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Post by mondraker275 on Aug 7, 2024 6:29:35 GMT
West to East By Elizabeth Line to Slough
81 / Slough – Hounslow Bus Station / Metroline / Must travel on VW (not VWH) 281 / Hounslow Bus Station – Twickenham / RATP / BYD Alexander Dennis Enviro 40EV City ‘BCE’ R70 / Twickenham – Richmond / TUK / Sample one of the new Kites 337 / Richmond – Putney / Go-Ahead / For a nice diesel SN11 plate’ ‘E’ Enviro 400 14 / Putney – Tottenham Court Road / Go-Ahead / Lucky-dip on an AF hybrid 1) The traffic in Knightsbridge will be rubbish 2) Watch out for silent, speeding cyclists at TCR when crossing Oxford Street 55 / TCR – Old Street / Stagecoach / Apologies but it’s mandatory to include at least one leg on a “New Routemaster” 135 / Old Street – Limehouse / Stagecoach / Enjoy a ride (and the moquette!) on an EvoSeti now operated by Stagecoach but reflect that in the last 3-4 years it’s operated for Tower Transit on the 452, Metroline on the 328 and Stagecoach on the 199 (using a Stagecoach ‘temporary’ fleet number 801xx) D3 / Limehouse – Leamouth / Go-Ahead / a chance to compare this BYD Alexander Dennis Enviro 20EV MMC with the TUK Kite on the R70 Walk to Canning Town Station5 / Canning Town Station – Barking Station / Go-Ahead / See if you can avoid a New Routemaster SL2 / Barking Station – Ilford Station / Arriva / Had to fit in a Super Loop journey…and a ride on Arriva 86 / Ilford Station – Romford Station / Stagecoach / A chance to compare and contrast a shiny new Electroliner with the BCE on the 281 498 / Romford Station – Brentwood High Street / Stagecoach / Blast up the A12 to finish Refreshments in the surprisingly pleasant Brentwood High Street Walk to Brentwood Station and Elizabeth Line homeA long day out but at least one ride on all six major contracted TfL companies plus a mix of Diesel / Hybrid / EV and a few interesting sights en route Looks very interesting! Perhaps I can do those routes tomorrow for my birthday 🥳 (I've done the 86 and R70s electrics already, but I am happy to go again!) Try 150 to Barkingside from Ilford and then 247 (for scenery) to Romford if you have done 86. Or even better stay on SL2 to Gants Hill and speed down to Romford with 66.
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sw2
Cleaner
Posts: 47
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Post by sw2 on Aug 7, 2024 8:18:40 GMT
SE85 (299) Victoria Road - Cockfosters station. As a regular user of the 299 it was a pleasant experience having mechanically sound vehicles on our route! 1486 (298) Cockfosters Station - Arnos Grove station HA6 (SL1) Arnos Grove Station - Kingsway North Finchley bus station was closed due to the puregym gym having water leaks into it! 601 (383) Tally Ho - Barnet Church VMSS2838 (384) Barnet Church - Cockfosters station
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Post by YX18KVJ (DLE30221) on Aug 7, 2024 22:47:18 GMT
Back from my day out no2.Tried to do as many of your requests as I could:
R68: Kew, Retail Park to Manor Circus (8225 - YX67VEH) No comment on this route, driver was fine to Manor Circus
H37: Manor Circus to Hounslow Bus Station (DXE30290 - SK68LXX) Never get bored of the huge London United sign at the rear.Bus clipped the kerb twice in St Margaret's.
81: Hounslow Bus Station to Slough (VW1387 - LK62DTU) Had to let VWH2335 go, but I didn't mind.This is probably Metroline's best VW (apart from VW1381)The Bath Road section was chef's-kiss worthy. Also got this bus back into Heathrow for the 278.
278: Sipson Way / Blunts Avenue to Ruislip Station (9526 - SN12AAY) Driver seemed to enjoy driving this, was revving all the time, and kicking away from bus stops quickly.Also like how this has the old moquette also.
114: Ruislip Station to Harrow Bus Station (VW1054 - LK10BXZ) Just had to wait for this bus, let 4 VWHs go for this.VWs really suit the route, hope to see more in the future (as well as a 24hr service and frequency increase 😁)
SL10: Harrow Bus Station to North Finchley Bus Station (BCE47117se - LG22AUF) One of the only superloop routes I actually am a fan of.Speaking of fan, the AC was not so useful today, was pretty chilly.
383: North Finchley Bus Station to High Barnet (605 - C17UNO) After waiting 22 minutes, I got on the oldest bus in service, apparently due to leave soon so I got a run on the bus.In surprisingly good condition for a 17 year old vehicle.
34: High Barnet to Crooked Billet Roundabout (HV169 - BN14VZM) Love these ex-stagecoach G3s though I am a bit iffy on the interior.Preferred the stagecoach interior, gave a nostalgic feel.Good run otherwise. Had to get off at Crooked Billet Roundabout due to road closures.
158: Waltham Park Way to Blackhorse Road Station (DW500 - LJ62BKG) Got a newer DW, and I got a decent run along Blackhorse Lane.Shame I couldn't get a HV.
123: Blackhorse Road Station / Blackhorse Lane to Ilford Station (DW473 - LJ61CDO) Bus was busy, and the driver was slow, didn't even speed up along Woodford Avenue.
