Olympic Special by Gavin Francis
Special Issue - October 21st 2012
Visit the "OXFORD & CHILTERN BUS PAGE " Current archives from October 2002
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Gavin Francis was one of the many drivers who volunteered to work at the Olympics over the past summer. He, as ever, took many pictures and has recorded his thoughts and observation for readers of the OCBP. I hope you enjoy the fruits of his labours!
I have received a number of pictures from readers and these will appear in a further Olympic Special - nr 2 in due course.
Malcolm Crowe - Editor - OCBP - October 21st 2012
All pictures by Gavin Francis unless stated by others.
Introduction
Seven years
after being awarded The Olympic Games and after 2 years of planning the
transport network July saw 1000s of drivers, controllers, managers and
engineers as well as approximately 1500 buses and coaches arrive in the East
End of London to hopefully operate the smooth running of The Olympic
Transport Network.
Stagecoach UK
Bus Events Limited were to be in overall control of the transport and would
supply the majority of the bus requirement with over 40 other operators and
their drivers also needed to make up the full quota.
I applied over a year ago to be a driver and
arrived at Royals Business Park Bus Depot on the 5th July. At
that time I did not know where I would be working, where I would be living,
what vehicles I would be driving and who I would be carrying. A case of into
the unknown.
As I was one of
the first drivers to arrive there were very few other of the transport team
there. Also there were only a handful of buses there. What immediately
struck me was the size of the place. It was far bigger than any other garage
I had ever seen stretching out into the distance in both directions.
Over the next
few days there seemed to be a never ending stream of drivers and buses
arriving, at its peak over 500 arriving in one day. Each driver had to be
inducted into the depot, be issued with uniform, accommodation arranged and
be given an Oyster Card as there would be a lot of travelling around London
on the public transport system. Even when that was all done it was off to
UDAC (Uniform Distribution and Accreditation Centre) which was conveniently
situated next to BDA to collect your accreditation which was essential for
entry to the venues.
I was allocated
accommodation on The Mile End Road, but after the first week moved to
Tottenham Hale. This was some distance from the depots and had to use both
the Underground, Overground and DLR networks to travel between home and
work.
Gradually over
the next few days all the drivers were allocated to sections and route
learning began. Most of the groups had a maximum of about 10 drivers so
training involved the use of hundreds of buses which soon became a common
sight both around The East End and Central London. Only a very small
percentage of drivers were London based so route learning took some time but
gradually confidence increased and some routes went live about a week before
the Games commenced. These were mainly Heathrow based as the majority of
athletes and officials arrived in the country here and needed transporting
to The Olympic Park. Probably what caused the most concern was the route map
book we were given. This consisted of a spiral bound book of A3 size with
175 pages stretching from Eton Dorney in the west to Hadleigh Farm near
Southend in the east, Stansted Airport to the north and Gatwick Airport to
the south. I think most drivers thought ‘lets hope the sat-nav works’.
10021 Russell Square 12th July
There were over 21000 members of The Media at The Olympics and a hub was set
up at Russell Square to carry them to The Olympic Park.
10021 on a training run takes a break before returning to East London.
Olympics 2012 Radio and Sat-Nav
All the vehicles involved were fitted with a radio, satellite navigation and
GPS
which fitted into the position normally occupied by the ticket machine.
10016
10016 pictured outside The Olympic Stadium on a training run prior to the
start of The Games.
Paralympics 2012 Bus Stop Kings Cross
Throughout the whole Olympic period a different type of bus stop appeared
over Central London.
This one is marked TM which means it is a stop for carrying The Media.
Paralympics 2012 Bus Stop Victoria
Many Central London bus routes were diverted away from their normal stops.
This stop in Victoria tells intending passengers their bus may not be
stopping here.
The Depots and Hubs
There were 2
main depots used. The first was located alongside the Stagecoach West Ham
Depot, and was also called West Ham but usually went by the name BDA (Bus
Depot Athletes) and as its named suggest was where the buses which carried
the athletes were kept. For this reason it was a secure depot where every
member of staff prior to taking a bus was required to pass through airport
style security. All the buses were security checked prior to leaving the
depot. This involved a thorough check by security staff and all opening
panels had a blue strip of tape place over the openings and if any of these
were missing the bus had to be rechecked and new tape applied.
