Post by borneobus on Dec 15, 2023 13:11:04 GMT
borneobus have you done a write up about London buses at Fulham Broadway? Might be a place to explore .
FULHAM BROADWAY
It was around lunchtime on a rainy December Thursday that I pitched-up at Fulham Broadway via the District Line ex West Brompton after taking an e2e ride aboard VW1062 on the 190. Many of you will know that the Fulham Broadway LU entrance/exit is embedded into the Fulham Broadway Retail Centre and just a seven minute walk / or two stops away on a 14/211/414 is Stamford Bridge, home of course to Chelsea Football Club. Many bags of club merchandise were evident in the shopping centre, doubtless Christmas present shopping from the Chelsea FC Megastore (other football teams are available).
I was approached by a very pleasant ‘chugger’ and I asked the nice lady what motivated here to do such a thankless job standing in the rain? She had rather a good answer...I took a short walk west to the junction of A304 (Fulham Road) and B318 (Harwood Road) and settled into “Five Guys” for lunch. This is what I saw.
OPERATIONAL DETAILS MON-FRI DAYTIME courtesy of www.londonbusroutes.net/details.htm
11 / Go-Ahead / SW / 14 / 10 / Fulham - Chelsea - Victoria - Westminster - Waterloo
14 / Go-Ahead / AF / 21 / 10 / Putney Heath - Putney - Fulham - South Kensington - Hyde Park Corner - Piccadilly Circus - Tottenham Court Road Station - British Museum - Russell Square
28 / RATP / X / 18 / 10 / Wandsworth - Fulham - West Kensington - Kensington - Notting Hill Gate - Westbourne Park - Kensal Green - Kensal Rise
211 / RATP / V / 16 / 10 / Hammersmith - Fulham - Sydney Street - Chelsea - Victoria - Westminster - Waterloo Station
295 / RATP / X / 19 / 8.5 / Ladbroke Grove - Shepherd's Bush - Hammersmith - Fulham - Clapham Junction
306 / Metroline / AH / 11 / 12 / Acton Vale - Askew Road - Hammersmith - West Kensington - Fulham - Sands End
414 / RATP / X / 16 / 8.5 / Putney Bridge Station - Fulham - South Kensington - Marble Arch
424 / Go-Ahead / SW / 5 / 32 / Putney Heath - Telegraph Inn - Carslake Road - Chartfield Avenue - Putney - Parson's Green - Hurlingham - Sands End - Pearscroft Road - Fulham Broadway - Munster Road - Stevenage Road - Fulham Craven Cottage
8 Routes / 3 Operators / 5 Garages / Total PVR = 120 / Bus Departures per hour = 82
WHAT YOU’LL SEE
One terminator at Fulham Broadway, the famous/infamous 11 that parks up in Vanston Place between work; Stockwell NRMs LT54-68 form the bulk of the allocation for this quintessential New Routemaster route. (I could bore you at length with a ‘war story’ about waiting for an 11 at Fulham Town Hall in the rain on a grim Sunday morning in the Liverpool Street days but I won’t…).
GAL SW also operate the one single-deck route to serve Fulham Broadway and it's probably the most interesting route to operate due to its circuitous route around Fulham, Chelsea Harbour and Hurlingham prior to heading south across Putney Bridge to Putney Heath. Streetlites WS81-86 are allocated to the Mon-Sat route and is operated on a rather strange and unusual 32 minute frequency, presumably for operational reasons to 'save a bus'. The remaining GAL route is the 14 which enjoys the usual AF mix of EH/MHV/WHV that operates Russell Square – Putney Heath.
58% of the PVR serving Fulham Broadway is operated by RATP. The ‘other’ NRM route here is 211 operated from Stamford Brook whilst the other three RATP routes are operated from Westbourne Park. Starting with the 28 that’s enjoyed a complete mix of types in 2023 including ADH, BCE, VDW, VH & VMH but now appears to have a settled allocation of OMEs freed-up from C3’s move to Abellio (and a lower PVR on the 23?). LD72 plate BCE’s (47159-47177) rule the roost on the 295 whilst SN12 ADHs (45061-45078 less 45074 that’s ‘disappeared’ for over a year) operate the 414 – this batch were not so long ago Tower Transit DNHs that mainly operated the 23.
Finally, Metroline’s sole presence here (well until April 2024 when Abellio take over the route) is the 306 operated by Hybrid Gemini 3s including some, but not all of the batch acquired from Tower Transit VWH2697-VWH2705. The route operates from Acton Vale via Hammersmith / West Ken / Fulham Broadway / adjacent to newish LO station Imperial Wharf, Chelsea Harbour before turning at Sands End Sainsbury’s.
IN CONCLUSION
A pleasant enough location and watch out for those Streetlites on the 424 every 32 minutes – you could set your watch by ‘em!
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As I’m also a music fan I’ll sign off with some words from an artist who spent his formative years in Harrow Weald and Upminster, and whose father drove 18s (he wrote a song referencing this entitled “My Old Man”).
Yes, it’s the late Ian Dury and “What a Waste” that some more ‘senior’ forum members may remember…
I could be a lawyer with strategems and ruses
I could be a doctor with poultices and bruises
I could be a writer with a growing reputation
I could be the ticket man at Fulham Broadway Station
What a waste