[Archive] Arriva North West - Birkenhead Depot

[SNL 824]

RE: Arriva North West - Birkenhead Depot

(12/02/2013 14:06)R874 ERE Wrote:  

(12/02/2013 12:56)wirralbus Wrote:  is it just the Liverpool Road bridge in Neston that precludes double decker operation of the 487/8.

Correct, that along with the one by neston station. The one on Liverpool Road is too low for any double decker, and the one at Neston Station is only suitable for low height deckers.

There are a few trips which would benefit deckers during peak hours - the 0800 from Neston Greenfields to Liverpool gets a full load of school kids going to wirral grammar, its usually a full seated load with a few standees however it isn't uncommon for it to be a completly full load, resulting in the driver not picking up any passengers.

A re-think of the route around Neston may be beneficial to enable decker use - not on a regular basis but in the event of vehicle shortages or the event of a breakdown, it just means any bus could be sent out. Just a thought! :P

These bridges have been puzzling me for a while as I remember Crosville using Lodkkas on Chester, Parkgate and Burton services through Neston back in the early seventies. More recently Arriva Wales used Olympians on the 59A.

The bridge by the station was definitely not a problem for these, nor was it for DVGs, DVLs or DOGs.

However I don't definitively remember deckers on the F17 or C23, these being the route derivatives that would specifically have used Liverpool Road, as opposed to the C22 and F18, which avoided the bridge. My connection at the time was Little Neston, so I rode these latter routes regularly and they certainly used deckers regularly.

As I have said previously there is a very simple diversion via Drake Road and Raby Road to avoid the bridge, albeit that parked cars on Drake Road might be a problem.