The Incredible Stockwell Bus Garage

Go-Ahead London invited me down to take an inside look around Stockwell Bus Garage - this incredible architectural building from the 1950's from which seventeen South London bus routes operate.
Follow TubeMapper Luke on Instagram : / tubemapper
Great article on the Beauty of Transport website for further reading : thebeautyoftra...
My thanks to Go-Ahead and everyone that we met on the day.

[@Vanmanyo]

Geoff may be doing more bus videos but I'm all here for it!

[@Itsjustesh]

Same ngl

[@raphaelnikolaus0486]

I'm sure we can all learn more love for the buses, learn to appreciate buses - and busrides - more. At least I am.

[@lancergbp]

Buses are what majority of people take and are objectively better.

[@TheHoveHeretic]

Buses are as crucial to London as the tube, the overground or the mainline railways .... I just wish the trams still were!!

[@greebowarrior]

you wait ages for one... 😝

[@dominicskelton3031]

That is a gorgeous space - I've never seen a bus garage look so light and airy.

[@onlineo2263]

snap. love that roof.

[@chadoakley8505]

On one of my trips to London, my AirBnB was a couple blocks away from the Bus Garage, as I was walking to Stockwell Tube Station the first time, I passed by and stopped and looked at awe at all the buses and the magnificent Concrete Roof. (retired Civil Engineer here) After a brief moment of wonder, I was shocked back to reality by a very close and loud bus horn and the realization I had chosen a bad spot to stop and gawk.

[@ArthurTK26]

Loving the bus content, they’re so under-appreciated, our buses and drivers. Great video, and I’m only a minute in

[@RichardWatt]

​@@geofftech2I'm loving Coventry's electric buses 😊

[@radiosnail]

It might sound like hyperbole, but it is a sort of" bus cathedral." Well worth it for the view of that magnificent roof. Were that a railway station we'd have all heard of it.

[@questioned54]

I don't think that's hyperbole at all

[@Jsjsjjssjs]

Yellow being on time, green being too late, and red being too early is INSANE, who designed that??

[@JBLewis]

I was pondering that too.

[@Michael75579]

Agreed - I'd have used green for on time, yellow for late and red for early, on the basis that a bus running early is a bigger problem than it running late; you can get to the stop on time and find you've missed your bus.

[@gregoryclark8217]

I think it may be like this; green - the bus needs to GO to catch up, red - the bus needs to STOP to hang back. In my work, designing railway signalling, we have a similar colour system with wiring and components being removed drawn in green, because they are going, and new wiring and components being drawn in red, because they are staying/not moving.

[@surreygoldprospector576]

I agree, but I guess green means the bus should GO faster, and red means it should STOP for a while to correct the service.

[@biscuit715]

@@gregoryclark8217 Yeah I thought so too. Red is stop, wait, green is go and hurry up, yellow is in the middle

[@stephenswift9868]

You don’t have to be into buses to like this his building. Magnificent is the word! Thanks for the guided tour!

[@matthewjburt6482]

Shame I missed you walking around my home garage. My training bus is the broken-down one that was in several shots. It is a stunning garage and I love to start my working day admiring its immense openness. Never gets boring.

[@DoubleDeckerAnton]

Thankyou Geoff, for documenting London's various forms of transport.

[@coraldegouveia1535]

DOUBLE DECKER ANTON!!!

[@Professor_sckinnctn]

So that's why Luke's Instagram had some great photos of buses!

[@robWolvesfan1]

I remember my year group in primary school having a trip here. As a bus-mad child the London General (as it was then) staff gave me a tie, maps and two sets of destination blind rolls. Greatest treat ever

[@PopeLando]

Haven't watched yet, just wanted to say that Stockwell Garage has been one of my favourite pieces of architecture for years! It's 72 years old!

[@teapot2186]

Hats off to everyone keeping our busses running!

[@Richardincancale]

It’s truly a cathedral for buses!

[@arilebon]

You both have a on-air good chemistry.

[@telhudson863]

That early shot (0.21) of Regent IIIs and Routemasters. Magnificent!

