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Post by LondonNorthern on Nov 1, 2020 15:17:44 GMT
Whats running on the Ally pally to Hertford replacement?
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Post by YY13VKP on Nov 1, 2020 17:06:28 GMT
Whats running on the Ally pally to Hertford replacement? Mainly Go-Ahead London vehicles but I saw a photo of a Metroline E200 being used, and seeing as there's a big job on between Three Bridges and Brighton as well as an all line block between Victoria and Selhurst today I'm not surprised there's been some outsourcing.
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Post by TA1 on Nov 1, 2020 17:37:27 GMT
Whats running on the Ally pally to Hertford replacement? Mainly Go-Ahead London vehicles but I saw a photo of a Metroline E200 being used, and seeing as there's a big job on between Three Bridges and Brighton as well as an all line block between Victoria and Selhurst today I'm not surprised there's been some outsourcing. As you're probably aware, the Rail rep is split into parts Alexandra Palace - Hertford North <> Stevenage. The Sunday closures are in place for the next 5/6 Sundays, I have a few death by Alexandra Palace shuttles next Sunday, so will make a note. DE1018 was on the SVG - HFN trips. Metroline also had a WJ DE on a St Pancras - St Albans all stopper shuttle a few weeks ago!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 1, 2020 18:32:15 GMT
DL1 Sullivans
DL4 Metroline
DL5 Arriva, RATP, Abellio and HCT
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Post by 6HP502C on Nov 3, 2020 3:31:25 GMT
Mainly Go-Ahead London vehicles but I saw a photo of a Metroline E200 being used, and seeing as there's a big job on between Three Bridges and Brighton as well as an all line block between Victoria and Selhurst today I'm not surprised there's been some outsourcing. As you're probably aware, the Rail rep is split into parts Alexandra Palace - Hertford North <> Stevenage. The Sunday closures are in place for the next 5/6 Sundays, I have a few death by Alexandra Palace shuttles next Sunday, so will make a note. DE1018 was on the SVG - HFN trips. Metroline also had a WJ DE on a St Pancras - St Albans all stopper shuttle a few weeks ago! I'd quite like to give the Alexandra Palace to Hertford North route a go one day and definitely St Pancras to St Albans. Maybe in the future, but I understand when Go Ahead do them it's usually buses from NP. Next route to review will be London Bridge to Tulse Hill via East Dulwich. Should be a lively one with 38 minutes end to end!
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Post by YY13VKP on Nov 10, 2020 18:43:03 GMT
As you're probably aware, the Rail rep is split into parts Alexandra Palace - Hertford North <> Stevenage. The Sunday closures are in place for the next 5/6 Sundays, I have a few death by Alexandra Palace shuttles next Sunday, so will make a note. DE1018 was on the SVG - HFN trips. Metroline also had a WJ DE on a St Pancras - St Albans all stopper shuttle a few weeks ago! I'd quite like to give the Alexandra Palace to Hertford North route a go one day and definitely St Pancras to St Albans. Maybe in the future, but I understand when Go Ahead do them it's usually buses from NP. Next route to review will be London Bridge to Tulse Hill via East Dulwich. Should be a lively one with 38 minutes end to end! You will surely have an opportunity to do Ally Pally to Hertford North in the near future, As TA1 rightly says, the Hertford Loop is closed for the next few Sundays. It’s probably the route that I have to put Rail Replacement timetables together for the most, certainly for Thameslink and Great Northern . Next weekend during the Kings Cross block there are plenty of rail replacement jobs on for Great Northern. Go-Ahead may supply buses from other garages along with NP to cover these jobs although Victoria is also blocked I believe.
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Post by 6HP502C on Nov 12, 2020 4:57:16 GMT
I'd quite like to give the Alexandra Palace to Hertford North route a go one day and definitely St Pancras to St Albans. Maybe in the future, but I understand when Go Ahead do them it's usually buses from NP. You will surely have an opportunity to do Ally Pally to Hertford North in the near future, As TA1 rightly says, the Hertford Loop is closed for the next few Sundays. It’s probably the route that I have to put Rail Replacement timetables together for the most, certainly for Thameslink and Great Northern . Next weekend during the Kings Cross block there are plenty of rail replacement jobs on for Great Northern. Go-Ahead may supply buses from other garages along with NP to cover these jobs although Victoria is also blocked I believe. Good stuff! As the timings are stipulated by Network Rail I presume you do the duties? I'm unlikely to get on it unless some of the duties are allocated to MG. Would be an adventure for sure! Part of the fun of the job is not having a clue what I'll be doing until the big brown envelope arrives. For this Sunday it revealed an Ebbsfleet standby duty. Hopefully for next weekend it'll be something less bleak - Victoria to East Croydon would be a hoot, haven't done that for ages!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 12, 2020 6:08:28 GMT
You will surely have an opportunity to do Ally Pally to Hertford North in the near future, As TA1 rightly says, the Hertford Loop is closed for the next few Sundays. It’s probably the route that I have to put Rail Replacement timetables together for the most, certainly for Thameslink and Great Northern . Next weekend during the Kings Cross block there are plenty of rail replacement jobs on for Great Northern. Go-Ahead may supply buses from other garages along with NP to cover these jobs although Victoria is also blocked I believe. Good stuff! As the timings are stipulated by Network Rail I presume you do the duties? I'm unlikely to get on it unless some of the duties are allocated to MG. Would be an adventure for sure! Part of the fun of the job is not having a clue what I'll be doing until the big brown envelope arrives. For this Sunday it revealed an Ebbsfleet standby duty. Hopefully for next weekend it'll be something less bleak - Victoria to East Croydon would be a hoot, haven't done that for ages! Quite like the idea of that way of working. Is that agency work or something else ? Ebbsfleet is bleak at the moment, the M&S cafe has closed. Take a packed lunch !
