6th Year Post

Somehow, we've gotten to our sixth year of blogging and as traditionally so, we put a post out on the birthday of the blog. This year, the blog members are going to say what our favourite bus type are, and why.

Aubrey:


London United VP111 on Route 111, Kingston Cromwell Road, 2013
(© Aubrey Morandarte)

Firstly, it's of course the sod whom made the blog in the first place. As we are a bunch of similarly aged sods, we'll most likely pick buses we grew up with. For my bunch, I've chosen the Euro II Volvo B7TL, with the Plaxton President body. From 2000 to 2013, the Volvo B7TL was the mainstay for Hounslow based double decker bus routes. These Euro 2 examples were ordered for the 120/H32 (the VAs were ordered for the 111).


VP118 back in 2007 at Heathrow Central Bus Station on Route 111
(© Aubrey Morandarte)

These buses were the then new buses that were on the 111 at the time that I used to go to Heathrow to spot planes. As these buses were the buses which partly helped me get into buses, this is why they are good. They are also powerful enough when required, and the President body in itself was decent. The interior was basic, but good nevertheless. Without these buses, I wouldn't be into buses. Most first generation low floor deckers, in my opinion, were pretty good anyway, but as these buses were the ones that got me into buses, they have to be the favourite.


Lewis:


Yorkshire Coastliner 3637 at Goathland on a Whitby 840 service.
(© Lewis Nagle)

Next it's the sod who used to live in London but now studies up north. Having up till now mainly been on commercial bus services in the Home Counties (see my previous posts on services in Bucks & Berks) and then to the south of the capital in Crawley & Brighton, I naturally made it my task to go on more exploratory journeys and where better to start with the nationally famous Transdev Blazefield empire across the north? Last summer I was able to try out the Coastliner 843 to Scarborough, a tremendous high-pace ride through the Yorkshire countryside as well as the famous #the36, the WitchWay X43 and what is now the Aireline 60. Transdev pride themselves in high-quality services with a classy bus spec, friendly drivers and fantastic routes.
The latest in my adventures across the north saw me finally doing the best of the Yorkshire Coastliner services: the 840 to Whitby. A single Transdev DayTripperPlus is all one needs to bus it from Manchester to Whitby although it's a long journey, around the 5 hour mark.
The 840 is well worth it though, a superb scenic journey starting in Leeds and ploughing through the countryside to Tadcaster (with its bridge now reinstated since last year), the beautiful city of York, Malton and then out to Pickering, Thornton-le-Dale and Whitby. It's worth noting that on my journey, because it was a Sunday, the Leeds-Malton bit was a connecting 843. The scenery through the Yorkshire Moors is nothing short of stunning and the route even has to negotiate 25% inclines around Goathland, where the above picture was taken.


The same bus as above, now returning to York & Leeds on a small break at Malton.
Note the countdown on the destination display; a superb feature which I'm hoping we'll see more of in the future.
(© Lewis Nagle)

A little something about the buses: they're Volvo B5TL based Wright Gemini 3 double deckers new last December. Whatever your opinion is on the new face styling, it certainly suits the two-tone blue livery here. Inside the blue theme continues, with standard seating downstairs and high-backed coach-style seats upstairs. Tables, USB charging points and free wi-fi are available. The vehicles are even double-glazed so all of my journeys were remarkably toasty! The 5-litre Volvo engine copes fantastically on flats and downhill, regularly hitting its speed limiter at 56 mph, however as soon as you're going uphill it's much less happy. The bodywork by Wright has a real classy finish to it - and is very quiet on the move - but as ever rattles and squeaks still present a problem. It's an insult to the hours of thought gone into designing this spec for the bus to then rattle.
I don't wish to end on a negative note so I won't; I've been very happy working alongside the blog team for the last 6 years and hoping to many more! Lots of exciting things coming in 2018 too...