SL2: Ilford Station to Barking Station (HA50 - LK66HCA) Get this route off Ilford Lane ASAP.Took close to 20 minutes to go 2 stops...
5: Barking Station to Romford, Queens Hospital (E278 - SN13CJJ) Very happy to avoid an LT and even happier that I caught a diesel.Though the routing after Barking is a bit bland.Decent run otherwise (No overrevs sadly).
498: Romford, Queens Hospital to Brentwood Sainsbury's (10305 - YY15OYW) Nice run, but there were some people in Romford who were giving me some odd looks.Thankfully they got off not long after.
Walk Brentwood High Street for a bit, then I check LVF and see 10140 coming soon, so I buy another overpriced meal deal from Sainsbury's (£3.75 😭) Eat meal while waiting for 10140 to depart
498: Brentwood Sainsbury's to Romford Station (10140 - LX12DFV) Driver wasn't messing around with this bus, thrashing out of Brentwood and barely stopped at all until Romford.
66: Romford Station to Gants Hill Station (DW220 - LJ09SUF) Had this bus pelting along Eastern Avenue with the upper deck being empty apart from me for a while.Will be back to see how the HVs do on this route.
Unfortunately I missed HA47 at Gants Hill, so I was going to take HA52, but it curtailed to South Woodford, so I waited for HA37, but then THAT also curtailed to South Woodford, so I had to hurry to catch the 123
123: High Road South Woodford to Forest Road/ Bell Corner (HV372 - LF67EVJ) Bus was much better than DW473, but still didn't reach G3 potential.Got Bell Corner thinking the 275 was coming, but it wasn't, and neither was any other bus, so I ended up walking to Bakers Arms.Narrowly catch LT on 55.
55: High Road Leyton / Bakers Arms to Tottenham Court Road Station (LT386 - LTZ1386) Bus was packed by Clapton, but the driver was trying their best to speed up when possible.Journey to TCR was OK.
14: Tottenham Court Road Station to Putney Station (EH108 - YY66OZP) No G2 was coming for a while, and I was pretty tired and hungry by this time, so I took an EH, which was good around Fulham.
Managed to get a quick to-go snack from Greggs in Putney before dashing for the 337.
337: Putney Station to Eton Street (E156 - SN11BUH) Journey was fine, driver was average, and didn't stop too much, though we picked up a lot of red lights.Had to dash for the R68 home.
R68: George Street to Kew, Retail Park (8526 - YX59BYU) In fine condition, and bus was quite nippy.
And that concludes my day out! I'm planning on doing the ones I missed another time.
Perhaps I should do a North to South as well?
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Post by borneobus on Aug 8, 2024 9:16:39 GMT
Back from my day out no2.Tried to do as many of your requests as I could: R68: Kew, Retail Park to Manor Circus (8225 - YX67VEH) No comment on this route, driver was fine to Manor Circus H37: Manor Circus to Hounslow Bus Station (DXE30290 - SK68LXX) Never get bored of the huge London United sign at the rear.Bus clipped the kerb twice in St Margaret's. 81: Hounslow Bus Station to Slough (VW1387 - LK62DTU) Had to let VWH2335 go, but I didn't mind.This is probably Metroline's best VW (apart from VW1381)The Bath Road section was chef's-kiss worthy. Also got this bus back into Heathrow for the 278. 278: Sipson Way / Blunts Avenue to Ruislip Station (9526 - SN12AAY) Driver seemed to enjoy driving this, was revving all the time, and kicking away from bus stops quickly.Also like how this has the old moquette also. 114: Ruislip Station to Harrow Bus Station (VW1054 - LK10BXZ) Just had to wait for this bus, let 4 VWHs go for this.VWs really suit the route, hope to see more in the future (as well as a 24hr service and frequency increase 😁) SL10: Harrow Bus Station to North Finchley Bus Station (BCE47117se - LG22AUF) One of the only superloop routes I actually am a fan of.Speaking of fan, the AC was not so useful today, was pretty chilly. 383: North Finchley Bus Station to High Barnet (605 - C17UNO) After waiting 22 minutes, I got on the oldest bus in service, apparently due to leave soon so I got a run on the bus.In surprisingly good condition for a 17 year old vehicle. 34: High Barnet to Crooked Billet Roundabout (HV169 - BN14VZM) Love these ex-stagecoach G3s though I am a bit iffy on the interior.Preferred the stagecoach interior, gave a nostalgic feel.Good run otherwise. Had to get off at Crooked Billet Roundabout due to road closures. 158: Waltham Park Way to Blackhorse Road Station (DW500 - LJ62BKG) Got a newer DW, and I got a decent run along Blackhorse Lane.Shame I couldn't get a HV. 123: Blackhorse Road Station / Blackhorse Lane to Ilford Station (DW473 - LJ61CDO) Bus was busy, and the driver was slow, didn't even speed up along Woodford Avenue. SL2: Ilford Station to Barking Station (HA50 - LK66HCA) Get this route off Ilford Lane ASAP.Took close to 20 minutes to go 2 stops... 5: Barking Station to Romford, Queens Hospital (E278 - SN13CJJ) Very happy to avoid an LT and even happier that I caught a diesel.Though the routing after Barking is a bit bland.Decent run otherwise (No overrevs sadly). 