Day sixty nine to Ealing for the No 112 and then the No 113 back to Oxford Circus from Edgware.

The first trip in December 2018 saw me on the 1020 to Clapham Junction where I arrived at 1055. I was intending to catch the London Overground to Shepherds Bush thereby to catch the Central line westbound to Ealing Broadway. The display on platform 1 stated that the 1046 to Stratford was waiting but as the train did not depart until 1102 I assumed the system had not updated since the previous train had departed. This train arrived at Shepherds Bush at 1120 and by 1138 I was watching a freight train of 30 hoppers pulled by class 59 59201 through Ealing Broadway station.

Numerous bus stops around the green outside Ealing Broadway stations

DEL2064 approaching Ealing Broadway station

There are a good many bus stops scattered about the roads outside the railway station but eventually I found bus stop F which was where at 1151 I boarded Metroline's DEL2064 bound for Brent Cross Shopping Centre.






The bus headed initially east towards the North Circular and then turned North along this road to the Hangar Lane Gyratory. After this the bus followed a minor road that ran alongside the A406 to Stonebridge Park tube station. As the bus was a single decker it was difficult to take photos when on board so we will have to make do with photos at the beginning and the end of the journey. The entire journey was only booked to take 31 minutes and given after Stonebridge Park we passed swiftly along the North Circular Road I can see how this is achieved. However, in the rush hour there must be great uncertainty as to the arrival of this bus.

Disembarking from DEL2064

DEL2064 running off to rest before returning SW'wards

We finally reached Brent Cross Shopping Centre at 1224.

I could have walked around the corner and caught a No 113 to Edgware, but since I planned to catch that bus back from there I thought it would be more interesting to use another bus. Thus I tried the No 186 which runs from Brent Cross to Northwick Park via Edgware. This bus takes a convoluted route but at times was running parallel with the No 113.

Behind a No 113 in the No 186 as we headed north out of Hendon

Buses awaiting departure at Edgware bus station

Metroline VMH2452 arriving from layover point

The No 113 is now provided by new-well (2018), Volvo MCV Evo Seti hybrids and at 1328 I boarded Metroline's VMH2452 at Edgware bus station. The bus initially repeats the No 107 and for that matter No 186 route back to the A41 along Edgwarebury Lane. At Northway Circus the A41 meets the A1 just after bridging the M1 and the bus run along the A1 crossing the Bunns Lane bridge where there used to be a railway line from Mill Hill East to Edgware. At Five Ways Corner the routes split with the bus following the A41 again towards Brent Cross, 3 miles distant.

View through surprisingly mucky window given newness of the bus of Five Ways Corner

As we waited at Hendon the bus driver received a call on the radio about an incident at Brent Cross and to be wary about hold ups.

The queues in central and left hand lane as we approach Brent Cross Flyover

We were indeed lucky not to be held up as the left and middle lane was solid as we headed to the Brent Cross Flyover. Once on the flyover we could see the problem-there was a motorbike on its side and emergency services in attendance at Brentfield Gardens and because lorries couldn't get past, traffic was backing up in all directions. We were mercifully unaffected and carried on to meet the Finchley Road south of Golders Green to reach Swiss Cottage, St John's Wood and finally Baker Street.

The roadworks next to Baker Street station caused a brief hold up

After a brief hold up at the  road works we crossed the Marylebone Road and on down to Oxford Street. In the changes that happened in April 2017 the No 113 now turns east whereas before it turned west to finish at Marble Arch. Today the bus reaches Oxford Circus and then turns left to disgorge the final tenacious passengers at Margaret Street. This we reached at 1445.

Christmas decorations displayed along Oxford Street

The No 113 should turn away to the layover point before returning to Edgware

I had hoped to catch a train quickly on arrival at Victoria but the 1500 to Epsom was cancelled as were some others, so since it was in I caught the 1506 to West Croydon. This train takes an inordinately long time to reach its destination, not helped by the nine minute wait at Norwood Junction. Thus I didn't reach my home station after a change at West Croydon until 1608.

