WLTM Transport Blog

21/11/2013

RM on Route 211, 11/11/13 (Armistice Day)

The same bus, two views. RM1005 on Route 211, Waterloo Station

In the same instance as the 4/24 RM/Ls on Red Nose Day, RM1005 did the 211 and RML903 did the traditional 24. Both were again competing for the most money raised. Both again gave tickets, and there were quite a few enthusiasts varying in age. Yet I was the only one in any type of suit! Apparently, the 24 ended up running one hour late, and this 211 turned out to be 5 minutes early into Hammersmith. But enough about that, this running of Routemasters are for a good cause, for the Poppy Appeal to help raise money for remembering the soldiers from the wars that British Forces have been involved in.
Running for Armistice Day are RML903 on Route 24 and Sir Peter Hendy's RM1005 (with Tower Transit legals) on Route 211. Again, I decided to follow at least one of them, and I chose the easiest to cover - the 211:

RM1005 on Route 211, Waterloo Station

RM1005 "on hire to Abellio London" legals

RM1005 running cards and on loan legals

RM1005 on Route 211, Waterloo Station

I then took the aforementioned bus to Hammersmith:

RM1005 on Route 211, Hammersmith Bus Station (Upper)

The shadow of the NBfLs behind the lighted RM1005!

RM1005 on Route 211, Hammersmith

Rear of RM1005 on Route 211, Hammersmith

Oh, and the information sticker inside the bus. Yes, that's Sir Peter Hendy's address.

Oh, and one more thing.
Quack.
I have the A4 sheet on the rear saying 211 - white on black and two posters (A4 and A3).
Quack.

20/11/2013

My Picture Archive Post 17

120th Post of this year...

London United OV53 on Route 272 (edited from original), 2011

London United OV53 on Route 272, White City, 26/10/11

Route 283 OVs started out wearing no logos, before moving to NSL logos. When Transdev London bought the operations of NSL by 2009, the logos were removed. They still plied the same boring 283, but they did go on more interesting exhibitions of the 440 and 272 (shown). When the C1 was gained, the C1 also had odd workings on it (from 50th Post):

London United OV50 at White City (July 2012 - James Panaligan)

Afterwards, the 272 and C1 both swapped with the 220 and now both are at Shepherd's Bush Garage, whilst the 220 is at Park Royal. Therefore, the workings shown will not be done again, unless the buses off the 283 move to S, or the routes move back, neither is likely at the moment.

Meanwhile, the route itself - 272 isn't a new number, it has been used in Thamesmead and Stratford. However, this route started out as part of the 55, which became the E3 and the little section later becoming the E4. This E4 morphed into the H40 and has since been morphed still into the 272 (Turnham Green-Chiswick Grove Park) and the 440, which took the majority of the route of the H40. The 272 was to replace the southern bit of the H40 then run along new roads via estates (not White City Estate, but it serves White City) to Shepherd's Bush via East Acton. It has been with three operator names, and three garages, yet it's changed company through a contract change once... It started out on 25/05/02 with Dennis Darts (usually 8.8m) but sometimes, strays from the 391 and (usually) 283 (with the quacking Duck Bus advertising). It initially was to go further from Grove Park, terminating at Strand-on-the-Green, but it clearly never happened. Then this all changed when NCP Challenger, a car parking company, won the 272, 440 and E11. Enviro 200s were then introduced from 26/05/07. The company would subsequently be renamed NSL Services, before being bought by Transdev London Sovereign, transferred within Transdev to London United before being split from Transdev to RATP and now is under London United/RATP. And the contract has only been renewed very recently! It takes the same 2007 10.1m Enviro200Darts, but also gets some from the 72 and C1.

The picture above is edited, so below is the original:

London United OV53 on Route 272, White City, 26/10/11

Oh, and one more thing.
Quack. Happy Birthday. Quack.

