Pensnett Garage

[HAJ1073]

I'm sure your right, I was only saying it in jest to be fair but as for reliabiliy, that's no joke speaking from experience!!

[don]

Reliability issues with the vehicles go a long way to make the services unreliable.Taking the 53 and 289 improvements have been made to the route to help with reliability of the service along with them now being on their own running board but if the busses keep failing which they do on a regular basis mainly down to the age of them then these efforts are in vain. I bet some of the vehicles in that top yard at Pensnett that have been withdrawn are in better shape than some of the crates they currently have to service!!

I bet there not, the majority in the top yard were withdrawn for a reason. The remainder have been long term stored.

I'm sure PN will get some of the 171 new buses due, with the remainder being cascaded Tridents & possibly further B7RLE to allow all 28 Mercs to be retired.

I can understand the point of a 'strategic reserve' or 'reserve fleet' but I've never understood the point of retaining so many vehicles in an unserviceable or barely serviceable condition. The storage cost, when taking account of the land alone must be prohibitive.

[winston]

Reliability issues with the vehicles go a long way to make the services unreliable.Taking the 53 and 289 improvements have been made to the route to help with reliability of the service along with them now being on their own running board but if the busses keep failing which they do on a regular basis mainly down to the age of them then these efforts are in vain. I bet some of the vehicles in that top yard at Pensnett that have been withdrawn are in better shape than some of the crates they currently have to service!!

I bet there not, the majority in the top yard were withdrawn for a reason. The remainder have been long term stored.

I'm sure PN will get some of the 171 new buses due, with the remainder being cascaded Tridents & possibly further B7RLE to allow all 28 Mercs to be retired.

I can understand the point of a 'strategic reserve' or 'reserve fleet' but I've never understood the point of retaining so many vehicles in an unserviceable or barely serviceable condition. The storage cost, when taking account of the land alone must be prohibitive.

Generally because they are worth more on NXWM's accounts than they would get scrap value, plus no-one is interested in buying B6LE, Mercs & B10L for further service etc due to be either unpopular or non standard in the UK. Hence why they're withdraw & stored until they depreciate sufficiently that they can go for scrap. I'm sure the loss booked on the accounts would be more than the costs associated with storing them if they were sold for scrap immediately.

[don]

I would be highly surprised if 16/18 yr old vehicles owed the company anything. In reality they simply have scrap value plus may yield spares for the rest of the fleet (those are at Miller Street). As you say there may be accounting reasons but effectively if every bus ties up 33sq m of land on average, those scrap buses (as opposed to yielding spares or being in strategic reserve) are occupying a lot of land and earning no money whatsoever, and with little or no hope of turning a wheel again except on the back of a tow truck! Maybe they're waiting for metal prices to increase to improve the price!!

[winston]

I would be highly surprised if 16/18 yr old vehicles owed the company anything. In reality they simply have scrap value plus may yield spares for the rest of the fleet (those are at Miller Street). As you say there may be accounting reasons but effectively if every bus ties up 33sq m of land on average, those scrap buses (as opposed to yielding spares or being in strategic reserve) are occupying a lot of land and earning no money whatsoever, and with little or no hope of turning a wheel again except on the back of a tow truck! Maybe they're waiting for metal prices to increase to improve the price!!

Take B10L's 7115, 7123, 7125 & 7126 for example, they were refurbished to varying degree's, repainted & prepped for service after at least a year in reserve. They got as far as being allocated to AG garage (I'm not aware of them ever entering revenue earning service) and were promptly returned to Miller St a month later and that's where they've been ever since July 2011. They appeared to have had further work done on them & it was suggested they may return to Dundee, but that appeared to have got shelved in favour in new buses.

[don]

I would be highly surprised if 16/18 yr old vehicles owed the company anything. In reality they simply have scrap value plus may yield spares for the rest of the fleet (those are at Miller Street). As you say there may be accounting reasons but effectively if every bus ties up 33sq m of land on average, those scrap buses (as opposed to yielding spares or being in strategic reserve) are occupying a lot of land and earning no money whatsoever, and with little or no hope of turning a wheel again except on the back of a tow truck! Maybe they're waiting for metal prices to increase to improve the price!!

Take B10L's 7115, 7123, 7125 & 7126 for example, they were refurbished to varying degree's, repainted & prepped for service after at least a year in reserve. They got as far as being allocated to AG garage (I'm not aware of them ever entering revenue earning service) and were promptly returned to Miller St a month later and that's where they've been ever since July 2011. They appeared to have had further work done on them & it was suggested they may return to Dundee, but that appeared to have got shelved in favour in new buses.

Yeah quite curious - I would have thought these were strategic reserve vehicles however - and could fulfil a need of, for example a vehicle shortage occurred or there was additional competition somewhere - it's keeping the ones which appear to be ready for scrap which I was getting at (eg at Pensnett)

[andrew1991]

4127 at PN on the 246

[979]

4127 at PN on the 246

On loan from WA

[karl724223]

1670 bottom yard up the top now missing all t/m equipment

[Trident 4194]

B7 on 9

[the trainbasher]

Merry hill is always fun...buses with drivers missing and drivers with buses missing. All fun!!

[4130Quinton]

1670 bottom yard up the top now missing all t/m equipment

1670 was for me one of Wolverhampton's poorest Mercs, it seemed to be struggling any time I was on it. It just happened to be one that was in the current livery so lasted until the end of Merc operations there, outlasting better examples that were in the old TWM colours.

[Niall]

B7 on 9

At least two - I caught 2087 into town this morning and passed 2092 on my way back this evening.

There seems to be one or two on there most days lately. A lot of Tridents as well.

[the trainbasher]

B7 on 9

At least two - I caught 2087 into town this morning and passed 2092 on my way back this evening.

There seems to be one or two on there most days lately. A lot of Tridents as well.

I'm sure I had 2092 on the 276 at 1810?

[Niall]

4127 is on 9s today.

Trainbasher, you're probably right (it was dark out). I saw it in Edgbaston around 7:45ish, and I was 100% sure it was 2092 until you posted. Could it have swapped route in Stourbridge?