Ensign Running Day 2018 - Part 1: RTs Galore!

Every first Saturday of December, Ensignbus run a special heritage service over 3 routes - the X21 (Upminster - Ongar), X55 (Upminster - Gravesend) and X81 (Shenfield - Tilbury Ferry) - which are registered local services and charge fares, so can only be operated by vehicles with a Class 6 MOT. This means that the majority of services are by their own vehicles, but visitors always appear from places such as the London Bus Museum, Stagecoach and more. This year, the event was held on the 1st December with lots of vehicles out and about, including visitors from Byeways (MLL738), London Bus Company (XF1), London Bus Museum (RLH48), Seaford & District (OKO816G) and Stagecoach (JOU160P). I began my day on the first service from Upminster towards Gravesend...

8:45 on a drizzly, grey December morning. Yet again, I told myself that I was absolutely mad, but I was here now and determined to have a good day. A small gathering of enthusiasts sheltering at Stop B in Upminster Town Centre assured me that I was at the right stop. By 8:50, everyone was beginning to look a little anxious. No need to worry though, as around 2 minutes later RT8 appeared in the distance and ran up to the station in order to turn around and pick us up.

We all boarded and I said hello to the well-known conductor Bob, whom I had met previously through others. This was going to be a fun ride, as Ross Newman (one of the people very high up in the Ensign company) was driving. The bus was quite empty and I had got the second seat from the front, which surprised me for the 8:56 out of Upminster which is usually jam-packed! However, this soon changed as, at the last minute, a whole load more people descended upon us for the ride. Around one minute late, we were given the double ding and we were soon away to Gravesend, but I'd only be riding to Bluewater. After a pleasant (if very leaky) ride along the QEII Bridge, we took a left and we were soon in Greenhithe and I disembarked to grab a quick picture.

We were very soon at Bluewater Shopping Centre, where I had hoped to switch to an RTW that I hadn't been on before - number 335. Luckily, that connection was made (although without the possibility to take any decent photos) and we retraced our route back to the connection with the A282 and we had soon plunged into the darkness of the Dartford Tunnel with the glow of the lights inside the relatively empty bus, less than half full, which was a nice change from the previous trip! Even though the bus seemed rather sluggish, we had made it to Lakeside in plenty of time for departure, which was a surprise.

We then set off after a few minutes wait, then ran along the Corbets Tey 'bumpy' section before arriving at Upminster. Again, we were a couple of minutes early upon arrival and this left me a few minutes before my next service on a different route, the X21...

Continued in Part 2 (Coming soon).

Canvey Island Bus Rally 2018

A cold, grey 14th October. The perfect day to be sat on a rail replacement bus...

Nevertheless, it was fast and whisked me down the A13 to Benfleet (with a short diversion to serve Pitsea Station), barely any slower than the train! This was an Ensignbus Gemini and an Olympus had departed Basildon at the same time on an express run to Leigh-on-Sea, where the engineering works ended and trains picked up the service for the rest of the way to Shoeburyness. However, Canvey Island Transport Museum were holding their annual rally at Labworth Park, so had laid on hourly shuttles from Benfleet Station, timed to meet with the replacement buses. Then, as I was walking round to where I assumed the bus stop was, a heritage coach ran round from the station.

I was beginning to doubt whether I'd missed the bus and that was it; soon after though, I turned a corner and got to the Thamesway Dart which was actually running the route to Labworth Park. A short but pleasant run ensued and we were soon at Labworth, where I could already glimpse a mass of colour from all the 60-odd buses there for the day. I wasn't expecting much and it had already exceeded my expectations!

Two Dennis Darts were parked up in the hard standing area, so when Thamesway 909 went to join them it made a rather nice line-up, which I unfortunately only captured from the rear.

Soon after, the museum's own Southend Transport Leyland pulled in on one of the frequent shuttle services from the museum to the rally - about 10 minutes in duration.