Jacek:


17564 on Route 177
(© Jacek Herominski)

Well, this is an obvious one. My favourite buses are what I grew up with. Even if one company ordered the same type back then, every batch always had its own character, its own sound, as a result of the varied specs everyone had. Nowadays I like all the first gen low floor deckers equally, but back then I was a Trident person. Which is why I've chosen my two favourite batches of Tridents.
The 52 plate is a Euro3 3-speed one, which were always my favourite ones for their musical Voith and the amount they thrashed up hills. Second place is represented by that Y reg. These Euro2 ZFs replaced a batch I didn't like, and came after my 52reg were cascaded away so basically took their place in my heart. That sounded overly romantic. Oh well, it is Valentine's Day soon.... (No)


17441 on Route 136
(© Jacek Herominski)


Omar:

First Aberdeen 62166/Y631RSA | Route 3G | Mastrick Terminus | 14/02/2017
© Mohammad-Omar Diab El-Arab

Now, the resident crazy traveller. I'm the sort of person that loves a bit of everything, be it the cityscapes offered by routes down in London, the sea views of the Brighton & Hove Coasters or the weaving in and out of hills on West Yorkshire bus routes. In short, I love the variety you get from travelling on buses. Now, some buses suit this sort of variety better than others, ranging from being completely adaptable to being horrible to travel on! My personal favourite is the Mercedes-Benz O405N2, yet I don't actually have any photos of them. However, my second option isn't really all too bad, and that's the Wright Renown-bodied Volvo B10BLE, coupled to a ZF box of course.

Transdev Burnley & Pendle 1057/Y157HRN | Route M4 | Colne, Market Street
© Mohammad-Omar Diab El-Arab

A 5-speed ZF box coupled to Volvo's throaty 9.6 litre D10A engine churning out 245bhp not only sits happy in cities and calmer environments. It also provides a reliable and powerful base for country routes such as the Mainline M4, which was run by a mix of B7RLEs and B10BLEs when I rode it. The ride quality is usually very smooth and comfortable, and the bodywork is incredibly sturdy and largely rattle-free, a far cry from the current range of Wrightbus products. Sadly, a large number of them saw the end of the line before 2016 as the DDA rules kicked in to withdraw all non-compliant single decks from service. The ones that are DDA compliant, as well as the ones that have received modifications to become compliant, still soldier on to this day, some being as old as 18 years old this year! Since their introduction in 1997, as a low floor version of the already popular B10B, they have become the backbone of many towns and cities, and helped to kick-start the low-floor revolution, all while being generally reliable and loved by drivers, engineers, enthusiasts and passengers alike.


Alisha:


DOE38 passing through in Roundshaw in May 2017, sporting the iconic, sadly now lost livery
(© Alisha Juszczyk)

My favourite London bus type has got to be the Olympus - be it East Lancs, Darwen or Optare - doesn't matter. A top class double-decker body, and no wonder also a popular choice for tour buses thanks to their giant front glass upstairs. Out of all the chassis available for it, good old Dennis Trident 2 proves the ultimate fit. Shame only 55 ever ended up in London - the DOE class under Go-Ahead, and the singleton EO1 under CT+ which has since left the city and moved north. All of which had comfortable seating provided, alongside with spacious layout, and subdued lighting that creates a relaxing atmosphere.


The same DOE standing at Morden about to start its journey on N155, a great route to test their abilities - taken February 2017
(© Alisha Juszczyk)

The low blind-box provides an acceptable means to rest your legs, and even something as trivial as the side windows that slant down to maximise the view out - it all shows what a great bodywork design this one is. Another clever feature I've always liked is the curved windshield on the upper deck which yields the following effect - at night you don't get any unnecessary reflections of the bus' interior when facing forward, unless you look up that is - and being able to inspect what's behind you without having to physically turn around is very handy. They are also mechanically sound, fast buses, and fortunately with kickdown enabled to make scaling of the numerous hills on their usual routes efficient. Their scarcity makes them even more precious and valued!

