View allAll Photos Tagged excel
I took great delight in seeing this. It's ages since I'd seen one, and never knowingly out on the street. I was leaving town for home when it caught my eye, absolutely had to get some shots.
A new keeper in 2022, after being with its previous one for 20 years. Hopefully it's now relatively local to me and I'll see it again. From what I can gather, most Excels are registered as Eclats, or Eclat Excels; I can't be 100% which version this is right now.
1989 Lotus Excel.
Registered as a Lotus Eclat.
Last SORN declaration expired in November 2013 and last MoT test expired in December 2007.
Amb passió, voluntat, amor ... i molta delicadesa ... el resultat no pot ser un altre que excel·lència !!
Having sold its 3 Excels to Swallow, Rainham in 10/14, it left Filers with a Dennis bus fleet. However a few weeks ago V118LVH was acquired from Lodge, High Easter and is seen here standing in for the E300 on the Ilfracombe-Woolacombe service.
One of those short stop gap acquisitions was the four Optare Excels transferred down from First Glasgow, they looked smart and were something different on the Plymouth scene.
However you had this feeling it wouldn't last and they were withdrawn and put into store at Muller Road to allow the book value to drop low enough in order for them to be disposed of.
Three out of the four were regular performers (W52WDS being the frequent sick note) they appeared on just about any route but the 2 & 3 was common, 62936 heads along Union Street towards Royal Parade before switching to work the 2 out to Mount Batten.
Seen waiting to start the days work in First's Searle Crescent, Weston bus depot is one of the Excel branded E400s. This example is one of the former London examples used on the service. I rather think this branding is smart and eye catching.
First West of England's LK08 FLA (33508) is seen early on a Sunday morning in the Weston-Super-Mare depot. Excel is the branding used for services with an 'X' that run out of Bristol. It is also used for the X1 between Norwich and Peterborough. LK08FLA was new in May 2008 to First Capital, as their DN33508 to the typical TFL specification. DN 33508 then left London and went to Leicester for use on local services such as the 22 and 54 with some sister vehicles gaining branding for these services. After leaving Leicester, it moved to the West of England for use in Bristol, but was later transferred down to Weston. It is an Alexander Dennis Trident 2/Alexander Dennis (ADL) Enviro 400.
Notts & Derby Optare Excel 264 - Y264 DRC lays over in Derby bus station before operating route 11 to Ilkeston Hospital.
Ive been visiting Scotland for many years and seen lots of changes with the bus scene. This is Strathy on the A836 road heading West from Thurso, a part of Scotland less well travelled by most and away from the crowds ( good enough reason to go ). The further West you head the more remote it becomes and is well worth a visit over a few days. At the time of this picture Rapsons had just become part of Stagecoach, the vehicle is P937SSK a Optare Excel new to EYMS operating the very long ( and infrequent ) service 73 to Bettyhill & Tongue. Afaik the vehicle ended its days with Stagecoach at Chesterfield where the breed seemed to accumulate ( and die ) from allover stagecoach empire. The scene is typical far North West Scotland, in the distance are the Orkneys.
Quite a nice Excel is this one, which is ironic seeing as it's, well, an Excel.
Safeguard - X307CBT - Brooklands Spring Gathering 2015.
YJ51JXH has been on my radar for sometime, built as a prototype dual door demonstrator by Optare, it saw limited use before being sold to Wallace driver training school based in Wembley, London. Usually outbased near Isleworth in West London it was finally tracked down in June and very kindly posed after a training session.
TrentBarton Excel 257 on Black Cat service passing The Newdigate at West Hallam on its way to Derby.
Mon 7th March 2016.
First Eastern Counties
Scania N250UD / Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC City
36909 - YN69XZO
Seen on Excel service B in Peterborough Bus Station.
A very generic shot, I know, of these stunning new E400Citys, though it was all I had time for in Peterborough yesterday! A day out to be had some day...
First Eastern Counties (33805 YX63LJK) seen on the Route X11 from Norwich to Belton, in it's Coastlink livery. This bus was
formerly First Excel for the X1, X11, Xbefore the new Enviro 400 City's replaced these on the route. This now see's itself on the Routes X1, X11, X22, X2, and X21.
Optare Excel X606 XFX seen here in Llandudno whilst working the 09:10 Express Motors X1 Blaenau Ffestiniog service
Former NCT Excel 560 has been sold to Goodwin at Eccles. Seen in their yard receiving attention.
Fri 11th July 2014
It's been a LONG time coming, but bus drawings are back. Well, back as in I got two finished, but I don't know how soon another one will be coming seeing as how busy with other stuff I've been.
With this new Optare Excel drawing, it means I've completed re-draws of the first four vehicle types I traced on Paint.net back in 2018 for the Route 36 picture; the other three being the Scania Omnidekka, Enviro 400 Scania and Enviro 400 City.
The hardest thing about this drawing was finding a picture of an Excel that I had which was good enough to make a decent drawing from. Since they're quite rare machines, I haven't got as many Excel pictures as I have of other vehicles, and most of those have the windows covered in reflections where I can't see the interior. In the end, I found one which was just about good enough and just tried my best with the interior, although given how little of it I could see it isn't as detailed as some of the others I've done.
The Excel is straight up one of my favourite buses, being an extremely nostalgic part of my early childhood, so in time I think I'll be doing a number of liveries on this. Right now, though, here's a plain white version for you to use. It has the additional lip on the front bumper like some Excel 2s had, and can be deleted off if you don't require it. I may (or may not) upload a second version of the plain Excel without the bumper lip and a front wheel trim, which is how NCT's tended to be. This one is more like a TrentBarton spec Excel, although it has NCT green interior bars... because, erm, it just does.
Feel free to download it, slap a livery on and mess about editing it etc to create your dream Optare Excel, if you so wish. Check the album description for the worms and ignitions - I mean terms and conditions.
(tags playing up so I'm putting them in the description here)
Optare Excel Colour Bus Drawing Blank TR673 Digital CG Artwork Paint.net Colouring Paintable Repaint
I think this is an Excel, funny how you can debadge a car and put it in a foreign land and you question yourself. Looking rough, but still in use.
Once a common sight in the city, the Optare Excels have now been out of service for over 3 years.
Here 685 is seen leaving the old bus station on Pendeford circular 507A.
Snapped in Weston-Super-Mare sporting the bright 'excel' livery last year, Alexander Dennis Enviro 400/Trident 2 33417 WA56FTP which was new to First Devon & Cornwall for the Plymouth Park & Ride services is seen here working the X1 Direct service to Bristol.
T124AUA working for xelabus on one of their stage carriage services just outside Eastleigh in April this year. This ranks as one of the smartest modern liveries for me.
A scan of an old photo taken in 1990.
Car: Lotus Excel.
Date of first registration: 31st December 1987.
Region of registration: London Central.
Latest recorded mileage: 58,573 (MOT 25th January 2020).
Also in photo (clockwise from centre left):
Vauxhall Astra mark 2
Renault 5
Ford Transit
(?)
Mitsubishi Shogun
Ford Granada mark 2.
Date taken: 28th May 1990.
Location: Castle Combe Circuit.
Album: Photo Scans
2174cc
First registered 13 September, 1985.
Currently on SORN,
No MOT - expired June 2015.
This looks in good order apart from the slightly wonky headlamp covers. Very nice-looking car.