[@GojiMet86]

6:14 In New York, those rotation sheets are called Run Sheets, and each run (rotation) corresponds to a driver. Interlining is common here, even on busier routes, so a driver may do two trips (for one roundtrip) on one route, then switch to another. Interesting seeing headway management in action; a passenger might get the impression that nothing is being done to fix gaps, but someone actually is paying attention to them.

[@lzh4950]

On the other hand interlining is uncommon in HK & Singapore. When Go-Ahead started running public buses in the latter & brought interlining along with it, it sparked a mass resignation a few months later & another bus operator (SBS Transit, owned by ComfortDelgro, which also runs MetroLine in London) had to temporarily lend some drivers to cover the shortfall in manpower

[@137Rita]

Amazing building and always great to see Tubemapper!

[@dereksbryan]

I have always admired this building (I even delivered parts there a couple of times for Volvo Bus & Truck). What I wonder now is why, as this is undoubtably the best layout for such an operation, more were not constructed in this manner. Thornton Heath and South Croydon garages were built around the same time, following Blitz damage during WW2, and yet they remain box and pillar types.

[@paulikxp]

I had the great pleasure to be part of the Route 11 running day in November 2014, which started at and in the Stockwell bus garage. I was driving Green Line RT3238. We had a superb line-up of RTs, just like in the olden days. What a magnificent day that was! Thanks for another great video!

[@iansmithtravels]

Great to see Luke in another video Geoff! Always a welcome collab 👍🏼

[@andylawsonHeisenberg]

Not anywhere close to that scale but watching this takes me back to travelling with my dad when he drove for Eastern Counties in King’s Lynn. I used to spend a lot of time in the depot/garage many, many years ago. 😊

[@AchyutChaudhary]

*Love the Bus series Geoff (& Luke)…keep it up!!* 👍

[@DoubleDeckerAnton]

Great to see Stockwell garage in all its glory. Camberwell would be a good part two, to your London bus garage series, as it is ginormous and well over a 100 years old.

[@Londonbuses179]

Agreed!

[@mattvjmeasures]

"I'll 'ave you Butler!". Fascinating video on the buses. Thanks 👍

[@darrellleverkuhn2204]

Wow! What a great building!! Wish I could go in and see it. Thanks for sharing with you. Plus I love when you and Luke join forces.

[@sbv-zs7wz]

What a great time capsule video, especially seeing the Boris busses being retired :)

[@DavidTwiss-kv7nx]

Thanks Geoff, brought back memories when bus spotting with my Red Rover in the 60s

[@darganx]

70 years old and still looks so modern! The architechture around the time of the Festival of Britain is really inspiring.

[@daff.wallace2267]

Thanks for showing us this amazing building, oh and the buses as well. Always great to catch your videos Geoff from a Aussie.

[@michaelessig6376]

Thanks Geoff for making the everyday extraordinary. I appreciate your highlights of some of the 600 people that work there. One of your best videos. Thanks.

[@AJSAN1971]

I used to work there in the early 90s as a controller. Happy days.

[@simonmcowan6874]

Many years ago I was a bus conductor in North Kent, I remember distinctly the smell of the bus garage, it's unique.

[@EngineerLewis]

My grandma lived in Stockwell and I remember walking past this garage in the 1970s - thanks for an interesting inside video of it! 🙏🚌

[@Junglie_ex]

Love utility 50s architecture.. Nice one Geoff

[@ashfuller3480]

It's always good to see BusMapper Luke in a video

[@ktwoa]

The two of you together was really nice!

[@stevieinselby]

4:40 I think you'll find, as the video clearly shows, the easiest way to get under a bus is _to be a pigeon_ 🐦

[@johnhoward2402]

Brilliant Geoff. I remember going there in the early 1960s to see RTL 3 ( with the reverse body for right hand loading.)

[@mpersad]

It’s so fascinating to see how professional and dedicated all the staff are to delivering a good service to their passengers. Very impressive, really great video of something we take for granted.

