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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2019 15:30:19 GMT
T299 160 Sidcup to New Eltham ENR6 B13 to Bexleyheath DW481 401 to Belvedere DW479 99 to Plumstead 13080 177 to Thamesmead T326 229 to Bexleyheath DW452 269 to Bexley T314 229 to Bexleyheath 12303 96 to Dartford
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Post by rif153 on Dec 7, 2019 18:31:44 GMT
Piccadilly Line to Ruislip 278 to Heathrow Central (2011) 7.5/10 - The first day loadings were surprisingly better than I was expecting. On Long Lane the loadings peaked at ten. This was then eclipsed on the busy section between Hayes & Harlington and Heathrow Central on which the bus was well loaded. I'm glad people knew of this route, hopefully it proves popular, especially on Long Lane where they'll now have a much more regular bus service than previously. The new smelling Smart Hybrid make the experience pleasant too, evoking memories of my journeys of 2003 and 2005 on the 207's first day at Abellio. The route is decent in terms of scenery. Boring resdential pockets do let the side down a little, namely between the Uxbridge Road and Hayes Town but overall the scenery is fine. I had a driver who put their foot down too making the experience even more enjoyable. This route does duplicate the H98 for quite a bit of its length so hopefully it gives the route some much needed relief, and it'll probably alleviate the need for deckers on the H98. Overall a good first day, didn't see any turns/bunching on LVF so Abellio haven't done too badly (I don't want to tempt fate as the last time I said Abellio were doing well on day one the wheels began to come off in the ensuing weeks/months) I didn't see any routeside controllers either surprisingly. One final thing to add is that I did overhear Abellio drivers lamenting their 40 minute meal reliefs at the changeover point, which is Redmead Road.
U3 to Uxbridge (TE1572) 9/10 - Wonderful route. This route really is unique. There are so many pockets of greenery along the route that make you feel as if you aren't in London, particularly close to the Northern Perimeter. I found the scenery so enjoyable, it really helped me to appreciate this route for what it is, and this was augmented by the wonderful beastly TE I got on the route. There is a stretch weaving around residential streets, which is rather dull, but it doesn't go on for too long. I won't waffle about this route as words can do it not justice, but I would encourage you to go on the U3 in future.
U5 to Hayes & Harlington (2528) 7/10 - What was just a filler route to get to the X140 turned out being a lot better than expected. I think this route did have some parts which really hit, there is again lovely greenery along the route which is just fantastic. The stream adjacent to the road in Cowley is very pleasant too. I can't not mention the fantastic dual carrigeway thrash along the parkway which whilst only short was the best part of the route. Stockley Park is reasonably interesting until it becomes monotonously long and the 20mph speed limit starts to grate. The residential areas do let the side down once more.
X140 to Northolt (VWH2230) then back to the Grapes (VWH2241) - This was really just to sample the X140. From this experience I can see why so many feel its a pointless route. There are very few opportunities to overtake stopping buses as for a lot of the route there is a mere one lane in each direction. I don't think it speeded the journey up that much using the X140. In fact, the 140 which I snubbed for an X140 only arrived at Northolt a few minutes after my X140 had left. The route is going to be a nightmare to operate. The 12min headways had fallen apart, this is by no stretch HD's fault but due to the nature of the route making it very difficult to operate reliably, the route just gets bogged down by congestion. It somewhat feels like a TfL PR stunt to make it seem as if they're speeding up bus travel. In future I'll try using the X140 to reach Harrow and see if I feel the time saving is good, I might do a 140 vs X140 race to see if waiting for the X140 is worthwhile but my experiences of the 607 have taught me not to bother waiting for the express bus so my instinct may be to get the 140 under normal circumstances unless the wait is worthwhile.
607 to Ealing Broadway (VMH2562) - Nothing special.
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Post by VWH1414 on Dec 7, 2019 23:06:52 GMT
My journey today:
Started off with the usual trip to Kingsbury: 302 - VWH1362 - Mill Hill Broadway > Roe Green 324 - DE1174 - Roe Green > Kingsbury Station
After around an hour then departed Kingsbury: 324 - DE1174 - Kingsbury Station > Brent Cross Tesco (Basically managed to catch DE1174 on the return journey from Stanmore - Not a bad bus at all tbh) Spent some time getting stuff in Tescos and then: 324 - DE1605 - Brent Cross Tesco > Brent Cross Shopping Centre 210* - TE1094 - Brent Cross Shopping Centre > Golders Green Station 240 - TE845 - Golders Green Station > Mill Hill Broadway 302 - VWH1414** - Mill Hill Broadway > Deansbrook Road
* - My first time using the 210 - decided to switch things up a bit from the 186, which I've used a lot lately. Not a bad route on the section I went on, and much quicker then I thought. TE1094 also bridged the gap between TE1093-1104, meaning I've now been on all of them. A shame I didn't prioritise using this route a few weeks ago when the TAs were still going though. Although using the 210 today allowed me to utilise the 240 using TEs, whose days could be numbered. TE845 was a lovely fast bus too - might be 12 years old but performance is still perfect.
