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Post by Busboy105 on Dec 9, 2021 7:22:37 GMT
Today Started at 3AM - LT83 N9 Busch Corner to Trafalgar Square - just to see the N551 disappearing 100 yards in front so I pelted up the road ( not a great idea at my age ) to see it heartbreakingly pull away from the Charing Cross stop but get stopped at the lights just beyond where I caught up with it π & "didn't board a bus that wasn't at an official stop" π .......... So onwards on HCT 2525 (now without the frustrating 30 minute wait at Trafalgar Square but also trying not to have a cardiac arrest after running) on the N551 right through to Beckton & work π . Finished work @ Beckton - nipped onto SCL 36283 on the 366 for a 2 minute dash to Gallions Reach - managed an unexpected (I really should check LVF before leaving) photo of VN37850 going the other way on the 262. Then DLR to LB - Northern Line to Clapham Common to spend the remaining 90 minutes before dusk chasing the GAL SE's on the 322 around the area of it's western terminus on the Common. Filled in with shot's of the 137 / 417 / 88 / 345 /35 /249 in the same area. SE 239 was the last shot on The Pavement Stand at almost 4pm (aren't digital camera's great !) Then a ride on MHV9 on the 35 (up top and up front - still a hard to beat experience in my view) from Clapham Common station to Clapham Junction . A few good handheld "in the dark" shots at the Grant Road stand before SWT 450 to St Margaret's Station whence a RAMMED DXE30352 on the "Covid Express" (otherwise known as the H37 - I am going double-masked with 3.0 PPM filter in Town these days) from there to Isleworth .................. my "bus journey" for today. Tomorrow's will be another N9/N551 experience in a few hours followed by an afternoon attempt to run AL's SW001 to ground before 4PM and photograph it ................. Friday to Sutton for the GAL 413 SE's / Kingston for some LT's and then probably a Richmond George Street photo fest (190 DE's) before work @ Beckton. Where do you upload your photos? Would nice to have a look
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Post by dlroper on Dec 9, 2021 21:01:21 GMT
Unfortunately I haven't got round to uploading on t'internet or t'cloud yet .......... still on my laptop onto which I've had to graft a 2TB external SSD to cope - I have been prodigious in the last 18 months ............... and am kicking myself for not restarting LB photography earlier when I got the DLR job in 2016 ........ so much changed between 16 - 19. Perhaps I should consider setting up an account - my photo cataloguing from 2020 has only reached April this year (about 5800 since Jan) Anywho .............. Today's "Bus Journey" Started at 3AM - LT681 N9 Busch Corner to Trafalgar Square - missed the N551 by 4 minutes .......... no way I was running after that headstart (unlike yesterday). Trafalgar Square full of drunk and /or spaced out crinoid's so to kill time until the next N551 nipped up Northumberland Avenue & Great Scotland Yard to photo various N's on their stands in full dark mode - pleased with the results π. Brief nod to "The Clarence" on Whitehall - fond memories of where a fine time started years past with a work colleague who demonstrated that redheaded women are spectacular ! Back to the N551 stop to see the next N9 annoyingly arrive 5 minutes in front of the next N551 πΏ (there's half an hour sleep I'm never getting back) but managed a fab shot of EH7 on the N136 whilst it stopped at the lights so that was OK. Couple of random observations ................ haven't see a single LT on the N15 this week yet & have noticed that the 23 is dominated by TT DNH39x's at night. So onwards on HCT 2506 (which appeared to be struggling with life) so I ended up right sharp booking on at work due to it losing time. Worked out which duty SW1 was on and decided that it would be leaving Enfield as I arrived - so finished shift @ Beckton and decided to use the car to drive to Enfield (just take it there is a long and complex reason why I leave the car at work on E shift's and catch the N buses instead π). Arrived about 13:40 when the Sun frustratingly appeared and produced the " 'orrible big dark shadows with intense sunbeams" conditions so beloved of this time of year that make successful photography d*mn near impossible. Spent the remaining 90 minutes before dusk managing to photo AL's SW1 (the whole point of the exercise) ,5,7,8 & 10 - some AL T2xx's on the 329, AL DW's on the 191 / 121, couple of ancient VW18xx ML VW's on the 307 / 231, ML TE's (favouretitti Mea) on the 307 / W8 and made a pig's ear of all the SD routes W9, 192 and 377 (which I was also after particularly), finished with a shot of OME2661 on the 317 at the Little Park Gardens terminal stop. Then drove East back to work - the A406 going West was a carpark and did DLR / Jubilee / SWR 458 to Richmond where the usual crammed DXE on the H37 was experienced - interestingly if was bus 2 in a convoy of three that were equally crammed to Isleworth at least .................... So ends today's "bus journey" π. Day "off" tomorrow (pre-night shift) so Sutton for the GAL 413 SE's / RTP OM's beckons followed by Clapham Common for the GAL G1 SE's and then probably a Richmond George Street photo fest (190 DE's) before some kip in the PM dark before off to work @ Beckton.
