Aviation Specials – June 2018

Celebrating a British icon 123

we had written about it was

the north-south 24 (Volume 1),

connecting West Hampstead in

north London with the River

Thames at Grosvenor Road. In

fact this was the first route in

London to be converted fully

to the new model. When we

prepared our article about it in

early 2013, operator Metroline

was using a mix of Volvo B9TLs

and B5LH hybrids, all with smart

Wright Gemini 2 bodywork; but

the switch to New Routemasters

was already planned.

It went ahead at the end of that

year, and the 24 became one of

an eventual six that actually

had conductors or ‘attendants’

on board (the 38 was another).

Then mayor Boris Johnson had

promised to revive the facility for

users to board or alight between

bus stops, and this would only

be permissible if the bus had

someone on hand to monitor

the doors.

Route 11 (Volume 1), which

runs across London between

Fulham Broadway and Liverpool

Street, was another early

recipient of New Routemasters,

and also had conductors when

they first appeared. When we

featured the route in 2013, Go-

Ahead was using much older

Volvo B7TLs with Wright Eclipse

Gemini bodywork, but the

changeover came in November

of that year. It was made mid-

contract, but Go-Ahead retained

the route when it was re-

tendered two years later.

All six of the New Routemaster

routes that once had attendants

(the others being the 9, 10 and

390) lost them in 2016, and the

hop-on/hop-off facility is now a

thing of the past.

Other changes of type

Not all vehicle updates on the

routes we have featured involve

New Routemasters. Back in

2013 route 1 (Volume 1) between

Tottenham Court Road and

Canada Water was run by Volvo

B7TL double-deckers with classic

Wright Eclipse Gemini bodies,

along with some Alexander

Dennis Enviro400s.

Since late 2016, when the

contract with Go-Ahead was

renewed, the 1 has been operated

by new buses – mostly Volvo

B5LH hybrids with Wright

Gemini 3 or MCV EvoSeti

bodywork.

Go-Ahead is the operator of

yet another in our list of routes

that has gained new buses –

the 14 (Volume 3), which runs

between Warren Street (Euston)

and Putney Common. When we

covered it in 2016, the buses

were much like those mentioned

on other routes above – ageing

Volvo B7TLs with Wright Gemini

bodywork and similar-looking

but much newer Volvo B9TLs

with Gemini 2 bodies. Since then

the 14 has seen a transformation.

LEFT: An

attendant in

white shirt

leans back to let

passengers alight

from aboard New

Routemaster LT13

near Westminster

Abbey shortly

after they took

over route 24

in July 2013.

TERRY BLACKMAN

BELOW: The ‘old’

regime on the 24

represented by

Metroline VW1392,

a Wright Eclipse

Gemini 2-bodied

Volvo B9TL.

London by Bus