[@MidlandMark]

I remember going to an Open Day there back in early 1980's - as a teenager, I was absolutely blown away by it, especially when they pointed out the garage was, when it opened, the largest Unsupported Roofed (no internal pillars) Building in the WORLD.

[@finnlewis1924]

Saw you the other day Geoff in Brighton outside the restaurant- what a gent, always great to meet someone same on and off camera. What a legend

[@HJJSL-bl8kk]

It's my favourite local building. A close friend lived nearby and we always sneaked a look inside, back when it was all Routemasters.

[@TonyTheYouTuba]

Great stuff, what an amazing building and I love to geek out and see how these things are managed on a technical level. Great to see Luke taking this superb opportunity to get some unique pics and thanks for the Go-Ahead folks for making it possible!

[@hellofinepeople]

I’m genuinely gobsmacked at the beauty of the garage’s interior

[@kanedaku]

Born and bred in Brixton, have known and loved the garage for most of my life, but this is the most detail I've ever seen of the inside! Great video.

[@Alan_UK]

Brilliant video. I love art deco and it doesn't get any better than this building. Thank you Geoff & Luke.

[@southcalder]

London has an impressive amount of enclosed bus garages. When I was a bus driver in Bristol, most buses lived outdoors. Pain in the butt on frosty mornings because a diesel bus takes an age to defrost and you only had a 15 minutes between your book on time and depart time, and in that time you also had to book on with the duty manager, collect the vehicle turn card (which stays with the bus all day), do your vehicle pre start checks and stop at the gatehouse to be loaded with Metro newspapers. Storing buses indoors means they are good to go pretty much straight away.

[@Michael75579]

Annandale Street bus depot in Edinburgh has a bus wash, and on Doors Open Day they have a bus driving loops around the depot taking people through it. They also have examples of the various models of bus that have been used in Edinburgh over the years which you can have a wander round, sit in the driver's seat etc.

[@BrianMurfitt]

Thanks Geoff, that was a real indepth video about Stockwell Bus Garage. I've been past the building, but always wondered what it looked like inside? Well, thanks to you now I know. 🎥🚌🤗

[@HenrysAdventures]

What a fantastic building, interesting to see what goes on behind the scenes and good to see Luke to!

[@_Ben4810]

It's sister building is the Bowmaker (now Finning) Caterpillar construction equipment workshops at Cannock.

[@simontaylor2319]

Adie, Button and Partners designed this building with Thomas Bilbow, who was architect to the London Transport Executive, and the structural engineer from the firm of Alfred Edward Beer. Opened in April 1952, it was, at the time of construction, Europe's largest unsupported roof span. Constructed in reinforced concrete due to a shortage of steel at the time

[@kieranstravels]

Stockwell is truly a beautiful depot - Thanks for the tour Geoff!

[@michellebell5092]

London Transport, TfL , definitely has the most spectacular architecture and design.

[@petermarcham8729]

This visit brought back happy memories for me Geoff and Eugene. I travelled to Stockwell using my Red Rover ticket in the 60s. Thanks again for a great video and explanations.

[@djcwey2402]

Seems only a short while since you discovered the joys of bus operations Geoff. And only a few weeks since you professed a desire to visit Stockwell garage. If only everything in life came so quickly... Although we can only guess at for how many years you keep this a secret. Another bus garage that I'd suggest is worth a visit for it's historical interest is London United's Fulwell. Extract from Wikipedia: "When new, the 11-acre (4.5 ha) site was described as one of the finest plants in the country and was the main depot of London United Tramways with 20 covered tracks. The garage is nowadays divided into two sections, one used by London United, with an entrance off Wellington Road, and the other by Transport UK London Bus with an entrance off Stanley Road. Fulwell was the first garage in London to receive trolleybuses in 1931, and together with Isleworth was the last to operate them until 1962. The last trams operated from the depot in 1935, although some of the tram tracks were, until recently, still visible in the cobbled surface of the Stanley Road entrance."

[@esjay2011]

Thanks

[@PeterGaunt]

Excellent Geoff and Luke.

