| Don't tell me, this is a very rare vehicle, right? Well, yes, but it also presents something of a mystery. Ford Tourneo minibus 6211F was new back in May 2007 and allocated to Stratford Market Depot. It replaced similar 5552F, which was very rarely seen and never photographed (apart from a very ropey shot through the fence at Acton in 2007). Unsurprisingly, 6211F was also very rarely reported and never photographed. Then in spring 2014 it appeared to have been replaced by new Volkswagen Transporter minibus 7791VW. As it was by then almost 7 years old, we expected 6211F to be disposed of, and indeed there were no more sightings reported. However, in September 2014 it was relicensed for another 6 months (to April 2015), only to be delicensed the following month. I was therefore very surprised to see this photograph of it coming down Bollo Lane on 28th January 2015. At the time it was still unlicensed so it must have been running on trade plates. Also of note is that the Tube Lines lettering it latterly carried had been replaced with the current style of LUL/TfL markings. Speculating a bit, perhaps it was returned to Acton in 2014 and kept as a spare. The October delicensing could have been the result of accident damage, and perhaps this photo shows it returning to Acton after repairs. Any further reports of this vehicle, now one of the oldest in the leased fleet, would be welcomed. I will also keep an eye on the DVLA database to see if it gets relicensed. |
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Photo ID: |
4875 |
| Photo date: |
28/01/2015 |
Size: |
Regular |
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| Date added: |
09/02/2015 |
