Great Yarmouth Special

I didn't think today was going to add up to much - I was going to Yarmouth Lamppost hunting only to find out they weren't leaving the safety of their den. So I went to their den and asked to see the leader and hey presto my first meeting with Danny Beales and a depot tour. Many of you know Danny but I hadn't yet had the pleasure and what a pleasure it was. Apparently he went to school with Chris Speed but he has overcome that disability and is in charge of the most charismatic depot I've been in for years.

Of course there will be Ollies - 34111 gets ready to depart for Flegg High School

However the aim of the day was to see the other 4 new Streetlites and they were there in various stages of preparation to go out in service in the near future.

47504 SN64 CPY in Caister Rd depot

Danny gave me a tour of the depot and a couple of updates on various things. Firstly I know a lot of you are following the fate of 34110. The last Olympian to be built was going to be put back on the road but the cost is proving prohibitive. So if anyone has a few grand laying around they want to donate to the "Get 34110 back on the road" fund let Danny know! Alternatively you can buy her for 8 grand and do it yourself!

34113 is definitely beyond hope and 34112 is a last gasp stand by but it's highly unlikely she will ever see service again.

A sad sight. 34113 and 34110 out the back of the depot looking rather forlorn

Caister Rd depot reminds me a lot of Gillingham depot in Kent 35 years ago. Lots of nooks and crannies with a surprise around every corner. I was shown the seat shop where repairs are made to damaged seats, including a very quick repair to the seat vandalised on 47502's first day out. But the highlight was the obsolete parts store upstairs. Oh my word like going through a time machine into a giant time capsule. Windows for Swifts, seats for Bristols and so on. You could almost feel and smell the history, and I could have spent hours just looking at what have become artefacts there.

A surprise inhabitant today was X1 Volvo B9 Gemini 37578

There are specialist areas for MOT, general maintainance, and a specialist tyre bay is being prepared which will be painted into corporate colours - should be interesting.

There was also another aspect of the depot I was very interested in, and I have aranged with Danny to return in the near future and have a proper meeting which will result in a post I've been wanting to do for a long time. more on that nearer the time.

I would like to thank Danny for giving me his time today when I know he was pretty busy. Thanks also for being given permission to wander round taking pics. I'll finish with another Streetlite pic and I think Yarmouth will look quite good once all 6 are out on the road. Incidentally it's still not certain what the Streetlites will replace and final decisions are still to be made.

47505 undergong safety checks in Caister Rd depot