Trams

[Resident 1,195]

1 hour ago, RollingJ said:

Thanks @Resident. As you can probably guess, I know that, but it is very useful to have back-up. Didn't spot the E200 trial, but they do tend to keep them quiet these days, and I keep forgetting to check my usual source of FSY/Stagecoach Yorkshire info - it tended to go quiet during the Covid 'crisis' and hasn't really got back up to speed.

You probably didn't spot it as it was liveried in Powells white with leaves bodywork as I believe that is who loaned First the bus.  IIRC it was only trialed on the 56 route to test round the tightness of Wybourn. 

 

[RollingJ 2,057]

1 minute ago, Resident said:

You probably didn't spot it as it was liveried in Powells white with leaves bodywork as I believe that is who loaned First the bus.  IIRC it was only trialed on the 56 route to test round the tightness of Wybourn. 

 

That explains it - not an area I spend much time in 😀. Do you know when it was on loan - roughly?

[Resident 1,195]

15 minutes ago, RollingJ said:

That explains it - not an area I spend much time in 😀. Do you know when it was on loan - roughly?

Summer 2019 IIRC. I know it was pre-covid. 

[RollingJ 2,057]

Cheers - I'll have a look and see if it was commented on. 👍

[hackey lad 3,991]

Anyone got news on the trams . No work being done between Donetsk Way and Crystal Peaks 

[RollingJ 2,057]

2 minutes ago, hackey lad said:

Anyone got news on the trams . No work being done between Donetsk Way and Crystal Peaks 

Anything on the Supertram website?

 

Sorry the topic seems to have got 'derailed'.

[GleadlessLad 12]

There seems to be nothing at all on Supertram's website, at the moment, with regard to the service suspension between Birley Lane & Halfway.  Just a message about the forecast for hot weather on Monday & Tuesday, suggesting that customers should think carefully before using their service on those two days.

 

Supertram did post about the service suspension on their Twitter feed at 07:16 this morning, just stating that this is until further notice; it's now 9 hours later & they've posted nothing else on there since 07:16.

[RollingJ 2,057]

@GleadlessLadPar for the course - none of the operators in this region have a reputation for keeping the public up-to-date, but ST are the worst of a bad bunch, from my experience.

[hackey lad 3,991]

Any news  on the trams ?

[Lemmy117 15]

Overhead line issues, I suppose  expansion is the problem, even though it has only just been sorted from the last problem. No matter how much you plan for these things, exceptional weather will always catch you out. I see LNER have already cancelled all services on the East Coast line on Tuesday between London and the north, overhead line and track expansion would be the most likely causes. 

[hackey lad 3,991]

7 minutes ago, Lemmy117 said:

Overhead line issues, I suppose  expansion is the problem, even though it has only just been sorted from the last problem. No matter how much you plan for these things, exceptional weather will always catch you out. I see LNER have already cancelled all services on the East Coast line on Tuesday between London and the north, overhead line and track expansion would be the most likely causes. 

Maybe that but surely it would affect the whole tram system 

[Guest busdriver1]

On 17/07/2022 at 11:21, Resident said:

Smallest bus, without going the custom route, is an Optare Solo. All in you're looking at £150,000 for a 10 year life-span.  They don't actually last that long because the engine is small and underpowered. They're costly to maintain and still almost as wide as a standard 38ft single deck.  They are shorter but this cuts capacity. Simply put they aren't worth the effort.

First did rent a slightly larger Enviro200 (Solo 24ft, E200 29ft) as a trial but ran into the same issues as using a regular 38ft. 

A few innacuracies there. Firstly the Optare Solo is available as a "slimline" vehicle and like other versions of this bus can perform well for up to 20 years if maintained correctly. First South Yorkshire had issues, TM did not. Secondly, the E 200's that were on loan were actually hired in as a result of a self made crisis within the engineering department of first and were hired from DawsonRentals at Hellaby. There were some 10 at one point. Yes they were used on Wybourns as that has always been a problem route for car parking. A few came over to Rotherham for service there .