Indeed, I too saw it this evening at both Strand and terminating at
Royal Albert Hall - SRM3 (I think! - my camera battery was out by then,
having been on the 159 last Routemaster - yes I managed to get on RM
2217 - there was a real scrum at Marble Arch!) this evening.

An amazing day.

Peter Hendy being interviewed by Nick Owen for TV on top of RM2217 as
it neared Brixton, justifiying the unjustifiable, whilst a whole school
stood in the road and flag-waved and cheered us along!

Luckily for him, that ghastly dehumanised moron, Mr. Livingstone, was
nowhere to be seen!

A big Thank You to all the staff that made this such a memorable
occasion (and Thursday too, of course), and good luck to all those
losing their jobs today.



Marc.

On 9 Dec 2005 12:58:56 -0800, " wrote:

Indeed, I too saw it this evening at both Strand and terminating at
Royal Albert Hall - SRM3 (I think! - my camera battery was out by then,
having been on the 159 last Routemaster - yes I managed to get on RM
2217 - there was a real scrum at Marble Arch!) this evening.

You must have had your elbows specially sharpened to make it onto that
bus! They'd certainly done an excellent job in smartening it up for its
special role.

An amazing day.

Yes indeed.

A big Thank You to all the staff that made this such a memorable
occasion (and Thursday too, of course), and good luck to all those
losing their jobs today.

Certainly was memorable. I said good luck to the conductor on the 159
that I made a special effort to travel on on the way to work this
morning.
--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!

I don't know about sharpened elbows, Paul C., but I was at the stop at
10a.m. and there were about a dozen people ahead of me (one had been
there since 7a.m.!) By the time RM2217 arrived at about 12.30p.m,
somehow 40 others had barged their way on before me and I, was amongst
the last 8 to be allowed on, and a friend who had queued with me was
the last person on. All of this, despite the fact that entry was
controlled by 4 Policemen.

Anyway, it's a pity that some people could not play the game properly -
Heavens, if one can't queue for the last Routemaster what can one queue
for? - and those who barged their way on will have it on their
consciences I hope, when they tell their grandchildren etc.

On a different note, I then enjoyed a ride from the LT Museum Shop to
Royal Albert Hall on a virtually empty RM1913, and I really do hope
that the Disney service succeeds and prospers. Peter Hendy was
expressing such a view when interviewed, but he also revealed that the
2 routes are being subsidised to the tune of £1.5 million. He exhorted
us all to use the routes so that they were financially viable. If not,
they will, he said, be scrapped ahead of their 5-year contract. I
don't understand how by us using it more it can be "profitable", since
most of us use Travelcards and I don't understand how that is reflected
in the accounts.

Anyway, Thank God for Routemasters and long may they prosper in
whatever guise they can find.

Marc.

In message .com,
" writes
An amazing day.
A big Thank You to all the staff that made this such a memorable
occasion (and Thursday too, of course), and good luck to all those
losing their jobs today.

I've just returned to the West Midlands after four days in London
combining business with pleasure (if pleasure is the word at seeing the
end of "regular" RM operation).

Can I echo that big "thank you", to all the crews for such good humour,
to the people at TfL and the operating companies, to the owners of the
visiting special vehicles and to volunteers at LOTS for all the
information they've given on this and all previous "last days", which
allowed us all to enjoy them so much.

Major memories of the day?

Ordinary people taking such a special interest in the Routemasters
serving their neighbourhoods.......

A ride on an LD along Whitehall.......

Being surrounded in the dusk by an RT, the STL and what seemed like a
whole host of RMs in Parliament Street.......

The queue for the limited edition models at the LT Museum shop on
Thursday morning (an hour's wait but I did get them). Great company in
the queue there, too. (Has anyone else noticed how much friendlier
staff are in the shop since the temporary move to the Market proper?)

The "carnival" atmosphere in Oxford Street on Friday morning.......

Seeing final buses arrive at Streatham and still being in time to hot
foot it to Brixton Garage to witness the festivities there.......

