Burtons Coaches J56 GCX - 19 or 20 Feb 2007 (567-22A)

Monday 19 or Tuesday 20 February 2007 - Burtons Coaches J56 GCX, Ikarus Citibus bodied DAF, seen at Parkside, Beck Row. The bus was new in 1992. It came into the ownership of Burtons when the Tellings-Golden Miller Group acquired Arriva’s operation in Colchester on 29 August 2004. It ran in Arriva livery until December 2006 initially with Network Colchester (the name used by TGM following the acquisition from Arriva) and then when transferred to Burtons at Haverhill.

Sometime around the Christmas school holiday period in 2006 it finally received Burtons livery and was allocated to Haverhill garage its prime use for a school contract but we Mildenhall drivers drove it in the middle of the day. Once the morning school contract was completed the bus arrived back at Haverhill garage and after a (very) short time the Mildenhall outstation driver working duty 212 took it over to work the 0915 Haverhill-Bury St Edmunds service 345 (due Bury 1008) and then the 1015 Bury St Edmunds to Beck Row service 355 (due 1104). The bus then worked the 1121 service 355 from Beck Row to Bury St Edmunds (due 1206) and the 1215 Bury St Edmunds to Haverhill service 344 (due 1308). The duty 212 driver came off the bus at Mildenhall (1132) handing it over to the duty 211 driver who took it through to Bury. At Bury it was taken over by a Haverhill based driver working duty 422 in exchange for the bus which that driver had brought in on the 1115 service 345 from Haverhill. This exchange got J56 GCX back to Haverhill in readiness for the afternoon school contract.