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Post by 6HP502C on Jan 30, 2021 22:25:44 GMT
Abellio started operating Paddington - Willesden Junction - North Acton from today. Some late evening trips serve all stops between Paddington and Harrow & Wealdstone (except South Kenton which is served from Preston Road). Should be good fun and a significant part of the map ticked off in one fell swoop.
Sunday is single deck fun and games around town. What would you rather - a SE, SE MMC, WS or MEC?
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Post by richard on Jan 30, 2021 23:52:06 GMT
Abellio started operating Paddington - Willesden Junction - North Acton from today. Some late evening trips serve all stops between Paddington and Harrow & Wealdstone (except South Kenton which is served from Preston Road). Should be good fun and a significant part of the map ticked off in one fell swoop. Sunday is single deck fun and games around town. What would you rather - a SE, SE MMC, WS or MEC? What route will you be doing with the single decker?
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Post by 6HP502C on Jan 31, 2021 2:15:25 GMT
Abellio started operating Paddington - Willesden Junction - North Acton from today. Some late evening trips serve all stops between Paddington and Harrow & Wealdstone (except South Kenton which is served from Preston Road). Should be good fun and a significant part of the map ticked off in one fell swoop. Sunday is single deck fun and games around town. What would you rather - a SE, SE MMC, WS or MEC? What route will you be doing with the single decker? Lewisham to Orpington. Not done it for ages but always a pleasure.
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Post by richard on Jan 31, 2021 3:23:46 GMT
What route will you be doing with the single decker? Lewisham to Orpington. Not done it for ages but always a pleasure. Nice. I would say a SE or SE MMC I don't really like the WS tbh.
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Post by YY13VKP on Jan 31, 2021 10:33:23 GMT
What route will you be doing with the single decker? Lewisham to Orpington. Not done it for ages but always a pleasure. Surprised you’re not doing any of the Kings Cross block buses on Thameslink/Great Northern
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Post by 6HP502C on Feb 8, 2021 3:29:53 GMT
Lewisham to Orpington. Not done it for ages but always a pleasure. Surprised you’re not doing any of the Kings Cross block buses on Thameslink/Great Northern Been told I have to be based at Northumberland Park to get on those! Still would like to give those routes a go, especially as all my Sundays this month are clear!
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Post by mkay315 on Feb 8, 2021 9:19:46 GMT
Surprised you’re not doing any of the Kings Cross block buses on Thameslink/Great Northern Been told I have to be based at Northumberland Park to get on those! Still would like to give those routes a go, especially as all my Sundays this month are clear! Are bus drivers allowed to work at different garages but within the same company or are they fully restricted to one garage only?
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Post by TB123 on Feb 8, 2021 9:45:56 GMT
Been told I have to be based at Northumberland Park to get on those! Still would like to give those routes a go, especially as all my Sundays this month are clear! Are bus drivers allowed to work at different garages but within the same company or are they fully restricted to one garage only? Yes of course, loans between garages are a regular occurance in many companies
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Post by capitalomnibus on Feb 8, 2021 11:03:36 GMT
Been told I have to be based at Northumberland Park to get on those! Still would like to give those routes a go, especially as all my Sundays this month are clear! Are bus drivers allowed to work at different garages but within the same company or are they fully restricted to one garage only? On standard drivers they are based at one garage. Although they can be loaned to a different garage to cover shortages etc. if they do this they do get a certain payment for not working from their home garage. IN terms of rail replacements, this is not the case and there is no extra if you take a bus from different garages to do rail replacements as it usually comes under the commercial department instead of operations.
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Post by mkay315 on Feb 8, 2021 16:38:23 GMT
Are bus drivers allowed to work at different garages but within the same company or are they fully restricted to one garage only? On standard drivers they are based at one garage. Although they can be loaned to a different garage to cover shortages etc. if they do this they do get a certain payment for not working from their home garage. IN terms of rail replacements, this is not the case and there is no extra if you take a bus from different garages to do rail replacements as it usually comes under the commercial department instead of operations. Interesting thing to know thank you for that.
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Post by mkay315 on Feb 8, 2021 16:38:40 GMT
Are bus drivers allowed to work at different garages but within the same company or are they fully restricted to one garage only? Yes of course, loans between garages are a regular occurance in many companies Thank you for that.
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Post by 6HP502C on Feb 11, 2021 3:13:03 GMT
So I drove service BL5 from Harrow & Wealdstone to Paddington. The routeService BL5 operates between Paddington and North Acton every 6-9 minutes (an irregular 8bph) on Saturday and every 10 minutes on Sundays. Stops served are Paddington, Warwick Avenue, Maida Vale, Queen's Park, Kensal Green, Willesden Junction and North Acton (for the Central Line). The Bakerloo Line was suspended end to end. The Overground was running all weekend so covered Queen's Park to Harrow & Wealdstone. As this winds down around 2330, the BL5 was extended to and from Harrow to cover the Bakerloo Line's end of service, which is later than the Overground's. From North Acton, stations served were Harlesden, Stonebridge Park, Wembley Central, North Wembley, Preston Road, Kenton and Harrow & Wealdstone. Maps are a new feature of these reviews. Here's one showing the designated route and stops from Harrow & Wealdstone to Paddington - MAP LINK This was a new route to everyone. I didn't have a chance to cover it beforehand so relied very heavily on the maps provided and signposts to a lesser extent. Videos don't work so well for me, but do for others. As I was running to and from Harrow, I was surprised at the state of the roads in North West London. Roadworks, temporary lights and closures all of the place, as well as crude cycle lanes segregated from the main carriageway only by cones. Which were evidently being hit by motorists. A bit of a mess. I couldn't serve the designated stop at Wembley Central due to roadworks. LoadingsIt was a late night trip. Not a single person boarded the whole 18 odd miles. A couple of people at Preston Road asked if I was going to Wembley Central, but when I told them it'd take me 23 minutes to get there, they chose to wait for their 79. Running timesAbout right really. There was around 4 minutes of slack between Harrow and Preston Road. Preston Road to North Acton was tight - I could smell the tyres at an elevated temperature when I paused for a breather at Willesden Junction. The remainder of the route to Paddington was just right. Vehicle ChoiceA Euro 4 Enviro 400 without power restrictions was picked out and plated on my behalf. Way more preferable to newer buses like hybrids and LTs. Good work from colleagues. SummaryBoring without any passengers. But nice and long with plenty going on to keep one alert. Route difficulty rating - 2/3 (intermediate) Enjoyability - 3/5 (moderate) Next route review - Stonebridge Park - Wembley Park - Stanmore
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Post by redexpress on Feb 11, 2021 11:26:20 GMT
Maps are a new feature of these reviews. Here's one showing the designated route and stops from Harrow & Wealdstone to Paddington - MAP LINK Always interested to read these reviews! The map is "access denied" for me though.
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Post by 6HP502C on Feb 11, 2021 13:57:37 GMT
Maps are a new feature of these reviews. Here's one showing the designated route and stops from Harrow & Wealdstone to Paddington - MAP LINK Always interested to read these reviews! The map is "access denied" for me though. Thanks - just flicked a switch so hope it's working now!
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Post by redexpress on Feb 11, 2021 14:14:00 GMT
Always interested to read these reviews! The map is "access denied" for me though. Thanks - just flicked a switch so hope it's working now! Yep! A map says a thousand words, as they say
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