Patting RM2217 as it turned into the garage.....

........and finally, my wife correcting me by saying "it's an RML,
actually" when I announced that an RM was coming on Thursday
evening.....


It was like being in "The Elephant Will Never Forget"!
--
Ian Jelf, MITG
Birmingham, UK

Registered Blue Badge Tourist Guide for London and the Heart of England
http://www.bluebadge.demon.co.uk

In message . com,
" writes
On a different note, I then enjoyed a ride from the LT Museum Shop to
Royal Albert Hall on a virtually empty RM1913, and I really do hope
that the Disney service succeeds and prospers.
The ones I've been on have been pretty well used, apart from early
morning and one of the last of the day this evening from Aldwych to
Tower Hill.

Peter Hendy was
expressing such a view when interviewed, but he also revealed that the
2 routes are being subsidised to the tune of 0 us all to use the routes so that they were financially viable. If not,
they will, he said, be scrapped ahead of their 5-year contract. I
don't understand how by us using it more it can be "profitable", since
most of us use Travelcards and I don't understand how that is reflected
in the accounts.
Presumably because use of such passes is recorded on ticket machines.

I work *very* hard now to persuade any visitors I deal with who have
free time to take a ride on one of the routes. I have to say, though,
that neither of them passing the Palace of Westminster or crossing the
Thames is a disappointment. But I'll still try as much as I can!

Anyway, Thank God for Routemasters and long may they prosper in
whatever guise they can find.
Indeed. Up there with the B Type and the BMMO D9....... g
--
Ian Jelf, MITG
Birmingham, UK

Registered Blue Badge Tourist Guide for London and the Heart of England
http://www.bluebadge.demon.co.uk

In article ,
(Ian Jelf) wrote:

.......and finally, my wife correcting me by saying "it's an RML,
actually" when I announced that an RM was coming on Thursday
evening.....

The RMLs seem to be the type that really is disappearing from London,
having been the one RM type that remained in London service throughout
since the first 24 of them entered service in 1961.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

On Sat, 10 Dec 2005 22:11:02 +0000, Ian Jelf
wrote:

In message .com,
" writes
An amazing day.
A big Thank You to all the staff that made this such a memorable
occasion (and Thursday too, of course), and good luck to all those
losing their jobs today.

I've just returned to the West Midlands after four days in London
combining business with pleasure (if pleasure is the word at seeing the
end of "regular" RM operation).

Can I echo that big "thank you", to all the crews for such good humour,
to the people at TfL and the operating companies, to the owners of the
visiting special vehicles and to volunteers at LOTS for all the
information they've given on this and all previous "last days", which
allowed us all to enjoy them so much.

Glad you enjoyed it.

The queue for the limited edition models at the LT Museum shop on
Thursday morning (an hour's wait but I did get them). Great company in
the queue there, too. (Has anyone else noticed how much friendlier
staff are in the shop since the temporary move to the Market proper?)

I queued for mine on Saturday morning for about an hour. While I
understand why there is a big demand for the models I found the
arrangements to be close to barking mad. They could have set up a
completely separate stand on the piazza and sold them through that.
Forcing everyone through the shop meant that all other customers who
were not interested in the models had to queue for an hour or so -
utterly daft.

I have not noticed any change in the museum shop staff - they are all
the same people as before and can be as sullen and unhelpful as ever.
Once in a while I would like to be treated as a customer rather than a
hindrance to their social life. I also don't appreciate being "told off"
for the inadequacies of their mail order system that takes months to
send out models [1] or being required to seek out other members of staff
because they can't be bothered to talk to each other. I have an E Mail
of complaint drafted but I fear that if any of the staff find out who
wrote it (if I send it) that whatever "service" I experience in future
will be even worse than it already it is. It's a great shop in terms of
what it sells but otherwise it's an ordeal to use.

It was like being in "The Elephant Will Never Forget"!

It was certainly an experience.

[1] I can order models from Hong Kong that take 1 week to arrive despite
travelling thousands of miles.
--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!

