VioletEclipse
The End of Four Eras
Change is constant at Lothian Buses, and 2019 is definitely no exception. Here is a small collage of photos taken over the course of the last four days (Monday the 14th to Thursday the 17th) showing the four things that we probably will have to say goodbye to over the next year, as they will most likely be gone by the end of 2019.
Top left:
Volvo 7900 Hybrid number 1 (LB13 BUS) 'Stuart' is seen today on Thursday the 17th of January 2019 operating a service 24 to the RIE.
The 15 Enviro 400 Hybrids were introduced in 2011 with the madder and gold hybrid livery to promote Hybrid buses, followed in 2013 and 2014 by the 50 Volvo 7900 Hybrids who all gained a single deck variation of the hybrid livery, as seen here. From June 2016 to October 2017 the Enviro 400 Hybrids were gradually repainted into Madder and White straight lines, and then in July 2018 Lothian went onto refurbishing and repainting the Volvo 7900 Hybrids into the single deck Glass Staircase Madder and White livery. Roughly half the 7900s still have their original liveries, but they are being repainted at quite a fast rate, so they will presumably all be repainted and refurbished by the summer of this year (2019).
Top right:
Gemini Two 310 (SN09 CUG) 'Great Chimp' is seen on Tuesday the 15th of January 2019 operating a service 31 to Polton Mill. In 2009 (ten years ago now) service 26 received a brand new fleet of Gemini Twos to replace the Tridents that had been on the service until then, and some Gemini Twos were given zoo branding over the next years by public voting, and then in 2015 301-310 were given new zoo branding, as seen here. 310 (SN09 CUG) 'Great Chimp' still retains it's 'Swing Into Africa' zoo branding with Chimps, and the current zoo branding has now been replaced by the (again publicly voted) zoo branding on Gemini Threes 466-495 new in 2017 on service 26. Gemini Twos 301-310 are currently being repainted into the Madder and White Glass Staircase livery and the few remaining with zoo branding are most likely going to be repainted by March 2019 at the latest. I have decided not to change the names I have for them, meaning, for example, that this one I will continue to call 'Great Chimp'. The remaining zoo branded Gemini Twos operate mostly on service 31 from Central.
Lower left:
Trident 684 (SN04 ADV) 'Vi' is seen on Service C134 to King's Buildings on Monday the 14th of January 2019.
Since the first were delivered in 1999 (two decades ago now!) the 200 Alexander Dennis/Transbus Plaxton President bodied Tridents have been a part of Lothian's fleet, but now in 2019, 20 years after they were introduced, only a select few remain in service, with none on weekends and up to five operating on weekdays, with service C134 being the very last Lothian service to still be reliably operated by two Tridents, which will change when the 42 new diesel Enviro 400 XLBs enter service in February, letting the remaining three to five Tridents retire from Lothian. They will be missed, but their polluting Euro 3 diesel engines desperately need to go. It is quite fitting that Tridents have been part of the fleet for 20 years, so goodbye to the Tridents (1999-2019). Almost fifteen year old Trident 684 (SN04 ADV) 'Vi' here is now numerically the oldest Trident left in the active service fleet.
Lower right:
Gemini One 793 (SN56 AET) 'Truth' is seen on Tuesday the 15th of January 2019 operating a service 7 to the RIE.
While they are up to two years newer than the Tridents, our Gemini One B7TLs (701-825) are on their way out too, due to age and emissions (They are by no means 'clean' or 'green' at all). Gemini One 701 (SN55 BJX) 'Isle Of Harris' has been withdrawn, and reportedly been seen in it's playing card themed Harlequin livery, ready for vintage running day on Saturday the 13th of April 2019. This leaves 124 (702-825) B7TLs in service as of 17.01.2019, and they are to be withdrawn over the course of 2019, and hopefully all gone by 2020 at the latest, they are simply far too environmentally damaging to keep in service. I, for one, will miss them, especially number 702 (SN55 BJY) 'Yell Of The Geminis', but they are getting old and dirty and need to go. Gemini One 793 (SN56 AET) 'Truth' has retained it's Transport for Edinburgh logo above the window from 2013, and it's roller blinds.
White on black roller blinds are a well known feature of Lothian's fleet, but despite their long history, roller blinds are being phased out, which means that the only major operator on this island still using roller blinds would be TfL in London, who are also considering replacing theirs with LED screens. Roller blinds will be missed by many, but in January 2019 a large proportion of the fleet still retain their original roller blinds, for how much longer? They could well be gone before 2020 (next year).
Okay, that's five things, but the Madder and Gold Hybrid livery, the Zoo branded Gemini Twos, the B7TLs, roller blinds and, of course, the Tridents are all nearing the end of their time. 2019 will most likely bring a lot of changes to Lothian, and these are just a few of them.
