MrMaguire
London Central / General PVL282 (PJ02 RCF) on route 44 at Tooting Station
I decided to go after this yesterday. The last time I was on it was around October on the 363. This one is probably the nicest looking of the three at Merton. The front of PVL284 has had some repairs done to it and it looks a bit off. PVL296 has a red tree deflector instead of black, plus the paint is a bit dull. This one looks pretty much like it always has, and always seems to show up nicely in pictures.
Aside from that it just seems like a nice old bus. It doesn't make any strange noises or do any strange things. It has a nice gentle ride, all the parts mesh together nicely; it just works. Like an old pair of shoes.
This batch have lasted incredibly well. This one is now 15 years and 11 months old. Its road tax expires on the 1st of June, and I'm not sure it'll be renewed for another year, especially considering that the Streetdecks for the 44 should be entering service soon.
These were bought in the middle of 2002 and delivered to Camberwell for the 35 and 40. The ones retained for the 45 have pretty much all been sent for scrap. Camberwell took great care of them for years, but they just seemed to go downhill during that last year of the 45's contract.
The ones that were sent to Sutton for the 213 have fared more favourably on the used market. So far '281 and '286 have been sold to DC Lifestyle in Brentford, and were used on the 135 during the DLR strikes recently, York Pullman have a couple in the 290 range, and PVL293 has reappeared with Go-Coach after being missing for almost two years.
London Central / General PVL282 (PJ02 RCF) on route 44 at Tooting Station
I decided to go after this yesterday. The last time I was on it was around October on the 363. This one is probably the nicest looking of the three at Merton. The front of PVL284 has had some repairs done to it and it looks a bit off. PVL296 has a red tree deflector instead of black, plus the paint is a bit dull. This one looks pretty much like it always has, and always seems to show up nicely in pictures.
Aside from that it just seems like a nice old bus. It doesn't make any strange noises or do any strange things. It has a nice gentle ride, all the parts mesh together nicely; it just works. Like an old pair of shoes.
This batch have lasted incredibly well. This one is now 15 years and 11 months old. Its road tax expires on the 1st of June, and I'm not sure it'll be renewed for another year, especially considering that the Streetdecks for the 44 should be entering service soon.
These were bought in the middle of 2002 and delivered to Camberwell for the 35 and 40. The ones retained for the 45 have pretty much all been sent for scrap. Camberwell took great care of them for years, but they just seemed to go downhill during that last year of the 45's contract.
The ones that were sent to Sutton for the 213 have fared more favourably on the used market. So far '281 and '286 have been sold to DC Lifestyle in Brentford, and were used on the 135 during the DLR strikes recently, York Pullman have a couple in the 290 range, and PVL293 has reappeared with Go-Coach after being missing for almost two years.