Picture Archive Post 35

NCP Challenger ADL27 on Route 440, Turnham Green, 27/05/08

Routes 272 and 440 can be seen as descendants of Route 55 (since 1922), the route that later became the E3, thanks to a very small section between where this photo was taken and Chiswick Grove Park. The Grove Park section became Route E4 as a route in its own right, with it continuing roughly over where the current 440 route to Park Royal Asda from June 1984. Notably, the E4 used to be run from Hounslow Garage, so some journeys ran to Hounslow Garage. More modifications to the route meant it ended up as Route H40 in November 1991, before it was split in May 2002 to become the 272 and 440.
With Dennis Dart/Wright Crusaders, the 440 initially ran between Stamford Brook Garage and Park Royal Asda until 2003, before being extended to Stonebridge Park Station.

Then a certain NCP Challenger came along and won the 272/440 and E11 from London United and First Centrewest respectively in May 2007. The route was curtailed to Turnham Green Church (it did pass Turnham Green, turning right to the Crown & Anchor as seen behind towards Stonebridge Park). In April 2009, NCP Challenger renamed themselves as NSL Services, before being bought out by Transdev in November 2009. The irony that to gain the 33, 419, 272, 440 and 283 back from NCP/NSL, Transdev bought them out, thus the only gains Transdev got were the E11 and 493. This meant those routes went to the London Sovereign O-Licence, but was transferred to London United before the sale of London United to RATP Group. The 440 is still at Park Royal Garage, albeit with way more variety of single deckers.

ADL27 (SK07 DYD) was one of the batch ordered for the 272/440. This bus is now DE76, and still runs on the 440. It stopped running on the 272 when it was moved to Shepherd's Bush (with some of the SK07 batch).