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I ended up uploading this as one of my dreams. I had lots of dreams as a child that my toys came alive. Oh, how I wish they did. (Maybe that's why I'm into BJDs? :P)
I finally made it up to the observation deck of the Prudential today in Boston. I've been meaning to take pictures up there for a while.
Thrilled with the results of this shot.
A close-up shot (thanks to my Ranox DCR-250 Lens) of the old watch mechanism. You can see that some gears are blurry. It's an intentional effect, they are not out of focus, they are rotating :)
There is always a lot of action and movement at Piccadilly Circus making it a favorite spot of mine for light-trail photos.
It’s reached that time where I select one photo from each of the past 12 months to provide a general round-up on the year; things that were new this year; things that we won’t see after this year; plus anything else I felt the need to include. A lot seemed to happen in the sphere of East Mids public transport in 2025, so of course this isn’t an exhaustive list – just bits and pieces I saw on a month-by-month basis.
Jan:
I didn’t see all that much in Januray, however it was notable that from here on out NCT introduced a policy of reducing the number of biogas buses running on Sundays, substituting similarly coloured diesels and spares alongside a lessened biogas allocation. The 35 and 36 therefore got reacquainted with the orange 14 plate E400s... again. Unlike turquoise and red lines, orange line hasn’t been blessed with quite as many odd allocations as NCT still seem to prefer using spares or the regular biogas buses over the 34s. Here on 26.1.25 Uni 34 branded 623 is seen in Chilwell with a 36.
Feb:
A fairly big ‘last’ this year was the cessation of TrentBarton Wright Solars in passenger service, as 669 unceremoniously bowed out with a fault on the Comet sometime in the autumn and is destined for the training fleet. Throughout Wellglade’s chronic vehicle shortages of the past few years, the steadily dwindling fleet of Solars kept things moving when newer stock weren’t up to the task... or toasting themselves. TrentBarton won’t be quite the same without them, since the L94UBs were arguably the most iconic vehicles in the fleet. 669 is pictured on 24.2.25 passing University Park with a Skylink.
Mar:
Talking about vehicles iconic to their fleets, Nottingham City Transport and Scania Omnidekkas have been synonymous for over 20 years. But as of me writing this they’ve just taken delivery of six Wrightbus double deckers that will likely see off the final remaining Omnidekkas in passenger service. 929 was one which got the chop earlier this year when three E400s were moved onto the 4, seen in late winter afternoon sunlight as it heads along Wilford Lane on 27.3.25
Apr:
Somewhat belatedly, TrentBarton repainted an Enviro 200 MMC to replace indigo 207, which was burnt out by an engine fire in September 2023. 216 was the chosen vehicle, being part of the indigo batch as a Mango-liveried spare bus and consecutively numbered above them. Meanwhile, a similar story has unfolded on the Skylink, where 125 went up in flames and was ultimately replaced on the route by 128; having originally been a Blue Skylink, later moved across to Yellow Skylink and now back to blue again. In this picture 216 is seen in Chilwell on 22.4.25
May:
The beginning of the end is here for the Midland Main Line’s class 222 ‘Meridian’ trains, as East Midlands Railway are (finally) rolling out their fleet of class 810s that were originally promised years ago. Some 222s are bound for Lumo for use on competing services along the WCML and the rest rumoured to eventually head to ScotRail to replace the Inter7City HSTs. In the meantime, the 222s have been limping up and down the MML with broken interior fixtures and isolated engines, covering more diagrams than they were ever intended to and with minimal downtime for maintenance. 222012 is seen at Derby on 30.5.25
Jun:
The story of the 222s isn’t all that different to what became of the Red Arrow’s Plaxton Elites. During the years since Covid the reliability of these coaches just seemed to tank, with the RA routinely missing journeys and heavily relying on Meadow Road’s overstretched fleet of spare buses. It was common to see one broken down at the side of the road – hardly befitting the premium brand TrentBarton attach to the route. Their replacements eventually came in late summer in the shape of nine Yutong GT12s, plus a spare. Before then, 83 is seen diverting down University Boulevard on 20.6.25
Jul:
Half way into the year we finally get an instalment from Stagecoach East Midlands, and I was up in Cleethorpes having visited the Grimsby depot open day and seeking out one more Seasider that I needed to spot. Cascades from other divisions – particularly the E400 MMC exodus from Manchester – has killed off the majority of the decent vehicles that were still left at East Mids. Pretty much everything pre-Enviro has gone now, with a few of Grimsby’s Eclipses and a couple of Solos at Spalding being the only exceptions of note. Unlikely to return next Spring, Splash is seen on 12.7.25, parked opposite Euro 3 E400 “stealth Trident” 19115 – another type only just clinging on in an increasingly un-diverse fleet.
