User blog comment:JordanBird20014604.co.uk/National Express West Midlands Buses In Photographs Forum In 2019/2020/@comment-2A00:23C5:2282:D00:719B:1E7A:468:3AE5-20190309141556

Let The Transfer Begin... Another year and another round of major timetable changes, in this case NXWM are making considerable changes to their South and West Birmingham bus services... Come the timetable changes means a large number of buses being transferred from various bases with Acocks Green, Perry Barr, Wolverhampton and Yardley Wood Garages heavily affected by the changes which will commence on 21st July 2019 Wolverhampton is a major base for NXWM's Dennis Trident fleet, however not all are compliant with the emission guidelines in Wolverhampton city centre with only 4331-4342/4344/4345-4349-4356/4358-4367 and 4535-4542 being compliant after being fitted with particulate traps. Wolverhampton later from August 2019 will also become a low emission zone and NXWM have to comply with the new rules; so as to comply, newer Tridents 4557-4564 are expected to make the transfer from Wolverhampton to Yardley Wood, and will be retrofitted with particulate traps in the process. Yardley Wood are expected to transfer a number of Yes-compliant Tridents over to Walsall Garage Soon The transfers have already begun with 4560-4564 already making the transfer to Yardley Wood with traps already fitted to comply with the low-emission rules, with 4382-4390/4392-4394 to my knowledge have since made the transfer north to Wolverhampton soon but 4382-4390/4392-4394 is still got 18 weeks left before transferred to Wolverhampton Garage In Summer Term 2019 and 4557-4564 is still got 18 weeks before transferred to Yardley Wood Garage In Summer Term 2019 It is not the first time that Wolverhampton have transferred their youngest Tridents to Yardley Wood, with 49 examples (4544-4592) It is not the first time that Wolverhampton have transferred their youngest Tridents to Yardley Wood, with 13 examples (4565-4577) having made the transfer between June to September 2016. They have already been extensively refurbished in NXWM's Crimson livery and have had traps fitted since April 2017 when the Birmingham low emission zone was implemented. They Have Will Be Refurbished In NXWM’s Crimson Livery with (4544-4564) (4578-4592) in Walsall Paint Shop Soon It was only a couple of months since we had the South Birmingham timetable changes, it is now the turn of the Black Country and Dudley bus network to get a major timetable change which commenced on 2nd September 2018. The new timetable saw a number of route changes, route numbers altered, new services introduced and best of all, a whole raft of vehicles transferred from a number of bus garages across the West Midlands. Prior to the timetable change, NXWM began a large raft of vehicle transfers in preparation... This saw Pensnett and West Bromwich receiving a massive influx of vehicles. In return; Acocks Green, Birmingham Central, Coventry, Walsall, Wolverhampton and Yardley Wood. An interesting changeover, other than a large influx of Dennis Tridents swapping bases were the two Crimson liveried Enviro400MMCs transferring from Yardley Wood over to Pensnett, easily identifiable by their blue advert branding rather than the green synonymous at Pensnett. In 2015, 48 Alexander Dennis Enviro400MMC in NXWM's Crimson livery were delivered new with 22 based at Pensnett mainly for use on the 9, and 26 for Yardley Wood for the 50. The recent changes in the Black Country saw price branded spares, (4442-4449, 4466-4474, 4610-4619) will be making the transfer from Yardley Wood to Pensnett. A major change was the once Platinum branded 126 operating from Birmingham to Wolverhampton; the service was based at Wolverhampton prior to the changes. Since the changes, the 126 has been shortened from Wolverhampton to terminate at Dudley instead, with the garage allocation transferring over to Pensnett. The route also lost its Platinum status in the process but have now been replaced 126 be come X7 and X8 Fastest Route Express Service Heritage buses strike again, this time on 9th November 2019 when NXWM held an open day at their Yardley Wood Bus Garage to celebrate 80 years since opening its doors. The garage saw a whole array of buses over the years, to the modern and old with a vast array of shop stands selling memorabilia. NXWM sent a number of buses from various garages, including some of their recently repainted heritage repainted vehicles, which there are now three in service. In September 2019 saw another ALX400 get the heritage treatment following on from 4601's treatment in Walsall Corporation's blue livery. This time around; long-time and original resident at Wolverhampton, 4535 has received Wolverhampton Corporation Transport livery, as well as a complete interior refurbishment. So far since refurbishment, 4535 has also featured some nice little touches incorporated into the livery, which includes the old Wolverhampton Corporation Transport logos on the side, as well as the silver rims surrounding the headlights, something that Yardley Wood continues to adopt for their fleet of ALX400s. July 2018 saw major timetable changes across South Birmingham as well as the implementing of the low-emission zone in Solihull. A number of ALX400s were cascaded between Wolverhampton and Yardley Wood, with 4544-4592 making the transfer to Yardley Wood and subsequently emission trapped to Euro 6 standards, whilst 4535-4542 is remaining at Wolverhampton Transbus ALX400 4535 (BL53 EDF) scurries along Yardley Wood Road during a running and open day at Yardley Wood Bus GarageSince 2015, NXWM made a splash with their newest colour schemes... Although their red and white livery is still present and still being used to repaint their oldest vehicles with only a marginal time left in service, but now their newest buses that have been delivered for the best part of over a decade are now receiving the new livery. The biggest issue with NXWM's red and white livery was their