The second
depot was located at Royals Business Park but was better known as BDM (Bus
Depot Media) and again as its name suggest was used to house the buses which
carried the media. It was located directly opposite London City Airport and
during quiet times it was always interesting to watch the flow of mainly
British Airways planes in and out. Because of the vast number of drivers and
management staff involved accommodation was always going to be a problem and
to help solve this 2 cruise ships were docked alongside this depot. One was
The Galaxy which was used to house G4S staff and the other was The Fred
Olsen Line Braemar on which many Stagecoach staff stayed.
It’s difficult
to show the vast size of both of these depots. They both housed about 700
buses and operated 24hours a day, 7 days a week. To keep up with the
constant flow of buses they both had multiple fuelling and washing lines. At
BDM in particular a staff bus ran around the depot as the distances from
control to your bus was so great. BDM had a one way system around the
perimeter and because of the distance and speed limit of 5mph it could take
10mins from picking up your bus to leaving the depot.
Light
maintenance was carried out at both depots but for bigger jobs the former
Stagecoach Depot at Upton Park which had been mothballed since it was closed
was used. There was also a depot at Silvertown Quays which was just an
overflow and storage facility.
Because of the
large number of buses involved there was no way layover times could be taken
in The Olympic Park. Just outside to the north was Eton Manor Staging Hub
where drivers took their rest periods. Also parked there were the official
cars, and many private hire coaches which arrived. The buses which were used
to carry the athletes were always kept in a secure section.
At Heathrow
there were two hubs, one to the north of the airport serving Terminals 1 and
3 and one to the south serving Terminals 4 and 5, although this was not used
for The Paralympics.
10042
One of the first buses to arrive was 10042
seen here at Upton Park Depot.
Olympics 2012 Upton Park Depot
Upton Park Depot was used to carry out heavier maintenance. A
variety of buses here including a Solo from the torch relay.
Olympics 2012 Northern Staging Area
Heathrow was the main port of entry for athletes flying into the
country. The Northern Staging Area was used to service Terminals
1 and 3.
Olympics 2012 Eton Manor Transport Hub
Layover periods for The Olympic Park were taken at Eton
Manor Hub.
The pictures show buses transporting athletes parked in the
secure section of the park.
Olympics 2012 BDM Depot
Because of the size of the depots it is difficult to
show an overall view from ground level.
These 4 pictures of BDM were taken by my colleague
Joanne Cleaver from the top deck of the cruise ship
Braemar.
Olympics 2012 BDM Depot-72
During training buses returned to the BDM depot for
lunch break. A wide variety of buses in use here.
Olympics 2012 BDM Depot-66
Directly
opposite BDM was London City Airport.
Olympics 2012 BDM Depot-65
Engineering
at each depot consisted of a temporary building suitable for light
repairs.
The buses here are waiting for the fitment of radios and Sat-Nav
equipment.
Olympics 2012 BDM Depot-55
It’s the
middle of July and BDM is starting to fill up with buses.
Olympics 2012 BDM Depot-44
The Braemar
makes an imposing sight alongside BDM.
Olympics 2012 BDM Depot-37
The start
of a large number of E400s to arrive at BDM.
Olympics 2012 BDM Depot-29
A common sight in the first few days were
buses arriving outside BDM and having to wait to pass through
security to enter.
Olympics 2012 BDA Depot-14
Ulsterbus
supplied a large number of double deck buses and also some coaches.
These are pictured at BDA depot.
Olympics 2012 BDA Depot-10
BDA Depot
was built in an L-shape. Again buses from a large variety of operators
can be seen in this view.
Olympics 2012 BDA Depot-2
This picture
shows the entry into BDA with buses passing through one of the 4 fuelling
and washing lines prior to being parked.
The Routes
There
were literally hundreds of routes.
