Tube Strike 2015 Part 2 09/07/15

Time for the second day of Tube Strike Extras post. Photos from Aubrey of both days are here.

United Transit VA54 on Route H91, Turnham Green Church (CC Aubrey)

Yep, I've finally gotten the Tube Strike Extras close to home, finally!



United Transit VP111 on Route H91, Hammersmith (© Aubrey)

Route H91 had the obvious extras, with 10 buses from the private hire/contract fleet. Which allowed Volvo Olympians and Volvo B7TLs to go on the route!


Reading Buses 1111 on Hammersmith-Heathrow Tube Strike Extra, Hammersmith (CC Aubrey)

Interesting extras included the two temporary shuttles to Heathrow. Reading Buses/OFJ Connections operated this Hammersmith-Heathrow one, whilst National Express/United Transit operated the Victoria-Heathrow one (called A4, fittingly). Reading Buses used 5 buses on this extra service


Timebus RML2263 on Route 29, Trafalgar Square (CC Aubrey)

Route 29 had more of the notable extras, getting 12 buses from London Bus Company and 2 buses from Timebus (one of which is seen here).


Blue Triangle EN25 on Route 11, Charing Cross (© Aubrey)

Somehow, this bus is actually on the 11, despite the lack of displays showing it. I (Aubrey) had to tell the passengers waiting for an 11 that the bus was an 11. Some people heeded the advice and the bus left completely full. I knew nearly all the people waiting at the bus stop was for Liverpool Street and The City, and the bus stop was considerably crowded.


Ensignbus RCL2226 on Route 25, Holborn Circus (CC Aubrey)

Yes, the 25 is always the most interesting with extras. Here is a Routemaster coach, with conductor saying that the bus is full and that there were no 25s past Holborn (which was correct at the time).


Ensignbus RM1843 on Route 25, Holborn Circus (© Aubrey)

Although this one has a sign at the front saying that the bus is full, which is easier (as it passed the stop).
This was one of approximately 5 Ensignbus extras on the 25.


Travelmasters V108 LGC on Route 25, Holborn Circus
The morning lot I got was rounded off by this Travelmasters bus (ex-London Central).


Stagecoach London 10181 on Route 205, Liverpool Street (© Aubrey)
There were about 5 buses from Stagecoach London themselves doing Baker Street-Bow shorts on the 205


Abellio London 8335 on Route 188, Canada Water (© Jacek)
Abellio London did their usual stuff on the 188 and 211 by putting a single decker on the route as part of the extras.


Trustybus TP461 on Route 8, Shoreditch (© Jacek)
At least this time, Trustybus put full displays of the 8 on at least one bus out of their share of 2.
The 8 had about 19 extras from various companies.


Stephensons 502 & 608 on Route 25, Stratford (© Aubrey)

A miracle, sort of. A 25 with seating room during a Tube Strike! Two out of 4 Stephenson's buses (which all ran in a convoy) running out of Stratford on one of the busiest routes during a Tube Strike.


Travelmasters EY07 AXH on Route 25, Stratford (© Aubrey)

Not all of the 5 Travelmasters buses had correct 25 displays, this one showing the whole route, so unless it did the whole route from Ilford to Oxford Circus (which is highly unlikely), then this is wrong!


Ensignbus 111 on Route 257, Stratford (© Aubrey)

The 257 is one of the few suburban routes that got Tube Strike extras, with 6 provided by Ensignbus.


Ensignbus 159 on Route 257, Stratford (© Aubrey)

Stagecoach returns to the 257! Sorta, as this is an ex-Stagecoach London Trident.


Abellio London 9768 on Route 211, Hammersmith (© Aubrey)

Abellio London did their usual "Tridents + single decker" stuff on the 211.


London United TA239 on Route H91, Hammersmith (© Aubrey)

Yes, this is how crowded the H91 can really get! This is literally just 7 minutes after the previous one had left! The bus was full when it left.


United Transit VP105 on Route H91, Hammersmith (© Aubrey)

I took this home, but instead ended up at Hounslow West. Fittingly, as this was roughly in the same condition as when it left TfL service inside - my old buses on the 111/120/H32/81/222/H98.


United Transit VP110 on Route H91, Hounslow West (© Aubrey)

Only to take this back home. Yes, this bus was one of the last Tube Strike Extras still out on the road by about 10pm!


So as we fall back onto the rear of yet another Tube Strike (and the rear of VP110 (© Aubrey), it isn't much longer until the next Tube Strike (which turned out to be LESS than a month than this one!). So this lot will happen again!

