.com - London Transport Service Vehicles on the webAn all-new version of this website is now available at www.ltsv.com/sv/. These pages are no longer being updated.
| .com - London Transport Service Vehicles on the web | |||||||
An all-new version of this website is now available at www.ltsv.com/sv/. These pages are no longer being updated. | |||||||
| Most recently added forum replies | |
| Comments | Date added |
| LS10YMO at Hartwell Ford The van has an advertised mileage of 30965 which means somebody has been using it. Strange that Oxford chose this particular vehicle to model (and without the skirt!) | Fri 23/12/2011, 17:43 |
| Cancelled orders and Fords from Hartwell Two questions arise from this. Firstly, I wonder if this has happened before, or if it was a rare event. Assuming that fleetnumbers are assigned when vehicles are ordered, then it could account for some of the many gaps in the sequence. We will never know for sure but, for example, LS10YMO could have been intended as 6959F. Secondly, is Hartwell at Dunstable the main dealer supplying Ford Transits for the central fleet? They certainly had other vans registered in familiar series. Perhaps somebody travelling up the A5 in the future could take a peep? | Sun 11/12/2011, 13:29 |
| Oxford diecast 1/76 Transit This model is now available. One of the best models from Oxford IMHO. The only fault I could find was the poorly detailed rear lights, so out with the paints. | Thu 01/12/2011, 19:42 |
| Oxford diecast 1/76 Transit Note: Reply edited by Phillip Walton, 13/07/12, 22:30. | Thu 01/12/2011, 19:42 |
| Oxford Transits There is still no sign of the SWB Transit vans appearing. However there is now a 1:76 LWB high-roof Mk7 van available in plain white (http://www.oxforddiecast.co.uk/shop/showitem.asp?id=2768) and Network Rail livery (http://www.oxforddiecast.co.uk/shop/showitem.asp?id=2767). | Thu 10/11/2011, 11:27 |
| Arriva London Fleetlist A revised URL for this list is http://www.arrivalondon.com/ourfleet. The latest list is for period 6, which seems to be June 2011. | Sun 02/10/2011, 23:32 |
| That blows it! The London batch which was expected to be 95250-95260 seems to have (at least) the following number already in use - 95253 OE57BEY Ford Fiesta North East Stockton August 2009 - | Mon 15/08/2011, 08:26 |
| Stagecoach London fleetlists The Stagecoach London fleetlist is available again. Now referred to as Fleet Cards, there is a new one every four weeks and they can be downloaded from http://www.stagecoachbus.com/fleet-lists.aspx. The bad news is that service vehicles are no longer included. | Mon 15/08/2011, 01:26 |
| Ah, the wrong year! It's OK. I have edited it. Tom | Sat 13/08/2011, 21:11 |
| NTBO explained The licensing updates are usually put in by me (Ray) and are normally updated each month (at least for 'operators' vehicles). There is a routine operated by Tube Lines (as nominee operator for LBSL/LUL etc) and the major bus companies. Therefore when I find that a vehicle has not been relicensed when expected I add the NTBO (Not Taxed By Operator) so I can check progress. If it has not been re-licensed by the first week of the month then it gives a clue it may have been sold. The NTBO marking is usually deleted from the 'notes' section at that point. For non-live vehicles updating occurs as, and when, I get a chance and 'NTBO' will not apply. Thus NTBO is just an aide memoire. Note: Reply edited by Ray, 06/07/11, 23:03. | Wed 06/07/2011, 23:01 |
| And don't.... And don't mention Siemens whatever you do. I mentioned it once but I think I got away with it. | Tue 05/07/2011, 23:33 |
| Siku Mercedes Sprinter van 1/76 Using the CMNL model as a guide and some satin black paint a great improvement to the Siku Model can be made. The parts to be painted are the bonnet vents just below the windscreen, the backs of the door mirrors, the rubbing boards along the sides and the number plate light cover. I have obtained a CMNL IRU model quite cheaply because some one had made a mess of removing the markings. I am going to try using the interior and the wheels on the Siku model, I am also going to try fitting the glazing from the CMNL model. Note: Reply edited by Phillip Walton, 29/06/11, 11:29. | Wed 29/06/2011, 11:27 |
| Siku Sprinter I bought one of these a while ago and was surprised by its similarity to the CMN version. It looks quite presentable with a few mods. Before (with a CMN version for comparison) After Note: Reply edited by Adam Floyd, 25/06/11, 21:37. Note: Reply edited by Adam Floyd, 25/06/11, 21:38. | Sat 25/06/2011, 21:36 |
| Found a pic of the new van model Thanks to Phillip for this info. I found some pics of the model on Flickr. It is certainly the right length for an IRU. However it would be real tough to match the paint/lettering finish on the CMNL model! | Sat 25/06/2011, 00:11 |
| Don't... Don't mention the war.... | Thu 23/06/2011, 23:09 |
