Day 110 finishing off the No 176

In order to complete this route I had to make my way back to Elephant and Castle. This was effected by catching a tram from Wandle Park to Mitcham Junction at 1207 and then the 1225 to St Albans. Thus I arrived back at Elephant and Castle at 1248 and made my way to the stop I had alighted from the previous Saturday.

A No 148 at the bus stop I had alighted at earlier on the No 176

London General's EH48 of Camberwell garage

The weather was very showery with some intense downpours out of Cumulonimbus cloud. I had a little wait until my No 176 hove into view. This time it was London General's EH48 which departed at 1258.

The bus takes the Walworth Road and at the Medlar Street stop paused for 3 minutes, from 1307 to 1310 whilst drivers were exchanged- since this is the nearest stop to Camberwell garage. The bus carries straight on into Denmark Hill and there was a width restriction just after we had crossed Camberwell Green which meant we did not reach King's College and Maudsley Hospitals until 1315.

The Salvation Army college housing their museum

The bus turns left just after the hospital passing the huge Salvation Army building which houses their museum and wends it way to descend Dog Kennel Hill past East Dulwich Sainsbury's where I had disembarked from a No 42 a long time ago now. This road takes us into Lordship Lane which at times was slow progress owing to parking on both sides of the road which made passing the frequent buses coming the other way difficult at times.

London General's one off tri-axle bus TA1

As we passed Dulwich library at 1333 the experimental TA1 bus with 3 axles was plying the No 12 route on the other side of the road. This road took us to the South Circular which was painfully slow where there weren't bus lanes provided. On the west side of the gardens of Horniman Museum there is a wooden edifice made of old railway sleepers containing coal which was exactly in the place of the Crystal Palace High Level branch railway which closed in 1954. After the stop for Forest Hill station the bus turned right down Dartmouth road past the swimming pools and library and a Edwardian building with 'GIRLS HOME' chiselled above the windows.

Typical of much of the journey-rain streaming down the windows
made for difficult photography but this is to show that the No 176
route also is covered by 'Borismasters'. This shot is in Kirkdale.

At the end of this road we turned right into Kirkdale and headed for Sydenham. As we reached Sydenham High Street we were told the bus was on diversion and we could see why since Lawrie Park Road was closed. The bus was therefore forced to climb Westwood Hill but because the left turning into Crystal Palace Park Road was too sharp it had to do a complete turn around the roundabout at Fountain Drive and then head back whence it had cometh.

The diverted No 176 being followed by a No 227 and No 122 both on their correct routes climbing Westwood Hill.

Once we had descended Crystal Palace Park Road we regained the normal route just before Penge West station which was passed at 1404. After a run to the lights at the police station the bus turned right and terminated at The Pawleyne Arms at 1408. That's 70 minutes from Elephant and Castle and my previous bus had taken 34 minutes to reach there, so 104 minutes all told.

 EH48 at journey's end

EH48 heading up the road to layover before
its mammoth journey back
to Tottenham Court Road

What looks as if it was
a bricked up entrance
to the northbound platform at Penge West

Is this the remains of the pathway
on the southbound platform
to the road at Penge West?

I then walked to Penge West station and caught a Smitham train to Norwood Junction and then an Epsom train home.