Wright Bus For The Wrong Route

Hello readers, this post is about route 7 converting to Wrightbus Gemini 3/B5LH operation in June 2014. If you are a regular viewer of this blog, you probably know that I loved the old kit on route 7, and I'm extremely sad that they are departing from areas like Russell Square and East Acton. I adore them and there are 63 in London at present. By the end of summer, they will no longer be in Central London, and will mostly be on routes 297, 79, 498 and 474. They are unique, especially because of the large windows, quick acceleration and their stylish exterior. Here is the history of the old kit:
         
        Back in 2006, TFL announced that Metroline had won the contract for routes 7/N7. The bus type was revealed later, and because these vehicles were new to the UK it came as quite a shock to everyone. In July 2007, the buses arrived slowly by slowly and by the end of the summer, SEL739-SEL764 were all in service. They were strictly allocated to routes 7/N7 although they made occasional appearances on route 90, which normally uses MAN single deckers. The Scania's were allocated to Perivale East garage, when it was still open a few years ago.  Here is a picture of SEL741 on route 7 on 19/05/14:

Here is SEL741 on Du Cane Road.

 
                   

      In the Autumn of 2007, Metroline announced a further order of SEL's for a top up of route 205, when they still ran the route.  They were numbered SEL803-808 and entered service in March 2008. However, just one year later, Stagecoach won the contract for route 205 and the SELs were kept at the garage for a couple of weeks. The 205 got Scania OmniCity DD and they are 10.8m long, like the SEL's. Here is an interior of an SEL demonstrating the length.

After having a two-week break from service, SEL803-809 transferred to route 460 to allow the TPL's allocated to the route to transfer to Cricklewood. In late 2010, Metroline announced the 460 would move to Willesden Bus Garage, meaning the SEL's had another break, this time for over a month. Eventually, SEL803-809 transferred to the 297 meaning 6 TE's that were allocated to the route could move to Edgware (EW) and Cricklewood (W). The SEL's entered service on the 297 in January 2011, although SEL(s)739-764 often appear on the route as well as SEL(s) 803-808. This still happens today and it is actually more common to get a bus from the 7 batch on the 297 than 803-808. Here is SEL757 from the older batch of SEL's  on the 297:

When Metroline won the contracts for routes 79 and 105, only a few of these buses have made it onto these routes, due to the SEL's unusual blind layout. There is a manual front roller driver blind and a rear power blind.

  In 2012, Metroline closed Perivale East garage which meant 33 SELs were transferred to Perivale West. The CELF Centre is just around the corner from Perivale West, which is good as some of the SELs were faulty and still are now. SEL763, my favourite vehicle in London, was off the road for seven months. After a very long period in the CELF, it finally ventured out on route 90 in May. This bus, like a few others in the same batch, is refurbished.

The refurbished bus at the Russell Square stand.

    A sole Darwen Olympus can be seen at Perivale too, ordered for route 611 in 2008. Inevitably, it makes daily appearances on route 297, 7 and N7. Sadly, I don't have a picture of this bus. You can find out more about the future of these Scania buses later in the post....
    The route 7 conversion was delayed from Saturday 21st June by one week, because not all the drivers were type trained in time. VWH2001 made continuous trips on route 611 before the 7 conversion, but the rest didn't sneak out on any other routes beforehand. The Gemini's have also made trips on routes N7, 79 and 297.The Scania/Olympus buses can still be found on the route today, because one or two of the Gemini 3's aren't ready for service yet, despite them being in the CELF months before conversion. In May, I went down there to get pictures of the buses, and here is what I got:

Two Gemini's, one showing blinds for route 643, which runs from Cricklewood Garage using Enviro 400s, not from Perivale West.

This makes more logical sense, route 105 does run out of Perivale West. The B5TL demonstrator is on the left, which has recently entered service on route 297, more of which later. Note the B5LH (the bus on the right) has a slightly lighter tone of red.

The rear of VWH2012.

