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Post by sid on Dec 16, 2016 9:45:14 GMT
Please don't take this the wrong way but do you never go home?  I'm amazed you've done that many night bus routes to what I guess is their full extent. You seem to be "on the buses" at all hours of the day and night. Go home to what, arguments, complaining, blackmail, being forced to pick sides and drama worse than EastEnders? That's how life with my selfish Parents looked like, and no wonder I preferred to spend whole days on buses than anywhere near them! Yes I've done all N-routes end-to-end now. Awake too (few redo-s were necessary lol) Now I live alone… And guess what? I'm at home, this week I only went on buses yesterday!  Sounds like typical family life to me  ! Clearly you've got some stamina, maybe in my younger days I'd have attempted all the N routes? That's quite an achievment  ! |
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Post by 6HP502C on Dec 16, 2016 14:22:56 GMT
I can certainly empathise with bus riding being a passive way of avoiding being at home. If home isn't a place where you can lounge in comfort and relax without distraction, it can actually be preferable to go on a capricious bus or train ride. Despite being in public, you can be in your own bubble on the buses.
If you're fortunate enough to move into your own space/share with a good mate, kit out your bedroom so it's as comfy as a 5* hotel room and be free of restrictions, the bricks and mortar becomes a home that you actually look forward to going to every night.
It's a pity the Ladies Who Bus didn't bother with the night routes. You certainly see some sights. I like reading people's stories of what they have experienced on them, in terms of other passenger's conversations, altercations, driver personalities and driving styles. Far more interesting than the orchestrated rubbish in "The Night Bus".
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Post by lazy_eye_metaphor on Dec 17, 2016 18:30:49 GMT
Green Line 704 to Tunbridge Wells. 410 from Bromley North to Reigate. Sorry I'm just dreaming again! Dream on!! Gosh I'm not that old ! My cherished memories of those routes are from the 70s - RPs and AFs . |
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Post by John tuthill on Dec 17, 2016 18:55:20 GMT
Dream on!! Gosh I'm not that old ! My cherished memories of those routes are from the 70s - RPs and AFs . Ooops Maybe these images from 'Ian's Bus Stop' might help you? Attachment DeletedAttachment Deleted |
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Post by l1group on Dec 18, 2016 6:46:27 GMT
Must be mad, but I've often thought the 111 is a good route to do! Long, fast sections (Cranford-Heathrow & Hampton-Kingston) and sections that are a bit more demanding of a driver (Nurseylands) Get a good driver on a 222 and you can get a pretty lively journey. As some have already mentioned, get a late running 607 heading towards Uxbridge, almost guaranteed some outside lane overtaking after Southall! Another I like is the H91 getting cained along the Great West Road, whilst the SP's are great, it was much better in the days of M's, LLW's and the euro_2 DP's. CHILDHOOD. Meeeee! Anyway, after I've dealt with the 111 with Euro 2/3 stuff (and SP1-15), and the H91 with everything from HH, erm... The only thing left to say is the N9 for me. N9 is a pretty fast route (faster than the actual night Piccadilly line at times!). If you like SPs, 111, H91 and N9. If you don't, wait until a non-SP does the routes. Still, they are pretty darn good. If the N207 does move to UX without the SNs (I feel they are too worn out and will vibrate my bones(!)), that's probably a definite ride for me! Honestly though, if you have a night bus that decides to need to go pretty quick with tighter timings, they are definitely a good ride. I've even had a BYD "thrash" on the N98  (a not-common move by me, but was covering BYDs w/a human). Non-TfL, I still have a few to pop up: X1 (NXWM) is a decent route with pretty fast sections. The contrast through urban-rural-urban between Coventry and Birmingham is pretty notable. 82 (Diamond), when with a Citaro, can be brilliant. With a Versa - depends on if you like a very worn out Versa. Trentbarton - everything branded, except indigo. Although I still have quite a few routes to do still! Skylink Derby-Leicester (kinchbus) - that is a pretty good route too. |
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Post by enviroPB on Dec 18, 2016 12:49:32 GMT