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Post by 6HP502C on Nov 12, 2020 19:16:02 GMT
Part of the fun of the job is not having a clue what I'll be doing until the big brown envelope arrives. For this Sunday it revealed an Ebbsfleet standby duty. Hopefully for next weekend it'll be something less bleak - Victoria to East Croydon would be a hoot, haven't done that for ages! Quite like the idea of that way of working. Is that agency work or something else ? Ebbsfleet is bleak at the moment, the M&S cafe has closed. Take a packed lunch ! Yes, I generally try to avoid standby shifts - I only get to drive one day a week and really enjoy it. Might have to jump on the hourly bus to Gravesend for a meal! Go Ahead recruit an army of casual rail replacement drivers - careers-goaheadlondon.icims.com/jobs/1090/rail-replacement-driver---part-time-casual/jobShifts are allocated and the paperwork is sent to your home address a week in advance - this includes the destination board, running number, duty and maps. The arrival of that envelope causes a sense of suspense which I've come to quite like. Last week a company branded reusable facemask was bundled in which was a nice touch. As far as I can see work is consistently supplied on Sundays. As a consequence commitment is expected - at the beginning of the month you're asked what weekends you'll be available the following month. Once you declare yourself available, you stick to it and a job will come. Not sure how Saturdays work - I don't tend to do them but there are usually less rail closures so possibly more chance of being sent further afield. I think it's a great job. You pick a garage to work at. At MG at least, the buses are clean and very well maintained. You take a bus from the garage and keep it for the whole shift. If you're handy with maps and have good geographical knowledge then you just jump in and go. Other plus points include CPC training provided, full uniform provided, paid correctly and without quibble, paid from start to finish without a break deducted, paid for overtime, paid for route learning and being left to get on with things. Privileges that aren't to be taken for granted, not every operator offers them!
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Post by 6HP502C on Nov 13, 2020 0:24:44 GMT
London Bridge to Tulse Hill was blocked last Sunday. I did a late shift on the rail replacement route.
The route
The service runs every 15 minutes all day. Stops served are London Bridge, South Bermondsey, Queens Road Peckham, Peckham Rye, East Dulwich, North Dulwich and Tulse Hill.
From London Bridge it was via the 21 as far as Bricklayers Arms then route 1 along the Tower Bridge Road and Grange Road corridor and Galleywall Road. South Bermondsey is served from Ilderton Road. The P12 is then followed along Old Kent Road, Asylum Road, Queens Road Peckham then through the back streets of Peckham to reach Peckham Rye. Route 37 is then followed through East Dulwich and North Dulwich as far as Herne Hill, then up the Norwood Road to the terminating/first stop on the Tulse Hill gyratory.
Some stops were distant from the station. Peckham Rye was served from the Nigel Road bus stops on Peckham Rye as Rye Lane is closed long term due to social distancing. East Dulwich is served from East Dulwich Grove, a few minutes walk from the station. It's done like this as the local geography means serving the station properly would result in significant time penalties - either necessitating a double run via East Dulwich Sainsbury's or a lengthy detour via Denmark Hill. People in East Dulwich get confused when they see rail replacement buses passing the station - but this is the Clapham Water to Canada Water service that doesn't stop there!
The structure of the route is moderately simple. It's mostly out and back except for the section between Peckham Rye and Queens Road Peckham. On the map there's a figure of 8 in this section as there are one way roads that cross over in the middle on Consort Road.
Loadings
No more than about 12 people at a time. Most people boarded at Tulse Hill or London Bridge and travelled to Peckham.
Running times
This route is timed for 7am on a Sunday morning. 10 minutes are given between London Bridge and South Bermondsey, which is impossible unless you have all green lights and take a shortcut via Long Lane instead of via Bricklayers Arms.
There was some expectation of on-time arrival at Tulse Hill as the duty stated there was a connecting train. However examination of the rail timetable revealed that trains weren't quite leaving Tulse Hill every 15 minutes. Either way, it was difficult to arrive there on time so some people wouldn't have made their train.
