Wrightbus Factory Watch Part 3

On a wet and cold day our mate Paul McClurkin, decided to give us surprise visit to Wrightbus's Factory in Ballymena, Northern Ireland. This series has so far proved interesting both readers of the blog and me as a writer for seemingly obvious reasons, its not everyday that you get to see the inside of a Bus manufacturer's premises.

So what was on show today? The above picture shows an incomplete Streetlite due to be delivered for London 'supercompany' Go Ahead. The vehicle is part of a batch of 23 vehicles that will be split between three routes, these being the 219, 327 and 491 as part of their new contracts. Their due date to enter service is May 2013 and their introduction will supplement the 9 shorter wheelbase models that are already in service with the company for use on the 462. The 10.2m vehicles have an acclaimed capacity of 71 passengers, which I highly doubt anyway and a very high roof line which is perfect for tall passengers such as myself.

To the far left of the picture above you can see an Arriva London DW566 LJ13 CKF which is part of a batch of vehicles that is due to be delivered to Enfield Garage (E) to help cascade older vehicles in the fleet to outer London.

Also a Metroline VWH, which I suspect to be VWH1413, can also be seen in the background of the photo. The vehicle is part of a batch of VWH, numbered between 1408 and 1419 for the Route 52's contract which commenced last year December.

Arriva London DW519

Arriva London DW519 can be seen undergoing the last parts of production prior to being delivered to Ash Gorve (AE) for the recently won Route 106. This bus forms a batch of buses numbered between DW516 & 533.

Go Ahead London Wrightbus Streetlite 

Go Ahead London Wrightbus Streetlite 

Arriva London DW566 LJ13 CKF