| Quantum leap I believe the servers for the current host are in Germany, while those of the previous one were in the UK. I don't think there is anything I can do about the resulting timestamps being continental, sorry. | Thu 16/06/2011, 01:56 |
| Reliance Sweepers Gav, If you note on this site there is a downloadable list of all the Depot Sweepers London Transport and the privatised bus companies owned. I will email you a copy and I hope that will assist in your families research. Regards Brian Elvidge. | Sat 14/05/2011, 18:08 |
| uploading photos Hello Dave. That's not a stupid question, don't worry! There is no facility for users to directly upload their own photos. At present the only method is to e-mail the photos to me. Cheers. Tom | Fri 06/05/2011, 00:19 |
| 7000M In the early hours of 20/4/11 LBSL IRU 7000M WU11OGV was to be found at Finsbury Park. Mind you, it drove off almost immediately so whether it is allocated there is another matter... | Wed 20/04/2011, 23:50 |
| More cycle vehicles N05 and M03 added. I've not seen any Alke's for a while.... | Sat 16/04/2011, 11:37 |
| Matador from Oxford diecast The first one will be a wrecker in Wynnes livery followed by two different gun tractor liveries and an RAF flatbed. | Sun 06/03/2011, 16:47 |
| Oxford Transit Anybody had a look at one of these yet? I must see if I can find myself one - might amble down to the local MZ before work tomorrow. Oxford also now do a Scania fire tender which has a very ERU-style body. Will they give us a Mercedes cab to go with that I wonder? A good look through the Oxford range show many commercials that have scope for service vehicle conversion with a little imagination. Watch this space! | Sun 27/02/2011, 21:13 |
| Oxford Matador - update It appears that this is the standard RAF gun tractor that we all love (well I do!) which has been the base for many bus company wreckers over the years. They're also doing one as basic cut-down wrecker conversion which is a bit 583J if you ask me. Now, where did I put that yellow paint? Note: Reply edited by Damon, 27/02/11, 21:13. | Sun 27/02/2011, 21:09 |
| Will it be 7000M? Given that 6996-6998 have now appeared as new IRUs, of which there could be a sizeable batch, I think it is highly likely we will see a 7000M at a bus station somewhere in the next few weeks. This will be exactly a year later than I predicted. | Fri 18/02/2011, 23:45 |
| IRU fleet holding on One was re-licensed today (17/1/2011) for another 12 months. However word is that the 57-reg batch are due to be replaced this year. Note: Reply edited by Ray, 25/01/11, 14:19. | Mon 17/01/2011, 18:33 |
| Another Alke... Couldn't see the number (if in fact there was one on it), but registration was MX10LVR. | Sun 09/01/2011, 20:57 |
| Former PPPs Presumably the Underground will not be acting as a 'dealer' and the brochure will no longer be issued. I cannot find any items on TfL regarding these former PPPs. | Sat 08/01/2011, 09:58 |
| Tube Lines website Does anyone know if there is an equivalent to the old Metronet and Tubelines sites under LUL? For example, where would stuff like this catalogue be? All I could find was the main TfL site. | Fri 07/01/2011, 18:42 |
| Model Collector Magazine I had a flick through this today and its nothing to get excited about. It seemed to deal only with transport support vehicles that have been made available as mainstream die-cast models, and was not limited to LT. It comprised a two page spread with text and photos, and a further page tabulating the models (sorted by operator). The latter may have been useful to me, but not worth buying the mag just for it. | Fri 07/01/2011, 18:38 |
| Cycle vehicles updated again M05, M06, N06 and an un-numbered Alke added to the list. | Wed 05/01/2011, 13:37 |
| More bike vehicles I have added Nissan N03 and a new series (M0x) for Mondeo cars. | Fri 24/12/2010, 10:52 |
| re: Leyland SKZ1 chassis Many thanks - that's very helpful. | Mon 08/11/2010, 01:59 |
| Query regarding 189C,203C-208C The wheelbase was 11'. The width was approx. 7'. Note: Reply edited by Phillip Walton, 05/11/10, 22:03. | Fri 05/11/2010, 21:45 |
| N08 N08 is BJ10FTE - seen today (17/10/10) heading up Charing Cross Road | Sun 17/10/2010, 20:14 |
| LDP35 LDP35 is fitted with leather seats being downseated to 12 seats only Used as a staff training & presentation bus complete with 42'' Plasma TV and kitchen on board Also as previously mentioned used for staff medical purposes | Sat 02/10/2010, 21:37 |
| Ford Focus F04 F04 is MF59AEW and is black | Mon 13/09/2010, 22:26 |
| More Alke's A02 is MX1OGVN A10 is MX10NGZ I also saw MX10GVY but missed its fleet Note: Reply edited by London spotter, 31/08/10, 18:31. | Tue 31/08/2010, 18:30 |
| A01 A01 is MX10GWC | Sun 29/08/2010, 17:02 |
| Doh.... already got one Sorry. I forgot that there was already an area for trip reports, with a few posted. So, should I continue here, or use the old one? | Thu 22/07/2010, 00:51 |