Day 68 To West London to do the No 110 and from Heathrow Airport the No 111

The day started somewhat inauspiciously, as on my arrival at the local station I found the train I intended to catch to Clapham Junction, the 0950, was not expected until 1001, which became later 1006. Plan B could have been to go to Sutton and round to Wimbledon but the 0936 just said delayed and was later announced as being 26 minutes late. This was all due to a signal failure at Selhurst which would potentially 'muck up' plans whatever train I had hoped to get. However, as I debated what to do, at 0959:45 the 1000 train arrived to take me to Clapham and I hurriedly crossed the bridge to effect such travel.

Class 67 No 67004 running along Platform 6 at Clapham Junction
with a rake of Pullman carriages

From Clapham Junction I caught the 1038, destination Weybridge and alighted at Syon Lane at 1059. From here I needed to walk to the West Middlesex Hospital where I arrived just as a No 110 was leaving.

RATP-DEV 30041 leaving on the No 110  as I reached the hospital

RATP-DEV 30045, my conveyance to Hounslow

The next No 110 arrived exactly 15 minutes later so at 1128 I was aboard AD E20D AD Enviro 200 of RATP-DEV No 30045. This is identical to the type my wife and I travelled on when doing the No 70 route, although despite being 2017 buses these have now been replaced by 2018 electric buses on this route.

Typical shop fronts as the bus runs into Hounslow

The route is fairly unexciting running from the hospital to Twickenham, Whitton and turning back on itself to run into  Hounslow from the west. The destination was Hounslow bus station which was achieved at 1223.

Final stop afore the bus turns into the bus station

Final resting point of 30045 before it heads
 back to the West Middlesex Hospital

My plan was to meet ex colleagues at lunchtime and to do this I needed to catch the Piccadilly line to Hatton Cross and then the No 423 to the Compass Centre. After spending a pleasant hour or so catching up with my mates I then made my way to the Central bus station to catch the No 111 to Kingston.

Buses laying over before return at Heathrow Central bus station

I had occasionally used this bus route after night shifts if I had missed the X26, but for no good reason since I knew at the time it would be a slow slog. It just seemed that in the morning rush hour however I travelled it was over two hours to reach home.

SP40034 awaiting its time for departure

Bus stop were I have spent many hours waiting not only for the X26 but sometimes the 285 to Hatton Cross or Feltham

SP40034 arriving in distance

At 1455 I boarded SP40034, again from RATP-DEV but this is a Scania double decker, a N230D OmniCity to be precise which is ten years old. Progress was as expected: slow and steady. It took the best part of ten minutes before we were at Hanwell Corner and were leaving the Heathrow free-flow zone. After turning north from the A4 and crossing the A312 to approach Heston from the west we reached a width restriction.

Police van blocking our way; had to be a bit surreptitious taking this
as I didn't want the police storming on the bus and taking my camera

At this point a police van blocked the way and there were a good many policeman surrounding a youth on the grass to our left. At the previous stop the bus had filled up with kids from the local school and the bus driver announced he had no idea how long we would be stuck here. Many of the kids who were perhaps only going a few stops got off and started to walk. It was only a little over 10 minutes though before we were underway again at 1525.

Here we are at St Leonards Chuch bus stop at Heston with dot in the sky (the police helicopter) over the spot we had been held up.

We still had a long way to go at this stage however, through Hounslow heading SW and then back east once we had passed under the A316 to reach Hampton. As the bus was approaching Hampton Court it was by now in complete darkness, the driver announced we would be terminating opposite the Cardinal Wolsey as there was a bus right behind us.

Terminal point of SP40034

Queuing to board our 'rescuer' for the final 2-3 miles

 This we did at 1654 and at 1657 were boarding the two years younger but otherwise similar SP40169 to complete our journey to the Cromwell Road bus station at Kingston which we reached at 1710, two and a quarter hours after original departure.

