And then there was one
First Cymru's last Dart is 9.4m Alexander Dennis Pointer 42612, which is based at Port Talbot depot. She tends to not stray too far from her home town. However, she is surprisingly captured on Bridgend's Inner By-Pass when operating Service X1 (Swansea-Port Talbot-Margam-Pyle-Bridgend) in February 2023.
If my maths is correct, 441 Darts have been operated by SWT, Brewers and successor First Cymru since the first batch - Plaxton Pointer-bodied 501-24 (L501-24 HCY) - were delivered to SWT in October and November 1993.
This number includes three under First ownership that left the fleet and returned, and six that were loaned from other First subsidiaries.
Five were acquired for spares only.
The 'step entrance' variants carried Plaxton Pointer, Wright Handybus, Alexander Dash and UVG Urbanstar bodywork, whilst the 'low floor' examples have carried Plaxton Pointer (1 & 2), Marshall Capital and Alexander ALX200 bodies.
The 'odd bods' were UVG Urbanstar bodied 47307, Pointer 2-bodied 40033, 40034, 40036 & 40039 loaned from First PMT and 42784 that were new to New World First Bus in Hong Kong, and Wright Handybus-bodied 40556 that carried a Q-plate.
Will 42612 last long enough in 2023 to mark the thirtieth anniversary of the delivery of the first examples, I wonder ?
And then there was one
First Cymru's last Dart is 9.4m Alexander Dennis Pointer 42612, which is based at Port Talbot depot. She tends to not stray too far from her home town. However, she is surprisingly captured on Bridgend's Inner By-Pass when operating Service X1 (Swansea-Port Talbot-Margam-Pyle-Bridgend) in February 2023.
If my maths is correct, 441 Darts have been operated by SWT, Brewers and successor First Cymru since the first batch - Plaxton Pointer-bodied 501-24 (L501-24 HCY) - were delivered to SWT in October and November 1993.
This number includes three under First ownership that left the fleet and returned, and six that were loaned from other First subsidiaries.
Five were acquired for spares only.
The 'step entrance' variants carried Plaxton Pointer, Wright Handybus, Alexander Dash and UVG Urbanstar bodywork, whilst the 'low floor' examples have carried Plaxton Pointer (1 & 2), Marshall Capital and Alexander ALX200 bodies.
The 'odd bods' were UVG Urbanstar bodied 47307, Pointer 2-bodied 40033, 40034, 40036 & 40039 loaned from First PMT and 42784 that were new to New World First Bus in Hong Kong, and Wright Handybus-bodied 40556 that carried a Q-plate.
Will 42612 last long enough in 2023 to mark the thirtieth anniversary of the delivery of the first examples, I wonder ?