For the
athletes they were based around the Athletes Bus Station which was
officially known as The Athletes Mall (AM1). This was located alongside the
Athletes Village in the North-East corner of the park. Athletes not only had
to be carried from there to other venues inside the park such as The
Stadium, Aquatic Centre, Copper Box and Velodrome but also to the many
venues such as Wimbledon, Wembley, O2 Arena, Eton Dorney, Excel and
Greenwich Royal Park which are located all around London. In addition to
these venues there were many training facilities located at such places as
Brentwood School, Eltham College and Goresbrook Leisure Centre where many
athletes went prior to their events.
The main
Media accommodation was based around Russell Square. This was virtually
closed for the duration of The Games and there was a continuous flow of
buses from there to The Olympic Park. This was a 24hr operation as much of
the media were working through the night broadcasting back to their
countries on the other side of the world. Again the media had its own bus
station officially known as Media Mall (MM1) located in the North-West
corner of the park.
Each bus
carried a small destination board in the front windscreen and a larger one
on the side next to the door. A typical bus in AM1 might show on the front
AM1-AQC which means it was operating between The Athletes Mall and The
Aquatic Centre in The Olympic Park. However not some of the others were
quite so obvious. A bus showing MM1-IO2 was travelling between The Media
Mall and The Intercontinental Hotel in Park Lane.
To assist
buses to run freely through London a series of roads called The Olympic
Route Network (ORN) was operated. To be awarded The Olympic Games it is
compulsory to have this after the problems experienced in Atlanta in 1996
where athletes had difficulty reaching their venues. The main route was
between Russell Square and The Olympic Park. It was by no means the shortest
distance between the two points but to assist the buses traffic lights were
re-phased, right turns stopped and most of all Games Lanes were introduced.
A combination of all these meant that
buses ran freely most of the time except where the occasional accident held
up everybody.
The route
also ran out to Heathrow Airport as this was the main arrival/departure
point for athletes. Uniquely the buses were allowed to use Constitution Hill
and pass in front of Buckingham Palace. Over the period of The Olympics the
M4 had a weight restriction over the elevated section meaning that any
vehicles over 7.5 tonnes were banned. Special dispensation was given to
Games Vehicles to allow them to use this section provided they displayed a
VAPP (Vehicle Access and Parking Permit) and most importantly there was a
15sec gap between each bus.
Because
on many days parts of the ORN were being used for events buses were diverted
away on to the Alternative ORN this usually occurring at weekends. The vast
majority of drivers were not from London so to assist them, apart from
original route training all buses carried a radio, a special set-up
satellite navigation system which had the ORN built into it and also a
tracking device whereby control always new exactly where the bus was.
A
combination of single deckers and double deckers were used but because of
height restriction through The Blackwall Tunnel only single deckers could be
used for venues south of the river.
10010 Mile End Station.
10010 passes Mile End Station on its way to Central London.
10012 Canning Town Station
10012 passes underneath Canning Town flyover on its way to The Olympic
Park to pick up athletes.
10029 Olympic Park
10029 having picked up athletes at The Olympic Mall on the way to The
Excel Arena.
27654 Buckingham Palace
One unique feature of the routes was that the Olympic Network Route
passed in front of Buckingham Palace.
Here 27654 is on its way to
Heathrow.
19475 Olympic Park.
Because of the large number of buses passing through The Athletes Mall
it was necessary to employ a large team of marshals to keep everything
running smoothly.
Here 19475 leaves the park watched by one of them.
Olympics 2012 Media Bus Station
Unlike the athletes mall which was open air, the media mall was
undercover.
Olympics 2012 Olympic Park – 55
The athletes mall also had a small staging area. Buses from different
operators wait in the rain.
Olympics 2012 Olympic Park-53
There were always plenty of Games Makers to supervise the loading of
buses. Lots of them here but no athletes!
Ulsterbus 2262
There was a large fleet from Ulsterbus driven by Stagecoach drivers.
This one waits to go to The Excel Arena.
19324 Eton Manor
Prior to
departure from the depot each day each bus had to show the correct
information on the front.
The destination – in this case AM1-GLT, Athletes
Mall to Goresbrook Leisure Centre – was shown at the top of the front
screen;
this information was then repeated on the nearside front window in a
larger format.
