My favourite routes, 111 and N9.
The reason why I used the 111th post as celebration and not the 100th is because 111 is a lucky number for me.
Firstly, Route 111 oneeleven :
111, my favourite route since 2002 (I have had no favourite routes previously...). A route that seems to be liked by a few bus enthusiasts nowadays. It was operated by RT, MBS, SMS, LS, DR/DT, M, VA, VP, TA (small allocation) and now SP. Modern odd workings include ADE, DP, DPS, DLE. Operated from AV (Hounslow Garage) since 1949, it has since changed from a Hounslow-Hammersmith Brook Green route to Heathrow Central-Kingston. It has battled with the 110 between Hounslow and Cranford before winning it. Shared duty schedules and all. It was split in half because of ticket machines into the 111 and 211, before reuniting. It has been to Heathrow Central Bus Station twice in its life, and has transformed from a residential route to being a trunk route it is today.
And here is Lewis with his bit:
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| Remember this? 111 branding, from the VAs, recreated by myself (LJN) |
We went out on 7th April, to cover 111, which was full of wonderful surprises!
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| 111 board at Heathrow Central (LJN) It is 24hr, although lacking the sticker... |
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| SP47 YT09BNB on route 111 at Heathrow (LJN) |
We met at Heathrow for some observations (for the rest, see next post), following which we did route oneeleven end to end, Heathrow to Kingston.
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| SP15 - YN56FBZ - Hampton Station (LJN) |
At Kingston, we did some more photos, before planning to return to Hounslow Bus Garage, where the route is run from.
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| 111 board at Kingston (LJN) This one does have the 24hr sticker... |
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| 111 sideblind - via Hounslow (LJN) |
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| SP48 - YT09BND - Kingston (LJN) |
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| SP48 - YT09BND - Kingston (Au) |
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| SP165 - YT10UWA - Kingston (Au) |
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| SP184 - YT10XCH - Kingston (Au) |
However, after passing through Nurserylands, a mega shocker turned the corner infront of us!!
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| ADE19 - YX12FOC - Swan Close (Au) |
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| ADE19 - YX12FOC - Swan Close (LJN) |
ADE19 had come onto the 111 to even out service! So, we chased it, on SP46....
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| SP46 - YT09BNA - Hampton Court (LJN) |
iBus 111 to Hampton Wick.
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| SP190 - YT10XCO - Hampton Court (LJN) |
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| SP190 - YT10XCO - Hampton Court (Au) |
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| SP50 - YT09BNF - Hampton Court (LJN) |
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| SP15 - YN56FBZ - Hampton Court (Au) |
ADE19 came back, so we got on it, all the way back to Heathrow....
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| ADE19 - YX12FOC - Hampton Court (LJN) |
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| 111 iBus to Heathrow Central (LJN) |
iBus clip (Au)
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| ADE19 interior (LJN) |
.... where we did some more observations....
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| SP46 - YT09BNA - Heathrow Central (LJN) |
....and ADE19 came back curtailed to Hounslow Bus Station!
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| ADE19 - YX12FOC - Heathrow Central (Au) |
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| ADE19 - YX12FOC - Heathrow Central (LJN) Displaying blinds for Hounslow Bus Station... |
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| ADE19 - YX12FOC - Heathrow Central (LJN) Displaying blinds for Hounslow Bus Station... |
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| ....but the iBus still said Kingston. |
iBus from Au
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| ADE19 - YX12FOC - Harlington Corner (LJN) |
We left it at Harlington Corner to go home. All in all, a good day!
Other pictures of the oneeleven, from other times:
VP111 - W457BCW - Heathrow Central (Au)
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| ADE12 - YX12FNT - Northolt (LJN) This was staged - thanks to the nice driver who changed the blinds. |
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| VP118 - W465BCW - Heathrow Central (Au) Taken 2007 |
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| VP118 - W465BCW - Heathrow Central (Au) Taken 2007 |
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| TA315 - SN03DZP - Hounslow (Au) This is a scanned photo from 2006. I didn't get a digital camera until 2007, and this was taken by a disposable camera. |
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| London United SP189 on Route 111, Kingston, 2013 |
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| The multinational 111! This 111 is in Mallorca, and runs from Es Capdellá to Palma City Volvo B7R / Sunsundegui Astral 10,5m (LJN) |
Route N9 is the night service of Route 9. It now runs Heathrow Terminal 5 - Aldwych. However this was not always the story, as it used to run to Kingston via Ham Common or via the other side of the river, before the routing was since simplified then moved to the N10/N22. The Hammersmith-Heathrow section was moved from the N97 (which was a Piccadilly line night replacement) to the N9. Since 2008 when the route was extended to Terminal 5 (when it opened), the other rerouting was at Pall Mall (which I covered early in the blog). It has become a favourite route after I became curious about using it to going to school, then used it and even though it was run with SPs, I ended up liking the route, and is my second favourite route.
![London United ADE12 [N9]](http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8382/8583261489_54e6c31b77_b.jpg) |
| ADE12 - YX12FNT - Northolt (LJN) Taken during blindroll... 
London United SP48 on Route N9, Stamford Brook Bus Garage 10/06/12
  
London United SP44 on Route N9, Terminal 5 10/06/12
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London United SP190 on Route N9, 19/07/12, Turnham Green.
London United SP136 on Route N9, 24/03/13, Turnham Green.
And iBus:
N9 to Heathrow Terminal 5
N9 to Aldwych
Outstanding Post from the WLTM Blog, I also prefer the 111 to use ADE's. :)
ReplyDeleteFab post! I do agree that route 111 should use ADE's.
ReplyDeleteThanks for putting my blog under your OTHER TRANSPORT BLOGS section. I appreciate it :)