Arriva Rail North 158797 'Jane Tomlinson' (28.03.2019)

Dame Jane Emily Tomlinson, CBE (née Goward; 21 February 1964 – 3 September 2007) was an amateur English athlete who raised £1.85 million for charity by completing a series of athletic challenges, despite suffering from terminal cancer.

Having had treatment for breast cancer in 1991, aged 26; the disease returned in 2000 throughout her body. During the next six years, Tomlinson completed the London Marathon three times, the London Triathlon twice, the New York Marathon once and cycled across Europe and the United States. Jane Tomlinson died in 2007, aged 43.

Jane Emily Goward was born in Wakefield in Yorkshire in 1964, the sixth of ten children of a dentist. When she was aged 11, the family emigrated to Australia but returned after three years. In 1990, Tomlinson applied to study Mathematics at the University of Leeds. However, when she found a lump in her breast and had a lumpectomy, she enrolled instead at Leeds General Infirmary and trained as a radiographer. By this time, she had married Mike Tomlinson and had two daughters, Suzanne and Rebecca. They later had a son, Steven. Qualifying in 1993, Tomlinson later studied to postgraduate level and became a paediatric radiographer. Three years after having a lumpectomy the cancer returned and she had a second mastectomy, and two rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. In 2000, Jane Tomlinson was told that the cancer had spread to her bones and lungs, and was given about 12 months to live.

Jane raised over £1.85 million through a series of gruelling challenges including several long-distance bike rides, marathons, triathlons and a full Ironman triathlon. Since her death the charity that she founded has announced a new fundraising target of £5 million. As of February 2015 £7.6 million has been raised, and in September 2017 the campaign announced fundraising had surpassed £10m.

In July and August 2006, Tomlinson spent nine weeks cycling 3,800 miles across the United States, raising £250,000. This was her final athletic challenge.

Having published The Luxury of Time in 2005, she released the second volume of her memoirs You Can't Take It With You in 2006. In January 2007, Mike and Jane Tomlinson launched Jane Tomlinson's Run For All, a 10 km charity run that took place in June that year. Having had four courses of chemotherapy, she developed chronic heart disease. Having been elevated to a CBE in June 2007, Jane Tomlinson died in St Gemma's Hospice, Leeds, West Yorkshire less than three months later on 3 September. Her Requiem Mass, which was conducted by Arthur Roche, Roman Catholic Bishop of Leeds, was held at the Roman Catholic Leeds Cathedral on 14 September 2007. Later that day she was cremated in a private family ceremony. On 15 November 2007 Tomlinson's ten-year-old son, Steven, collected her CBE from Charles, Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace.

In her honour, a train was named after the British athlete and Northern's 158797 was chosen for it and here, it is seen arriving at Nottingham Station from Leeds before heading back out there on the 12:17 service, the train still being in Northern's old colours.

Arriva Rail North 150132 (28.03.2019)

I think due to Arriva now operating the Northern franchise, it meant, while some trains were repainted into their new colours, this similar colour scheme was eventually launched though this one features the Arriva branding on it, as here illustrates. 150132 is one such train to be in what is Northern's newest livery to date and here, it is seen arriving at Nottingham Station from Leeds before heading back out there on the 11:17 service via Meadowhall and Barnsley Interchange.

Trent Barton 217 (25.03.2019)

Due to a one off day involving a lack of available Volvo Wright-Eclipse Urban buses branded up for The Keyworth, two Mango Smart Travel spare ADL Enviro 200 MMC types were in use on there instead. Attention now turns to 217 here as in this one, the bus is seen on Melton Road in West Bridgford with The Keyworth to Keyworth.

Trent Barton 216 (25.03.2019)

The hold everything moment from earlier had to come in and this is why because not one, but two 18 plate Mango Smart Travel ADL Enviro 200 MMC spares were on The Keyworth today, this being one of them! 216 deputises for a 09 plate Keyworth branded Volvo Wright-Eclipse Urban as it heads from Carrington Street onto Arkwright Street with a Keyworth bound service. I suppose that given the number of spare MMC's in Trent Barton's fleet, this could perhaps be a simple allocation to this route, or perhaps not... well these buses seem to have made more appearances on The Keyworth more recently compared to the spare Volvos, so...

OK then, the other spares on Bridgford Bus/Green Line were... wait! HOLD EVERYTHING! I think something even more unusual just occured on a different day, so I'll have to leave the rest of the shots on what happened on Bridgford Bus this day right here!