I can certainly empathise with bus riding being a passive way of avoiding being at home. If home isn't a place where you can lounge in comfort and relax without distraction, it can actually be preferable to go on a capricious bus or train ride. Despite being in public, you can be in your own bubble on the buses. If you're fortunate enough to move into your own space/share with a good mate, kit out your bedroom so it's as comfy as a 5* hotel room and be free of restrictions, the bricks and mortar becomes a home that you actually look forward to going to every night. It's a pity the Ladies Who Bus didn't bother with the night routes. You certainly see some sights. I like reading people's stories of what they have experienced on them, in terms of other passenger's conversations, altercations, driver personalities and driving styles. Far more interesting than the orchestrated rubbish in "The Night Bus". However, the Night Bus episode of the Crossrail: the £15 billion Railway is nothing to be snubbed at. A couple mates from my old school got interviewed about 28 minutes in; I laughed so hard cause they all go to prestigious unis (including Oxford) but their 15 minutes of fame is talking about how somone crapped themselves when recalling journeys on the 25!!  RandomBusesGirl I am very jealous of you completing the night bus network. It's not something I'm actively pursuing but you normally seem to be one step ahead of me!! Just like when I joined; in my intro I said that I did ride 24 buses in a day (on Mother's Day cause I didn't want to be home that much that I rode buses all day). It was an impressive feat, if only you didn't do the same thing!! I should, instead of being jealous, just use that as motivation to ride more buses! Repeating what I've said in my intro but there's something magical about riding night buses. Something mystical at getting a kebab at 3am in Erith, or forgetting you have no milk so pop to Gallions Reach Tesco for a spot of early morning shopping. I'm maybe about 50% done with riding all night buses; but I'm more interested in those that can give me a good view. So any night bus that sticks close to the Thames is pretty much garaunteed a great scenic view IMO. I've already stated my highlights of the 474 for London City/Canary Wharf views & the N550 for the Embankment section. But the N22 is one I need to do; bet I won't doze off because I'm getting scenery every stretch of the way to Fulwell! |
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Post by 6HP502C on Dec 18, 2016 14:59:40 GMT
I used the N22 end to end when I was a FW late rail replacement driver. Quiet route, nice in a warm, new bus. Mk.1 WVLs somewhat rancid in comparison on a cold night! It's quite nice going over Richmond Bridge and along the Thames at Barnes. Look out for the brewery and Made in Chelsea filming spots along the way! The N9 is hit and miss. Some drivers go like the wind whilst others don't bother trying to keep time. Again used in to commute in after shifts at HH. The better drivers took 42 minutes AV - TS whilst a few I hoped wouldn't be on took closer to 55 minutes, just slow enough to watch the half hourly 176 go  . I have two particular memories of this route - on in a VP at Hyde Park where the driver got up and physically flung a passenger off and another in a VA where someone pressed the emergency exit button as the bus left the stop. The driver didn't give a d*mn and proceeded to drive at up to 40mph along the Kensington High Street with the back doors open. Passengers were screaming and laughing. He was certainly aware - I could hear the alarm in his cab going off sat at the back. I don't know how often these things happen nowadays but I'd certainly follow the YT channel of someone who captures this sort of thing. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 19, 2016 22:35:49 GMT
Night bus capers are brilliant fun. Very unpredictable, and the only time you really have to pay attention to detail in planning your trips in order to avoid 30 min waits.
When I started doing them, it was early 1990's.
Getting an N67 out to Egham proved elusive, I managed Feltham but then had to get a cab home to Hampton.
I caught the N65 from Hampton to Hounslow a couple of times. The driver must have wondered how I knew this service even existed. Back then, it was only because i had heard the sounds of a Metrobus purring around my local streets at 5am in the morning on a Sunday, most unusual when I knew the first bus on the 111 wasn't until around 8am ! Then LOTs published the unpublicised journey so I gave it a try. The only other people it picked up were early turn drivers heading to AV.
I used the old N9 from Fulwell to Trafalgar Square when run from V using Leyland Olympians from their 237 allocation. The regular driver on the 0515 trip never hung about. He knew me and a bloke who got on at Putney Common were the only regular customers, so no need to slow down anywhere between the two points. We flew around Richmond, East Sheen, and Mortlake. You really had to balance your feet on the floor to avoid being flung off the front top deck seat above the driver !
