From the Editor

Apologies for the 48 hour delay to this weeks issue due to domestic issues but a Briefing of much interest.

Contributors have been busy and I am pleased with the results.

In this issue

New Oxford coach service to Gatwick a Heathrow announced

20 years of Arriva in MK (Part 3) by Matt Cooper 

Support for Thames Valley Air Ambulance by Carousel

Uxbridge with Gavin Francis

Grahame Wareham remembers COMS 378

SUPEELOOP SL11 launched by Gavin Francis

Readers Write

Fleet News & Developments

London operations with Andrew Webb

Readers visits outside our area

 

  versus

Oxford coach service to Gatwick and Heathrow announced

Oxford coach service to Gatwick and Heathrow announced | Oxford Mail

Graham Low DRAWS OUR ATTENTION THIS MATTER

The Oxford Mail has just posted that Flixbus will start competing with Oxbus Airline services from early February. A Birmingham operator is mentioned. Doubtless others will soon tell you more! They are probably very profitable for GoAhead at present but Flixbus seems to be gaining rapidly. 

20 years of Arriva in MK (Part 3) by Matt Cooper 

 

 

204 - The classic Portacabin depot-small but functional! Drivers room and facilities to the left, office to the right. This was within Wright's Truck yard which was once the trackbed of the Northampton to Peterborough railway line and the site of Billing Station. Drivers cars occupied the parking bays for the buses during the day and lorries would surround the buses!  

300 - Route 33 between Northampton and MK via numerous villages has been operated by various operators including Stagecoach, Red Rose, Z&S Travel and of course MK Metro. Johnsons Coaches of Hanslope had ran the service for some years which passed to MK Citybus upon takeover. Unusual vehicles were a feature of MK Metro which is exemplified by the following Dennis Dart-related pictures. Carlyle-bodied 458 (H858 NOC) began life with D&J of Silvertown in 1991 and was used on routes serving London City Airport. It was acquired in 1997 and seen on 7 July that year in Northampton. Its original layout of 32 coach seats, dual doors and no destination blind was later adapted to make the bus a 37-seat single door vehicle with a roller destination blind.  

301 - A favourite choice of bodywork was the UVG Urban Star later renamed Caetano Compass when the original manufacturer was taken over. Three were acquired in 2005 for use in Northampton and numbered 62-64. They were new to Limebourne for use on Transport for London contracts. Caetaneo at Waterlooville converted the vehicles to single door configuration and on 12 October 2005 62 (T408 LGP) was loading at Northampton University's Sunley Management Centre for a trip to the town centre. Earlier similar acquisitons were re-registered with Northern Irish NDZ xxxx plates transferred from withdrawn minibuses which had been new to London Buses. The whole Park Campus complex has since been demolished and housing now occupies the site. 

302 - On a freezing cold 11 February 2005 withdrawn Carlyle-bodied Dennis Darts 401 (H101 MOB) and 404 (H94 MOB) were making their way to the Stafford Bus Centre for onward resale. As a precaution both buses were left running while the drivers used the facilities at the service area in case they would'nt start for the last leg of their journey!  

303 - A trio of Plaxton Pointer-bodied Dennis Darts were acquired from Stagecoach South (Basingstoke) in 2003 and had been part of the original batch of dual-door vehicles delivered to Thames Transit in 1994. L709 JUD was numbered 3000 in Oxford and part of the Bertie Blackbird flock. It was numbered 419 at MK and all three retained their dual door configuration, one of the batch also used by the training department.  

304 - Another bodywork styling, the later version of the Pointer, featured on 44 (V897 DNB) aswell as a Voith gearbox. After short-term use by several operators from new it settled with Renown of Bexhill in 2003. MK Metro acquired it in 2005 and it later became 3510 in the Arriva The Shires fleet. Seen at Wolverton yard 26 November 2005 wearing the orange route 5 livery and accompanied by a Wright Handybus-bodied Dart, one of several new to Go-Ahead in Newcastle.  

 

305/6 - Two Wright Cadet-bodied VDL Bus SB120 were purchased new in 2004 (numbered 59 and 60).  They were joined a year later by YG52 CMU a slightly older example which was badged as a DAF SB120. This was acquired from Cumbrae Coaches who had used it on ferry link services on the remote Scottish isle. Painted in the orange livery its extensive auxillary heating system was a winner in winter months!  On 29 May 2005 it was operating Sunday-only route 33 between Hanslope and MK spending the majority of that day on its branded route 5.  Later that same year it attended, along with several other MK Metro vehicles, Showbus at Duxford where the chance to park vehicles alongside the resident aircraft was taken in this view.  

307 - Also attending the Showbus event, but in September 2000, was Optare Solo 19 (X419 BBD) one of three new that year. Twenty four Solos were purchased new by the company joined by several acquired second hand. 

Interesting as ever. Ed.  

Support for Thames Valley Air Ambulance

recorded by Gavin Francis

80208 was outshopped earlier this supporting TVAA

     
80208 seen on January 29th.

A morning in Uxbridge with Gavin Francis

 

 

On Monday this week I decided to go to Uxbridge to catch up on changes so used Carousel Rte 102 to get there from High Wycombe. Since I was last there Carousel have started new Rte 458 in competition with First Rte 3 running between Uxbridge and Slough.

 

   
Rte 458 is operated by 3 buses and today it was 80513, 80514 and 80885 being used.

 

   
First were using 47688, 63053 and 63302

 

Buses of both operators were being well used so the service remains popular.

 

Carousel now operate a number of routes in Uxbridge.

