Sixty Years of RFs: 200, 213Sunday 2nd December 2012Prepared by Ian Smith, 8th December 2012.200: Wimbledon Station to West Wimbledon: RF368We rounded the Wimbledon Station loop, with its little bus station. Coming back towards Wimbledon Station we passed EnviroDart SE173 at the island stop I (but I have not been able to work out which route it was on: just what stops at stop I?). We passed the station and set off up Wimbledon Hill, passing another EnviroDart on the 493, and then Optare Olympus-bodied EnviroTrident DOE46 on the 93.Back on the Ridgeway we had to queue for the roadworks again. SE4, back from Raynes Park, squeezed past on the 200 to Mitcham. We escaped, and passed RF354 just joining the eastbound queue. We passed along the Ridgeway, and descended to reach Raynes Park Station, passing more EnviroDarts on the way. Again we looped round past the station and headed west along Coombe Lane. Trident TA233 bowled past on an eastbound 57. We continued along, recrossing the Kingston by-pass, to Trapps Lane, western end of the 200 route, where instead of turning back to Wimbledon we turned south, down to join the 213 route. We stopped at the Langley Grove stop to change the blinds. 213: West Wimbledon to Sutton Garage: RF368Passing through New Malden we met another RF which was heading for Kingston on the 213. No, it was not snowing. Brilliant sunshine turned the windscreen of RF368 into a plane of brilliant salt-spots that my camera's auto-focus just loved! A little further on we passed RF518, likewise heading for Kingston. We continued on through Worcester Park and Cheam, and turned left for Sutton. We turned left along St.Nicholas Way, and worked round to Sutton Green, where we turned in to the terminal stop on Bushey Road. I walked along towards Sutton Garage, and after a few minutes RF368 came past, to disappear into the depths of Sutton Garage at the end of the street. Sutton Garage was quite busy, with buses coming and going. Bright sunshine and deep shadows made photography interesting, especially with an automatic camera. Perhaps I should go back to my manual camera with film. Anyway, Alexander-Dennis bodied EnviroTrident E60 arrived up Bushey Road, and Optare Olympus bodied version DOE24 departed for Kingston on a 213. I looked in through the open front doors of the garage at the line-up. Here were PVL282, E60, SOE36, DOE34 and more PVLs in the front row. Someone told me that there was an RT round the corner, beside the garage. Indeed there was: RT3775, looking excellent back in London Transport red livery, was dressed for route 154. I wandered over to the departure stop, opposite the garage on Bushey Road, wondering what would emerge first.... Photos by Ian Smith. Click on any of them for a larger picture.
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