First Eastern Counties

buslad1988 · 22 Sep 2023

Electroliners now starting to enter service - and full colour destination displays (as predicted) Confirmed by East Norfolk Bus Blog here:

Electroliner On Test Runs

Recently delivered Wright StreetDeck Electroliner BK73 AEV has been appearing on the First Norwich Red Line route between Longwater Retail P...

eastnorfolkbus.blogspot.com

RailUK Forums

JD2168 · 23 Sep 2023

buslad1988 said:
Electroliners now starting to enter service - and full colour destination displays (as predicted) Confirmed by East Norfolk Bus Blog here:

Electroliner On Test Runs

Recently delivered Wright StreetDeck Electroliner BK73 AEV has been appearing on the First Norwich Red Line route between Longwater Retail P...

eastnorfolkbus.blogspot.com

The destination blind on the Electroliner in picture does not look very clear in the picture. It also partially reminds me of the blinds used on the Fastline MCW Metrobuses & Dennis Dominator’s in South Yorkshire for a short while until they were changed to more standard style.

ACBest · 23 Sep 2023

JD2168 said:
The destination blind on the Electroliner in picture does not look very clear in the picture. It also partially reminds me of the blinds used on the Fastline MCW Metrobuses & Dennis Dominator’s in South Yorkshire for a short while until they were changed to more standard style.

It’ll be clearer in person - Hanover’s full colour displays have a high refresh rate, meaning they don’t turn up in photographs very well.

MasterSpenny · 3 Oct 2023

According to Bus Lists on the Web (buslistsontheweb.co.uk):
Wrightbus StreetDeck Electroliner plates:
Fleet - Registration
36530 - BK23LUP
36531 - BK73AEV
36532 - BK73AEW
36533 - BK73AEX
36534 - BK73AEY
36535 - BK73AEZ
36536 - BK73AFA
36537 - BK73AFE
36538 - BK73AFF
36539 - BK73AFJ
36540 - BK73AFN
36541 - BK73AFO
36542 - BK73AFU
36543 - BK73AFV
36544 - BK73AFX
36545 - BK73AFY
36546 - BK73AFZ
36547 - BK73AGO
36548 - BK73AGU
36549 - BK73AGV

Andyh82 · 3 Oct 2023

In the First West Yorks thread, an electroliner in purple with a pink front has been delivered, for the York university contract

Therefore maybe coloured fronts is an option on the electric bus purple livery and would have been allowed for Network Norwich?

buslad1988 · 3 Oct 2023

Andyh82 said:
In the First West Yorks thread, an electroliner in purple with a pink front has been delivered, for the York university contract

Therefore maybe coloured fronts is an option on the electric bus purple livery and would have been allowed for Network Norwich?

Yes after seeing the photo in that thread I did wonder if that was an option… and I’m now hoping FEC has just stuck to only using colour destination displays!

Purple isn’t the best colour to mix and match with hence why the current scheme has the white/grey inbetween to break the front and rear sections up. That York scheme looks rather garish! Imagine purple with turquoise - just wouldn’t work.

Fin447 · 15 Oct 2023

Ensign StreetDecks 35693/168 & 35697/172 are on loan to Norwich according to First Eastern Counties Bus Blog

MasterSpenny · 20 Oct 2023

The Electroliners will be getting launched at an event next week

https://x.com/zak_nelson22/status/1715312381100802382?s=20

Norwich... we're going electric! Ahead of the launch event next week, I've been out for a drive to familiarise myself with the new vehicles. Smooth, quiet, comfortable, and exceptionally warm on this cold wet day! #newbus #electric #zeroemissions #Norwich #FirstBus #bus

transportphoto · 30 Oct 2023

The electric fleet have started in service today at Norwich.

Busfan98 · 4 Nov 2023

I've noticed there been no electrics out today according to bustimes. They do seem to have had a lot of problems this week, so I do question if they will be successful here. Is anyone feeling the same?

CBlue · 5 Nov 2023

Busfan98 said:
I've noticed there been no electrics out today according to bustimes. They do seem to have had a lot of problems this week, so I do question if they will be successful here. Is anyone feeling the same?

