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| ©LilNetworker One of the new buses for route 116 and 285 with an "LJ" reg London United VH35 (LJ15JZM) at Kingston terminus. |
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| Aubrey Morandarte London United VH24 (LJ15JYY) in Hatton Cross curtailed to Harlington Corner |
The route 285 is 43 years old and started as it's current format from how I look at it, with an extension to Wimbledon (Sunday) or Haydons Road Station (Monday-Saturday) via (from Kingston) New Malden, Rayners Park, Worple Road - Wimbledon - Queens Road. The route had a PVR of 16 on weekdays, 17 on Saturdays and 9 on Sundays, partially operated by Merton (AL) on Sundays and Fulwell (FW) generally, allocated Routemasters (RM) and 3 RTs (on Sundays from AL). This was so that it replaces trolleybus route 605 which ran between Teddington and Wimbledon during it's era.
We then move onto the withdrawal (10 October 62) and reintroduction (08 May 63) of Merton (AL) bus garage. Making the Sunday PVR as follows: 10/10/62 [FW] 8 RM. 08/05/63 [AL] 6 RT [FW] 4 RM.
By the last days of January 1966, on the 23rd, the Sunday route has been withdrawn from Wimbledon to Kingston which also withdraws the Merton (AL) allocation. A part allocation of Norbiton (NB) was introduced on Mondays to Saturdays to ease of Fulwell (FW) with operating 285. Fulwell (FW) takes 9 RMs while Norbiton (NB) take 7 RMs, and on Sundays Fulwell (FW) operates the 285 with only 4 Routemasters.
On New Years Eve of 1967 (31/12/66), the servicing of the route has been majorly shuffled around, to make it easier, this is how it became:
Monday-Friday:
London Airport Central - New Malden (offpeak) - Rayners Park (peak) with 8 RMs from Fulwell (FW) and 6 RMs from Norbiton (NB).
Saturday:
London Airport Central - New Malden (after shopping hours, evening) - Wimbledon (afternoons) with 7 RMs from Fulwell (FW) and 6 RMs from Norbiton (NB)
Sunday:
London Airport Central - Kingston with 4 RMs from Norbiton (NB)
The Sunday housing of 285 at Fulwell with 4 RMs has been shifted to Norbiton (NB). The section between Wimbledon and Haydons Road was replaced by a revised 200.
Three years later on the 19th of July (1969), the route has been converted to one-person-operation on Sundays with RF type single deckers. No change to Monday-Saturday PVR, Sunday PVR [FW] 2 RF + [NB] 4 RF. By January 1970, on the 24th, Saturday journeys were reinstated to end at New Malden at all hours of the day. Fulwell (FW) PVR decreased from 7 to 6. No change to PVR elsewhere. Then another cutback took place on 27 March 1971 where the route was mostly Heathrow - Kingston, excluding Monday-Friday peaks and Saturday shopping hours extended to New Malden. During the change, the 285 was also converted to full one-person-operation dual door version of the RF and more wider, the SMS, Weekday [FW] 7 SMS [NB] 6 SMS. Saturday [FW] 5 SMS [NB] 2 SMS. Sunday [NB] 4 SMS.
Six months later on the 18th, the Saturday allocation of Norbiton [NB] discontinued making Fulwell [FW] take in 8 SMSs. FW take 2 SMSs on the weekday allocation making them house 9 and NB taking less which equals 4 SMSs. Norbiton gave up most of the 285 on the 12th of May 1973 where their weekday allocation was also discontinued, making Fulwell yet again become the victor by having 12 SMSs on weekdays and a change of +1 to 9 SMSs on Saturday.
Two years and two months passed and it's the 19th of July 1975, the weekday journeys inbetween peak hours were extended from Kingston to New Malden leaving only the evening service stuck at Kingston. The weekend service was converted to double deck version of it's SMSs, DMS. The Saturday PVR increased to 10 DMSs. The route was also rerouted to serve Hatton Cross Underground Station.
Then on 13/06/1976, the weekday service also converted to double decks, the running numbers of the route now known as FW151+ and NB41+. Then on 22/04/78, Sunday journeys before 7PM were extended to New Malden Police Station, making only the evenings terminating at Kingston. Sunday PVR increased to 5 DMS from Norbiton (NB)
A bus type change occured on 26 March 1979 for Fulwell's weekday and Saturday operations decreasing Saturday PVR to 7 buses from 10. And on 29th of July the same year, Norbiton also converted, to the bus type known as Metrobus (M). Then on the 4th of September 1982, Fulwell absorbed the last of Norbiton which operated the Sunday service, now on Fulwell's hands, the weekday PVR decreased to 8 Ms from 12.