Finally alongside at Cromwell Road bus station at 1710 

I then caught the 1718 to Wimbledon and returned home by tram at 1800.

Day sixty seven north on the 108 and back south on the 109

I left home at 1105 to catch a train to Forest Hill where I arrived at 1247. From the station I walked east along the A205 South Circular under the railway tracks to bus stop L where the No 122 was to convey me to Lewisham. The No 108 now starts from the centre of Lewisham and runs through Blackheath to the Millenium Greenwich area before passing through the Blackwall Tunnel and on to Stratford. This is the only bus service which utilises the tunnel.

Lewisham central Bus stop

Lewisham market behind bus stop

I had to wait rather longer than the 8-10 minutes expected wait time, according to the timetable, although a 108 had left whilst I was trying to exit the 122. So at 1240, almost an hour after reaching Forest Hill I was underway on MEC1, a Mercedes Benz Citaro. This was the first of a series of 50 buses that London General bought for the Red Arrow routes which have now been superseded by BYD Enduro electric buses. However, within minutes of starting we were overtaken by MEC12, also on the same route so somewhere bunching had occurred and perhaps the bus I was on was 8-10 minutes late starting from Lewisham.

London General MEC 1 approaching with market stalls to its right

After circulating the maze of roads on the Greenwich Peninsula and leaving North Greenwich tube station we paused after passing under the Blackwall Tunnel approach road (A102M) to exchange drivers at 1309. We were back underway by 1311 and joined the throng entering the Blackwall Tunnel.

The queue for the Blackwall Tunnel

Getting closer to the Blackwall Tunnel

The transit was slow but steady and by 1318 we were out of the tunnel and running into Poplar. The bus then moved up to the A11 and turned right past Bow Church and over the A12 towards Stratford. However, as we approached Stratford City the bus driver announced we would be terminating there at 1342.

Passing Mittal's Orbit sculpture

MEC1 leaving me at Stratford City bus station

This was the penultimate bus stop and therefore to complete the route I had to wait for the next No 108. By now it was cloudy with a bitingly cold SE wind and the wait lasted until 1357 a full fifteen minutes before I could go the one stop, this time on MEC6 to arrive finally at 1402.

MEC6 has brought me to Stratford International since I couldn't cheat by walking!

Stratford International DLR station

Class 66 66735 with Bogie Aggregate Hoppers

Stratford International DLR station is somewhere I had had no reason to visit before and what seemed strange when we were underway and burrowing underneath Westcroft was the length of platform to left and right with a fluorescent tube glowing every 4 feet or so. It seems so wasteful of energy.

I changed at the West Ham interchange to the Jubilee line to take me to Canada Water. From here I took, at 1433, a Clapham Junction bound London Overground train for the first time, which meant that after Surrey Quays I travelled on a piece of line that for years was just a grass track under the viaduct as one approached London Bridge.
My destination to catch the No 109 was Brixton and until 1976 on the South London line there was a station at East Brixton which would have been useful, but I had to get off at the stop before which was much further way at Denmark Hill. From the station I walked to Kings College Hospital and on to Coldharbour Lane where I knew there were three buses I could catch to Brixton. However, presumably because of the earlier climate change protesters when a bus did finally come, it was too full to let anyone board. So looking at the timetable, where it stated the bus only took 7 minutes to Brixton I therefore resolved to walk. Once I reached Loughborough Junction station though, the three buses were joined by another, the P4, and this was not likely to be affected by the protesters blocking bridges in Central London. One of these buses was due and I was able to catch this to Brixton police station where I arrived at 1530.

I was at the bus stop with 3 minutes to spare so walked a little further north to take picture below.

