The Santa Bus campaign

Every year, Stagecoach in Eastbourne do a Santa Bus complete with decorations and a driver dressed up as Santa to raise money for charity. In it's 5th year, it is even better with more decorations, special blinds and a singing reindeer on its cab door which is really funny. The campaign is to raise money for children's charity You Raise Me Up a good cause which helps sick children and their families. The chosen bus for this year is ADL E300 27579 GX58 GKL which has also been treated to a fresh respray which it really needed.

Some of the decorations in statistics:

1200 lights inside the bus

50 teddy bears

A real Christmas Tree 

It took the driver 5 - 5.5 hours to decorate 27579

Santa has been doing the rounds on selected local routes The Loop, 1, 1A, 3 and 4 and here are my selection of photos from the past week.

I'm going to start with E300 27579 showing a Santa Bus screen and working route 3.

This is the first year the Santa Bus has displayed Santa Bus on the blind fully as demonstrated by E300 27579 GX58 GKL

Santa working route 3 after dropping off in South Street in Eastbourne Town Centre he even waited to go until I took some photos.

 27579 even spent a few days on the Loop working the Anti-Clockwise one day and the Clockwise the next day. Also included is an interior shot of my 4th Santa Bus ride taken from the back of 27579

The 2019 Santa Bus E300 27579 GX58 GKL is seen on the Anti-Clockwise Loop 

Inside decorated E300 27579 

 Santa is spending most of his time driving the 1/1A services here he is working route 1 in Eastbourne Town Centre.

Santa Bus 27579 is seen working route 1 

27579 is the 3rd E300 to be decorated in all the years of the Santa Bus joining Scania E300 28609 GN61 EVP back in 2016 and ADL E300 27574 GX58 GKE back in 2018. Hopefully he will raise loads of money for charity.

Trident returns

I didn't think I was going to say this but more Tridents have returned to the South Coast which was so unexpected and surprising. More possible YouTube recordings are on the horizon as they're a different type of bus to what I normally record as I mainly record E300s and Scanias. 

These Tridents that have joined the fleet are from the GX54 batch which they had 3 years ago but not these ones though. One carries a private XIL registration but was originally a GX54 the other 2 carry their original registration marks. The Tridents also carry flip dot screens which are easier to photograph than the normal orange LED screens as flip dot screens come out easier. 

The first example is 18160 it entered service with its screen not working or programmed so carried a paper route number on its first day it now has a working screen.

Trident 18160 with a paper route number as the screen wasn't working here it is on the 1A

 Now for 18161 which like 18160 also carries its original registration mark here it is working route 5.

Trident 18161 is seen on an odd working of route 5 it had replaced an E200 

 Finally onto 18163 this one has a private registration mark here it is working route 1.

18163 works route 1 

These are meant to be kept on town routes only but knowing what strange allocations there have been the past week, then they could go out further.

The former route 56 now route 6

I did a blog post a while ago highlighting the extended 5/5A and waited for a bit until I got some photos of route 6 as I was lacking route 6 photos back then. Route 6 has been used before down here for the open-top service last year which only lasted one year as it wasn't well used. 

Now route 6 is back again this time as a replacement for route 56 running more or less the same route as what the 56 did and it still requires the same amount of buses on it to what the 56 did. Here are some of my photos highlighting the use of buses on the route.

Scanias on route 6: The route is mainly run by E400s during term time either ADL or Scania with one Single-Deck working here are Scanias 15490 and 15329 on the route.

Scania 15490 having just terminated after working a route 6

A Wave is really rare on a route that isn't the 99 here is my very first route 6 photo Scania MMC 15329 doing the route

 E300s on route 6: The route uses Single-Deckers of any size here are E300s 27578 and 27574 on the route with 27578 being on an E400 working so it was a rare working.

E300s have been appearing on the route recently here is 27578 having just finished the route this working normally uses an E400

At the start of the journey is E300 27574 here it is on the school holidays and Saturdays only 14:36 route 6

 The former: As mentioned earlier, route 56 was replaced by route 6 here is Scania 28606 on the old 56 route.