498: Romford, Queens Hospital to Brentwood Sainsbury's (10305 - YY15OYW) Nice run, but there were some people in Romford who were giving me some odd looks.Thankfully they got off not long after. Walk Brentwood High Street for a bit, then I check LVF and see 10140 coming soon, so I buy another overpriced meal deal from Sainsbury's (£3.75 😭) Eat meal while waiting for 10140 to depart 498: Brentwood Sainsbury's to Romford Station (10140 - LX12DFV) Driver wasn't messing around with this bus, thrashing out of Brentwood and barely stopped at all until Romford. 66: Romford Station to Gants Hill Station (DW220 - LJ09SUF) Had this bus pelting along Eastern Avenue with the upper deck being empty apart from me for a while.Will be back to see how the HVs do on this route. Unfortunately I missed HA47 at Gants Hill, so I was going to take HA52, but it curtailed to South Woodford, so I waited for HA37, but then THAT also curtailed to South Woodford, so I had to hurry to catch the 123 123: High Road South Woodford to Forest Road/ Bell Corner (HV372 - LF67EVJ) Bus was much better than DW473, but still didn't reach G3 potential.Got Bell Corner thinking the 275 was coming, but it wasn't, and neither was any other bus, so I ended up walking to Bakers Arms.Narrowly catch LT on 55. 55: High Road Leyton / Bakers Arms to Tottenham Court Road Station (LT386 - LTZ1386) Bus was packed by Clapton, but the driver was trying their best to speed up when possible.Journey to TCR was OK. 14: Tottenham Court Road Station to Putney Station (EH108 - YY66OZP) No G2 was coming for a while, and I was pretty tired and hungry by this time, so I took an EH, which was good around Fulham. Managed to get a quick to-go snack from Greggs in Putney before dashing for the 337. 337: Putney Station to Eton Street (E156 - SN11BUH) Journey was fine, driver was average, and didn't stop too much, though we picked up a lot of red lights.Had to dash for the R68 home. R68: George Street to Kew, Retail Park (8526 - YX59BYU) In fine condition, and bus was quite nippy. And that concludes my day out! I'm planning on doing the ones I missed another time. Perhaps I should do a North to South as well? Wow, that's a full-on day - bravo(!) and quite envious of the =VW on the 114. Out of interest, are you ticking off end2end routes??
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Post by YX18KVJ (DLE30221) on Aug 8, 2024 11:59:05 GMT
Back from my day out no2.Tried to do as many of your requests as I could: R68: Kew, Retail Park to Manor Circus (8225 - YX67VEH) No comment on this route, driver was fine to Manor Circus H37: Manor Circus to Hounslow Bus Station (DXE30290 - SK68LXX) Never get bored of the huge London United sign at the rear.Bus clipped the kerb twice in St Margaret's. 81: Hounslow Bus Station to Slough (VW1387 - LK62DTU) Had to let VWH2335 go, but I didn't mind.This is probably Metroline's best VW (apart from VW1381)The Bath Road section was chef's-kiss worthy. Also got this bus back into Heathrow for the 278. 278: Sipson Way / Blunts Avenue to Ruislip Station (9526 - SN12AAY) Driver seemed to enjoy driving this, was revving all the time, and kicking away from bus stops quickly.Also like how this has the old moquette also. 114: Ruislip Station to Harrow Bus Station (VW1054 - LK10BXZ) Just had to wait for this bus, let 4 VWHs go for this.VWs really suit the route, hope to see more in the future (as well as a 24hr service and frequency increase 😁) SL10: Harrow Bus Station to North Finchley Bus Station (BCE47117se - LG22AUF) One of the only superloop routes I actually am a fan of.Speaking of fan, the AC was not so useful today, was pretty chilly. 383: North Finchley Bus Station to High Barnet (605 - C17UNO) After waiting 22 minutes, I got on the oldest bus in service, apparently due to leave soon so I got a run on the bus.In surprisingly good condition for a 17 year old vehicle. 34: High Barnet to Crooked Billet Roundabout (HV169 - BN14VZM) Love these ex-stagecoach G3s though I am a bit iffy on the interior.Preferred the stagecoach interior, gave a nostalgic feel.Good run otherwise. Had to get off at Crooked Billet Roundabout due to road closures. 158: Waltham Park Way to Blackhorse Road Station (DW500 - LJ62BKG) Got a newer DW, and I got a decent run along Blackhorse Lane.Shame I couldn't get a HV. 123: Blackhorse Road Station / Blackhorse Lane to Ilford Station (DW473 - LJ61CDO) Bus was busy, and the driver was slow, didn't even speed up along Woodford Avenue. SL2: Ilford Station to Barking Station (HA50 - LK66HCA) Get this route off Ilford Lane ASAP.Took close to 20 minutes to go 2 stops... 5: Barking Station to Romford, Queens Hospital (E278 - SN13CJJ) Very happy to avoid an LT and even happier that I caught a diesel.Though the routing after Barking is a bit bland.Decent run otherwise (No overrevs sadly). 