Bye bye Tridents! Too soon
You guys may think i am talking about Stagecoach Tridents. But this post is aimed at First London's TNA Tridents. They are numbered between 33343-33386 and have served Westbourne Park (X) for the whole of their lives including on lost services such as the 7, 10, 27 and 414.
However, these were ordered for the 23's OPO conversion, and part of the allocation for the 295. In 2010 it was announced in tender results that both routes will be getting new vehicles. However this didnt take effect until this year (2012). First London decided that the TNAs would start to be decomissioned from London service, get refurbished and used on the Olympic contracts. After that they would depart to First Bristol to replace older samples. These TNAs were replaced by a temporary allocation for Route 23 using VN class buses which are currently bound for the Route 266 takeover later this month. Furthermore, in the past year Route 295 has recieved more TNs transferred in from various depots, thus leaving more TNAs surplus. However, i was lucky enough to catch and ride TNA33380 from Hammersmith to Clapham Junction. Sampling how good a ALX400 Trident is in comparison to the Plaxton President Trident:
So for any TNA fans out there, get them now! Dont sit back, you have limited time!!
Illustrated and written by Mark Leonard
However, these were ordered for the 23's OPO conversion, and part of the allocation for the 295. In 2010 it was announced in tender results that both routes will be getting new vehicles. However this didnt take effect until this year (2012). First London decided that the TNAs would start to be decomissioned from London service, get refurbished and used on the Olympic contracts. After that they would depart to First Bristol to replace older samples. These TNAs were replaced by a temporary allocation for Route 23 using VN class buses which are currently bound for the Route 266 takeover later this month. Furthermore, in the past year Route 295 has recieved more TNs transferred in from various depots, thus leaving more TNAs surplus. However, i was lucky enough to catch and ride TNA33380 from Hammersmith to Clapham Junction. Sampling how good a ALX400 Trident is in comparison to the Plaxton President Trident:
Illustrated and written by Mark Leonard
The TNAs are a great bunch, however they are now extremely rare (particularly with the original First patterns). It is still possible to see them occasionally on the 179 though.
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