Summerhill Garage AV 272 pictured at the extended terminus for route 123 off Kilnamanagh Road. The terminus was extended from Crumlin Hospital on Sunday 20th August 2006 to take parked buses off Crumlin Road which is now a quality bus corridor ( QBC ) to the City Centre.
The AV/ AX class are a rariety on route 123, although Volvo Olympians interwork with the single decker WV midi class nowadays.
Summerhill AV 272 at route 123's Kilnamanagh terminus
Dublin Bus Route 123
Marino ( Griffith Avenue )
Ballybough
O'Connell Street
College Green
St James' Hospital
Drimnagh
Walkinstown
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In May 2009, as part of a major reshuffle of buses across the fleet, Harristown based RV 547 to 566 were transfered to Summerhill Garage to replace its older batch of RV 367 to 389.
RV 550 was one of the first RV's to move & is seen at route 123's Kilnamanagh Road terminus on Sunday 10th May 2009. Similar transferee RV 552 was alsp operating the route the same day. Before entering service, RV 550 was fitted with extra luggage racks behind the centre doors to cope with Airport routes 16A & 41
RV 550 at leafy Griffith Avenue on route 123
RV 550 at Kilnamanagh Road
Kerbside facilities have recently been improved at the 123 Kilnamanagh Road terminus with a new bus shelter/ timetable planner & kessel kerbing
Summerhill Garage Volvo Gemini VG 34 making a very rare appearance on route 123, seen on Griffith Avenue in Marino Sunday 15th November 2009.
Summerhill AV 271, usually based on Skerries/ Balbriggan route 33 is seen on Griffith Avenue on route 123 Sunday 24th January 2010.
Summerhill's batch of AV 266-273 were usually allocated to route 33 with their anti-glare curved front windscreens, leaving flat screened AV 109-130 on the 16's, 20B & Airlink.
AV 271's offside adframe displays the new Bravo Outdoor Advertising company, who took over the CIE advertising contract, following the withdrawal of Titan Worldwide from Ireland in December 2009, with the entity coming back inhouse with CIE as Bravo.
When route 123 was moved from Broadstone to Summerhill Garage, there was an understanding to have usually 3 double deck RV class operating the route alongside the midi WV class & this arrangement continued until mid 2009.
Route 123 allocations of both the RV class & indeed AV class have dramatically increased within the last 6 months to supplement the 19 strong WV fleet.
Up to 2009, Summerhill AV's rarely operated on the Marino- Drimnagh route, the longer AV's unsuited to the route,but a gradual change in allocations has meant at least 6 RV's, mostly from the Harristown inherited batch ( RV 548-566 ) operating the route along with scrolled RV 538-540, plus the occasional AV/ VG class.
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Little known but worth mentioning Route 124 is a short working of route 123, operating from Marino along the 123, but terminating at St James Hospital.
Launched on the 21st August 2006 following the introduction of a new 123 timetable, route 124 only has 3 official services, all around 5 to 6 pm from Marino Monday to Friday, as some driver shifts end for the day. When this 123 timetable was introduced, it also returned the individual timed departures for each bus & eliminated the imped version " buses every " timetable layout.
In recent times, route 124 has become more widespread for buses on diversion, such as Marathon day or recently when icy conditions forced route 123 to operate short to Suir Road only.
RV 556, a former Harristown Olympian is seen on route 124 in slushy O'Connell Street 10th January 2010 operating route 124. These Olympians are fitted with the older technology Vultron display units, so feature a rare rotating display, alternating St James Hospital - Via O'Connel Street.
RV 556 with the rotating " Via O'Connel Street " 124 version
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RV 556 at Suir Road, just short of Drimnagh when route 123 services were curtailed due to icy conditions.
