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July 2010
On Sunday 25 July we went to the Worthing Bus Rally. We took one of our Dennis Darts M455 LLJ. It was the first time we had ever been to this rally. We was down as the spare bus for the day. However we did get used. We did route 100 (Rally Site - Sea lane Cafe) and Route 227 (Rally Site - Shoreham). We did these twice. It was a good day and hope to go again next year.
We have purchased a new van. It is Mercedes Benz Sprinter EY53 ESV and is bright yellow. It will be used to collect waste cooking oil to fuel our buses.
Not long now until the bus rally season really kicks off. At the end of July we will be going to the Worthing rally (26 July) with Dennis Dart M455 LLJ then Gosport (1 August) with Mercedes Benz P229 EJW and then Herne Bay (8 August) again with Mercedes Benz P229 EJW
Some sad news to report is that over the weekend of 10 - 11 July our yellow coach Volvo B10M E968 KDP had an big engine failure. On the following Monday the decision was made that for our white coach Volvo B1OM D222 LWY to have its engine taken out and put in 968. This is due to the overall state of the body of 968 (being good). At current 968 is off the road awaiting a suitable time for the engine to be placed in it. The white coach 222 has just months or maybe weeks left in service with us. The engine change will take place when the private hire need dies down and we can spare to have both coaches off the road. When new back in the 80's ,222 was new to Wallace Arnold coaches and was doing tours around the UK and Europe. Now in a few weeks it will be scrapped.
June 2010
On Friday 25 June we stopped running our bus service 42. Dennis Dart M455 LLJ ran the last trip from the Old Steine at 0340 towards Falmer. We will be back in September running a 15 mins service and also 30 mins at weekends.
On 23 June we went to the Glastonbury music festival. We took our two coaches D222 LWY & E968 KDP for our planned trip to the festival but also our two Volvo Alexander PS's L342 KCK & M751 LAX as they were hired to go to the event by a group of people.
May 2010
On Sunday 23 May 2010 The Big Lemon went to the Lewes bus rally. We took our coach E968 KDP Volvo B10M Plaxton Paramount. We offered a free seat to anyone who wanted to travel from Old Steine to the rally site on our coach. It was a good day. Our next rally will be Worthing in late July.
We went to Ensignbus this week to look at future buses to buy. We have our eye on a double deck for September when we uplift service 42 yet again. A Scania Cityzen and another Volvo B10M Alexander PS is on the cards for September 2010.
Here is a cool fact , Remember when Brighton & Hove Buses had them Berkoft bodied Dennis Lances (281 - 285)? Well we have drivers that have driven them all of there life. We have one driver who drove them when new to Stagecoach East Kent and another driver with drove them at Stagecoach Worthing depot and another who drove them when they were passed to Brighton & Hove in 2005. So evreytime these buses have moved, we have ended up with a driver who has driven them. Pretty cool.
Some sad news is that sisters to one of our Volvo B10M Alexander PS'S M751 LAX have been sold for scrap. M750 & M755 LAX have been sold for scrap in Barnsley. Both of them were for sale at Ensignbus when we went to purchase 751 in July 2009. We even went for a road test in M750 LAX. But now both have been scrapped.
This year The Big Lemon will be at the rallies. We have so far been to Cobham this year and our next rally will be Lewes on 23 May 2010. We have booked into Worthing & Gosport too. Hopefully taking our super Dennis Dart M455 LLJ.
April 2010
On Sunday 11 April 2010 we took Dennis Dart M455 LLJ to the Cobham Bus Rally. It was a great day and fun was had by all.
March 2010
Our minibus P229 EJW is now ebing repaired. It should be back with us within a few weeks.
Today we send off our bus rally forms for 2010. We have entered into 5 rallys this year so far. For Cobham you may see one of our new Volvo B10 PS'S or a trusted Dennis Dart. So far we will be defo be going to Cobham 11 APR 2010 , Lewes Bus Rally 23 MAY 2010 & Gosport 1 AUG 2010.
Feb 2010
Dennis Dart M455 LLJ has had it's tickover in the engine increased in a bid to overcome a stalling problem. This has made the bus super quick and is now by far the fastest bus in the fleet.
New bus Volvo B10M Alexander PS L342 KCK has now been repainted into our yellow livery. It is now waiting a LED Hanover destination display and branding.
Further to the news of P229 EJW being involved in an accident ,on Monday 7 Feb 2010 it drove under it's own power from Shoreham to Ringmer where it is now in a workshop.
Due to a bus shortage on Friday 19 Feb we had to use our branded coach Volvo B10M E968 KDP in service on route 42. This was a last resort but we only had 2 buses working so we had no other choice but to use the coach.
Over the weekend of 27 - 28 Feb we had a strange guest staying at the depot. Our coach E968 KDP has never stayed with us at our main base in East Brighton but due to weekend private hire work it slept in our yard. It was a nice change for us to see a coach outside instead of normally just buses. It was a Volvo weekend at the depot. With the coach E968 KDP and our two Volvo PS'S L342 KCK & M751 LAX being at the yard. Leaving the lonely Dennis Dart M461 LLJ by itself. (the other Darts are at the workshop in Lewes)
Volvo B10M Plaxton Paramount E968 KDP
Dennis Dart East Lancs M461 LLJ
Mercedes Benz Marshall P229 EJW
The Big Lemon CIC is a Community Interest Company registered in England and Wales no. 06045786
Registered Office and Operating Centre: Protran House, Boundary Road, Black Rock, Brighton BN2 5TJ
Tel. 01273 681 681 : Fax. 01273 681 681: E. lemonbus@thebiglemon.com