Route 124 Observations

Today, it was the turn of Route 124 to get brand new buses. Route 124 runs between Eltham, Southend Cresent and Catford, St Dunstan's College. These new E200's are their first 8.9 metre to be built to Whole Type Approval and their first ordered under Stagecoach ownership. They also contain an emergency exit in the middle. Many thanks to the driver who let me take pictures of the cab and interior.

Fact's about these Enviro200's.

8.9 metres in length.

1 exit/entrace door

Top speed of around 50 miles an hour / 81 kilometres an hour.

Contain smart blinds.

I hope you enjoyed reading this post.
PS: I hope everyone has a safe and spectacular Diamond Jubilee.

Route T33 Observations

Today, it was the turn of Route T33 to be awarded to Abellio London. Route T33 has it's roots in shoppers Route 354, which ran between Sanderstead and Bromley via Forestdale. The Route was later altered to run Bromley to West Croydon and in 1986, a 5 days a week service was introduced. In 2000, major changes took place in the Croydon and Addington areas due to the opening of Tramlink. Route 54 was altered to run between Elmers End and Woolwich, Route 353 was altered to run between Addington Villiage and Ramsden Estate and Route 354 was atered to run between Penge and Bromley North. May 2000 saw Route's T31, T32 and T33 introduced to help connect Addington Village with areas such as Headley Drive, Fieldway and Forestdale. Route's T31 and T32 were awarded to First London CentreWest with brand new Marshall Capital buses painted in red and white to match the then Tramlink colur scheme. They were operated from their Orpington garaage. Route T33 was awarded to Metrobus with Dennis Darts painted in blue and yellow. It was operated by their Green Street Green garage. In 2002 the Route was transferred to Godstone garage. In 2006, Metrobus bought a new garage premises in Beddington, a suburb in the London Borough of Sutton and Route T33 was transferred there. In 2011 it was announced that Metrobus had lost the T33 to Abellio London with 10 brand new 10.8 metre Enviro200's from their Beddington Cross garage. Today the service change took place and the sheer number of buses was astonishing! Buses just turned up bus after bus. The Route is 7 miles long and has some picturesque views in the Selsdon Vale area. I hope you enjoyed reading this post.

Route 23 Observations, Part 2 Of 2: Permenant DNH's.

On Saturday 5th May 2012 , some of the 22 hybrids bound for Route 23 entered service. Route 23 has been destined to get new buses since 2010, but here we are in 2012 and receiving new buses. We have been getting VN's which were introduced in January 2012 but they will transfer to Atlas Road garage ( AS ) for the 266 on 25th May 2012 as they have respectively won the Route from Metroline. They are all supposed to be DNH's, but have turned up as DN'S, DNH's or just a number.

Facts about these DNH's.

Built by Alexnader Dennis at their Falkirk factory in Scotland.
Contain Esteban Civic seats.
Based at Westbourne Park garage ( X ) in West London
12 prefix registrations
Are very nice Buses!

I hope you enjoy reading this post.

Picture Of The Day 20.04.2012

Abellio London 8496 is seen at Beddington Asda en Route from Wallington to Canons Hill. This is one of the Caetano Nimbuses that were ordered for Route R2 by Tellings Golden Miller in June 2004. This bus later was absorbed into Metrobus's home garage in Green Street Green. The bus later became a trainer with Arriva the Shires and Essex, before being sourced through Dawson Rentals to Abellio London where it was given a refurbishment, and deployed on Route 455.

Route X26 Observations

Today, it was the turn of Route X26 to be awarded to a new operator. Route X26 started as Green Line coach Route 750, which ran between Gravesend in Kent and the posh area of Windsor in Berkshire. By the 1980's, the sections of the Route between Heathrow and Windsor and Dartford and Gravesend were withdrawn. By this time, Green Line was run by London Country but when that company was broken up in 1986 it came under the control of London Transport. London Coaches operated the Route from 1992 to the late 90's when Capital Logistics, later to become Tellings Golden Miller, operated the Route, but passenger numbers were going down. Early 1999 saw alterations made to the Route which saw it run between Bromley South and Heathrow Airport. The service ran every hour with no early morning or late evening service. June 1st 1999 saw a new contract with Tellings Golden Miller using 7 Alexander ALX300's on a Volvo B10BLE chassis. The Route became unprofitable and in April 2005, Route 726 became Route X26 and was awarded to Metrobus with brand new Scania Omnicity's. Many stops were axed to improve journey times, including one at Tourist attraction Hampton Court. Despite cuts in the length, Route X26 remains the longest bus Route in London. In the latter part of 2008, a new timetable was introduced to improve frequency. This saw 03 / 53 reg Mercedes Citaros from Quality Line become temporary vehicles whilst buses from Metrobus's Fastway service in Crawley were refurbished. The Citaro's later returned to Wealden PSV. In June 2010, a proposal to introduce a former 726 stop at Beddington was refused by TFL, despite support from local residents and local MP Tom Brake. 2011 saw Route X26 lost to Quality Line from their one and only Epsom garage (EB) with 10 brand new Mercedes Benz Citaro's built to a unique specifaction. Today, the service change took place and there was a poster telling passengers what the new service would be like. There was also timetable's for the X26 being offered to the public. These new buses also have Quality Line's new logo, designed to reflect Epsom Coaches as well as Quality Line. I hope you enjoy reading this post.

Mitcham Junction Tram Observations 6th April 2012

Today, whilst getting pictures of the Tramlink replacement bus service, I decided to use this time to do some Tram observations. The main highlight of my obs was speaking to a nice man and being allowed in the cab. I also got given infomation about how 5 more all over adverts will be placed on the tram and that how lower speed limits due to the new trams being heavier weight means that the swiveling bogies on the existing trams may bring them to a halt as the new trams have fixed bogies with a motor on each set of wheels. I also got told that the new trams may not operate Route 4, but will operate on all parts of the network. I also got told that if an extension to Crystal Palace were to get the go ahead, the new Variobahn's would have to work it due to steep gradients. I hope you enjoy reading this post.

Tramlink Replacement Service, Mitcham Junction - Mitcham

From 6th April to 9th April, due to the commencing of double tracking, a replacement bus service is in operation. The buses are being worked by Abellio London from their Beddington Cross garage (BC) with ALX400's. Tramlink services are currently only running between New Addington and Mitcham Junction, and between Mitcham and Wimbledon. The service between Mitcham and Wimbledon will run every 15 minutes. I hope you enjoy reading this post.