as
at 23rd September 2009
Only
one route will operate during the 2009 season, whereas two routes– the
NewcastleGateshead Tour (Red Tour) and the Ouseburn Tour (Blue Tour) – were operated
in the previous two years.
Fleet Profile
City Sightseeing NewcastleGateshead currently have four tour buses, all of which are H-registered high floor open-top Leyland Olympians. These vehicles started life as closed top Northern Counties bodied deckers with Sunderland Busways but were converted, by Stagecoach, to partial Open Top in early 2007 in preparation for running the City Sightseeing operation.
In
preparation for the 2008 season, 14669 was converted to fully open top. All four carry
the distinctive City Sightseeing livery and throughout much of the 2008 season
carried rear advertisements as follows:
14669 H669BNL The Alnwick Garden
14670 H670BNL Newcastle College
14673 H673BNL Newcastle College
14674 H674BNL Newcastle College
During the 2009 season 14673 has carried no rear advertisement whilst 14670 & 14674 have carried advertisements for Hancock Museum. Fully open- top 14669 has not been noted in use on the Sightseeing tours during 2009, but has been used at Special Events such as the Sunderland International Air Show and the Bupa Great North Run.
 |
|
| 14669 - Alnwick Garen rear | 14670 - Newcastle College rear |
 |
|
| 14673 - Newcastle College rear | 14674 - Newcastle College rear |
|
|
|
| 14674 - Hancock Museum rear |
.jpg)
In
addition to their striking external appearance, the interior of the vehicles
have been refurbished, with bright coloured City Sightseeing waterproof seats
and cushioning, as illustrated below.
The Route
The 2009 season
sees only one City Sightseeing NewcastleGateshead route operating throughout
the season, following a slightly modified version of the former Red Route:
Central Stn – St James’ Park – Haymarket – Blackett Street – Quayside – Baltic – Sage – Central Station
The tours are seasonal and operate only between April and
December, with maximum frequency in Summer months. For further details of service frequency at
different times of year, see the timetable below.
Route
Timetable Effective from 4th April 2009
Where to go…
…for
Sightings
Fairly
obviously, anywhere on the route is a suitable location for sightings. See the map and timetables above to help
select a spot. At times when two
vehicles are operating, both pass the Pilgrim Street/Market Street junction within
minutes of each other.
…for
Photos
Vehicles
look impressive in the midday sun as they travel along Percy Street and turn
into Blackett Street. Alternative
locations would be Central Station, Pilgrim Street, the Quayside and Baltic
Square.
…for
Timetables
City
Sightseeing NewcastleGateshead tour leafets are available on the buses
themselves and from the Tourist Information Centre in Central Arcade.
the DEPOT…
The City Sightseeing NewcastleGateshead fleet
are based at Stagecoach in Newcastle’s Slatyford depot. For further information on Slatyford, please
visit the Stagecoach in Newcastle Spotters
Section.
photos
14669 For the 2008 season, 14669 was converted
to completely open top (as pictured), having operated as partial open-top like
the rest of the fleet during the 2007 season.
14670 14673
14674 Side view of the livery
This is not an official City Sightseeing NewcastleGateshead page. If you are looking for the official page,
please visit http://www.city-sightseeing.co.uk.
© Stagecoach
North East Bus Depot 2007-2009.
If you wish to
use any of the information or photographs from this site please contact stagecoachbusdepot@hotmail.com
prior to their use.
This is not an
official Stagecoach website.