Tommy:

 

The bus type I had planned to talk about was the Plaxton President bodied bus, the type being local to me in Harrow since the early 2000s, TP/Ls then latterly VP/Ls at Harrow Weald with a batch of 17 still in use (what will be the last VPs left in the Metroline fleet, VP612-628!).  This would have been the perfect excuse to repeat my picture of TP446 from the 'Fifth Year' blog post, however, the President type has already been covered so to save repetition, I thought I'd do this piece about my next favourite bus type.

Now this is the ALX400 bodied vehicle that in London can be found with either an AD Trident or Volvo B7TL engine, my preference being the Trident version but both types I rate equally.  I cannot quite put my finger on why I rate ALX400s as much as I do bar it being an all-round pleasant bus.  The past three years have seen me use both the Trident and Volvo examples in North West London on a fairly regular basis which has cemented these vehicles' place on my preference list.  But, the ALX400 has also been mentioned in this post, and for the same reasons as above I do not feel it worth while that I discuss the same vehicle twice.
 

So, I shall move onto my next choice, and it's onto a bus that I have not really thought much about, but it's one that has dominated the London scene, but like the other types mentioned above, is fast becoming an endangered species in London.  The type is the Plaxton Pointer Dennis Dart SLF.  In its prime, the Dennis Dart was one of the most popular single deck buses from the late 1990s through to the mid 2000s.  They were just as popular as the Enviro 200 (and MMC "upgrade") has become since.
For me the Dart is aesthetically pleasing on the eye, and always had seats with generous leg room and decent amounts of seat padding.  I found the Darts rattled less than the E200s which replaced them meaning the Darts' fabulously whiny engine could be easily heard!  The lack of interior refurbishment in later years have also given the Darts a good nostalgia feel too, though that is not to everyone's taste!

 

London Sovereign DPS636 and Metroline DP1012 in Harrow.  March 2017
© Tommy Cooling
https://www.flickr.com/photos/127662272@N07/33241614882/in/album-72157677403851741/

  

When I think of a proper single deck bus, there aren't many types that come to mind, but it is the Dart that comes to mind first.  My exposure to Darts has been nowhere near that to the President or ALX400, but enough for me to rate it as high as third on my list.  The majority of my exposure had been the 02 plated London Sovereign Darts at Harrow (SO) on the H9/10.  Latterly I got very well acquainted with the Armchair imports at West Perivale, DP1009-1013, that made numerous appearances on the 395 in 2016 and 2017 after the E6 moved garages from West Perivale to Greenford.  Arriva Garston also has a small fleet of Darts (PDLs) that have transferred in from other London garages.  These have made very rare visits to the 258 and 340, with many other outings on the Harrow circular routes H18/19.

 

Arriva London PDL117 in Harrow.  February 2016
© Tommy Cooling
https://www.flickr.com/photos/127662272@N07/24674218834/in/album-72157665994971606/

 

There are more Darts still kicking around in London than the President class (and many many more with provincial operators), but these will all sadly be bowing out of service within the next year or so if not before when London's new ULEZ emission zones comes into effect.

 

TA TA

The last daytime daily London United TA allocated bus route now no longer has its TAs. After the 131 moved from London United to Go-Ahead London General, there are no "officially" allocated London United bus routes which are allocated Tridents.


WVN41 shows the new order of the 131, with existing Volvo B9TLs from the loss of the 259. And a usual curtailment.
(© Aubrey)

Prior to the introduction of Go-Ahead London to Route 131, London United had operated the route for 15 years with Tridents from Tolworth or Fulwell Garage.


TA40214 shows the oldest of the old order at Tooting Broadway, as part of the initial batch to convert the 131 to low-floor.
(© Patrick)

The route was initially tendered in 1987 to London Country South West, but in 1990, the route was retendered to Westlink. Since London United bought out Westlink, the route had been with London United until 29th September 2017. The order towards the end was a motley collection of Tridents, as well as the newer buses that were also in Tolworth.