06/11/2013

Arriva Sapphire: Route 280 (31/10/13)

Arriva have decided to up their game recently and introduce a 'Sapphire' branded service on four routes across the country. These services include a good frequency, leather seating, free wi-fi and on-board power sockets.

The first to be converted to Sapphire was Arriva Buses Wales route 1, running from Chester to Wrexham. These used existing Enviro400 buses (4402-4410), which were reregistered J100ABW-J900ABW, with ABW standing for Arriva Buses Wales.

A spare backup bus is a Wright Eclipse, numbered 2799 and registered J999ABW. I don't know if it was coincidental to have the '999' part in the registration (which came from the fleetcode), as it is the call for help bus!

The second to be converted to Sapphire was Arriva Midlands services 31 and 31A, running from Oadby to Leicester. These used existing Wright buses (4001-4010), which were reregistered with Northern Irish plates TUI7931-7940.

The third to be converted to Sapphire was Arriva Shires line 280, running from Aylesbury to Oxford via Thame. These used existing Enviro400 buses (5434-5440, 5452, 5453) which were the first Sapphire conversion buses to keep their original registrations! 5454 and 5455 act as spares, kitted out with Sapphire interior, wi-fi and sockets, but painted in standard Arriva interurban livery. Route 280 received the first Sapphire buses to feature the very smart white LED displays, the two preceding routes kept the original orange displays.

There is a fourth to be converted, route 7 between Durham and Darlington, towards the end of this year.

--

Anyhow, since the 280 is the closest to London, I decided to cover that!
I began with a journey to Oxford, which by-the-way is brilliant for obs, with the fabulous Carfax tower in one direction and many other old buildings in the other.

Arriva 5453 / SN58ENY - Oxford City Ctr

Arriva 5438 / SN58EOK - Oxford City Ctr

Arriva 5455 / SN58EOB - Oxford City Ctr

Arriva 5438 / SN58EOK - Oxford City Ctr

Arriva 5436 / SN58EOH - Oxford City Ctr

Arriva 5435 / SN58EOG - Oxford City Ctr

Following the journey to Oxford, I did the 280 from end-to-end to Aylesbury Bus Stn. The journey was very peaceful, taking roughly an hour and twenty minutes, through the towns of Headington, Wheatley, Thame and Haddenham. Once at Aylesbury, I did some more observations. If you do want to go to Aylesbury for this, don't do them in the bus station as it is dark and gloomy - head outside the Friars Square as all the buses approach the bus station from there.

Arriva 5437 / SN58EOJ - Aylesbury Bus Stn

Arriva 5452 / SN58ENX - Aylesbury Bus Stn

Arriva 5453 / SN58ENY - Aylesbury Bus Stn

Arriva also took the time and effort to produce a video for the 280 Sapphire service, which is here if you want to watch it.

Other pictures from the day:

Due to the upcoming introduction of Oxford's LEZ, Red Rose have had
to permanently allocate this Enviro200 (Euro V) to route 275. It is a
very nice journey from Wycombe to Oxford, with speeds up to 58mph!

Oxford Bus 202 / BF09OXF - Route U1 - Oxford City Ctr
This is one of the special Brookes University buses, which can be used by all (similar to Uno services in North London)

Oxford Bus 351 / R1OXF - Route 3 - Oxford City Ctr
One of Oxford's new B5LH buses, making the company one of the greenest in the country.
Note also that all of Oxford's buses have specialised registrations, containing the three letters 'OXF' at the end to symbolise Oxford.

Thames Travel, which has recently been adopted into part of the Go-Ahead franchise along with Carousel, is also a big company in and around Oxford. Here we see 913 / OU08HGN in Oxford City Ctr

Arriva 6004 and 5157 having a small race outside Aylesbury Bus Stn

Redline MK63XAS - Route 4 - Aylesbury Bus Stn
One of their new Enviro200s, which are one of the first in Britain to have the small daytime running lights in the gap below the main headlights, which look very smart indeed.