A line up of buses.

Here's the front of VWH2012, which didn't have its number plate fitted at the time.

   Thanks to the kind Perivale staff for allowing me to do this:

Lower deck interior facing the rear.

Interior facing the front.

Upper deck interior.

Upper deck interior facing the front.

The narrow flight of stairs.

A photo of VWH2014 taken in 2014.

   Now, here are the buses in service:

VWH2007 arrives on Eastbourne Terrace, which is now shut again, forcing a long diversion via Bishops Bridge.

The rear of VWH2007.

VWH2015 arrives at Paddington Station.

   I was dreading the conversion of this route, mostly because of my terrible experience on route 53. When I got to Telford Way, there was still one SEL in, but I boarded VWH2014 instead, to try out the new intake. I got decent seats, three from the front on the left, and the interior was quite bright inside, which wasn't surprising as the bus was empty. What's annoyed me is the temporary curtailment of the route to Oxford Circus, as I think the Bloomsbury area is one of the highlights of the route. It was weird having the iBus announcement "7 to Oxford Circus." The bus sped through East Acton and barely picked up anyone. The air cooling was working, but I still thought the engine noise was too quiet. The bus slowed down through the Ladbroke Grove area, where it has to navigate through tight turns and narrow roads.
   VWH2014 picked up a few more passengers at Ladbroke Grove, choosing to take the 7 rather than the rival route 23 Enviro Hybrid behind. To be honest, I really dislike these buses, and I would've opted for the Enviro. Our bus slowed down even more through Westbourne Park, and the 23 behind was long gone by the time our bus got to Westbourne Grove, where the 7 meets with it again. What was unexpected was a diversion because of the closure of Eastbourne Terrace, meaning a double run over Bishops Bridge. I got ready to alight, and overall, I had a good experience, but it wasn't good enough to retain the top spot. I got off the bus, and instead boarded my new favourite route in London, the 205.

Here is a shot of VWH2006 at Paddington.

   So, what happened with the buses the Gemini 3 replaced? Well, they went to routes 297 and 79, to make up the full allocation! Having said that, only one or two Scania's have made it onto the 79, probably because about 7 of the SELs are faulty (boo hoo).

As you've already seen an SEL on the 297, here is one blinded for the 79. This photo is a bit of a cheat, because SEL751 was actually working route 7 that day, but the rear of the bus stated it was working route 79.......strange.

     Once the Scania/Olympus buses had settled down on routes 79, 297 and the 90, which seems to steal (well, borrow) about 5 SELs every day. VW1205-1216 have departed Perivale West (PA) garage to be lumped in with the other 50+ Gemini 2's at Holloway (HT). The plan is to convert route 43 to full Gemini operation, which means waving goodbye to the Plaxton Presidents that still work the route. I did try to get VW1211 on route 43, but that failed due to horrendous traffic on the Strand. Five days later, I tried again, and was flushed with success:

VW1211 works route 134 at Warren Street.

  Inevitably, the buses were released onto other HT routes, like the 134, W7 and the normally NB4L route 390. Now, 9 Enviro 400s have temporarily transferred to Cricklewood (W) garage, to cover for route 32, which has recently lost 8 of its Trident/ALX 400s, as they were needed on route 112. Route 112 will receive its own batch of buses in August. After August, some of the Enviro 400s will transfer to Uxbridge (UX) to convert route 607 to full Enviro operation, and some will go to Brentford (AH), to work routes E2 and E8, to replace five Gemini 2s that will transfer to Harrow Weald (HD) for routes 140/640. It's a bit shambolic, isn't it! Anyway, one more thing.
     Not strictly related to the 7 conversion, but delivered with the 7's batch, is a B5TL demonstrator delivered to Perivale West (PA) for use on route 297. It is similar to Go-Ahead's V6, and Arriva's VGD1, and here is VW1469 on its second day in traffic at Ealing Broadway:

VW1469 waits at Ealing Broadway Station.

Thanks for reading!