Any fleet regardless of type will have teething problems for a short while, given these are the first electrics that have been operated in Norwich its not a surprise. Similar electric 'deckers operate happily in London, Cambridge and elsewhere so I don't think Norwich is a special case.

Volvodart · 5 Nov 2023

When the hydrogen buses came to Aberdeen they did not work weekends. I assumed that the garage staff in charge of them did not work at weekends so they were not used in case of any problems.

buslad1988 · 5 Nov 2023

Busfan98 said:
I've noticed there been no electrics out today according to bustimes. They do seem to have had a lot of problems this week, so I do question if they will be successful here. Is anyone feeling the same?

Any introduction of any vehicle type will always have its settling in period. No one expects everything to be perfect from day one forever more.

This is quite a leap for First Eastern Counties; in due course when the electrics take over en mass it won’t be noticed when certain vehicles are on/off the road.

What interests me is that I don’t think they had any demonstrators in preparation? Whereas places like Sheffield have had the BZL/Yutong - unless it’s to do with the more hilly nature of the work there.

Is there still no news on subsequent cascades as a result of the incoming electrics?

Busfan98 · 6 Nov 2023

CBlue said:
Any fleet regardless of type will have teething problems for a short while, given these are the first electrics that have been operated in Norwich its not a surprise. Similar electric 'deckers operate happily in London, Cambridge and elsewhere so I don't think Norwich is a special case.

I'm well aware of that. But I heard two of them had very major issues. one suffered severe damage whilst being towed. And another got its battery run down to zero and isn't recharging so prob need a new unit which will be costly.

TheGrandWazoo · 6 Nov 2023

Busfan98 said:
I'm well aware of that. But I heard two of them had very major issues. one suffered severe damage whilst being towed. And another got its battery run down to zero and isn't recharging so prob need a new unit which will be costly.

Just remember what you said...

Busfan98 said:
They do seem to have had a lot of problems this week, so I do question if they will be successful here. Is anyone feeling the same?

Assuming that what sounds like hearsay is true.... well, one suffering damage whilst being towed isn't a reflection of its suitability for operations which is what you originally suggested. Also, if there's any sort of battery fault, that will be covered by the warranty.

As others have said, these are vehicles that are being used elsewhere without major issues. Yes, there'll be some teething problems but that will begin to calm down as they they get run in and driving/maintenance staff get familiar with them.

If anything, Norwich really should be ideal territory for them. With a good number of B7TLs still knocking about, it'll be good to see some of those heading for disposal

Busfan98 · 6 Nov 2023

TheGrandWazoo said:
Just remember what you said...

Assuming that what sounds like hearsay is true.... well, one suffering damage whilst being towed isn't a reflection of its suitability for operations which is what you originally suggested. Also, if there's any sort of battery fault, that will be covered by the warranty.

As others have said, these are vehicles that are being used elsewhere without major issues. Yes, there'll be some teething problems but that will begin to calm down as they they get run in and driving/maintenance staff get familiar with them.

If anything, Norwich really should be ideal territory for them. With a good number of B7TLs still knocking about, it'll be good to see some of those heading for disposal

It's more concerns and skepticism that I'm feeling more than anything. I do admire First for investment in the fleet and do wish the Electroliners success. I'm sure I'm not the only one who is skeptical as well.

And I agree that we do have a few old B7TL Presidents that are long overdue retirement. Admittedly today has been a better day for the Electroliners.

TheGrandWazoo · 6 Nov 2023

Busfan98 said:
It's more concerns and skepticism that I'm feeling more than anything. I do admire First for investment in the fleet and do wish the Electroliners success. I'm sure I'm not the only one who is skeptical as well.

And I agree that we do have a few old B7TL Presidents that are long overdue retirement. Admittedly today has been a better day for the Electroliners.

It's not a little early to be that skeptical, is it? First has quite a bit of experience in electric vehicles elsewhere and even new diesels have the occasional off day before they settle down.

ps it's not just the Presidents. Even the newest B7TL Geminis are now 16 years old!

90sWereBetter · 7 Nov 2023

I believe the Electroliners are currently being used to provide extra capacity on the Norwich network in the run-up to Christmas. The bonfire of B7s and mass cascades of B9s probably won't begin until January at the earliest. I would imagine B9s will be cascaded to Yarmouth, Lowestoft and First Essex at Colchester to clear out B7s.

