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Post by SN17MOA on Jun 4, 2022 9:33:52 GMT
Yesterday:
Took 8842 on the 490 to Richmond. It's by far the worst YY64 out there. A bit of black smoke coming out of the exhaust (questionable since its a Euro VI bus), unfurbished and it made a really weird loud noise no other bus in the batch have. No wonder it's rarely used on the early mornings or late nights since it would really irritate the residents along the route.
Took BCE47065 on the 65 to Albany Road, Brentford. No complaints. Very quiet and actually empty, this particular journey which is quite rare since the 65 is always busy. People on here say these BCEs have no character but they really do, and I definitely prefer these BCEs to the SPs on the route. I'm sure the public do too.
(Walked to Brentford County Court)
Deliberately missed the MMC in front and took 8788 on the 195 to Hayes and Harlington Station. Let me say this but the route seriously need to be decked as almost all my experiences it was packed. And per my previous sentence, as usual, this journey was packed but I always had a soft spot for this particular bus. I don't know why but I love the sound the back doors made when it closes.
Took BCE47100 on the X140 to Heathrow Central. Pretty much the same as my BCE47065 review above.
Took 2048 on the 285 to Teddington. Good acceleration on this one and a perfect view of the planes departing 09R on the journey to Hatton Cross. If I wanted a route to look at aircraft, the 285 and 81 are my best choices. Other than that, it's just a typical 285 bus, well kept.
Took 8790 on the R68 to Twickenham. This one now sounds quite similar to the unique 8792 and one of the rare Abellio buses to be refurbished but retained the grey seat handles. Other than that, a perfect ride with good speed along the Teddington Lock area. Never except a disappointment from this bus or this batch in general.
Took 8838 on the 490 finally back home. Unfortunately, 8809 in front was packed once it got to Twickenham so I couldn't get it, nor could the many people who tried to get on. This is why TFL were foolish for removing the H22 from Richmond to Twickenham. On 8838 though, it was a good ride but I do wish though this bus could venture out to other routes in TF more often as it as well as many in this batch seem only bounded to the 490.
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Post by Busboy105 on Jun 4, 2022 16:41:28 GMT
The 497 got a little extension to Dagnam Park Square as was originally proposed today so I thought I'd give it a go.
Walked to Wood Green Station Piccadilly line- Wood Green to Finsbury Park Victoria line- Finsbury Park to Tottenham Hale Greater Anglia- Tottenham Hale to Stratford Elizabeth line- Stratford to Harold Wood 37541 (497)- Harold Wood Station to Dagnam Park Square (I was the only passenger throughout the entire route. Weirdly enough there were a couple passengers on the bus that passed me the other way) 14107 (174)- Dagnam Park Square to Dagenham Heathway Station District line- Dagenham Heathway to Barking Overground- Barking to Blackhorse Road Victoria Line- Blackhorse Road to Finsbury Park Piccadilly line- Finsbury Park to Wood Green Walked home
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Post by MetrolineGA1511 on Jun 4, 2022 20:54:05 GMT
I did make it to London as hoped, without any problems with any storms or anything. I even managed a more extensive itin than expected. However, the trains home went to pot and I am over an hour late home. I shall therefore share full details tomorrow. Watch this space! Oh, one other thing. With 17 notifications awaiting me from this morning, it just goes to show how dramatic the central London proposals are. It also proves how sociable some of you are too.
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Post by Busboy105 on Jun 4, 2022 22:27:54 GMT
I did make it to London as hoped, without any problems with any storms or anything. I even managed a more extensive itin than expected. However, the trains home went to pot and I am over an hour late home. I shall therefore share full details tomorrow. Watch this space! Oh, one other thing. With 17 notifications awaiting me from this morning, it just goes to show how dramatic the central London proposals are. It also proves how sociable some of you are too. A lot of the routes will affect us if they were withdrawn and the replacements being very iffy to say the least
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Post by MetrolineGA1511 on Jun 5, 2022 8:13:28 GMT
As I say, I had a more extensive itin than expected, effectively Barnet & Hampstead.
Something I shall trial here is an explanation about the significance of each bus ride. I do aim for "Almost every bus ride tells a story" trips. Please note that as my trips are infrequent there are usually a few years between return visits to specific areas. In particular, this was my first time in Barnet & Finchley since 2014 and first in Golders Green since 2018.