London's Asymmetric Change

Asymmetric is a word to describe the front of the new Enviro 200MMCs for Route 499. But both sets of MMCs have reached Romford (North Street).

Stagecoach London Enviro MMCs (both photos are © Aubrey). The Enviro 400MMC shown on the right and the Enviro 200MMC on the left. Hopefully it appears on the screen properly. One is symmetrical at the front, one isn't.


Stagecoach London 10303 on Route 498, Queen's Hospital (© Aubrey)

The 498 MMCs can be seen as definitely being fast, but rarely being able to exhibit it due to the re-casting of the 498 timetable to slow things down just in case the A12 messes up.


Stagecoach London 10305 on Route 498, Romford Station (© Aubrey)

Otherwise, they are just the same as other E400MMCs. Rattles are not an issue, the ride is smooth (although there are surprising results when compared to the Enviro 200MMC!). The other diesel MMCs I've used as well are the ones at National Express West Midlands, and they are pretty decent, so these are comparable to them.


Stagecoach London 36601 on Route 499, Romford Station (© Lewis)

The praise is needed, and deserved. It is much much better than the Enviro 200 non-MMC (sorry, Uno) in terms of ride quality and smoothness. The Voith gearbox means they are comparable to the NXWM ones for Route 37. When the accelerator is lifted, the engine makes a wonderful fluttering sound, which certainly injects some life into these lovely buses! This does also mean that Lewis and Aubrey both have been on both batches of Enviro 200MMC.


Stagecoach London 36601 on Route 499, Gallows Corner (© Aubrey)

The rear looks like a squashed Enviro 400MMC? Either way the rear is way more symmetrical. Except for the cycles sticker. Interestingly, the rear window is two-piece, which does give an interesting "sky-light" quality to some.


Interior of Stagecoach London 36601 on Route 499, Gallows Corner (CC Aubrey)

The interior is bright, and the iBus screen is just above a CCTV screen, although outside London, the iBus screen would be replaced by a "Bus Stopping" sign and the CCTV screen would show next stop information instead! Interestingly, that is placed in front of the front bulkhead, not integrated into it like the old Enviro 200 (ECWTA).


Stagecoach London 36601 on Route 499, Gallows Corner Tesco (CC Aubrey)

Yep, a phone photo appears here. The Enviro 200MMC is very smooth, smooth enough to sleep on. And to be honest, it was the best sleep I (Aubrey) had in a long time from inside a bus! Overall, the Enviro 200MMC is a good bus. Even in London service.

Yes, there is a massive backlog of posts, they will eventually be uploaded as and when they are written.

The Romford Shuffle

The other Romford change at the end of June was the 499, also to Stagecoach but from Arriva at Grays. It's a bit of a round the houses, back road type of route but is secretly useful as a means of leaving Romford via the 173 for Jacek(!)

Arriva Kent Thameside 3973 on Route 499, Romford Station (© Jacek)

Previous stuff on the route included some Cadets which were a nice ride and some E200s that weren't (clapped out, etc).
There was also banditry on some ex-Dartford E200s, and even the occasional double-decker.

Under Stagecoach the allocation has settled down, sort of. The route was meant to be using new Enviro200 MMCs but their delivery and their blinds are apparently late so the ones off the 296 are being used. They look smart having been fitted with white blinds:

Stagecoach London 36266 on Route 499, Romford Station (© Aubrey)

The performance of the route has been uninteresting – despite the buses running without blinds, Arriva ran it at an acceptable level and it's the same under Stagecoach. There was the occasional curtailment in the early days like most routes but nothing major.

Stagecoach 36262 on Route 499, Romford Station (© Jacek)


Stagecoach 36262 on Route 499, Queen's Hospital (© Aubrey)

Meanwhile, the 296 is temporarily using Tridents, a route normally run by these Enviro 200s:


Stagecoach London 18477 on Route 296, Romford Station (© Aubrey)

These buses have white blinds due to the 498, of course.


Stagecoach London 17773 on Route 296, Romford Station (© Aubrey)

Although some don't need blind changing to be on the 296, as seen here, looking more natural at Romford.

When the Enviro 200MMCs appear on the 499, it will be one of two cities that have both the Enviro 200 and 400 MMCs, so pairings like this will be more often:


National Express West Midlands 2210 on Route 37 & 6709 on Route 900, Birmingham Moor Street (© Aubrey).
Yes, a post is WIP.

EDIT: Ironically, they entered service the very next day!

Stagecoach London 36601 on Route 499, Gallows Corner (© Aubrey)
Yes, a post is also WIP.

And that would does look very angular. Alongside the Streetdeck would be another thing.