Nottingham City Transport 344 (19.03.2019)

Nottingham City Transport 344 (19.03.2019)

The introduction of the new style spare liveries on Optare Solo SRs 342 and 345 means that. given this bus being in its new style spare livery as well, an expansion in the number of new style spare Optare Solo SRs across the network. 344 is seen here in Nottingham City Centre on a 5 to Gamston.

Nottingham City Transport 344 (19.03.2019)

With navy 3 reducing its frequency to every 30 mins, this new style spare Optare Solo SR along with fellow new style spare variant 345 are no longer required in the main for use on the route aside from appearances vice the navy 3 branded variants. 344's away days from the 3 seem to be more common than not given the frequency reduction on the route and the bus is seen here escaping onto Bridgford Bus 5 as it turns right onto Angel Row in Nottingham's Old Market Square whilst on a service bound for Gamston.

Nottingham City Transport 344 (19.03.2019)

So then, the oldest style livery currently stands with the Scania OmniTown of 204 while the newest style of liveries are to be found on a large chunk of buses across the network, this new style spare Optare Solo SR being one of them! 344 is seen here presumably at Victoria Centre bus stop on Lower Parliament Street on a Bridgford Bus 5 service to Gamston. This bus was the one that bought me here from Mellors Road bus stop on Melton Road.

Nottingham City Transport 344 (19.03.2019)

While the Bridgford Bus 5 route doesn't usually end up with any spare buses, I suppose that now three Optare Solo SR's are now new style spares with two being green spares, it perhaps could be more likely than not that one of these new style spares ends up on this route, as illustrated here. 344 arrives at Mellors Road bus stop on Melton Road to pick me up while on a 5 to City Loop.

Nottingham City Transport 344 (19.03.2019)

My first sighting of a new style spare Optare Solo SR on Bridgford Bus 5 here and I guess Melton Road has to come into play here! 344 is seen here heading on Melton Road bound for Gamston on the 5.

Nottingham City Transport 431 (19.03.2019)

As NCT prepare for the new intake of ADL Enviro 400 CBG City bio-gas buses, one of the fleet numbers for brown 17 has recently been revealed in the form of 454 (YN19 EEJ). With this new intake, it means the older OmniDekkas may perhaps be running on borrowed time! At least Centrebus have some former NCT OmniDekkas, so it's not all doom and gloom for OmniDekka fans like me! It would be nice to see the 19 plate bio-gas buses come in mind, which I'm sure will include some spares! Perhaps a chance to catch up with one on this route here in the near future! This 18 plate silver spare one here will have to do for the time being though! 431 is seen here in Nottingham City Centre on a 6 to Edwalton.

Nottingham City Transport 431 (19.03.2019)

'I'm powered by food, farm and sewage waste.'

431, a silver spare bio-gas ADL Enviro 400 CBG City, comes to arrive at Victoria Centre bus stop on Lower Parliament Street whilst operating a 6 and with its next journey being an Edwalton service.

Nottingham City Transport 431 (19.03.2019)

With the 17 plate Bridgford Bus branded variant of 403 just sitting in Parliament Street Garage and most likely all day for that matter, this 18 plate silver spare bio-gas ADL Enviro 400 CBG City was put to use on the 6 instead. 431 turns right onto Angel Row with a 6 to Edwalton.

Nottingham City Transport 403 'Henry Blofeld OBE' (19.03.2019)

As I had to pick up my Samsung phone from the head office at Parliament Street garage after I had unfortunately left it behind earlier at one of the bus stops outside Victoria Centre on Lower Parliament Street, I decided on these two shots from inside Parliament Street depot and for those that were wondering what I was doing here, I was on a walkway leading back to the exit in part after I had got my phone back, hence why I took these shots on the way out! For these two shots, the focus is on the bio-gas power as for this 17 plate Bridgford Bus branded bio-gas ADL Enviro 400 CBG City, it seemed as if it was having a day off the 6... well there were new style spare midi-buses on Bridgford Bus today, so I suppose a new style silver spare bio-gas bus would have worked out today, so I guess there is something to smile about at least! 😊 403 sits in Parliament Street Garage amongst a whole host of other buses.

Marshalls of Sutton on Trent OP100 (19.03.2019)

A pretty rare allocation for the Fosseway Flyer 90 I know but it was to be today that one of the services was to be in the hands of this more older Optare Solo, as illustrated here. OP100 unusually puts in an appearance on the 90, it seen here in Nottingham's Old Market Square as it now departs for Newark.