The former route 56 was replaced by route 6 here is Scania E300 28606 on the 56 a month before becoming route 6

Change of place for photos

After losing the other location because of the works, I'm back at my former location for more photos as the buses have returned there again. There are 2 bus stops one houses the Wave, the 3 and terminating routes and the other holds other bus routes that don't terminate in the town centre. As always, I've been out and about at these 2 locations to get some photos anything from Scanias, E300s and MMCs to a Trident the only difference is that the road is now bricks.

I'm starting with the most recent photo and that is of ADL MMC 10701 working the Wave 99 covering for one of the Scania examples that normally do the route.

ADL MMC 10701 picks up for a Wave 99 service in a short dry spell

Just over a week before Wave branded ADL MMC 10724 was seen in the exact same place as what 10701 was.

ADL MMC 10724 also picks up for a Wave service

 Now onto a few Scania E400s now: Seen further down from the Wave was Scania 15450 working the 5 service to the North Harbour, Ex Breexe 15503 and back at the Wave stop Scania 15544 on the Wave 99.

Scania 15450 is seen picking up for route 5 further down

Scania 15503 was also photographed in a similar place

Scania 15544 at the Wave stop working the Wave 99 covering for 15330

 E300s near or at the Wave stop: The Wave 99 stop is also used for terminating buses E300 27579 and Scania 28608 are both seen at the stop.

E300 27579 is seen having just completed the 51 took 3 photos of this and this was the only one with a screen showing

Scania E300 28608 is seen having just finished its 51 trip

 Back further down now to E300 27582 right next to the pub.

E300 27582 is seen near a pub in the town centre

 Another bus to add to my collection is Trident 18074 it has been appearing on the 98 and 99.

Trident 18074 at the Wave stop 

 Finally, with a Loop branded E400 for company (Think it's 19650), is Scania E300 28609 on the 5A service.

Scania 28609 works the 5A

The extended 5 and 5A the first 4 weeks additional photos

As I mentioned in my previous posting about the service changes including photos of 28606 and 27578, I have decided to do a post highlighting routes 5 and 5A almost 4 weeks on. As you can tell, I'm still struggling to get a photo of a bus on route 6 as the only one I had got didn't have most of its screen showing

So for now, It's only 5As and 5s featured here are some additional photos from the past few weeks. Let's start with Scania E300 28610 this was a recent shot from this week of 28610 working the route it's seen working the 5A. An cropped version will be uploaded to my Instagram and Facebook.

Scania E300 28610 is seen working route 5A

 The next photo features 28607 another Scania E300 here it is also working route 5A picking up its load.

Scania E300 28607 is also seen working route 5A

 28608 is the next bus featured in this post this working isn't allocated a Scania E300 like the previous 2 photos here it is also on the 5A.

Scania E300 28608 seen working the 5A

 Now for the mention of the 5 a route which terminates at Langney Shops one side and North Harbour the other side this would change to a 5A though for the South Harbour ADL E300 27577 is seen on the route.

ADL E300 27577 is seen working route 5 

I'm yet to get a photo of 28609 on that working though I will do soon!

New route numbers

A massive overhaul of timetables occurred earlier this month with routes being cut, others going completely and new routes have been created with various route extensions. The route extensions of the 5 and 5A happened replacing what was part of route 55 with a more frequent weekday service to areas that were served by the 55.  Another route created was the 6 which replaced route 56 retaining the 56s routing just under a different number. The 5/5A is mainly operated by E200s with a few E300s appearing as well also with a booked E400 working of the route.

Here are some 5As featured:

The first extended 5A I photographed was worked by E300 27578 here it is leading a group of E300s.

27578 is seen working a Beachlands bound 5A here it leads 2 Scania E300s

 The other 2 5As photographed were worked by Scania E300 28606 this is an allocated Scania E300 working.