In message , Paul Corfield
writes
On Sat, 10 Dec 2005 22:11:02 +0000, Ian Jelf
wrote:
The queue for the limited edition models at the LT Museum shop on
Thursday morning (an hour's wait but I did get them). Great company in
the queue there, too. (Has anyone else noticed how much friendlier
staff are in the shop since the temporary move to the Market proper?)

I queued for mine on Saturday morning for about an hour. While I
understand why there is a big demand for the models I found the
arrangements to be close to barking mad. They could have set up a
completely separate stand on the piazza and sold them through that.
I suspect that their arrangements with the Covent Garden people
themselves would probably have prevented that being done. (Covent
Garden is a pretty regimented place, however "spontaneous" it might
look, usually for the better!)

it was, though, *very* unfortunate that the shop was in temporary
premises and very cramped ones at that at this time.

Forcing everyone through the shop meant that all other customers who
were not interested in the models had to queue for an hour or so -
utterly daft.
Yes, we wondered how much "passing" trade the shop was losing. Probably
not enough to worry them in tandem with the sales on the EFE models,
though.

I have not noticed any change in the museum shop staff - they are all
the same people as before and can be as sullen and unhelpful as ever.
That's interesting. It was me that first mentioned here on utl how
unenthusiastic people were in the shop, I think. But since the move it
has seemed very different to me. One man (probably the manager) had a
long talk to me one day about their subscription service for models (it
was a weekday, though and correspondingly quiet).

Then during the melee on Thursday the girl serving downstairs was very
pleasant, laughing and joking with my wife. Maybe I've just been lucky
but it seems to me that there's been something of a "sea change" since
the move. I hope so anyway.

Once in a while I would like to be treated as a customer rather than a
hindrance to their social life.
Yes had that in the old place.......

I also don't appreciate being "told off"
for the inadequacies of their mail order system that takes months to
send out models [1] or being required to seek out other members of staff
because they can't be bothered to talk to each other.
And that!

[1] I can order models from Hong Kong that take 1 week to arrive despite
travelling thousands of miles.
Yes, having obtained the relevant forms for the Mail Order service, I
have to say it does seen *very* cumbersome and complex. Ordering from
online services is *much* easier. But then I like to support the shop,
I'm often free for a while in Covent Garden and I get the discount as a
Friend.

Having seen the queues for the models on Saturday afternoon, I did
wonder though how many were actually produced and were we all "duped" a
bit?! :-)) Alistair Stewart, offering a model as a prize on London
Tonight on Friday said that 6,000 had been produced. The girl in the
shop told my wife that they had 300 to sell per day. Even allowing for
300 of each model and assuming that 6,000 meant 3,000 of each, that
still gives a total of only 900 sold in the shop and 2,100 "spare". Or
maybe the figures are wrong.


Anyway, I don't really care; as I said, it was a great time and I was
*so* glad to be able to be there!

--
Ian Jelf, MITG
Birmingham, UK

Registered Blue Badge Tourist Guide for London and the Heart of England
http://www.bluebadge.demon.co.uk

On Sun, 11 Dec 2005 11:08:54 +0000, Ian Jelf
wrote:

In message , Paul Corfield
writes

[lt museum shop]

I have not noticed any change in the museum shop staff - they are all
the same people as before and can be as sullen and unhelpful as ever.

That's interesting. It was me that first mentioned here on utl how
unenthusiastic people were in the shop, I think. But since the move it
has seemed very different to me. One man (probably the manager) had a
long talk to me one day about their subscription service for models (it
was a weekday, though and correspondingly quiet).

