East Grinstead FarewellsBack at East Grinstead it was fairly quiet. Many buses had finished their duties and were heading home, while others waited to do the return feeder duties. DMS1868, based locally, was heading off for Three Bridges and Crawley. RF486 therefore was not needed for a return Crawley feeder, and wearing blinds for the 212 was about to head home.
Metrobus Dart 374 set off on a 291 regular service to Crawley, and a few minutes later Scania OmniCity 552, that we had seen at Crawley, arrived on the 291.
Two other buses, that I had only glimpsed in passing during the day, prepared to go home too: RT3183 and RF146.
Similarly I had only seen RF518 and RT1798 in passing today: I hope to have the opportunity to travel on them in the future. There is a limit to what can be done in a day!
RML2323 was resting after a busy day on the 409. RT 604 used Canelupe Road to execute a reverse turn, ready for the 409 feeder back to Croydon.
434: East Grinstead to Crawley: MB90Now I had a choice to make: RT604 to Croydon, or MB90 to Crawley and Redhill? As I had earlier travelled on RT604 up to Godstone Green I opted for MB90, which duly rolled up to the War Memorial stop wearing London Country style blinds for the 434.We wended our way westwards to Turners Hill, then turned north, to the surprise of passengers who hadn't noticed it was a 434 rather than a 473. We headed up to Crawley Down and Copthorne, where we turned left towards Crawley. We met DMS1868 bustling back from Crawley, although I mistimed my shot through the driver's windscreen.
We came into Crawley via Pound Hill and Three Bridges, and made our way in to the Bus Station. 405: Crawley to Redhill: MB90The bus station was now deserted: not much call for commercial services at this time on a Sunday, and this is West Sussex. A search was made on the blind set for a 405 blind to wear heading for Redhill, without much success. The closest was a 405B for Gatwick Road, although we were not going anywhere near Furnace Green.
We headed right from the bus station, looping round the west side of the centre then heading north towards Gatwick. We made the wide sweep eastwards to pass round the airport perimeter, and headed north past the bus station at the South Terminal, and on to Horley. We continued on up the A23 through Salfords, and soon were dropping down into Redhill. Not the bus station. The bus was heading on to Reigate, so called at the High Street stop to put down passengers for Redhill. I thanked the crew and alighted, to head for the station and a train north.
Many thanks to the organisers, especially Alan Charman. Also to the drivers, conductors, and owners of the vehicles, and to all those who organised behind the scenes, in timetabling, gaining permissions, producing and distributing publicity and programmes, ..and to all those who took part, sharing their knowledge and enthusiasm. Buses noted (not all taking part):
Photos by Ian Smith. Click on any of them for a larger picture.  Ian's Bus-stop
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