| Sovereign Volvo Now released and was on sale at North Weald Rally today (which is a shadow of its former self and not very well organised anymore - sad). Could be had for £15 and should be in the shops soon. | Sun 04/07/2010, 21:54 |
| Central fleet size chart extended I have expanded the chart to include figures for the years 1985 to 2010. As can be seen, it looks like the growth has peaked. Figures are for April each year. Click the chart to see a larger version.  | Thu 17/06/2010, 00:57 |
| Oxford Trannys The first two will be a plain white mid-roof and a low-roof in Royal Mail colours. Note: Reply edited by Phillip Walton, 06/06/10, 15:42. | Fri 04/06/2010, 22:11 |
| Oxford Transits For info, this appears to be a Mark 7 (ie current version) and will be available initially in low and mid height versions. | Tue 01/06/2010, 09:26 |
| Hayes SVs Just to add that the six 'dumped' vehicles at Hayes are all still licensed, although they look past their prime. | Tue 18/05/2010, 06:58 |
| 6613M at Edgware Looking at the vehicle details for the regn WR58VYU shows that the serial number 6613M is actually incorrect, as noted on several occasions | Mon 03/05/2010, 11:40 |
| Spa Valley THIS WEEKEND Take a look at the Spa Valley Railway website for full details and a full timetable for both days of THIS WEEKEND'S LT gala at the Spa Valley Railway (24th & 25th April 2010). Also see the current issue of Steam Railway. You can ride on the T-stock (once ESL118) and see pannier L99 on a goods train with LT brake van and an LT flat wagon. I saw the restored flat wagon yesterday and it looks fabulous. L99 looks even better and has a fantastic paint job with full lining out. There will be an evening photo shoot outside the shed with L99 and LT stock from about 7.30pm on Saturday. The 4-BIG buffet car will be open in the evening too for refreshments and trains will be running until late (last one gets back to Tunbridge Wells West at 2041). A recommended day out. See you there (I shall be on duty as a Ticket Inspector in the morning and a stint at High Ricks around lunchtime). Damon. | Wed 21/04/2010, 21:55 |
| SpVR LT day update The required issue of Steam Railway magazine is now in the shops. L99 should now be in its final top coat and awaiting sign-writing. The flat wagon F375 is coming along nicely and will next for the paint treatment and the T stcok ESL118 is awaiting attention. Full details in Steam Railway magazine or take a look at the Spa Valley Rawlay website. A recommended day out. | Sat 03/04/2010, 01:25 |
| Two visits are better than one! 25th April is the annual East Grinstead country bus running day plus Southdown's Copthorne depot will have an open day (noon-4pm) | Tue 23/03/2010, 11:53 |
| LDP35 details Well, I did a trawl through the TLBs. It went to Southern (repainted white) in 2005, back to London in 2006, then repainted red as a medical centre in April 2007. See the photo added today for more. | Sat 02/01/2010, 19:48 |
| Mobile Medical Centre 'London Buses in 2007' states LDP35 received a 'makeover' with a fresh coat of paint, tinted glass, air conditioning and LED displays in April 2007 so details should be in TLB around that date. | Thu 24/12/2009, 16:40 |
| IE8 - No Problem Since upping to IE8, I have had no problems - can still log on OK | Sun 13/12/2009, 19:08 |
| Cortina model again Having had this thing out of the box and had a good look I have to say that Vanguards have done quite a nice job detail-wise with one or two MAJOR errors. The most glaring error is that it's a 2-door and the LT Cortinas were 4-door. I presume that this is the standard Vanguard casting of a Cortina so they couldn't do a 4-door. So why bother I ask? The chrome effect detailing is accurately placed along the wings and has been included around the front grille etc. and is rather nice. It should however appear on the window frames too. The wording ''RADIO CONTROL'' appears correctly in white on the doors and there's a nice little Ford badge at the bottom of the nearside wing. The roof sign is a reasonable effort and but seems to have ''LONDON TRANSPORT'' on a very dark blue bar? (is it my eyes?) when it should be black. Further criticism is that the front indicators should probably be orange and the front number plate should be on the bumper and not underneath. A bit of a let down after the last two Ford efforts from Vanguards. Now, how about some more LTSVs then?...plenty of scope out there with the current range of castings from several manufacturers. Note: Reply edited by Damon, 09/11/09, 13:42. | Mon 09/11/2009, 13:36 |
| Base Toys Cortina with Oxford Cortina chassis The Base Toys Cortina is the more accurate of the two with regard to the shape and it is a 4 door. Where it falls down is in the wheels and interior, I have fitted the Base Toys body to an Oxford chassis, it is quite easy to modify the Oxford chassis. All that you have to do is remove the turrets that surround the fixing points and trim the rear corners, attach the Base Toys body using the Base Toys screws, if it does not fit perfectly you can adjust the chassis with a file, the Base Toys screws are smaller but still hold the (modified) Oxford chassis and allows you to make very small adjustments. | Wed 04/11/2009, 16:54 |
