Bakerloop's Bemused Variety

Is It Or Isn't It?

The original Superloop was a series of limited stop bus services forming a super loop following the North- and South- Circular Roads around London. A few oddities were included, being theformer Express route 607, the peak our only journeys from Russell Square and Croydon and the new cross river link viabthe Silvertown tunne.

There are expansive plans for even more Superloop branded routes but none of the part 2 batch will loop anywhere. 

Has Transport for London chosen the right brand name?

Neither the original plan, nor the Mark 2 scheme makes any mention of a Bakerloop BL1 express bus between Waterloo and Lewisham.

Both original and Mark 2 maps show the route, brown on the original map and from Waterloo ...

But dark green on the later Mark 2 and starting from Elephant and Castle. 

Clearly TfL could not make up its corporate mind.

The bus stop on Waterloo Road offers us a Superloop with an SL6 white-on-red 'C' Plate for the peak hour Monday to Friday occasional journeys to Croydon ...

... and a Bakerloop plate plus a brown on white BL1. So the Bakerloop is not a Superloop route?

At Elephant and Castle there is a solitary poster in the entrance to the Bakerloo Station ...

... which emphasises its Superloop credentials ...

... confirming that the route is "Express" and advising that this Superloop is "known as" Bakerloop!

Bus stop posters are back to emphasising Superloop ...

... but with a map which suggests that passengers can travel all the way round the loop at Lewisham. The picture is a bit fuzzy but stops are shown beyond Molesworth Street and one stop past The Clock Tower.  But we npw know you are thrown out at Molesworth Street.

There is no Lewisham loop on the Superloop Bakerloop!

Whilst the bus branding makes no mention of Superloop ...

... the door to the driver's cab in these new buses shows ...

... Superloop. Several of the bus stops, showing the brown BL1 on the stops, include the multicoloured London Transport roundel for ...

... Superloop!

Panel timetables, fairly useless as ever ...

... show the Superloop logo and the Bakerloop word!

There agin, at least one internally illuminated poster .,..

... makes no mention of Superloop, but the illustration does incorporate part of the multi coloured roundel.

In his recent video, sharing a BL1 rude with Uncle Roger French ...

... Geoff Marshall was pointing out the many aomalies and admitting that, as far as branding was concerned, he was ...

... bemused and confused.

Who can blame him?

If that's what you want for Manchester, Andy ...

... pity the poor bemused Mancunian passengers ...

... who would surely be as baffled as Londoners!

Fortunately things have always been so much better oops north! Don't  ruin it, Andy, by trying to be just like London.

Autumn Quiz Answers

Doncaster - all local branding has been abandoned by First in favour of the latest weak corporate identity; from brand to bland.

St Ives Cornwall - part of the former bus station remains in use as a bus reversing area.

Whitby

Stirling

GoAhead - Go Coach also competes over part of the route

Hi

Cinema Coach

The final six tomorrow.

  Next Sunday Variety blog ; Sun 19 Oct 

Leaving Loopy Lewisham ...

 ... The Great Adventure

By way of a reminder, above we have a historic map of the centre of Lewisham (right) and today's version; which shows the effect of the slab of the shopping centre and the Molseworth Street central bypass road. The High Street runs south to north with a wiggle in the middle.

On that wiggle stands The Clock Tower ...

... which might be a useful definition of the centre of Lewisham.

With that geography lesson in mind, we can begin our search for the bus stops used by the departing BL1. The original "launch" map offers some clues to THREE locations.

Geoff Marshall's map provides some  alternatives!

Transport for London's stop list (TfL is in charge of the BL1) offers only TWO names ...

... with the Clock Tower becoming the Police Station!

Stop "U"

TfL's map version is ...

... does imply that stop U is where the bus starts its gyrations round the town; but for the rest of the route ...

... via the station, it is frankly incomprehensible.

Traveline gives us TWO stop names before the SL1 rejoins its outward route at Loampit Vale ...

... whilst Robert Munster, using TfL's secret timetable database ...

... offers a similar two but bringing us "Limes Grove" as the start point. That is a new "fact", if fact it be! Yes, it be a fact, but not a helpful one!

The arrival stop and turfing out point is on Molesworth Street (top left);  the departure point is Stop U on the lower end of the \high Street and appears to ba called "Lewisham Centre" although it is not really the centre of Lewisham. 

Limes Grove is not obviously near either stop, but does strike off the the bottom right of the aerial view. There it is, right, with the High Street (and departure stop U) straight ahead.

There is a road name board on that big building at the junction ...

... but no bus passenger would ever spot it.

But, some9 dpistance up the High Street, is Stop U.

... where you could join the BL1 for a lovely limited stop (if it weren't for the road works) ride back to Waterloo. fbb thinks it is called Lewisham Centre because the shopping mall is called "Lewisham Centre".

You can spot an entrance to the mall in amongst the melee ...

... where it appears to be called "Lewisham Shopping".

The branding has changed over the years and major development, even demolition, is on the cards.

You can get from terminus to departure via the shopping walk ways ...

... but it is probably easier to follow the road round!

Stop "R"

Or you could try the Clock Tower stop.

This is Stop R, although the ever accurate Traveline thinks it is Stop E. If you have completed your retail therapy, the clock is probably the best place to aim for as it is a fairly obvious landmark and most locals will know where it is! Not only that, but almost everyone agrees on he stop name; that is everyone except Tfl! Remember?

The Police Station is, indeed, a big building, but the BL1 doesn't stop there. For a start it is on the opposite side of the road and there are no stops at or opposite the cop shop!

The clock Tower and stop R are in and just beyond the trees there in the right of the above picture.

Stop "?"

Both the TfL "launch" map and Geoff Marshall shows a stop AT the northern DLR entrance for the railway station.

But no other source offers a stop there. You have to walk from station down the hill and under the bridge to the Loampit Vale outbound stop, waving a fine goodbye to the station stops as illustrated above. Stop F at Loampit Vale is a pig to negotiate ...

... but it is there, under the bridge and across the road, espcially a funtime activity of, say, you have luggage or fractious children. It would be so much easier to exit the station, cross the crossing ...

... and turn left for the bus stops!

But that would be helpful to interchange passengers!

Maybe the BL1 does stop there, but TfL are keeping it a secret, like its bus timetables!

Autumn Puzzle Pictures 7 to 12

Ryde Esplanade - the pier tram once left from somewhere in there!

High Peak Buses - a Julian Peddle Company which was once part of Trent.

Crich - Home of The Tramway Village. The monument rises atop the quarry face where the trams turn to run back to the main site.

Midland General - one of the few historic operators who used a letter and number combo for defining their routes. Another was the original Crosville.

Milford Haven

Kraken - John Wyndham wrote "The Kraken Wakes". Also there is a poem "The Kraken" by Tennyson.

Six more tomorrow!

 Next Baffling BL1 Bits blog - Sat 18th Oct