The 15th of October 2011 was the date that the Route W3's new contract started so one would wonder why the new Buses are arriving now. The route runs from Finsbury Park Station in North London to Northumberland Park in North East London. Operated by Arriva from their Lea Valley Garage with a PVR of 20, it is one of the few routes in London to be using the older Euro2 DAF DB250s which seem to cope well in areas that would provide rough traction for other vehicles given their age. Although the caption below does not show one of the new Buses that have been allocated to the Route it does give an insight as to what we will be seeing during the coming weeks.

One would argue that 2011 was not the best year for Arriva in terms of the TFL tender announcements so when TFL announced that Arriva had retained Routes; 144,279 and W3, Arriva did the 'London thing' and hastily placed an order for 78 Enviro40D Double Decker Buses numbered between T201 - 223. Its not surprising that Arriva numbered these vehicles in the 2xx series to represent the introduction of the new European Whole Type Approval (EWTA) standards like they did with their VDL DB300 Vehicles (DW) back in 2011. T249 - 271 were chosen to the allocated buses for the W3 upon the new contract starting, however with Lea Valley's flagship Route 341 running from the same garage as this, it remains to be seen whether or not they will actually stay on the Route W3. The reason these buses are so late is due to the fact 2011 was a very hectic order year for ADL especially with the high profile Olympic contracts orders coming in, minor contracts as such but nevertheless still important had to be placed further down the delivery queue.

The Route W3 originally began as Route 233 with operations commencing on the 26th of October 1949 running between Finsbury Park Well's Terrace to Northumberland Park Railway Station with a PVR of 17 from London Transport's West Green Garage which was coded 'WG'.The route proved a vital link between the railway town of Finsbury Park and Crouch end. However On the 3rd of January 1962, the Route was withdrawn and replaced with W3, which held the title of one of the first London Bus Routes to have a prefix. The Well's Terrace element on the northern end at Finsbury Park was withdrawn.

The current routing is only 8 miles long and has a PVR of 20 which allows it to be one of London's most reliable routes and the W3 is also well known for the lovely sites and historic places that are passed during its journey such as the stunning Alexandra Palace and Alexandra Park which were opened to the public on the 23rd of July 1863. Although the name 'Palace' would suggest it is a place where monarchs would reside, the structure was actually built with the intention of providing an entertainment centre to the community which would intern bring some finances to the area. One would also argue that it is somewhat of a flagship route so as expected it is a route Arriva would love to keep for many years to come given their excellent operating standards on the route I think that it is only fair that they retained the route, so cheers to Arriva and running the W3 for another 5 years! Below are some more photographs from the day.

Arriva London DAF DB250 ALX400 DLA155 V355 DGT is captured near Alexandra Palace on its way to Northumberland Park. This vehicle in particular was delivered to Arriva London South however it transferred over to Wood Green a few years back.

Arriva London T201 LJ61 CHD forms a short working to Crouch End from Finsbury Park Station. Numerically this is the first of the new EWTA Arriva E40Ds and is only one of a handful E40Ds for the W3 that were actually out in service today due to the fact Arriva London are still in the process of training their W3 drivers on the new buses.

Arriva London DLA13 S213 JUA adds a bit of Nostalgia..if that on the Route W3 today. This is part of the original batch of DLAs that were purchased by Arriva London back in 1998. This bus is due to be cascaded to Arriva's provincial operations. 

Arriva London DLA13 S213 JUA and T157 LJ60 AVE stand at Finsbury Park Station.

Credit to those who helped correct the mistakes in this post!

Key Facts to note regarding Route W3

• Run by Arriva London from their Lea Valley Garage
• Operates with a PVR of 20 buses.
• Stretches for over 8 miles.
• One of London's first prefixed routes.
• One of London's most reliable bus routes.

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Metroline Dennis Trident ALX400 TA652 LK05 GGY is seen in Trent Barton Park Road near Hant's Dorset Trim getting ready to begin its refurbishment for future use. This bus is currently housed at Metroline's Cricklewood base in North West London. However when refurbished it will go on the Olympic contracts for which Metroline have been allocated 60 Buses.

