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Post by moz on Aug 10, 2018 17:37:57 GMT
I'm not able to answer most of your questions, but I'll have a go at a couple. No, EU domestic driving hours didn't apply in the late '80s; no, drivers weren't always paired up with the same conductors, particularly when a garage still operated two or three crew routes, but they could ask to be e.g. there were at one time many married couples as crews, although I never heard of one where the wife was the driver! Norwood had the highest preponderance of these back in the 1960s, as I have a London Transport Magazine, produced for staff, from the period featuring some of them, on routes recognisable today like the 137 and the 3. More (!) recently there is a video on YouTube featuring the last day of crew operation on the 8 at Bow, heavily featuring a husband and wife crew who operated the last journey, and they revealed they'd been working together on the buses for decades. Sorry, I'm useless at links, but if I found it easily enough you'll be able to. Hope that's a little useful. Crews were normally paired up on a Rota we used to work a 5 day week with split rest days Sun mon sun tues sun we’d sun thurs sun fr sat sun and repeat Hated those split rest days. However, at RA it was simpler - every weekend off! Moz
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Post by moz on Jun 27, 2018 12:39:38 GMT
Do you like Metrobuses? This is the video for you...
Moz
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Post by moz on Jun 1, 2018 17:05:11 GMT
Another new one just been uploaded, this time around Barking and West Ham. You'd better like Titans...
Moz
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Post by moz on May 15, 2018 2:42:17 GMT
Melbourne is reducing the size of its' stored W class tram fleet and is now looking for potential users. Looks like each tram is 'only' AUD$1000. Oh - and then there are shipping costs...! www.victrack.com.au/tramsMoz
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Post by moz on May 1, 2018 1:55:27 GMT
Just found a new couple of vids on Youtube from someone who has only been uploading for a couple of months. Basically, these two vids can sate a serious Routemaster/Metro/Titan fix!
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Post by moz on Apr 22, 2018 15:06:39 GMT
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Post by moz on Apr 11, 2018 0:37:13 GMT
With the 1, I remember reading that no credible bid (or words to that effect) were received, suggesting that London Central, for instance, didn't really want to run it so either didn't bid or put in such a silly one that they knew it couldn't be accepted. I've mentioned here before my theory that the 188 keeps changing operator because it's difficult terrain to operate buses: actually, I think there are similarities to areas not too far away on the other side of the Thames, but there the Canary Wharf and Stratford Olympics effects, combined with more tube and DLR, have eased the situation for buses. I can remember a time, only thirty years ago, when the 53 and its express version, had a frequency matching the 25 on their respective corridors into central London. You could stand in Woolwich at 6 p.m. and watch six or seven 53s arrive from town in the space of about ten minutes, all with plenty of passengers. Some of those passengers may have deserted to the DLR, and even to SouthEastern if really desperate, but traffic congestion will be what's really killed the long distance travel (the 453 helps cater for shorter distances, which don't seem so badly affected). I remember the 13 having similar publicised problems on retender back in 2000(?) with nobody providing acceptable bids. I was at RA at the time and the manager there said he wouldn't touch it with a barge pole - it was that good! Moz
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Post by moz on Feb 7, 2018 5:37:52 GMT
That reminds me of when part of the 49 was transferred from SW to BB[1] where the latter was supposed to be allocated seven Metros, the seventh being a spare. More often than not the seventh bus would often be required back at Stockwell resulting in Battersea occasionally dishing out a DRL-class Dennis Dart with improvised route blinds. As those Darts where from the 295 allocation their destination blinds were able to be utilised for the 49's Shepherd's Bush and Clapham Junction terminus. The strange workings ended when the 295 became double-decker, resulting in the ratio of Metrobuses and DRLs in the depot being reversed. [1] - Battersea Base I remember this as I was at RA at the time. As I was on perma-lates I did a fair few stand-bys and spent quite a lot of time shuttling buses from garage to garage. Good fun as it was usually an RML wanting an engine change at AF that meant two hours away during rush hour, or an RML/GLS back from FFD at