User:Tehepicbigman712

Hello, I'm Tehepicbigman712! I'm known as NiceABCD on Scratch, the same as my username on Roblox and NiceABCD on YouTube. I am a trainspotter, London bus enthusiast (pre-TfL and after TfL), elevator fan and love computing. I am the owner of the EssexBusChronicles Wiki as well as many other various projects I have done. My favourite London Buses route pre-TfL has to be London Buses Route 324, which was originally the Hornchurch to Lakeside bus route, but later became the Romford Market to Bluewater service and existed from 1996 to 2002.

Here is some information about my favourite pre-TfL route taken from my wiki: "Route 324 commenced operation as a Monday to Saturday/partial Sunday service during daily shopping hours, providing bus transportation between Hornchurch Madison Exchange, and Lakeside on September 28 1996 as a service by Capital Citybus from their Dagenham garage.

It went via Abbs Cross Lane, Elm Park Station, South Hornchurch Cherry Tree, Rainham Tesco, Wennington Lennards and Purfleet Uplands Estate, replacing withdrawn 348 journeys between Lakeside and Purfleet from just a couple years prior as well as withdrawn Ensign Citybus route 565 that ran between Barkingside and Lakeside via Rainham and Romford.

The primary purpose of Route 324 was to meet the transportation needs of the local community, offering a convenient connection between Hornchurch and Lakeside.

On July 28 1997, Capital Citybus, the operator of Route 324, introduced a new timetable for the route and it would operate every 60 minutes. The route was extended to Thurrock College via West Thurrock The Ship during college days, providing an additional destination for passengers.

On January 8 1998, the Sunday service of Route 324 was withdrawn, except for Bank Holidays where the Sunday service was restricted.

On October 10 1998, the route was retained after Capital Citybus was sold to First and rebranded First Capital, and due to the withdrawal of Route 323, Route 324 was rerouted via Aveley Sandy Lane, Aveley Mill Road, Aveley High Street and Aveley Hall Lane to replace the lost section in Aveley of Route 323. This rerouting ensured that Aveley remained connected to the bus network and continued to receive bus service.

The route also had a new timetable introduced which made it operate every 30 minutes for most of the day with more buses from Hornchurch on Bank Holidays, as well as taking over the Aveley section of 348, which became an express service between Belhus and Lakeside, taking over passenger services for Hall Lane, Love Lane and also Ship Lane, however the school version of 348, the 648, remained the same.

The route also had special journeys to Belhus Derwent Parade via Aveley Usk Road to compensate for Route 323's withdrawal. but it was mainly replaced by the 373. Route 324 was taken over by Ensignbus based in Purfleet on February 7 1999 and was subsequently extended to operate from Romford Market to Bluewater via Gidea Park, Emerson Park, Hornchurch, Elm Park, South Hornchurch, Rainham, Wennington, Aveley and Lakeside from March 16 1999, and fully regained its Sunday service.

The route gained a school-variant numbered Route 623 on the same day that Route 324 was taken over on February 7 1999, also operated by Ensignbus, running between Hornchurch Madison Exchange (on the afternoon return journey only), Rainham Tesco and Belhus Derwent Parade, which not only helped to aid the Route 324 journeys to Belhus Derwent Parade but also replaced withdrawn Route 323 in its entirety. The route operated Monday-Friday only and was retained by Ensignbus on May 29 1999, however the route did not last long after being retained and was withdrawn on July 22 1999, being replaced by Route 324 journeys to Belhus Derwent Parade, Route 373 as well as Route 348.

There was even a night service numbered N324, but only lasted five nights, and would be withdrawn to allow later 324 journeys into the night, as evident from timetables after this date which show that Route 324 continued operation until 0034.

This remained unchanged until December 11 1999 when Ensignbus sold the Route 324 operation to Town and Country Buses which operated from leased space at the Ensignbus Purfleet base. On January 17 2000, Route 324 was extended from Bluewater to Gravesend Clock Tower, Monday-Saturday only during shopping hours, replacing the withdrawn section of Route 348 between Lakeside and Gravesend. However, the section between Bluewater and Gravesend was withdrawn on May 8 2000.

On October 5 2000, Town and Country Buses passed Route 324 over to Arriva East Herts & Essex based in Grays. On November 6 2000, the Romford Market to Hornchurch section of Route 324 was withdrawn, and Route 324 now ran dead to Gidea Park The Drill Roundabout to stand.

Then on September 29 2001, Route 324 was withdrawn between Abbs Cross and Hornchurch and diverted via Roneo Corner to Romford Market.

This replaced the withdrawn section of 348 between Romford Market and Hornchurch on the same day, while the original lost Romford section of Route 324 via Gidea Park was replaced by a rerouting of Route 165 via Hornchurch Madison Exchange, Emerson Park, Slewins Lane and Gidea Park the same day that Route 324 was withdrawn between Hornchurch and Abbs Cross.

This only lasted until January 19 2002 when the route was withdrawn between Abbs Cross and Romford and diverted to Hornchurch again.

On February 4 2002, Route 324 was changed to be managed by Arriva Kent Thameside, but still operated from the Grays garage.

Subsequently Route 324 was withdrawn on November 9 2002, being partially replaced by the 372 between Hornchurch Madison Exchange and Lakeside Bus Station, as well as later the X80, operated by Ensignbus, between Lakeside Bus Station and Bluewater on October 16 2004.

The Thurrock College journeys would also later be replaced by route 26 operated by Ensignbus in August 2013, but this route did not last long as it was withdrawn on July 24 2019, and replaced with other local Ensignbus routes."