Aug:
In a significant blow for CT4N, Skills took over the Medilink from September. This also spelt the end for the fleet of 2016 BYD K94UR battery electric buses that Nottingham City Council bought, initially for the Centrelink and Ecolink P&R services. Much like the Red Arrow Plaxtons already described, their reliability was on the decline since the pandemic and the Medilink was increasingly propped up by CT4N’s diesels. The BYDs were immediately stood down once the contract ended, and while a couple have found new homes the City Council are attempting to flog the remainder off for spares or repair. 982 is seen at QMC on 29.8.25; one of its final days in service.
Sep:
A smaller development has seen Nottinghamshire County Council buy a new batch of Mellor Orion bodied Fiat minibuses. These differ from the previous Orions by all being in the attractive blue, green and white Nottsbus Connect livery, having tinted glazing, restyled front ends, and for some reason a repositioned rear axle. The new 25 plate Mellors definitely give the Nottsbus routes a better feel than the older minibuses in bland, welfare transport white. Showing the new look on the 536, SD25 UVR is pictured at Beeston Interchange on 30.9.25
Oct:
Volvo Olympians – where have they all gone?! It wasn’t that long ago that an Olympian was a staple member of almost any schools/contract operator’s fleet, yet they’ve seemingly disappeared overnight. The main culprit seems to be the number of Gemini bodied B9TLs appearing on the 2nd hand market forcing the older and more interesting buses away from the various school bus and coach companies – especially the seemingly incessant number of ex-Lothian ones. Tiger European appear to be the last local operator in Nottingham still turning to Olympian power, and their T450 JJF is seen at Canning Circus on 8.10.25
Nov:
Well I can’t really round up my year without mentioning this thing – and I’m not exaggerating by saying that I’ve been doing battle with it for the whole year. ALX400 Trident operation at Stagecoach East Midlands came to an end in 2025; a type that has been around these parts since Stagecoach placed an early batch at Grimsby in 1999. With none of the region’s more well known Plaxton Presidents finding a saviour I set my sights on securing an ALX, to keep the spirit of the East Midlands Tridents alive, and fought tooth and nail to repatriate one of the few which didn’t end up in the Barnsley scrap yards. Back when the batteries still had some charge in them, 18418 shows off some working lights on 8.11.25
Dec:
Another batch of Yutong E10s and E12s landed at NCT in the latter half of the year, bringing the total number to 62 and completing the quota for replacing the existing diesel single deck fleet, save for a few Solos retained for when they take on the 90 in the New Year. Again it shows a shrinkage in variation that’s plaguing every bus fleet nowadays, effectively reducing the single deckers to just two types. Oh well, could be worse I guess. On Queen Street, 282 sets off with a blue line 41 on 3.12.25
As you probably well know, I've got a massive backlog of photos from 2025 so the full features of outings such as Cleethorpes are still to come! All the best for 2026...
A shot from the archive for this week's Macro Mondays theme It's Alive.
Extracted from my leg, engorged with a small quantity of blood, this deer tick decided to make a run for its life... but failed!
The last rain we got here really did the trick! The desert is alive with the purple verbena. I'm not sure what the white ones are but they sure are pretty together.
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The magic of fall colors come alive in Naperville, IL.......hence, the title! (also borrowed from The Greatest Showman for those that love music!) I wasn't sure if I liked this version or the tighter crop in the first comment box.
Seeds of life in my Kiwi fruit. Thinly sliced and back-lit to show off the black seeds to good effect.
The earth laughs in flowers - Ralph Waldo Emerson -
This flower looked like a tiny animal. The re-born of the nature is so beautiful.
Bipedal industrial operative.
Technic and CCBS humanoid figure experiment. Attempting to build a figure that can mimic a more natural, human standing pose. And also to build a cool robot, cos robots!
I'm also on Instagram www.instagram.com/paddybricksplitter/
Shadow...alive and well...
Looking back and looking forward...contemplations by Diana Athill at the age of 97...she is now 100.
I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing. Socrates
*have a wonderful weekend dear friends*
- Never stop doing what makes you feel alive -
This was taken during an amazing trip in south Israel. Hopefully next time I'll be the one on the motorcycle! :-P
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