Anymay, my trains as usual were to/from Euston, and my London itin as follows :-
Northern Line High Barnet (via Mornington Crescent) - 1995 stock
383 Whetstone - Uno 605 - route won by Uno 34 Arnos Grove - Arriva HV170 - route won back by Arriva (plus appearance internally of it being a Stagecoach gain!) 382 Friern Barnet - Metroline DEM1345 - route won by Metroline 134 North Finchley - Metroline OME2678 - first ride on Metroline Metrodecker 112 Brent Cross - Metroline DEL2609 - extension of the route to North Finchley, first Metroline MMC DEL and an ill-fated route 393 example 102 Golders Green - Arriva SW3 - rare batch H2 Golders Green - Metroline OS2504 - rare batch 83 West Hendon - Metroline VW1265 - first VW from PV, plus indigenous VW from PV on route 83 likely to be short-term 32 Dollis Hill Lane - Metroline TEH1227 - first TEH from EW and first refurb example (then walk to Coles Green Road) 232 Brent Park - Go-Ahead WS146 - route won by Go-Ahead plus intrigue of Go-Ahead in the Neasden area 332 Neasden - Metroline LT97 - recent LT conversion and first refurb LT (then walk to Neasden station)
Jubilee Line Swiss Cottage - 1996 stock
46 Camden Road - Metroline DEL2510 - rare batch (but surely more due eventually) 274 Lord's Cricket Ground - Metroline VMH2489 - first VMH at KC and first double-deck on that route (unless I rode one in 1991-92) 13 Hendon Way - RATP London Transit VMH45350 - X has of course merged with RATP 328 Kilburn Park - Metroline VWH2028 - route won by Metroline and VWH now refurb (unlike for my route 139 ride)
Bakerloo Line Baker Street - 1972 stock Metropolitan Line Euston Square - S8 stock (then walk to Euston)
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Post by Deleted on Jun 8, 2022 19:47:37 GMT
Recorded the full journey on the 474 today. The rerouted section is quite disappointing as I hardly saw anybody get on or off Custom House and it was rush hour as well. If it stays like this beyond when the Abbey Wood branch is connected to Reading and Heathrow sections of the Elizabeth line then I think TFL need to do something about that. Got the 147 back to Custom House then the Lizzie line to Tottenham Court Road, Northern Line to High Barnet then 184 home.
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Post by abellion on Jun 8, 2022 20:35:29 GMT
Recorded the full journey on the 474 today. The rerouted section is quite disappointing as I hardly saw anybody get on or off Custom House and it was rush hour as well. If it stays like this beyond when the Abbey Wood branch is connected to Reading and Heathrow sections of the Elizabeth line then I think TFL need to do something about that. Got the 147 back to Custom House then the Lizzie line to Tottenham Court Road, Northern Line to High Barnet then 184 home. I noticed the Custom House area felt very empty when I went there too. East Ham for example was regularly busy when I went down there on the 304/101 but Custom House and the surrounding area felt like a huge amount of empty buses running around
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Post by WH241 on Jun 8, 2022 21:08:57 GMT
Recorded the full journey on the 474 today. The rerouted section is quite disappointing as I hardly saw anybody get on or off Custom House and it was rush hour as well. If it stays like this beyond when the Abbey Wood branch is connected to Reading and Heathrow sections of the Elizabeth line then I think TFL need to do something about that. Got the 147 back to Custom House then the Lizzie line to Tottenham Court Road, Northern Line to High Barnet then 184 home. I have reported a few times about the 474 so repeating my self a bit here. The issue the rerouted route lost its local passengers from Canning Town towards Silvertown to the 330. The former 241 passengers seem to have gone elsewhere probably to the 300 if in the Freemasons Road area which leaves just the local Keir Hardie passengers who can also use the 147 towards Canning Town station. As for the 474 and Custom House it has 4 other routes serving the station so really only useful for passengers heading towards North Woolwich. Long term the route could be pulled back to Custom House and the 304 could swap taking over the Canning Town Hermit Road section.
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Post by WH241 on Jun 8, 2022 21:33:04 GMT
Recorded the full journey on the 474 today. The rerouted section is quite disappointing as I hardly saw anybody get on or off Custom House and it was rush hour as well. If it stays like this beyond when the Abbey Wood branch is connected to Reading and Heathrow sections of the Elizabeth line then I think TFL need to do something about that. Got the 147 back to Custom House then the Lizzie line to Tottenham Court Road, Northern Line to High Barnet then 184 home. I noticed the Custom House area felt very empty when I went there too. East Ham for example was regularly busy when I went down there on the 304/101 but Custom House and the surrounding area felt like a huge amount of empty buses running around This is what happens when you give a area 4 routes to East Ham all different ways! The 304 is starting to pick up slowly.
