 | Photo © James Fullick. |
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The 251 is an old-established service, having linked Burnt Oak, Mill Hill, Whetstone and Arnos Grove since at least 1933! The route was extended on Monday to Saturday from 7 September 1968 to Edgware and Stanmore, replacing the 245 (itself the replacement for the old 645 trolleybus route along Stonegrove). These are the only routes ever to serve Edgware and not serve Edgware station, but double running to Edgware Station was introduced from 24 January 1990, and the section between Edgware and Stanmore was replaced by diverting the 142 in 1993 (which also double runs via Edgware Station). The Sunday service was also lost for a few years, but the route has now been standardised as Arnos Grove – Edgware daily.
The routing between Mill Hill and Edgware is not the most direct, buses still running along their historic routing via Burnt Oak, but the link into the large shopping centre at Edgware not only from the east end of the route but also from Watling Avenue is no doubt very useful. Although the 251 is the only route through the picturesque – not to say exclusive – Totteridge area, it is quite possible to run right through without stopping! East–West links in this part of London are, however, few and far between, due to the geographical layout, with only the 107, 251 and 221 providing such a service north of Hendon, and the 251 certainly justifies its existence.
The 251 was the last route to be operated by BL-class ECW-bodied Bristol LHs, before these were replaced on retendering of the 251 by Optare Starriders. On retendering again in 1996, some of the last new step entrance Dennis Darts were introduced, these also being amongst the few examples of the 9.8m long model to enter service in London. A further tender, and retention, from 2001 saw new low floor Darts specified, but only from the following Spring. This was somewhat fortuitous, as a growing trend to convert busy single deck routes to double deck operation has seen a considerable surplus of Dart SLFs, and such a conversion of route C2 set up a cascade, obviating the need for the new buses.
In a strange twist of fortune, the 2006 re-tendering exercise was specified with existing vehicles ... but a need for newer single deckers for driving tests has meant Metroline decided to buy new vehicles for the 251 after all, at its own expense! The choice of vehicles was a surprise though. Rather than order more Darts, or their replacement the Enviro200Dart, Metroline opted for MAN chassis with MCV Evolution bodywork. Like the similar MANs ordered by Metrobus for route R2 there were some delays in getting them into service.
| Photo © James Fullick. |
MM776 (LK07 AYG) was seen on 28 April leaving Edgware Bus Station. The air conditioning unit for the driver is unusually accommodated within what looks like an upside down shopping basket on the roof! Edgware Bus Station was closed to passengers at the time of this photo, for resurfacing works, hence the mass of cones and fences in the background! It seems that TfL has at last realised that block paving is not very suitable for roadways used by 12 ton buses and is now replacing them with tarmac. Stopping arrangements for buses during this period have been rather unsatisfactory, with all buses in one direction serving a request stop and some buses diverted away altogether at certain times.
Most of the Darts mentioned earlier are still at Edgware garage, for route 288, 303 and 305, and are thus liable to continue putting in appearances on the 251. Here DLD 134 (W134 ULR) demonstrates the yellow warning triangle applied by Holloway garage to the mirrors on its buses as it turns into Edgware bus station on 28 February 2002. The red patch on the blue skirt (due to accident repairs) shows a careless attitude to presentation! The bus still had HT garage code from its time on the C2, rather than the correct EW.
 | Photo by John Delaney. |
The low floor version of the Dart had already been available for nearly a year when the EDRs were purchased; one wonders whether it would have been cheaper in the long run had LT specified the low floor version in 1996, as new buses would not then have been necessary in 2001. On the other hand, as with most types, the early build models purchased by other operators proved none too reliable, and so when the 251 did get low floor buses they were a considerable improvement on the early Dart SLFs that may otherwise have been in place.
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