| NEW Vanguards Cortina This model has now been released. Picked one up in the model shop at Monk Bar in York yesterday for £13.50 yesterday. | Sat 24/10/2009, 19:05 |
| Yes (and no)! If you take out the few duplicate reports and add in the few hundred sightings lost in May 2006 we will probably be well over the 30,000 mark already. Still, it's nice to be able to celebrate an occasion such as this so thanks to Tom and all contributors for a job well done. | Thu 15/10/2009, 13:22 |
| 7000 Having done the research, there was no 1000. 2000S was a Seddon tanker and 3000, 4000, 5000 & 6000 were all Ford Transits so my money's on another Seddon. It'll be painted in Deutcshe-Bahn (did I spell that right?) livery after they buy the London Underground next month and will be delivered on the 1st April next year for Boris Johnson's birthday. | Wed 30/09/2009, 17:13 |
| Vehicle 7000 I suspect that by October 2010 a Sell Dongfeng Lotus Van Truck will carry the number 7000S. Logos carried will be for 'Metrocrashed' showing a pannier tank with £5bn in notes in the bunker disappearing into a tunnel. Should I win I would like to donate my points to Nelson Piquet Jnr. A further prediction: the registration will be LN.60LLO! I feel sorry for the driver of 7001 who will, no doubt, get comments about driving his 7001 (TOOL) and how big it is to handle etc. Note: Reply edited by Ray, 28/09/09, 21:56. | Sat 26/09/2009, 11:58 |
| LTSVplus on mobiles Answering my own question, I have decided there is no point developing 'mobile' versions of the pages on this site. I have been using a smart phone (MDA Vario III with 240x320 screen) for about a year now, and visit LTSVplus from time to time, mostly to look up potential ex-SVs. All the pages (including lists and photos) seem to load reasonably quickly and display well enough to be used. | Wed 16/09/2009, 22:48 |
| Adding photos to LTSVplus I have replied to omnicitylondon but for the benefit of others: Photos can only be submitted by e-mail to tom 'at' ltsv.com. There is no means of adding photos yourself, although this may be a feature in the future. All contributions are welcomed and any that are not published straight away will be held on file for future use. Cheers, Tom. | Sun 30/08/2009, 21:21 |
| yes i have some images of fire bridgade and ambulance vehicles so would be intrested if there was a section for those vehicles | Sat 29/08/2009, 18:29 |
| Upminster update Just to confirm that the depot opens at 1100 on both days - there seem to be some conflicting reports on this. Displays should include ''D'' stock (with a tour underneath the thing), ''C'' stock, '38 tube stock, a Battery Loco, Steam Loco L99, ''S'' stock mock up, and more. There's also a ''Q'' stock car from the LTM to see. Buses are running on the 248 provided by the LTM (RM1), The London Bus Co. and East London with Ensign running an RLH (I think) on the 248A giving the photo opportunity of an RLH going under a low bridge! Some of the buses have first and last jouneys starting/finishing at Romford. I'm working as a volunteer on Sunday so will see you all there! | Fri 28/08/2009, 15:48 |
| Upminster This was advertised in the Travel section of yesterday's Metro newspaper. It's £10 to get in!! | Tue 18/08/2009, 09:58 |
| Upminster update Saturday 29 / Sunday 30 August 2009 Upminster Depot 50th Anniversary Open Weekend As part of the anniversary celebrations London Transport Museum will be sending the following vehicles for static display - District line Q35 stock trailer car, R stock driving motor car and our 4-car unit of 1938 tube stock. Metropolitan Electric locomotive ''Sarah Siddons'' will also be on display.A commemorative limited edition Tube map poster has been commissioned and will be available from London Transport Museum sales stand at Upminster Depot during the weekend, in addition special travel card wallets, glasses cases and door stops using the current District line train seating moquette will also be available. Note that the District line will not be operating between Barking & Upminster Note: Reply edited by Ray, 01/08/09, 12:20. | Fri 31/07/2009, 18:13 |
| SUP24D accuracy I think the SUP24D book is superb and well worth the asking price, especially as it now features 8 colour photos. However, I might be biased! In terms of accuracy, the bulk of SUP24D was based on an official fleetlist kindly supplied by Tube Lines (covering LBSL, Metronet, TfL etc) dated to 30th March 2009. This was updated with observations to the end of May. The bus company fleets were 99 percent from observations. I did remove a lot of vehicles that had not been reported for some time, and a few that are operated anonymously (LOTS policy). The databases on this site will therefore show more 'current' vehicles than the book. | Wed 29/07/2009, 11:50 |
