This post today isn't much to do with the form of Public Transport in Buses, but the form of public transport in aviation. This summer I went on Holiday using world famous Airline Emirates. They are known in London for sponsoring the construction of the "Emirates Air-Line" gondola lift in East London. They are also well known in London for sponsoring one of London's football clubs, Arsenal. 

The plane that I was due to take would be from London Heathrow Airport (LHR) and would be an Airbus A380 "The Largest Airliner to take to the skies." Emirates flies 5 flights between London Heathrow and Dubai International (DXB). While I was waiting for my plane I saw another Airbus A380 next to us, this was one of Qantas' planes. Qantas is one of Emirates' key codeshare partners and both airliners fly to Dubai, with Qantas continuing to Sydney.

© EastLondoner 2014

I got quite a few good pictures of this plane. This was at 7:30 in the morning and the plane was leaving to go to a remote stand as it wasn't due to depart London for quite a long time. As you can see in the picture, the Airbus A380s have 4 engines, quite big as well. It's unusual for a pretty new model to have 4 engines as 2 engines are usually more economical. But Airbus seem to have sorted the issue out and these Giants of the sky fly some of the world's longest routes.

These Qantas ones are powered by Rolls Royce Trent engines. Although the Emirates ones are powered by Engine Alliance engines. Although I don't think that you will be noticing much of a difference in flight. Emirates and Qantas are some of the Worlds largest A380 operators with Emirates having a total of 140 of these once its deliveries are complete and Qantas having a total of 20. Both Emirates and Qantas only use Airbus A380s on their London flights

While waiting for boarding I also saw a British Airways Boeing 777 and a Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747.

British Airways is the flag carrying airline of the United Kingdom and the biggest airline in the U.K by fleet size. It's parent company is the "International Airlines Group" who also operate Iberia Airlines. They form the fourth biggest airline in Europe. British Airways have their hub located at London Heathrow and Terminal 5 at the airport is dedicated exclusively for British Airways and Iberia planes.

Virgin Atlantic also have one of their Hubs located at London Heathrow airport, and in this picture you can see one parked at the other side of Terminal 3 along with a British Airway Airbus A319 heading to the Runway.

I then left for my Holiday abroad. One of the other planes that I took was an Emirates Boeing 777-200. Here it is seen at Chennai (MAA) Airport, international terminal. I took it to Dubai International Airport. In Dubai international airport there isn't much variety to take pictures of. Once we landed we started making our way to Terminal 3, which is one of the World's largest Airport terminals. Terminal 3 at Dubai is used only by Emirates and Qantas planes. We arrived at Concourse A and we needed to board a mini underground metro which would take us to the main terminal building, where we would collect out baggage. 

Here we can see the newest Concourse at Terminal 3. Concourse A

Here we can see some Emirates Aircraft parked on the other side of Concourse A

Here is another shot of Concourse A

Here is an interior shot of the mini metro that is used in the Airport to shuttle people between Concourse A and the main terminal building.

In a week, I returned to the Airport to make my way home to London. We managed to arrive at the Airport pretty early and I made use of the time by going around the terminal taking pictures of waiting planes. Funnily enough, almost all of the planes that I took pictures of were Boeing 777s. Emirates being the World's largest operator of the type. The plane flies to many destinations around the globe and some of their newer Boeing 777s also feature WiFi which can be purchased on the flight. In these pictures you can see them as they wait around the terminal waiting to take passengers to their needed destinations.

These planes have two airbridges connecting them to the terminal. One is used by First Class passengers while the other one is used by Economy and business class passengers. Although their Airbus A380 has Three Airbridges, one for use by First and Business Class passengers, and the other two for use by Economy class passengers.

In the picture above you can see the Three air-bridges which connect an Airbus A380 to the main terminal.

After walking around the terminal taking pictures, I made my way onto the plane and made myself comfortable on the plane. It was a 6 hour flight and we got delayed by half an hour due to some passengers not turning up and their baggage needing to be of loaded. Eventually we landed on the Northern Runway at Heathrow 40 minutes late. Landing on the Norther Runway meant that we had to go past the brand new Terminal 2. I managed to get some pictures of planes waiting there.