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Post by ronnie on Dec 9, 2021 21:41:26 GMT
Did a substantial chunk of the 24 yesterday along with the 168 end to end plus the 53/335 throwin in the mix
24: did from TCR to Hampstead Heath. This was at close to 10:45 pm so was a fairly quick journey although honestly could have been faster
168 (Hampstead Heath to old Kent road Tesco): missed the bus by less than 30 sec. So it was extremely annoying that the next bus decided to leave 7 min late for no reason whatsoever (the bus had been at the stand when I reached and just didnβt want to leave; the countdown ticker waited at due till the next bus was 5 min away). Even as a bus enthusiast this was annoying and frankly no wonder people are put off using buses. Seems everytine I do an end to end something like this happens. The journey was also quite slow and annoying despite it being close to midnight. Somewhat fittingly there was a 1 with which we kept trading places (think there were 5 overtakes done by each bus!)
53 (old Kent road Tesco to Blackheath royal standard): now this was quick and why I love the 53. No time wasted, super quick journey
335: got the last bus home
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Post by LK65EBO on Dec 10, 2021 14:18:49 GMT
Wanted to ride an MCL and an ADH (MMC) as I'd never done them before.
H26 - 8161 (SN66WLJ) - Very nice fast ride and probably one of the fastest MMCs I've ever had. 90 - VMH2551 (LA68DXT) - Had a choice between this and a 285 MMC behind. Went for the EvoSeti as I wanted to sample a few more especially since the MMC on the 285 was one I had already done. Not much to say about the journey. X140 - ADH45293 (YX68UON) - My first ever London Sovereign ride. Really enjoyed this MMC but did vibrate more at speed compared to the B5LH. H98 - LT86 (LTZ1086) - The fastest ride in an LT I've ever been on. Quickly overtook the SP infront (SP40193) and sped along Bath Road stopping just once after I'd got on. Ended up arriving at Hounslow West a good 8 minutes before the SP. 203 - MCL30306 (BD11LWT) - My first ever 12m Citaro ride. Must say wasn't as good as I was expecting especially down Great South West Road. Could barely hear the engine. 285 - 2040 (SK20BEU) - Nothing much to say about the bus or the ride. H26 - 8168 (SN66WNV) - Again a lovely fast MMC.