498: Romford, Queens Hospital to Brentwood Sainsbury's (10305 - YY15OYW) Nice run, but there were some people in Romford who were giving me some odd looks.Thankfully they got off not long after. Walk Brentwood High Street for a bit, then I check LVF and see 10140 coming soon, so I buy another overpriced meal deal from Sainsbury's (£3.75 😭) Eat meal while waiting for 10140 to depart 498: Brentwood Sainsbury's to Romford Station (10140 - LX12DFV) Driver wasn't messing around with this bus, thrashing out of Brentwood and barely stopped at all until Romford. 66: Romford Station to Gants Hill Station (DW220 - LJ09SUF) Had this bus pelting along Eastern Avenue with the upper deck being empty apart from me for a while.Will be back to see how the HVs do on this route. Unfortunately I missed HA47 at Gants Hill, so I was going to take HA52, but it curtailed to South Woodford, so I waited for HA37, but then THAT also curtailed to South Woodford, so I had to hurry to catch the 123 123: High Road South Woodford to Forest Road/ Bell Corner (HV372 - LF67EVJ) Bus was much better than DW473, but still didn't reach G3 potential.Got Bell Corner thinking the 275 was coming, but it wasn't, and neither was any other bus, so I ended up walking to Bakers Arms.Narrowly catch LT on 55. 55: High Road Leyton / Bakers Arms to Tottenham Court Road Station (LT386 - LTZ1386) Bus was packed by Clapton, but the driver was trying their best to speed up when possible.Journey to TCR was OK. 14: Tottenham Court Road Station to Putney Station (EH108 - YY66OZP) No G2 was coming for a while, and I was pretty tired and hungry by this time, so I took an EH, which was good around Fulham. Managed to get a quick to-go snack from Greggs in Putney before dashing for the 337. 337: Putney Station to Eton Street (E156 - SN11BUH) Journey was fine, driver was average, and didn't stop too much, though we picked up a lot of red lights.Had to dash for the R68 home. R68: George Street to Kew, Retail Park (8526 - YX59BYU) In fine condition, and bus was quite nippy. And that concludes my day out! I'm planning on doing the ones I missed another time. Perhaps I should do a North to South as well? Wow, that's a full-on day - bravo(!) and quite envious of the =VW on the 114. Out of interest, are you ticking off end2end routes?? I'm planning on doing e2e journeys next month.
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Post by borneobus on Aug 8, 2024 13:15:55 GMT
Perhaps I should do a North to South as well? Less convoluted than the 'West to East' to fit in half-a-dozen e2es. 298 / Potters Bar – Cockfosters / uno / Sample a former Sullivan route I 299 / Cockfosters – Muswell Hill Broadway / Go-Ahead / Sample a former Sullivan route II / e2e Elevenses in ‘Roni’s’ (facing 144/299/W7 park-up)
W7 / Muswell Hill Broadway – Finsbury Park Station / Metroline / Try out a Metroline Electroliner / e2e Walk underneath the railway lines to FP Interchange
153 / Finsbury Park Interchange – Liverpool Street Station / Go-Ahead / SEe / e2e 344 / Liverpool Street Station – Clapham Junction Station / TUK / Enviro 400H / e2e / Walk to Northcote Road
337 / Northcote Road [Clapham] – Richmond Bus Station / Go-Ahead / ‘E’ / e2e 65 / Richmond – Kingston / RATP / BCE 465 / Kingston - Dorking / TUK / Enviro 200 / Enviro 200 MMC / e2e ...a different way back to 'London'...and a 7th e2e
GWR / Dorking (Deepdene) (DPD) - Redhill (RDH) 405 / Redhill Bus Station - Park Street / Arriva / Enviro 400H / e2e Walk to East Croydon Station and home
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Post by YX18KVJ (DLE30221) on Aug 8, 2024 14:15:51 GMT
Perhaps I should do a North to South as well? Less convoluted than the 'West to East' to fit in half-a-dozen e2es. 298 / Potters Bar – Cockfosters / uno / Sample a former Sullivan route I 299 / Cockfosters – Muswell Hill Broadway / Go-Ahead / Sample a former Sullivan route II / e2e Elevenses in ‘Roni’s’ (facing 144/299/W7 park-up)
W7 / Muswell Hill Broadway – Finsbury Park Station / Metroline / Try out a Metroline Electroliner / e2e Walk underneath the railway lines to FP Interchange
153 / Finsbury Park Interchange – Liverpool Street Station / Go-Ahead / SEe / e2e 344 / Liverpool Street Station – Clapham Junction Station / TUK / Enviro 400H / e2e / Walk to Northcote Road
337 / Northcote Road [Clapham] – Richmond Bus Station / Go-Ahead / ‘E’ / e2e 65 / Richmond – Kingston / RATP / BCE 465 / Kingston - Dorking / TUK / Enviro 200 / Enviro 200 MMC / e2e ...a different way back to 'London'...and a 7th e2e
GWR / Dorking (Deepdene) (DPD) - Redhill (RDH) 405 / Redhill Bus Station - Park Street / Arriva / Enviro 400H / e2e Walk to East Croydon Station and homeI was going to hold off the 298 until whatever buses it will use arrive, though I won't say no to a scania if I can catch it! I'll see when I can do those routes, then I'll focus on e2e.
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Post by YX18KVJ (DLE30221) on Aug 12, 2024 22:31:13 GMT
I'm planning on doing e2e journeys next month.[/quote]
About that... I decided to start early, so I have ticked off the 9, 29, 94, 113, and 221.
Walk to Mortlake Cemetery for 533. 533: Mortlake Cemetery to Hammersmith Bus Station (SE297 - YW19VSM) Nice and quick does the trick, as the 533 most nicely demonstrated.Like the nonstop section also.