The End of Four Eras
Change is constant at Lothian Buses, and 2019 is definitely no exception. Here is a small collage of photos taken over the course of the last four days (Monday the 14th to Thursday the 17th) showing the four things that we probably will have to say goodbye to over the next year, as they will most likely be gone by the end of 2019.
Top left:
Volvo 7900 Hybrid number 1 (LB13 BUS) 'Stuart' is seen today on Thursday the 17th of January 2019 operating a service 24 to the RIE.
The 15 Enviro 400 Hybrids were introduced in 2011 with the madder and gold hybrid livery to promote Hybrid buses, followed in 2013 and 2014 by the 50 Volvo 7900 Hybrids who all gained a single deck variation of the hybrid livery, as seen here. From June 2016 to October 2017 the Enviro 400 Hybrids were gradually repainted into Madder and White straight lines, and then in July 2018 Lothian went onto refurbishing and repainting the Volvo 7900 Hybrids into the single deck Glass Staircase Madder and White livery. Roughly half the 7900s still have their original liveries, but they are being repainted at quite a fast rate, so they will presumably all be repainted and refurbished by the summer of this year (2019).
Top right:
Gemini Two 310 (SN09 CUG) 'Great Chimp' is seen on Tuesday the 15th of January 2019 operating a service 31 to Polton Mill. In 2009 (ten years ago now) service 26 received a brand new fleet of Gemini Twos to replace the Tridents that had been on the service until then, and some Gemini Twos were given zoo branding over the next years by public voting, and then in 2015 301-310 were given new zoo branding, as seen here. 310 (SN09 CUG) 'Great Chimp' still retains it's 'Swing Into Africa' zoo branding with Chimps, and the current zoo branding has now been replaced by the (again publicly voted) zoo branding on Gemini Threes 466-495 new in 2017 on service 26. Gemini Twos 301-310 are currently being repainted into the Madder and White Glass Staircase livery and the few remaining with zoo branding are most likely going to be repainted by March 2019 at the latest. I have decided not to change the names I have for them, meaning, for example, that this one I will continue to call 'Great Chimp'. The remaining zoo branded Gemini Twos operate mostly on service 31 from Central.
Lower left:
Trident 684 (SN04 ADV) 'Vi' is seen on Service C134 to King's Buildings on Monday the 14th of January 2019.
Since the first were delivered in 1999 (two decades ago now!) the 200 Alexander Dennis/Transbus Plaxton President bodied Tridents have been a part of Lothian's fleet, but now in 2019, 20 years after they were introduced, only a select few remain in service, with none on weekends and up to five operating on weekdays, with service C134 being the very last Lothian service to still be reliably operated by two Tridents, which will change when the 42 new diesel Enviro 400 XLBs enter service in February, letting the remaining three to five Tridents retire from Lothian. They will be missed, but their polluting Euro 3 diesel engines desperately need to go. It is quite fitting that Tridents have been part of the fleet for 20 years, so goodbye to the Tridents (1999-2019). Almost fifteen year old Trident 684 (SN04 ADV) 'Vi' here is now numerically the oldest Trident left in the active service fleet.
Lower right:
Gemini One 793 (SN56 AET) 'Truth' is seen on Tuesday the 15th of January 2019 operating a service 7 to the RIE.
While they are up to two years newer than the Tridents, our Gemini One B7TLs (701-825) are on their way out too, due to age and emissions (They are by no means 'clean' or 'green' at all). Gemini One 701 (SN55 BJX) 'Isle Of Harris' has been withdrawn, and reportedly been seen in it's playing card themed Harlequin livery, ready for vintage running day on Saturday the 13th of April 2019. This leaves 124 (702-825) B7TLs in service as of 17.01.2019, and they are to be withdrawn over the course of 2019, and hopefully all gone by 2020 at the latest, they are simply far too environmentally damaging to keep in service. I, for one, will miss them, especially number 702 (SN55 BJY) 'Yell Of The Geminis', but they are getting old and dirty and need to go. Gemini One 793 (SN56 AET) 'Truth' has retained it's Transport for Edinburgh logo above the window from 2013, and it's roller blinds.
White on black roller blinds are a well known feature of Lothian's fleet, but despite their long history, roller blinds are being phased out, which means that the only major operator on this island still using roller blinds would be TfL in London, who are also considering replacing theirs with LED screens. Roller blinds will be missed by many, but in January 2019 a large proportion of the fleet still retain their original roller blinds, for how much longer? They could well be gone before 2020 (next year).
Okay, that's five things, but the Madder and Gold Hybrid livery, the Zoo branded Gemini Twos, the B7TLs, roller blinds and, of course, the Tridents are all nearing the end of their time. 2019 will most likely bring a lot of changes to Lothian, and these are just a few of them.