hi steve, i thought you was the driver of the last 248 to run into the garageas i was on the back?
anyway what you up to?

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Replying to:

Hi there, Just fount this great site and recall being the last conductor to operate the peak hour service route 248A. I was only 19 at the time and was amazed at how many enthusiasts travelled from far afield to take part in this last journey. Normally the last trip was almost empty but this time it was standing room only. My driver and myself were taken for a cup of tea in the cafe oposite the terminal at Corbets Tey, if you can call it that, more like a plot of waste ground. Upon our return to the bus RLH68 we found many of the 'mind your head' warning discs missing from the back of the seats and a number of other unscrewable parts. I believe if we had been in the cafe much longer the whole bus would have been stripped by collectors. Our picture was taken for posterity but I have never seen a print. My badge number was N108063 and as a driver was N94414. I later became an Inspector and eventually a Senior Garage Inspector. I served at many garages including. RD, NS, U, SK, L, BK, BW, WW, T, WH. I probably worked at others but my memory is failing. I left London Transport in 1985 and having kept my psv dvrs licence going for many years I worked at Stockwell Garage in the year 2000. I very much enjoyed this and found myself loaned out to work on Route 11 but was disappointed with the different engine that they used in the RML. Totally under powered. Not like when driving Route 165 with 72 plus 5 standing heading towards Romford Stn in 1970. It used to fly along then. Incidently I recall 2 characters from my time at Hornchurch (RD) as a conductor, both were old soldiers. Paddy Hannon and Arthur Sleaman, they were my regular drivers. Arthur still had his old uniform from before the 2nd world war, it had a white cuff on the right arm and was double breasted. He stood out from all the other drivers but he was held in high esteem. Paddy always carried a large cushion to support his bad back whilst at the wheel. Anyway I think I've said enough for now but would like to hear from anyone who can remember me from those times