TA40320 is a newer Trident, from the last 2003 batch of buses. Most of this batch had never been touched internally, and thus had not had a refurbishment throughout its 14 year career in London.
(© Patrick)

Some of the Tridents that I (Patrick) travelled on were over 15 years old, with out-dated interiors that brought back many childhood memories. Whilst many required an overhaul, London United maintained them fairly well over their lifetime, proving them to be fairly robust nearly two decades on. Some TA’s were altered upon refurbishment with added air vents on the front, while many retained their original shape.


Tridents which did not come from Fulwell initially ended up on the 131 towards the end, with TLA40323 initially from Route 94.
(© Aubrey)

From 2000 to 2003, the order for London United deckers were Tridents, excluding the trial Volvo B7TL/Wright Eclipse Geminis that ended up at Fulwell for the 267. For most of South-West London, the Trident has been the usual bus for double decker routes for London United. It practically ended up like some of the things that seemed to have never changed in the outlook for the childhood of some enthusiasts, including myself (Aubrey). However, times change, and these buses have reached the end of their London lives. It may not be the complete farewell of London United's Tridents just yet, but all other full time day bus routes of London United are allocated other buses on paper at least.


SP40108 on the last night of London United operation, seen at Wimbledon.
(© Aubrey)


Some hybrids from the 85 also ran on the 131 during the last year of London United operation, VH45176 being one at Raynes Park.
(© Aubrey)

From 30th September, the 131 went to Go-Ahead London. Displays were not as ready as the buses, shalt we say...


Well, initially all seems well here. However, hybrid WHV23 at Fairfield, Kingston shows a second paper 131 display in full A3, Calibri font.
(© Aubrey)

Although this was with some of the buses, there were some worse instances captured by other enthusiasts, which they've allowed with their permission to be on the post:


WVN36 displaying 131 to Shannon Corner. Although this seems normal, this is actually a stuck blind, as the 131 is at Tooting Broadway having just come from Kingston, with a yellow paper display confirming the route and destination on the dashboard.
(© Hassaan Chaudhry)

But this was not the worst instance. On the first day, a few of the buses were having similar issues to WVN36. However, the most notable first day sighting is of a WVL with 649 to Campion School, with a 131 blind fitted on top of the number display, with destination on the dashboard. It was however just a few days later, that nothing informative within the blindbox was found on a 131 working:


WVL246, albeit on an unallocated route, shows the full temporary display galore, with two route numbers and a destination. This bus is normally found on 44, 270, 280 and 163.
(© Alisha Juszczyk)

Even though there were some display difficulties, the first day presentation for some buses were decent.


These two buses were ex-First London, bought by Go-Ahead London when they bought out Northumberland Park and Dagenham respectively. What used to be VN37878 and DMV44278 is now WVN45 and SEN37. Both at Merton Garage and having been refurbished after being reassigned from route losses (259 and 368, respectively).
(© Aubrey)

The route has returned to Merton Garage after 30 years, when it was ran out of Merton (AL) partly on Sundays. First weekday allocation at Merton for 37 years. Now back on a garage on line of route, it goes to the same operator as the other Kingston-Tooting bus route, the 57, having transferred in 2016 to Merton. Although through most of its life, the 131 has been based in the western end of the route. It is allocated ex-First WVN Volvo B9TLs, as well as native Volvo B9TLs.


Also allocated are some native Volvo B9TLs, with WVL483 seen here in Kingston Cromwell Road
(© Aubrey)


Freshly transferred from Stockwell was E226, running fully blinded on the 131 on the first day. The only ADL bus out of a sea of Volvo/Wright on the first day.
(© Aubrey)

The first day was full of curtailments, including Raynes Park, Shannon Corner, Wimbledon, New Malden (as seen above), Colliers Wood and Merton Garage. Thus, the whole set of curtailments seen in one day. Gaps of about 0-20 minutes were observed, and bunchings of up to 5 buses in Wimbledon were found on the first day. Notable amounts of traffic did not help the first day.