You will notice many Air Canada planes parked at Terminal 2, this being because Air Canada's Focus City is London and they operate out of Heathrow to multiple Canadian destinations

Below is a picture of a United Airlines plane, I cannot tell exactly what plane this is but I'm taking a guess at this being a Boeing 767 plane.

I have no idea what the airline in the picture below is, But the plane is a Boeing 777. Please leave a comment if you know what airline it is

Here is a TAM Airlines Boeing 777. TAM Airlines in a Brazilian airline and operates between London and destinations in Brazil.

In the picture below you have got a good view of some of the planes parked at Terminal 2. Terminal 2 is used exclusively by members of the Star Airline alliance. Key members of this alliance being Air Canada, Thai Airways International, Lufthansa and United Airlines. Although It should be noted TAM airlines is no longer a Star Alliance member.

....and we end where we begun. I started my trip with my first photo being of a Qantas A380, and I ended my trip with the last picture being a Qantas A380.

What do you think of Airplanes? Are you an enthusiast yourself? or do you prefer to stick to buses? Please let us know in the comments section

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Route 287 is a route in East London and runs between Barking Station and Rainham, Abbey Wood Lane. It is operated by Stagecoach London from Rainham (RM) garage.

Route 287 doesn't have much of a History, although once it did operate to Ilford extending from Barking, but on the 20th March 1993 it was cut short to Barking, and diverted to the Harts Lane Estate. Then on the 24th March 2001 the route was cut back to Barking Station, with the Harts Lane link being replaced by Route 368. During this time the route was operated using single deck vehicles, but this often led to overcrowding as this was the only Route linking Barking and Dagenham. Upon contract renewal in 2006, it was decided to add in one Double Deck journey to help cope with school traffic. Then about a year later the whole allocation was converted to Double Deck operation with ALX400 bodied Tridents introduced. Another contract renewal saw the allocation move from Barking (BK) to Rainham (RM), as well as Enviro400s being introduced.

The route was officially retained on the 26th of March 2011, although the buses were late arriving, as Stagecoach had ordered over 100 of them for their retained Routes. The route continued using the Tridents until the current Enviro400s arrived. The route was not the only route in Rainham (RM) awaiting new buses, as fellow route 174 was also awaiting some buses. Eventually the new buses arrived and the 287 got some much needed new buses. Although, on the first few days of Rainham (RM) operation on the route, they did make their presence known on the route. Many of route 248s Omnicities has been delivered with blindsets which contained Route 287, as the route passes pretty nearby to the garage. The Scanias were often out on the Route since the move, and this still happens very often. 

The buses were originally delivered with Dayglo coloured blinds, although Rainham later won routes 252 and 365, and considering route 252 was going to get a partial allocation of Enviro400 buses, all the Enviro400s in Rainham (RM) got new sets. Due to this tender win a further batch of Scanias came to the Rainham (RM) fleet released from recently lost 106 from West Ham Garage, for route 365. These buses got a full refurbishment as well as White on Black Blinds. One of the transferred buses can be seen on the 287 in the picture above.

Along with the Newer Scanias, Rainham (RM) also took delivery of some newer 63reg Enviro400s. Many thought that these buses would intermix with the current Enviro400s, as they were the same bus type and mechanically similar, although that was not the case. The 63reg buses stuck to the 252 and it was extremely rare finding it on another route. But eventually Rainham (RM) lost their self control and started letting the newer Enviro400s leak onto their other routes such as the 287, 174 and 372. I managed to catch up with 10169 on a day in which not one allocated bus was on the route .

One other batch of Enviro400s that can appear on the 287 is part of a batch which was originally at Plumstead (PD) for route 53, 10 buses transferred to Rainham (RM) to convert the 372 to Double Deck upon contract renewal. These are intermixed with the other Enviro400 buses at Rainham garage and you can often find them on the 287. They received a fresh lick of paint and obviously new blindsets.

So what do you think of route 287? Do you find it an interesting or a boring sort of route? Please let us know in the comments section. 

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TA650 and TE926 take a break.
©GloriousWater

On Saturday the 2nd of August, Metroline West successfully took over the operations of route 112 from Abellio London. The route is operated from Cricklewood with 10 Trident 2/Alexander ALX400s (TA).

