The final one - Trentbarton Scania L94UB Wright Solar FH05TKK
The final photo that I can contribute to of 669, seen here at the Corporation Street island with the water feature in the centre - best viewed on the other photo!
Plenty of enthusiasts will have ridden these over the years, with Trent first receiving a large batch in 2003, then more in 2004 and 2005 before they switched to the Tempos, after an initial batch in 2004, more followed in 2007 before they returned to wright products in the form of the Volvos.
As for these Scanias, they are viewed as the transformation of the Trentbarton fleet and I’d argue they were the first vehicles to be of modern standard - if you’re not classing the eldest Solos or Excels that is!
I recall the Scanias best on the Villager, in particular the V4 which ran through Burton and on the Branston Regents Park estate which replaced an old pink Solo in 2013. The V4 stopped running by 2017 following a reduction in passengers and dead run mileage. I can’t remember the allocation for that, it would make sense if it did a run on the villager first (back then it was the V1/V2).
The later memories of these were on the Sixes which lasted until 2021 once the now struggling Versas replaced the Scanias. The Skylink Express was of course the final branded route, of which both 662 and 663 feature on here, and I’d also captured some with TM Travel which I saw last year and earlier this year - including reuniting with 662 and 663 which are the last two in use with wellglade!
Unfortunately it’s unlikely I’ll see 662 and 663 again, so it’s a definite farewell to these solars with an iconic operator which had the most of this vehicle type in the midlands!
Trentbarton’s Scania Solars 2003 - 2025
The final one - Trentbarton Scania L94UB Wright Solar FH05TKK
The final photo that I can contribute to of 669, seen here at the Corporation Street island with the water feature in the centre - best viewed on the other photo!
Plenty of enthusiasts will have ridden these over the years, with Trent first receiving a large batch in 2003, then more in 2004 and 2005 before they switched to the Tempos, after an initial batch in 2004, more followed in 2007 before they returned to wright products in the form of the Volvos.
As for these Scanias, they are viewed as the transformation of the Trentbarton fleet and I’d argue they were the first vehicles to be of modern standard - if you’re not classing the eldest Solos or Excels that is!
I recall the Scanias best on the Villager, in particular the V4 which ran through Burton and on the Branston Regents Park estate which replaced an old pink Solo in 2013. The V4 stopped running by 2017 following a reduction in passengers and dead run mileage. I can’t remember the allocation for that, it would make sense if it did a run on the villager first (back then it was the V1/V2).
The later memories of these were on the Sixes which lasted until 2021 once the now struggling Versas replaced the Scanias. The Skylink Express was of course the final branded route, of which both 662 and 663 feature on here, and I’d also captured some with TM Travel which I saw last year and earlier this year - including reuniting with 662 and 663 which are the last two in use with wellglade!
Unfortunately it’s unlikely I’ll see 662 and 663 again, so it’s a definite farewell to these solars with an iconic operator which had the most of this vehicle type in the midlands!
Trentbarton’s Scania Solars 2003 - 2025