please empty your brain below

That Zoroastrian church at Rayner's Lane is where I went to the cinema for the very first time - to see "Jungle Book" in a Saturday morning showing in about, oooh, 1976. Glad to see that it still stands even though its use has long changed.
I used to live in Ruislip back in the 1950's we moved away in 1965.
A picture of me at the Odeon Rayners Lane projection box in 1964, I was on a visit that day. The buildings and the projection equipment I always found more interesting than the films! (takes all sorts!). I would often visit boxes on a visit to any cinema. Not anymore as they are all mainly automatic digital now.

http://www.john.byethost6.com/johnraynerslaneboxwebim.jpg
'Odd one out'.
'Selfie'.
Rumbled in Ruislip?
Rumbled in Ruislip is a brilliant book title!!

I'd have to agree, the only thing I can remember of the 398 is the low frequency and that it goes to Ruislip.
'Rumbled in Ruislip'?
Leslie Thomas [The Virgin Soldiers] got there first: 'Tropic of Ruislip'.
Cue extra detail on the 398 from PC. (In its previous incarnation as the 98B it was for some reason about the only non-LT bus in Greater London)
Err no great extra detail from me although the route's history is a story in itself. I was merely going to say it's an interesting report from DG as I've yet to ride on the 398 - it's on the "to do" list.

A quick google search threw up this archived Commercial Motor article about the old 98B. The text is a tiny bit garbled but readable nonetheless.

Other info
Keeping the Rayners pub building was a condition of building the new block of flats adjacent to it, but nobody wanted to run the pub, so it's just boarded up now.

On weekdays the 398 is the only way to get to the Alexandra Avenue GP / walk-in centre if you don't have a car.
Ah thank you for doing that ride! I felt I ought to as it services my closest bus stop and I had no idea where Wood End was either, but now I don't have to!
I have ridden it to Rayners Lane - always a relief not to have to walk that long drag up Alexandra Avenue to the station.
@PC
Tank for that article. I had always wondered about the origins, deep in London Transport territory, of the 98B and my local 235 "Hill Bus", as well as the three Orpington & District (later Tillingbourse and then Metrobus) routes 353, 355, 357 in LB Bromley
I can only see one road named after a town in Somerset (Bridgwater). Most of the others appear to be in Devon although Whitby and Cornwall have crept in somehow.
Just thought you'd like to know that 'Wood End' was the north-eastern section of the original parish of Northolt, with 'West End' being the south-western section.

The name 'Wood End' seems to have survived, unlike 'West End' (the area around White Hart Roundabout A312/A4180)which has been called 'Yeading' for bus services since mid-1950s.

A nice description of route 398 by the way!










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