Metroline West took over the operations of route 112 between Brent Cross and Ealing Broadway. Initially, the route was rumoured to be operated from Greenford garage with brand new 10.8m Alexander Dennis Enviro200 buses (DEL), until there was word of the DELs for the route, running late due to the annual summer shutdown at Alexander Dennis. This then leading to discussions of which buses will deputise for the late buses, it was then believed that existing Alexander Dennis Enviro400 buses would be drafted in from Holloway until the new buses arrived, but this would not to be, why? Because the current drivers on the 112 were not all familiar on how an Enviro400 works. The discussion of the deputising buses rose again until it was confirmed that the route would temporarily operate from Cricklewood garage with the redundant TAs at the garage.

TA638 looking for a place to stand.

August the 2nd neared, it was said that ten transferred Enviro400s (TE925-934) from Holloway at Cricklewood were loaned to help out the TAs, as well as a few Enviro200s. Possibly hinting at a permanent stay at Cricklewood for the 112. 

The route successfully passed to Metroline West even though it operates from a Metroline Travel garage and operated the day using the planned TAs and one TE. I went to cover it to see how the route was operating on its first day, blog member Jack followed the next day.

©KTLBB

The 112's route is mostly on the North Circular Road (A406) with it only coming off most noticeably at Brent Cross and at Ealing. It passes through Neasden, Stonebridge and Hanger Lane en-route and has quite a few fast sections. It was previously operated by Abellio London - who took over from Travel London - who took over from Tellings-Golden Miller - with 10.4m Caeteno Nimbus Darts from Hayes garage. These buses were highly rated and reached high speeds, prom a friend of mine, to ask me to do the route.

©KTLBB

I ventured out to Brent Cross via the 189, my first time doing the route for such a long distance and I enjoyed it very much, TEH1114 providing me with my best hybrid journey in a long time. Going over the bridge leading to Brent Cross, I got my first sight of a Metroline operated 112, it was TA640 the bus I took to Ealing Broadway as I missed TA649 by a minute because of the backlog of buses trying to enter the small bus station at Brent Cross. It was an eleven minute wait for the next 112 and I happily waited observing the many buses entering, alighting and circling the bus station looking for a place to stand. Eventually, my bus, TA640 pulled round and we were off. The bus keeping to a nice steady pace for the first few minutes of the journey, I was highly anticipating the bus reaching high speeds of 40 to 50mph but instead was treated to a slow and quiet ride along a traffic-less A406.

I was so disappointed with this that I decided to take TA649 back to Brent Cross - scrapping the proposed bus to White City to take a 49 home - to see if my fortunes improved. The journey was literally the same, slower than I expected, with the driver only reaching a satisfying speed in Neasden. I was very displeased to say the least and the only interesting moments for me was seeing TAs passing in the opposite direction. Overall, I found the 112 over-exaggerated. I didn't have the pleasure of buses reaching high speeds and I didn't really enjoy the scenery of the route either. But I did like the state of which the buses were in considering they are 9 years old! It is a route I would like to try again and a route I think I would enjoy with faster drivers.

Jack:

©GloriousWater

My experience was very different to Kieran's. The bus station wasn't very busy when I arrived on the 102 and it was barely a minute before TE926 pulled up. Everybody crowded on the bus which made me doubt how a single-decker could cope with the loads. Almost immediately the driver thrashed the bus and it was regularly hitting 40 on the A406 despite some traffic. It stayed crowded for most of the trip until about Hanger Lane and the traffic didn't relent, but it always found a gap. So I would recommend doing the route, just hope you get a fast driver.

It has also been confirmed that the route will now stay at Cricklewood. 

Fleetlist

TA638 LJ05GFO

TA640 LJ05GFX

TA642 LJ05GFZ

TA644 LJ05GGE

TA646 LJ05GGJ

TA649 LJ05GGU

TA650 LJ05GGV

TA655 LJ05GHB

TA656 LJ05GHD

TA658 LJ05GHG

• Route 112 runs between Brent Cross, Shopping Centre/Bus Station and Ealing Broadway
• Operated from Metroline's head office, Cricklewood
• Will use TAs until the DELs arrive
• The TAs are also being assessed to see if the 112 will stay double-decker

Stagecoach London is a division of the Stagecoach group operating London operations. They have a pretty varied fleet, mainly made up of ADL vehicles but also do have buses from other Manufactures lying around such as Optare, Wrightbus and Scania around the place.

