X55 and X81: Ensignbus Running DaySaturday 6th December 2014Prepared by Ian Smith, 19th December 2013.Part Four: Upminster to GravesendUpminsterI had a while to wait at Upminster. Route 370 from Romford to Bluewater does a double run up the High Street to turn at the Station. Arriva Southern Counties' Volvo B7TL 6118 looked good in the sunshine as it called on its way to Romford.A rare bird was Go-Ahead London's DAF / MCW Evolution MDL 1 (YJ60GGE), which passed on a 347 turn, also to Romford Station. This was an MCW demonstrator, and spent time as Arriva Kent Thameside's 3980 on the 233 before moving to Go-Ahead.
Next up was one of the commonest types in the country at one time, although becoming rare in the London area as emission controls bite: the humble Dart SLF. 3310 (LJ54BAA) has long been a Grays bus with Arriva Southern Counties. Stagecoach Scania 15014 was back from Cranham on the 248, heading for Romford Market.
X55: Upminster to Gravesend (RT3232)GreenLine liveried RT3232 arrived on the X55, and pulled round into the station yard. It shone in the sunshine. One can quite see why these Greenline buses are popular with the wedding-hire bus companies!A few minutes later it reappeared on the X55 to Gravesend. I clambered aboard and went upstairs, where there was an empty seat at the front.
We headed off southwards towards Aveley, down the B1421 to Corbets Tey. There we turned right at a T-junction into Harwood Hall Lane. Immediately we met RT3251, heading for Upminster. We continued down into Aveley, where we ran east along the High Street to the Old Ship Inn. There we met Ensignbus 503 on route 23, and turned south along Ship Lane, which took us back to the big roundabout near Lakeside.
We met RTL453, the next northbound on the X55, as we headed for Lakeside. We spiralled down to the bus station, where Ensignbus 112 stood just ahead of us.
"Electric Blue 22" bus 504 was also in the bus station, proudly displaying its green credentials. We were quickly away again, back up to the roundabout, then south up onto the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge.
We soared over the bridge and down into Kent. The traffic was flowing smoothly without the toll barriers. We turned hard left to swing down to the river road, with a magnificent view of the bridge as we turned. We motored along to Greenhithe Station, then headed under the A2 towards Bluewater. There the bus station displayed a variety of blue and red buses, including route-branded Dart SLF 1622.
Arriva's 3329 is arelatively recent transfer out from Arriva London, where it had been PDL21. Their 1618, however, had been here all its working life, since 2005, almost always on the 495/498.
We climbed back up out of the Bluewater pit, and onto the old ridge-route road eastwards. We met one of Arriva's new buses for the Sapphire service on route 490, but it was travelling too quickly in deep shadow for a reasonable picture. Then RLH61 took me unawares, and my photo converted it to topless! Another Sapphire bus, on the 480, greeted us as we approached Northfleet Church.
We trundled east along the high road with its grand views of the river (from upstairs on the bus, that is, as a high wall blocks the views from below). Now we met a couple of the older high-profile buses: 3801 and a companion are two of the buses dedicated to the Fastrack service from Gravesend to Bluewater/Dartford. Then we reached Gravesend, and looped round via the bus station before heading down to the river to terminate by the Tilbury Ferry terminal.
RTW335 was just ahead of us, completing its crew break, so I transferred...
Photos by Ian Smith. Click on any of them for a larger picture.
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Part Five: Gravesend to Bluewater and back
Ian's Bus-stop
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