Now, as I have photos of all the static exhibits that day, I shan't bore you with the majority of those - this post is about the movements, as I believe they are a much more interesting side. However, here is a rather nice capture of the London line-up (unfortunately with one intruder from a lot further east!)

and Arriva's contingent for the day, taking almost an entire row to itself! The double deckers were the only ones to operate in service on the museum shuttles, save for one trip with the Park & Ride single decker which can be seen just off-screen to the right.

As I went to board a museum shuttle (these would take up the rest of my day) after around an hour focusing on the stationary buses, I caught this rather pleasant view showing all of the buses that day.

Then, it was time to move. Arriva Southend's ELC Myllennium was loading up and ready to leave, but I decided against a trip on a bus that I could get any day and hung around for a little longer. I had my eyes on VNO859, which seemed to be behind the Arriva bus and about to load up on a museum service. Within a couple of minutes, it pulled round to the stop and I obtained a second-row seat.

My next bus is visible just behind the Southend duo.

The upstairs arrangement is rather abnormal, even more so than the low-height RLHs, as the seats are staggered - staggering!

That took me the short distance out of Labworth, then left at the roundabout to head up Furtherwick Road, before taking a right turn onto Elder Tree Road and continuing down the High Street to reach the Transport Museum. After that, I decided to browse the stalls and purchased a couple of models to add to my ever-expanding collection of over 100. A little time was spent in the cafe, so I was able to see a bus or two leaving throughout the 20-odd minutes I spent there.

Then, it was time for another trip on the buses to/from Labworth, because... well, why not? The next bus in was one I'd been eyeing up since the start of the day, as it was very different from all the other preserved buses operating that day.

The ex-Hedingham coach duly pulled up and loaded up with a few people before setting off for Labworth Park. I'd got a great seat, giving a fantastic view through the main window. This made for a surprisingly enjoyable run through the centre of Canvey. Nearing the end of the trip, we met with the open-top Eastern National 2102, somehow still providing rides with few braving the upstairs seats in the drizzle!

Soon after I arrived, the Arriva Streetlite and Versa packed up and went (by now it was only around 1300), but I decided it was time for another trip to the museum - this time on the well-restored RM1804, a new bus for me and still with blinds set for the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway (RHDR) bus rally a good 6 weeks beforehand! Another bus had decided to head home early, which was the little Plaxton Beaver minibus, then we set off for the short run to Labworth with around a half load, where we arrived around 10 minutes later and DT29 was sat waiting to load up for its next trip back to the rally site.

I hopped on board and took a seat near the front, which turned out to be a fantastic choice as my legs were right by the heater! A pleasant run back to the site ensued, where Arriva's 6500 was already loading up for the next trip out.

Luckily, as upstairs was relatively quiet, I was able to grab the second-best seat in the house - behind the stairs! The ride wasn't as comfortable as the heritage buses, which shows the amazing 'development' of buses through the years... By the Museum, M394 had caught up and I hadn't been on it before, so it seemed like an obvious candidate for my next ride.

The Metrobus gave a much better ride than the Enviro 400 MMC earlier. That took me back to Labworth, where I knew I could fit in one more ride to the Museum and back. Tower Transit had brought along one of their DMVs, so I hopped on for a quick run to the Museum...

...where, unfortunately, M394 was the next bus going out. I had to catch it, otherwise I wouldn't have made the 1510 shuttle back to Benfleet. Still, getting a good bus twice is no big deal! That took me back to Labworth where, with barely a minute to spare, I got on 6500 again for the return service to Benfleet. We whizzed up Thorney Bay Road, then took a left. Long Road then turns into Canvey Road, which takes you all the way to Benfleet station. It barely took 10 minutes, so I don't understand why there weren't more services throughout the day. 

I headed home on a c2c via Grays, looking back upon another brilliant day out.

Chesham Running Day 2018 - Part 5: Going Home

Check out Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here and Part 4 here.

Having hopped off the bus, I had a little time for some photos of other buses arriving and departing on the last services of the day or feeders. RF406 had just completed the last 336 from Rickmansworth, which had departed 1.5 hours earlier, at 1515.