© KTLBB

Stagecoach often ordered ADL built vehicles, many of them took form of an ALX400 vehicle on a Trident Chassis. The Tridents were ordered for many routes, and almost all of the Double Deck routes in the Stagecoach fleet would have had a Trident on them at one point. Early Tridents were delivered with a different colour scheme to what they all carry today, they carried a grey moquette with red stripes (this interior is still found on 17001 today). In this picture we can see the current internal livery carried by most Stagecoach London Tridents. The Tridents ordered by Stagecoach came primarily with Voith gearboxes, with only about 84 ZFs delivered new. There have also been over 50 ZF retrofits, 30 outside London.

Like all vehicles the ALX400 eventually stopped production and there came a replacement, this was the Brand new Enviro400. Stagecoach got the first one built, a 10.8m Euro3 model called Spirit of London and numbered 18500, later 19000. This was to replace Trident 17758 which was destroyed in the 7th of July 2005 bombings. Their first full order came for 10 10.8m Euro4s for newly won route 61 which was due to operate from Bromley (TB) garage. But despite Stagecoach placing the order for the vehicles, they would not be the ones to take delivery of the vehicles. That was to be done by the Macquarie Bank, to whom Stagecoach had sold their operations to. But nonetheless Stagecoach made a triumphant return in 2010, and the Enviro400s were still there.

The ELBG didn't order much Enviro400s, but we'll get onto that later. But when Stagecoach returned they brought their ordering style back with them. Many routes were retained and Stagecoach brought Enviro400s for them. This was among Stagecoach's first order since their return to London and many people were looking forward to them. These batch of buses also had brand new Smartblinds installed on them, compared to the Manual blinds of the 61s batch and were Euro5, 10.1m models. Above 19860 can be seen on the 238.

Stagecoach didn't order much Enviro400 Diesels post 63reg, mainly because after that TFL wanted much more hybrids on London buses. Although there is a sole 14reg Enviro400 Diesel bus around, this is kept at TL as a bus used for the 136s extension to Elephant and Castle. This is one of about six Euro6 Enviro400s in London as of now (20/07/14).





Stagecoach also have quite a few Enviro400 Hybrids in their fleet, some being 61reg and others being 14reg. The 61reg buses had a different interior to the average Stagecoach interior. These had yellow handles and green seats. This was the interior used on all outer London hybrids and Stagecoach carried it in with the London ones. This batch was kept at Bow (BW) for route 15, which received the Hybrids mid-contract. Stagecoach didn't order much hybrids after this during 2012 and 2013. Although the next batch was due in 2014, for routes 54, 75, 122, 205 and 472. These buses contained the average Stagecoach London interior as Hybrids were going to become a common sight in London and there was no point differentiating between the two bus types.

The newer Enviro400 Hybrids contained other noticeable differences to the 61reg buses except for the interior. They only contained one tree deflector as opposed to the two that is usually found among London buses. They also had Start-Stop technology. This is when the bus automatically switches its engine off when it is waiting at traffic lights or bus stops and this saves energy. These buses are also the first Euro6 engined Enviro400 Hybrids in London.

Stagecoach also has some Wright Eclipse Gemini 3/B5LH buses in the fleet. These are kept at Plumstead (PD) garage for routes 53 and 122. These are the first production Gemini 3/B5LH buses in London, originally destined for the 54 and 75 they were diverted to the 53 and 122.

The buses like the latter E40Hs contain the average blue Stagecoach interior, and are Stagecoach's first Wrightbus built vehicles since the mid 1990s. It came as a surprise to many enthusiasts when it was announced that Stagecoach were going to order Geminis as nobody had expected it. It came as an even bigger surprise when later it was found out to be the Gemini 3 type and not the Gemini 2 type. 

The buses contain a rear which has a lot of non-red parts. This is unique to London as there is a rule which states buses have to be red as far as possible. Some design features have been inspired by the New Routemaster, such as the window near the stairs and the glossy rear. This has been a very controversial bus for enthusiasts.

Stagecoach London also have a few New Routemasters, kept at Bow (BW) for route 8 which was awarded with these type of vehicles upon the new contract.

