Why A volvo?
Our group is known for its 2 famous Leyland National 2,s, FTN 708W, and FTN 710W. Both have been in several of the major bus magazines a few times now. But we also have 2 more modern buses in our group. Still aged 18 and 19 years old in their own right. These are the only Volvo B10BLE,s so far saved for preservation from Go Northeast. R855 PRG and V987 ETN.
While these were the only buses that truly replaced the Leyland National 2 in front line service they were relegated quite quickly to the smaller depots within Go Northeast. Taken into service in 1997 at Washington, The Volvo B10BLE with Wright Renown bodywork was a huge step into
the easy access future for Go Northeast. The first batch, 4837 to 4847 going onto the 194 and 294 displacing the Leyland Lynx from this service. The second batch, 4848 to 4855 were allocated to Chester LE Street for use on the 21 and the morning journeys on the 734. The 3rd batch 4896 to 4898 was new at Stanley for the service 765/766.
Again to Stanley for the service 775 and 778 were buses 4899 to 4909. Gateshead got 4910 to 4925 in the 5th batch. Then, unfortunately, the company decided that they would buy Scania L94,s from then on. With the Fleet expanding into new buses this meant the time was up for the Leyland National. Cascading of Daf SB220 and Dennis Lance's meant that the National 2 could be withdrawn as life expired. After a 26 year association, they bowed out without any kind of ceremony. 5 were kept on in the driving school.
Once the Volvo's settled down they began to give extremely reliable service. This was no surprise as the chassis running gear wasn't new at all. Most came from the trusty B10M. the engine was a D10H that was used in the Olympian in the upright configuration. The ZF HP500 gearbox was already an option n the B10M. The new independent front suspension was all that was new. They became a huge hit with the driving staff as they were so good to work with. The cab was well thought out and switches were easy to get to.
Time moves on to 2014. By this time the influx of new buses had already sent the Daf SB220, Optare Excel, Dennis Dart, Dennis Lance, Dennis Trident and the Daf SB220GS out of the Go Northeast fleet. The only first-generation low floor bus still active was the Volvo B10BLE. This was thanks to its reliability and cost-effectiveness. But this was soon to change. The law was changing and every bus had to be disabled friendly and meet the latest regulations. The Renown body did not meet this. So a replacement was in the shape of the Wright Streetlite for the B10BLE
along with other cascaded buses. The first to go was 4840. Then with quick succession, all of the first batches were withdrawn. Then big inroads were made into the second and third batches.
By March 2015 the NNRG had selected R855 PRG for preservation. This was going to be the first low floor bus that had been saved for preservation from Go Northeast. 4855 was bought by Craig Smith, Operations Engineer of the NNRG in May 2015. Delivery was in August 2015. Restoration began in September 2015 and was finished by April 2016. Now resplendent in Corporate livery with easy access branding
she was a sight that harked back to 1998. Her first season was a mixture of adapting her too long stints of inactivity and proving her reliability. This did let us down a few times but we were able to overcome these setbacks. So to answer the question. Why a Volvo B10BLE Wright Renown? The era of bus preservation has now moved on with the times and busses that were new 20 years ago are now getting saved. People come to me and ask the same question. Our Leyland National 2, FTN 710W is readily regarded as an important part of the history of Go Northeast.
4855 is just if not more important. The First low floor bus that the company bought in any numbers in my mind must be represented in preservation. Unfortunately, the number of buses that have been saved from Go Northeast after the Leyland National is very small. No examples of the Nationals replacements as mentioned above survive in preservation. Only 4855 and 4897 to date. Only 3 Volvo B10BLE,s are in revenue earning service based at Riverside depot. They belong to a small number that was converted to DDA regulations. The rest have been resold for further service or unfortunately scrapped.