Mike Walton is the manager - always very chatty. I have used the
subscription service in the vain hope of being able to ensure I get
models that I think will be in very high demand. However with about one
exception none have sold out quickly. Thus I can see models on the shelf
and yet be told that I won't get one sent to me for months. That's
stupid in my view - how complicated is it to record a sale, update a
database, stuff the model in a jiffy bag and get it franked and
collected by the Royal Mail? I'm obviously missing something because in
my experience is takes a few minutes if you've got a half competent
person doing the task. I got the latest blast of "ice cold service" for
asking to take the models now and pay for them as they weren't prepared
to send them to me until the New Year. I was told not to use the
service if I was going to ask to pick them up in the shop. Well what I
am supposed to do? Trying to reserve anything in the shop is virtually
impossible because the staff are so disinterested in lifting a finger to
be helpful. To support my case I note there was a printed sign advising
those who had mail ordered the Citaro models that they would not be sent
until January and that if people wished they could collect them now!
The very thing I was told not to do is now officially sanctioned.

Then during the melee on Thursday the girl serving downstairs was very
pleasant, laughing and joking with my wife. Maybe I've just been lucky
but it seems to me that there's been something of a "sea change" since
the move. I hope so anyway.

Keep hoping but I fear you will be disappointed.

Once in a while I would like to be treated as a customer rather than a
hindrance to their social life.
Yes had that in the old place.......

Not at all surprised.

I also don't appreciate being "told off"
for the inadequacies of their mail order system that takes months to
send out models [1] or being required to seek out other members of staff
because they can't be bothered to talk to each other.
And that!

Not at all surprised.

[1] I can order models from Hong Kong that take 1 week to arrive despite
travelling thousands of miles.
Yes, having obtained the relevant forms for the Mail Order service, I
have to say it does seen *very* cumbersome and complex. Ordering from
online services is *much* easier. But then I like to support the shop,
I'm often free for a while in Covent Garden and I get the discount as a
Friend.

Yes I like to support it too but not at any price. I get a discount as a
member of staff but there are limits to my organisational or financial
loyalty. I spend a small fortune in there and expect decent service.

Having seen the queues for the models on Saturday afternoon, I did
wonder though how many were actually produced and were we all "duped" a
bit?! :-)) Alistair Stewart, offering a model as a prize on London
Tonight on Friday said that 6,000 had been produced. The girl in the
shop told my wife that they had 300 to sell per day. Even allowing for
300 of each model and assuming that 6,000 meant 3,000 of each, that
still gives a total of only 900 sold in the shop and 2,100 "spare". Or
maybe the figures are wrong.

I understood that there were 1,000 of each thus roundly limiting the
allocation to about 700 models in total per day. This would match the
comment made to your wife. I would be amazed if there were spares other
than the third model which is delayed until next year.
--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!

Having read this thread with interest, and having queued for almost 2
hours on Thursday (unsuccessfully, I might add!), I can give the
following observations:-

(a) Yes, Mike Walton, the manager is VERY helpful, but constrained by
his "political masters" (his words, not mine),

(b) Mike Walton is very put upon, having a genuine wish to help real
enthusiasts but prevented from doing more by others (although not
expressly stated, including his staff);

(c) He does NOT read this group ("There's so much to do in the Shop, I
just don't have the time")

(d) A combination of T.F.L. (who disliked intensely the very concept of
commemorating the last RM) and EFE (who seem to have genuine capacity
problems) limited the TOTAL output of these 2 special RML models to
1000 of each;

(e) The official line is that the Shop "lacked the logistics" to either
stock more than 300 models per day or handle the sales in any other way
than have the idiotic queues that were seen on all 3 days;

(f) The Covent Garden authorities were less than pleased at the way
this was handled, since 300 or more people queuing around the gallery
of the lower-floor artistes' performing area harmed trade generally for
those 3 days;

(g) It was T.F.L. who forbade firstly a stall at Streatham Bus Garage
and then at Telford Road - ostensibly because of "health and safety"
but in reality because of the point made in (d) above.

And finally, to the utter consternation of one of those same (upstairs)
"unhelpful" staff, they had their biggest sale ever just ahead of me in
the Friday evening queue: a man demanding to buy a real Routemaster:
eventually they put him through to Ensignbus on the Shop telephone and
as I left he was giving his credit card details to secure the sale!

Marc.