Post by thelondonthing on Oct 4, 2019 0:41:49 GMT
A bit of a long shot, but does anyone recall the Hounslow Albion Road garage/base (code HS) operated by London & Country in the 1990s?
It was in the most unlikely of places - accessible via a tight alleyway, halfway down a side-road in the middle of a heavily populated area outside Hounslow. I only ever caught fleeting glimpses of the site in passing, so I never really got to find out much about it.
Indeed, I only learned of its existence when I spotted a bright green East Lancs-bodied Dart pulling out of what appeared - from a distance - to be someone's driveway (!!). It was only when I later approached the alleyway that I realised it must be London & Country's operating base for the H28, which had recently started operating near my home in Heston. But it was more or less impossible to see anything of the site itself from Albion Road itself, so I've no idea how substantial an operation the L&C base was during the few years of its existence.
I was once told that the site may have originally been a small dairy, servicing a fleet of milk floats, but I don't know accurate that is. I think an independent local bus/coach operator may have later acquired the site, but I've no idea how it eventually ended up in the hands of London & Country, nor have I ever seen a single photo of the HS base in use.
HS passed to Tellings-Golden Miller Buses in 1999, and then closed a year later when TGM consolidated its operations around Fulwell (TF) base (now under Abellio). The tight alleyway from Albion Road has since been widened into a more usable road (Knevett Terrace), and - unsurprisingly - the whole site has been redeveloped for housing.
But while the base is gone, perhaps some memories linger on... If anyone has any to share, I'd love to hear them.
Also, on a vaguely related note, are short turns ever used on the H28? I've used it countless times over the years, but I genuinely don't recall a single occasion on which I've seen anything other than 'Osterley Tesco' or 'Bulls Bridge' on the front!
It was in the most unlikely of places - accessible via a tight alleyway, halfway down a side-road in the middle of a heavily populated area outside Hounslow. I only ever caught fleeting glimpses of the site in passing, so I never really got to find out much about it.
Indeed, I only learned of its existence when I spotted a bright green East Lancs-bodied Dart pulling out of what appeared - from a distance - to be someone's driveway (!!). It was only when I later approached the alleyway that I realised it must be London & Country's operating base for the H28, which had recently started operating near my home in Heston. But it was more or less impossible to see anything of the site itself from Albion Road itself, so I've no idea how substantial an operation the L&C base was during the few years of its existence.
I was once told that the site may have originally been a small dairy, servicing a fleet of milk floats, but I don't know accurate that is. I think an independent local bus/coach operator may have later acquired the site, but I've no idea how it eventually ended up in the hands of London & Country, nor have I ever seen a single photo of the HS base in use.
HS passed to Tellings-Golden Miller Buses in 1999, and then closed a year later when TGM consolidated its operations around Fulwell (TF) base (now under Abellio). The tight alleyway from Albion Road has since been widened into a more usable road (Knevett Terrace), and - unsurprisingly - the whole site has been redeveloped for housing.
But while the base is gone, perhaps some memories linger on... If anyone has any to share, I'd love to hear them.
Also, on a vaguely related note, are short turns ever used on the H28? I've used it countless times over the years, but I genuinely don't recall a single occasion on which I've seen anything other than 'Osterley Tesco' or 'Bulls Bridge' on the front!