B8153 was that buses running number which it kept all day and
was how each driver identified which bus to take
and finally the blue VAPP
pass without which the bus would not be allowed in any venue.
If this pass
was lost this would be seen as a serious breach of security.
In addition it
had to have a large Games Vehicle poster on the back.
The Buses and Coaches
There
were very few parts of The British Isles that the buses and coaches involved
did not come from. Stagecoach supplied buses from Exeter in the West, to
Hastings in the South-East to Manchester in the North-West to Newcastle in
the North-East, Cwmbran in Wales, Perth and Ayr in Scotland and even
Ulsterbus sent over more than 100 Wright Eclipse double-deckers and over 50
Translink coaches.
Stagecoach double-deckers were all Enviro 400’s with various brandings and
liveries and Enviro 300s were used where single deckers were required. One
oddity however was the arrival of 27594 which is an early ADL 300 which
stayed all the way through to the end of The Paralympics.
To
supplement the Stagecoach buses over 40 more operators were brought in to
make up the full requirement along with the staff to drive them. Go-Ahead
supplied buses from Wilts & Dorset, Brighton Hove & District, Metrobus and
London General along with the former X90 coach fleet from Oxford. Other
London based operators were Metroline, Abellio, Arriva and Sullivan Buses.
Another large number of buses came from National Express in Birmingham and
Coventry.
Local
operators to supply coaches were Heyfordian, Marshalls of Leighton Buzzard,
Red Rose, Uno of Hatfield, Redline Buses and Thamesdown.
Because
of all the operators being contractors rather than sponsors all of their
fleet names had to be covered over although route branding was still
permitted. All vehicles had a large vinyl across the back showing it was a
Games Vehicle so there were no problems when using Games Lanes.
Drivers
could only drive buses from their own companies and whilst this did cause a
few problems from time to time overall there was enough flexibility to cover
this.
27594
Throughout the Games and Paralympics one bus from Stagecoach remained
unique.
27594 was an original style ADL 300 from East Midlands.
Go Ahead 7085 (Moss Motors)
The Go-Ahead Group supplied vehicles from all over the south of England.
Pictured at Eton Manor it is from The Isle of Wight.
Brighton & Hove 551.
Another Go-Ahead bus was Brighton 551 again pictured at Eton Manor.
East Yorkshire 759
East Yorkshire 759 pictured in The Athletes Mall operating an internal
service to The Aquatic Centre.
These buses mainly operated inside The
Park and could often be seen in the background on the TV News coverage.
Heyfordian 4078 NU
Local operator Heyfordian supplied a number of coaches mainly carrying
the Media. 4078 NU is pictured at BDM.
Redline MX58KYT and MX60GXJ
Another local operator was Redline Buses of Aylesbury. MX58KYT and
MX60GXJ are both seen at BDA
starting the trip back to Aylesbury having completed their Olympic
duties.
Red Rose MX61BAU
Also from Aylesbury was Red Rose MX61BAU this time at BDM.
It shows The
Games Vehicle signage was applied to the rear of all vehicles.
Stephensons YN07LHU
Stephensons of Essex supplied a small number of double deckers.
YN07LHU
is pictured leaving the secure area of Eton Manor.
Thamesdown 413.
Thamesdown from Swindon supplied some brand new Wright boded buses.
This
will become 413 when it returns to Swindon and is pictured at BDM.
Sullivan Buses EL04SUL.
Sullivan Buses are based at South Mimms and operated several routes one
of which ran from Lee Valley Water Park
to The Comet Hotel Hatfield
outside which it is pictured.
Oxford 31 Eton Manor-2 29th July
10 years
after they rolled off the production line together former Oxford X90 fleet
Nrs 31 and 32 are still side by side.
32 is on the Wembley Arena run and 31
is heading for The Mall.
Branding
Many
buses arrived in London still with their local branding in place although
this only applied to Stagecoach vehicles. Although any identity to the buses
ownership had to be covered over the branding was permitted to stay in
place.
Some of
the branding was intricate and tried to encourage passengers to go to the
beach, the zoo and the airport or to use The Park and Ride to get into town.