Finally, out of sheer coincidence, two buses ordered for bendy bus conversion for the 453 (E188) and 436 (E226) are now finding themselves in suburban London in the same place. E188 is now a Sutton bus, whilst E226 is a Merton bus, seen on the 213 and 131 respectively.
(© Aubrey)

Other than the messy start, Go-Ahead London has not seen any major issues in the running of the 131 since then. It has been quite a turn of tenders in the past few years in the South-West, with 57, 131 all going to Go-Ahead, whilst London United regained the 85. The use of existing buses surely helped the bid for GAL for both the 57 and 131 in bus procurement cost.

Text by Aubrey and Patrick
Photos by Aubrey, Patrick, Hassaan Chaudhry and Alisha Juszczyk.

All rights reserved © WLTMTB 2017

5 Years of the WLTM Transport Blog

13/02/12, 0809hrs. That was when the WLTMTB, back then as the WLTM Blog was first formed.
5 years later, 11 people have come to the blog. Some have stayed, some have gone. But what's here is something that I just can't imagine back then.

This year, we are giving you a tad about a recent/notable photo that we have taken over the past few years, and a tad about ourselves.

Aubrey:

(© Aubrey)

This photo may be each an allocated working on these two routes, but without these two bus routes, I wouldn't have ended up as a transport enthusiast, or be the fairly interesting person that I am today. SP7 on the 111 is a normal working, with the bus starting out at Shepherd's Bush for the 148. Through allocation at Hounslow Heath on the H91 (my third favourite bus route), it is now at Hounslow, allocated to all double decker routes. SP170 on the N9 is actually a part of a batch for the 111. Both are OmniCity double deckers with different chassis/engine combinations. SP7 is a N94UD, SP170 is a N230UD.

The two routes are personally important, and thus are my favourite routes. The 111 used to be the way I'd go to get to Heathrow Airport, where I used to watch planes in the early 2000s. Through the various buses on the 111 (B7TL with ALX400, President bodies, as well as the odd step entrance bus), I started to become interested in buses, along with other transport modes. Since then, I have gained more knowledge, experience and time to the point where I felt I could write about it. However, I started a tad late, in 2012, when I did think about it since about 2007! Oh well, I finally started to gain friends who were enthusiasts, and since then, things have gotten on pretty well. University might have hampered the ability to write posts as frequently as I have done before, but I've still got the motivation and the passion to continue with the blog. My night photos have only gotten better over time, with increased practice on all-night night bus observations, as seen on Flickr. The blog has grown massively over the past few years, and it's been a great, albeit slightly rough ride! I never knew the ramblings about transport would mean something, but the days out associated with this blog were nothing short of amazing!
The WLTMTB wouldn't be where it is today without the rest of the team, past or present.
A group of friends who are pretty awesome in some way or another!

Thus thanks are in order for James, Lewis, Josh, Tom, Jacek, Anthony, Omar, Tommy, Felix and Patrick for the past, present and the future of the WLTMTB, as well as the wonderful time as friends!

Lewis:

(© Lewis)

