Recent content by mbonwick

There's over 150 10.8m E200MMCs around the group, as the obvious and direct successor to the E200.

Indeed, Highlands over the past couple of years have really gone off-piste with new vehicle orders. The Solos, Sprinters, B8RLE/Evoras (which are actually more common than you think within Stagecoach now) and to a lesser extent the Yutongs I can understand...but the coaches I can't. I know...

The golf club haven't been running the pumps continuously (as shown by how rapidly the water has dropped since the derailment with them running 24/7). I can't remember where I read it, but they've been quoted as saying the pumps cost £9k/year at least to run, which they can't afford as...

Running it well buried in the embankment was perfectly sensible at the time it was put in, and the pumps were only needed on the rare occasion - it's protected from all the dynamic forces at rail level. The lengths to the side in the picture tell a story and I wouldn't be surprised if there was...

Do they need to use the WCML? WCRC have had locos and stock in/out from Carnforth via Crag Bank Road before, not sure if you can get access to the loops without going through their yard?

Yes, on the Fisher nuclear berth (I believe they're still in use but probably haven't seen a train in a long time since the last load of waste was returned to Japan). Getting them onto road transport is the easy bit, getting them out of Barrow might be slightly harder and disruptive....not sure...

Yes. Different chassis too, which rather explains the fleetnumbers!

Storm Desmond later in 2015 also really focussed minds as to how important the pumps are!

The culvert wasn't blocked because it started to collapse, but because the tides have pushed too much silt up against the outfall. The outlet in question is somewhere under the pool of water in @strawberryline 's image in post #141 above. The pump pipes were dropped into the same marsh channel...

Fife, although it's now not a Stagecoach vehicle - it's been purchased by Peoplesbus who are starting up again. Presumably only at Gillmoss for MOT.

Does 90-something vehicles over 2 years count as very small? Certainly not a big seller, but not really low numbers either....

Lindale. The hill was somewhat of a challenge...

I should probably have expanded on that. 4.2m is the maximum height permitted under the Road Vehicles Construction & Use regulations. Buses have an exemption up to 4.57m, but in practice the 4.2m is the de facto standard to avoid buses becoming tree collectors. Still doesn't change the fact...

The obvious answer that I'm surprised hasn't been mentioned yet, is height. The UK generally is more into the double deck concept that mainland Europe, and DD products are expected to make full use of our 4.2m max height. This makes transporting anything across the continent, with its 4m max...

Or is this just Plaxton saying that they've got a decent MoD order for the next couple of years, and that any smaller orders will be fitted around that?