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Post by vjaska on Jan 27, 2018 17:49:50 GMT
Today’s journey to Lewisham and back:
Walked to Lloyd’s Bank first before walking to the stops on Brixton Road The P4 to Lewisham Shopping Centre (36373) - long and dull ride. There seemed to be even more traffic than normal on the South Circular as well as a queue of traffic at Honor Oak Park and roadworks on Honor Oak Road where police were called into assist traffic. The bus itself was full of rattles & uncomfortable Went into Game to pick up what I came to Lewisham for The P4 to Brixton, Police Station (34393) - not a particularly quick ride but the traffic and the roadwork assisting police had disappeared at least. Also, the Dart was so much better than the Enviro 200 I had earlier being more comfortable and with very few rattles was a bit surprising. I could tell why 34393 was chosen as part of the 3 to be kept on at TL as mechanically, it’s in excellent condition - no strange noises, interior sounds solid, handles the bumps ok Walked to Argos & then Greggs (only recently downloaded the Greggs app and had two rewards to redeem so went for it) The 59 to Brixton Hill, Brixton Water Lane - didn’t get the fleet number but it was obviously a LT lol Walked home
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Post by planesandtrains on Jan 30, 2018 22:52:14 GMT
I had decided to go and have another adventure on Reading Buses now that I found out that they offer a £4 day ticket for those 18 and under.
Enviro 400 (61 plate) on the X26 from Teddington to Hatton Cross
Volvo B5LH Wright Gemini 3 (15 plate) on the 285 from Hatton Cross to Harlington Corner
Enviro 400 (12 plate) on the 81 from Harlington Corner to Slough bus station- This bus was in revolting condition, all of the window seals wet, seats damp, no heating whatsoever.
Scania K270UB Omnilink 15M (57 plate) on the 702 from Slough Bus Station to Bracknell Bus Station- my goodness, this bus made up for the last ride, piping hot (how I like it), comfortable seats and suspension, clear windows, beastly Scania engine and not to mention that lovely sensation of rear wheel steering.
Scania K270UB CNG Enviro 300 (14 plate) on the X4 from Bracknell Bus Station to Central Reading- was slightly worried that there wouldn't be enough room, as last time I used the route in a double decker all the seats were taken. Luckily there was a light load, and the high back seats were appreciated. The vehicle sounded fantastic, like a normal Scania but without the vibrations. Again, the bus was lovely and warm.
Tried a few different buses in Reading, including the new Mellor Strator minibus for routes 42/42a. No rattles at all. I was the only passenger.
Scania K270UB CNG Enviro 300 (14 plate) on the 3b from Reading to Bracknell Bus Station- again, very impressive, and lots of fast stretches.
ADL E40D Enviro 400 MMC (64 plate) on the 702 from Bracknell Bus Station to Slough- uneventful, used the journey to charge my phone
Scania K270UB Omnicity (56 plate) on the 2 from Slough to Windsor
Scania N280UD Enviro 400 MMC Demonstrator (16 plate) on the 702 from Windsor to Langley
ADL E40D Enviro 400 (12 plate) on the 81 from Langley to Harlington Corner
ADL E200 Dart on the 423 (60 plate) from Harlington Corner to Hatton Cross
Volvo B9TL Wright Gemini 2 (59 plate) on the X26 from Hatton Cross to Teddington
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2018 0:37:11 GMT
On Tuesday I went to see the sea.
I boarded a very comfy Stagecoach Gold 16 in Canterbury. We had an excellent fast run down the A2 before driving with exceptional skill through stunning valleys and small villages before arriving in Folkestone. This route was busy throughout , with many students using it. I chose to get off at Sandgate and had a lovely walk down the coast to Hythe.
Here I boarded another Stagecoach bus, an Enviro 400 on route 10.
By now it was dark. The driver had a mentor with him. The local knowledge this mentor had was impressive. Even pointing out particular houses with driveways posing a problem if a car was to emerge. We continued Ashford bound, via Lympne.
It was a full moon and clear sky, and we entered the Port Lympne Reserve. Quite why I don’t know as looking at the timetable subsequently this trip was only meant to serve the reserve during BST. But we took the detour anyway, and I half expected to see a Rhinoceros bounding across the moon lit fields.
Picking nobody up at the wooden shelter, we carried on down narrow roads with the internal lights switched half off, to emerge on the outskirts of Ashford.
Quite amusingly the mentor told the driver to “ Keep well away” from the driver of a parked up Little and Often minibus who was on stand somewhere. There was no reason for this particular instruction , perhaps other than to suggest the minibus drivers might not be held in high esteem by their big bus colleagues.
But what a refreshing bus experience this was. It is something I’ll be doing more often , to escape the mundane blandness that TfL land has become.