** - VWH1414 has honestly become the next VP500 in the fact that I somehow always run into this bus. Managed to get on it on 5/9 journies on the 302 last week. Not a bad bus tbh - I don't know what AC doesn't differently to BT but their G2 Hybrids are way better imo. Although I'm not a fan of VWH1412. But I've never had one of ACs VWHs randomly lose all power before - unlike BTs. I'm lucky that its ACs VWHs I use very commonly (Probably the batch I use most commonly overall out of any) and not BTs.
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Post by VWH1414 on Dec 13, 2019 19:17:19 GMT
My journey today: 240 - TE985 - Mill Hill Broadway > Hale Lane 292 - VW1208 - Hale Lane > Borehamwood Then later on: 292 - VW1203 - Borehamwood > Edgware - I previously made a comment in the Metroline thread about these buses, but this one surprised me, compared to VW1208 it was a very fast bus along the Motorway and overall was probably the best VW ride I've had on the 292 yet. I was then going to take the 340 to Stanmore, but I shunned this idea when I saw there was a 22 minute wait, and saw that VP534 was headed towards Mill Hill Broadway, so decided to go after that: 221 - DW280 - Edgware > Mill Hill Broadway 302 - VP534 - Mill Hill Broadway > Kingsbury Green - Was a very nice send off for me for what was my mid-late childhood bus, and well done to AC for having it in great condition for its last day, and overall thanks to Metroline for providing this final opportunity to ride one. Was a great ride the whole time and noticed that it generated much enthusiast attention, with many taking pictures of the bus throughout the journey. Now one can hope that at least 1 of these 3 is preserved (Pretty please BBPG ). 204 - VW1243 - Kingsbury Green > Kingsbury Station Then later on, once done in Kingsbury I decided to have a change of plan and go after VP549 on the 460, which did result in failure: 183 - SP40083 - Kingsbury Station > Golders Green - Way better then any of BTs SPs Once at GG, I had to wait for VP549 to get to Willesden and come back again, so decided to get a little closer to meet up with the bus to kill time: 13 - MV38211 - Golders Green > Childs Hill (2nd time on a TT bus ever, following on from WSH62997 on the RV1 last year, and first time on the 13) VP549 sadly showed up as leaving Willesden Bus Garage for about 30 minutes, so in the end I was forced to give up and went home: 245 - VW1369 - Childs Hill > Golders Green (First time on 245) 210 - TE1084 - Golders Green > Brent Cross Shopping Centre 186 - VW1287 - Brent Cross Shopping Centre > Mill Hill Broadway Probably the largest journey I have undertaken - I do not usually chase buses, but on this occasion I decided to, so I could say goodbye to the final VPs. I managed to use 4 different companies and use routes from 8 different garages (AC, EW, ON, PV, SO, W, WN & X) - probably the most amount I've done in a single day. Overall I'm happy I managed to get my VP send off, and my first and last VP ride of 2019.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2019 8:53:49 GMT
SP40122 281 DLE30062 K3 VH45143 285 VWH2266 90 VWH2239 x140 8837 490 VH45256 285 ADE40293 406
Of these vehicles, VWH2266 was the most unhealthy sounding. The centre doors looked and felt like they were going to fall out everytime they were opened. Along with the usual rattling upstairs which sounds as if it comes inside the panelling of the staircase ??
8837 smooth as anything. ADE40293 still going well but desperate need of a refurb inside , not that it will ever get one.
Best of that small bunch was VH45256. Smooth and warm upstairs and superbly presented.
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Post by Dillon95 on Dec 18, 2019 17:21:12 GMT
51 - Sidcup to Woolwich Walked through the Woolwich Foot Tunnel 474 - North Woolwich to East Ham 5 - East Ham to Romford
TFL Rail - Romford to Stratford DLR - Stratford to Woolwich Arsenal 51 - Woolwich to Sidcup
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Post by rj131 on Dec 20, 2019 22:56:46 GMT
Interesting one this, asking for some recommendations.
