Worcester Park Running Day is on Sunday 10th August 2008.  Organised by Red-RF.com, this event is promising to be quite large, with an expected turnout of approximately 30 vehicles in service.  Highlights will be (hopefully) RM1 & TD95 running in service.

The following vehicle types are expected to operate:-

Single Deckers

T    AEC single-decker built 1929 on  Route 213
Q   AEC side-engined single-decker, built 1935 on Routes 200, 213, 127
RF AEC single-deckers built 1951-3 on Routes 200, 213, 156, 127 & Green Line routes 712, 725 
  
Lowbridge double-deckers
 
RLH   AEC low-height double-deckers built 1951/2 on Route 127
Daimler Utility-bodied Daimler CWA6 built 1945 on Route 127
 
Double-deckers

 STL  The pre-war standard AEC double-decker, built 1932-39. on Routes 32, 93, 118, 156
 RT2  The ‘pre-war’ RT, actually built 1940 on Route 93
 RT     Classic double-deckers built 1947-54 on Routes 32, 93, 118, 156, 164, 286 & Green Line 725
 RTL   Leyland version of the RT, built 1948-52 on Routes 156, 189
 RTW  Wide Leyland version of the RT, built 1949-50 on Routes 32, 93
 RM   AEC Routemaster double-deckers built 1959-65 on Routes 32, 93
 RMC AEC Routemaster double-decker coach, built 1962 on Route 712

More details of the event can be found at the Red RF Website.

Travel Details:  Worcester Park Station is served by Southwest Trains from Waterloo serving both Dorking & Guildford.

Today was the day for my annual pilgrimage to North Weald Airfield in Essex to partake in the festivities of the North London Transport Society’s Flagship event, the North Weald Bus Rally.

All hopes of the weather imitating the beautiful sunshine of the past few days promptly disappeared within 2 minutes of leaving my front door as the heavens opened and this was the theme for the rest of the day, showers, cloud and the occasional sunny period.

Upon arrival at Epping Station having travelled up on the unusually busy Central Line, I walked out to the front of the station to be greeted by the first three service buses of the day on Rally special route 339.  Awaiting custom were London Bus Company Ltd Leyland Titan PD2 Fleet Number RTW75, Alphabus AEC Regent III Fleet Number RT1396 and, a little bit further up the road, Network Colchester East Lancs Olympus  Fleet Number 103.

After a superb trip (including unexpected shortcut), I arrived at the airfield aboard Alphabus AEC Regent III Fleet Number RT1396 to be greeted with a torrential downpour. A quick trip to the loo and the sun had returned so off I went down the rows of buses that had already arrived.  This is where my major gripe every year with North Weald resurfaced, spacing of buses.

At the beginning of the first row, the spacing was terrific, allowing me to get superb full length shots of the vehicles on display but this spacing soon vanished leaving me finding it more difficult to get the shots I desired, this unfortunately continued throughout the majority of the remaining vehicles on display.

Vehicle attendance definitely appeared lower than last year but this could be attributable to both the weather and also the fact that, being a week later than usual, North Weald clashed with other events.  This said however, the quality and variety of vehicles on display was once again top notch, although the number of current operators represented was very small indeed.

Having spent the best part of two hours photographing, with the accompaniment of Jim Blake from the NLTS on the Public Address System (good commentary again Jim), it was time to attack the numerous sales stands filled with memorabilia, models and photographs.  One of my travelling companions was after a couple of models to use on Code 3 conversions and managed to find what he needed fairly painlessly,  this is another advantage of North Weald, quality merchandise at sensible prices.

I found myself magically pulled to the London Omnibus Traction Society stall (happens every time I see them) and I found the usual array of publications that I deem essential pieces of kit, alongside this the banter provided by the guys running the stand was as usual worth the £8 entrance fee alone.

With hometime approaching rapidly, it was time to capture the service buses on the 339.  The excellent vehicles were again provided by Roger Wright’s London Bus Company Ltd (Formerly Blur Triangle), Alphabus, Network Colchester and the beautiful AEC Routemaster RM1933 in Bow Garage Centenary livery provided by East London Bus Group.  Unusually, I managed to grab a chat with Roger and even managed to get him to pose for a photo or two.

Hometime arrived and it was time to return to Epping, this time aboard Roger Wright’s DM1052.  This vehicle turned in a superb performance, and the extra mileage(including 5 point turn) caused by taking a slightly wrong routing from the airfield and ending up facing a no-entry point onto the main road was well received by all on board.

I will be posting the photos over the next couple of days for your viewing pleasure and also a few taken at Liverpool Street captured whilst waiting for my train home.

On Sunday 6th July, the North London Transport Society will be holding it’s annual bus rally at North Weald Airfield in Essex.

The 2008 North Weald Rally will be marking two anniversaries:

75 years since the formation of London Transport and 40 years since London Transport’s ‘Reshaping Plan’.

200+ Buses and Coaches on display

Transport Bazaar with wide variety of stands

Real Ale Beer Tent

Refreshments

Vintage Bus Services to & from Epping Central Line Station and Ongar for Epping Ongar Railway

First bus from Epping Station at 10.10, then every 10 minutes until 10.50, then every 20 minutes until 15.50.

Rally open 10.30 to 17.00.

Admission £8.00 (includes travel on route 339 to and from Epping Station), accompanied children free.

More information is available on the NLTS website.

On Saturday 5 July, Potters Bar Garage will be holding an open day with the aim of raising money for Breast and Prostrate cancer awareness charities.

Attractions include vehicle displays including a number of vintage buses, rides through the bus wash and stalls selling many different items of transport interest. Extra journeys will be provided on sections of local Routes 84 and 242 using Routemaster buses plus other vehicles subject to on the day availability.

Donations will be gratefully received and the open day will run from 1000 until 1600.

The garage is located in Potters Bar High Street and is served by Routes 84, 242, 398, 610 and PB1. The nearest rail station is Potters Bar and the garage is 15 minute walk or take bus 84,242 or PB1.

Further information can be obtained from the Garage on 01707 347700.

Having spent the whole of Saturday in and around Bow Bus Garage for the Centenary Open Day, I would like to give my personal thanks to everyone involved in organising, planning and running what turned out to be the best event I have attended this year.

The ethos of Bow certainly rubbed off and I can honestly say that, along with the estimated 2000 people who attended, I was made to feel at home and very welcome.

So, an absolutely huge THANK YOU to the staff of Bow Garage and East London Bus Group, Roger Wright and the guys at The London Bus Company Limited (The artist formerly known as Blue Triangle) for their usual excellently turned out vehicles, Ross & Steve Newman of Ensignbus, TfL & The London Transport Museum, London Bus Preservation Trust, all the preservationists who supplied display and service vehicles and also the guys from Sovereign Recovery who provided a very illustrated narrative of what it’s like to work on bus recovery.