Just as I'd managed to catch up with an old friend from back 'home', so it is that she is taken away from me again - and how prematurely! Dennis Dart R460 CCV was unfortunately within the next batch to be withdrawn and taken away for scrap, pictured here resting before her final journey, in Old Fieldhouse Lane Depot. Somewhat frustrating in that I never actually got to ride on her to 'remind me of home' before she was withdrawn. As Nathan picked up on last week though, its so surprising that all these relitively young, low floor vehicles are being withdrawn up here, while down in Devon and Cornwall, more and more step entrance vehicles have been added to the fleet in recent months, including increasing numbers of the K-LAE batch of Leyland Olympians, and N reg step entrance Dennis Darts from Bristol. Why not send R460 back home to join her sisters, who have returned home to Plymouth after spending time in Barnstaple over the last few years, until its unfortunate closure this month. I'm sure she'd be most welcome!
While pacing my way through Lancashire on Monday, I came across this Olympian parked down a side road near Accrington Bus Station, so thought it worth going out and having a look! To my, well, astonishment, N721 LTN which some of you may remember as being Stagecoach Devon 16721, was blinded up for an X38 to Buckfastleigh! After looking back through my own collection, and other people's photos, it appears that Pilkington's have never actually bothered re-programming the blind from its days with Stagecoach. A majority of the time it appears to be left with 'megabus.com' on the blind, which was indeed the case when I photographed it last in August of this year (pictured below). Nice bit of free advertising for them! Shame really, as its an very well presented bus for a small independent, but blinds definitely don't seem to be the company's strong point.
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