[Trivia] Most Offpeak Termini For The Same Bus Route Number

[Mike99]

Route 12 has held my interest since c1968, I grew up in Penge. In the mid 70's I was a conductor then driver out of ED. Penge 'Pawleyne Arms' was the scheduled destination from the north on Boxing Days, duties out of ED on that day were straight through shifts mostly involving ED light to 'Pawleyne Arms' then Oxford Circus-Penge-Oxford Circus and return to Penge and into ED.

Penge 'Pawleyne Arms was occasionally used from ED having been allocated a bus from say a NBA situation and only had maybe 20 minutes to hand the bus over at Anerley 'Robin Hood' to a new crew bound for Norwood Junction. We would set down at the Pawleyne Arms and then by using the 227 turning point at the 'Crooked Billet' land up ready for the return.

Park Royal 'Coronation Road' was used as a turning point from the south and it was just about possible to do a U turn in front of the hospital to return for the southbound journey. Park Royal 'Trading Estate' was used for the peak short journeys from Harlesden. Although we did have one duty in the mid 70's that turned at the Trading Estate from the south. The duty was ED to Harlesden-Shepherds Bush Green-Park Royal 'Trading Estate'- ED

We did have on the blinds Shepherds Bush 'Princess Victoria' left over from years gone by, but by the 70's was no longer a turning point.

We had a few duties that from the north terminated at Dulwich, and occasionally due to late running, prior to a Peckham meal relief, Peckham 'Heaton Arms' was used as a curtailment point.

The Westminster area proved an interesting situation and do it correctly involved three potential manoeuvres, turned at Charing Cross from the south we would terminate on the South West 'lay-by' on Trafalgar Square, setting down just before the conventional stop facing Pall Mall, to depart just circling Trafalgar Square to pick up at the first stop southbound. The official instructions were a little more complicated in setting down at the aforementioned stop on the south west side of Trafalgar Square, then using Trafalgar Square to stand facing the river in the middle of Northumberland Avenue, departing via Whitehall place and Horse Guards Avenue to serve the request stop outside the Banqueting House in Whitehall.

Turned at Whitehall 'Horse Guards' from the South we would terminate at the request stop half way up Whitehall then by using Horse Guards Avenue and Whitehall Place stand in the middle of Northumberland Avenue, northbound, but facing Trafalgar Square, the first stop to serve would be in Whitehall, southbound, opposite the Whitehall Theatre.

Finally a curtailment at Westminster from the south would require a manoeuvre from leaving St Thomas Hospital at the start of Westminster Bridge to turn right onto Victoria Embankment to set down at the first stop, and then to stand in Horse Guards Avenue, leaving direct to Whitehall southbound, first pick up being the request stop again outside the Banqueting House.

One further quirk of the 12's we had a duty in the afternoon peak from Norwood Junction to Oxford Circus that then ran out of service to the bottom of Regent Street to pick up empty from the stop outside the Café Royal.

Back before the curtailment in 1972 to Norwood Junction, Croydon 'Katharine Street' and East Croydon Station were also turning points. TC had an allocation at this time.

Camberwell Green was indeed a curtailment point, from the North and South, from the South the last set down was Camberwell Road at Camberwell Green then using the back entrance of WL to re-appear in Camberwell New Road to pick up at Camberwell Green to travel towards Peckham.

Marble Arch became a turn in the later 1970's standing in the slip road to return to Oxford Street.

Regards
Mike

 

[Busaholic]

Route 12 has held my interest since c1968, I grew up in Penge. In the mid 70's I was a conductor then driver out of ED. Penge 'Pawleyne Arms' was the scheduled destination from the north on Boxing Days, duties out of ED on that day were straight through shifts mostly involving ED light to 'Pawleyne Arms' then Oxford Circus-Penge-Oxford Circus and return to Penge and into ED.

