Help Needed Finding Bus Types

[Orion 1200]

I'm going to be visiting Washington next week and I'm looking to ride and photograph some of the newer (and a few older) types of buses in WMATA's fleet. I was there last year and got a decent sampling of most types, but a few eluded me, and I'm hoping some of you may be able to help me. I'm more interested in route numbers of where I can find these buses rather than terminals/garages, but anything is a start:

5200 Ikarus articulateds - never saw these last year, don't know if they're still around
6001-39 DE40LF buses
6040-50 DE40LFR buses
2800 C40LFR buses in express colors. I've shot them in the other schemes already.
5431-5452 DE62LFA - from the pics on the board I see they're on Q6 an Y9 - any other suggestions welcome
3751-3770 DE37LFA buses

I'm also interested in any routes that use Flxible buses outside of rush hour. Thanks in advance.

[OrionFlyer]

I'm going to be visiting Washington next week and I'm looking to ride and photograph some of the newer (and a few older) types of buses in WMATA's fleet. I was there last year and got a decent sampling of most types, but a few eluded me, and I'm hoping some of you may be able to help me. I'm more interested in route numbers of where I can find these buses rather than terminals/garages, but anything is a start:

5200 Ikarus articulateds - never saw these last year, don't know if they're still around
6001-39 DE40LF buses
6040-50 DE40LFR buses
2800 C40LFR buses in express colors. I've shot them in the other schemes already.
5431-5452 DE62LFA - from the pics on the board I see they're on Q6 an Y9 - any other suggestions welcome
3751-3770 DE37LFA buses

I'm also interested in any routes that use Flxible buses outside of rush hour. Thanks in advance.

For the 5200s, the X2 is your best best bet.
For the DE40LFs, Silver Spring Station or New Carrollton Station are your best bets. Most of Montgomery's routes operate at Silver Spring and most of Landover's routes operate at New Carrolton. You're guaranteed to see them at either one of those stations.
The best place to catch a DE40lfr is New Carrollton Station. Same reason as before.
The Express C40LFRs mainly operate on the 79, which operates at Silver Spring.
The DE62LFAs mainly operate on the Y routes and 70/71 routes, which operate at Silver Spring as well. You're guaranteed to see those there.
The DE37LFAs mainly operate on the H8 and G2 routes. You're guaranteed to seem them on either one of those routes. You can catch the H8 at Rhode Island Ave Station, and G2 at Dupont Circle Station.

[WayneNYC]

I'm also interested in any routes that use Flxible buses outside of rush hour. Thanks in advance.

Nowadays, you'd find very few (if any) Flxibles operating outside of rush hours.  If you hang out at Silver Spring during rush hour, you'll have a good chance of finding a Flxible. 

[NewFlyer9736BCT]

5200s Ikarus - Pretty much all are at Bladensburg, and are pretty much only used on the X2. However, the X2 is using more regular 40-foot C40LFs nowadays. Still, it's pretty much the only route in the whole system that has those buses.

6001-6039 DE40LFs: Landover has 6001-6014, and Montgomery has 6015-6039. Your best bet is Silver Spring Station, both Landover and Montgomery division have routes that go there. About 95% of the DE40LFs you'll find there are Montgomery buses though, if you want to look for Landover DE40LFs, try New Carrollton Station or other points of interest in PG County.

6040-6050 DE40LFRs: Last I heard, 6040 apparently is still not back in service from that train accident, so you have only 6041-6050 in service for now. That said, like I said with the Landover DE40LFs, they can be on any Landover route, so try maybe New Carrollton or other points of interest in PG County. I actually think you'll have a better chance of finding one of these buses on the F4/F6 rather than a DE40LF.

2800s express: Route 79, a very high chance you'll find them there. 2801-2814 are the MetroExtra schemed buses, 2815-2817 are the Express branded buses (found on the 79 as well, but not as often as the MetroExtra ones). 2818-2822, 2824, and 2825 are in the regular 3rd scheme, and 2823 is the only one of the 2800s so far that has the Local branding.

