First Eastern Counties 36186 (BN12 JYJ) in Lowestoft - 29 Mar 2022 (P1110264)

Tuesday 29 March 2022 (1415) – First Eastern Counties Buses Limited 36186 (BN12 JYJ) seen just after crossing the Harbour Bridge as it entered Lowestoft town centre working the 1305 Coastlink service X2 from Norwich via Beccles. It is a Wright Eclipse Gemini bodied Volvo B9TL that was new in June 2012 to First Games Transport.

The company is now marketing itself as Coastal Reds in the Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft area using this new livery style that has almost replaced the First Bus corporate style. There are also branded liveries for two key groups of services, Coastlink (X1, X2, X11 and X22) and Coastal Clipper (1 and 1A). However, a Coastal Reds liveried 36186 is covering the X2 service on this occasion.

(The Coastal Reds name should not be confused with unrelated Lynx Bus in North Norfolk that is registered with Companies House as Coastal Red Limited).

The seaside resort and port town of Lowestoft is the most easterly town in the British Isles. The town developed as a major fishing port but as that trade declined around the 1960s the port then supported the North Sea gas and oil industry. As that work declined the town became a regional centre for renewable energy.

The town is divided by Lake Lothing which links the sea with Oulton Broad. The Harbour Bridge links the two parts of the town and separates the Outer Harbour from the Inner Harbour. When this bascule style bridge is lifted (10 times in 24 hours) road traffic in the town can become gridlocked.

There is a second bridge at Oulton Broad a couple of miles or so inland (the vertical lift Mutford Bridge) which also can get very congested. A third bridge (Gull Wing Bridge) is now under construction about halfway between the existing two bridges which is due to open in 2023.