*VERY FAST* Ride on Stagecoach Manchester 18192 - MX54 LPZ - Alexander ALX400 - Shuttle Run

This year, I attended my first Pennines Running Day. As a frequent visitor to both sides of these hills (in fact, I’ve spent more time there than in Leicester, Blaby and Wigston this year), I’ve always wanted to do this, but I never go due to the travelling logistics (three trains) or having to park in Halifax Town Centre. That’s what I thought anyway, until I discovered that feeder services were being provided from Manchester and Leeds. I’ve been up and down the M1 a lot recently due to some ongoing circumstances in the North East, so I decided to go from Manchester, also taking advantage of the Metrolink park & rides to save even more money. Unlike the First bus-ran ones in Leeds, they still run nice and early on a Sunday. In order to make the feeders for 8:25, I had to leave my house before 5:00 to allow time to get the tram replacement bus into Manchester. My tram bus replacement bus was former First London Scania OmniCity SR36069 (YR61 RVM), which is now Diemond’s 40032. Both cities were due to provide the choice of two buses, though one of Leeds’ pulled out due to issues, so they all had to cram onto former Travel West Midlands Plaxton President 4058 (V58 MOA). Both of Manchester’s made it, and the choices were Stagecoach ALX400 18192 (this bus), and First Volvo B7RLE 69217. As I know it’s a very scenic trip across the Pennines, I went with 18192, and this was also the first bus I filmed once we were there. It first ran a shuttle service to Hebden Bridge, and this is filmed on the way back, as going, I didn’t know where I was going, and Halifax is littered with roadworks at the moment. It was basically a short sprint along the A646. Long enough to show just how quick a Stagecoach ALX400 can be, and how much power they can use uphills, provided they’re not too steep, which a few are in that area. This bus is a definitely beast, and you wouldn’t think it was, given that was withdrawn after a fire in 2014 and returned to service in 2016. It was new to Manchester in late 2004, and was initially allocated to Stockport for the 330. This one also worked at Princess Road, before leaving in 2008 following the takeover of all the Enviro400s Stagecoach ordered for Manchester. They were split up, with this one going to Swindon. It remained there until its fire, and after it was repaired, it was put into service in Gloucester, remaining there until its withdrawal in August 2025. It was preserved the following month and returned to Manchester, where it now resides alongside 17612, 19001 and many fine Manchester buses from over the years at the Greater Manchester Transport Museum in Cheetham Hill. I do need to get myself to an event there soon. This came from quite an infamous batch. Notable members included 18178, which also went to Swindon, and was lost to an even bigger fire in late 2010, and 18189, which went to Warwickshire and was the bus that smashed into the Sainsbury’s in Coventry as a result of wrong pedal syndrome and killed two people, a consequence of health and safety negligence by allowing an older unfit driver to continue driving, in October 2015. On a more positive note, one is still in service at the time of upload, this being 18187 with Stagecoach South in Andover. So how did my first Pennines Running Day go? You’ll have to wait and see.