London General route 379: Chingford Station - Yardley Lane Estate
Approaching Yardley Lane Estate.
London General started their new contract to route 379 from Northumberland Park (NP) on 11 March 2017. Two new wheel-forward Wright StreetLites were introduced on 21 July 2017.
Route 379 is a 10-15 minute residential route operating in a circular fashion in Chingford. A short burst of acceleration on Kings Head Hill is followed by a duck onto Drysdale Avenue, where the drive becomes a challenging squeeze through congested parking with road space limited to one lane for both directions to share.
This magnifies drivers' deliberation, generosity and vision of distance to give right-of-way when necessary. Otherwise, traffic can be created or drivers might find themselves having to reverse, as my WS had to ... downhill ... at the apex section of Hawkswood Crescent ... whilst also having to dodge back through cars parked on both sides of the bus. That's maximum use of rearview mirrors and spacial awareness!
Get through the suburbia and onto Sewardstone Road, where drivers are rewarded with enough road to floor it to the Yardley Lane Estate standpoint. Depending on timetable, drivers either stand for a few minutes whilst waiting for any residents to arrive at the stop or simply pause for a few seconds. On return to Chingford, the 379 does not directly rejoin Sewardstone Road from which it arrived at Yardley Lane but circumnavigates the estate before returning to the routing it came from on Sewardstone Road, just before Hawkswood Crescent.
©London Bus Breh 2017.
Tags: Go-Ahead Go-Ahead Group Go-Ahead London London General The Wright Group Wright Group WrightBus Wright Wright StreetLite Wright StreetLite DF StreetLite WS WS80 SK17 HHF 17-reg London Buses London Buses Bus London Buses route 192 Route 192 Yardley Lane Yardley Lane Estate Sewardstone Road TfL Transport for London
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London General route 219: Wimbledon, Francis Grove - Clapham Junction, Falcon Lane
Clapham Junction / The Falcon (P)
The bus didn't feel like it had any potential than what it was already providing: a smooth cruise. However, considering the hurried day I had, this was relaxing. Took this the full route, my first time aboard the 219. Except for the flatulent suspension sounds at slow speed, it was nice to finally be reunited with the Wright StreetLite DF.
©London Bus Breh 2014.
Tags: Go-Ahead Go-Ahead Group Go-Ahead London London General The Wright Group Wright Group WrightBus Wright Wright StreetLite Wright StreetLite DF WS WS15 LJ13 GKA 13-reg London Buses London Buses Bus London Buses route 219 Route 219 Clapham Clapham Junction Clapham Junction Station TfL Transport for London
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London General route 491: North Middlesex Hospital - Waltham Cross, Bus Station
Departing Bullsmoor Lane / Mollison Avenue (G), towards Waltham Cross Bus Station.
Shame I found this area so dull I had no motivation to continue my explorations of Wright StreetLite DF allocated routes, hence I did not board the 491. Driver compensated by acknowledging me to brighten his mood as he rejoined the gradually moving A1010 traffic to Waltham Cross, a bus on collaboratively operated route 327 following suit.
©London Bus Breh 2014.
Tags: Go-Ahead Go-Ahead Group Go-Ahead London London General The Wright Group Wright Group WrightBus Wright Wright StreetLite Wright StreetLite DF WS28 LJ13 GKX 13-reg London Buses London Buses Bus London Buses route 491 Route 491 Waltham Cross TfL Transport for London
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London General route 39: Clapham Junction Station, Falcon Road - Putney Bridge Station
Clapham Junction Station (M)
London General retained route 39 from Waterside Way (PL) on 19 November 2016. The contract introduces new Wright StreetLites, WS66-74, alongside existing Alexander Dennis Enviro200 Dart buses from former Go-Ahead route 368.
The new buses go against expectations, based on my experiences aboard earlier examples at Merton (AL) and Northumberland Park (NP). Other than giving a nice new look to a route I have never really paid much attention to, the buses have pace which can be enjoyed around Wandsworth and ride quality is good.
©London Bus Breh 2016.
Tags: Go-Ahead Go-Ahead Group Go-Ahead London London General The Wright Group Wright Group WrightBus Wright Wright StreetLite Wright StreetLite DF StreetLite WS WS69 SK66 HSG 66-reg London Buses London Buses Bus London Buses route 39 Route 39 Clapham Clapham Junction Clapham Junction Station TfL Transport for London
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London General route 232: Turnpike Lane, Bus Station - St. Raphael's, Mitchell Way
Approaching Newfield Rise (DM)
Go-Ahead London started a new contract to route 232 on 3 August 2019. New door-forward Wright StreetLite buses, WS131-148, introduced the service from Northumberland Park (NP), completing the move from Metroline.
At one point, I'm sure enthusiasts were expecting E20D MMCs. I would have liked that, but variety is welcome all the same. Route 232 spends most of its journeys on the A406 North Circular, so I am happy to have met the route here because motorway photography is not the easiest!
©London Bus Breh 2019.
Tags: Go-Ahead Go-Ahead Group Go-Ahead London London General The Wright Group Wright Group WrightBus Wright Wright StreetLite Wright StreetLite DF StreetLite StreetLite DF Door-forward Door-forward bus WS WS134 SM19 KKH 19-reg London Buses London Buses Bus London Buses route 232 Route 232 Cricklewood Coles Green Road Dollis Hill Lane The Crescent TfL Transport for London
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