There was more modest branding just showing the places the route served.
10033. Eton Manor.
Brand new 10033 at Eton Manor. After The Olympics it will move to a
service at Warwick University.
19688 Royal Docks.
19688 from Hull is pictured at BDM.
19565 Royal Docks
27555 Northern Staging Area
27555 from Portsmouth is pictured at Heathrow.
27559 West Ham
Also from Portsmouth is 27559 pictured at BDA.
27577 Stratford
27577 is from Canterbury and is seen passing through Stratford on its
way to Heathrow.
27601 Canning Town
A long way from home is 27601 from Scotland seen passing under The
Canning Town flyover.
27612 Welcome Centre
Also a
long way from its home in Glenrothes is 27612 seen outside The Welcome
Centre at The Olympic Park.
27619
Northern Staging Area.
27619 pictured here at Heathrow would normally be operating The Park and
Ride service at Winchester.
27632 North Greenwich
Also from Scotland is 27632 The Caithness Compass.
27650 Canning Town.
27650 would normally be found working the long South Coast route 700 but
here it is at Canning Town.
27677 Hyde Park Corner.
Another bus from South Coast is 27677 pictured at Hyde Park Corner.
27695 Eton Manor.
27695 pictured at Eton Manor is from Cwmbran in South Wales.
27706 27713 and 27716
27706, 27713 AND 27716 are all from Liverpool and show simple route
branding.
27706 is at Eton Manor, 27713 at The Welcome Centre and 27716
at Stratford.
27734 and 27742 Northern Staging Area
27734 and 27742 are both pictured at The Northern Staging Area,
Heathrow.
27749 Terminal 5
27749 has local route branding from Morecambe. It is pictured at
Terminal 5 at Heathrow.
27756 Eton Manor
I believe there was only one gold bus at The Games and this was
represented by Aldershot’s 27756 pictured at Eton Manor.
36499 Canning Town
Arrows
branded 36499 from Hastings arrived just before the end of The Paralympics
and is seen here at Canning Town.
The Paralympics
It’s
August 18th and after 5 days rest at home its back to BDA for The
Paralympics. Again very few people are there so I take the opportunity to go
to UDAC to pick up my accreditation before the queues start. It’s also
another change of accommodation this time with a move to Caledonian Road in
North London. It is situated between Holloway Prison, Pentonville Prison and
Arsenal Football Club. It’s the longest distance I have had to travel to
work.
The
services for The Paralympics were similar to those used for The Olympics but
on a much reduced format.
Most of
the double deckers returned home only leaving enough to cover staff
transport and carry the media. There was however an influx of single
deckers. Many competitors in The Paralympics use a wheelchair and normally a
bus only has the ability to carry one wheelchair passenger at a time. This
would be totally impracticable so all of seats from the lower section were
removed and replaced with wheelchair facilities so that it was possible to
carry six, although only five on the newest buses because of the position of
the emergency exit being located on the offside centre. This left about 20
seats in the rear section of the bus.
Many of
the events were held at The Excel Centre, O2 Arena, Greenwich Royal Park but
unlike The Olympics, Wembley, Wimbledon, Lee Valley and Hadleigh Farm were
not used. Many of the cycling events were held at Brands Hatch.
For the
last night at The Paralympics I am moved again this time to The Ibis at The
Excel Centre overlooking The Dock and The O2 Arena. This time is the
shortest distance to work – just 3 stops on the DLR.
27605
27605 shows how the lower level of seating was removed and replaced by
positions for 6 wheelchairs.
On the newer buses this was reduced to 5
because of the emergency door being located in the centre on the
offside.
Paralympics 2012 BDA Depot-14
BDA depot and virtually all the double deckers have gone.
Most of the
fleet are out transporting athletes back to Heathrow but there are still
a large number waiting to see if they are needed.
Paralympics 2012 Excel Centre-13
View from The Ibis Hotel over the old docks. I cannot believe how many
of the old cranes have been left in place.
Paralympics 2012 Olympic Village-3
Its going home day and 27716 loads up with members of the Chinese team
in The Olympic Village.
