Go Ahead London Camberwell Garage [Q]...Re-visit!

Now I actually visited this location earlier this year and if I remember correctly it was the 27th Of January 2011. However now I'm back at this location as I received word that some WVLs had been delivered here for the Route 12. So in my usual manner, I decided to book a visit so I could witness these WVLs for myself.

Go Ahead London HOV1 OP07 ARE and WVL439 LJ61 GWY

As I arrived I noticed there were 7 WVLs parked right at the back and strangely registered with 'LJ' plates as opposed to the preferred 'LX' plate on this class of vehicle. The 20 new WVLs for the Route 12 are part of an interesting story, they were actually intended for the Route 89, however Go Ahead appeared to have changed their minds and now the new WVLs will go on the Route 12 and new Enviro 400s will go to Bexleyheath Garage for Routes 89 instead.

In addition to this 16 Volvo B5LH Hybrids that were initially for the 436/53 will be delivered soon again for the Route 12 and a further 5 new Enviro 400s will make up the allocation for route 12 (pvr 41). The sole Optare Versa Hybrid HOV1 OP07 ARE, was present at this location as it is allocated to the Route 360 but it still remains unknown when it will see service. EVL17 presented me with a real shocker today as it was parked up in the yard, blinded for the X68. Credit to the Go Ahead London staff for allowing me into this facility.

Camberwell garage is the second maintenance point for London General with the first being Merton which is head office. Although the garage was opened in 1914, it did not operate a single bus service for much over 5 years when it was requisitioned for the war. However when it did start to operate, it became one of the largest garages in London, the mammoth base was used to carry out body overhauls in 1940s, however in that said year, it was severely damaged following a bomb attack during the war. Following the attack, 13 vehicles were seriously damaged while four were completely destroyed.

The garage was promptly repaired, however in early 1950s the garage underwent a modernisation programme which is sounds funny to say considering the 1950s was so many moons ago. However the programme included the reconstruction of the welfare and operational block, with the addition of a new extended parking area which greatly increased capacity of the garage. The new and improved facilities incorporated a new pit and workshop which also took on the duties of heavy maintenance for the Walworth Garage ironically situated across the road from the base. The changes took the the capacity of the garage to a respectable 350 buses.

Despite its mammoth size, the allocation steadily decreased over the years as many routes were shifted out, until the closure of Walworth garage in 1985. This saw the allocation of vehicles rise back up to 142, although a shadow of the amount it did operate in the 1950s, which was close enough to 200 buses.

For a bit of trivia, the garage held three Leyland Titans, that were fitted with electronic blinds on an experimental basis. The vehicles were used on night bus standby duties.

On the 1st of April 2006, the based commenced the running of Routes 68, 468, N68 & X68 often referred to as the '68 group' after respectively winning it off Arriva, the chosen vehicles were Wright Gemini B7TLs, which are said to be some of the best in London.

On the 1st of May 2010, the garage gained more work, as Routes 42 and 185 moved in, following the takeover of East Thames Buses a year earlier.

On the 31st of March 2012, Routes 345 and 355 were transferred in from Stockwell and Merton Garages following the recent tender gains of the 19 and 249 from Arriva London respectively.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this post as much as I have writing it and more photos are available below. Please do not hesitate to comment as your feedback is much appreciated.

A mini fact file has been provided at the end of the post for those who would rather look at pictures and take out segments of information from the post.

Go Ahead London HOV1 OP07 ARE Interior

Go Ahead London HOV1 OP07 ARE Interior

London General EVL17 PN02 XCD

Go Ahead London WHY8 LX11 DYA

London General WLT516

Go Ahead London WVL446 LJ61 GWE

Go Ahead London WVL435 LJ61 GWU &
WVL437 LJ61 GWW

Go Ahead London WVL436 LJ61 GWV nearside

Go Ahead London LDP103 S103 EGK

CUV 305C

Go Ahead London EVL15 PN02 XCD

Go Ahead London WVL436 LJ61 GWV

Garage Fact File

• Opened in 1914
• Did not operate a single bus until 1919 
• Bombed in 1940 with 13 buses badly damaged and four being completely destroyed
• Became a major base for overhauls in the 1940s
• Modernised in the 1950s which included a new workshop which undertook maintenance for Walworth Garage
• Capable of holding 300 buses