Photo of the Week - Week 17:
Ringsend's AV318 is seen operating Route 50 on the now unserved Mayberry Road on the 3rd September 2011.
Route 50 was synonomous with Dublin. However, the original route was the precursor to the 150 which took over during the Sector 4 route network review in May 1994. Along with the 50 was the 50A. The 50A had begun as a short 50, operating to Drimnagh only, heading into the estate to terminate. It was the first route in Dublin to get double-deckers. Over the years, it would be extended bit by bit (taking over the 50B and 50C routings) all the way to Tallaght, terminating in Jobstown before its withdrawal in 1994. Its withdrawal, due to much more frequent 77 service, left a void of service on the Mayberry Road. To compensate, Route 50 was introduced (can one say changed when it was so different to the original 50?) serving Mayberry Road. Originally serving the Old Bawn Road, the route would quickly be moved to terminate at Killinarden, before being extended to CityWest in the late 90s due to the creation of a business park there.
Ringsend's AV105 is seen operating Route 50 about to serve The Square stop on Belgard Square West on the last day of Route 50, the 10th September 2011.
Its interesting to think that there is no service along Mayberry Road these days. The first photo above is directly opposite the large Dunnes Stores Kilnamanagh shopping complex. This was an incredibly well-served area of the Dublin Bus network. The 50 (or 50A/50C) was the city service through the area, though the 50X also served Mayberry Road, while the Tallaght locals 201, 202 and 203 all serving there (previously T01, T02 which terminated there), though the 202 was the only consistent local service there until its withdrawal in 2009. The original Tallaght local, the 75 (not the Dun Laoghaire version), also terminated at Kilnamanagh operating from the mid-80s for a year or two until the minibus services started. One oddity which is note-worthy about the 50 came 2 years before its withdrawal. In April 2009, service cutbacks reduced the number of buses available for Route 50. To compensate for large gaps in Route 50 otherwise, 2 departures on a Sunday Morning operating to/from Dolphin's Barn only, thus not heading into the city or to the regular terminus of Ringsend Garage. The photo below shows the only time I caught up with the service, the low January light not making things easy.
Ringsend's AV1 is seen at the Rutland Avenue Terminus of Route 50 operating one of the shorts from Dolphin's Barn only on the 16th January 2011.