These are practically identical to every other New Routemaster batch that preceded it with different operators, as Stagecoach didn't have any authority to change any of the spec as the buses were owned by TFL and leased to the operators.

While the company was operated by the Australian Marquarie Bank. There were a lot of Scanias ordered. Then when Stagecoach re-acquired the business in 2010. The Scanias went with them. 

The Scanias contained interiors which were designed by the ELBG. Although upon refurbishment these are being replaced with the Stagecoach interior. The Scanias can be found at Leyton (T), Rainham (RM), Bow (BW), West Ham (WH) and Plumstead (PD). The Scanias range from 58reg to 10reg, and can be found in both Euro4 and Euro5 versions. The Scanias are well known for not having enough padding, although during refurbishment they seem to have been sorted out. When the first batch arrived back in 2008 for newly won Route 248, they were late and entered service without any logos. When Stagecoach returned to London, the Scanias were among the first buses to receive Stagecoach Logos.

Stagecoach London have quite a few of the Single Decker variant of the Enviro400, which is the Enviro200. This model was ordered both in the ELBG era, and the latter Stagecoach era. Although the ones ordered by the ELBG were with an Allison gearbox while the ones ordered by Stagecoach came with a Voith Gearbox. The ones ordered by the ELBG also contained their interior, whereas the ones ordered by Stagecoach contained the Stagecoach interior. 

Enviro200s are not the only bus type that Stagecoach London have. In 2012 route 227 was retained, and that route specified 12 meter buses. The Enviro200 was not available in that sort of length, so Stagecoach decided to order 13 Mercedes Benz Citaros. These buses however are not open boarding like the ones on route 507 and 521. They contain a large wheelchair area due to the fact the route is heavily used by buggies during its journey, and in order to prevent any overcrowding and conflicts between buggy and wheelchair users, the extra space was specified. The 227 can't take double deck buses due to a low bridge at Shortlands. It is pretty rare to see operators using a full size Single Decker bus these days. These buses are well known for their speed and can easily classify as the fastest buses in London.

Stagecoach London also have a fleet of Plaxton Pointer-bodied Dennis Darts, these are all found south of the river, although one did temporarily go to Barking (BK) earlier this year for a short while. The darts can be found at all of Selkent's garages, ranging from minibus lengths to midibus lengths. Bromley (TB) even had 11.3m ones at one stage for Route 227.

They once used to be found in most Stagecoach garages, although these days many are used for logistical spares, and only a handful of routes actually operate with these vehicles as a proper allocation. Route P4 being one of them. There were also some older Alexander ALX200-bodied Darts that mixed with the Pointers frequently, although when they were withdrawn, the Pointers remained in the fleet.

Earlier I mentioned that one Pointer had been to Barking (BK) earlier this year. That was 34372 which was a short bus with only one door. It was very weird seeing it at Barking considering all the Single Deckers in the garage were dual doored buses. It was to be allocated to route 396. So when one went onto the 62 I couldn't resist a picture of such a rare working and I have to include it in this post.

While the ELBG was still around they ordered 14 Optare Versas for routes 469 and 396. Route 469 was based at Plumstead (PD) and route 396 was based at Barking (BK). But upon Stagecoach's return they wanted to move all the Optare Versas to one garage, as they were really unreliable and it wasn't easy keeping two small batches separate. So the Versas from Plumstead (PD) went to Barking (BK) for route 62, and the 62s brand new Enviro200s went the other way in return. The Versas in my opinion have to be the worst buses in the whole Stagecoach London fleet. They are often pretty dirty and often have something wrong with them. Some Versas have been given a refurbishment for the new 396 contract which commenced in 2014, and the refurbished buses received a Stagecoach makeover as well as a brand new set of White on Black Blinds.

Although Versas are not the only Optare product that Stagecoach London have. Catford Garage (TL) also have some Optare Tempo hybrids for route 178. Originally the buses started life at West Ham (WH) for route 276. When route 276 was lost to Go Ahead London, the buses went south of the River for route 380. This came as a surprise as the 380 didn't pass many traffic hotspots. About a year later the buses settled on a more logical home in the form of route 178.

What do you think of Stagecoach London's fleet? Do you find it pretty boring, or rather interesting? Please let us know in the comments section.

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