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Post by dlroper on Jun 9, 2022 9:05:26 GMT
I noticed the Custom House area felt very empty when I went there too. East Ham for example was regularly busy when I went down there on the 304/101 but Custom House and the surrounding area felt like a huge amount of empty buses running around This is what happens when you give a area 4 routes to East Ham all different ways! The 304 is starting to pick up slowly. Least it's given the opportunity to photograph the low numbered WHV's & E135 in service locally 👍
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Post by rugbyref on Jun 9, 2022 16:14:11 GMT
Yesterday: Took 8842 on the 490 to Richmond. It's by far the worst YY64 out there. A bit of black smoke coming out of the exhaust (questionable since its a Euro VI bus), unfurbished and it made a really weird loud noise no other bus in the batch have. No wonder it's rarely used on the early mornings or late nights since it would really irritate the residents along the route. Took BCE47065 on the 65 to Albany Road, Brentford. No complaints. Very quiet and actually empty, this particular journey which is quite rare since the 65 is always busy. People on here say these BCEs have no character but they really do, and I definitely prefer these BCEs to the SPs on the route. I'm sure the public do too. (Walked to Brentford County Court) Deliberately missed the MMC in front and took 8788 on the 195 to Hayes and Harlington Station. Let me say this but the route seriously need to be decked as almost all my experiences it was packed. And per my previous sentence, as usual, this journey was packed but I always had a soft spot for this particular bus. I don't know why but I love the sound the back doors made when it closes. Took BCE47100 on the X140 to Heathrow Central. Pretty much the same as my BCE47065 review above. Took 2048 on the 285 to Teddington. Good acceleration on this one and a perfect view of the planes departing 09R on the journey to Hatton Cross. If I wanted a route to look at aircraft, the 285 and 81 are my best choices. Other than that, it's just a typical 285 bus, well kept. Took 8790 on the R68 to Twickenham. This one now sounds quite similar to the unique 8792 and one of the rare Abellio buses to be refurbished but retained the grey seat handles. Other than that, a perfect ride with good speed along the Teddington Lock area. Never except a disappointment from this bus or this batch in general. Took 8838 on the 490 finally back home. Unfortunately, 8809 in front was packed once it got to Twickenham so I couldn't get it, nor could the many people who tried to get on. This is why TFL were foolish for removing the H22 from Richmond to Twickenham. On 8838 though, it was a good ride but I do wish though this bus could venture out to other routes in TF more often as it as well as many in this batch seem only bounded to the 490. Unfortunate juxtaposition of the words ‘court’ and ‘sentence’ in your post!
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Post by dlroper on Jun 10, 2022 22:51:31 GMT
Tomorrow's bus journey is to chase certain Elizabeth Line / Calilujah / and Jubilee overall liveried vehicles with a camera ................... Sunday - WH's on the 135 ....................