There's a mystery surrounding Streetdeck 35201, which has been off service since August 2022 and no-one has seen sight of it since. There had been rumours it was being converted to battery electric power, but given such conversions have never been successful I find this unlikely.

BVW · 9 Nov 2023

An ongoing project for the next few months. Thought I'd collate various bits of data gleaned from Bus Lists On The Web, Bustimes and DVLA for the Norwich Electrics into one place. 36531 appears to have done a couple of round trips for one day on September 21st in between turns for driver familiarisation prior to last week's launch. I'll update this every so often if it's of use to anybody.

Mod note: information should be presented in text format to aid accessibility.

MasterSpenny · 9 Nov 2023

BVW said:
An ongoing project for the next few months. Thought I'd collate various bits of data gleaned from Bus Lists On The Web, Bustimes and DVLA for the Norwich Electrics into one place. 36531 appears to have done a couple of round trips for one day on September 21st in between turns for driver familiarisation prior to last week's launch. I'll update this every so often if it's of use to anybody.

View attachment 146257

Mod note: information should be presented in text format to aid accessibility.

Slight correction: 36549 is BK73AGV not BK73AGZ - the post I made here is to what I understand is 100% accurate

MasterSpenny said:
According to Bus Lists on the Web (buslistsontheweb.co.uk):
Wrightbus StreetDeck Electroliner plates:
Fleet - Registration
36530 - BK23LUP
36531 - BK73AEV
36532 - BK73AEW
36533 - BK73AEX
36534 - BK73AEY
36535 - BK73AEZ
36536 - BK73AFA
36537 - BK73AFE
36538 - BK73AFF
36539 - BK73AFJ
36540 - BK73AFN
36541 - BK73AFO
36542 - BK73AFU
36543 - BK73AFV
36544 - BK73AFX
36545 - BK73AFY
36546 - BK73AFZ
36547 - BK73AGO
36548 - BK73AGU
36549 - BK73AGV

BVW · 9 Nov 2023

MasterSpenny said:
Slight correction: 36549 is BK73AGV not BK73AGZ - the post I made here is to what I understand is 100% accurate

Thank you. I wondered why the DVLA website wouldn't pull up the details!

MasterSpenny · 23 Dec 2023

MasterSpenny said:
According to Bus Lists on the Web (buslistsontheweb.co.uk):
Wrightbus StreetDeck Electroliner plates:
Fleet - Registration
36530 - BK23LUP
36531 - BK73AEV
36532 - BK73AEW
36533 - BK73AEX
36534 - BK73AEY
36535 - BK73AEZ
36536 - BK73AFA
36537 - BK73AFE
36538 - BK73AFF
36539 - BK73AFJ
36540 - BK73AFN
36541 - BK73AFO
36542 - BK73AFU
36543 - BK73AFV
36544 - BK73AFX
36545 - BK73AFY
36546 - BK73AFZ
36547 - BK73AGO
36548 - BK73AGU
36549 - BK73AGV

The following information has also been taken from buslistsontheweb.co.uk:
36550 - BK73AGX
36551 - BK73AGY
36552 - BK73AGZ
36553 - BK73AHA
36554 - BK73AHC

F Great Eastern · 12 Jan 2024

Can someone explain why a bunch of almost brand new StreetDeck Hydroliner's have turned up working out of Ipswich in full University of York Livery inside and out?

90sWereBetter · 12 Jan 2024

F Great Eastern said:
Can someone explain why a bunch of almost brand new StreetDeck Hydroliner's have turned up working out of Ipswich in full University of York Livery inside and out?

These are lowheight diesel Streetdecks, the same age and type as the batch new to Ipswich last year. The complete electrification of First York has meant these buses are redundant.

Five are due, which will retire the last quintet of B7TL/ALX400s.

_sSamuel · 12 Jan 2024

F Great Eastern said:
Can someone explain why a bunch of almost brand new StreetDeck Hydroliner's have turned up working out of Ipswich in full University of York Livery inside and out?