It all made sense as to why buses are always moving quickly on this route - I often couldn't keep up when driving the sedately paced Clapham Junction to Canada Water route.
There was a lot of layover - 29 minutes at London Bridge and 30 at Tulse Hill.
Vehicle Choice
Wrightbus Hybrid Volvo B5LH. The understanding at MG is Central London routes = hybrid as opposed to a ULEZ compliant bus that has had Euro 6 upgrades. I'd rather have taken a single decker due to low trees on Asylum Road - some of them were an obstruction that could cause damage if doing more than about 8mph.
Other garages sent out non-hybrids - E70 and E128 were out as well as some Ecolifes from BX and a WVL from MG. It was odd to see these buses around London Bridge.
Summary
Once again, no issues navigating around the route. I enjoyed the pace of things, but prefer routes that are a bit longer!
Route difficulty rating - 2/3 (intermediate)
Enjoyability - 3/5 (moderate)
Next route review - TBC
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Post by redexpress on Nov 13, 2020 5:37:29 GMT
Some stops were distant from the station. Peckham Rye was served from the Nigel Road bus stops on Peckham Rye as Rye Lane is closed long term due to social distancing. East Dulwich is served from East Dulwich Grove, a few minutes walk from the station. It's done like this as the local geography means serving the station properly would result in significant time penalties - either necessitating a double run via East Dulwich Sainsbury's or a lengthy detour via Denmark Hill. People in East Dulwich get confused when they see rail replacement buses passing the station - but this is the Clapham Water to Canada Water service that doesn't stop there!
Until a few years ago buses used to run via Denmark Hill in order to serve East Dulwich properly, but as you say, this is quite a bit longer. Plus it means that you don't stop right outside North Dulwich.
Go back a few more years and it would have been easy to serve East Dulwich by following the 37's old routeing via Melbourne Grove. No idea if Melbourne Grove is still passable for buses, but in any case the bus stops have been removed, so there wouldn't be a stop near the station anyway.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 13, 2020 6:18:13 GMT
The Swanley to Rochester replacement route is a good one , via some decent fast roads and some nice country lanes.
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Post by Nathan on Nov 13, 2020 9:03:53 GMT
Some stops were distant from the station. Peckham Rye was served from the Nigel Road bus stops on Peckham Rye as Rye Lane is closed long term due to social distancing. East Dulwich is served from East Dulwich Grove, a few minutes walk from the station. It's done like this as the local geography means serving the station properly would result in significant time penalties - either necessitating a double run via East Dulwich Sainsbury's or a lengthy detour via Denmark Hill. People in East Dulwich get confused when they see rail replacement buses passing the station - but this is the Clapham Water to Canada Water service that doesn't stop there!
Until a few years ago buses used to run via Denmark Hill in order to serve East Dulwich properly, but as you say, this is quite a bit longer. Plus it means that you don't stop right outside North Dulwich.
Go back a few more years and it would have been easy to serve East Dulwich by following the 37's old routeing via Melbourne Grove. No idea if Melbourne Grove is still passable for buses, but in any case the bus stops have been removed, so there wouldn't be a stop near the station anyway.
I think Melbourne Grove has LTN blockades now, so no traffic can pass through right now anyway. I had no idea the 37 used to pass this way. When did that stop?
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Post by greenboy on Nov 13, 2020 9:13:48 GMT
Until a few years ago buses used to run via Denmark Hill in order to serve East Dulwich properly, but as you say, this is quite a bit longer. Plus it means that you don't stop right outside North Dulwich.
Go back a few more years and it would have been easy to serve East Dulwich by following the 37's old routeing via Melbourne Grove. No idea if Melbourne Grove is still passable for buses, but in any case the bus stops have been removed, so there wouldn't be a stop near the station anyway.
I think Melbourne Grove has LTN blockades now, so no traffic can pass through right now anyway. I had no idea the 37 used to pass this way. When did that stop? The 37 was rerouted in 2006.
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Post by 6HP502C on Nov 14, 2020 18:59:06 GMT
Until a few years ago buses used to run via Denmark Hill in order to serve East Dulwich properly, but as you say, this is quite a bit longer. Plus it means that you don't stop right outside North Dulwich. Go back a few more years and it would have been easy to serve East Dulwich by following the 37's old routeing via Melbourne Grove. No idea if Melbourne Grove is still passable for buses, but in any case the bus stops have been removed, so there wouldn't be a stop near the station anyway. I lived round there for many years and had no idea the replacement service took the long way around via Denmark Hill! Learn something new every day! The 37 along Melbourne Grove was a bit of a nightmare if an oncoming bus appeared! Even if it was still a through road, I doubt anybody would want to see buses running along there again. Re North Dulwich I'm sure there there was a period when the 37 ran via Village Way, perhaps on diversion? Nowadays the bridge has a 14'3" height restriction so it wouldn't be passable for double deckers. I think the current arrangement is a reasonable compromise, though potentially dis-satisfactory for accessibility - after all East Dulwich has step-free access from street level to the platforms.
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