On the 12th of April 1986, the route was revised to serve Cargo Terminal and the new Terminal 4, but this was only a 2 year extension where it returned to it's original routeing via Harlington Corner. Sat PVR increased to 8 Ms on the day of extension, then withdrawn to Kingston excluding weekday peak hours the following year on 27th of June decreasing the weekend PVR by 1 (Saturday = 7, Sunday = 4).
Eventually on the 7th of April 1990, the Sunday service was converted to single decker singular door bus types, the Euro1 8.5m Darts that we know, but on a Duple/Carlyle body. Only 5 months later on the 29th that the whole route was converted to DT operation with a PVR of; Weekdays 13 DT, Saturday 11 DT and on Sunday the 4 DTs were retained. Then on the 28th of August 1993 it served Hampton Sainsbury's on shopping hours.
Then the last change of the route before the 2000s under London United on the 29th October 1994, the route was reinstated to serve British Airways' Compass Centre, additional Ms were added ontop of existing PVR on weekdays and Saturdays, making it 12 DTs+ 3 Ms, Sunday PVR increased to 6 DTs.
London Buslines took over the route on 29th June 1996 with Plaxton Pointer 1 bodied Dennis Darts. Weekday PVR 15 Darts, Saturday 14 and Sunday 7.
More than what was expected actually happened on the 30th June 2001! Not only did it receive a night service (N285), not only did it move to Hounslow Heath (HH) (running number HH451+) with H91 transferred to Stamford Brook (V), but the routeing drastically changed! Since the buses were long to not make the turn into Hampton Sainsbury's, buses stopped outside it, then the routeing at the Heathrow end via Compass Centre discontinued, you then have issues with Hampton Hill with parked cars, then the installation of chicanes didn't do any better, infact worse, so the "temporary" routeing away from Windmill Road became permanent as a matter of fact.
PVR Monday-Friday 17, Saturday 16, Sunday 12. Allocated Dennis Dart Plaxton Pointer 2 buses.
By 1st December 2001, a new route T123 between Feltham Station and Terminals 1/2/3 was merged with 285 (as of routeing and bus type class) with Plaxton Pointer 2 Darts but with more luggage space. However there were stand issues by the stand on Temrinal 3 so the route was cut back to Heathrow Central (date unofficial, between January and April 2002), thus branded as 285 from Kingston to Heathrow. PVR Weekday 19, Saturday 18, Sunday 17.
25/01/03 - Re extended to Terminal 3. Routeing via Uxbridge Road instead of Windmill Road made official.
N285 and 285 became one, under the 285 number, on the 23rd of January 2004, nighttime PVR 4 on all nights operated from Hounslow Heath (HH).
By 19th of March 2005, the Terminal 3 to Central Bus Station was withdrawn with the Saturday PVR decreased to 17 from 18 and Sunday daytime PVR decreased to 10, additionally the nighttime running number changed to 471+.
A year later on the 23rd, due to the closure of Eastchurch Road, the 285 was rerouted via Eastern Perimeter Road between Harlington Corner and Hatton Cross. Sunday PVR increased to 13.
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| Aubrey Morandarte One of 116's DPSs, DPS717 (SN55HKY) in Kingston Wood Road on route 285 towards Heathrow Central |
DE1 YX58DVA - VH24 LJ15JYY
DE2 YX58DVB - VH25 LJ15JYZ
DE3 YX58DVC - VH26 LJ15JZA
DE4 YX58DVF - VH27 LJ15JZC
DE5 YX58DVG - VH28 LJ15JZD
DE6 YX58DVH - VH29 LJ15JZE
DE7 YX58DVJ - VH30 LJ15JZF
DE8 YX58DVK - VH31 LJ15JZG
DE9 YX58DVL - VH32 LJ15JZH
DE10 YX58DVM - VH33 LJ15JZK
DE11 YX58DVN - VH34 LJ15JZL
DE12 YX58DVO - VH35 LJ15JZM
DE13 YX58DVP - VH36 LJ15JZN
DE14 YX58DVR - VH37 LJ15JZO
DE15 YX58DVT - VH38 LJ15JZP
DE16 YX58DVU - VH39 LJ15JZR
DE17 YX58DVV - VH40 LJ15JZT
DE18 YX58DVW - VH41 LJ15JZU
DE19 YX58DUV - VH42 LJ15JZV
DE20 YX58DUY
DE21 YX58DWK
DE22 YX09HJJ
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| ©LilNetworker London United VH35 (LJ15JZM) turning right into Hatton Cross Station bus stop. |
The only thing I know other than the history of the 285 or anything related to that subject, is that 285 is a shorter than 111 by a lot, and ironically (when it was single deck) that a single deck was quicker than a double decker bus route!
Thank you for reading this post, keep watch for my second part, see you next time!
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