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Post by YY13VKP on Jun 11, 2022 23:09:16 GMT
Been a while since I last made a big bus journey - over a year in fact mainly due to work and uni being extremely busy lately. That changed on Tuesday though as a free day resulted in a trip from Kensington to Kenley via South London areas such as Norwood and Crystal Palace as there were a few bus related things I'd been wanting to do round there but hadn't got round to until then, such as the 315 under Abellio as well as getting snaps of the new order on the 322 and 432. I also wanted to give Metrobus Croydon's Electroliner demo, EL1 a try on the 119. I'd started in Kensington Olympia having snapped the day's Southern Class 455 scrap move, and here's how it went: London Overground to Clapham Junction (378220) - pretty busy on this train considering it was 11am South Western Railway to Vauxhall (455849/864) - With all of Southern's 455's gone and SWR's oldest two either off lease (5847) or long term out of use (5848), I went for a quick ride on what's currently the oldest active 455 on the network to Waterloo having seen it was coming instead of heading straight to Balham (which was my next stop), but I had a very tight connection. I sprinted from Platform 1 to Platform 10 at Clapham Junction and just about made it. However, the journey was anything but quick, as a signal failure occurred whilst we were between Clapham Junction and Vauxhall which shut down Platforms 1-8. Luckily we were told about this whilst stationary at Vauxhall, and seeing another 455 coming in on Platform 8 I decided to bail in order to not lose too much time being caught up in disruption. Still, it was nice to travel on a Class 455 again. South Western Railway to Clapham Junction (455732). Southern to Balham (377207) - following the withdrawal of Southern's 455's, most of the Epsom Downs circuits are now in the hands of the 377/2s freed from the reduction in frequency and carriages of West London line services. Nothing really to report about this journey though as it was pretty routine. 315 to West Norwood Station ( 8124) - Never thought I'd be wanting to do this route in a hurry, but the ex K1 batch of Enviro200's being allocated to it drew my attention to the 315 and it had been something I'd been meaning to do since last year. Initially the 13:00 departure wasn't showing on iBus, and didn't look like arriving too so I headed for a bite before I saw 8324 going past me in Balham High Street. But luckily, my bus was 8124. I'd had this plenty of times on the K1 whilst I was in college but it was the only one out of 8122-8127 that I hadn't seen since it moved to BC. Initially I was surprised it was such a short route with a 20 minute frequency for only a 30 minute trip time. I thought to myself "is the 20 minute frequency really justified for a route that serves the backstreets of Streatham and Norwood?" but it was rather busy as we got towards Streatham which was good to see. The route reminded me of the 434 in some places, particularly on the Hail and Ride section between Streatham and West Norwood. The bus had to mount the pavement at one point to squeeze past a badly parked taxi but that was done without much hassle, and was itself very good. Walked to Robson Road, which gave me the opportunity to get some good photos of passing 432's 322 to Crystal Palace ( 8205) - There appeared to have been some delays on the 322, as for a 20 minute frequency two buses towards Crystal Palace turned up at once! First came MMC 8213, followed by non MMC 8205, which did provide me with a good photo opportunity to illustrate the temporary allocation the 322 currently has until the MetroCities entered service. And goodness me, this was a very interesting ride as the bus really struggled in some places! The ZF AS Tronic gearbox made matters worse. I also couldn't believe how tight some parts of the route were, particularly with parked cars on both sides of the road making things even more challenging for drivers. Their work was made even more difficult with them being warned about high bumps around the 322 route. We followed 8213 throughout the journey until we overtook it near Gipsy Hill and made it to Crystal Palace first. 157 to Selhurst Station ( T11) - My next objective was to make it to East Croydon Station in time for a ride on EL1 which was out on the 119. Initially, I was going to catch a 432 to Anerley to connect onto a train but I'd just missed one once I got to Crystal Palace. I happened to see T11 at the bus station, so went to get a photo of it since I knew it wouldn't be around for much longer. But then I realised it was about to depart Crystal Palace and could get me to Selhurst in time for a train connection to East Croydon, so it was a no brainer to catch it. Sitting next to the engine bay on a hot day however was a mistake as it got very hot pretty quickly! Traffic along the route however meant a 7 minute connection at Selhurst from bus to train quickly reduced to 2, which left me sweating both literally and metaphorically. Eventually we reached Selhurst and I had to make a run for it to make my train, which had just pulled in as I got to the platform. Southern to East Croydon (377626) 119 to Purley Way, Colonnades ( EL1) - Made it to East Croydon with a few minutes to spare and EL1 turned up as expected. I'd tried to go for a journey the previous day but unfortunately it had to return to the garage, but I wasn't so unlucky on Tuesday. My overall impression of the Electroliner was rather impressive. Whilst the Fainsa seating left something to be desired, the bus itself was very quick and the driver seemed to be enjoying driving it. It also blended in rather well with the 119's WHV's. T11 went past us on the 157 while we were waiting at the lights near Five Ways, which showed how much time it was losing. 289 to Purley Cross (ENX17) - Slow, sluggish, what you'd expect from one of the 289's ENX's really. A shame considering they have the potential to be good buses if only TH bothered to clean their filters out. Luckily, I was able to make it to Purley with plenty of time to connect with a 434. 434 to Kenley Station (189) - It had been a while since I last travelled on a 434, having been using the train more often recently due to the Class 455's being on their way out and being busy finishing my uni degree over the last four months so was good to travel on 189 again. Unfortunately, I was heading home at the same time the schools had finished, so this was very busy indeed especially once we reached Purley High Street. Walked home