[@NewCityMedia]

Great video Geoff. It takes me back. I visited it back in the 60's (yes, 60's!) when my cousin drove Routemasters out of there.

[@NoelplayzGD]

Wow Geoff. You entertain me every day with your trains video like secrets of the central line :D

[@tramcrazy]

Wow, that looks absolutely incredible. I imagine it was cool to photograph for Luke with the contrast between the amazing concrete architecture and the bright red buses.

[@Kevin_Hones]

Wow - that roof is stunning! Thank you Geoff - this is a special one. And a wave to Luke - top photos, top hats, top bloke 😀

[@smogmonster1876]

Arriva North East could learn a thing or ten here. Fantastic Video Geoff. Safe travels.

[@stashedawayman1521]

Thanks Geoff. I went specifically to look at the bus garage last autumn and was stunned by the interior working space. It is a majorly important building for London in terms of function and architecture. I'm not really into buses, however I was born in Stockwell in 1950 but for the last seventy years have lived in Hertfordshire. The only similar building I can recall is the now demolished (2001) Brynmawr Rubber Factory in South Wales. The Stockwell garage was built using concrete due to the shortage and cost of steel in the post war period. There must be scope for more London bus garage videos but you've done the largest.

[@rapideyephotography9782]

With all that space I would still manage to reverse into something. Thanks Geoff and Luke for a great tour. Concrete at its best!

[@wrightwells]

Fantastic that such architecture is listed.

[@francisnewmarch6837]

Another cracking insight. I've passed many times and wanted to be Nosey but you've do it for me! Cheers and regards from Barnes

[@dancedecker]

Thanks Geoff. An absolutely excellent video as usual. I went to an open day a year or two ago at Stockwell and to see it full of Routemasters, RTs, the unique V3 Volvo Ailsa and even a DMS, was truly exceptional. It was built like that, just after the war whilst there was still quite a shortage of metals, especially steel, so obviously the less steel that was needed, the better. A side issue was the incredible open plan feel of the place, which does make one wonder why it wasn't repeated more. It's held up by pressure, using the '3 library books' principle. The middle book stays put by default, if you apply sufficient pressure to the 2 outer ones. It also means that it might be impossible to ever knock it down. Not that anyone with even half a brain should ever want to. It's magnificent!!

[@padesignconsultancy505]

I once visited the Battersea Bus Garage...I fell asleep on the last C3 bus of the night, didn't wake up at the terminal of Clapham Junction, and ended up at the Battersea Bus Garage. I only awoke because the driver was attempting a three-point turn. I was on the top and deck and when I realized where I was, I ran down and locked eyes with the driver. At that point, I understood I had 5 seconds to get out...Once outside and seeing where I was, I got on the night bus and got home.Turned out I was closer to home from the bus garage that I was from Clapham Junction!

[@Nooticus]

Truly phenomenal video. What an incredible building and the interviews with the people keeping the great performance of our buses were very insightful

[@robertofraser101]

Geoff the bus train legend video brought together brilliantly as always enjoyed thanks

[@tonys1636]

Stockwell looked best with RT's and RM's in it. That 77 road ran from Raynes Park to Euston/Kings Cross via Wimbledon and Clapham Junction when I was at Merton (AL). We shared the 77a with SW which ran from Tooting Broadway to Euston via Clapham Junction. There was a 77b from Tooting Broadway to Wallington via Carshalton. Peak hours the 77b was extended to Clapham Junction. 2 and 3 minute headways were common then, after catching two sets of lights at red there would be 3 buses in a line, didn't take long for 6 or 7, the point inspector going nuts working out which ones to turn short of destination.

[@evanw2164]

Beautiful. Thanks Geoff, as always!

[@CloudUnitedFC]

Nice video geoff i loved your secrets of the underground vids

[@rogercruickshank2655]

What a very cool building, just stunning looking, another great video Geoff 👍🇳🇿

[@Hanzilla75]

Fantastic video Geoff, I have always wanted to eperience that building. Thanks so much for the tour. I hope I get to experience it myself one day.

