London Buses at Barking, Becontree & West Ham 1985 

I remember whan all these routes had RMs, and before when the 87 & 175 had RTs!

Top book on Titans by the way Matthew. Good series in fact.

Yes, i would jump off as they slowed to go around corners, leaping off a 58 at the Boleyn as it turned into Green Street was a favorite, on my way home from school.

I started my working life there as a Bus Mechanic Trainee in 1983.... I'm guessing you knew the Running Shift staff well, like Ray Woodberry, Lennie Camplin and Dave Smith?......

@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus yes I knew them it was nice environment at Barking I moved to Barking from Wood Green I spent 11 years all together good times.

There has been one out in service today at the Llandudno Transport Festival, the NWVRT's T 122 in full MTL livery, quite a smart vehicle.

Soi Buakhao thanks for letting me know

Hi David, i'm pleased you like the vid. Funnily enough i do have a bit more of the real WH. I too worked there on the inside staff for about 9 months on nights and remember the RMs going and LS's arriving after Poplar was shut in Nov 85. I will have a sort out & see what i can upload!

Yes, i worked as a Night Generalhand at WH for a while. A lovely shed to park buses up on the night shift but then again it was an ex tram shed so plenty of straight lines! Only taking buses out to the gantry and around the front where we had to shunt a bit, but nothing like Upton Park!

As an aside i had a couple of nice runs out to Brentwood with PP on the night engineers staff bus with a Leyland National flat out at about 55mph! I could have got off a lot earlier but enjoyed the thrash!!!

The allocation at U was a nightmare too, especially Sunday evening, shunting buses all over the place to get them in order. They kept asking me if I wanted that job, no way. Love your video's, all the best

Did you ever drive the staff bus?

There were two operating side staff buses at WH drivern by bus drivers. As the Generalhands finished at 02.00 the night bus mechanics would drive a staff bus for us to anywhere in the London area. I did drive one once even though i only had a B license! great fun whizzing around early in the morning in a Titan!!!

It's changed a bit there now! As have the vehicles.....

It used to go out to Becontree Heath in thesedays though, that was a fair old run from Waterloo (their weekday terminus)....

I aim to please! I take it this is your sort of thing? lol

Oh yes, Barking around the time I used to cycle around town watching buses and trains. I can almost smell dinner.

You've captured a fantastic moment in time. I remember being excited about the news that BK would be taking over part of the allocation for the 5. I didn't realise at the time it meant no more RMs through the town. I'd forgotten how well-turned out the Barking fleet always was.

I was working on the inside staff at West Ham at the time, we had 22 RMs which should have been on the 25, the 5 was supposed to be crew Titan (the route alloaction was WH 15 T & U 5 RML M-F, all U RML sats and WH OMO T on Suns) but when i was cover allocation man i would put RMs on the 5 in order to go out the next day & film them! I seem to recall in Nov 85 we lost our half share of the 25 to Bow and off went the RMs but we then gained the five extra duties on the 5's from U. I think it was a few years later that Barking got their hands on it, possibly in 1992 when WH closed (i don't consider that old parcel depot near West Ham station to be 'West Ham ' garage, it should be called Canning Town, the real WH is demolished apart from part of the back/side wall & half the out-put building at the front).

I seem to recall BK got the 5 earlier in 1986 around the time they lost the 145 and 179 in the new-fangled tendering process. Though my memory is not so great. If you've not visited it yet, this site www.londonbuses.co.uk/ will bring back some memories.

Yes, i have various odd bits of film from those parts. I'll see what i can dig out for my next bus upload.

No, all gone now! A leisure centre sits there.....

They don't sound weird to me but then again, i grew up in London when a lot of buses were AEC engined......

The city was nicer in those days the sound of a bus was irrelevant.

It's over 35 years ago i filmed this but i rememeber all the places on thsi video as if i was there yesterday.......