Society news

This page gives up-to-date major news items to supplement our monthly newsletter, •The London Bus• (TLB). Items noted here will be incorporated in the next issue of TLB in greater detail. Reports more than a month old and already reported in TLB are deleted. Each issue of TLB is typically 40 pages containing references to around 300 routes and 1000 vehicles, together with the business and political news, the publicity output of the companies, forthcoming exhibitions and rallies, and much more. To get the full picture, why not join now? Go to the Membership Page for details.

If you need to contact us with anything to do with membership, subscriptions to TLB or LBM and queries over postal sales, email lotsmemsec@gmail.com and it will be passed to the correct person. Reports for TLB/LBM or queries to other society officers can go via the TLB Editor lotstlbeditor@gmail.com and it will be passed to the correct person.

For queries about Postal Sales, please email lotspostalsales@gmail.com. This E mail address may also be used for ordering from Postal Sales if wishing to pay by direct debit bank transfer - for details see Page 1 of the Sales Bulletin.

Meetings

We meet at The Gallery at Alan Baxter, 77 Cowcross Street, Farringdon. A three minute walk from Farringdon Station (Met/Circle/H&C lines, Elizabeth line and Thameslink). Exit from Farringdon station (Met side), turn east and go up Cowcross Street until you reach the Leon restaurant. Opposite there is a passageway, cross the cobbled courtyard to the far right corner and go down the stairs to the basement meeting room known as 'The Gallery'. We would advise that you do not drive to the venue, parking space is rare and charges apply for 24 hours. There are several coffee shops and a Wetherspoons on Farringdon Road.

Doors open at 6pm, meetings start at 6.30pm and finish at 8pm, then Q&As and sales stand but all out by 9pm when the venue is locked.

Next meeting:
9 February: "Confessions of a Bus Spotter." A presentation by Kim Rennie looking back over 50 years.

The London Bus (TLB)

New and recent LOTS publications

For queries about Postal Sales, please email lotspostalsales@gmail.com. This email address may also be used for ordering from Postal Sales if wishing to pay by direct debit bank transfer - for details see Page 1 of the Sales list.

Please address your orders to LOTS Postal Sales, Lombard Business Park, 8 Lombard Road, Wimbledon, London SW19 3TZ. Orders are processed weekly. Make sure that the 'Postal Sales' name is included prominently, so we can give your order our best attention. You can use the Sales List printed off from this website this list to order, or a letter is perfectly acceptable. In either case, please don’t staple cheques to the form.

NEW London Bus Review 2024 – Greater London & Beyond (£18.50).
This title has been confirmed as being delivered from the printers and is now available for purchase.

London Bus Magazine No 213, Autumn 2025)  (£6.00).
Including articles on London Transport Blind Design and Merlins in Ulster.

SUP-45C London Bus Garages Allocation and Routes (£6.50).
List of all London bus garages with route and bus allocations as at 1 September 2025. 60 pages with 8 colour photos.

SUP-46A London Transport Trolleybuses - Allocations and Disposals 1948-1962 (free digital download). Allocation histories and disposals for all LT trolleybuses. 102 pages.

SUP-47A London’s Advert Buses 1969-2024 (£8.00).
All known all-over advert buses in the London area (not London Country). Over 1000 buses and over 4000 adverts listed, with dates. 76 pages, 18 colour photos.
View sample pages.

SUP-48A Country Area Bus Route Directory - Part 1: North and East (£7.50).
SUP-49A Country Area Bus Route Directory - Part 2: South and West (£7.50).
SUPs 48A and 49A together list all bus routes in our 'country' area, showing the main points served, the operator/s, days/times of operation and basic frequencies. There is also an overview of each of the operators covered. Correct to 1st September. A5, 52 pages (part 1) or 60 pages (part 2), each 8 colour photos.

See the Publications page for details of LOTS publications or the Sales Bulletin on the Sales page for our current stocklist.

