Відео

Yeah, it's not good. At least it's not as bad as 701 (I guess).

​@trentbartontraveller Yeah 701 is stuck on swifts and it has a air issue as it kept blowing air out last time I saw it.

It's definitely a good bus. I've been on 736, 737, and 738 on the Swift and they are all pretty decent. I've also been on 701 whilst it was still branded for The Villager and... I can't imagine it's a contender.

Yeah, it has. I've been on 128 on the Skylink Derby as well. The interior refurbishment has been carried out pretty well, but it's a shame that Skylink Derby does not have a full set of 16 branded MMCs.

I somewhat agree with you, although I think the Eclipses (the predecessors to the new buses) only have a seating capacity of 45 not 47. But to lose 20 seats across the whole fleet is still not ideal. Personally, I'm most familiar with the Indigo and i4 routes (both of which use the same type of vehicle shown in this video). The i4 especially does not cope well at all with peak time journeys. It's not uncommon to see a bus at full standing capacity. I think it will be less of an issue with The Villager (from my limited experience), though I am concerned about capacity issues with the new H1 vehicles. With regards to the skylights, I think they're a nice touch for the average day. But in extreme conditions (i.e., very hot or very cold), they can be unpleasant. On cold days, condensation can form on the skylights, causing water to drip onto the seats below. On hot days, the glass just amplifies the heat. I once caught the Indigo in 40°C conditions and that was horrible.

No worries! It livens up the video - better than it being completely silent. Hope you don't mind featuring in it

@trentbartontraveller nah I never mind appearing in videos because I play try and find myself

@@nottinghamlocals Ah, that's fair enough!

Yeah, that's why I was so keen to film it. I was under the impression that 828 might be in the queue for repainting, so I prioritised capturing this journey. However, there's no news of an 828 repaint just yet. And there hasn't been any indication of what might replace it if the repaint were to happen. EDIT: Versa 828 has now returned to service on the H1. It has also been announced that Enviro 200 MMCs will replace the 6 buses currently branded for the H1. This is part of an order for 29 new ADLs.

No offence, but I wasn't competing with you. I'm grateful for all the subscribers that I already have because I never envisaged my content reaching this level of popularity, especially since I release videos purely for fun. In my opinion, all you're doing is reducing the subscriber count to meaningless numbers. My content creation approach is very different to yours, so our two channels aren't really comparable.

@@trentbartontraveller oh yeah I wasn’t aware for that. My apologies for any inconvenience

Thank you! I agree, they still do look modern, even though some of them are coming up to 16 years old. They're my favourite type of vehicle in the Trent Barton fleet and I hope they return to buying more Wright-bodied products (especially with the looming hydrogen buses). The dot matrix next stop announcement boards worked fine, until Trent Barton decided to replace the ticket machines.

@@trentbartontraveller 100%! Isn't the matrix board on the wright eclipse the same as a 2012 - 2014 optare versa?

@@TSlimetheDJ I believe that the boards on the Eclipses and Solars are taller, while the Optare ones are thinner. Trent Barton have to get them working by 2026, as I believe that new legislation stating that all buses must have next stop announcements is coming in.

Yeah, as a random thought, do you know when the next batch or generation will be scrapped in the TB fleet? I think FE02KFL will be up next along with some others but im not 100% sure, that bus is on its way out and it doesnt have usb power or anything like that@@trentbartontraveller

@@TSlimetheDJ I'd imagine that the Solos will be phased out within the next few months and replaced by the former The Threes Versas. I think that this change has been delayed due to teething issues with The Threes MMCs. Also, Connect will seemingly be gaining some Versas. Whether they'll be branded or not is yet to be confirmed. I believe that FE02 KFL is operating as a bonus spare vehicle and they'll essentially run it until it breaks (unless it already has).

502 does have quite a deep, raspy sound. Not sure what GTR you're referring to.

@@trentbartontraveller Should of been more specific aha, i meant 2012 - 2019 nissan GTR it sounded like.

@@TSlimetheDJNo worries, I did think you meant a Nissan GTR. It does a little (though I can't say I've been driven about in one in real life).

