Stagecoach took on East London and Selkent in autumn 1994, with a large fleet of Titans,
some Leyland Olympians, some Scanias and a large helping of Routemasters. The last were route-tied,
but the Titans, without benefit of Aldenham overhauls , were up to fifteen years old and getting tired.
The first priority was to replace the Titans on the 53 group (53, 53X and N53), at Plumstead,
which required fifty-two new buses. Dual doorway buses were required for this busy trunk route
(Plumstead Station - Trafalgar Square).
Stagecoach chose standard Volvo Olympians with Cummins engines and Northern Counties bodywork,
with straight staircases.
Selkent demonstrated their ability to respect tradition yet do their own thing by painting them plain overall red but
just numbering them 301-352, without a type code.
They arrived between June and October 1995, and were filtered into service as they came. There were enough for them to take on other Plumstead routes as well.
They stayed at Plumstead most of their working lives in London.
A few moved to Catford, where they were used on the 47.
They received class codes (V) in mid-career, and later some were referred to as VNs (It depends on the source).
The low-floor revolution pushed them out. Tridents entering the fleet displaced long VAs and VNs to Plumstead,
and the short buses were squeezed out in late 2001. Catford's last was V346 in February 2002,
and Plumstead's last was VN341 in March. They moved on - quite slowly in some cases, to other Stagecoach companies.
The next batch, in 1996, were different. Stagecoach was well aware that the new step-entrances were vulnerable
once the impending low-floor revolution extended to double-deckers, and argued that an ability
to transfer the buses readily to other fleets - many of which required less than full height buses -
would make their tenders cheaper, whilst not seriously impeding Londoners by a dearth of headroom.
Likewise, longer, larger capacity buses with single doorways were surely acceptable in the suburbs?
So this small batch were to Stagecoach national specification, slightly lower, slightly longer (10.3m instead of 9.6m),
and single doorway.
VN1-26 went to North Street in Romford for the 374 (Harold Hill - Romford Station), starting in September 1996, and to Upton Park for the 262 (Stratford - East Beckton) and 473 (Stratford - North Woolwich), starting in October.
The Upton Park VNs moved on in summer 1999, when Bow took over these routes with dual-door VAs.
The single doorway VNs moved to Bromley and Catford for the 162 (Beckenham Junction - Chislehurst - Petts Wood))
and 160 (Catford Garage - Chislehurst - Sidcup Stn) respectively,
where they took over from single-deckers. Again their tenure was relatively brief.
On the 162 they gave way after a few months to smaller buses (Titans and Darts), and moved to other Bromley duties.
On the 160 they lasted longer: February 2002 saw them displaced by Tridents.
Apart from VN1-3, kept at North Street for commercial contracts, and VN16-17 at Bromley,
likewise kept for specific non-London contacts, most of the rest of the batch went to Cambus during 2000.
The last two from Bromley headed for Stagecoach Devon early in 2001.
VN1-3 gained repaints into the new liveries, with rear up-swoops of colour, deep blue skirts, and different base colours. They became 16001-3 in the January 2003 renumbering. September 2005 saw them finally make a move, but only as far as Waterden Road garage on Hackney Marshes.
Route 26 (Waterloo Station - Hackney Wick), went into London,
so two doors were demanded to produce briefer stops. Bow received seventeen of the
slightly low, slightly longer buses, but dual-doorway, in November and December 1996.
Eight of them (VN27-34) moved on to North Street to partly convert the 86 (Stratford - Romford Stn) in the following August, when Alexander bodied VAs arrived at Bow in strength. VN35-43 moved to Plumstead in the spring of 1999, but later moved on to North Street, where the whole batch had congregated by the end of 2000.
VN27-34 moved off to Leamington in 2001, VN35-40 to Fife in August 2002, and VN41-43 to Manchester in July 2003. The whole batch was returned off-lease to Volvo at the end of 2003. Three were then bought by Finglands in Manchester, eleven by First Manchester and the last three by First Hampshire & Dorset.
The long wheelbase, slightly low, body offered by Alexander offered a slightly larger seating capacity
(79 rather than 74), and again was to be a Stagecoach national standard.
Thirty-eight of them arrived at Bow in the summer of 1997. Eight of their VNs promptly moved to North Street,
but Bow used the increased allocation to partly convert other routes from Titans:
the 25 (Oxford Circus - Ilford), 277 (Highbury & Islington Stn - Leamouth),
and D7(Mile End - Poplar).
But their tenure of these routes was brief. In 1999 the 25 and D7 were taken over by First. The 277 acquired low-floor Tridents. Many of the VAs moved on to other Bow routes: the 473 (Stratford - North Woolwich), 262 (Stratford - East Beckton), displacing the single door VNs that had been at Upton Park for these routes. Bow also used their VAs on the 241 (Stratford - Canning Town).
The entire batch was transferred to other Stagecoach companies all over the UK.
VN137-148 went new to Leyton, where they were put to work on the 48 (London Bridge Stn - Walthamstow Central Stn),
55 (Oxford Circus - Leyton) and 56 (Whipps Cross - St.Bartholomew's Hospital).
They were not there long before being hounded out by Tridents. They moved on to Bow in February 1999, or Bromley in early 2000,
then moved on to Stratford in April 2001, where they nominally worked the 26 but could be found on the 30 as well.
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