Penge 'Pawleyne Arms was occasionally used from ED having been allocated a bus from say a NBA situation and only had maybe 20 minutes to hand the bus over at Anerley 'Robin Hood' to a new crew bound for Norwood Junction. We would set down at the Pawleyne Arms and then by using the 227 turning point at the 'Crooked Billet' land up ready for the return.

Park Royal 'Coronation Road' was used as a turning point from the south and it was just about possible to do a U turn in front of the hospital to return for the southbound journey. Park Royal 'Trading Estate' was used for the peak short journeys from Harlesden. Although we did have one duty in the mid 70's that turned at the Trading Estate from the south. The duty was ED to Harlesden-Shepherds Bush Green-Park Royal 'Trading Estate'- ED

We did have on the blinds Shepherds Bush 'Princess Victoria' left over from years gone by, but by the 70's was no longer a turning point.

We had a few duties that from the north terminated at Dulwich, and occasionally due to late running, prior to a Peckham meal relief, Peckham 'Heaton Arms' was used as a curtailment point.

The Westminster area proved an interesting situation and do it correctly involved three potential manoeuvres, turned at Charing Cross from the south we would terminate on the South West 'lay-by' on Trafalgar Square, setting down just before the conventional stop facing Pall Mall, to depart just circling Trafalgar Square to pick up at the first stop southbound. The official instructions were a little more complicated in setting down at the aforementioned stop on the south west side of Trafalgar Square, then using Trafalgar Square to stand facing the river in the middle of Northumberland Avenue, departing via Whitehall place and Horse Guards Avenue to serve the request stop outside the Banqueting House in Whitehall.

Turned at Whitehall 'Horse Guards' from the South we would terminate at the request stop half way up Whitehall then by using Horse Guards Avenue and Whitehall Place stand in the middle of Northumberland Avenue, northbound, but facing Trafalgar Square, the first stop to serve would be in Whitehall, southbound, opposite the Whitehall Theatre.

Finally a curtailment at Westminster from the south would require a manoeuvre from leaving St Thomas Hospital at the start of Westminster Bridge to turn right onto Victoria Embankment to set down at the first stop, and then to stand in Horse Guards Avenue, leaving direct to Whitehall southbound, first pick up being the request stop again outside the Banqueting House.

One further quirk of the 12's we had a duty in the afternoon peak from Norwood Junction to Oxford Circus that then ran out of service to the bottom of Regent Street to pick up empty from the stop outside the Café Royal.

Back before the curtailment in 1972 to Norwood Junction, Croydon 'Katharine Street' and East Croydon Station were also turning points. TC had an allocation at this time.

Camberwell Green was indeed a curtailment point, from the North and South, from the South the last set down was Camberwell Road at Camberwell Green then using the back entrance of WL to re-appear in Camberwell New Road to pick up at Camberwell Green to travel towards Peckham.

Marble Arch became a turn in the later 1970's standing in the slip road to return to Oxford Street.

Regards
Mike

Very interesting. Your memory of Boxing Day confirms Pawleyne Arms, and I suspect on Christmas Day it may have been the same, but not on that day worked by ED, which would have been closed?

Whitehall, Horse Guards was used by quite a few scheduled 12s, mostly out of ED, in the p.m. peak between 5 and 5.30 p.m. I remember that feature of the schedule; however I doubt it was ever scheduled in the offpeak.

The oos bus from Oxford Circus to the Cafe Royal was one I never knew about. The (in)famous one in the Schedules Office which I was told was quite unprecedented because of all the arcane rules and agreements with the TGWU was the 159 which worked through from the south to Oxford Circus in the p.m. peak, terminated there,and then five minutes later formed another northbound journey to West Hampstead. There was never a North London garage allocation on the 159, and never any turns from the West Hampstead direction north of the Thames, and this was apparently the only way to get an additional journey at a crucial time without adding an extra bus to the allocation. No, I didn't follow the logic of it either, but I was a mere trainee!