Vacancies

LOTS requires a new sub-editor (or perhaps two) to cover the Current Vehicle News section in TLB. Please e-mail lotstlbeditor@gmail.com if you think you may be interested in helping out.

Non-members may wish to look at a sample issue of TLB.
Hopefully this will whet your appetite for joining LOTS!

Industry and general news

Major news items to supplement our monthly newsletter:

Friday 16 January

LBSL intends to enter into new contracts for the following routes with the operators listed below:

*Routes 407 and 645 are awarded on a joint contract.

New electric vehicles may enter service after the contract start date, dependent on infrastructure and/ or vehicle delivery timescales.

The start and end dates for the above contracts are detailed in the following table:

Thursday 15 January

Route 766 is a short notice TfL shuttle service between Aldgate, Shadwell & Wapping to cover for route N551 which is diverted due to resurfacing work on The Highway. Operated by Stagecoach, it is effectively a circular service from Aldgate to Aldgate via Shadwell and Wapping running every 30 minutes. Runs for 12 nights (13-16, 20-23, 27-29 January) from Aldgate 2200 to 0500 using a single short E200.

Tuesday 6 January

LBSL intends to enter into new contracts for the following routes with the operators listed below:

* 24 - hour routes.

New electric vehicles may enter service after the contract start date, dependent on infrastructure and/ or vehicle delivery timescales.

The hybrid vehicles detailed above will meet Euro VI emissions standards. 

The start and end dates for the above contracts are detailed in the following table:

Coming events (LSS - LOTS sales stand attending)

7 February
Elstree and Borehamwood Transport Collectors’ Fair at Allum Hall, 2 Allum Lane, Borehamwood WD6 3PJ. 10:00 to 16:00 LSS.

8 February
70th anniversary of RM1 entering service. Roadrun for RMs and invited vehicles from the Ace Café via Golders Green over Route 2 to Crystal Palace.

14 February
Please note that this date corrects the entry in January TLB.
Enfield Transport Bazaar at St Stephen’s Church Hall, Village Road, Enfield EN1 2EY. 10:00 to 14:30. £3 entry.

15 February
Epping Ongar Railway Winter Bus Event. Details.

28 February
T15 Heritage Weekend: A minimum of 6 vehicles will operate between Trafalgar Square and Tower Hill, with some journeys running until the early evening for night time photography opportunities. Standard T15 fares and day tickets will apply. (also see 1 March below)

1 March
T15 Heritage Weekend: Charity running day with visiting buses and journeys extended from Trafalgar Square via Whitehall and Westminster Bridge to Waterloo Station. Travel will be free but donations to a nominated charity will be invited.

7 March
Shoreham Transport Fair, The Shoreham Centre, 2 Pond Road, Shoreham BN43 5WU. 10:00 to 16:30.

14 March
Route 38 running day (Victoria to Clapton Pond) by The London Bus Museum.

14 March
Ewell Transport & Toy Enthusiasts Bazaar at Bourne Hall, Spring Street, Ewell KT17 1UF. 10:30 to 15:00. £3 entry.

16 March
LHRG meeting at The Abbey Centre, 34 Great Smith Street, Westminster at 18.00 for 18.30. Leon Daniels will describe the Capital CityBus era.

22 March (Provisional)
North Finchley Vintage Bus Running Day for Red Nose Day Charity. Buses to operate on parts of local bus routes including 13, 221 and 251. Enquiries: lqfishburn@gmail.com.

29 March
Classic buses in the Watford area, including 60 years of route 724, by the Amersham & District Motor Bus Society.

29 March
Theydon Bois Transport Bazaar at Theydon Bois Village Hall CM16 7ER. 10:00 to 14:30. £3 entry.

9-12 April
Open days at the London Transport Museum Depot in Acton Town.

11 April
South East Bus Festival, The Kent Showground, Detling. 10:00 to 16:00.

19 April
Spring Gathering at the London Bus Museum, Brooklands.

A national event list can be found here.