tendency to fade after a couple of years... The earliest repaints from about 10 years ago were not in the best of condition, notably their red colours turning into pink as the years accumulated. With all Eclipses and large majority of OmniLinks having been repainted into crimson (Bordesley, West Bromwich and Walsall still have a selection still in red and white); since early 2019, the focus has shifted onto the Eclipse 2s. Over half of Wolverhampton's batch which were the first to be delivered have since been repainted, with Coventry and Dundee largely been treated. Walsall Garage Only with 2112-2133 have since been receiving West Midlands Buses colours, whilst Pensnett Garage Only 2095-2111 has seen one receiving WM Buses cream and navy livery. A start has been made the remaining small fleet at Birmingham Central with 2134-2142 having been the first to be treated, with the second currently undergoing treatment at Walsall. Wright Eclipse 2 There is absolutely no doubt that NXWM's route 50 between Birmingham and Druids Heath is their flagship service, the service having consistently received brand new buses... So, it shouldn't come as a massive surprise that another batch of brand new buses are making their way to the Yardley Wood based service. In 2015, the 50 as well as Yardley Wood received 26 Alexander Dennis Enviro400MMCs (6123-6148) in the operator's new crimson livery, replacing 4738-4762/4799 which transferred over to West Bromwich and Perry Barr respectively. Since then, there have been quite a few changes; notably 6123/24 transferring over to Pensnett following the Black Country timetable changes in March 2019, although it won't be long until they will be transferred again. NXWM has consistently invested in brand new buses and 2018 is no different as 75 brand new Alexander Dennis Enviro400MMCs in their Platinum brand are now quickly being delivered. This excludes the 14 that were delivered back in October 2018 for Xplore Dundee. Yardley Wood is runner up when it comes to receiving the large batch of 75 ADL Enviro400MMCs, taking on 24 (6893-6914/6943/6944) which will directly replace the 24 crimson Enviro400MMCs (6125-6148). As to where 6125-6148 will end up, they will and have started to make their way to their new home at Acocks Green where they are expected to be used on the Outer Circle 11A/11C. To complete this line-up, Acocks Green will also receive 6101-6124 from Pensnett when the 9 goes over to Platinum operation by the beginning of 2019. As to where all the other Platinums will go; 6 will be delivered to Birmingham Central for the X70, 17 will go over to Coventry for the 11/12X and 28 to Pensnett for the 9 and X10. Alexander Dennis Enviro400MMCOne of NXWM's flagship and most well-known routes goes to the Outer Circle, a 27 mile service based at Acocks Green is the longest bus service in Europe, taking just over 2 hours to complete the entirety of both 11A and 11C services. Since 2004, Wright Eclipse Geminis have been the primary vehicles used for the route, although over the years the route also saw Plaxton Presidents and more recent Alexander ALX400s also appearing to fill the schedule. Whilst the Wright Eclipse Geminis have been the mainstay for nearly 15 years (and will continue to do so in a much smaller number), they won't be the main vehicles to be allocated to the route. Since December 2018, with new Platinums being delivered for both Pensnett and Yardley Wood saw the beginning of 38 Alexander Dennis Enviro400MMCs from their respective bases to Acocks Green. Not all have made the transfer as of February 2019, March 2019, however 6101-6148 will have made the transfer and will become the norm on the Outer Circle. Towards the end of 2018 saw all Wright Eclipse Geminis 4508-4523/4660-4675/4677-4679 losing their Outer Circle branding before the Enviro400MMCs made their appearances. At present, 4508/4534/4676-4679 are in the process of making their transfer over to West Bromwich which will enable the eldest Alexander ALX400s with Volvo B7TL chassis's to be withdrawn. In regards to 4665, she will remain at Acocks Green for the foreseeable future... Originally delivered new to Perry Barr in October 2004 before transferring over to Acocks Green in September 2005, where she has remained ever since, apart from a short spell at Coventry in July 2012 (4475-4507) is remaining at Perry Barr (4508-4534/4676-4679) is remaining at West Bromwich Wright Eclipse Gemini’s One of NXWM's flagship and most well-known routes goes to the Outer Circle, a 27 mile service based at Acocks Green is the longest bus service in Europe, taking just over 2 hours to complete the entirety of both 11A and 11C services. Since 2004, Wright Eclipse Geminis have been the primary vehicles used for the route, although over the years the route also saw Plaxton Presidents and more recent Alexander ALX400s also appearing to fill the schedule. Whilst the Wright Eclipse Geminis have been the mainstay for nearly 15 years (and will continue to do so in a much smaller number), they won't be the main vehicles to be allocated to the route. Since December 2018, with new Platinums being delivered for both Pensnett and Yardley Wood saw the beginning of 38 Alexander Dennis Enviro400MMCs from their respective bases to Acocks Green. Not all have made the transfer as of February 2019, however 6101-6148 will have made the transfer and will become the norm on the Outer Circle. Towards the end of 2018 saw all Wright Eclipse Geminis 4508-4523/4660-4675/4677-4679 losing their Outer Circle branding before the Enviro400MMCs made their appearances. The process of branding up the first Alexander Dennis Enviro400MMCs for the Outer Circle began in January 2019 when 6125 became the first to receive the new branding which was first seen on the new Platinums for the 50. 6125 was previously brand new to Yardley Wood in March 2015 carrying 'Price' branding, becoming a dedicated spare. She made the transfer to Acocks Green in December 2018. January 2019. February 2019. March 2019.