First London Willesden Junction Depot...New Streetlite for the 226

Today's travels saw me end up at First London's Willesden Junction Depot in Harlesden. The garage is adjacent to the busy West Coast Mainline and currently operates flagship Route 18, along with Routes, 187,226,228,487 and N18. The Garage opened in 2003 following First's retention of the Route 18 with new 18m Mercedes Citaro Bendybuses. The opening of this garage allowed First to have more flexibility with their routes and routes 187,226,487,PR1 and PR2 all transferred from Alperton (ON) following the opening of this garage.

First London WM47400 DRZ 6181

Although this may count as another Garage visit for whom I must give credit to First for allowing me on their premises. The reason for me visiting here today was to view the Bus above.The new Bus is titled the 'Streetlite' and it is a joint venture between Mistral Coach Sales and Wrightbus. Announced in late 2010 the first of the Streetlites took to the road in early 2011. The Bus above was due to be delivered to First London's Lea Interchange Garage in July 2011, however due to ongoing problems with the transmissions systems the delivery of this vehicle was delayed. It was initially set to run on the Route 236 which would allow First to make a direct comparison between it and  the Dennis E200s. Should it had been delivered on time, the E200s currently on order for Routes such as the W15 may in fact have been Streetlites instead. The bus will now run on the 226 once Oyster and Wayfarer machines have been installed where it will provide a direct comparison between the E200s on the Route. Originally coded VN58200 strangely, it has now been re-coded VM47400 but still has an Irish registration for some reason....The 10.2m vehicle seats 31 people and weighs a whopping 8020KGS. However although it seats 31, the legroom is adequate enough for the majority of the public to sit comfortably, I say this being 6ft2 and having tested out every seat on the vehicle. I must say I do like this vehicle a lot, may I add that it would be a very welcome addition on London's streets. On the other hand, I was also informed that a WTA 10.2m E200 would be bought by First to allow the comparison between these two vehicles to be more accurate. Credit to First for allowing me on the premises and I have to stress that I had all safety gear including High Visibility Jacket (Hi-Vi) and I followed all garage safety procedures whilst on site. 

First London Streetlite interior 

First London Streetlite interior 

First London Streetlite interior 

First London DML44056 YX58 FPU

First Willesden Junction Garage Yard

First VN37939 BF60 VJN and VN37933 BF60 UVA

First London DML44055 YX58 FPT

Ex-First London EA11053 LK05 FCO

First London DML44054 YX58 FPO

First London DML41419

First London DML41420 LN51 DXD

First London VN37924 BF60 VJJ

First London WM47400 DRZ 6181

First London Streetlite interior

First London WM47400 DRZ 6181