Arriva London Volvo B7TL ALX400 VLA42 LJ53 BCU is seen in Trent Barton Park for refurbishment which will include a repaint, panel trimming and an improved interior. The bus is part of a batch of vehicles that were delivered to Norwood Garage in late 2003 for Route 2 which runs from Marylebone Station to Norwood Garage. 

Metroline Dennis Trident ALX400 TA654 LK05 GHA is seen in Trent Barton Park Road near Hant's Dorset Trim getting ready to begin its refurbishment for future use. This bus is currently housed at Metroline's Cricklewood base in North West London. However when refurbished it will go on the Olympic contracts for which Metroline have been allocated 60 Buses.

Arriva London Mercedes-Benz O530G Citaro MA15 BX04 MXN seen on the forecourt of the Hant's Dorset Trim having completed its refurbishment for the 2012 Olympic Shuttle Service. This bus was housed at Arrivas's Wood Green base in North London.

Arriva London Mercedes-Benz O530G Citaro MA26 BX04 MYB seen on the forecourt of the Hant's Dorset Trim having completed its refurbishment for the 2012 Olympic Shuttle Service. This bus was housed at Arrivas's Wood Green base in North London.

Metrobus Optare Solo 102 YJ56WVG seen in the workshop of the Hant's Dorset Trim workshop getting ready to begin its refurbishment for Route R8 which runs from Metrobus' Orpington base in Kent.

Arriva The Shires DAF DB250LF/ Wright Pulsar Gemini 6035 YJ55WOV seen on the forecourt of the Hant's Dorset Trim getting ready to begin its refurbishment for Route 258 which runs from Arriva The Shires' Garston base in Hertfordshire.

London United Volvo B7TL/Alexander ALX400 VA87 W117EON seen on the forecourt of the Hant's Dorset Trim getting ready to begin its refurbishment for use in the Private Hire Fleet.

Arriva London Mercedes-Benz O530G Citaro MA38 BX04NEF seen on the forecourt of the Hant's Dorset Trim having completed its refurbishment for the 2012 Olympic Shuttle Service. This bus was housed at Arrivas's Wood Green base in North London.

Ex-Metroline TP23 T73 KLD stands outside the Hant's Dorset Trim in Eastleigh having just finished its refurbishment, this was originally part of a batch of 65 Metroline Trident President buses, numbered from TP1 - 65, however the in third quartile of 2011, it saw many of these magnificent buses getting sold of, however Xelabus have purchased a firm few and give them a new lease of life.

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Today we took a trip to a secret London United storage yard that we had recieved word about. The new site holds all the vechiles which were previously on the Atlas Road site prior to First's new garage opening.

DP60, T360PRH & DP86, V886FKH

The yard currently houses around 40 buses which are VA's & DP's from Hounslow (AV) and Shepherd's Bush (S) garages. Up until mid last year these buses saw daily serivce on Routes 220, 222, H37 and H98. Our kind thanks must go to the staff who allowed us onto the site to get our snaps. More pictures from the visit can be found below:

DP71, T371PRH & DP50, T350PRH

DP93, V793FKH & DP81, V781FKH

VA89, W119EON, VA78,V194OOE & VA88, W118EON

DP98, V798FKH

DP72, T372PRH

DP85, V785FKH

A line up of the buses on site

A line up of the buses on site

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Route 129 runs between North Greenwich and Greenwich, Cutty Sark and is operated by Go Ahead from New Cross (NX) garage. The route has a peak vehicle requirement (PVR) of 4 buses and is approximately 2 miles long.

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Metroline VP536 LK04 CUU, seen here at the Hants Dorset Trim in Eastleigh for refurbishment work following the retention of Routes 6 and 98 that run from their Willesden base in North West London. This is part of a batch of Plaxton President B7TLs that were numbered between VP510 - 580 following the retention and conversion of Routes 6 and 98 from Routemaster operation in 2004. 

Metroline VP541 LK04 CVB, seen here at the Hants Dorset Trim in Eastleigh for refurbishment work following the retention of Routes 6 and 98  that run from their Willesden base in North West London  . This is part of a batch of Plaxton President B7TLs that were numbered between VP510 - 580 following the retention and conversion of Routes 6 and 98 from Routemaster operation in 2004. 