Walk to Upper Bus Station for the 9
9: Hammersmith Bus Station to Aldwych / Drury Lane (LT116 - LTZ1116) As I'm sure most people know, there are AC issues with LTs, and on a day like this, taking an LT was a bad decision.The bus was packed by Kensington Olympia too, TFL really should reintroduce the 10, or bump the 9s frequency.Driver also took me to the stands, very annoying as I needed slightly colder air.
Walk to TSQ for the 29.
29: Trafalgar Square / Charing Cross Station to Wood Green Station (HV114 - LJ13FCG) Again, bus was packed by Warren Street.AC not working properly on this bus either, and I was desperate for cool air.I enjoyed the route after Finsbury Park though.
Walk from Wood Green to TPL and stop at Subway for lunch.
221: Turnpike Lane Bus Station to Edgware Station (HV207 - LK66HCO) Fuming at the fact this bus didn't have good AC also, and we hit a spot of traffic at Hobart Corner.Otherwise, journey was fine.
113: Edgware Station to Marble Arch Station (VMH2495 - LK18AJY) Highly recommend the 113 to anyone who has not ridden it before.We definitely hit 50mph at Bunns Lane Bridge, and we were practically flying on this bus, got to Marble Arch in no time.Also a working AC on this bus 🥳
Take 94 to Piccadilly Circus, then back to Acton Green(BCE47013 - LB69JOU) Very busy, though the driver was fine.AC was good on this bus too.
Walk from Acton Green to Turnham Green Church for 110 home (DLE30005 - SN60EBD) No comment on 110, but I'm glad to have got a ride on the outgoing DLEs at AV.I will always remember seeing them on the H98.
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Post by YX18KVJ (DLE30221) on Aug 13, 2024 21:45:11 GMT
Went out again today and ticked off 4 more routes (79, 107, 34, SL2)
Buses I was on today: 79: Stonebridge Park Station to Edgware Station (ADH45259 - YY67UUP) Got to Edgware in no time, very good driver here.Though the new section is not that busy.Perhaps extending the 83 would have been better?
107: Edgware Station to New Barnet Station (and back to Barnet Church) (VWH2013 - LK14FBG) Driver was average, notging special about this ride.
34: Barnet High Street / Barnet Church to Walthamstow Central Station (HV180 - BJ14KSY) Today's fast run, driver was as good as (if not better than) the 113 yesterday.We were overtaken by 2 SL1s too, once at Palmers Green (during a quick driver change) and again at Bell Corner.
SL2: Walthamstow Central Station to North Woolwich Ferry (HA47 - LK66HBX) Was very happy to see HA47 waiting for me in Walthamstow, and am also happy to see it maintain its high thrash standards along Woodford and Gallions Reach.
Walk to Woolwich Station via Foot Tunnel. Elizabeth Line to Ealing Broadway 65: Ealing Broadway Centre to Mortlake Road (BCE47076 - LG71DYW) Was lucky to get a bus on such an atrociously run route.Good I caught this as the next one was in 16 minutes.
Taking a break tomorrow, then back on Thursday for 5 more!
So now I have done: 9, 29, 34, 79, 94, 107, 113, 221, SL2
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Post by MetrolineGA1511 on Aug 17, 2024 3:44:09 GMT
I was back in London on Tuesday & Wednesday to see to my brother's flat again. The routes I rode, with types clarified where ambiguous or unexpected, were as follows :-
7 (frogface VWH), 30, 70, 94, 95, 207 (classic E400), 237 (VWH ex Tower Transit), 272, 440, E3 (frogface VH) and .... wait for it .... N9! As I woke up early, I checked buses and made a head start from my hotel towards his flat, then had breakfast, and arrived a bit earlier than had I just waited and had breakfast first.
My LT on route N9, LT749, was on route H91 later that morning. I saw several VWHs on that route. I also saw a DLE on route 440 at the Turnham Green bus stand, behind the usual DME.