Paralympics Hungarian Team.
Members of the Hungarian Paralympic Team on the bus in The Olympic
Village ready to return to Heathrow.
27575 Heathrow Terminal 5
27575 outside Terminal 3 at Heathrow having dropped off Hungarian
athletes ready to fly home.
36485
Some new buses arrived for The Paralympics. These included 36485 at Eton
Manor.
Because of the centre emergency exit it only has 5 wheelchair
positions.
Other Games Vehicles
Many
other types of vehicles were used at The Olympics.
Teams
arrived at Heathrow with vast quantities of equipment to use in their
sports. It would have never been possible to carry it all on the coaches.
UPS had the contract for the logistics and had a large fleet of trucks and
drivers to bring it to the various venues. When leaving Heathrow the coach
was given a number and a similar given to the truck which in theory followed
it to The Olympic Village. Hopefully then the two vehicles with matching
numbers were reunited!
The
International Olympic Committee has many VIPs and they were transported in a
fleet of BMWs. These had been suitably branded for the event. I believe
there were about 4500 of them and not unsurprising at the end of the event
rumour had it that there were some missing! Probably in containers being
shipped around the world.
Many
companies particularly sponsors of The Olympics used The Games to advertise
their products often involving wrap advertising buses and coaches. Samsung
and Visa in particular had many buses running around London particularly in
The East End advertising their products.
Brazil
hosts the next Games in 2016 and again they used the chance to promote their
country.
Olympics 2012 Eton Manor (BMW Cars)-5 28th
July
BMW supplied a large fleet of cars to carry VIPs. Many of them are
pictured here at Eton Manor.
They were driven by the familiar sight of
The Games Makers.
Olympics 2012 Northern Staging UPS trucks.
Along with the large quantity of coaches at Heathrow was a big fleet of
UPS trucks seen here at The Northern Staging Area.
Brazil Olympic Coach
Seen here at Hyde Park Corner coach BX12CVZ advertises Brazil hosting
the 2016 Games.
Behind it is one of The Harry Potter buses used between
Victoria and Leavesden Studios.
DW 291
Also advertising Brazil as a holiday destination is DW 291 seen here at
Kings Cross.
First 36150 and Go-Ahead WVL 277
Two of
the main sponsors of The Olympics were Samsung and Visa who both had large
numbers of wrap ad buses in service in London.
First VN36150 is seen at
Aldgate and Go-Ahead WVL 277 on The Old Kent Road.
Paralympics
2012 West Ham Depot 11th September
As well
as a large fleet of 5 series BMWs there were also many of these 4 door Minis
used mainly be LOCOG staff. This one is pictured at BDA.
First
36182 and 36191
First ran several Park and Ride routes to The Olympic Park. 36182
arrives at Stratford and 36191 at Canning Town.
Olympics 2012 Olympic Park 32/33 and 34
Inside
The Olympic Park a fleet of small buses carried members of The Workforce
around the 3 mile perimeter.
Security
One of the now excepted features of the modern Olympic Games is security. If
you have any form of involvement then you will have been subjected to many
tests before you are accepted to be a member of the games team.
Both of the depots had 24hr security by G4S and in addition buses kept at
BDA were housed in a secure pound because they were to carry the athletes.
To enter this you had to pass through airport style security which in the
first few days led to some conflict. Having just had your breakfast you were
then given 2 bottles of cold drinks and a packed lunch to last you the day.
Then you had to walk into the next building and pass through security which
promptly took the drink from you as it was more than the 100ml liquid
allowance. More drink was available at the venues but it was warm having
been outside all the time. Attempts were made to resolve this situation
including being asked to drink from the bottle in view of security after
which it was then OK to bring it through. Eventually an agreement was made
that drivers could take 2 bottles through. Also T keys, small screw-drivers
and spanners which drivers carry were also removed. Again an agreement
allowing ‘tools of the trade’ to be carried through was agreed.
Before leaving BDA each bus had a security inspection whereby all opening
panels had to be sealed with a LOGOC blue tape and this was inspected on
entry into venues. The driver had to make sure they had their accreditation
with them and that all compulsory signs were on the bus.