As I’ve been working intensively over the past month I’m looking forward to a three day bus bonanza at the start of next year. On my agenda are the 218, 278 and 306 which I haven’t yet had a chance to do yet. I also want to try out the X140 and will do an interesting experiment where I will ride the X140 from Hayes & Harrington to Harrow (so over the whole 140 and X140 common section) then back again on the 140 and time the difference between the two to see if the X140 provides a significant time saving. Should be an interesting one.
Other than that that I’m looking for some recommendations over where to go next. I have 169 routes left to do and would like to know where to go next (no point looking at routes that run into anywhere in zones 1 and 2 as any route that does I’ve now ticked off). The 107 generally has rave reviews so I’m pondering that one and others like the 492, 202 and 127.
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Post by rif153 on Dec 21, 2019 12:00:36 GMT
Interesting one this, asking for some recommendations. As I’ve been working intensively over the past month I’m looking forward to a three day bus bonanza at the start of next year. On my agenda are the 218, 278 and 306 which I haven’t yet had a chance to do yet. I also want to try out the X140 and will do an interesting experiment where I will ride the X140 from Hayes & Harrington to Harrow (so over the whole 140 and X140 common section) then back again on the 140 and time the difference between the two to see if the X140 provides a significant time saving. Should be an interesting one. Other than that that I’m looking for some recommendations over where to go next. I have 169 routes left to do and would like to know where to go next (no point looking at routes that run into anywhere in zones 1 and 2 as any route that does I’ve now ticked off). The 107 generally has rave reviews so I’m pondering that one and others like the 492, 202 and 127. The 307 is a bloody brilliant route and I would thoroughly recommend doing it.
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Post by ServerKing on Dec 21, 2019 13:13:08 GMT
Were you kicked off 2250 when passing the changeover point I take it? Or how did this go? Yes, got kicked off at Brent Lea (the changeover point) where DEL2261 was waiting. I think there was a driver changeover top but I wasn't paying much attention. Maybe I'm being a fool but for DEL2261 to get to Brent Lea from AH and face in the direction it was facing it, wouldn't it have had to go a long way in the wrong direction to turn around? Either a cheeky turn around in one of the side roads like Brent Lea or by the Sorting Office, or running down to Busch Corner
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Post by george on Dec 22, 2019 1:48:17 GMT
Interesting one this, asking for some recommendations. As I’ve been working intensively over the past month I’m looking forward to a three day bus bonanza at the start of next year. On my agenda are the 218, 278 and 306 which I haven’t yet had a chance to do yet. I also want to try out the X140 and will do an interesting experiment where I will ride the X140 from Hayes & Harrington to Harrow (so over the whole 140 and X140 common section) then back again on the 140 and time the difference between the two to see if the X140 provides a significant time saving. Should be an interesting one. Other than that that I’m looking for some recommendations over where to go next. I have 169 routes left to do and would like to know where to go next (no point looking at routes that run into anywhere in zones 1 and 2 as any route that does I’ve now ticked off). The 107 generally has rave reviews so I’m pondering that one and others like the 492, 202 and 127. The 307 is a bloody brilliant route and I would thoroughly recommend doing it. Yes I can second this following Rifs recommendation. A really like scenic routes and this is certainly one of them. Non TfL based but the 715 from Guildford to Kingston is great as well.
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Post by 10121ddo on Dec 22, 2019 15:09:15 GMT
Back in London for Xmas, and had a small journey South West of Central London. Began on Brompton Road, Knightsbridge.
414, Knightsbridge > Putney Bridge; 9505 - fantastic E400 that! Quite fiery, trying its best to be a trident. Incredible acceleration on empty Sunday morning streets. 270, Putney Bridge > Wandsworth; E110 - another 2009 E400, on average just as speedy for this short hop, but nowhere near as rewarding as 9505. 39, Wandsworth > Clapham Junction; WS70 - ticking off the 39, Streetlite wasn't too bad at all. Always uncomfortable on the last row, however... BAU 319, Clapham Junc > Streatham High Rd; HV6 - having chased Gemini1 B5LHs for a couple years and always missed them, I finally made it onto LJ09KOW! Fairly quiet upstairs, and not as jerky as the 11reg onwards ones. Lovely scenery around Wandsworth Common and the Bec. Thoroughly enjoyed from top deck. 133, Streatham High Rd > Brixton; HV12 - off one B5LH and straight onto another. Again, good ride, chasing E148 on the 118 all the way.