Introducing the VHR, a somewhat prototypical vehicle of which there are currently only 6 iterations. They’re a modge of the standard Volvo B5LH / Gemini 3 and the New Bus for London, which iron out the functional flaws of the latter and the ghastly design of the former. I really like them – they’re a mix of something traditionally London (the interior, for example, is gorgeous) but yet they’re a conventional bus.
This particular vehicle, VHR45203 had had a bit of a history even before it had entered TFL service. Prior to this picture it appeared at the Bus Driver of the Year 2016 event in Blackpool and was next seen on the 23A at Imber.
The photo captured above was the bus’s first London service working – yes it entered service on school route 618 and not the high-profile 13 as was expected. It had also had a mini-makeover with new fleetcodes and logos, as well as a new registration – LJ16MUV from LJ16EXD.
The rest of the 6 VHRs gradually entered service in the following couple of months allocated to route 13. Since then a strange reallocation has seen them switch to the 183 – quite why I’m unsure but rumours have suggested it’s to do with the fact that LTs have are open-boarding whereas these do not, leading to fare-dodging. Whether or not they will move to the 139 in April remains to be seen.
With the new Mayor stopping orders for the bigger LT, I somewhat doubt if operators will choose to opt for the lookalike SRM given its political affluence, so perhaps there will only ever be 6 of these great vehicles. Others seem to prefer the more popular ADL version – the Enviro400 City – but I think this is far classier. A London bus on a Volvo chassis, where else do you look?!

This is my contribution to the 5th year post on this blog. I don’t write much these days, but with work becoming increasingly more challenging it’s difficult to find time to do other things. I’m also becoming less inclined to follow the updates within London, vehicles are all very similar and an operator change simply isn’t particularly interesting any more unless I’ve a personal connection to it. If anyone reading this feels the same as I do, find another interesting place. I often venture out into Buckinghamshire, where buses travel far faster and are generally better vehicles too! Commercial operations are seriously taking hold at the moment to grab as many passengers as they can what with constant government and council cuts, so make the most of it!
I hope to publish a thorough Carousel update in the coming months, which as most of you know is the company I like to involve myself with. I hope you enjoy reading the rest of the 5th year post and what my fantastic friends and co-writers have to say!

Josh:

(© Josh)

It’s been 5 years for the blog and almost as long for me too. I’m Josh, I joined the blog back in 2013 and have been posting ever since….. Yeah that was the plan at least.
I’ve not written for the blog in a very long time, this certainly being the first piece in at least a year. My interests over time have changed, moving away from the bus focused side that the blog mainly covers. I’ve also been rather occupied these last few seasons not finding any spare time to write, which I do enjoy doing.
The photo I have chosen is this. The first 68 set to venture past Oxford Parkway in passenger service. (This involved a 3am coach just for this working). Being my favourite class of locomotive, I couldn’t pass up an opportunity like this. Even with only a half hour nap on the coach!
I have some spare time now these days, so I hope to get round to writing for the blog again. I hope you continue to read the blog, we couldn’t be here without you.

Jacek:

(© Jacek)

I joined the blog a bit later than most of the others (still about 2 years ago now) so with that and the amount I write on here, I may not be the most prolific blogger. Generally I like to wander out to capture old (more interesting) buses out and about, or just for fun. So I'm not always there at most service changes. As times change I've grown less interested in London's bus scene and more into buses outside London as I find journeys there more enjoyable. Then again, which enthusiast doesn't?

I'm quite a nostalgic person, as anyone who knows me can tell. So instead of choosing my personal best photo, I chose that slightly blurred photo of a Euro2 Trident on the 47. It seems like only yesterday that these lovely buses were dominating east and south-east London, practically every corner I took I'd see one of them. By the time that picture was taken, they were going the way of the Titans and Olympians they had replaced back in the late 90s/early 2000s. So that was a good excuse to spend a chilly Christmas Eve morning outside. As the Flickr caption hints at, this was the last Euro2 Trident in TL, and later became one of the last in London running rail replacement extras on the 47. It's now sadly turned into Coke cans. Tridents in general, along with the other first-generation low floor buses, are largely vanishing from London. A shame, the newer stuff is less interesting *cough* 1000 almost identical LTs *cough*

Omar:

(© Omar)
I honestly think this is one of the best shots I've taken. Playing around with your camera does indeed get you somewhere! I may as well put this here as well, not only for the purposes of being here for the sake of it, but also as a reminder that not just the blog itself, but each member here, grew and prospered.