Oh? Which ones?

Some of the ones across Newark. When the Newark based E200mmcs thrash on 28 to Mansfeild they get very hot and sound like that

@@Electroliners I think that some of the Stagecoach E200MMCs are set up differently, so they sound more whiney. However, I'm not 100% sure of the Stagecoach specifications and I've yet to sample one of their E200MMCs.

@@trentbartontraveller It is mostly in Newark because in other County’s/city’s they sound normal. There are 2 in Newark: a Simplibus and local livery one

@@Electroliners Again, I'm not 100% sure about what specification Stagecoach bought those MMCs in or what makes them sound different. Sorry about that.

Personally, I disagree with that. I do agree that Trent Barton have become complacent and let standards slide over the past few years. They still need to work on communicating with customers and making every attempt to run journeys. However, the driving team (especially on Skylink Nottingham and Indigo) are always extremely friendly. I've got to know some of the regulars across the Manvers Street depot routes and have encountered very few issues with them. There has been the odd mishap with some drivers, but that's to be expected. In my opinion, Trent Barton drivers remain some of the friendliest and kind-hearted bus drivers I've met.

It is definitely a fantastic B7RLE Eclipse. I can't really say, because I haven't been on all of the Ilkeston Flyer Eclipses.

Having driven it..that turbo sound is amazing

@@susannewton187 I do love that turbo sound. But, in fairness, the Ilkeston Flyer had a pretty decent set of Volvos. Speaking of which, have you driven any of the branded MMCs yet?

Been driving them for three weeks but, give me a Volvo anytime over these new MMC ADLs anyday.

@@susannewton187 That's fair enough. The Volvos really are the backbone of the operation.

Probably is, but 719 is notorious for its whistling turbo.

@@trentbartontravellertrue ✌✌️

It's not a whistle it's a hellfire scream🤩🤩

@@ashleybuckley5594 Or a blown turbo

Basically it's pipes blown out so you can hear it in all it's amazing glory😍😍😍😍😍

No problem! This was a really enjoyable journey to film.

Apologies, I've changed the video title.

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed the video.

Ah, that's nice. It is a really lovely route.

@@trentbartontraveller the b7rle are better than the optare😎😎

@@liamanthonywarnock2209 I definitely agree, The Volvo B7RLE Eclipses are my favourite vehicle type in the Trent Barton fleet. While I don't mind the H1 Optare Versas, their reliability has been a bit shaky. Also, I think the H1 route is much better off with the Eclipses as they do provide 9 extra seats over the Versas. The extra capacity is clearly beneficial during this peak time working!

@@trentbartontraveller i definitely agree that the h1 is so much better off with the eclipses

@@liamanthonywarnock2209 Don't quote me on this, this is just my personal prediction. It isn't based off any solid evidence. I believe that all of the current red spare Volvos will be repainted either for H1 or Skylink Express. I think 724 and 725 will end up in H1 livery and 739, 743 and 744 in Skylink Express livery. That would give H1 a full set of Volvos. 724 and 725 seem like logical choices for H1 as they're speed restricted to 57 mph. Skylink Express is a more demanding route and would benefit from vehicles that can exceed that speed.

I think both of these Solo SRs are a little worn from Spondon Flyer, but they're still pretty decent. Unfortunately, I've yet to catch 503 because on 2 of the 3 occasions I've used the Ilkeston routes, I've had 502. I have also been on 506 once and that was quite a solid vehicle too.

Ah interesting! Thank you for watching the video, I'll have a listen when I next go on 269 (as I haven't caught it since this video). I know some of the Indigo MMCs have lost their remapped tune, so it would be interesting to see a new tune on 269.