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Post by Busboy105 on Aug 17, 2024 21:07:42 GMT
Did some more Southeastern today. Focused on 2 out of the three Dartford routes: Cannon Street and Charing Cross (the 1tph one)
HV227 (221)- Cline Road to Whitmore Close Walked to New Southgate Station Great Northern- New Southgate to Moorgate Northern line- Moorgate to Bank District line- Bank to Cannon Street Southeastern- Cannon Street to Dartford then to Charing Cross OME46023 (23)- Charing Cross Station to Marble Arch/Edgware Road LT762 (390)- Marble Arch/Edgware Road to Warren Street Station Northern line- Warren Street to Brent Cross TEH1234 (210)- Brent Cross Station to Brent Cross Shopping Centre stopped at Brent Cross to collect an item from John Lewis then headed home HV174 (102)- Brent Cross Shopping Centre to Woodfield Way walked home
Got two more left (the Hayes line and the Dartford- Charing Cross via Sidcup) which I'll do next month as long as some changes don't pop up out of nowhere
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Post by DE20106 on Aug 19, 2024 21:10:59 GMT
Very fulfilling day all over London yesterday First thing I did was take a ride up to Willesden Green with a 460 over to the bus garage, to take a route which I last used 7 years ago. 297 VW1270 > VW1283 - Willesden, Bus Garage to Ealing Broadway E2EI have no idea what drew me over to this route, it’s been over seven years since I last took a trip on the 297. I remember it being incredibly slow (trundled from Wembley to Ealing), bleak and boring, and back then I had an SEL which I absolutely hated, so it was probably a case of me wanting to give it another chance on a decent bus. Plus I have a bit of an obsession with Gemini 2’s at the moment, which the 297 sees an abundance of. Also in a nerdy and abstract way, I like the number 297. Me and my wonderful partner’s anniversary is on the 29/7, so ever since we got together I’ve always seen route 297 as my anniversary bus 😂 maybe that’s also what drew me over to it. Having done a Maths degree I do see very weird significances numbers 😂 From my first time of taking it in 2017, one of the most interesting things I remember about it is how little it’s paralleled by other routes. It’s a long wolf for a huge amount of its journey so no surprise it has quite high usage and it must be a lifeline to a lot of people Unfortunately the route really was as bleak as I remember it. If anyone wants to go on a tour of the London borough of Brent, this certainly isn’t the route to do it on. It certainly doesn’t show its best side, and that putting it politely. I honestly can’t think of one redeeming feature about this route, except from the gorgeous Hindu Temple on the Ealing Road. Quite an entertaining E2E though. We actually had two buses, first one was VW1270 where the blinds weren’t working. It was set to Special Service with the Metroline logo at the front and rear, and had ‘245 to Golders Green’ on the side 😂 with no card on the dashboard indicating it was a 297. Cue total confusion when we rolled into nearly every stop, with everyone screwing their faces up in confusion looking at it trying to figure out what route it was, the driver stopped at every stop and yelled ‘297’ at the top of his voice. However when we got to Alperton Sainsbury’s (where Metroline’s Alperton garage is) we all got turfed off and put onto VW1283 which was replacing it, where VW1270 was taken out of service because of the blind issue. TUK take notice of that …… good to see take Metroline take their bus blinding pretty seriously. Unfortunately with its really bleak routing, the 297 very much remains in the bottom 10 of my least favourite routes. 65 BCE47076 - Ealing Broadway to RichmondI strategically went to Ealing Broadway to figure out my next moves … I wanted to track down some of the SN10 E200’s, which can appear on loads of Hounslow AV routes and Ealing is a good place to get to any of them where they might be running. Unfortunately only three of AV’s SN10s were out on Sunday, but they were all on the 419 so easy to track them down. So it was a dash over to Richmond on the 65, where mercifully the journey was fairly brisk being a Sunday morning. Although we did get regulated just before Richmond Station for SIX minutes due to pulling out a 16 minute gap between us and the 65 behind. Nothing new there then even on a Sunday morning 🙄 however the 65 really is a route you forget how awesome it is until you ride it and remember, when you’re not stuck in traffic that is. It definitely seemed the ISA was disabled too 😈 419 DE20097/100/108 - Richmond to Roehampton E2E
So here I went parading up and down the 419 until an oncoming SN10 came to change over to, took three in total. DE20097 to Richmond to Barnes Bridge Stn, DE20108 back from Barnes Bridge in back to Manor Circus, and then DE20100 from Manor Circus all the way to Roehampton. By far my favourite batch of Enviro200 these, except from the 11-reg batch of old C10 vehicles which are no longer in London service. And also I’m pretty sure have not much time left with the 419 renewing soon with MMCs, so had to find these when they were out. I LOVED these buses on the C1, I went on so many of them back in the early 2010’s when they were new, and to think they’re now more than 14 years old is sickening 😭 these buses really represent the C1’s heyday, it used to be such a busy and well used route when these were on it. Always packed and was an extremely successful route. Now with its electric its loadings are nowhere near the same. I guess the ever worsening traffic in Central London has made it far less attractive to use. DE20105 and DE20106 are my favourite in this batch and I’m GUTTED they weren’t out. ‘105 just wasn’t used on Sunday and ‘106 seems to be VOR last used on the 12th. I really fear this is the end now for DE20106 and I’ve been too late in trying to find it. If anyone knows its whereabouts of if it’s coming back let me know. I’m desperate to go on these two buses before they go. 170 SE201 - Roehampton to Clapham JunctionThe 419 finishing in Roehampton gave me a nice easy link up to Clapham Junction in the form of the 170, where I had another mission for the day: to track down some of TUK’s newly refurbished E400 MMCs. Unsurprisingly just like pretty much every 170 this bus was PACKED. In fact it was packed from just a few stops in at Medfield Street all the way to CJ. Honestly TfL cutting this route really is one of the most stupid things they’ve done. 156 on 2542, 344 on 2550 and 345 on 2523.
