The End of the Benz (and B10L)

[Tony]

Any idea which routes apart from the 45 the WB ones are on??

Thanks

4 on the 49
7 on the 45
1 on the 42/43

[Tara4352]

what routes are the Pensnett Mercs on

[dingding]

Thanks

[The Real 4778]

All 37 remaining Mercedes are in service today!

9 at CV
16 at PN
12 at WB

Fantastic!

Sadly I'm in Hatton Garden looking down at NB4Ls, which are nonetheless a damn good bustitute for an O405N.

[BK63 YWP]

what routes are the Pensnett Mercs on

Usual routes 289, 276 and 297 from what i seen at merry hill

[Trident 4194]

There's a merc on 243/4 which did the 15:36 Halesowen to Dudley

[Tara4352]

1630 is the merc

[dingding]

Thanks everyone spent an hour and a bit at West Brom this afternoon and got most of the WB Mercs along with a couple of Pensnett ones on the 289. Just a shame the sun decided to go in but can't have everything!

Dave

[s94]

Usual routes 289, 276 and 297 from what i seen at merry hill

Think the 276 deserves much better buses than these mercs now! How many months do we think these have left?

[The Real 4778]

33 still showing in the site as on fleet strength, although I guess this includes a few that are already unofficially retired - anyone got a better 'actual' for present Benz total traffic numbers?

[paulb1973]

33 still showing in the site as on fleet strength, although I guess this includes a few that are already unofficially retired - anyone got a better 'actual' for present Benz total traffic numbers?

May still be 33 left:

Pensnett: 1546/73/93/1627/30/40-41/43/47/57/77/1704/7/43 [14]

Coventry: 1570-72/79/91/94/1659/78/1703 (& Health Buzz 1687) [9 in-service & 1 non-pcv]

West Bromwich: 1560/85/89/1607/13/18/53/67/95/99 [10]

Trainer: 1689 [1]

[The Real 4778]

Cheers Paul.  Amazed to see WB edging-out Coventry by one bus!

Would be great to enjoy 1613 on the 451, roaring across the Sandwell valley one last time.   I wonder....

[Stevo]

So I make it 17 of the 1998 batch (inc 1743) to 15 of the 1999 batch. Slightly surprising.

[The Real 4778]

So I make it 17 of the 1998 batch (inc 1743) to 15 of the 1999 batch. Slightly surprising.

I confess I had expected the older 15XX to be extinct and the high 16XX-1707 to be more intact.  The pace of withdrawal surprised me with its ferocity.  The fleet was culled in roughly 18 months.  It felt basically intact when I started taking an interest in it in 2012, with just a drip-drip of casualties.

[paulb1973]

I confess I had expected the older 15XX to be extinct and the high 16XX-1707 to be more intact.  The pace of withdrawal surprised me with its ferocity.  The fleet was culled in roughly 18 months.  It felt basically intact when I started taking an interest in it in 2012, with just a drip-drip of casualties.

I have tried to keep a log of all the Mercedes O405N withdrawals and their fate (all for scrap basically). This may not be 100% accurate but it gives a good idea of the pace of withdrawals in the last two years or so. 2012 was a trickle and 2013 not all that many fell by the wayside - but April 2014 onwards - an avalanche!

1568/1634/1635/1656 sold to PVS or T.Wigley, Barnsley for scrap 8/15
1536/1545/1633/1649/1683/1701 sold to PVS, Barnsley for scrap 6/15
1669/1681/1702 sold to PVS, Barnsley for scrap 4/15
1597/1650/1694 sold to PVS, Barnsley for scrap 3/15 (1694 collected 5/15)
1558/1625/1680 sold to PVS or T.Wigley, Barnsley for scrap 3/15
1563/1566/1569/1673/1674 sold to PVS or T.Wigley, Barnsley for scrap 2/15
1606 sold to PVS, Barnsley for scrap 2/15
1608 sold to T.Wigley, Barnsley for scrap 2/15
1679/1682/1684/1686/1691 sold to PVS, Barnsley for scrap 1/15
1525/1600/1614/1622/1652/1692 Sold to PVS, Barnsley for scrap 9/14
1547/1556/1576/1578/1590/1592/1598/1655 sold to PVS, Barnsley for scrap 8/14 [some 7/14, collected 8/14]
1658 sold to T.Wigley (or PVS tbc) Barnsley for scrap 7/14
1516/1517/1522/1526/1528/1529/1534/1537/1538/1540/1542/1552/1555/1557/1596/1601/1603
1609/1611/1621/1688(fire damage 05/14)/1690 sold to PVS, Barnsley for scrap 7/14
1541/1577/1645/1676 sold to PVS, Barnsley for scrap 6/14
1654/1675 sold to PVS, Barnsley for scrap 5/14
1581/1595/1644/1663/1664 sold to PVS, Barnsley for scrap 4/14
1533/1539/1580 sold to PVS, Barnsley for scrap 9/13
1519/1530/1562/1587/1588/1615/1617 sold to EMR, Kingsbury for scrap 7/13 (tbc)
1527 sold to PVS, Barnsley for scrap 4/13
1532 sold to EMR, Kingsbury for scrap 2/13 & 1544 sold to EMR, Darlaston for scrap 2/13
1567/1584 sold to EMR, Kingsbury for scrap 11/12
1531/1535/1559/1583 sold to EMR, Kingsbury for scrap 10/12
1524/1575 sold to PVS, Barnsley for scrap 5/12
1693 sold to PVS, Barnsley for scrap 4/12 (fire damage c.02/12)
1623 sold to PVS, Barnsley for scrap 2/02 (fire damage 03/01)