Prepared on Notepad by Ian Smith,
This page created 6th November 2017.
Part6: 2007-2009Refurbishment, repainting, reseatingThe mid-life scene for the PVLs was one of repaints, refurbishments and reseating. The latter involved two things: reduction of seating capacity by removal of the tip-up seats, and the replacement of Cosmic seating by Rowan Telmac seating. I have no personal experience of this, so do not know the difference. Given the transport business world's move to increasingly thin and uncomfortable (but cheap) seats, I fear the worst. Perhaps I am mistaken. The records relating to this seem to be based on people's observations rather than official records, so do not rely too much on the data. Whether these things happened simultaneously or sporadically, or dependent on garage preferences and priorities, is not at all obvious.
Blue Triangle and Docklands too.Blue Triangle's main operation (Not Roger Wright's heritage operations) was bought by Go-Ahead in August 2007. Blue Triangle then suffered severe problems with two of its Tridents, taking them out of service. So PDL1 and PDL2 were loaned by London General for use on the 474. A re-arrangement of routes between Blue Triangle and Docklands Buses in November 2007 saw the 474 change to Docklands' Silvertown base. PDL1 and 2 went too, where they were joined by PVL311 from Camberwell on loan. More short-term loans from Camberwell followed. PDL1 returned to Blue Triangle at Rainham in December, for a stint on the 248. PDL3 and 4 followed on in June 2008, and PDL5 in July, these three for the 425, a new route awaiting new Scanias. All five returned to Stockwell in October 2008, when the Scanias arrived.
PVL181 stands at the Ferry stop at North Woolwich on the 474 in August 2009.iBusSummer 2008 saw the fleet fitted with iBus equipment. Every bus available had to be used, plus some new ones (Es and B9TLs), plus some Tridents (TPLs) borrowed from Metroline and First Bus. PVLs were shifted around between the London Central garages as required during June, New Cross and Camberwell being completed first, followed by Peckham and Bexleyheath. The London General garages followed during July and August, and resulted in Putney getting a first-time allocation of ten PVLs in September, which they used mainly on the 74 whilst the garage's native WVLs were seen to.
The 51 is lost: PVLs from Bexleyheath displace PDLs at StockwellThe 51, worked by Bexleyheath, was lost in early December 2008, and twenty early PVLs were re-allocated. Fifteen went to Stockwell, to enable replacement of their Trident PDLs. More PVLs went to Stockwell or Silvertown, displaced from Sutton by DOE Optare Olympuses. The redundant PDL Tridents collected at Rainham, where they were available as spares for railway replacement work or as service bus spares for Silvertowns 474 and 425 - not that these routes would require much by way of spares! The sale of PDLs to Ensignbus commenced. But some found other contract work: six PDLs were loaned to Arriva Kent Thameside during their iBus fitting programme, and appeared on the 428 (Bluewater - Erith)AVLs and EVLs go: refurbished PVLs on 213, 321, 363Camberwell's AVLs were also at the end of their London Central service, following the loss of the 35 and 40 at the start of May. They went to Rainham for storage, railway work or sale. About fifty PVLs began a round of refurbishment ready to meet the contract requirements of the autumn's retendered routes: 213, 321, 363. Those for Sutton went first, into Bexleyheath for refurbishment in June 2009, and on to Sutton in July, where they displaced the East Lancs bodied EVL Volvos from the 213.Refurbishments followed later in 2009 for PVLs at New Cross for the 321, and at Peckham for the 363. Other buses were moved in to cover while these were being done, including some of the redundant EVLs from Sutton.
A look in through the garage doorway at Sutton, December 2012. PVLs are still much in evidence, including PVL282 and PVL289, two of the September 2009 refurbished buses for the 213. Also in view is some of the more modern rolling stock, including EnviroTrident E60, SOE36 and DOE34.
The refurbishments for the PVLs on route 321 lasted well: PVL344 at Lee Green, January 2015 and PVL330 heading into Lewisham in October 2013 still look good.
East Thames Buses taken over: VP1-19
In October 2009 Go-Ahead London took over East Thames Buses, which had been TfL's in-house operation of last resort. With it came nineteen Volvo/Presidents, VP1-19, VP18 and VP19 being trainers.
These were based at Belvedere for the 185. The two trainers were placed in store with Ensign Bus for a while, then became trainers at Camberwell. They retained their VP identities with Go-Ahead, perhaps because they had bonded glazing rather than Go-Ahead's standard gasket glazing. Go-Ahead repainted them with charcoal skirts, yellow line and Go-Ahead London logos. Later, after a move to Camberwell with the 185 they were given advert frames and duty card holders.
Before the take-over: East Thames Buses VP12 on route 185 in July 2007. Part 7: 2010-2011
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