Layover point for No 109 bus in Brixton before it returns to Croydon

The bus stop where the No 109 starts is only just across the road from the police station and so by 1535 I was aboard in my usual spot Abellio 2513. This bus travels straight down the A23, a route I had frequently used during train strikes when I worked at London Weather Centre, either on this bus, the No 250 or at times had cycled.
There was thus little to report save for the bus taking until 1605 to reach the Tate Free Library at Streatham High Road and it was 1647 before I was at Park Street in central Croydon. From here I decided to walk home given the density of traffic usually on the local roads at this time arriving at 1725.

Abellio 2513 now in darkness in Park Street Croydon at 1647

Day 66 from Whitechapel to Edgware via Finsbury Park and New Barnet The Nos 106 and 107

I left on the 1150 to West Croydon and changed onto the London Overground to Whitechapel where I arrived 1244.

DW517 at Cavell Street Whitechapel

DW517 awaiting
departure

The No 106 starts from Cavell Street on the opposite site of the Royal London Hospital, and so after a short walk I found the Arriva London DW517.

Raven Row Whitechapel

 This bus started at 1250 and immediately turned right down a cobbled street (Raven Row) before swinging left onto the A107 Cambridge Heath Road to Bethnal Green and on to Hackney.

Almost new CT plus 1287 with 68 plate

Just after the canal was crossed the bus stopped to change drivers; this being adjacent to Ash Grove bus depot in Mare Street near junction with Victoria Park Road. This stop was very short indeed, and the bus was soon off to Hackney and then turned right at Hackney Downs station towards Clapton Pond.

Clapton Pond this time in Autumn colours having last been here when doing the No 38, 55 and 56

A little further beyond the roundabout we passed the original Tram depot which has businesses with appropriate names such as the Tram Store. After passing Clapton station the bus turned left and headed towards the library towards Stoke Newington common where I had previously dis-embarked from a No 73.

Stoke Newington fire station now a nursery

Finsbury Park railway and tube station

We ran up the A10 until Stoke Newington station before turning left down Manor Road and onto Lordship Park and on to where we met Blackstock Road where it ran to Finsbury Park railway station where it reached at 1348.

Thameslink train to Cambridge North

At Finsbury Park railway station I made my way to Platform 8 to catch the 1403 towards Welwyn Garden City which may be the last time I travel on a class 313 as they are expected to be replaced soon by class 710.

Class 313 approaching Finsbury Park from Moorgate

1403 to Welwyn Garden City Platform 8 at Finsbury Park

Class 313 at New Barnet heading for Moorgate

Class 313 leaving for Moorgate at New Barnet

At New Barnet I alighted at 1418 and found myself back at the same bus stop where we had previously caught the No 84.

Waiting for the No 107 at 1422 at New Barnet with a No 84
DEL848 in front of TE981, both buses of Metroline

Before departure the No 84 displays a red poppy on the opposite
end of the destination box on DEL848

 The No 107 was a Metroline double decker TE981 which departed at 1428. Initially progress was quite slow up the hill towards High Barnet owing to one lane of the road being closed for roadworks. Unlike the No 84 we bared left at Barnet Church

The flint made church and church hall at Barnet

and headed for Barnet Gate where speed was considerably quicker. The bus crossed the Stirling Corner roundabout and was then outside Greater London and in Hertfordshire in the borough of Hertsmere.

Another No 107 heading to New Barnet. Note the yellow and green bus stop no longer TFL but Hertfordshire

The bus then turned right into a housing estate which eventually became an industrial estate before reaching Borehamwood town. We went briefly into the Tesco car park next to Elstree Studios before heading on to Elstree station.

The side of Elstree Studios

From Elstree and Borehamwood railway station the bus reached Elstree village and then crossed the M1 and up Brockley Hill to the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, reached at 1520.

The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital

Destination achieved Edgware station

My mum was having a blood transfusion here at 1330 but should have been on her way back to Orpington by then. The bus then went downhill to reach a roundabout with Stanmore to the right. The bus here turned left running just north of Edgware before turning right through the built up area to Edgware station.

 From here I took the Northern line to Balham and from there the 1800 Southern train to Sutton at 1807.