| Metrobus web site Metrobus show four buses now allocated to WB which, per their garage list, is West Bromwich! | Mon 08/06/2009, 07:09 |
| West Bromwich??? OK, so maybe I have missed something but... what the heck are you talking about? :-) | Mon 08/06/2009, 01:05 |
| Upminster (proposed) Open Day I understand that this will now be on the Saturday AND the Sunday but NOT the Monday. Once again this event is still UNCONFIRMED. | Wed 27/05/2009, 09:51 |
| Rickmansworth Don't forget there's an event at Rickmansworth on 17th May in conjunction with the Rickmansworth canal festival. Sarah Siddons will be running on the Met with a 4-TC unit. There's also a heritage bus service using RM1 from the LTM and up to two vehicles from the London Bus Company. Details on the LTM website. Seeya there! | Sun 10/05/2009, 21:42 |
| Cricklewood Open Day An open day at Cricklewood is also adverstised in Bus & Coach Preservation Magazine. Date is 19th September. | Sun 10/05/2009, 21:39 |
| Upminster open day I thought I should mention that this is still a ''proposed open day''. Not yet confirmed. I also notice that I have yet to add a function to move forum postings from one topic to another. Cos this one should presumably be under Events! Ho hum. | Sun 10/05/2009, 17:19 |
| Cheers to Ray I have just had a look at the stats and Ray has updated a massive 5111 vehicles! Any suggestions for what we can get him to do next?! | Sun 10/05/2009, 17:16 |
| Various places May 9th A long day out for Ray and I, covering some tube closures before heading for various bases in NW and W London. Starting from Cannon Street, 4 SVs were found around Mansion House Station, including a Volvo demountable and one of the elusive Metronet VW vans. Tower Hill also had four SVs, all Transit vans, parked on Trinity Square. A Metronet Combo was on Minories at Algate (with 3 LBSL in the bus station) but then Liverpool Street and Moorgate had nothing. Up to Wembley Park (with lots of York City fans), on passing Neasden it was noted that the station yard is once again undergoing work and the SVs have been moved to the main depot parking area. Among the usuals there was another VW (not identified) and an artic. Rather unusually there were no SVs at Olympic Way. Have LBSL moved out again? Onwards by rail replacement bus, there were no SVs visible at any of the intermediate stations, and not much evidence of work going on. The bus did skip Canons Park though. Stanmore had the unique VW Crafter in a yard at the entrance to the car park. It appears to be resident here. Winding our way to North Wembley, there were no Metroline SVs visible at the soon-to-be-closed garage, but a Tubelines Transit was parked nearby (and also the entire minibus fleet of Brent Council). After lunch at Willesden Junction, Park Royal was looked at. The NCP/NSL cars were not in evidence, just a Combo van. Onwards to North Acton for the uniform vans, then Perivale for the CELF. Former 2502F in white/blue is parked near here. After many fruitless visits to Alperton garage, their Vivaro van finally showed itself today. At Acton, the staff car park had three rarely seen vans (being 06 reg they are probably for disposal) as well as some other cars and vans. From the train, Frank Pick House has a new silver Transit outside (672xF replacing identical 5916F) while the lorry yard had the usual suspects. However, at the south end of the yard were no fewer than 8 Tubelines Welfare Transits, plus a few Fastline ones. Due to their position, no details were obtained and we couldn't decide if they were all new or existing ones gathered for some purpose. A walk over the top of Lillie Bridge with the zoom lens was successful, a couple of the recent anonymous 'pool' vehicles (Master 6646 and Partner 6633) being identifiable. I was pleased to find minibus 5713F still there, this being the last of the batch I hadn't seen, and presumably due to follow its sisters out of the fleet very soon. Edgware Road and Griffith House were fairly quiet, of interest being the replacement Zafira at the former and a Honda CR-V at the latter. After some refreshments, our route homeward took us through Tower Hill again and, although the Transits had left, another Metronet VW was parked up. A good result to end the day. Photos to follow. | Sun 10/05/2009, 17:03 |
| A11 DUN The DVLA check has now finished. Thanks to Richard Keith Skues and all on the LV18 at Easter for keeping me amused while I was flicking from page to page. A number were not found on the DVLA, particularly Ford Fiesta and Courier vans also registrations ending in JV (M-LJV, M-MJV and N-PJV) but I can't see why these combinations have been changed. | Sun 26/04/2009, 15:01 |
| ...or two asterisks... I have revised the format so that one asterisk indicates a fleetnumber that is not carried, two asterisks indicate that an incorrect fleetnumber is carried. Please let me know of any vehicles that I may have missed. | Sun 19/04/2009, 00:06 |