RLH48 had also just arrived on a 336, having completed the final Chenies run and should've arrived 10 minutes before. RT3491 had come off the marathon Chesham - Slough - Berkhamsted - Chesham run. It was the last bus from Berkhamsted and would go on to form a Windsor feeder, along with RF406 and RM188 (which had already left).

However, MB90 rocked up with '353 Windsor' on the destination, either substituting for RF406, which can be seen picking up at the stop (so very unlikely) or probably just returning home.

and BN45 was sitting there, having terminated on the 1633 from Lee Common, the final 394 of the day. 

Then, RT3254 pulled in on the 724 feeder towards Harlow.

My previous plan was to travel directly home, but since then I had decided to take RLH48 back to Uxbridge. However, throughout the day I had heard many chats with people saying that they were going to catch the 305 service back to Uxbridge, so I opted for 3254 to take me as far as Rickmansworth; closer to home and cheaper on Oyster! It was due to leave at 1650, so obviously pulled in at around 1655 to pick up passengers, which took another 5 minutes and finally we were off, 10 minutes late. This was the first time I'd travelled on that particular RT - I soon realised that it was as sluggish as 604, but still gave a pleasant ride through Amersham to Rickmansworth, where I said my goodbyes and left after a fantastic day on the buses.

Happy travelling!

Chesham Running Day 2018 - Part 4: Going Green

Check out Part 1 here, Part 2 here and Part 3 here.

My next jaunt was to be really rather short, but I had never been there before. RML2456 rumbled in on its service from High Wycombe and exchanged passengers for the continuation to Ley Hill.

The (slightly over) half-full bus pulled out of the Broadway, turned left and climbed for most of the way, to reach to aforementioned Ley Hill. The Crown terminus is a 'triangle' shape and the crew were willing to drive round that triangle so that some of their passengers (of which I was one) were able to obtain a photo with the sun shining in about the right direction.

Then, it was time to set off again, making a steady descent through an estate to reach Chesham at 1528. The bus would then continue all the way to High Wycombe as the last 362A (or, indeed, any 362 - excluding RML2412 on the feeder service) of the day, but without me on board as I had a choice to make. I was tempted by MB90 doing the next 353 rounder to Berkhamsted...

but decided not to, as I have travelled to Berkhamsted before on the 353, and hung around for about 30 minutes, in which time I accumulated a large amount of photos of buses turning to pull up to the stand at the Broadway. A selection of these are seen below.

RLH48 readying itself for passengers to board for the final 336 trip of the day, the 1545 to Chenies and return.

 RT604, having arrived and deposited its passengers off the 1435 service from High Wycombe and about to run to Water Meadow Car Park for a rest, before having to complete the 2 hour trip home to Croydon with passengers.

Having arrived on the 1520 short from Hyde End, arriving at 1540, RF673 turns the corner and is about to pull up to the stand to form the 1555 Hyde End service.

 Amersham Station is the destination for RTL554 on a short working from Berkhamsted. I believe this was the only bus terminating at Amersham Station that day - it had a short stand there before returning to Chesham Broadway.

 At 1550, RT3491 forms a service towards Berkhamsted on the only service (except feeders) of the day from Slough. This really was a service only for the 'die hard' enthusiasts, as a round trip from Chesham to Slough, through Chesham to Berkhamsted and back to Chesham began at 1355 and ended at 1639 - that's a round trip of almost 3 hours! Even just Slough and back was scheduled for around 2 hours!

 Arriving on the 1522 service from Gerrards Cross, RM188 has already dropped off its passengers and is about to run back to Water Meadow.

Finally, the time had come for my next (and last) trip which I had chosen because of the earlier trip to Buckland Common being so delightful. RF600, a country bus born and bred, was running the only two trips along the same route, but turning off half-way to become a 349 to Asheridge, one of which was at 1600. The RF pulled up to the stop at a few minutes to 4 with a 'lazy' blind for Asheridge and Chesham Moor, with a massive crowd of people waiting.