[@greathairyfool]

What an amazing space

[@chidinduegeneonu5285]

Very good , As a Bus content and very hardworking i love it

[@Paco_Gaepedores]

Lovely video woohoo ❤ Goodnight from London, England 🇬🇧 ❤️

[@wanderingoff13]

Wow, what a beautiful building!!

[@VarissNI]

Geoff! Will you be visiting Belfast in October for the opening of the new Belfast Grand Central Station, whilst it may not be a national rail station, could still be worth a ticking off 😉 the building is spectacular!

[@TheGreatPOD]

Talking about headways, I live in the San Francisco Bay area and was riding BART with a couple of friends on our way to work and I was talking about headways on the BART system and one of my friends was unfamiliar with the term and asked me "what's a headway" I being the person I am, responded "about 10 pounds "the young lady sitting next to us near about, spit up her coffee through her nose. What can I say when you're on your way to work sometimes you just have to crack a joke when the perfect set up line is given to you. Great video as always, keep up the good work. I look forward to your next entry.

[@apuldram]

Btw. A headway on railways is the theoretical signal distance between trains. That said I’m not sure of your joke… despite 20 years in the Bay Area 🤔 Perhaps if you did it in kilograms?

[@Anonymoususer_8823]

I have to say that the bus garage at Stockwell in South London is very unique and large enough to accommodate double decker buses coming in and out of the depot. Lovely design that the bus depot was built.

[@eight-two]

My first place of work when I passed my PCV test in 2001 where I ended up in the 345 roster.

[@DEEDUBZ]

It's an amazing location. I've passed there so much that it's become a normal ting for me. I almost forget just how great that place is, because it seems normal to me. A Secondary School Friend lived right opposite the Station growing up. He got obsessed with Buses and eventually became a Bus Driver.

[@markjlewis]

What a magnificent building, many thanks for sharing.

[@Mpower-hz4gk]

Thank you for taking me to all these places I may never get a chance to see for myself !

[@waleedarif6740]

Geoff, I'm 34 but if you can agree with me, all transport vehicles from the 20th century, whether it is buses, cars or trains, will always be the best to look at when it comes to vehicle spotting.

[@01cthompson]

I had aunts and an uncle that worked for a bus service in Scotland many years ago. One of the aunts was a bus cleaner and said while she was cleaning they would be driving the buses around the terminal for servicing, repairs, washing,etc. You had to watch your step when you got off because you didn't know where you'd be.

[@jamesgilbart2672]

Great video. Incredible that a mundane bus garage should have such soaring architecture and that so much activity goes on behind the scenes.

[@lachd2261]

What a magnificent building! Really enjoying the bus content. I particularly love that shot at 11:41

[@travelswithjess]

What a beautiful bus garage! Thanks for the video Geoff 😀

[@greentravels2850]

Awesome architecture! I love those arches!! I’m glad you both got to have a wander around in there. Never knew about “headway” before; jealous of that eight minutes or so, normal buses in my area are every 30 to 50 minutes!!

[@guillaumemaurice3503]

Thank you for sharing the video, Geoff it was very interesting. ❤

[@t.p.mckenna]

Was escort on a great National Trust architecture tour on a Routemaster a few years back. Stockwell Garage was on the itinerary and although it was not planned, our driver worked his charm with someone and we were allowed to drive into the station and do a couple of revolutions of it. Swell!

[@MrGreatplum]

Wow, what a building. Thanks for showing us around :)

[@adamburgess1287]

One of the best days of my life was to be invited to (Go-Ahead) Northern in Murton, County Durham, in around 1985, because I sent in some drawings :-) I was 7yrs old, and to be in the pit watching the guys preparing some dual 'dual purpose' MCW Metrobuses for service was amazing! Cxxx OCN, I think! Life is a bit different now, but, that ride and that sound will never leave me.

[@AB-ii5pi]

SW is such an impressive GAL garages that operates many of my local routes I’d love to see more of that garage in person myself someday.

[@nmart1n]

Watching this with my son now. I would love to visit with him. I need to find out if they do open days.