| Not so fast Vehicles were not specifically mentioned so I don't think this will be an overnight change. Buildings and uniforms were listed as 'future changes'. By the way, the BCV and SSL division will still apply so I may not need to do much to the database! | Thu 16/04/2009, 15:10 |
| 33 LUG Should the Olympian incarnation of 33LUG qualify as a service vehicle? Does it serve the same role? | Thu 16/04/2009, 15:03 |
| March Madness 3rd-6th March 2009 I can confirm that both Chancel Street and Meymott Street are still in use, so I guess we were just unlucky! | Fri 13/03/2009, 14:21 |
| March Madness 3rd-6th March 2009 Back in the New Year, I decided another London trip was necessary. Travelodge booked,& rail tickets bought for the first week in March. Unfortunately, a number of uncertainties meant that a full itinerary could not be worked out as it was not known who would be joining me where,or at what times. Tuesday 3rd saw me meet up with Tom & Ray at Acton. Iveco LK58HKN was seen as I pulled into Acton Town, & a trip to the gate, followed by the return to the Tube with a view of the Museum Approach, saw about another 40 hit the book. A quick Tube detour was enough to see 3 of the new IRUs, which Ray had seen earlier driving into the Works, on the ramp. Onto Lillie Bridge, Earls Court Gardens & another view of LBD at West Brompton, produced about 30 more. A 'short' walk to Vauxhall for the ERUS, proved to be a long walk for nothing. Tea at The Met Bar, where James joined us & then a train to East Croydon saw me checking in at about 11pm, in the rain! I had arranged to meet Tom & Ray at London Bridge at 10am. A Metrobus Renault LX58XCT dealing with a poorly 467 at Croydon, seemd to bode well for the day ahead. From there it went downhill fast. The Tfl vehicles in Borough had moved. Chancel Street looked deserted. Ruislip Station had 6582F for a photograph. I later saw it another 3 times.Olympic Way, Wembley was empty but Wembley Park had 2 or 3. Uxbridge BS had new 6605M & Neasden about 8, inc 6582F. Lunch at Willesden was a highlight. Transit 6482F graced the station at Golders Green, Finsbury Park had 2, & of the 8 or so at Turnpike Lane, 6612M was new & a line-up of 3 Hondas gave Tom a photo chance. Ray, by now had sensibly baled out. Tottenham Garage produced 6 or 7 new Arriva vans, & another 7 lined up inside so as to be unreadable. A hail storm didn't deter Tom & I from making our way to Northumberland Park, where LT58VUV 6471F was on show. Lea Valley was quiet, & Edmonton held another 6 or 8 Arrivas. Walthamstow & Stratford had no more than the usual suspects. Meal Two in the Met Bar. Needing to ensure Tom was not late home, we made our way to GHO, where Steve arrived. Having seen Tom on his way, Steve & I went back to Acton. Expecting the worst after the day's quiet start, things actually got better. From about 2330 it picked up, & in the hour from 23-2400, about 100 vehicles rolled out. Highlights were too many to mention. We then commenced a drive around, & after about 5 blank venues, we started to hit from Holland Park. Green Park was busy, as was Baker Street. 6660F - LS88XFN excited Steve at Marylebone, & then Euston, Holborn, Embankment & Waterloo all chipped in before we headed south.Kennington, Stockwell, Clapham & Tooting showed the amount of work going on, with 'Staff Welfare' facilities in evidence at Clapham. The Travelodge bed finally welcomed me at 0320. Damon had been unsure until late on as to what time he would be available, but eventually he managed Thursday off. He was delayed reaching Croydon, but we breakfasted & headed for Addington, to then try Orpington for the new Metrobus fleet based there. As It turned out, 10 of the 11 new Orpington-based Renaults were seen - a result! Damon & I then managed a circular tour of bits of south east London before we met Tom at Eltham. There, Lewisham & Mandela Way all produced a few before the final stop at Aldgate yielded only 2. A drink in Wetherspoons near the Tower, before a slow ride to Charing Cross for a very nice Italian meal & an early night for me at Croydon. Friday morning saw me log 6608M at SYH, Victoria was quiet & Allsop Place deserted. About 320 sightings over 4 days, produced 130+ new ones for me, of which nearly 50 were down to the night shift with Steve. Thanks to all who helped make it a good few days in a very busy London. I love quiet Leeds. Note: Reply edited by John Lloyd-Martin, 11/03/09, 20:44. Note: Reply edited by John Lloyd-Martin, 13/03/09, 23:06. | Wed 11/03/2009, 20:41 |
| DLR SVs Apologies, I thought I had already replied to this! The DLR did use LT SVs for its first few years. These included vehicles in livery (such as 3337F and 3499F) and some anonymous ones (eg 3658F). Put 'DLR' in the 'Search for text' box on the fleet data page and you will get a list of 10 vehicles. There may have been more. As for more recently, I do not recall seeing any road vehicles that could be regarded as being DLR related. If any does have any reports, please either reply here or e-mail me. Cheers. Tom | Sun 08/03/2009, 02:01 |