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Post by dlroper on Dec 10, 2021 17:49:33 GMT
Today's "Bus Journey" .............. too sunny so decided to eschew Sutton / Clapham Common. So had a ride on DEL2265 on the 235 from Busch Corner to the Brentford North Quarter Terminus - photographed LT999 in Poppy OL at Busch Corner whilst waiting. Managed to get a angle on the sun so spent a hour snapping the 235 & 65 in & around The Great Western Quarter area - including both the DE's on the 235 today. Walked back to Kew High Street and picked up LT986 on the 267 (up top & up front with the whole top deck to myself π) to West Middlesex Hospital for a shot of MCM30088 on the 117. Then walked back to Isleworth via the South Street bakers to let the plumber in ........... pleased with the morning's photos despite the heavy contrasting and "contra-jour" nature of the conditions today. Usual DXE and H37 into Richmond to work later
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Post by BE37054 (quoll662) on Dec 10, 2021 18:07:56 GMT
Today's "Bus Journey" .............. too sunny so decided to eschew Sutton / Clapham Common. So had a ride on DEL2265 on the 235 from Busch Corner to the Brentford North Quarter Terminus - photographed LT999 in Poppy OL at Busch Corner whilst waiting. Managed to get a angle on the sun so spent a hour snapping the 235 & 65 in & around The Great Western Quarter area - including both the DE's on the 235 today. Walked back to Kew High Street and picked up LT986 on the 267 (up top & up front with the whole top deck to myself π) to West Middlesex Hospital for a shot of MCL30088 on the 117. Then walked back to Isleworth via the South Street bakers to let the plumber in ........... pleased with the morning's photos despite the heavy contrasting and "contra-jour" nature of the conditions today. Usual DXE and H37 into Richmond to work later MCL or MCM?
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Post by LK65EBO on Dec 10, 2021 18:09:00 GMT
Today's "Bus Journey" .............. too sunny so decided to eschew Sutton / Clapham Common. So had a ride on DEL2265 on the 235 from Busch Corner to the Brentford North Quarter Terminus - photographed LT999 in Poppy OL at Busch Corner whilst waiting. Managed to get a angle on the sun so spent a hour snapping the 235 & 65 in & around The Great Western Quarter area - including both the DE's on the 235 today. Walked back to Kew High Street and picked up LT986 on the 267 (up top & up front with the whole top deck to myself π) to West Middlesex Hospital for a shot of MCL30088 on the 117. Then walked back to Isleworth via the South Street bakers to let the plumber in ........... pleased with the morning's photos despite the heavy contrasting and "contra-jour" nature of the conditions today. Usual DXE and H37 into Richmond to work later MCL or MCM? MCM because thatβs all thatβs done the 117β¦ never an MCL
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Post by dlroper on Dec 10, 2021 18:11:22 GMT
Yup changed it π
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Post by Busboy105 on Dec 11, 2021 20:35:28 GMT
Rain wasn't too bad today so the all clear was given to complete the Central Line. (Done the Westbound bit) Piccadilly Line- Wood Green to Holborn (train skipped Caledonian Road. Any idea why it's closed. Can't seem to find anything to suggest why) Central Line- Holborn to Ealing Broadway then back to West Acton and then to West Ruislip (the Ealing Broadway train sounded very different. Is that the result of the refurbishment programme?) DE1614 (U1)- Oak Avenue to Ruislip Station VWH2172 (114) Ruislip Station to Mill Hill Broadway DW297 (221) Mill Hill Broadway to Haringey Civic Centre (nothing like a DW to end a good journey) Short walk home
P.S starting to speed up this challenge a little bit. Christmas and New Year hours at work and me having a week off will definitely do that. Doing the Bakerloo, Northern, District, TFL Rail East and the Overground next week (hopefully if things goes well)
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Post by dlroper on Dec 12, 2021 21:34:59 GMT
My "bus journey" yesterday ............. After grabbing a few hours shut-eye after a N shift emerged into the daylight around 9AM to get an H37 (DXE30353) to Richmond Station where the 09:28 to Waterloo was cancelled so spent 15 minutes outside the station snapping what passed - never an issue there with it's variety of routes operators & vehicle types - several SP's on the 65 and a couple of DE's on the 190 (think these will go when the DEL's are surplus from the 236). Then SWR 458523 on the 09:45 to Clapham Junction where I walked out on the G1 route from there to Clapham Common capturing the day's GAL SE's on the route - these are tiny buses - remind me of the BN's back in ye olde dayes. Picked up some nice EA photos on the parallel 319 too. Finished at Clapham Common around 12:30 and caught SE253 back to Clapham Junction and walking through to the Grant Road stand (snapping en-route) mainly to get GAL SE179 on the 39 which I'd seen disappearing up the road. Then SWR 455719 from Clapham Junction to Vauxhall (operating unusually as a solitary 4-car). Then spent the next hour or so just photographing everything that moved at Vauxhall Bus Station ............. mainly for the 452 VN's. Notice the 452 is now curtailed to Ladbroke Grove Sainsbury's ....... what a stroke of genius ........... curtail it to some retail location in the middle of nowhere rather than retain it going to a London Overground Station with links E & W to the rest of London ............. Genius planning !! π. Anyway started to get wet & cold so SWR 455861 back to Richmond where managed a decent shot of an SP on the 371 in the gathering gloom. So my ended "bus journey" for Saturday. Now back home in Somerset .... be back next week .......... those new H9/10 BME's look good, the 190's need photo'ing at West Brompton, the 135 needs a look around Old Street and I need to give North Greenwich & Woolwich another visit.