My last regular night bus commute was the N97 Isleworth to T Square. Actually quite unreliable at times, but when they did turn up , usually anywhere between 5 to 15 mins down, the AV drivers floored the poor Metrobuses all the way. The engineers seemed to know what went on , and always this duty was run by a B reg bus usually on the 140 , equipped with the first sort of smart card reader device on top of the ticket machine.
When AV took over the N9 and N11 from V , they used struggling T and V reg Metros. Well putting out M29 on a night bus route was never going to work, it was such a come down from the excellent L's and made the time tabling very optimistic.
I shall miss travelling up as far as I dared on an hourly N1 towards High Barnet trying to work out where to get off to just catch the leader coming back down towards London. A silly game of brinkmanship,
There's something very special about travelling around London while every normal person is asleep, And nowadays, with 24 hour establishments opening up, ( you're spoilt around Heathrow ), you can even warm up when out bussing, because the heaters on some buses, despite their young ages, leave an awful lot to be desired.
You need your wits about you, avoid trouble areas , which ironically are often areas you would feel safe in the day time.
I'm not sure I'd be brave enough buying a kebab in Erith at 3am. But I'll happily have a bagel and a cup of tea in Brick Lane before heading off on a N8 !!!!
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Post by Alex on Dec 20, 2016 0:40:11 GMT
I can certainly empathise with bus riding being a passive way of avoiding being at home. If home isn't a place where you can lounge in comfort and relax without distraction, it can actually be preferable to go on a capricious bus or train ride. Despite being in public, you can be in your own bubble on the buses. Repeating what I've said in my intro but there's something magical about riding night buses. Something mystical at getting a kebab at 3am in Erith, or forgetting you have no milk so pop to Gallions Reach Tesco for a spot of early morning shopping. I caught the N65 from Hampton to Hounslow a couple of times. The driver must have wondered how I knew this service even existed. Back then, it was only because i had heard the sounds of a Metrobus purring around my local streets at 5am in the morning on a Sunday, most unusual when I knew the first bus on the 111 wasn't until around 8am ! Then LOTs published the unpublicised journey so I gave it a try. The only other people it picked up were early turn drivers heading to AV. I shall miss travelling up as far as I dared on an hourly N1 towards High Barnet trying to work out where to get off to just catch the leader coming back down towards London. A silly game of brinkmanship I cannot like these posts enough – firstly, I thought I was the only one who got the ‘magical mystical’ thing – there is indeed an atmosphere surrounding night bus journeys, and it’s much wider than the actual bus itself. I had never managed to sum up into words my feelings on it (largely because I didn't think a lot of people would get it) but enviroPB has fairly much nailed it. Describing elements as the Erith kebab and a visit to a 24 hour Tesco conjure up exactly the sort of picture in the mind I’m thinking of. It’s a strange feeling, like a privilege to be taking part in these times. Times where things are so different to what happens normally, a time a lot of people don’t see. It makes these experiences very personal and also in the right setting a very quiet and relaxing time where it’s really easy to unwind........ Obviously not all night experiences are like this, but the ones described certainly make me think that. A fair few night experiences are best avoided. I recall when I lived in Plumstead and my work night bus journey home would be an N9 from my West London workplace, up to Trafalgar Square, then head round the corner for a full length run on the (N)53. Now, you’d think that the N9 would be the easy bit, going through Hammersmith, Kensington, Knightsbridge etc, and the 53 would be the hard bit, going Elephant, New Cross, Deptford, Charlton, Woolwich......wrong! The N9 was awful. It was mainly people (and seemingly visitors to London) who were on nights out and didn’t care! It was a very uncomfortable bus to use as a lone passenger. Saw a fair bit of aggression on that one..... The 53 however, was more of a locals bus! People who lived/worked in South East London who were just minding their own business, wanting to get home, it could get busy but the atmosphere on there was calm and there was an excellent set of regular drivers, and Stagecoach PD provided such well turned out vehicles on it, every (N53) journey was clean and well presented, and on the one time I reported vomit to the driver as I got off he replied there was a good 20 min stand in the garage so he would get it cleaned or get a new bus with no fuss. A 53 ride is the sort of atmosphere Enviro PB is describing, the more ‘urban-suburban’ London with the ‘real’ feeling you’re part of something. Absolutely loved the post from @rgd976, took me back to a time before the internet (or at least freely available), Countdown apps, in fact, not even mobile phones! There was definitely more of a feeling of magic back then, I also recall going on travels, with a folded timetable in my pocket trying to decipher what was going on using a combination of what the road conditions/passenger conditions were up to, passing vehicle movements (and whether they seemed on time) and instinct to tell me what was going on. I’m a bit gutted for younger enthusiasts these days as with the age of technology, they haven’t experienced these things that I myself had in the 1990s as a teenager. I’m grateful I saw the things I did and became an enthusiast in the era I did – far more atmosphere (sorry I keep using that word – but hey ho) back then compared to now, but some areas of London have the ‘old school’ feeling more than others (the PD garage area has the ‘old London’ feeling very strongly, that’s how I miss it so much), where I am now (between BK and NS) isn’t too bad, however other bits are soulless. North Cheam (where I was from 2008 – 2010) was one of them and I don’t miss it. Thanks for some excellent posts in this thread and certainly got my nostalgia going, and proving to me I’m not the only one who had these impressions of the night service. |
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Post by enviroPB on Dec 20, 2016 11:48:24 GMT
At this point, I should say that I've never been to Erith at 3am for a kebab. Liked that soundbite from 6HP502C so used it, granted I should have cited it first!! However my wealth of knowledge for 24-hour supermarkets are second to none. |
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Post by john on Dec 21, 2016 10:12:37 GMT
Route 370. It's also interesting at night as well as day and despite that it's dark, it's fast and the view around the Lakeside area (with all the lights and Dartford Crossing) is lovely too. The long, narrow turns around the Corbets Tey area before crossing the M25 however is very dark though and there's not many lights there at all. Around those times, it takes roughly thirty minutes to get from Romford Market to Corbets Tey. As my local route, the 370 is a pain lol. It amazes me with certain sections at just how they get the buses through and I drive the 372 at times!! Would have to say the 370 would probably be more enjoyable to drive but timings seem very very tight |
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Post by enviroPB on Dec 21, 2016 19:15:14 GMT
Route 370. It's also interesting at night as well as day and despite that it's dark, it's fast and the view around the Lakeside area (with all the lights and Dartford Crossing) is lovely too. The long, narrow turns around the Corbets Tey area before crossing the M25 however is very dark though and there's not many lights there at all. Around those times, it takes roughly thirty minutes to get from Romford Market to Corbets Tey. As my local route, the 370 is a pain lol. It amazes me with certain sections at just how they get the buses through and I drive the 372 at times!! Would have to say the 370 would probably be more enjoyable to drive but timings seem very very tight Cannot agree more. Drivers must be having a blast cause the bus driving quickly along tight roads in Ockenden and Corbets Tey makes us passengers brick it!!!    |
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Post by londonbuses2018 on Dec 21, 2016 19:48:48 GMT
N13
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Post by planesandtrains on Feb 24, 2017 8:29:34 GMT
I really want to do the N22, however will wait until the summer months so I can get a good view.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 24, 2017 12:26:42 GMT
I really want to do the N22, however will wait until the summer months so I can get a good view. I caught the second trip out of FW on a Sunday night a few weeks back. Nice ride on a WHV even in the Winter, and passing Barnes at 1am when the tide is in and water is right up to the embankment walls is a bit spooky. |
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I'm amazed you've done that many night bus routes to what I guess is their full extent. You seem to be "on the buses" at all hours of the day and night. 
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(a not-common move by me, but was covering BYDs w/a human).
. I have two particular memories of this route - on in a VP at Hyde Park where the driver got up and physically flung a passenger off and another in a VA where someone pressed the emergency exit button as the bus left the stop. The driver didn't give a d*mn and proceeded to drive at up to 40mph along the Kensington High Street with the back doors open. Passengers were screaming and laughing. He was certainly aware - I could hear the alarm in his cab going off sat at the back. I don't know how often these things happen nowadays but I'd certainly follow the YT channel of someone who captures this sort of thing. 