SW which I made last just as long. Best one was when we got a part allocation on the 196 and the three Metros we had needed swapping over for service at SW. This would start at 3PM where I'd lick over to SW and dump the bus. Invariably the engineers would grab it and send it out to sub something meaning there was nothing to take back. So sit in canteen, then at about 6PM they'd remember me and give me a bus to take back and sit in the Red Arrow GLS run-in for an hour or so. I hated running a Metro from SW to BB as Duncan (one of the GOSs) knew I was 49/295 route learned and once managed to collar me to finish off a shift he needed to cover. After that, it was a case of dump bus, run away. We met again later when BB shut and he got shoved over to RA with Russell and that idiot manager. Moz
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Post by moz on Dec 13, 2017 6:32:55 GMT
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Post by moz on Nov 15, 2017 22:01:20 GMT
As someone who actually lives in Brixton, the X68 is much quicker running via Brixton than via Camberwell as Brixton is the only major traffic objective it has to pass through and Kennington, Oval & the run up Tulse Hill are generally not troublesome to pass through or along. Agreed. When I worked out of N if we ever had to run dead between the shed and Elephant we would avoid Camberwell and Walworth Road like the plague - it's a traffic nightmare. Moz
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Post by moz on Nov 11, 2017 3:49:23 GMT
Yesterday, I had my final ride on a Q operated 45 with MHV71 - it will be very weird tomorrow seeing Abellio run it. I had a thought earlier on at all the types I rode on the 45 since at least the early 90's - I've been on a T, NV, AVL, PVL (W, X, 02, 52 & 53 regs), WVL (02, 52 & 06 regs as well both B7TL & B9TL), LDP, E (09 & 61 reg), WHV (both Gemini2 & Gemini3), MHV & EH. I never managed to ride a SP, WDL1, WSD1, a 07 reg E & a 60 reg E SPs turned up now and again, though mainly on the 45A/345 along with almost everything else on wheels - seriously I'm surprised NX didn't try and stick an RM on it. As for earlier, SW would send the occasional crew-DMS out on the 45 while I neard stories of, but never saw, HT sending crew-Ms out too. Moz
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Post by moz on Nov 9, 2017 21:53:03 GMT
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Post by moz on Nov 3, 2017 22:03:35 GMT
One particular incident springs to mind with an S crew in unfamiliar territory in Croydon and having no idea where they were going and a passenger sitting in the front nearside seat directing the driver. I may be wrong but I do not think S crews ever got to Croydon.Most of the time they ventured no further south than Dulwich. When the Sunday through service ran all the way from Shepherd Bush(Wells Road) to South Croydon Garage S did not have an allocation on that day of the week on the 12. The lost driver would more likely have been from one of the other garages. Long after the 12 had ceased running to South Croydon a few S buses got to Norwood Junction but they were very rare. Sunday service on the 12 was in the main a through service from Norwood Junction to Harlseden with occasional short trips, not for service needs, but to pad out duties. MDs from PM definitely made it to both the Junction and Harlesden as did crew DMs from WL. There was one Notting Hill carnival weekend when the S allocation was crew-Metro through from Harlesden to Norwood - seemed very strange at the time! Moz
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Post by moz on Oct 27, 2017 3:18:11 GMT
And a further picture for our younger readers of the conduit system in use. There were various parts of London where an overhead supply was used, I can just remember there was a changeover for the 34 tram(now the 45/345 bus) outside Brixton Police station. The overhead was used along Gresham Road and Coldharbour Lane where it reverted to conduit at the junction of Denmark Hill. View Attachment Not my photo Makes sense as it would appear that the tram routes along Milkwood Road to West Norwood retained overhead after the conduit system was installed. I do wonder if LT kicked themselves following the 70's fuel/spares crisis as regards stopping electric transport. Moz
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Post by moz on Oct 25, 2017 21:37:47 GMT
I wish we still had trams, trolleybuses, all the exciting stuff..... Most likely just me but thank goodness we don't have trolleybuses or trams everywhere. You came close to living in Trolleybus heaven. There were plans to convert the south London tram system to Trolleybus and got as far as upgrading the traction poles on Brixton Hill ready for trolleybus overhead. Proposed routes: www.trolleybus.net/subhtml/slp.htmMoz
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