VM1 with London United!

Today I decided to travel to Hounslow to attempt to see whether VM1 was around. VM1 is a MCV DD103 - currently only 3 about, so a rare type, the only other ones are another VM1 with Docklands Buses based at their Silvertown depot and an open top one which does sightseeing in Windsor. This bus is the first Volvo B9TL chassis London United have ever used, the last Volvo chassis being on their VE and VLE's back in 2004. The bus has yet to have a MOT and shall be out by the end of next week. Many thanks to the member of staff who made it possible for me to take a picture.

Route 257 Observations

Today it was the turn of Route 257 to be awarded to a new operator. London General ( origanlly Blue Triangle ) gained the contract earlier this year with refurbished WVL's from Route 22 which will get new WVL's and WHV's. Route 257 was only with Stagecoach for 7 years ( 5 year contract, 2 year extension ) and before that was with First. Interestingly it was run by First at NP which the Route operates at once again, being the first Route to have been gained there. It was origanlly with Stagecoach at Waterden Road ( SD ) which was closed due to it being in what is now the Olympic Park. It was also single deck for a while which was silly, as the Route is very busy. Today, the service change was a bit all over the place, the blinds were often just green and also almost all the buses were unrefurbished, despite having a year's chance to do it! I hope you enjoy reading this post.

Route 264: A driver's view

These are a new range of posts describing London's Bus Route's. They will start off around Croydon and eventually to other areas of South London. The first one will be of my local Route, the 264. Route 264 was created in 1987 and ran between Croydon and Tooting, Monday - Saturday and on Sundays from Tooting to New Addington. The Route experiences high numbers of passengers as it is the only bus route to run between Croydon and Mitcham. The Route starts off at Taberner House, the HQ of the Tory controlled Croydon Council. You then turn right into Fell Road through the middle of St George's walk shopping arcade which was in the spotlight about a new shopping centre called Park Place which never happened. You then continue right into Park Street past the Nestle UK HQ which will be vacant from late 2012 due to the company's relocation to City Place, Gatwick. You then turn left into Wellesley Road which is home to many business Headquarters and offices. You then pass a large Shopping Centre called the Whitgift which is on the site of a former school. You then continue to West Croydon Bus Station, one of London's busiest bus stations where many passengers get on. You then travel down Station Road in which leads into Tamworth Road. You then past the modern Centrale shopping centre and go through a small tunnel underneath the centre's car park and turn right into Drummond Road, past the site of the Reeves furniture store which sadly burnt down in the riots last year. You then turn into Cairo New Road on the same tracks as the trams run along to Wimbledon. You do a complete circle via Rectory Grove to get onto the Roman Way, which you pass underneath when on Cairo New Road. You then pass over the bridge and if on a sunny day and you're sitting upstairs, the Shard skyscraper is visible. You then pass the Army barracks and continue to go past a mixture of businesses and houses. You then come upto Lombard Rountabout the junction with the A23 which can take you all the way to Brighton and also Central London. At the forefront of the roundabout is a large Office devlopment. You then continue along the Beddington Terrace part of Mitcham Road past many business and homes and also a cemetary. You then continue past Zotefoam's chemical plant and continue on to one of London's many green spaces, Mitcham Common which is a 40 mph stretch of road and then continue onto Croydon Road which can be very busy at times. You then continue past Canons Leisure Centre and Three Kings Piece on which the geese sometimes block the road! You then continue to Fair Green, in the heart of Mitcham which is home to many shops and restaurants from around the world. You then go around a one way system called Raleigh Gardens and continue along Holborn Way. You then go past several businesses until you reach Figges Marsh. You then continue past Mitcham Cemetary and continue up to Tooting Station past some shops and Tooting Police station round to Amen Corner. You then continue up to Tooting Broadway passing Morleys Department Store, a big Bingo Hall and a large Primark clothing shop. You then pass serveral homes along Garratt Lane before turning into Fountain Road. You continue past many houses until you reach Blackshaw Road, home of St George's Hospital. The bus now terminates here and continues back to Croydon. I hope you enjoy reading this post.

Changes at Go Ahead London

As you may know Route 257 has been awarded to Go Ahead London with existing WVl's from Route 22. This was supposed to operate from Blue Triangle's Ferry Lane garage in Rainham, Essex but has been changed to operated from their recently acquired Northumberland Park garage. Route's 327 and 491 have also been awarded to Go Ahead London, but not with the buses you'd think, this time they have not gone for E200's and they have decided to get Streetlite's for Route's 327 and 491. They have also decided to get Streetlite's for Route 219 which was successfully retained in the Summer. Route 257 will start it's new contract on the 15th October 2012 and Route's 219 and 491 will begin their contract on 1st June 2013 and Route 327 will being its new contract on 8th June 2013.

Quality Line's new logo now on OP26

As you may know in April Quality Line rolled out a new logo which was immediatly put on the new MCL's for the X26. They have since been put on the OV's for the 465, and on the refurbished DD's for the 406 and 418. It is now been put on OP26 but only on the front panel but interestingly, not the sides. Strangely though, this article: http://www.epsomcoaches.com/index.php/new-image-for-quality-line says that it would only be rolled out on new and refurbished buses, and OP26 has not been refurbished. I hope you enjoy reading this post.