Scania E300 28606 in a soggy Eastbourne working the Scania E300 working of route 5A

Meanwhile here is 28606 in drier conditions

I will continue to get photos of the route along with the 5 and the 6 so hopefully will be more photos soon.

Transfers and short lived transfers

Buses transfer in and out all the time sometimes within the South East or other group members and the past few weeks have been full of transfers. Buses have come in whilst others have left to go elsewhere it's all happening.

I've been busy capturing some of buses that have appeared in the area which have done before and have never been in the area here are the photos that I've managed to get.

Tridents were very short lived they didn't last long here is 17734 on the 5

 Stagecoach in Eastbourne have gained 2 more GX58 E300s taking the total of the type up to 8 the buses are 27577/9. These 2 buses were on loan back in February covering normal services whilst others were away doing rail replacement they have joined 27578 and 27573/4/5/6/82.

E300 27577 is seen working the 1 service this was the first time I've seen 27577 since February. 

E300 27579 is seen working the 51 here it is in Eastbourne town centre

A summary of transfers.

A trip by Bus

On Monday this week I went on a bus trip this time I went to Brighton where I hadn't been for buses since 2016. There are 3 operators featured in this post they are: Brighton&Hove, Stagecoach South and MetroBus. Brighton&Hove are the most dominant operator in the city with the most routes. The bus I had for my journey in the morning was so busy it was packed but coming back, not as bad.

Here are my selection of bus photos from a really good day out:

Regency Volvo 423 is seen in the City Centre it was taken off after this photo was taken because of the many problems with the Regency Volvos.

Something more promising was Stagecoach South E300 27658 seen with a Coastliner behind.

E300 27667 is seen working the 17 route which can only use Single-Deckers because of a low bridge along the route.

Coastliner MMC 10968 is also seen these are no good for the 700 at all.

Working the 270 route was E200 6782 they have a ZF gearbox and are rubbish.

A Metrobus Scania is seen on the 273.

Rainbow Pride Bus 439 is also seen in the same place as the Regency Volvo. 

These Scanias are on borrowed time so I thought why not get a photo of one.

i360 Volvo 420 is also seen in the City Centre.

Regency Bus and Drusillas Bus in one featuring Volvo 426

Wasn't expecting to see one of these normally found on Worthings "The Pulse" route here is E300 27677 showing that route branding doesn't work and is seen on the 17.

A sight that won't be around for much longer as these Volvos will soon be displaced by brand new ADL hybrids.

I would love to visit the area again as I felt really happy with my photography.

A couple of weeks of odd workings

Route branding fails and buses appearing on routes they're not allocated to are classed as odd workings. There has been quite a few odd workings in the past couple of weeks including Hastings Arrows E200s appearing on the 98, E200s on the Wave 99, E300s on the Wave 99, Loop buses on the 1/1A and Scania E300s on the 1X. Here are some of my photos showing some of these odd workings occur.

The batch of 12 plate Hastings Arrows E200s are normally found on Hastings locals but come to Eastbourne on the 98 and sometimes the Wave 99 here we have 36489 working the 98.

I had to stand in between traffic cones for this shot of Hastings Arrows E200 36489 on the 98 

 The Wave 99 also runs between Eastbourne and Hastings but is a quicker route than the 98 using Scania MMCs. However, in the last couple of weeks, there has been some Single-Decker appearances on the route 36899 and 27572 are both seen on the route.

E200 36899 is seen working the Wave 99 which normally uses Scania MMCs

A week earlier, E300 27572 also made an appearance on the Wave 99

 The Eastbourne Loop E400s aren't good buses and the pink front doesn't hide their many problems there has been a few Loop Buses off route recently appearing on their former route the 1/1A here is 19651 on the 1.

Normally found on the Eastbourne Loop is E400 19651 here it is working the 1 its former route

 One final rare working was the appearance of Scania E300 28610 on the 1X which normally uses E200s I took a few photos of this and was able to get the blind showing on the last one I took.

A really rare working was Scania E300 28610 working the usually E200 operated 1X the route needs a bigger bus sometimes

Hopefully there will be many more odd workings to come.