@@trentbartontraveller yeah a lot of indigos have lost their kickdown but 216 and 217 (4 cylinder mango MMCs based at Nottingham in same batch as indigos) still have theirs! Personally I think that 4 cylinder Cummins engine goes better with the 5 (or 6) speed Allison gearbox (like the nines have) than the dreary 4 speed voith box, Same with the 6 cylinder engine but they never paired that with the Allison box (not on an MMC anyway)

@@ashleybuckley5594 Yeah, I regularly travel on the Indigo and was working out which ones were no longer remapped. I managed to catch all of the Nottingham 4 cylinders except 216, but it's good to hear that it's still remapped. As far as I could tell, only 202 and 205 were remapped prior to the change. I've still yet to catch The Nines, so I can't really form a proper verdict on the Allison combination. From what I've heard from videos though, it is better. Shame Allison is no longer an option for MMCs.

Hi again TJ, I was a bit disappointed with 663 in this video as it was lacking the drama it had provided months beforehand. But I'm still glad I managed to capture it.

@@trentbartontraveller yeah the route is very sporadic. I can sometimes run an entire trip empty. 669 is still and always be my favourite bus currently on the fleet. I can forgive the diff whine as the engine and gearbox make up for it.

ua-cam.com/video/EcMOIh0lUSg/v-deo.html this is a typical run with me at the wheel.

@@terry141186 Yeah, I'll keep an eye out for you next time I film on the route! I remember you saying that you never got to drive 625, but did you ever get a go on 657 before it went to TM?

@@trentbartontraveller I drove 657 once. Didn't really get enough time to have an opinion on it lol.

Sorry, I filmed this video 8 months ago, so I cannot recall who was driving.

No, that's not silly at all. I agree with you there, I can't believe that this sound is going to become a thing of the past. 685 would be the best of The Sixes batch to preserve, given that the ones at Connexions are taking quite a battering. Personally, I'd like to see either 657 or 662 get preserved. Thank you for your comment! I hope you enjoyed the video.

I completely agree with you there. I much prefer the ZF sounds that come from 662, but 663 is still an absolute beast. Do you know whether 663 has had a Euro 6 engine conversion (as it has the deeper gearbox sound, similar to 625)?

@@trentbartontraveller yes it has. The only one that isn't euro 6 is 669 the red spare that's euro 3

@@terry141186 Ah okay. I wasn't aware that 662 was also a Euro 6 vehicle. Thanks for the insight!

I don't think the audio clip I chose did it justice. The continuous clunks that can be heard throughout are of the windscreen wipers - though this is more obvious with the video I have of it. It has a loud diff but it managed to tackle a dual carriageway section pretty well. I'm hoping to have my 681 video out as soon as I have time to edit it, but I can't give an exact date.

I'm not entirely sure. Recently, rumours emerged that the Sutton Depot management team placed an ‘emergency order’ for a batch of The Threes E200 MMCs. With no new developments since this claim was made and with many of the Optare Versas returning to service, I think this is now looking unlikely. In my opinion, I believe (and this isn’t based on any real evidence) a more likely scenario is that either 828 or 829 will be repainted into The Threes livery to replace 812. If I am wrong, and E200 MMCs have been ordered, I'd imagine it would be a small batch of vehicles and not a full batch of 18. EDIT: A batch of E200 MMCs has been ordered for The Threes. According to www.mark-fletcher.org.uk/news/visit-trent-barton-bus-company, they are due to arrive in July 2023.

Thank you and I agree! It's nice to see these Volvo B8RLE Eclipses appear on routes other than The Two. I don't mind the Versas, and prefer the Cummins ones over the ones with Mercedes engines but there are far too many E200 MMCs in Trent Barton's fleet.

Yeah, this is a pretty lucky capture! I've never seen a Trent Barton Enviro 200 MMC get thrashed like shown at 4:35. Sometimes, the 4-cylinder Mango MMC spares do appear on Skylink Express, where they get maxed out on the dual carriageway.

Ah cool! Route 32 isn't anything special if you've already been on the Black Cat. I've got videos of Route 33 and 34 arriving soon. Also, thanks for subscribing!

Thank you for your comment! I really appreciate your support. I do like the older Enviro 200s with the Allision or ZF gearboxes (but shame there aren’t any at Trent Barton). I just don’t think these MMCs are worthy successors.

Yes, and some of the mmcs do not sound like the e200 Wich is a shame because I love the sound of the enviro 200s!