Random Observations: August 2018

This past month has been quite interesting, with lots of oddities occurring on the bus scene. To reflect this increase in the number of pictures I've been taking, another post was deemed necessary.

Metroline Travel VW1384 is seen at Dean Gardens on route E2.

One such bizarre event was the appearance of two banditised Gemini 2s on the E2 for two days at the beginning of July. Both of these buses hadn't been used for a couple of weeks, but could previously be found in regular service at Perivale West (PA) garage before this. However, without explanation, VW1381 and VW1384 mysteriously entered service at Brentford (AH) garage, both on the E2, on Thursday 5th July 2018. Given that a couple of the VWs allocated to the E8 have started their refurbishment programme, it would make sense to have some cover vehicles and one automatically assumed that in due course, the temporary pen and paper displays would be replaced - "banditry" is something which this garage are generally quite good at avoiding despite their tendency to ask for loaned vehicles at the last minute. However, after two days, both of these buses disappeared again and haven't been seen since their two stints on the E2, which was almost a month ago. Very strange indeed.

Stagecoach London 17978 is seen on route 205, contrary to what the route branding suggests.

 On Saturday 7th July 2018, Stagecoach London found themselves in a crisis as a burst water main just outside Bow (BW) garage prevented any buses inside actually going out on the road. This meant that over the weekend, only buses which already happened to be out on the night shift were in constant use over the period, although as the PVRs of the N-routes are much lower other buses had to be sourced from elsewhere in the fleet. Route 8 was the least interesting, with 14-reg ADL E40Hs appearing on the route alongside the normal New Routemasters, although this does happen every now and then anyway. The route, however, was in pieces - in addition to the curtailment to Old Ford the event of England winning their world cup game meant the Shoreditch area was at a standstill as celebrating fans effectively took over the area. The 277 extra buses were quite nostalgic, because Trident ALX400s and Scania OmniCitys had been the allocation not too long ago, although the route itself wasn't actually affected by the flood. At least one bus was running around displaying "97" on the front. Route 205 was arguably the most interesting and ended up being what I photographed. Extra buses did actually appear on this service first, in the form of 61-reg E40Hs usually found at Leyton (T) garage, although funnily enough these did work the 205 many years ago. However, later in the morning some diesel E400s, a brand new type for the route, also worked the 205, between Mile End and Paddington only. However, the most amusing working was the appearance of a route branded Trident ALX400 normally based at Romford (NS) garage, not only bringing this very old type of bus into zone 1, but also advertising a bus service miles away! Members of the public were certainly very perplexed and stared at the locations with their faces riddled with curiosity, but what was even better is that when I boarded I ended up giving the lovely driver directions for part of the route, seeing as he had never driven the service before! It was a very satisfying experience and the legend even gave me some tickets for the mega sightseeing route operated by Stagecoach, which I will definitely be making use of! Who knows when something like this will happen again in London and it certainly gave some entertainment to enthusiasts across the capital.

Metroline Travel VW1386 is seen at Ealing Broadway on route 607.

Another weird transfer, involving the same batch of buses that appeared on the E2, was the emergence of two Wrightbus Gemini 2 B9TLs on the 607, also introducing a brand new type to Uxbridge (UX) garage. I still question why Enviro 400s from a universal garage couldn't be transferred down instead, avoiding the necessity of type training, but at least it adds even more variety to the 607, which now regularly sees all three types of double deck Gemini in service. Whilst one of the transferred Gemini 2s has moved on, VW1386 illustrated above is still a daily performer and is strictly allocated to the route. This bus does lack the "limited stop" information given on the blinds of the other vehicles unfortunately, which means along the Uxbridge Road corridor it now becomes really confusing when a White City bound bus turns up, as it could be either a 207 or a 607 until you look really closely. Initially, many enthusiasts became incredibly worried and feared that a much more substantial number of these buses were coming to the garage to replace the much-loved remaining B7TL Geminis, which have become increasingly unreliable as of late, although thankfully the reasons cited were vehicle shortages and the remaining Gemini 2 is just there for support rather than actually replacing anything. The 607 is said to be getting brand new buses of its own for the new contract in April 2019, although given the tradition of new buses for Metroline routes being diverted elsewhere, it'll be interesting to see what actually appears on the service in eight months.

Go-Ahead London MDL1 is seen at Cranham on route 648 to Romford Market.