It took me 3 attempts to find a refurbished one. Even though 2542 and 2550 had had new screen retrofitted, alas they weren’t refurbished. The only two I knew where for definite was 2523 and 2546. But 2546 wasn’t out on Sunday. Luckily I saw 2523 was rapidly approaching Clapham Junction just as I took got to Battersea Power Station on the 156, so it was a quick scoot round on 2550 which I’d had hoped was refurbished (but wasn’t) and got third time lucky with 2523 where I was able to take some snaps of it by the time we got to the end at South Kensington Next over to a route which I also hadn’t used for over seven years, and even then only used a small section of 488 37563 - Bow Church to Dalston Junction E2E
Fairly bland, suburban route this one, not much to talk about. Other than by going on this I’d realised in all my years of travelling, I’ve NEVER been to Homerton or Dalston, which looking back is actually crazy. Dalston is actually a really trendy cool, busy and bustling area and will definitely be going back, reminded me of Camden Town in quite a few ways 277 12419 - Dalston Junction to Crossharbour E2EAgain, despite being one of my most used routes in London, I had never gone past Victoria Park on the 277 up to Dalston, so thought it was high time I finally did an E2E on it. The 277 is one of my very favourite routes in London, and imo one of the best to do an E2E on, it really shows the best of East London imo. Also the E400 MMCs are a fantastic batch of vehicles and really suit this route, I’ll be gutted to see them move on but at the same time I can’t WAIT to see the BZL’s go on this route. They will be EPIC on the 277 I just know it Very impressed I managed to track down loads of buses yesterday I wanted yesterday (except from DE20105 and DE20106 grrrrr), and did four E2Es in the process. Don’t think I’ve ever done 4 in a day before!!!
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Post by Busboy105 on Aug 19, 2024 22:56:27 GMT
Funny that the previous post mentioned the BZLs which is exactly what I did today.
HV90 (102)- Bounds Green station to Angel Corner/Silver Street Station HV262 (34)- Angel Corner/Silver Street Station to Walthamstow Central Station Then came the wait for a BZL. It was scheduled to arrive at Walthamstow at 1536 and to leave at 1552 but ended up leaving well over 4pm because of a broken down bus at the top of Selborne Road causing delays for buses going in and out of the bus station.
86189 (58)- Walthamstow Central Station to Upton Park/Boleyn (enjoyed the ride. Bumped my head on the way in which is never a good sign but overall very nice. 8/10. Also noticed there's a little iBus screen just above the exit doors as well.) 16984 (58)- Upton Park/Boleyn to East Ham/Central Park (completed the rest of the 58 after being dumped at the now long gone Boleyn Ground) EH26 (115)- East Ham/Central Park to Aldgate Station LT238 (254)- Aldgate Station to Manor House Station Walked to Manor House Station Piccadilly line- Manor House to Wood Green Stopped at a relatives house then headed home
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Post by borneobus on Aug 20, 2024 2:25:21 GMT
Very fulfilling day all over London yesterday First thing I did was take a ride up to Willesden Green with a 460 over to the bus garage, to take a route which I last used 7 years ago. 297 VW1270 > VW1283 - Willesden, Bus Garage to Ealing Broadway E2EI have no idea what drew me over to this route, it’s been over seven years since I last took a trip on the 297. I remember it being incredibly slow (trundled from Wembley to Ealing), bleak and boring, and back then I had an SEL which I absolutely hated, so it was probably a case of me wanting to give it another chance on a decent bus. Plus I have a bit of an obsession with Gemini 2’s at the moment, which the 297 sees an abundance of. Also in a nerdy and abstract way, I like the number 297. Me and my wonderful partner’s anniversary is on the 29/7, so ever since we got together I’ve always seen route 297 as my anniversary bus 😂 maybe that’s also what drew me over to it. Having done a Maths degree I do see very weird significances numbers 😂 From my first time of taking it in 2017, one of the most interesting things I remember about it is how little it’s paralleled by other routes. It’s a long wolf for a huge amount of its journey so no surprise it has quite high usage and it must be a lifeline to a lot of people Unfortunately the route really was as bleak as I remember it. If anyone wants to go on a tour of the London borough of Brent, this certainly isn’t the route to do it on. It certainly doesn’t show its best side, and that putting it politely. I honestly can’t think of one redeeming feature about this route, except from the gorgeous Hindu Temple on the Ealing Road. Quite an entertaining E2E though. We actually had two buses, first one was VW1270 where the blinds weren’t working. It was set to Special Service with the Metroline logo at the front and rear, and had ‘245 to Golders Green’ on the side 😂 with no card on the dashboard indicating it was a 297. Cue total confusion when we rolled into nearly every stop, with everyone screwing their faces up in confusion looking at it trying to figure out what route it was, the driver stopped at every stop and yelled ‘297’ at the top of his voice. However when we got to Alperton Sainsbury’s (where Metroline’s Alperton garage is) we all got turfed off and put onto VW1283 which was replacing it, where VW1270 was taken out of service because of the blind issue. TUK take notice of that …… good to see take Metroline take their bus blinding pretty seriously. Unfortunately with its really bleak routing, the 297 very much remains in the bottom 10 of my least favourite routes. 65 BCE47076 - Ealing Broadway to RichmondI strategically went to Ealing Broadway to figure out my next moves … I wanted to track down some of the SN10 E200’s, which can appear on loads of Hounslow AV routes and Ealing is a good place to get to any of them where they might be running. Unfortunately only three of AV’s SN10s were out on Sunday, but they were all on the 419 so easy to track them down. So it was a dash over to Richmond on the 65, where mercifully the journey was fairly brisk being a Sunday morning. Although we did get regulated just before Richmond Station for SIX minutes due to pulling out a 16 minute gap between us and the 65 behind. Nothing new there then even on a Sunday morning 🙄 however the 65 really is a route you forget how awesome it is until you ride it and remember, when you’re not stuck in traffic that is. It definitely seemed the ISA was disabled too 😈 419 DE20097/100/108 - Richmond to Roehampton E2E