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Post by Unorm on Jun 12, 2022 16:45:06 GMT
Been a while since I last made a big bus journey - over a year in fact mainly due to work and uni being extremely busy lately. That changed on Tuesday though as a free day resulted in a trip from Kensington to Kenley via South London areas such as Norwood and Crystal Palace as there were a few bus related things I'd been wanting to do round there but hadn't got round to until then, such as the 315 under Abellio as well as getting snaps of the new order on the 322 and 432. I also wanted to give Metrobus Croydon's Electroliner demo, EL1 a try on the 119. I'd started in Kensington Olympia having snapped the day's Southern Class 455 scrap move, and here's how it went: - shortened- 315 to West Norwood Station ( 8124) - Never thought I'd be wanting to do this route in a hurry, but the ex K1 batch of Enviro200's being allocated to it drew my attention to the 315 and it had been something I'd been meaning to do since last year. Initially the 13:00 departure wasn't showing on iBus, and didn't look like arriving too so I headed for a bite before I saw 8324 going past me in Balham High Street. But luckily, my bus was 8124. I'd had this plenty of times on the K1 whilst I was in college but it was the only one out of 8122-8127 that I hadn't seen since it moved to BC. Initially I was surprised it was such a short route with a 20 minute frequency for only a 30 minute trip time. I thought to myself "is the 20 minute frequency really justified for a route that serves the backstreets of Streatham and Norwood?" but it was rather busy as we got towards Streatham which was good to see. The route reminded me of the 434 in some places, particularly on the Hail and Ride section between Streatham and West Norwood. The bus had to mount the pavement at one point to squeeze past a badly parked taxi but that was done without much hassle, and was itself very good. Walked to Robson Road, which gave me the opportunity to get some good photos of passing 432's 322 to Crystal Palace ( 8205) - There appeared to have been some delays on the 322, as for a 20 minute frequency two buses towards Crystal Palace turned up at once! First came MMC 8213, followed by non MMC 8205, which did provide me with a good photo opportunity to illustrate the temporary allocation the 322 currently has until the MetroCities entered service. And goodness me, this was a very interesting ride as the bus really struggled in some places! The ZF AS Tronic gearbox made matters worse. I also couldn't believe how tight some parts of the route were, particularly with parked cars on both sides of the road making things even more challenging for drivers. Their work was made even more difficult with them being warned about high bumps around the 322 route. We followed 8213 throughout the journey until we overtook it near Gipsy Hill and made it to Crystal Palace first. - shortened - Walked home Nice to see similarities among single door routes in this corner . Streatham to West Norwood is a busy section as many go between the two towns, 315 had a parallel route at every 30 (the S11 which became P15 then died) so technically 5 buses per hour provided. Technically neither it's current frequency or size of vehicles are justified for 315 but seemingly an increase in either is asking for much. As a result, many opt to change at Tulse Hill for 201/P13 which are far more frequent combined and have far more capacity, whilst some remain to wait for the "direct" 315. Whilst Abellio still are to get to grips with 322 and it only being a full month and a bit, the 322's frequency is meant to be every 12 unless you were in the evening which is indeed every 20. I do prefer the YY15's having a less aggressive gearbox than the older YY64s but I have MMCs in addition.
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Post by Busboy105 on Jun 18, 2022 21:18:16 GMT
Heathrow T4 reopened earlier this week so headed back down to Heathrow Airport to complete it (and T5 on the Elizabeth line which I forgot to do the last time I was there)
Walked to Wood Green Station Piccadilly line- Wood Green to Hounslow East Walked to Hounslow Bus Station SP40093 (H98)- School Road to Hayes & Harlington Station (gotta take any opportunity to get an SP nowadays) 8894 (350)- Hayes & Harlington Station to Heathrow Terminal 5 (Nice speedy little route. Still carring the branding which isn't bad on single deckers. Not sure what if a country park is a necessary point to have on it but you know) Elizabeth line- Heathrow T5 to T4 via a change at T2&3 (saw some young enthusiasts taking a video of a train. Nice to see) Piccadilly line- Heathrow T4 to Heathrow T2&3 (was nice to walk through the waiting room on the way to the Station) Elizabeth line- Heathrow T2&3 to Ealing Broadway Central line- Ealing Broadway to Shepherds Bush Overground- Shepherds Bush to Highbury & Islington Victoria line- Highbury & Islington to Finsbury Park Piccadilly line- Finsbury Park to Wood Green Stopped at Creams for a sweet treat then went home.
Almost done with the Tube Map now. Only got one bit of Thameslink left and that will be done in July
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