The terms clean bus and dirty bus became familiar. Whilst the bus was in a
secure area it was clean but as soon as it went to an outside venue it
became dirty and on returning the athletes were dropped off in a dirty area
and had to pass through security again to become clean.
Each time you arrived at a venue the bus was security checked. Sometimes
this was G4S and other times The Army. They used mirrors to check underneath
the bus and long poles to look at the roof. Again all passengers
accreditation was checked.
If you were going to The Welcome Centre at The Olympic Village in addition
there was a team of Brown Spaniels who checked all around the outside of the
bus and also the interior. The steering wheel and cab controls were also
swabbed and analysed.
Security could vary from venue to venue but in general it was quickly and
efficiently carried out with the minimum of delays.
OLYMPICS 2012 OLYMPIC PARK-4 11TH JULY
When returning with athletes to The Olympic Park they
were dropped off on F finger
as they would have been
‘dirty’
and then pass through the security tents at the far end
to become
‘clean’
prior to entry into The Olympic Village.
OLYMPICS 2012 BDA-4 11TH JULY
At BDA all buses were kept in a secure fenced area.
Drivers had to pass through security to gain access.
This picture shows a
large number of Wright bodied buses from Belfast which have just arrived.
OLYMPICS 2012 BDA-25 5TH SEPTEMBER
Entrance to BDA depot. All buses are checked on both
entry and exit. In addition all staff are searched including their bags.
OLYMPICS 2012 ETON MANOR-18 29TH JULY
A concrete barrier separated buses carrying The Media
from The Athletes buses at Eton Manor.
This picture is taken from an
athletes bus and shows media buses on layover.
OLYMPICS 2012 WEMBLEY SECURITY 12TH AUGUST
This was a typical security area on arrival at a venue
in this case Wembley Arena.
A temporary building has been erected and here
The Army are waiting to carry out security checks.
After passing through and
dropping athletes you had to come out again into the
‘dirty’
area
which meant being searched again on re-entry to collect them.
27693 TERMINAL 4 HEATHROW.
On buses carrying athletes all opening panels both
inside and out had to be sealed with blue tape.
27693 has lots of blue tape
as it waits at Terminal 4 at Heathrow.
Final Thoughts
The
chance to be part of The Greatest Show on Earth was too good to pass over,
and when the opportunity to apply came along I never had any hesitation. It
was the biggest event of its kind ever to be staged in this country and most
of us will never see the likes again.
At times
it was frustrating, boring and meant working all hours of the day and night
6 days a week. However all of that was well compensated for by playing an
important part in the smooth running of The Games.
It was a
chance to meet other members of staff from all over the country but sadly
even after 10 weeks I had no idea what any of The Geordies, Scouscers or
Glaswegians was saying but I expect they thought the same of me.
Most of
my time was spent working in Panthers Davison at BDA run by Dave Conway from
Cleethorpes and what an enjoyable experience it was. Nobody had any
experience of this sort of thing but somehow people pulled together and I
think I can say Athletes, LOCOG and officials were all pleased with the
results.
So the
time eventually came to pack our bags for the last time, shake a lot of
hands and it was a case of ‘See you in
Rio’
Paralympics 2012 Gavin
It’s almost the last day of The Paralympics and I am about to set off to
Heathrow Terminals 4 and 5 via The Welcome Centre.
My charge for the run
is 27706 from Liverpool. In the background there are now just a few
buses parked at Eton Manor.
Olympics 2012 Yolane Kukla.
I suppose all the drivers were hoping they would carry either a
celebrity or Gold Medal winner but the chances were slim.
I was lucky in
that I picked up at Heathrow Yolane Kukla who was a member of
Australia’s Gold Medal winning relay swimming team.
Those medals really
are big and heavy!
Paralympics 2012 Panthers sign.
It’s the last day and a new sign has appeared in Panthers office window.
Made up in the style of a destination board it shows we are at the end.
27791 West Ham Depot
27791
stands in BDA Depot. The sign in the windscreen says it is not to be used
anymore
as it has been decommissioned and is waiting to be returned to its
home depot.