Going on from Bellingdon we quickly ran out of sun, and then met GS2 roaring down from Buckland Common. A little further on, in a green dark tunnel that had been a delight of aytumn yellow and gold earlier - when the sun was on it - we met GS34 coming down too.
We passed the turnoff to Buckland Common and continued up the road in light rain to St Leonards. There we were treated to a display of reversing with conductor. We all had to alight (no reversing with passengers aboard). RF633 pulled forward onto the offside of the junction, then reversed back round the corner under direction from the conductor. A full-lock turn to the left brought the bus round onto the departure stop. There the blinds were changed, passengers boarded again, and the crew waited for time.
The crew of RF633 wanted to visit the terminal point at Buckland Common. In one-man operated RF days on the route this would have happened naturally, as the reversing manoevre at St.Leonards gave way to a round-the-block working that came out at Buckland Common. Nevertheless, now facing towards Chesham, we pulled round the corner at Buckland Common to find GS32 already there. RF633 made its turn, and I transferred to GS32 for the ride down to Bellingdon. GS32 was now wearing a correct blind, a later version dating from when the route was amalgamated with the 379 as a U-shaped route from Buckland Common/St.Leonards via Chesham to Tring.
The idea was that I should take pictures of RF633 from the back seat of GS32, but after one blurred shot as we hit a bump pulling away, we were too far away until we reached Bellingdon. I persuaded John Clarke to stop at The Bull, and RF633 soon purred up behind. I swapped mounts again, and rode back down into Chesham in the gathering dusk.
All photos by Ian Smith. Click on any of them for a larger picture.
Back to Ian's Bus-stop
Part 5: 316 to Ley Hill (GS32).
Part 7: homewards (GS62)