/30012/30016 in the yard at Caister Road shortly after arriving
Summer 2004 saw the arrival of a batch of Dennis Dominators to Great Yarmouth. They arrived from First Leicester and were not the best to look at if im honest!

30010 F140MBC
30011 F141MBC
30012 F142MBC
30014 F147MBC
30016 F296PTP

All were in the short lived Barbie 2 livery, All had East Lancs bodywork similar to the two Volvo vehicles E40/41OAH operated by Great Yarmouth Transport although 30016 was slightly different in style.

They operated many routes in their time at Caister Road but mainly saw use on the 603/4 Lowestoft- Martham service (The 1 Today!)

They finished their days being used mainly on Bernard Matthews contract work.

Not one of my favourite's but they certainly earned their money when they were here.

Friday 10 October 2014

Last Olympian To Return

34110 on Bernard Matthews duties on 22nd November 2011
First Eastern Counties Volvo Olympian 34110 W437CWX is to return to active service

The Alexander Royale bodied decker was started up during yesterday afternoon and moved inside the garage for inspection work and MOT

34110 has the distinction of being the last Volvo Olympian built and it is hoped that it wont be too long before it is seen in service again

The decker had been languishing in the rear yard of the Caister Road site for around a year

Thursday 9 October 2014

Weekend Diversions in Gorleston

With roadworks scheduled for Brasenose Avenue in Gorleston over two consecutive weekends, some diversions are to be put in place by First between 09:00 and 16:00 on those days

33824 turning from Hertford Way into Brasenose Avenue
During that time, the X1 is to operate between Gorleston High Street and James Paget Hospital via Church Lane, Middleton Road and Lowestoft Road with all stops on Middleton Road being served.

Service 2 will operate as normal as far as Selwyn Road and then the whole length of Trinity Avenue before continuing right onto Magdalen Way to terminate at the bus stop on Magdalen Square. On the return journey it will operate via Hertford Way, right into St Anne's Crescent, then as normal. The temporary timetable can be viewed here

On Saturdays, some service 8 journeys from Caister are to operate via Middleton Road to Lowestoft Road and Bridge Road whilst others will operate via Trinity Avenue and terminate at the lay-by on Hertford Way. Click here for the temporary timetable

An additional shuttle service will run every half hour between Hertford Way and Gorleston High Street to allow passengers to transfer to other services.

On Sundays all journeys on Service 8 will operate via Middleton Road, with a half hourly shuttle service between Hertford Way and Gorleston High Street. See here

Sunday 5 October 2014

Omnibus Society Tour

Coasthopper branded YJ09LBA on an Omnibus Society Tour 
The Omnibus Society was touring the North Norfolk area yesterday as part of the Society's Presidential Weekend

Grahame Bessey saw members of the Society at Sheringham yesterday on board three of Stagecoach Norfolk Green's Optare Solos; one with an appropriate destination screen

You are probably aware that the Society's president is Ben Colson, the former Managing Director of Norfolk Green

My thanks to Grahame for the info and photo

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Any excuse to get a photo of 32423 on the blog!
Locals will have noticed that almost all of First's Caister Road based deckers and saloons have been appearing with a pink ribbon vinyl in their windscreen or nearside window

Their appearance relates to Breast Cancer Awareness Month which First Group supports and its entire fleet should be carrying the motif during October

Photogenic ADL Enviro 33423 SN60CAA was noted on X1 duty in Gorleston High Street yesterday morning adorned with the vinyl

Saturday 4 October 2014

Craske Coaches

Scania Irizar XIL6507
A Small operator tucked away in the Norfolk village of Catfield, Craske has been operating since 1995 run by husband and wife Brenda & Christopher Craske.

They currently operate Five vehicles, Four of which are executive class vehicles with the other being used for schools contracts in the area.

Scania Berkhof CNZ6130
Scania Berkhof YN06NZV
I had a drive up to Sheringham and North Walsham today and stopped in on the way back to Catfield to see what was parked up at the depot on Sutton Road.

Scania YN06NZV carries David Urquhart Travel livery and is used for UK and European tours, she was new to Minsterly Motors of Shrewsbury.

Another Scania with Berkhof body here is CNZ6130 which was formerly owned by Mainwaring, Tonyrefail in Wales, now in allover White.

The final vehicle noted today was Scania Irizar XIL6507 which started out as SA02RNE new to Doigs of Glasgow, she also carried V600MAJ whilst operating for Deal Top of Clyst.

Other vehicles in the fleet are Scania Irizar YN57FWT and DRY640 A Plaxton Paramount bodied classic!