London in February 1987

19th February 1987

121 photos.

After the somewhat chaotic trip to London in 1986, the itinerary for my second visit six months later was subject to a good deal more planning. Unlike the National Express Rapide Bova of Crosville which made the journey from Holyhead, this time we were "treated" to AUJ 528T, an eight year old Ford R1114 - Plaxton Supreme.

The London Regional Transport route tendering scheme was by now well underway, and thus some routes had become home to vehicles not previously generally seen in London service, while other operators took to using ex London Transport DMS class Fleetlines, in a variety of colours. The one vehicle operated route 146 had a Wadham Stringer bodied Ford, while Eastern National used Bristol VRTs in yellow and green. London Country acquired secondhand Atlanteans from Southdown, Strathclyde and Northern General, while the midibus revolution had hit London too, with red Optares on route C1 and London Country Renaults on the 268. New operator Scanbus had won the 283, appropriately using Scanias with Jonckheere bodies.

Other than these, a few surprises also turned up, including a sighting of preserved RT1702 in the yard of Catford garage, while a glimpse of a black double decker prompted me to leave the 88 bus I was on and take a closer look. An urge to break a tube journey at Southgate was rewarded with a nicely parked RMC driver trainer outside. L.T.'s last Fleetline, D2646 also appeared on route 93, contrasting with RML2760 seen on the previous visit -- thankfully both of these historic buses are still around.

Alder Valley 1504 (YPJ 504Y) at the Tower of London on 23rd February 1987