So here I went parading up and down the 419 until an oncoming SN10 came to change over to, took three in total. DE20097 to Richmond to Barnes Bridge Stn, DE20108 back from Barnes Bridge in back to Manor Circus, and then DE20100 from Manor Circus all the way to Roehampton. By far my favourite batch of Enviro200 these, except from the 11-reg batch of old C10 vehicles which are no longer in London service. And also I’m pretty sure have not much time left with the 419 renewing soon with MMCs, so had to find these when they were out. I LOVED these buses on the C1, I went on so many of them back in the early 2010’s when they were new, and to think they’re now more than 14 years old is sickening 😭 these buses really represent the C1’s heyday, it used to be such a busy and well used route when these were on it. Always packed and was an extremely successful route. Now with its electric its loadings are nowhere near the same. I guess the ever worsening traffic in Central London has made it far less attractive to use. DE20105 and DE20106 are my favourite in this batch and I’m GUTTED they weren’t out. ‘105 just wasn’t used on Sunday and ‘106 seems to be VOR last used on the 12th. I really fear this is the end now for DE20106 and I’ve been too late in trying to find it. If anyone knows its whereabouts of if it’s coming back let me know. I’m desperate to go on these two buses before they go. 170 SE201 - Roehampton to Clapham JunctionThe 419 finishing in Roehampton gave me a nice easy link up to Clapham Junction in the form of the 170, where I had another mission for the day: to track down some of TUK’s newly refurbished E400 MMCs. Unsurprisingly just like pretty much every 170 this bus was PACKED. In fact it was packed from just a few stops in at Medfield Street all the way to CJ. Honestly TfL cutting this route really is one of the most stupid things they’ve done. 156 on 2542, 344 on 2550 and 345 on 2523.
It took me 3 attempts to find a refurbished one. Even though 2542 and 2550 had had new screen retrofitted, alas they weren’t refurbished. The only two I knew where for definite was 2523 and 2546. But 2546 wasn’t out on Sunday. Luckily I saw 2523 was rapidly approaching Clapham Junction just as I took got to Battersea Power Station on the 156, so it was a quick scoot round on 2550 which I’d had hoped was refurbished (but wasn’t) and got third time lucky with 2523 where I was able to take some snaps of it by the time we got to the end at South Kensington Next over to a route which I also hadn’t used for over seven years, and even then only used a small section of 488 37563 - Bow Church to Dalston Junction E2E
Fairly bland, suburban route this one, not much to talk about. Other than by going on this I’d realised in all my years of travelling, I’ve NEVER been to Homerton or Dalston, which looking back is actually crazy. Dalston is actually a really trendy cool, busy and bustling area and will definitely be going back, reminded me of Camden Town in quite a few ways 277 12419 - Dalston Junction to Crossharbour E2EAgain, despite being one of my most used routes in London, I had never gone past Victoria Park on the 277 up to Dalston, so thought it was high time I finally did an E2E on it. The 277 is one of my very favourite routes in London, and imo one of the best to do an E2E on, it really shows the best of East London imo. Also the E400 MMCs are a fantastic batch of vehicles and really suit this route, I’ll be gutted to see them move on but at the same time I can’t WAIT to see the BZL’s go on this route. They will be EPIC on the 277 I just know it Very impressed I managed to track down loads of buses yesterday I wanted yesterday (except from DE20105 and DE20106 grrrrr), and did four E2Es in the process. Don’t think I’ve ever done 4 in a day before!!! Great report, regarding the 297 my default is that any e2e that routes via Wembley Central will be grim; so am pleasantly surprised if they aren't. Agreed that Willesden Garage to Wembley Central isn't the greatest but Horsenden Lane South down past Perivale LU and then of course the run in to Ealing south of the A40 is very pleasant. I'm not a regular on the 170 but when I've used the bus on Sundays it's been rammed all the way to Victoria. Until quite recently I'd rarely been to Hackney / Dalston, and never to Homerton but that's changed as a result of visiting the many LO stations in the area together with a few e2e I've discovered I really appreciate the character of the area and on the list to explore more on foot in the future. Finally, I'll take the mention of the 277 as a reminder to self to undertake an e2e before the route goes EV! By way of an experiment, here's a picture of Enviro 400H 12139 working the 56 in Dalston in August 2021 (note the great street mural).
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Post by Busboy105 on Aug 22, 2024 18:47:33 GMT
Did my penultimate Southeastern route today: the Hayes line. Done Charing X to Elmers End already so had a small part of it left.
T144 (PL5)- Bounds Green station to Wood Green Station Piccadilly line- Wood Green to Finsbury Park Victoria line- Finsbury Park to Victoria Southeastern- Victoria to Kent House MEC53- (358)- Kent House Station to Eden Park Avenue Walked to Elmers End station and just about caught the train as passengers were leaving Southeastern- Elmers End to Hayes 36299 (314)- Hayes Station to Eltham Bus Station Walked to Eltham Station Southeastern- Eltham to Kidbrooke HV44 (335)- Kidbrooke Park Road/Audi Store to North Greenwich Station Jubilee line- North Greenwich to London Bridge Northern line- London Bridge to King's Cross St Pancras Victoria line- King's Cross St Pancras to Finsbury Park Piccadilly line- Finsbury Park to Wood Green HV226 (221)- Wood Green station to Cline Road Walked home
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