Luckily, I made it on and obtained a relatively good seat, with both a forward and side view, for the 50-odd minute return trip. The bus was absolutely jam-packed, with no seats available at all upon departure. We took the same routeing as the 348 to Buckland Common earlier, although the climb was very much taken in 600's stride where 406 had slowed to a crawl earlier in the day. The trip was another fun ride through Bellingdon, but then we turned left to begin the country lanes. We sped down Bank Green (presumably because the crew knew the roads from their earlier trip) and the extremely steep hill at the end didn't catch the driver out. As we followed the road left, a photographer was hanging around in a bush, eagerly awaiting our arrival. Soon after, we had reached the Blue Ball and powered straight past it, before turning into a side street and reaching the pub again, facing in the other direction and ready for the return trip.

Again, remarkably, the bus made it to the terminus 5 minutes early, at 1616, thus leaving a 10 minute turn around for the return trip to Chesham. On board our bus were many photographers - this meant that we were delayed somewhat and departure wasn't until around 1630 (instead of scheduled 1626), but the crew once again worked wonders and safely got the bus back to Chesham on time and in one piece, although the country lanes were 'entertaining', shall we say!

As we arrived back at Chesham, the final arrivals of the day were pulling in with us...

Finished in Part 5

Chesham Running Day 2018 - Part 3: Back to Old, Back to Chesham

Check out Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

Luckily, I made it over to the other stand in time to obtain the best seat on the bus. RT1700 had been drafted in at the last minute to cover for a broken-down Bristol VR (SFJ106R), so that was going to be my ride through to Great Missenden.

The only indication that this was, in fact, the route 27 bus for the day was the route number - no intermediate or destination blinds had been provided, but I guess they can be excused as it was a late notice cover! The journey was not what I had come to expect from London Bus Company drivers, as it was relatively slow, but we still made it to Great Missenden roughly on time. Being a service with only 3 trips that day, you would expect it to be rather busy. However, only the odd seat was taken on the upper deck with even fewer on the lower deck. As we grumbled into Great Missenden, I checked my timetable and realised that, even though buses were scheduled to meet here, the 359 and 394 weren't due out for about another 20 minutes.

10 minutes had passed before I heard the unmistakable sound of a heritage bus growling up the hill. The popular T792 had arrived, about to run the next 394 to Great Missenden. Surprisingly, I was able to board and obtain a seat easily - about half of the passengers had swapped on to the RT that was due out imminently on its next trip to High Wycombe, which looked as if it was going to be much better patronised than the one I had travelled on.

As expected, the bus hung around for 10 minutes before departure. Between those two times, RF600 (still in dire need of a repaint) arrived at the station and changed its blinds for the return trip on the direct 359. Unfortunately, everybody wanted the T, so the RF departed with under half load after the much busier and less direct 394. In previous years, the 394 has operated in a loop from Amersham, first going via Chesham and Great Missenden (this year's route) before taking what I can only assume was this year's 359 back, as far as Amersham. This year, the route was not just reduced, but also extended beyond Chesham all the way through to Tring, which seems to be a destination served in every most A&D running days - yet I've still not been there! We made very swift progress for such an old vehicle, meandering along the country lanes until we reached The Lee, which was a prime location for a photo.

Unfortunately, we did not seem to have the correct blinds - this is rather bizarre, because (as can be seen by the last photo) we had the right ones for the outward trip! If RF406's situation also applied to this bus, there were blinds from last year's running day, where most buses terminated at Amersham. Soon after, BN45 burbled up opposite us and deposited some people either wishing to get on our bus or just take photos. The odd person was able to squeeze on, then we were off and so was the BN, continuing its journey to the nearby Lee Common, a few minutes up the road.

A few minutes delay had been racked up at that stop, so the driver chucked the old thing around the corners a little, which made for an entertaining experience! Still, we made it through Chartridge (the 348B's terminus for the day) and off the small, single-track road to return to civilisation and, eventually, Chesham.

Upon arrival there, T792 returned to the buses' base today (Water Meadow Car Park) and many other buses turned around in the short space of time between that and my next bus. I managed to get some photos of multiple buses in almost perfect sun. They were BN45, having returned from Lee Common on a long run through to Tring and RF673 on one of the few 348B (Chartridge - Chesham - Hyde End) trips running that day, as a replacement for the 394C service that just covered Amersham - Hyde End in previous years.

 and RF673 on one of the few 348B (Chartridge - Chesham - Hyde End) trips running that day, as a replacement for the 394C service that just covered Amersham - Hyde End in previous years.