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Post by londonbusobserver on Dec 14, 2021 22:31:16 GMT
Boarded MV38236 on route 473 from Stratford to North Woolwich.
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Post by Busboy105 on Dec 15, 2021 16:40:58 GMT
Did the Bakerloo and the Northern's Bank, Mill Hill East and High Barnet branches today.
Piccadilly line- Wood Green to Piccadilly Circus (can't believe I've forgotten to get the fleetnumber for that train. It was a very enjoyable ride) Bakerloo Line- Piccadilly Circus to Elephant & Castle Northern Line- Elephant & Castle to Mill Hill East then up to High Barnet via a change at Finchley Central
Decided to have a bit of fun and take the first bus from High Barnet and make my way home from there
DEM1343 (384)- High Barnet Station/Meadway to Cockfosters Station SL96 (299)- Cockfosters Station to Southgate Station DW532 (121)- Southgate Station to Nightingale Road
Doing the District later this week; adding the Overground and TFL Rail to it as well. Pretty sure I've done half the Tube Map now
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Post by dlroper on Dec 16, 2021 2:16:04 GMT
My "Bus Journey" today (well yesterday) ................ Despite the gloom ......... a brief visit to Newbury Park Bus Station to photograph it and various AL DW's (66), SCL 365xx's (296) & GAL SE 115 - 118 (396) within and in front of it. Also saw GAL EH24 out on a training run. Noted 3 different TT VN's on the 262 today also .......... just happened to coincide with my camera-laden PNB's at work π
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Post by aaron1 on Dec 16, 2021 16:48:00 GMT
I mange to get a G3 on the 266 today and yes this a common working as I see it every day but it's the only G3 on that route
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Post by dlroper on Dec 16, 2021 19:06:15 GMT
Todays "Bus Journey" ................... Did a bit of OT at work so didn't get home until 2:30AM so obviously wasn't going to be up with the lark ........... anyway surfaced and left about 09:30AM - picking up DXE30354 on the H37 into Richmond .............. ML DE1008 in the camera outside the station π. Next LO 378234 to Finchley Road & Frognal for a march down the road to Finchley Road UG ................. calling in at Sainsburys' on the way for a few ML DE (I just can't resist them) pictures on the 268 & 187. Next Metropolitan Line to Harrow on the Hill ............ for a couple of hours photographing the 6 new RTP BME's on the H9 & H10 along with a host of DE's . The 183 SP's always worth doing and photographed whatever is on the X140 this week RTP VH/ADH's. Then a return via Metropolitan & Jubilee to Kilburn .......... spent a bit of time at the bottom of Shoot-up Hill snapping the 16, 189, 332, 316 etc short walk to Brondesbury OG for 378224 to West Brompton and another short walk to the Empress House Terminus of the 190 to capture most of the day's ML DE roster in the rapidly deteriorating light ....... I'm not a fan of this time of year. Couple of GAL WHV on the 430 passing too. So at 15:15 decided to go back to Richmond the convenient way by riding ML DE869 on the 190 all the way. I think I've now stopped vibrating ........... they are "tired" - at least the older ones seem to be. Then an anticlimactic transfer at Richmond to DXE 30353 for the ride back to Isleworth. Work beckons once more ...................... Tomorrow ........... a route walk on the western end of the 135 methinks
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