Tilly
The Meaning Behind Tilly!
Tilly means mighty in battle. I chose this name because she had thought her way for an extended period being the oldest (non-heritage) in the NXWM fleet and withdrawn with minor issues. She came to us in an outstanding condition and is fighting her way through life leading the battle.
Chassis Specification
📋 Dennis
🦴 Trident 2
🎂 01/02/2002
🔋 Cummins ISCe (Cummins Recon)
⚙️ Voith 851.3E
⌛️ Top Speed of 50mph (Limiter Fitted)
🛞 Bridgestone U-AP 002, 275/70R/22.5
⛽ 275 Litres
Body Specification
💺 75 Seated, 15 Standees & 1 Wheelchair
🔎 Lazzerini Pratico 3845
⬆️ Height: 4.39 Metres (14ft 5inches)
➡️ Width: 2.55 Metres (8ft 4 inches)
📐 Length: 10.504 Metres (34ft 6 inches)
🧍 Unladen Weight: 12.04 tonnes (12040 kgs)
🏋️ Maximum Weight: 18 tonnes (18000kgs)
Recent Work
Tilly had a major incident last year where a group of youths vandalised her. She suffered from 10 interior windows smashed, 2 windscreens smashed, fire extinguishers robbed and sprayed all over the vehicle & parts stolen. We are still recovering from this but she will be back.
August 2024, I am preparing Tilly for MOT, so far we have done a considerable amount of work and hopefully will be prepared for the end of the year event season.
History
Delivery
Tilly was new to Travel West Midlands at Wolverhampton garage to replace older vehicles. Tilly spent a lot of her life on many of the popular routes at the garage and even got branded up at one stage for the 559 between Wolverhampton & Ashmore Park.
Temporary Transfer
Tilly was transferred in June 2013 to Yardley Wood where she did routes 2, 6 & 35 (I only know this from photos on Flickr). She may have explored the full array of routes at Yardley Wood but she was missing her old territory and returned home early for Christmas in 2013.
Withdrawal
Tilly got withdrew in December 2022, she suffered from needing an MOT and needing some chassis welding. When I spoke with the Engineering Manager he said "it is a strong bus and rarely failed on us. We had to withdraw something from service at the time and this unfortunately was the vehicle selected, but I am glad she has gone to a good home. Will be nice to see her at her home garage in the future." She entered my hands in February 2023 and left Wolverhampton shortly afterwards!
The Story
February 2023
Tilly was collected from Wolverhampton, she drove faultlessly to get a small amount of work done and MOT the same day. We were extremely happy with how she performed and how she was as a whole. There was just 1 thing missing and that's the Bus Driver Jade treatment programme.
July 2023
Tilly has always been kept in a secure depot with 24hr CCTV & 24hr Gated access. This did not stop the youths of today angle grinding their way through the fence and using various tools to smash my vehicle up as well as other vehicles. (Some that were brand new). The police were helpful, until after identifying the youths were too young to prosecute and punish. I were lucky enough to be donated glass which I am extremely grateful for and all I had to buy new was 2 windscreens.
This has taken months to secure and fit. In fact I was still facing issues with this vandalism well into the early months of 2024
February 2024
Windows were in, engine was running, but was in a state that nobody likes to see any vehicle. She is on the mend but her future is far behind where I want her to be. Unfortunately whilst she was looking poorly we have had some vehicles collide with her and causing yet more body damage. She has not had a good start so far but this will change.
Onwards and upwards from here Tilly!
Events She Is Attending
Once confirmed, this will be updated