There aren't many examples of buses being completely unique in London, although there are a couple of vehicles where only a solitary example of that type exists in the capital. One of these is MDL1, a demonstrator vehicle which has been allocated to many different services over several years, ranging from the (back then) Arriva route 233 from Swanley to Eltham, the infrequent 549 from South Woodford to Loughton, or its current roster, the school run only 648 from Romford Market to Cranham. It follows the mainstream 248 service from Romford to Upminster, but then runs along the 346 to the stand at Moor Lane, which involves passing under a low bridge, thus prohibiting double deckers from operating this busy route. MDL1 is a very fascinating vehicle, essentially having an Evolution body, but a VDL SB180 engine, something which hardly any vehicles possesses. It is very popular amongst the lucky enthusiasts who rode this vehicle when it was in service regularly. In recent times, however, it has become extremely unreliable and bar one small trip on the 108 as a supplementary bus a few weeks ago (which ended in a break down), it has done nothing apart from the 648 in 17 months, presumably because the bus can only handle this relatively easy duty and very few drivers are actually type trained. Understandably, its lack of appearances on mainstream routes is infuriating for many enthusiasts, and not only for those restricted by term time - being on a packed bus full of rowdy school children is hardly appealing for anyone and defeats the purpose of sampling the bus if the engine is inaudible. However, as hard as I tried to accept defeat and the prospect of never riding this vehicle, the rave reviews given by other members of the enthusiast community convinced myself to take a huge risk and try to board the service on the schools' last day of term, where I happened to be available. Given that if a school closes early, buses do not show up on LVF, and that MDL1 is still fairly erratic on this route, a sense of disappointment from waiting for three hours in Cranham seemed to be the likely outcome.

After around 30 minutes though, I hadn't even finished the puzzles section of the metro were shockingly, a 648 turned up around the corner. It also turned out to be MDL1. What luck! Interestingly, the first stop of the 648 isn't actually for the school it serves, which is a couple of minutes after, but the friendly driver had no problem with even letting me on a few minutes before departure, which doesn't always happen as sometimes on school routes anyone not in uniform is refused entry. General members of the public also boarded and to my delight, the school seemed to finish much earlier than when the bus turned up, so it wasn't crowded at all! My instinct of an early closure turned out to be correct and with a pretty much perfect outcome, I discovered that MDL1 truly is a beautiful bus - even though the 648 is one of the slowest routes in London its whiny engine is so satisfying to listen to and not like anything I've heard before on a bus. It is such a shame that this quirky oddity is effectively unable to work anything more sociable, but the trek down to the depths of East London was definitely worth it for this fantastic experience. It is uncertain whether the bus will return after the summer holidays given it is so troublesome, but if it does turn up again, a half day run is strongly encouraged. From this I should hope you readers can take away a moral from this - specifically, what I use to make difficult decisions when planning my days out. True, the likelihood of having a good journey on MDL1 was very unrealistic and it certainly seemed more valuable to do some route completions instead, but if this bus never returned again and I could've potentially had a successful run, I know I would never forgive myself. In the end I chose what I know in the future I would regret least and I strongly suggest you apply this when choosing between different itineraries.

Abellio London 9409 is seen on route E9 to Yeading, Barnhill Estate.

Abellio London have also taken a baffling manoeuvre in recent times, with routes E9 and 452 swapping allocations for no apparent reason. After sending a few single deckers on normally DD services and loaning lots of random Enviro 400s from various different batches, it became evident that Southall (AB) garage has a severe vehicle shortage. Initially, when a 56-reg E400 normally based at Battersea (QB) depot appeared on the route I thought it was just to support the allocations, but gradually more and more began to enter service until enough were available for the entire PVR of the E9. Along with spare hybrids and the other rogue DDs, there is no need for this route to use the 09-reg buses given for the contract gain back in 2016. A direct swap has happened here, with 9456-9464 (the former E9 vehicles) going to Battersea (QB) garage and now working the 452. No justifiable reasons have been given for this swap yet - even though it does make sense for the Central London based 452 to have the newer buses, the route is being lost to Tower Transit in December anyway. I do think it is a shame as the E9 buses gave some really fast trips back when I rode them, although when I'm given the opportunity, to reach a fair overall judgement I should sample its new allocation too and assess how they cope on the tightly timetabled evening trips.

Abellio London LT709 is seen on route 415 to Tulse Hill Station.

Due to frequency cuts on various Abellio London routes, a substantial number of Wrightbus New Routemasters have become surplus, with no route allocated to them as a result of the lower PVRs of the services they formerly worked. This means that when enough become available, entire routes can be converted to operation with the LT-class buses, using existing vehicles alone. As a trial period over the summer, route 415 has started to see the three door New Routemasters work the service on a daily basis, with at least 50% of the allocation being of this type. Unusually, however, the route is only utilising its allocated E40H MMCs today (Sunday 5th August 2018). These buses do complement the 415 effectively, given that it follows other routes like the 3, 159 and 168 which are already operated with these buses, although due to my negative views of the New Bus For London, it has put me off using the 415 slightly, with the much busier 133 that it parallels for most of the journey looking much more attractive nowadays. Thankfully, it is just a partial allocation for now and as the 415 is more of a relief route rather than providing many new links of its own, it is also easy to avoid. Whether the "trial" is successful and these vehicles remain on the route permanently is unclear, although at least there is the benefit of faster boarding times at notorious busy stops like Brixton Station which the 415 does serve.

London United ADH45032 is seen on Oxford Street making a very odd appearance on route 10.