Neither of those were my bus, as I had planned a short return trip on a rather nice Routemaster next instead...

Continued in Part 4.

Chesham Running Day 2018 - Part 2: Modern-ish Wandering to Wycombe

Check out Part 1 here.

At 1058, AN262 pulled up to the stop, looking resplendent in its 'NBC' London Country livery.

After the bus turned round the triangle, I boarded along with a handful of others. The majority of those sat downstairs, leaving the seat behind the stairs free for me to enjoy the warmth of the sun on the fresh day. A prompt departure, lack of traffic and some swift driving along the relatively straight route meant that, by Chalfont St Giles, we were 2 minutes early and had gained another 2 before Chalfont St Peter, where the journey between them was only scheduled to take 5! We made the right turn into Chalfont St Peter's centre and passed the Church timing point, before RT3491 thundered past on a slightly delayed service through to Berkhamsted.

We continued straight down Nicol Road, then left into Grove Lane through the uninspiring Leachcroft Estate, then along the same road into Gerrards Cross, where we powered through the High Street before pulling into the turning circle by the Packhorse 5 minutes early, at 1129. We had 7 minutes stand time anyway, so the driver decided to perform an unusual manoeuvre to ensure the bus was facing the right way for photographs.

The blinds were changed to 'Chesham Broadway via Amersham Station' (this was one of the few trips that didn't continue through to Berkhamsted) and then, a few minutes late at 1144, we duly departed and made the speedy journey back through Leachcroft Estate, then right via Nicol Road and the centre of Chalfont St Peter. The route was clearly timed for an RT or something of a similar nature, because the AN had easily made up the time lost at the stand. Just after the village of Chalfont St Giles, a decidedly empty RML2456 was spotted heading the other way on the 1140 service from Chesham.

Amersham was reached a few minutes early and it wasn't just me alighting there - another gentleman pressed the bell before I did. I said my thanks to the crew, then exited for a trip that I would've missed if I'd completed the final leg to Chesham.

The bus waited at the stop for a few minutes, as departure time had still not been reached! Luckily, however, my next bus wasn't early and I had time for a quick break before boarding. In that break, RTL554 came trundling up the road from High Wycombe on a 305 trip. Yes, the 1000 departure from Chesham that I had seen at the start of the day took over 2 hours to complete its rounder!

My next bus was also a 305 - the only single deck trip on the route that day. SNB453 barrelled down the road to arrive at the stop where it was going to pick me up.

I hopped on board the colourful vehicle (which I had donated a little money towards preserving previously through destination blind purchases) for the lengthy but pleasant ride through to High Wycombe. Luckily, it wasn't too busy either and I got a good seat. Right, left, then left again and we were back on the main road that we had taken earlier on the 353. However, we were supposed to diverge and take a right at Chalfont St Giles. The key phrase there is supposed to, as the driver and conductor seemed to not realise we were meant to take this turning, so we continued on the main road towards Gerrards Cross, but the mistake was soon noticed by some passengers and also the crew, so we found a quick turning in Chalfont St Peter. By the time Chalfont St Giles' timing point had been reached, we were 5 minutes late. The trip that ensued wasn't overly amazing, but the bus was fun as it roared through the long route via Beaconsfield and Loudwater towards High Wycombe. The routes at the event were clearly timed for 'proper' vintage vehicles, (like RMs, RTs, RFs etc) because - along with the AN trip - the bus began running early, making up around 10 minutes over the journey!

The Bus Station was familiar to me from last year's event based here - this year, there were 3 routes travelling there: 305 and 362 to Amersham (305 via Beaconsfield, 362 via Penn Street) and the 27 'Thames Valley' service to Great Missenden, linking up with the 394 at the other end. I was going to travel on the latter service, and I could see it sitting over the other side of the bus station, due to depart any minute...

Continued in Part 3 and Part 4.