Prepared on Notepad by Ian Smith,
This page created 23rd March 2006.
The London Buses Lynxes
Demonstrator
London Buses' first venture with the Lynx was - like it had been with the National - a very tentative one.
A demonstrator was borrowed from AA Services in February 1987. The green bus went into Peckham garage,
and after a training period was put to use on route 70. It returned to Scotland later the same month.
Hillingdon, Centrewest: LX1-2, LX9-11
The London Borough of Hillingdon bought its own buses to serve Harefield and Mount Vernon Hospitals
on the very periphery of the LT area, connecting with Uxbridge and Ruislip Station.
It had used a special trio of Bristol LHs of London's BL class,
up until July 1988. Then a trio of Leyland Nationals took over, again in the dedicated red and yellow livery.
But Hillingdon needed more.
In December 1988 they bought a pair of new Lynxes with ramped floors and Cummins engines.
These too went into the red and yellow route 128 livery,
and alongside their predecessors were operated out of Uxbridge garage by London Buses.
They were numbered LX1 and LX2.
When Merthyr Tydfil surrendered its lease of Lynxes in December the following year Hillingdon
was one of several London operators to seize their chance. They bought three more,
which became LX9-11, replacing the tired Nationals.
Hillingdon sold all five to London Buses in September 1991.
They were repainted in London Buses red livery with a grey skirt
and branding for the 607 Express service from Uxbridge to Shepherds Bush.
Unusually for London Buses they had no rear indicator box.
The route number was painted on the rear, for the 607 as it had been for the 128.
They stayed on the 607 - with long Greenway prototype GLS2 -
through privatisation to Centrewest in September 1994.
Three of the Lynxes (LX1,2,9) were transferred within the Centrewest group to The Bee Line
in the winter of 1996-7, while LX10 and LX11 went much further afield in the First empire.
Shepherds Bush, London United: LX3-8
In between Hillingdon's acquisitions London Buses bought six Lynxes of its own,
with stepped floors and Leyland engines. They had bus seats, and red livery with yellow doors
and a black "roof board" destinations strip along the roof panels.
The buses went into Shepherds Bush garage in August 1989,
taking over from Nationals on route 283 (East Acton - Hammersmith),
which London Buses (London United) had gained on tender from July, taking over from Scancoaches.
The buses were transferred to Stamford Brook in January 1990,
when the area's tendered operations were collected together into the Riverside Bus unit
at the garage. Working conditions and rates at the new unit were amended to take account of
the new reality. ie they were worsened.
In January 1994 the LX3-8 moved to Hounslow for route 81, linking Hounslow and Slough,
They were subsequently privatised to London United, and acquired their splendid red livery with grey skirt,
pale grey roof and white lining.
They were eventually displaced by new low-floor buses in the summer of 2000,
and after a brief period in store were all sold to Poynters of Wye (Kent) before the end of the year.
 Ian's Bus Stop
 LX Contents.
 LX bus histories.
LX photo refs.
Metrobus Lynx.
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