Early start tomorrow, trekking an hour across the Central Line to Northolt to make it for VP614 on the 140 (hopefully!)
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Post by george on Dec 23, 2019 22:55:27 GMT
From yesterday.
Flight into Heathrow.
285 VH45139 from central bus station to Hatton Cross. Been on the 285 many times before but first time I've been on this section and certainly wasn't disappointed nice views looking over Heathrow. Looking forward to Abellio taking on this route next year hopefully they run it just as good as RAPT run it.
Got to Hatton Cross and noticed a 203 coming into the station despite the many posts on here saying how busy this route was I was not expecting it to be that busy. Obviously needs double deckers.
Now onto another route that should have got double deckers. Got the 490 from Hatton Cross to Richmond was nice to go on the section between Hatton cross and Twickenham. Bus was busy but not packed which was good.
337 back home. Nothing of interest.
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Post by 10121ddo on Dec 23, 2019 23:49:38 GMT
And so catching VP614 began at 815am today! But, I ultimately opted to bus it to the Harrow area and tube it back, rather than the reverse. 275, Woodford > Walthamstow, Bell Corner; 10161 - empty streets all the way! High Rd Woodford unusually so, for 830am on a Monday! Sadly, got regulated all the way, and snail speed... 34, Walthamstow, Bell Corner > Arnos Grove; HV267 - the 34's back home! Good to catch a frogface B5LH with a true Arriva feel to it, but will get an ex-SLN soon.... A406 clear as anything, speed limit all the way! 251, Arnos Grove > Mill Hill Broadway; DE20159 - knowing the 251s, this was the quickest way into NW London. Great E200, pelting through Totteridge with a half load. Made it 20 mins earlier than I would've with a 221 from New Southgate! 114, Mill Hill Broadway > Harrow-on-the-Hill; VWH2169 - another heavy footed driver. Think the 251/114 combo is definitely one I will look to in the future as the way to go West in a hurry. Great B5LH, like the HV earlier. As I approached Kenton on the 114, the news came that VP614 had caved.... so off to Yeading we went! (Note, the four legs of the journey above so far: 2 hours 10 mins flat. I think that's pretty good, based on previous experience!) X140, Harrow-on-the-Hill > Yeading (White Hart); VWH2237 - great to skip so many stops, but traffic from Northolt Station all the way to Yeading rendered it an express route in name only. Traffic caused of course by VP614 blocking one of two lanes going onto the roundabout. How this went beyond the A40 junction surprised me...! Hung around for a good 15 minutes, took pictures of the front and rear here, and then headed Eastwards... 282, Yeading (White Hart) > Greenford Broadway; TE1745 - it really tried to be a BX 56-reg E400, and almost did! Great thrash and speed, thanks to running fairly late. No curtailment surprisingly. E1, Greenford Broadway > Ealing Broadway; 2526 - having caught its sisters from this batch 2530 and 2531 previously, it was very underwhelming. Got me from A to B, but not a great route. I imagine if a W12 were decked around the Wanstead H&R sections, it would feel like an E1 navigating the narrow streets of Ealing... Tube, Ealing Broadway > Home
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Post by britishguy54 on Dec 29, 2019 10:19:11 GMT
Here we go:
62 Home > Maplestead Road 287 Lodge Avenue > Ballards Road/Princess Parade 145 Oval Road South > Dagenham ASDA 145 Dagenham ASDA > Dagenham Dock Station EL2 Dagenham Dock > Becontree Heath 128 Becontree Heath Leisure Centre > Romford Station 248 Romford Station > Hornchurch Town Centre 165 Hornchurch Town Centre > Elm Park Station 365 Elm Park Station > Romford Station 174 Romford Station > Dagenham Chequers Corner 173 Dagenham Chequers Corner > Home
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Post by george on Dec 29, 2019 16:48:29 GMT
Nothing really of interest happened on any of these and forgot the fleet numbers of some as writing them down isn't really my thing but this was my bus journey today.
493 to Tooting Broadway 355 Tooting Broadway > Brixton (Lambeth Town Hall) 196 Brixton > Norwood Junction 157 Norwood Junction > Crystal Palace. T18 322 Crystal Place > Clapham Common. SE259 37 Clapham Common > Wandsworth Town Hall 337 Wandsworth town Hall > Home WHV33.
Was good to go on some routes I've not been on before like 355,157 and 322. Only thing that let it down a bit was the very hard seats on WHV33.
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