Bromley Mini Running Day

Sunday 13th December 2015

Prepared by Ian Smith, 15th January 2016.

Part Four: Double deckers on the 94

Bromley North Station

I followed RF368 round onto the Bromley North departures stand. It had to wait for EnviroDart 741 and Stagecoach Citaro to clear before rounding the corner fully.

East Lancs Esteem-bodied Dart SLF 233 was also in the queue, heading out on the 146, and newer EnviroDart 178 pulled round while RF368 was on the stop loading for the 227.

Esteem 229 followed, passing through on the 336 from Catford to Locksbottom by the back roads, and EnviroDart 168 on the 138 shuttle to Coney Hall. Oddly, this had 168 as its duty number too.

94: Bromley North Station to Petts Wood Station (RM1397)

Then RM1397 arrived from Grove Park on a 94 short-working, heading for Petts Wood Station. This RM is recognisable by its dual badges on the front: a bullseye on the bonnet and a triangle on the radiator, as worn by a few RMs in service (the norm was either rather than both).

I said hello to John Huxford, driving, and climbed aboard. My favoured seat behind the bonnet was already taken.

We motored off down Tweedy Road and across into Kentish Way. The RM rumbled along with that distinctive AEC engine and transmission note, missing from so many preserved RMLs and the remnant "heritage route" RMs. We squeezed through into Bromley High Street, and went down to Bromley South Station. We passed various buses, but taking pictures was not easy from my seat. I did spot new Citaro MEC65 in orange, heading up from Bromley South on the 358.

We burbled out along Bromley Common to The Crown, where we turned off to Southborough (original 94 terminus) and then Petts Wood, where we pulled up at the station.

94: Petts Wood Station to Grove Park (RM1397)

The bus and crew vhad a scheduled break at Petts Wood, so we adjourned to the cafe, which had stayed open later than usual and did a roaring trade as a consequence. Lots of late breakfasts!.

We emerged just before 2pm, and wound up the blinds for Grove Park. I boarded and got the bonnet seat this time.

Then it was back to Bromley, winding back along the tree-lined roads to Southborough. One of Bromley's EnviroTridents came along on the 208, a route that took over the Crown to Orpington section of the 94 back in 1982.

We passed the Crooked Billet, original terminus of the 136 from Kilburn via Lee, and later the 94 terminus from 1935 to 1954. We wiggled on to reach Bromley Common at The Crown. Then it was straightforward along the Common and down Mason's Hill to Bromley South. We glimpsed one of the very new hybrids (WHV77) on the 119 as we climbed Bromley High Street.

We wriggled through onto Kentish Way, and turned left at the Town Hall, to arrive at the stop behind UMP227 on the 227. For an instant I considered swapping buses, but an instant later I realised that the RF prototype was already full. I stayed where I was, but did see the single-decker pulling away round Bromley Market Place.

The Routemaster turned right, into West Street, to load up with shoppers fropm Sainsbury's, then headed north towards Grove Park, taking me on a journey that I had done almost daily from 1959 to 1966. We passed by the parade of shops, now labelled Plaistow. The big Co-op is no more, but there is a Waitrose supermarket at one end of what used to be a waste-land (good for games). The rest is covered now by housing, as are the old farm fields opposite, between St.Andrews Church and New Street Hill. We went on, just into the Borough of Lewisham, to reach Grove Park. We pulled into the bus station built in 1952 when the RTs on the 69, 149, 179 and 285 took over from the trams that had terminated on Downham Way opposite Grove Park Station.

94: Grove Park to Bromley North Station (RM1397)

The Routemaster shared the central stance with Catford's EnviroTrident 10124. That was heading for Elephant & Catle on the 136, the route having been extended from Peckham.

Then we headed back for Bromley, passing Bromley's 10195 on the 261 just before the Borough boundary. This route took over this end of the 94, between Bromley Common and Lewisham.

I alighted at Bromley North. As the RM pulled away my new camera told me that it was out of power. Its a new one. Ordinary batteries will not fit. so I walked down East Street to West Street, deciding to catch a bus to my son's house for a quick recharge.

94: Bromley North to Southover, then Southover to Petts Wood (RT1702)

RT1702 was due, heading for Grove Park , so I caught it back north, alighting at Southover. My son was not in. So I returned to Southover, just in time to catch RT1702 coming back. I could enjoy the ride even without my camera, so stayed on the bus for the ride into Bromley, then out to Bromley Common, Southborough and Petts Wood.

There I realised (when someone took a picture of the bus with a phone), that I too could take pictures with a phone, albeit at low quality in the dusk).

94: Petts Wood to Grove Park, then Downham Way (RT1702)

I reboarded RT1702 for the return journey into Bromley in the gathering dusk, and on to Grove Park. RT1702 was thence on a garage journey to Catford Garage via Downham Way, so I stayed aboard for the ride, out to Downham Tavern, then down the sinuous old tram-road, down to reach Bromley Road at the foot of Downham Way, where I alighted.

It had been another excellent day. My thanks to Peter Aves and Alan Charman for organising, and for the bus owners, drivers and crews, and to TfL for permissions to run.

Photos by Ian Smith. Click on any of them for a larger picture.

Ian's Bus-stop 1 2 3 4