The Saunders-bodied RT was the first to leave, pulling away to the stop on Bromley Common for another trip to Eltham.
RF429 arrived from Penge on a 227, and wound the blinds for the next run to Chislehurst before entering the garage to take up the space behind RF486. RF401 had been shunted clear of the entrance into the space vacated by the RT..
RT1702 arrived again, after a trip to Eltham and back. The bus had a complete spare crew, who had already availed themselves of the garage facilities. So they took over the bus outside the garage, turned the bus and headed back for Eltham, almost back on schedule.
RF486 was the first of the RFs to appear, and crossed the road to load up for a journey to Penge.
The light was failing as RF486 set off. I wondered if it would snow. RF401, freshly restored bty The London Bus Company, was next out of the starting gate, with a 227 for Crystal Palace.
I boarded the RF. We trundled north across Bromley Common, down Mason's Hill and up the High Street as far as allowed. To get onto the 227 as close as possible to the Market Place we went up Kentish Way and Tweedy Road to Bromley North Station, and turned down East Street to reach the corner of Market Place and Widmore Road. There we tied the knot by turning left again into Widmore Road to head east towards Chislehurst.
We rumbled out to the dip at Widmore Green, and on past Bickley Station, then down the big dip to Chislehurst Station. The big engine powered us up the other side onto Chislehurst Common, where we continued to the War Memorial. We turned the corner and set down a passenger at the stop, then continued down into Chislehurst. We found the correct right turn, and went round the block to stop opposite the Gordon Arms.
Night finally fell, after a grey dark afternoon, as we trundled back towards Bromley. We crossed Chislehurst Common, past the Ponds, to the War Memorial, and passed the site of the old Water Tower before diving down to Chislehurst Station. We picked up a few passengers on the way to Bromley (as required by TfL), but some decided to wait for the following 269.
But at Bromley that changed. The bus mostly filled up at the stop before the Market Place, with a few more climbing aboard at the Market. We turned north along the north end of the High Street passing the old stop, and ran along to the Swan & Mitre, to turn down Swan Hill. There I used to catch the 227 to school for many years. We quickly met the Shortlands traffic jam - halfway down Swan Hill. This seems a permanent feature now, but I do not remember it from my schooldays. We crept down to Shortlands Station, where we hopped over the River Ravensbourne and ducked under the railway.
We climbed the long hill towards Beckenham, breasted the summit, and trundled down towards Beckenham, shedding passengers at most stops, and picking up a few. We turned right to join the 126 route along to Beckenham Church, then turned back down to Beckenham High Street.
It was full dark as we passed the War Memorial roundabout and ran along to Clock House and then Kent House. We passed by my old school stop (one of the few stops where we did not have to call), and wended our way through Penge to the Crooked Billet. The bus emptied quite quickly, not a few passengers transferring onto the service bus to Crystal Palace that had caught us up. We turned onto the old terminal stand and paused.
As we set off for Bromley again, RF486 came motoring along with a good load for Crystal Palace. We headed eastwards, back along a very familiar route to Bromley.
As we passed along the north end of the High Street I asked for a stop outside the site of the old Pullman cinema, for nostalgia's sake.
Then we were away again, round to the Market Square, then up Widmore Road to turn right into Kentish Way, to head for Bromley Garage once more. On the way we passed RT1702, heading home towards Catford Garage as a 47. Other traffic foiled any possible picture.
At the garage I said farewell, and headed back to Bromley on a service bus. I must say, the heaters on the modern buses work better than the afterthoughts on the fifties buses!
I walked up Bromley High Street with a thought to catching a 119 to Croydon, and was well surprised to see RT3062 setting down on a late-running 126. If I had thought about it, I might have had a further ride out to the garage, but instead I waved goodbye. It had been an excellent day.
Many thanks to the Country Bus Rallies Team for putting together this event, and to Arriva, Selkent, the Bromley Garage staff and TfL for allowing and facilitating it. Also to the various owners and crews who brought their vehicles to share with us and the appreciative travelling public. Happy Christmas!
Photos by Ian Smith. Click on any of them for a larger picture.
Back to Ian's Bus-stop
Part One: 126
Part Two: RFs on the 227