Go Ahead London WVL227 LX06 DZK, seen standing outside of the paint shop at the Hant's Dorset Trim, awaiting a refurbishment for newly retained Routes; 68,468 and X68 which all run from GAL's Camberwell base in South London.

Go Ahead London WVL261 LX06 EBM, seen standing outside of the paint shop at the Hant's Dorset Trim, awaiting a refurbishment for newly retained Routes; 68,468 and X68 which all run from GAL's Camberwell base in South London.

Metrobus ELC Esteem Dennis Dart 236 PO56 JFU seen on the forecourt of the Hant's Dorset Trim having nearly completed its refurbishment for Route 367 which runs from Metrobus' Orpington base in Kent.

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I visited Atlas Road today for the second time since it's opening in October. The Garage is currently an outstation for headquarters Westbourne Park and has the capability to house just over 150 buses. Located in North Acton the garage sits just 5 minutes down the road from Willesden Junction Depot which is also owned by First. It currently runs routes 28,31,328,N28 and N31. It is due to gain a Garage 'status' in April 2012.

The base has been subject to a lot of vehicle movement as of late, due to the fact First have quite a few spare vehicles due to the contract loss of the Route 79 and other routes. This time it is the movement of the TNAs which have been shifted from Westbourne Park Garage (X) to Atlas Road (AS) for storage prior to being used on the Olympic contracts. The TNAs were first delivered back in 2003 when First's flagship Route 23 and Route 295 were retained with new Buses. The TNAs, originally classed as TALs were were favourably ordered and delivered in September of 2003 subsequently they entered service that month. Fitted with a Euro3 Voith gearbox, the new buses were not as quick as the RMC Routemasters and Euro2 Tridents they replaced but nevertheless they did the job. The new buses were numbered between TNA33343 - 33386. Although at least one was retrofitted with a Caterpillar engine and another repainted at Rotherham, the TNAs have been left relatively untouched which is unusual for a First vehicle.  When TFL announced the 23 contract had been retained, First took the opportunity to get rid of the TNAs and replace the vehicles with some new state of the art Wrightbus Gemini2 Volvo B9TLs, VNs to you and me. However there is an interesting story to this.

The TNAs will be refurbished at Rowan Telmac's trim in Coventry prior to being sent to work on the Olympic contracts before they end up in their final home of Bristol Depot. This will allow First to get rid of more step entry buses within the provinces as they seek to modernise their fleet.

However First seem to have gone back to the 37XXX series to number their VNs rather than continuing on from the Route 25s batch numbered in the 36XXX series. The new VNs are numbered between 37952 - 37984 and will operate on the 23 on a temporary basis until April when they will make way for 33 new Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 Hybrid Buses. The VNs will then be transferred to AS will 28 of them will operate on the Route 266 which they respectively gain off Metroline in May 2012.

Other things to note in the garage were two formerly based Willesden Junction Trident President (TN) trainers at 5 VNs waiting to be commissioned before going into service on the Route 23. Credit to the Atlas Road staff for allowing me on site, please note that I did have to sign a form to state that I was on the premises and I had to wear a High Visibility Jacket (Hi-Vi) as part of a compulsory safety procedure. More shots from the day are placed below.

First London VN37963 BN61 MXJ awaits commissioning at First London's Atlas Road Garage in North Acton, this is part of a batch 28 Buses that is set to be temporarily used on the Route 23 prior being replaced by some ADL E400 Hybrids and going on the 266.  

First London TNA33360 LK53 EXZ stands inside Atlas Road Depot after being decommissioned, this is one of 10 TNAs that are present at the site today and one of 43 that will be decommissioned in the following months for Olympic contract use and cascading to First's provincial operations.

First London Routemaster SMK735F being stored at Atlas Road Garage for some reason or another. Any comments on this would be much appreciated.

First London TNA33348 LK53 FCG stands inside Atlas Road Depot after being decommissioned, this is one of 10 TNAs that are present at the site today and one of 43 that will be decommissioned in the following months for Olympic contract use and cascading to First Bristol. 

'Out with the old and in with the new'  TN33348  LK53 FCG and VN37969 BN61 MXT stand side by side at Atlas Road Garage.

A general yard view of Atlas Road Garage. I did promise that I would provide more yard shots of Bus garages rather than just take pictures of the Buses only. 

