Midland Bluebird (T/A First Midland Bluebird) Volvo B7RLE/Wright Eclipse Urban
A older former standard....
Seen here is 69409 (SN09FBE) in the Midland Bluebird fleet, looking a little rough as befits Midland Bluebird’s Cinderella reputation in First’s Scottish fleets. It’s a late model original Eclipse Urban as by this stage, Wrightbus had begun production of the Eclipse 2. It differs from earlier Eclipse Urbans mainly with regards to the positioning of the emergency door to comply with changes to legislation which required the door to be in the accessible area. Previously it had been after the rear axle. Another slight change was the style of the engine grill to accommodate the Euro IV engine
The Volvo B7RLE was First’s standard single decker more or less from its launch in the United Kingdom (UK). It replaced the hapless B7L which flopped in the UK, with First being the only real buyer of that type. The B7RLE was actually based on a chassis designed for the Australian market but was adapted for the UK, initially to compliment the B7L but realistically to replace it.
Major purchasers of the B7RLE included Arriva (134), Blazefield Group (88), Bus Éireann (73), East Yorkshire Motor Services (27), FirstGroup (820), Lothian Buses (90), National Express West Midlands (188), Ulsterbus (46), Wellglade Group (51) and Wilts & Dorset (78).
Initially the B7RLE was only available in the UK with Wright Eclipse Urban bodywork. The B7L, which was supplied with Wright Eclipse bodywork, had its bodywork name changed to be known as the Wright Eclipse Metro from the launch of the B7RLE, to differentiate the two. From 2004 it was built as a low-floor single-decker coach, with a longer front overhang and Wright Eclipse Commuter body adapted from the Eclipse Urban. The idea was to introduce a dual purpose coach vehicle equally adaptable as a bus with an accessible entrance where the wheelchair could be. But sadly it was a flop as only four were ever built. The main issue was it was too like a bus but it could be argued that Plaxton’s Elite-I body is a modern day successor and more successful, as it looked like an actual coach. A more successful variant of the Commuter design was the Wright Eclipse Schoolrun, which was basically the same bus but without the accessible entrance. It was designed for Translink in Northern Ireland to replace various older school buses. 160 were built before production ceased in 2008.
From late 2006 the B7RLE in the UK was available with Plaxton Centro bodywork followed by Alexander Dennis Enviro 300 and Optare Esteem bodywork in 2008. With newer and more modern body designs now also appearing on the B7RLE, Wrightbus launched the Eclipse 2 with updated styling matching its new Gemini 2 body in 2008. However the original design remained an option up until 2011 until it was dropped in favour of the Eclipse 2. First has bought the Eclipse 2 design but only for fleets outside Scotland. All of First’s Scottish fleets do have significant numbers of Eclipse Urbans in their fleets with the largest concentration in First Glasgow. However with the advent of lightweight designs such as the Enviro 200MMC and Wright Streetlite, none have entered service with First after 2012.
The third generation Eclipse, known as the Eclipse 3, was launched in 2015. The Eclipse 3 was only available on Volvo B8RLE chassis, the successor to the B7RLE. As well as the difference in chassis, the front and rear ends initially underwent a minor facelift, incorporating design features from the Wright StreetLite integral design. The first Eclipse 3s entered service with Trentbarton in November 2015 and the second batch by Stagecoach in the Fens for the Cambridgeshire Busway. The front design was revised further in spring 2017 incorporating design elements from the Streetdeck double decker, with the first, and still only 13.2M examples being purchased by Lothian Buses subsidiary East Coast Buses. The first 11.8M variant with the revised bodywork has since entered service with Delaine Buses, both long-time Wrightbus and Volvo customers. However with Wrightbus’s insolvency event in 2019, no more have been built.
The B8RLE still remains available, but only now with MCV eVoRa bodywork at present and has sold reasonably well in a market where the demand for such vehicles has collapsed, with a large batch having recently entered service with Lothian Buses, ironically seeing off most of its remaining Eclipse Urbans as a result. As a consequence, Wrightbus has since launched a new full size heavy-duty single decker, based on its Streetdeck double decker with a Mercedes-Benz engine but looking very similar to the Eclipse 3. At present this bus appears to be nameless, known only as the HDSD (Heavy Duty Single Decker) and first examples are now entering service with Translink.
