TrentBarton & NCT Solo Models
Although both TrentBarton and NCT operate in and around Nottingham, in a broadly similar manner with prominent route branding, their choice of vehicles tend to be only loosely connected. Both, however, really went to town with the Optare Solo and bought sizable numbers of them as their preferred midibus. Since the initial intakes from around 1999-2002, later versions of both the classic and SR Solos have also ended up at the two operators.
From those original style Solos, characterised by their tuneful Allison gearboxes, here's a Corgi code 1 model of TrentBarton FG02 BGO, which is a really nice and detailed model from 2006, and my code 3 model of NCT Y238 LRR, which is about what you'd expect from a fairly low budget representation that's half made of paper.
Both happen to be spare buses that aren't branded for any particular route, instead just filling in where a normal branded bus isn't available to run the service. 238 managed to last in this role quite far beyond what NCT's route branded Solos did, with it and twin 237 bowing out in 2019. The last of the slightly older Locallink branded ones were withdrawn a few years before, and even the 57 plate ones (which were 2nd hand) went around 2016.
I'm not sure about 466, but the majority of TrentBarton's remaining early Solos were swept away in the late 2010s. The single, final example numbered 462 is somehow still going at Sutton depot, but with the Ilkeston area network shrinkage (which, as I write this on 29.9.22, is in three days time) and impending withdrawal of the final Wright Solars, I wouldn't be surprised if 462 was gone by this time next week.
TrentBarton & NCT Solo Models
Although both TrentBarton and NCT operate in and around Nottingham, in a broadly similar manner with prominent route branding, their choice of vehicles tend to be only loosely connected. Both, however, really went to town with the Optare Solo and bought sizable numbers of them as their preferred midibus. Since the initial intakes from around 1999-2002, later versions of both the classic and SR Solos have also ended up at the two operators.
From those original style Solos, characterised by their tuneful Allison gearboxes, here's a Corgi code 1 model of TrentBarton FG02 BGO, which is a really nice and detailed model from 2006, and my code 3 model of NCT Y238 LRR, which is about what you'd expect from a fairly low budget representation that's half made of paper.
Both happen to be spare buses that aren't branded for any particular route, instead just filling in where a normal branded bus isn't available to run the service. 238 managed to last in this role quite far beyond what NCT's route branded Solos did, with it and twin 237 bowing out in 2019. The last of the slightly older Locallink branded ones were withdrawn a few years before, and even the 57 plate ones (which were 2nd hand) went around 2016.
I'm not sure about 466, but the majority of TrentBarton's remaining early Solos were swept away in the late 2010s. The single, final example numbered 462 is somehow still going at Sutton depot, but with the Ilkeston area network shrinkage (which, as I write this on 29.9.22, is in three days time) and impending withdrawal of the final Wright Solars, I wouldn't be surprised if 462 was gone by this time next week.