Prepared on Notepad by Ian Smith,
This page created 29th April 2017, updated 15th July 2021.

First London Tridents: 2004-5

Renumbering

Around the beginning of 2004 First initiated a National renumbering scheme for all its buses, including those in London. For the Tridents it was fairly straightforward: they had 32000 added to their numbers. To keep life relatively straightforward in the large London fleet, here the class descriptors were largely kept: TNs and TNLs kept their class prefixes, TALs became TNAs. There seemed to be no rush to implement the changes, and the route 23 TALs entered service with TAL type codes.

TNA33382 on 23

Renumbered TNA33382 on 23 to Liverpool Street, March 2008.

January 2004: Redistribution

The advent of Mercedes Citaro bendibuses on route 18 had freed enough TNs to last out on route 23 until the rest of the TALs - now technically TNAs - arrived in February 2004. Then those TNs were released to fill the quotas on route 341 at last, and top up the allocations on other routes that were understrength: 1(H), 25(R), 91(NP), and D7(H). Other older types, such as Arrows, departed the London fleet. A few Metrobuses struggled on.

The increased availability of TNs at Hackney saw them more often on route RV1, substituting for Citaros.

No Route Garage
RV1 Covent Garden - Aldwych - Waterloo - Royal Festival Hall - Tate Modern - London Bridge Stn - Tower Bridge - Tower Gateway H

Route 25 lost, route 7 converted

June 2004 saw the loss of Route25 to Stagecoach, with Citaro bendibuses. Twenty-two TALs moved west from Rainham to Westbourne Park to convert route 7 from RMLs to OPO working in July. Nine of Rainham's TNs went with them to Westbourne Park to help out the new VNWs on routes 28 and 31, which were being double-decked from Marshall Dart SLFs.

The railway between Manningtree and Ipswich was blockaded between July and mid-September 2004, and seven TNLs were provided by Rainham, outstationed at Manningtree.

The TNs and TNLs transferred into Hackney restarted the conversion of route 158, where the Manningtree seven would join in after playing trains.

No Route Garage
7 East Acton - Ladbroke Grove - Paddington - Marble Arch - Oxford Circus - Bloomsbury - Russell Square X
28 Wandsworth (Mapleton Road) - Fulham Broadway - West Kensington - Kensington High Street - Notting Hill Gate - Harrow Road (Prince of Wales) X
31 Camden Town - Chalk Farm - Swiss Cottage - Kilburn Park - Westbourne Park - Notting Hill Gate X
158 Stratford - Leyton Stn - High Road Leyton - Blackhorse Road - Crooked Billet - Walthamstow - Chingford Mount H

Spring 2005: Major changes

In March 2005 First London lost the 123 on re-tender to Arriva, releasing many TNs and TNLs to other garages.

In April the truncated 207 (Shepherds Bush - Hayes By-Pass) was re-equipped with Mercedes Citaro bendibuses working from Hayes (HZ). The lopped-off end (Acton - Uxbridge) was renumbered as the 427, worked by Acton with its existing TNLs. The express route 607 exchanged its Volvo VDNs for TNLs displaced at Uxbridge from the 207.

No Route Garage
427 Acton - Ealing - Hanwell - Southall - Hayes End - Hillingdon Hill - Uxbridge Stn AT
607 Express: Shepherds Bush Green - Acton - Ealing - Hanwell - Southall - Hayes End - Hillingdon Hill - Uxbridge Stn X

TNL33132 Heads for White City on Express 607

TNL33132 heads for White City on Express 607, September 2010, pursued by a Mercedes bendi-bus on the 207. Another TNL speeds towards Uxbridge.

Croydon Tramlink underwent substantial infrastructure renovation during March and April 2005. First set up a unit at Rainham to supply TNs and TNLs for use on rail and tram substitution work, and a substantial number were seen between East Croydon and New Addington.

TN32827 on Tramlink at New Addington TN32827 on Tramlink on Quarry Hill TN32834 on Tramlink at Addington Interchange

TN32827 at Addington Village Interchange substituting for a Croydon tram, and a little later at a "Tramlink" dolly stop on Quarry Hill. TN32834 also at Addington Interchange

One side-effect of all the changes in allocation was that Hackney had sufficient Tridents to put more on the D6.

No Route Garage
D6 Hackney Central - Isle of Dogs Asda H

June saw the start of new route 435, for which Greenford gradually applied TNLs.

No Route Garage
435 Heathrow Cargo Area - Terminal 4 - Hatton Cross - Harlington Corner - Cranford - Southall G

First Disposals

In May/June 2005 First London dispatched eleven TNs to First Glasgow. These were mostly drawn from Rainham's train and tram fleet. Six more followed in July/August.

Retrenchment

October 2005 saw First losing the 1/N1 and the 257, to East Thames Buses and Stagecoach respectively. Hackney's requirement was slashed in a big way. Some were retained to cover during a repaint programme. TNLs from the 257 displaced TNs on the D7. Twenty were put into store at Hayes pending the spring 2006 acquisition of route 67. Another ten followed in November.

However, Rainham put some TNLs out on newly-won route 150, which had an allocation of VNWs.

Metroline borrowed six TNs and used them on the 214, 4, 17 and 271 while Metroline was awaiting a late delivery of E400s. They must have been satisfactory, because Metroline borrowed another ten for Highgate in December.

More Tridents departed for other parts of the First Bus empire, mainly Glasgow and Devon & Cornwall.

But the major event, in mid-December, was the opening of the new Dagenham garage, again coded DM. All the Rainham garage allocation was moved there, and Rainham garage returned to Ensignbus .

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Ian's Bus Stop TN histories. TN photos.