Midland Bluebird (T/A First Midland Bluebird) Volvo B7RLE/Wright Eclipse Urban
A older former standard....
Seen here is 69409 (SN09FBE) in the Midland Bluebird fleet, looking a little rough as befits Midland Bluebird’s Cinderella reputation in First’s Scottish fleets. It’s a late model original Eclipse Urban as by this stage, Wrightbus had begun production of the Eclipse 2. It differs from earlier Eclipse Urbans mainly with regards to the positioning of the emergency door to comply with changes to legislation which required the door to be in the accessible area. Previously it had been after the rear axle. Another slight change was the style of the engine grill to accommodate the Euro IV engine
The Volvo B7RLE was First’s standard single decker more or less from its launch in the United Kingdom (UK). It replaced the hapless B7L which flopped in the UK, with First being the only real buyer of that type. The B7RLE was actually based on a chassis designed for the Australian market but was adapted for the UK, initially to compliment the B7L but realistically to replace it.
Major purchasers of the B7RLE included Arriva (134), Blazefield Group (88), Bus Éireann (73), East Yorkshire Motor Services (27), FirstGroup (820), Lothian Buses (90), National Express West Midlands (188), Ulsterbus (46), Wellglade Group (51) and Wilts & Dorset (78).
Initially the B7RLE was only available in the UK with Wright Eclipse Urban bodywork. The B7L, which was supplied with Wright Eclipse bodywork, had its bodywork name changed to be known as the Wright Eclipse Metro from the launch of the B7RLE, to differentiate the two. From 2004 it was built as a low-floor single-decker coach, with a longer front overhang and Wright Eclipse Commuter body adapted from the Eclipse Urban. The idea was to introduce a dual purpose coach vehicle equally adaptable as a bus with an accessible entrance where the wheelchair could be. But sadly it was a flop as only four were ever built. The main issue was it was too like a bus but it could be argued that Plaxton’s Elite-I body is a modern day successor and more successful, as it looked like an actual coach. A more successful variant of the Commuter design was the Wright Eclipse Schoolrun, which was basically the same bus but without the accessible entrance. It was designed for Translink in Northern Ireland to replace various older school buses. 160 were built before production ceased in 2008.
From late 2006 the B7RLE in the UK was available with Plaxton Centro bodywork followed by Alexander Dennis Enviro 300 and Optare Esteem bodywork in 2008. With newer and more modern body designs now also appearing on the B7RLE, Wrightbus launched the Eclipse 2 with updated styling matching its new Gemini 2 body in 2008. However the original design remained an option up until 2011 until it was dropped in favour of the Eclipse 2. First has bought the Eclipse 2 design but only for fleets outside Scotland. All of First’s Scottish fleets do have significant numbers of Eclipse Urbans in their fleets with the largest concentration in First Glasgow. However with the advent of lightweight designs such as the Enviro 200MMC and Wright Streetlite, none have entered service with First after 2012.
The third generation Eclipse, known as the Eclipse 3, was launched in 2015. The Eclipse 3 was only available on Volvo B8RLE chassis, the successor to the B7RLE. As well as the difference in chassis, the front and rear ends initially underwent a minor facelift, incorporating design features from the Wright StreetLite integral design. The first Eclipse 3s entered service with Trentbarton in November 2015 and the second batch by Stagecoach in the Fens for the Cambridgeshire Busway. The front design was revised further in spring 2017 incorporating design elements from the Streetdeck double decker, with the first, and still only 13.2M examples being purchased by Lothian Buses subsidiary East Coast Buses. The first 11.8M variant with the revised bodywork has since entered service with Delaine Buses, both long-time Wrightbus and Volvo customers. However with Wrightbus’s insolvency event in 2019, no more have been built.
The B8RLE still remains available, but only now with MCV eVoRa bodywork at present and has sold reasonably well in a market where the demand for such vehicles has collapsed, with a large batch having recently entered service with Lothian Buses, ironically seeing off most of its remaining Eclipse Urbans as a result. As a consequence, Wrightbus has since launched a new full size heavy-duty single decker, based on its Streetdeck double decker with a Mercedes-Benz engine but looking very similar to the Eclipse 3. At present this bus appears to be nameless, known only as the HDSD (Heavy Duty Single Decker) and first examples are now entering service with Translink.