 

 
Rte 104 was being operated by 80445 and 80825

  
ombined Rtes 581 and 583 operated by 80531 and 80534

 

 
On Heathrow service 102 was branded 80611 and today Didcot Connector branded 80224

 

 Rte 101 was 80214

 

Arriva now operate another route into Heathrow via Uxbridge this time Rte 725 which goes to Stevenage.

 

 
Uxbridge used to be a stronghold of E400s as shown by TE 1312 and TE 1424 but many have been replaced by newer diesel (VW) and Hybrid (VWH) Wright/Volvos.

 

   
 The new order is represented by VW 1386, VWH 2005, VW 1384 and VWH 2009.

I've always enjoyed this type of article. Ed. 

Grahame Wareham remembers COMS 378

L378  OFC378  1950 AEC Regent III 9612A with Park Ryal L26/26R low-bridge body. In 1952 L378 was renumbered to L154.L154 was sold to TPE,Macclesfield(dlr) in November 1963 and resold to Burnett,Mintlaw as their No.15. It was later converted with platform doors  to L26/26RD and passed to Alexander Northern No.NRC24 on Burnett's takeover in December 1966. Upon withdrawal in January 1972 it was sold to British Promotions, London W12. It was later exported to L.A.Smith Co. Carroll IA USA in June 1972. 

     

 

378 KFC378G Daimler Fleetline CRG6LX  with Northern Counties H41/31F low-height body. Part of an initial batch of ten these were used on conventional conductor operated duties, mainly 2 road for the first few months of their lives and then sere subject to ticket machine trials with motorised equipment pending agreement to be used as full OMO double decker's. Once the second batch of similar but dual-doored vehicles arrived the following year 378 and its sisters migrated to country depots, Watlington depot becoming 378's home  for a number of years until transfer back to Oxford for the final service years before withdrawal. On withdrawal 378 along with 375-77,379 & 380 were transferred to NBC special projects and was converted by Midland Red's Carlyle Works into hospitality units promoting PHAB a charity based on childrens welfare in the North East based at Newcastle sponsored by Vickers. After use as an  NBC Area Exhibition Unitit was donated as a playbus to East Hants District Council for use in Winchester by October 1993. 378 was later sent for scrap to T.Wigley (dealer), Carlton, Barnsley by November 1999.  

   
   

378 GHJ378L Daimler Fleetline CRL-33 with Northern Counties H49/31D body. At the time the Company had a requirement for two more high capacity double-deckers and part of that requirement was that they could pass under Botley Road Station bridge, which of course the DMS's couldn't. Very few dual-doored low-height Daimler Fleetines had been built so when Southend was disposing of some more recently refurbished Fleetlines it was decided to grab a couple. Southend had expressed an interest in acquiring Bristol RE's 82 & 88, which had by then been recently withdrawn. Southend had ialso recently retrimmed these two Fleetlines  which were fitted with CAV Automatic gear operation and power steering and the bonus was that they were 80 seaters. 378 along with sister bus 380 and previously acquired 368 was to spend most of its Oxford encounter on Park&Ride routes, making use of its low-height under the station bridge and was a popular bus with the drivers. In September 1988 378 was sold to R.Kime, Folkingham, Lincs and was used up until 1991 when it was withdrawn and used for spares.

   

Memories restored. Ed. 

T W W Knowles records his interest

I do find Grahame Wareham's history of vehicles that have similar fleet numbers interesting, especially where the vehicle under review has passed to another operator. 

In his 377 "edition" the photographs of OFC 377 made me rummage amongst my photographs since several buses passed from COMS to Alexander Northern via Burnett of Mintlaw.  

I am attaching four photographs which may be of interest. All passed from Burnett to Alexander Northern in whose ownership they are shown. 

   

The only comments I would make are to draw attention to the rear of OFC 378 which shows the emergency exit after the rear doors had been fitted a few years earlier and PWL 415 is operating for Alexanders but is still in Burnett livery when seen in 1968.

. OJO 727 is in Mintlaw depot.It is now in the Oxford Bus Museum

My thanks to Thomas. Ed.

  SL11  

Superloop bus Gayton Road / Abbey Wood Station

From: North Greenwich Station To: Gayton Road / Abbey Wood Station

by Gavin Francis

 

The latest Superloop route the SL 11 commenced service on Saturday January 24^th 2026. Basically it replaced Route 472 which had been operated by Stagecoach but the SL 11 is operated by Go-Ahead from their Morden Wharf Garage (MG).

The route is 9 miles long and has a PVR of 20. As seems to always be the case the New Routemasters which are due to operate the route were not ready for the start date and a mixture of WVN and WVL buses Volvo B9TL with Wright Eclipse Gemini 2  bodies are being used until they become available. It is thought that the balance of the New Routemasters required will come from those previously used by Stagecoach on the SL3 until they were replaced by new electrics in 2025. 

   
 
The last day of route 472 was Friday 23^rd January and Stagecoach 11019 is seen in Woolwich and 12289, 10180, 13068 and 13071 are in North Greenwich.

 

     
   
 The WVN fleet has been used in all parts of London usually covering for missing buses.
Shown here are WVN 26/27/30/31/32/34 and 36. WVN 26 and WVN 32 are shown at Millenium Village, Greenwich,
WVN 27, 30 and 36 at Abbey Wood and WVN31 and 34 at North Greenwich.

 

 
2 New Routemasters LT 61 and 848 however were available. LT 848 is shown at Abbey Wood and LT 61 at Woolwich.

 

Many thanks to Nigel Eadon-Clarke for supplying the pictures. 

Another fascinating article from Gavin with the help from Nigel. Ed.