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 My name is Tony Wimble, a good friend of Steve Barker, I have known him since, about 1986, when LT closed Bexleyheath Garage, and I was transfered to Plumstead Garage.

After a while I got on the 177 Express rota. When I first went on the route it was then between Thamesmead & Victoria, the first duty in the AM after reaching Victoria, run back out of service to the Elephant & Castle, to work a 177 service back to PD garage, if you had T1127 you had to work it in service, as it was the only one that had route and destination blinds (although a bit strange compared to the normal Titan or Olympians blinds) T1129 &T1130 both had a metal plate in the front blind boxes displaying Selkent Travel, so them two could not be used.

If T1127 was allocated to operate that first journey a lot of drivers would swap it over for one of the other ones, of the L260 -L262-L263 they could be used on normal 177 journeys (except L263) as if it was used (rarely) the engineers would tell drivers to run them journeys out of service, L263 being their show bus. When the 400 (bounty bus) started, yes LT maximized the mileage on the return and the outward journeys, although the first AM journey still did the run light to Elephant & Castle then normal 177 to Plumstead Garage, but instead of the 2nd half of that duty doing two PD to Elephant & Castle rounder's on the 177, it changed to two round trips on the 400 route, taking a bus out of the garage after your meal break.

A couple of times doing that duty myself I was asked if I would like to use one of PD's open top DM's (only on good weather days) so I did use one, I think it was DM948, but I am not 100% sure of the fleet number, there was only the one that had blinds fitted for the 400, and that duty was the only one that did a whole half on the 400 route leaving and returning to PD garage, without a 177 Express on it. The 2nd and 3rd AM duty's on 177Express both worked return journeys as 400 route after there breaks worked 400 route, then returned as 177 Express, and one late turn duty worked 400 route up town, returned as 177 Express, then 2nd half as normal route 177.