London United Stamford Brook Garage [V]...New MCLs for the 203!

After spending the best part of two hours at Metroline CELF Centre, I made my way to Stamford Brook Garage located in West London. I decided to take The Central Line to North Acton, change at for the Ealing Broadway Train, then transferred onto the District Line to Stamford Brook Station. I arrived at the Garage at 4pm and with the permission of the London United Stamford Brook staff, I was allowed on the premises to take pictures of the new Mercedes Citaros for the Route 203.

London United BD11 LWP and BD11 LWR

The new Mercedes Citaros are part of a batch of 7 vehicles for the Route 203 that was retained by the company back in February. For those wondering why these Buses are so late and why they are they are of the Citaro type that has seemingly fallen out of favor in London. I have one answer for this question! The original order was actually placed for Optare Tempos however Optare explained to London United that they wouldn't be able to deliver the Buses on time so the order was changed to EVOBUS UK, who trade under Mercedes Benz. The new Citaros feature a new seat Moquette as you will see below which I think some of you will find interesting...as well as their 12m length and 35 seats they also weigh 11,900kgs. So they are pretty heavy vehicles but no doubt they will do their job. If you are wondering why they are at Stamford Brook instead of Hounslow Heath, this is because they are being commissioned here instead where they will be getting IBUS fitment, CCTV fitment and Wayfarer Ticket Machine Fitment. All photos taken with the permission of the London United staff and I must stress again that this was an organised visit and all safety procedures were followed whilst on site. Credit to London United for this visit! More photos are below.

The interior of London United BD11 LWP

The rear of London United BD11 LWP

The rear of London United BD11 LWU

London United BD11 LWU

The rear of London United OV17 YJ58 VBX