5431-5452 DE62LFAs: 5431-5446 are Montgomery buses, and 5447-5452 are Northern buses. As with any Northern artic, the Northern 5400s are almost always on the 70/71. As for the Montgomery buses, about 80% of the time, they will be on the Y routes (Y5, Y7, Y8, Y9), and sometimes on the Q routes (Q2, Q4, Q6, not sure if they were ever on Q1 or Q5). Occasionally you can also find them on the J1-J4, and maybe the C2/C4, K6, and Z routes.

3751-3770 DE37LFAs: 3751-3760 are at West Ox, and 3761-3770 are a Northern. About the West Ox ones, I can't help you there, I don't even know where to find them. I do know that they can sometimes be on the 1 and 2 lines, but I'm not sure if they have a main route to find them at. As for the Northern ones, I can help you with that. The G2 and H8 are your best bet to find the Northern DE37LFAs. Once in a blue moon, you might find them on other routes like the S line and 50s line, or maybe even the 90s, but don't count on it.

Best place to find Flxible Metro-Bs: I can't help you with outside of rush hour, it's VERY rare to find one around that time. I can help you during rush hour time though. Try Potomac Park. Nearly all the Bladensburg routes that go there (H1, P1, X1, not 80 though) use 9300s. Well...I bet the 80 gets a few 9300s but not as much as the others. The L1 and N3 (other routes that go through Potomac Park), seeing that they're Montgomery buses, you might be able to find them there too. The other day, actually, I saw 9387 on the N3. If not, then try Silver Spring. If you can't find any Montgomery 93/9400s there, you'll most likely see at least one on the F4/F6. It seems that Landover has the most 9300s, so you can try the F routes in Silver Spring or somewhere else in PG County.

[Transport]

Potomac Park is a good suggestion, NF9736.  I rode 9406 on the N3 today (06/22/10) around 5:20 from Foggy Bottom up Mass Ave.  9406 was blasting cool A/C and running strong.  Even the front and side old flip dot signs were working!

[Tritransit Area]

I need to stop by "Potomac Park" one day.  What routes swing by there?

[Transport]

I need to stop by "Potomac Park" one day.  What routes swing by there?

11Y, 31, 39, 80, H1, L1, N3, P1, S1, X1.  Potomac Park is along the north side of Virginia Av near 19th and 20th Sts in NW.

[NewFlyer9736BCT]

I need to stop by "Potomac Park" one day.  What routes swing by there?

11Y, 31, 39, 80, H1, L1, N3, P1, S1, X1.  Potomac Park is along the north side of Virginia Av near 19th and 20th Sts in NW.

In addition to those routes, the Bladensburg 32 and 36 trips start from Virginia Ave and 20th Street I think. The way the termini are arranged is kinda confusing though, like the AM ones are different than the PM ones, and not all routes start or terminate from the exact same spot. I recommend standing around Virginia and 19th, from there you can see the H1, P1, S1, X1, 80, and N3 buses pass by.

[OrionFlyer]

I need to stop by "Potomac Park" one day.  What routes swing by there?

11Y, 31, 39, 80, H1, L1, N3, P1, S1, X1.  Potomac Park is along the north side of Virginia Av near 19th and 20th Sts in NW.

In addition to those routes, the Bladensburg 32 and 36 trips start from Virginia Ave and 20th Street I think.

And the FMR trips.

[Orion 1200]

Sorry about the late reply, but thanks for all the assistance in tracking down the buses - some tips were good, some bad, and some were neutral, but all the information was really helpful. What wasn't helpful was the 100 degree weather everyday - too hot for standing around outside taking bus photos!

[Flxible]

I'm also interested in any routes that use Flxible buses outside of rush hour. Thanks in advance.

Nowadays, you'd find very few (if any) Flxibles operating outside of rush hours.  If you hang out at Silver Spring during rush hour, you'll have a good chance of finding a Flxible.

True that, Wayne.  I hung out in SS and caught both rounds of rush-hour Flxes.  Sure enough, after 6PM, they all went back to bed.