Not Hydroliners; StreetDeck Micro Hybrids, numbered 35927 to 35931. These are presumably in Ipswich too see off the last B7TLs, but some have entered service in their existing livery due to a current vehicle shortage, and today ran the O1 and O3 One contracts (another went to run an O2, but arrived late so returned straight to the depot). Also in Ipswich is a Norwich B7RLE (former Wessex, presumably 69548).

90sWereBetter · 12 Jan 2024

_sSamuel said:
Not Hydroliners; StreetDeck Micro Hybrids, numbered 35927 to 35931. These are presumably in Ipswich too see off the last B7TLs, but some have entered service in their existing livery due to a current vehicle shortage, and today ran the O1 and O3 One contracts (another went to run an O2, but arrived late so returned straight to the depot). Also in Ipswich is a Norwich B7RLE (former Wessex, presumably 69548).

I imagine this is to replace the last 05-plate B7RLE at Ipswich (69010).

Indeed, it appears Eastern Counties is now the last bastion of Euro3 B7RLE operation anywhere in the First empire, which is incredible given the sheer size of some of the batches they had back in the day.

buslad1988 · 12 Jan 2024

F Great Eastern said:
Can someone explain why a bunch of almost brand new StreetDeck Hydroliner's have turned up working out of Ipswich in full University of York Livery inside and out?

Was hoping these would arrive in Ipswich to oust the last B7TL/ALX400’s - aren’t the interiors standard First spec? They’ll of course be repainted in due course.

So with these additional Streetdecks plus the Streetlites coming to remove the Enviro 200’s surely First in Ipswich will have the most modern fleet in Suffolk?

BVW · 14 Jan 2024

The next four Streetdeck Electroliners for Norwich are registered as follows, again per buslistsontheweb.co.uk:
36555 BK73 AHD
36556 BK73 AHE
36557 BK73 AHF
36558 BK73 AHG

Registration numbers appear to have been assigned to the remaining thirty Norwich Electroliners, according to postings on Busview over the weekend.

36559 BK73 AHJ 36565 BK73 AHV 36571 BK73 AJV 36577 BK73 AKN 36583 BK73 AKY

36560 BK73 AHL 36566 BK73 AHX 36572 BK73 AJX 35678 BK73 AKO 36584 BK73 AKZ

36561 BK73 AHN 36567 BK73 AHY 36573 BK73 AJY 36579 BK73 AKP 36585 BK73 ALO

36562 BK73 AHO 36568 BK73 AHZ 36574 BK73 AKF 36580 BK73 AKU 36586 BK73 ALU

36563 BK73 AHP 36569 BK73 AJO 36575 BK73 AKG 36581 BK73 AKV 36587 BK73 AMO

36564 BK73 AHU 36570 BK73 AJU 36576 BK73 AKJ 38582 BK73 AKX 35888 BK73 AMU

It remains to be seen whether any entering service after March 1st will retain these marks or gain 24-plates. Saying that, 36530 may have set a precedent, having been licensed as BK23 LUP on 30th August 2023 and making its maiden appearance over four months later on January 11th.

36549/53 (BK73 AGV/AHA) followed the day after, bringing the active total up to 19 as follows: 36530-5/7/8, 36540-9/53. All have been out over the few days apart from 36537 (last tracked Dec 22nd) and 36539 (Dec 5th).

Busfan98 · 3 Feb 2024

TheGrandWazoo said:
It's not a little early to be that skeptical, is it? First has quite a bit of experience in electric vehicles elsewhere and even new diesels have the occasional off day before they settle down.

ps it's not just the Presidents. Even the newest B7TL Geminis are now 16 years old!

Yes I was being over skeptical I admit, they appear to have settled down now the charging infrastructure been sorted. Won't be able to go on the longer routes though. I just like the older stuff more like the b7tls and the tridents we had before they got withdrawn.

CBlue · 4 Feb 2024

I remember travelling on some of those tridents back in their London days and they felt worn out then, the refurbishments before delivery to Norwich didn't help much.

After 20+ years they're definitely overdue for replacement, along with the B7TLs...I remember those President bodied ones being transferred across from London for the X2 Norwich - Lowestoft, with at least two breaking down on the first day in service! Took the depots a long time to get them into a condition where they could survive a trip to Norwich and back :lol:

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