New Lampposts Lite Up Yarmouth

Ok Streetlites, but lampposts will do. Anyway the first two examples of the first new buses for Yarmouth hit the streets yesterday and obviously it was my duty to brave the forecast flood and get up there to not only see one but ride it too.

I was lucky on three counts. Firstly I had less than 5 mins to wait at a wet Market Gates before one turned up on the 8's. Secondly it was wet but not the monsoon they had threatened, and thirdly I had an amenable driver who was happy to let me take a few pics at James Paget and natter a bit about the bus.

New Streetlite 47501 SN64 CPU at Market Gates

And so I boarded at Market Gates, sat back in my usual seat above the rear axle, enjoying the leather interior and set off with an air of optimism. First of all it seems quieter than the earlier Streetlites, although that could simply be because it is a bigger model so there is more space for the sound to dissipate. The ride seemed smooth but I have to say these new Streelites sound extremely similar to E200's, which is a minus point with me as I don't like the sound of the E200 engine one bit. But we got to Jame Paget with no problem.

47501 at James Paget Hospital

 Now the interior. I'm not a big macho chauvanist anti pink person, but even I think this interior was designed in a 10yo girl's bedroom. Did the handrails have to be quite SO pink? What do you think?

The rather pink and lilac interior of 47501

So after a natter we trundled back to Yarmouth. Although the driver wasn't exactly critical of the bus he did mention a time delay between the doors closing and the handbrake releasing, which gave him concerns about time keeping. 10 seconds at every stop soon adds up.

Rear view of 47501

At the moment there are few rattles. However I don't see that state of affairs lasting long, and not only due to it being a cheap bus. The roads it will travel on daily are shocking and it is only a matter of time before that takes it toll. I also suggest they are too small for the 8's. We had a standing load by time we left Gorleston High St, and whereas the seating capacity may be similar to a Renown they are shorter so it seems more cramped when full. But apart from that they are far better than most Yarmouth has to offer, Geminis and Olympians excepted. Just before I got off I spotted something that those who just stand on corners taking pics of buses would never get a pic of. Not even going to tell you where it is so to find out you'll have to get on one!

Somewhere on 47501

Finally it has been a long time since Yarmouth got new buses. It may be sometime before they get some more. It transpires that yesterday, on its first day out a student at Gorleston 6th Form College set fire to one of the seats on 47502. I didn't manage to get on the vehicle today but saw three seats at the back which seemed intact so I hope they have managed to repair the damage quickly. Luckily CCTV will enable the prat to be easily identified and prosecuted. Then clean the bus with a toothbrush. I did get a pic of 47502 but my camera doesn;t like moving vehicles much so you'll have to take my word that it really is 47502!

47502 at Market Gates