So, I'm pretty much the newbie here. It's pretty much safe to say I've slotted in here really quickly and came to get along very comfortably with the other members (okay that was a bit of a lie, I've known the members here for a while and bear in mind that the blog is indeed formed of a group of friends!) It's quite unbelievable how quick 5 years can pass. It feels like only yesterday when I was in year 5 revising for my SATs, and now I'm pretty much the resident crazy traveler of my family. Traveling has always been a big thing in my life and my love of traveling lured me into becoming a transport enthusiast. Upon joining the blog, I could finally put my wanderlust to good use. Sometimes, I'd travel alone, but it's truly best with others, and rarely does it get better than with other members on the blog!

Tommy:

(© Tommy)

Whilst it's nowhere near the best picture I've taken at night, the sheer rareness of the working more then makes up for the picture quality.
Here we see Metroline TP446 on the only occasion that a TP slipped out onto the 16 at Kilburn Station back in November 2015. This was at the time when TPs were still in use at Cricklewood Garage following the 558 Victoria line rail replacement in the summer, but their appearance on anything other than the 32 or 210 was extremely rare. The TPs were being used as cover for a lack of LT vehicles that were due for the 168, which was running with hybrid E400s at the time. The handful of TPs were mainly on the 32 and the 210, but one had made its way onto both the 139 and 189 too during their short spell at Cricklewood. Those of you who follow me on Flickr may also notice a link to this post and my page; the link being my Flickr handle which is TP446, taken from this very working!

The TPs arrived during my early days at Cricklewood and consolidated my liking of President bodied buses. This was a time when my local route, the 140, was fully allocated with Plaxton President Volvos! All the TPs that were at Cricklewood within their first month or so of entering TfL service had been copped by me; both riding and on camera.

Finally I should probably give a little about me too! I have the luck of both being interested in transport, or working for it too. By trade I design bus blinds, both smartblind paper and LED, in addition to service maps and route performances, at present.
My interest in transport began from a very early age and back then consisted mainly of buses. Going back I can still remember the old London United 140 Leylands, plus the mixture of Sovereign cream and blue, and orange on the 114! When I got my first camera nearly five years ago, I mainly focused on trains, and the London Underground in particular. Since I started working for the buses I rediscovered my bus passion and switched back to covering bus stories, though I do my best to keep the trains side of me going too!
I am also one of the newest members of the blog, and I'm coming up to my five month anniversary on the team too! I have already done a couple of posts, the BusExpo one being my first! My main area of coverage is NW London ranging from new vehicles to service changes, to just your everyday shots! Both Central London, and parts of SW London can come under my radar too.
Here's to more posts in the future and to however many more years on the blog. Who knows, this could still be my picture of choice come the Ten Year anniversary ...

And now, we introduce with an expansion into Essex, two new members of the WLTM Transport Blog!:

Felix:

(CC Felix)

I'm Felix, I hail from Southend in Essex and I enjoy photography and computing, and obviously transport. I really love the light in this photo. The sunset looks absolutely gorgeous, and the street lighting provides some lovely orange hues. The water reflects the sky, and the Air Line cuts through it, which, despite not being pushed by the new Mayor, continues to ferry tourists across the river.

Patrick:

(© Patrick)

I waited with much excitement for the ‘New Bus for London’ to be rolled out at the time I took this photograph. I was eager to see the return of the Conductor or “CSA” as TfL put it. Route 24 was one of my local routes during the time the NBfL was introduced. Having lived most of my life in the Mornington Crescent area, I familiarised myself with the variety of routes that passed near my street, many of which now too operate with NBfLs.

I’m Patrick, a London Transport enthusiast but also interested in trains and buses outside Greater London. I travel around London on occasion, by road as well as rail.

It's been a wonderful 5 years being on the internet, and members old and new have come and gone, but the WLTM Transport Blog soldiers on. We definitely would not have done it without you, the readers. Thank you all, from the eight-strong WLTM Transport Blog team; Aubrey, Lewis, Josh, Jacek, Omar, Tommy, Felix and Patrick.