| DLR Seco SV's I am reliably informed the partner with the DLR is indeed SERCO. This features on all the publicity materials. Seco is therefore incorrect. | Mon 02/03/2009, 19:58 |
| Re: DLR - Seco SV's just a small point, should Seco not read Serco? | Wed 25/02/2009, 20:38 |
| Metrobus SVs Feb 2009 The Metrobus Fleet list, dated 21st February 2009, shows no recent changes of service vehicles or their allocations. However, the '89' series - 8914,-5,-6,-8,-9,8921 &-22 although on the LTSVplus site do not show on the Metrobus lists, & as I cannot find a recent copy of Metrobus' list, are these still, in fact, currently used ? Note: Reply edited by John Lloyd-Martin, 24/02/09, 11:57. | Tue 24/02/2009, 11:43 |
| North West and West London, 23rd January 2009 This trip covered several well-trodden paths around NW and W London but was nevertheless fruitful, perhaps due to it being a weekday. Starting at Uxbridge, two of the 2005 Merc vans were in, and an IRU arrived later. More interesting were 6297H (one of the more elusive Honda Civics) and 6074VW (one of the most elusive VWs). Interestingly the latter drove into the bus station then straight out again! Onwards to Wembley Park, their smart new Incident Response Vehicle (Galaxy 6552F) was noted near the traincrew office. This can be seen from trains or from the station car park. The Signals yard on the north side had a pair of white Transit vans (6338F and LS08BXZ). The BTP have a temporary office in this yard at present, so viewing is best done from the station footbridge! Olympic Way was also worth a visit as, along with a pair of Civics and the un-numbered Caddy, the resident Noddy van was the rarely seen 5677VW. The logical next stop was Neasden, where the station yard had 4 SVs. Of the two normal Metronet vans, one was new (6582F) while Tube Lines were unusually represented with a Tourneo and a Combo. The latter was 6411V, previously reported as 6471V, therefore removing one numbering conflict. The fence next to the path behind this yard is now cleared of sheeting, enabling photography. The highlights of a period at Acton were LBSL 6014VW in the lorry yard (bit early for replacement?) and new Merc Sprinter 6695M on Bollo Lane. Best of all, no fewer than four new silver Metronet Transits came out of Museum Approach at about 3PM. Numbered 6544-6547F (and thus clashing with a previously reported Combo), I suspect that these new vans are used by the DESU and have replaced similar 5820-5823F. Heading the other way (into Ealing Common) at about the same time was elderly and unique box Transit 5519F. | Sun 25/01/2009, 00:18 |
| Armchair Transits I think you must be right Ray. K534AOM was on a company list, not sure where I got M534AOM from. The only difference (reg aside) was that K was listed as grey, M as red. I have now deleted the entry for M. Cheers, Tom. | Sun 25/01/2009, 00:10 |
| Also applies to the Sort buttons Click once, then if it seems to be taking a while, click it again! | Wed 14/01/2009, 10:38 |
| East London 10th January 2009 Ray and I had a cold day in East London on Saturday, looking for trains and new buses as well as SVs. Starting on the just-opened DLR from Woolwich Arsenal, then round for a C2C from West Ham. No less than 7 engineers trains were on the District Line in the Dagenham area but most were GBRf and were passed at speed. LUL stock was four battery locos and tamper TMM774. Upminster yielded 2 Metronet and 1 Arriva Grays SVs around the station. With the replacement buses at the far end of the car park was a plain white Transit with light bar (BN07ZPV?) which may be an SV but whose? We took a trip round to Cranham to view Upminster depot where just one of the two Transits present could be identified. You need binoculars and an immunity to curious looks here! Onto the replacement bus, not many SVs were evident. A semi-trailer has been stationed at Upminster Bridge for Metronet staff welfare but is also lettered for Balfour Beatty. 6000F was near Hornchurch Station. Several vans at Dagenham East but all were contractors. Heading to Romford we found unmarked 6252F parked near the College on Dagenham Road. Nothing surprising at Romford. Had a peer into North Street but no vans, just a red Focus estate. Nothing at all at Ilford. At Barking we noted 4 Kangoos in the yard. To id the back pair you need to be with somebody tall enough to peer over the wall! We also squeezed in a visit to Chingford before dusk but found just the silver Transit (6321F) and the un-numbered Focus (HV57JBX). On the plus side, I did see lots of new buses! | Mon 12/01/2009, 22:48 |
| CMNL IRU in LTM! The new model has finally appeared at the London Transport Museum shop, who have a good stock priced at £7.82 each. | Mon 05/01/2009, 15:09 |
| 17th December Note: Reply edited by Ray, 07/03/09, 17:24. | Thu 18/12/2008, 19:17 |