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Post by sid on Feb 3, 2018 6:19:58 GMT
On Tuesday I went to see the sea. I boarded a very comfy Stagecoach Gold 16 in Canterbury. We had an excellent fast run down the A2 before driving with exceptional skill through stunning valleys and small villages before arriving in Folkestone. This route was busy throughout , with many students using it. I chose to get off at Sandgate and had a lovely walk down the coast to Hythe. Here I boarded another Stagecoach bus, an Enviro 400 on route 10. By now it was dark. The driver had a mentor with him. The local knowledge this mentor had was impressive. Even pointing out particular houses with driveways posing a problem if a car was to emerge. We continued Ashford bound, via Lympne. It was a full moon and clear sky, and we entered the Port Lympne Reserve. Quite why I don’t know as looking at the timetable subsequently this trip was only meant to serve the reserve during BST. But we took the detour anyway, and I half expected to see a Rhinoceros bounding across the moon lit fields. Picking nobody up at the wooden shelter, we carried on down narrow roads with the internal lights switched half off, to emerge on the outskirts of Ashford. Quite amusingly the mentor told the driver to “ Keep well away” from the driver of a parked up Little and Often minibus who was on stand somewhere. There was no reason for this particular instruction , perhaps other than to suggest the minibus drivers might not be held in high esteem by their big bus colleagues. But what a refreshing bus experience this was. It is something I’ll be doing more often , to escape the mundane blandness that TfL land has become. There are some lovely routes in East Kent, the 17 between Canterbury and Folkestone would have to be my favourite. From what I was told by an Ashford based driver the big bus drivers also have turns on the minibus routes although there are some drivers who only do the minibuses. He said that he was dubious about driving minibuses but said they are quite fun once you get used to them. Different world from TfL land.
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Post by ServerKing on Feb 3, 2018 13:50:11 GMT
Took an amble through the Farm (Broadwater) to catch a W4. Hard to see just where they are on the Hail & Ride section, but could tell by the number of passengers the bus was due! ENN47 pulled up, nice to sit on a brand new bus (yes I know this bus was used a lot for the route learning etc as I saw it alot around Ally Pally), but a nice anything on the W4 is great after the last few months! Very quiet engine, no real thrash due to the route, Voith box doesn't change up too soon, at Turnpike Lane, crawled along the High Rd towards Wood Green due to a smash by Lordship Lane, not far from the garage. Got to my dentists okay, it's right opposite WN. Painful abcess dealt with later, back to Redvers Rd and HV364 (243) took me home
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Post by Dillon95 on Feb 5, 2018 16:22:39 GMT
I did a South East London loop today for no real reason.
269 - DW426 - Sidcup to Bromley North 227 - 23103 - Bromley North to Crystal Palace 122 - 17840 - Crystal Palace to Eltham Green (Rusty old trident, the iBus wasn't turned on until we got to Sydenham Station so it felt like I was in the early 2000s.) 321 - EH11 - Eltham Green to Sidcup
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Post by Dillon95 on Feb 9, 2018 15:53:50 GMT
321 - Sidcup to Eltham 314 - Eltham to Bromley North 269 - Bromley North to Sidcup
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Post by Dillon95 on Feb 10, 2018 0:57:27 GMT
Evening journey 286 - Sidcup to Kidbrooke 132 - Kidbrooke to North Greenwich 132 - North Greenwich to Eltham 321 - Eltham to Sidcup
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Post by busoccultation on Feb 10, 2018 11:17:51 GMT
Yesterday’s Journey to Wood Green and the surrounding areas.
462 From Home to Barkingside (36640 SN17MLK)- Just missed the 462 heading towards Ilford so decided to go to Barkingside and change onto another route as I will be able to save time instead of waiting for the next one.
169 From Barkingside to Ilford (10310 SN16OJP) - Got a lovely MMC and didn’t took too long to reach Ilford. Also, by doing that I have arrived in Ilford 5 minutes earlier if I had waited for the 462 directly to Ilford
123 From Ilford to Wood Green (HV54 LJ62BNE) - Perform well on the fast sections until the gearbox decided to have its tea break which then slowed the bus right down after we served one of the stops on the North Circular Road.
121 From Wood Green to Southgate (DW568 LJ13CKK) - Nothing special to say.
299 From Southgate to Muswell Hill (SL95 MH67SUL) - Not too busy as expected for that time of day and did overheard about the new buses from one of the passengers.
W7 From Muswell Hill to Finsbury Park (VW1305 LK12AUW) - Wow that hill down Muswell Hill was steep. The way I’d describe the W7 is very short, very hilly and also quite frequent. W7 now ticked off end to end.
W3 Finsbury Park to Wood Green (T210 LJ61CHX) - Decided to take the W3 to see the excellent views in Alexandra palace. I've manged to see from the top deck are The Shard, Canary Wharf, Stratford and couple of other places. The bus was struggling a bit when going uphill and in desperate need of refurbishment.