TN33348 LK53 FCF, this is just one of the few TNAs that has survived the firing line for the time being but in due time, this bus will of course be decommissioned. 

An offside view of 3 of the 10 TNAs that are currently situated at Atlas Road Garage in a decommissioned state. 

First London VN37965 BN61 MXM awaits commissioning at First London's Atlas Road Garage in North Acton, this is part of a batch 28 Buses that is set to be temporarily used on the Route 23 prior being replaced by some ADL E400 Hybrids and going on the 266.  

Another general yard view of Atlas Road Garage

Not the most popular buses if this caption is anything to go by!

Key Facts to note about Atlas Road Garage

• London's newest Bus Garage 
• Opened in October 2011
• Has the capability to house 150 Buses
• Set to run the 266 when gained off Metroline
• Currently an outstation of Westbourne Park
• Interestingly it houses one Enviro 400 in the form of DN33509

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Things at CELF Centre are generally starting to become quieter following the recent deliveries of the remaining TEHs to Cricklewood Garage so there was not much to really see here today. So please don't expect many photos in this post.

Amid there not being much to see, a welcoming sight was seeing  MM825 LK57 AYM at Perivale West Garage (PA) undergoing driver type training duties. This batch is part of the 18 buses that make up the Route 90 allocation, numbered between 810 - 827. Since PA undertook the Route on November 26th 2011, it has been allocated DLDs, DPs and the odd SEL, this is due to the fact Metroline were considering whether to convert PA to a whole MM operation on the single deck side of the operations or whether to convert the 90 to DE operation which is the main allocation PA's single deck routes.

It was decided last week that the MMs would return to the Route 90 following driver training and a refurbishment,  however the only thing that changes is the MMs will be maintained at CELF Centre in order to ensure that they receive the best care possible. I was quite happy to understand that the MMs would be returning to the 90 as they are my favourite single deck buses, the sheer power and comfort of these beasts is what makes them stand out to other single deck buses that I have travelled on I.E E200s.

Once all 300 drivers at this garage become familiar with these buses, the DLDs and DPs will be swiftly withdrawn before being sold on to Ensignbus.

Other Buses to note were TEH1110 which has been withdrawn since June 2011, TA652 which had an RTA (Road Traffic Accident) and TE729 which looks as if it had a serious RTC (Road Traffic Collision).

More photos of today are available to view below.

Please note that all photographs were taken with the permission of the CELF Centre management and all safety procedures were followed whilst on sight. Please do not attempt to wander onto the CELF Centre premises prior booking an appointment and this is classed as trespassing and you could get fined for this.

Metroline TA652 LK05 GGA stands outside of Metroline's CELF Centre following a RTC, this bus will more than likely receive its treatment here then be sent of for refurbishment prior to Olympic contractual work

Metroline TA652 LK05 GGA and TEH1225 LK61 BKE stand side by side at Metroline's CELF Centre. 

Metroline TEH1238 LK61 BLN stands outside of Metroline's CELF Centre prior to being delivered to Cricklewood Garage to take up duties on the Route 16 and 139 contracts.

Two Buses stand in the chassis cleaning facility at  Metroline's CELF Centre

MM825 LK57 AYM stands inside of Perivale West Garage prior to doing a driver training course which consisted of going to Scotch Common and back via South Greenford, Ruislip Road East and back to Perivale West Garage. 

Metroline MM825 LK57 AYM  and DLD142 W142 ULR stands inside of Perivale West Garage

Metroline DE1138 LK10 BZE stands inside of Perivale West Garage

A nearside view of the beauty that is MM825!

Metroline TEH1227 LK61 BKG stands outside of Metroline's CELF Centre after delivery from ADL Falkirk 's Factory

Metroline TE729 LK07 AZF, seems to have had a serious accident, repairs will be done in house at CELF as per usual, then this bus will be refurbished then returned for work on Route 186/204 contracts. 

Key facts to note about Metroline's CELF Centre 

• CELF Stands for Central Engineering Logistics Facility 
• Opened in September 2007
• Metroline's central maintenance facility 
• The Centre deals with repaints, refurbishments and chassis cleaning
• Has a dedicated section for Perivale West's Buses
• The place where new Metroline Buses to go to be commissioned into service
• Has very friendly and professional staff

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