| CMNL IRU is here! The Creative Master IRU is now released. Cheapest bet seems to be the Yardley Wood Bus Club website. Also about 5 London related EFE's due out this week including the superb BEA RMA with trailer, LCBS RT, Bexleybus DMS, Arriva Olympian on the 142 and a green RF. Put 'em on your list for Santa. | Tue 16/12/2008, 21:08 |
| Well done! If you let me know next time I'll tag along but I only now go down Bollo Lane as far as Frank Pick House as last time I was at the main gate (23/10) I was threatened by a chap in a Metronet shirt with the police next time he saw me or anybody else outside! | Sat 13/12/2008, 13:28 |
| Acton & Others 10th December 2008 A cheap-deal day out on National Express trains provided the opportunity of a visit from Leeds, in early December to 'put a few in the book' & do a bit of Christmas shopping. I met up with Damon at Kings Cross and after the tube, and having a walk past Bollo House & Frank Pick House,he & I joined a cold Steve at Acton. About an hour & a half was long enough in the conditions, in which time about two dozen movements occurred. With the addition of some of the usual suspects seen in the lorry yard from the train, a total of 40+ sightings was made. Highlight was the new Mercedes dropside at Bollo House identified as 6695M WR58GFU. On to Lillie Bridge - unusually no Ford Rangers were noted at West Ken Station yard - have they moved on? Six vehicles were noted there, with about another 20 in the various yards.6541F VO58VBK was one that caught the eye. Earls Court Gardens held 4 Kangoos of which only 3 were identified, behind the green wooden fencing. Pelham Street had only one visible. The Vauxhall dealership on Edgware Road, now closed, had no service vehicles present so it looks like Staples Corner only. Some vegetation trimming in Griffith House yard meant that vehicles were slightly more visible. Six or eight in the yard & 3 inside the building, were joined by 2 in Edgware Road Station yard, including newish, chevroned Transit 6567F LT58VTZ. With a couple in the Office yard at Allsop Place, including Kangoo 6543R, - WP08NHT, we decided enough was enough in the fast-fading daylight. Note: Reply edited by John Lloyd-Martin, 13/12/08, 13:03. | Sat 13/12/2008, 13:02 |
| 29th November Note: Reply edited by Ray, 07/03/09, 17:24. | Tue 02/12/2008, 14:08 |
| Cor, More Door-2-Door Bore, Hackeny Interchange still use drivers (vehicle taxi licenses carried) on LY08PXA, LY57ANR, LR04NDY and KL02NPK noted today. | Wed 26/11/2008, 22:13 |
| 18th & 22nd November updates. Note: Reply edited by Ray, 07/03/09, 17:24. | Fri 21/11/2008, 22:13 |
| First out? The majority of vehicles I have seen today still carry 'Licences' for TfL mini-cab use. Seen around Northumberland Park were LY57ANP, WN03XRT, LY56OLJ, LS53LZU, LX57WTD, WN03XRZ, WV03XFV whilst the Door-to-Door depot down the road (Garman Road, Northumberland Park) had a large number of vehicles all licensed similarly. The only problem I can see is that all, bar one, of those listed only had the one driver when going to or coming from NP. With a few of the former Orpington cars also at NP perhaps they now hire the vehicles, but without drivers, whilst the licenses are retained for Door-to-Door use when required. (LY57ANP was logo'd for Door-to-Door by the way) | Thu 20/11/2008, 17:20 |
| Tom's missing IRU model The Creative Master Sprinter IRU model is still not with us. The CMN website lists at as released in September but the UK distributor's website (Ayrey direcasts) lists it as December. I presume they're all on a boat on their way here trying desperately to avoid Somali pirates! There was no sign of any at the Kempton Park Toy Fair last week where I spent too much money anyway. Some bloke in Falkirk is knocking them out on ebay for £9.99 post free if anyone can't wait - presume from the photos that this is NorrieSprinter mentioned elsewhere in this thread. Think I'll write a letter to Santa instead! | Wed 19/11/2008, 17:09 |
| Hired vehicles The question of LEZ compliance may be true as I have seen a couple of hired vehicles with 'Dial-A-Ride' roundel stickers running in SE London. | Tue 18/11/2008, 17:05 |
| 15th November update Note: Reply edited by Ray, 07/03/09, 17:24. | Mon 17/11/2008, 14:27 |
| Dial_A_Ride I have recently posted the following elsewhere: ''Not sure if this is of interest to anyone, but a friend has been making up a fleetlist of London Dial a Ride vehicles based on his own obserations. http://www.dotorgdotuk.org.uk/dotorg/dialaride.xls It seems likely that many, including most of the M- and N- registered vehicles, have left the fleet.'' Anecdotal evidence suggests that the smaller silver vehicles do not fully comply with the Low Emissions Zone regulations and are to be taken out of use very soon. They may be borderline being ''cars'' in one sense of the word, but ''buses'' in their use. (Of course, none of this may be true) | Sat 15/11/2008, 00:40 |
| Latest Metrobus update. Note: Reply edited by Ray, 07/03/09, 17:24. | Sat 08/11/2008, 17:37 |
| Later 100 | Earlier 100 |