The typically vague and late-appearing bus stop publicity makes absolutely no mention of the end of crew operation on the 11; such a drastic change of mode used to be important enough to mention prominently. On a midday journey on a route 11 RM this afternoon, not a single passenger even knew that crew operation was about to come to an end; they only found out when the friendly conductor answered their questions as to why so many people were by the roadside taking pictures. When the penny dropped, they were upset and indignant - and this is 'normal', non-enthusiast passengers I'm talking about!

I'm no expert on the machinations of hard-left politics (other than a recent read of the highly revealing 'London Transport and the Politicians' by Paul Garbutt), but the level of deceit that goes into TfL's spin has reached extraordinary levels. Suggestions to alert the media, particularly the Evening Standard which you'd think would be the ideal candidate to rage about such discarding of tradition, have come unstuck as apparently TfL have cut a deal with the paper to squash all stories surrounding the Routemaster. Perhaps they're relying on Londoners' apathetic nature to let the story die down in the eighteen months Ken Livingstone quoted last night as how long it's going to take to phase them all out, but not all Londoners will put up with having our tradition spat on. Why not pull down Big Ben and St. Paul's while they're at it, because they're 'old' too?

And I'd love to know what possessed Ken to turn heel after publically proclaiming that anyone 'would be a fool to get rid of the Routemasters'. The modern replacements are charmless, unreliable, inefficient in every form and not actually that much more accommodating to the disabled lobby. To me, a London without Routemasters is not a London worth living in, and when they all go, so will I!

Enough of this nastiness. Here's my photographic round-up of the last day of the 11 - I hope you enjoy it!

	Although the public may not have noticed the difference between the individual members of the 11's stock on the last day, it is interesting to note that most of them were recent arrivals to Stockwell, displacing most of the long-established RMLs elsewhere. RM 1097 (97 CLT) came from New Cross earlier in the year following the split of the 36 and the conversion of its outer end into cashless artic route 436. The bus is posed at Liverpool Street Station at midday.
	The 11's RMLs may have worked that route alone since privatisation froze them in place, but it is easy to forget that Stockwell have only been working the 11 since 25th May 2002 when Waterloo passed it on. As such, Stockwell have lost crew operation for a second time (the first time was in 1992 when the 88 was one-manned). As dusk falls, RML 2736 (SMK 736F) visits Victoria. The Routemasters from the 11 will be split between Putney and Camberwell, allowing for the withdrawal of about twenty RMLs in total. It looks like the Iveco-powered examples are going first, and some have already been re-engined with new Cummins Euro 3 engines.
	After the announcement that RM 1 (SLT 56) wouldn't be used in service, nobody was quite sure what its role would be, or when. It finally showed up at Victoria at ten to six for a short photo-call, having done the same at St Paul's, and then shadowed a service 11 down to Fulham Broadway and back, carrying invited guests only (I wonder who?). RTW 467 also appeared briefly, but I didn't see it. RM 1 never actually worked on the 11 during its short service career from 1956 to 1959, and nowadays resides at the Museum Depot at Acton.
	It had started to drizzle by the time the two specials, minus their duplicates, emerged before 9pm to take up duties at either end of the 11. Performing the penultimate westbound journey from Liverpool Street (SW307) was DRM 2516 (WLT 516), seconded for the evening from London General's Commercial Services Department. This bus, otherwise a standard RML, is fitted with platform doors from an RMC and for that extra bit of vanity, bears a cherished registration from the RM exactly two thousand units its senior. It's unfortunate that modern reflective black-on-white numberplates are so difficult to photograph with a flash.
	The rainy weather and the late finish perhaps ensured a slightly smaller turnout than saw off the 15 two months ago, but at least we all managed to fit on RM 9 (VLT 9), which is seen having arrived at Liverpool Street at 23:27. Both RM 9 and DRM 2516 carried special commemorative via blinds and RM 9 even had cards in the windscreen and in the conductor's farechart cabinet on the platform. No problems with flash photography here, as the bus carries proper traditional numberplates.
	RM 9 (VLT 9) made up a four-minute deficit on its final journey to arrive at Fulham Broadway at 00:13, bang on time. The rain continues to patter down as the bus poses for the last time before returning to Stockwell out of service. In spite of the last-minute operational hitches, TfL's inexplicable attitude and the weather, it turned out to be a good night, although of course another sad one. Many thanks to the organisers for putting on the specials for us, and of course to the crews of route 11 over the years.
Here is a full list of the buses that operated on the 11 on Friday 31st October, with substitutions where known. SW301 RM 1962 SW306 RM 1033 SW311 RML 2583 SW316 RM 1062 SW321 PVL 65 SW302 PVL 85 SW307 RM 994c SW312 RM 1082 SW317 RML 2556 SW322 RML 2618 SW303 RM 2128a SW308 RM 1097 SW313 RM 1305 SW318 RML 2363 SW323 PVL 59 SW304 RML 2725b SW309 RML 2736 SW314 RML 894d SW319 RML 2669     SW305 RML 2517 SW310 RM 1380 SW315 RML 2606 SW320 PVL 65e     a - Subbed by RM 9; b - Subbed by WVL 87; c - Subbed by DRM 2516; d - Subbed by WVL 98; e - Subbed by RM 541. Present later - PVL 87, PDL 48, PDL 50. Not used in service - RM 1, RTW 467.