I'm not usually one to bother chasing rare workings, although the appearance of a conventional bus on the 10, which has pretty much solidly run with New Routemasters since its conversion, was something I simply couldn't miss out on, especially because it was an ADL Enviro400H, a type which I didn't photograph on the route even when they appeared frequently. London United must've clearly been under lots of pressure on Tuesday 31st July 2018, as usually they are at least able to hire an LT from Shepherd's Bush (S) garage to prevent this kind of scenario. It also seems to be the SP-class Scania OmniCity vehicles proving troublesome at the moment, as there are quite a few hybrids on the E3 too, which is normally fully operated with the SPs. The bus emerged in the mid-afternoon, where the 10 seemed to be really struggling to run a good service and the London Vehicle Finder showed that the ADH was curtailed to Russell Square from very early on in the journey. As it was involved in a quadruple bunching, on my first journey there were only two other people on board and even though I was yet to photograph the vehicle, it was really enjoyable to travel through this part of Bloomsbury and past the British Museum on a bus with proper windows - going from the magnificent Olympus buses on the 7 to New Routemasters on the 10 is such a downgrade! At Russell Square the lighting was very awkward and annoyingly the bus left back for Hammersmith really early, so I ended up running all the way to Tottenham Court Road to catch a 390 and attempt to race the thing. Luckily, as Oxford Street is so slow moving, I managed to eventually overtake the 10 by walking and have several attempts whilst it was stuck in traffic, close to where I got on around an hour an ago. Catching this bus certainly wasn't easy, but I'm so glad I have a photo in my collection, as who knows when the next conventional on route 10 in its current form will appear again. If TFL do have their way, however, and merge this service with the 23 to run from Westbourne Park to Hammersmith, due to the tight turns, normal buses will be making a much more prominent return to this route.

Go-Ahead London VHP1 is seen on route 37 at Putney Heath.

Even though no more three door versions are likely to be ordered for London bus services, variations based on the model of the New Routemaster continue to be produced. Some of the latest examples include two VHP-class buses which entered service on the Go-Ahead route 37 this week, between Putney Heath and Peckham. In the future, their purpose will be fulfilled and will run as virtual electric double deck vehicles, using overhead pantograph charging between trips. However, at the moment the technology hasn't been installed anywhere apart from at Peckham (PM) garage where the route is based, so at the moment they are just running around as hybrid buses, albeit with a B5LH engine (normally found on Gemini 3s) rather than those typically found on New Routemasters. At the moment they are essentially just like the VHR-class "short New Routemasters" London Sovereign currently operate on the 183, except that these ones have a currently unused massive compartment downstairs taking up the space normally filled with priority seats between the front and rear doors, also being too tall for placement of baggage, although hopefully soon the exciting new technology will actually be put to use. Interestingly, the upstairs iBus screen lacks the mouldings of an LT, but just has a black outline with the writing on the top line being cut off slightly, which wasn't the case on the VHRs. At the moment, the buses aren't that impressive, as they are identical to Gemini 3s bar the body which has much poorer ventilation and the issue of people being used to three door variants and getting on at the back, although if the electric technology is successful it'll be interesting to see if any more are ordered by London bus operators. For the first week they operated on rush hour only spreadover duties, but one has appeared today (Sunday 5th August 2018) so perhaps they will be more prominent on the 37 from now on.

Go-Ahead London MBK1 is seen on route 358 to Orpington Station.

The re-emergence of this Mercedes Citaro K demonstrator has shocked many enthusiasts, with its last appearance being over a year ago. It's certainly had an interesting history with so many different operators trialling the short vehicle on routes like the X26, 355, 490, 235, 313, 110, 227, 444, 411 and 413, although its most recent return has been on the 358, between Orpington Station and Crystal Palace. However, I do question whether Go-Ahead are actually using this bus for trialling purposes, given that they've allocated the vehicle to a service that already uses the longer equivalent of this bus type, so a decrease in capacity on this busy route is hardly a wise move. It has been suggested that some of the allocated full-length Mercs are currently receiving some TLC, so a logistical spare of the same type on a temporary basis seems to make sense. It seems to be performing regularly on the route and members of the public do notice the contrasting interior colour scheme of red patterned seats and cream coloured poles. Apart from the capacity downgrade, the other drawback of this vehicle is its LED dot matrix display, which is infuriating for photographers and especially those using phone cameras where the shutter speed can't be controlled easily. Therefore, the framing of the picture above is a bit rubbish, but it is the only example out of 103 photos I took of the bus where the destination and route number are actually clear! If this really is the future of London buses then I might have to invest in a proper camera...

London United SP40058 is seen on route 65, not 281, to Ealing Broadway.

 One reason why LEDs are favoured over traditional blinds is their superior reliability, which prevents instances like this where misleading information can be conveyed due to blind failure. SP58 is actually on route 65 to Ealing Broadway, but it appears that the number blind is stuck on the 281. This is really confusing because both routes run in Kingston Town Centre, sometimes along the same stretch of road and operate with the same bus type (Scania OmniCity), so only the running number would give away, for enthusiasts in the know, what route it is actually running on, from the exterior. As for general passengers, they would have no clue whether their bus was going to Hounslow in disguise, or was a 65 pretending to be something else. A quick check on LVF revealed the latter. Hopefully the blind issue is now resolved as the bus seems to be working pretty much anything at the garage at the moment.

Thanks for reading and stay safe!