Went to McDonald's for Lunch
123 From Wood Green to Gants Hill (DW499 LJ62BKD) - Just a long but enjoyable journey home on the 123. Somehow, we caught up VLW902 in front when we reached Charlie Brown's Roundabout (Also overheard someone saying that was one that they had missed earlier) despite it left Wood Green 10 minutes before we left.
462 From Gants Hill to Home (36659 SN17MLZ) - By chance I ended a Longer dual door MMC from the 167 instead. and also, didn’t have to wait for it to turned up as well.
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Post by snoggle on Feb 10, 2018 12:52:32 GMT
123 From Wood Green to Gants Hill (DW499 LJ62BKD) - Just a long but enjoyable journey home on the 123. Somehow, we caught up VLW902 in front when we reached Charlie Brown's Roundabout (Also overheard someone saying that was one that they had missed earlier) despite it left Wood Green 10 minutes before we left. I get the distinct impression that some of the VLWs are dog slow. They are often involved in bunching despite there being no obvious delays elsewhere on the route.
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Post by SILENCED on Feb 10, 2018 13:08:10 GMT
123 From Wood Green to Gants Hill (DW499 LJ62BKD) - Just a long but enjoyable journey home on the 123. Somehow, we caught up VLW902 in front when we reached Charlie Brown's Roundabout (Also overheard someone saying that was one that they had missed earlier) despite it left Wood Green 10 minutes before we left. I get the distinct impression that some of the VLWs are dog slow. They are often involved in bunching despite there being no obvious delays elsewhere on the route. The curse of AR Engineering strikes again ... Arriva really need to sort it out
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Post by Dillon95 on Feb 11, 2018 17:37:06 GMT
286 - Sidcup to Greenwich 177 - Greenwich to Woolwich 51 - Woolwich to Sidcup
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Post by rugbyref on Feb 11, 2018 17:53:36 GMT
Yesterday took the free shuttle bus from Twickenham Stadium to Richmond. My ride was VP106 of London United. Comfortable seats indeed!
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Post by portman227 on Feb 12, 2018 0:02:05 GMT
Yesterday’s Journey to Wood Green and the surrounding areas. 462 From Home to Barkingside (36640 SN17MLK)- Just missed the 462 heading towards Ilford so decided to go to Barkingside and change onto another route as I will be able to save time instead of waiting for the next one. 169 From Barkingside to Ilford (10310 SN16OJP) - Got a lovely MMC and didn’t took too long to reach Ilford. Also, by doing that I have arrived in Ilford 5 minutes earlier if I had waited for the 462 directly to Ilford 123 From Ilford to Wood Green (HV54 LJ62BNE) - Perform well on the fast sections until the gearbox decided to have its tea break which then slowed the bus right down after we served one of the stops on the North Circular Road. 121 From Wood Green to Southgate (DW568 LJ13CKK) - Nothing special to say. 299 From Southgate to Muswell Hill (SL95 MH67SUL) - Not too busy as expected for that time of day and did overheard about the new buses from one of the passengers. W7 From Muswell Hill to Finsbury Park (VW1305 LK12AUW) - Wow that hill down Muswell Hill was steep. The way I’d describe the W7 is very short, very hilly and also quite frequent. W7 now ticked off end to end. W3 Finsbury Park to Wood Green (T210 LJ61CHX) - Decided to take the W3 to see the excellent views in Alexandra palace. I've manged to see from the top deck are The Shard, Canary Wharf, Stratford and couple of other places. The bus was struggling a bit when going uphill and in desperate need of refurbishment. Went to McDonald's for Lunch 123 From Wood Green to Gants Hill (DW499 LJ62BKD) - Just a long but enjoyable journey home on the 123. Somehow, we caught up VLW902 in front when we reached Charlie Brown's Roundabout (Also overheard someone saying that was one that they had missed earlier) despite it left Wood Green 10 minutes before we left. 462 From Gants Hill to Home (36659 SN17MLZ) - By chance I ended a Longer dual door MMC from the 167 instead. and also, didn’t have to wait for it to turned up as well. I also had HV54 from Wood Green to ilford last week and I've never been on a bus so hesitant on any incline, changed fear like 5 times to get any movement. Then it performed like that on the flats aswell. When it doesn't act up, it a really quick bus.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2018 20:34:35 GMT
Had a rare chance to have a few weekday trips on buses today. Sorry no fleet numbers!
15 - Normal LT but filthy inside with muddy footprints down stairs and external mud too. Also looked like the area around the rear stairs had not been cleaned in a long time with dirty water splash marks in the off white section on the rear of the bus. RV 1 - I managed to ride one of the new Hydrogen BH buses - Very smooth and quiet the bus still had that nice "new smell" . Picked up about 10 -15 passengers From Tower Gateway to London Bridge. 17 - 14 Reg VWH Now this really surprised me I very rarely catch Metroline buses and when I was on this bus I thought it must be fairly new really comfort seats, extremely clean, really well presented . I was so shocked when I see the number plate and see the bus is now 4 years old.
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