{noformat}
Caused by: java.lang.NullPointerException
at au.com.centrumsystems.hudson.plugin.buildpipeline.ProjectForm.<init>(ProjectForm.java:136)
at au.com.centrumsystems.hudson.plugin.buildpipeline.ProjectForm.<init>(ProjectForm.java:113)
at au.com.centrumsystems.hudson.plugin.buildpipeline.ProjectForm.<init>(ProjectForm.java:113)
at au.com.centrumsystems.hudson.plugin.buildpipeline.ProjectForm.<init>(ProjectForm.java:113)
at au.com.centrumsystems.hudson.plugin.buildpipeline.ProjectForm.<init>(ProjectForm.java:90)
at au.com.centrumsystems.hudson.plugin.buildpipeline.ProjectForm.as(ProjectForm.java:152)
at au.com.centrumsystems.hudson.plugin.buildpipeline.DownstreamProjectGridBuilder$GridImpl.<init>(DownstreamProjectGridBuilder.java:80)
at au.com.centrumsystems.hudson.plugin.buildpipeline.DownstreamProjectGridBuilder$GridImpl.<init>(DownstreamProjectGridBuilder.java:59)
at au.com.centrumsystems.hudson.plugin.buildpipeline.DownstreamProjectGridBuilder.build(DownstreamProjectGridBuilder.java:230)
at au.com.centrumsystems.hudson.plugin.buildpipeline.BuildPipelineView.isEmpty(BuildPipelineView.java:1021)
at au.com.centrumsystems.hudson.plugin.buildpipeline.BuildPipelineView.hasPermission(BuildPipelineView.java:1002)
at hudson.model.ViewGroupMixIn.getViews(ViewGroupMixIn.java:125)
at jenkins.model.Jenkins.getViews(Jenkins.java:1837)

{noformat}

The version is also 2.46.2 from what I see in the ML

Please check the startup log. I'd guess you have a disabled/removed plugin implementing PipelineHeaderExtension

i tried multiple upgrades (since i was in vcenter and had the luxury to do back and forth so i tried 2.32.3 my target then 2.46.2 as well as 2.61 the latest one ) 

but my start point was 1.636 

is there a location to find the disabled plugins other then the plugins directory ?

i removed some of pinned plugins. but i am sure we did not have this plugin 

no disabled plugin. actually at 1.636 i dont see this plugin anywehere

rw-rr-. 1 jenkins jenkins        0 Mar 25  2014 ssh-slaves.jpi.pinned

rw-rr-. 1 jenkins jenkins        0 Mar 25  2014 ldap.jpi.pinned

rw-rr-. 1 jenkins jenkins        0 Nov 23  2015 credentials.jpi.pinned

rw-rr-. 1 jenkins jenkins        0 Nov 23  2015 ssh-credentials.jpi.pinned

rw-rr-. 1 jenkins jenkins        0 Nov 23  2015 mailer.jpi.pinned

rw-rr-. 1 jenkins jenkins        0 Mar  8 09:10 maven-plugin.jpi.pinned

rw-rr-. 1 jenkins jenkins        0 Mar  8 09:10 javadoc.jpi.pinned

rw-rr-. 1 jenkins jenkins        0 Mar  8 09:10 junit.jpi.pinned

Cross-posting a comment from the mailing list:

 
This is a bug in upgrading from a very old version of the plugin. As a work around you can remove that XML config and restart - this will delete your pipeline view, but you can re-create it.
 
As an alternative, you can try upgrading to an older yet more recent version (such as 1.5.2), re-save the pipeline, and then upgrade to the very latest version. 

Code changed in jenkins
User: Dan Alvizu
Path:
src/main/java/au/com/centrumsystems/hudson/plugin/buildpipeline/BuildPipelineView.java
http://jenkins-ci.org/commit/build-pipeline-plugin/bfa47e5da3669ea58e4d8bbec1eed6095190c5b3
Log:
[FIXED JENKINS-44324] fix readResolve() of build cards for ancient versions of plugin

Wrap hasPermission() in try catch so in the very worst case we don't
brick Jenkins entirely

Code changed in jenkins
User: Dan Alvizu
Path:
src/main/java/au/com/centrumsystems/hudson/plugin/buildpipeline/BuildPipelineView.java
http://jenkins-ci.org/commit/build-pipeline-plugin/6fab1fdbd64b3251bc9970495b0501a27ef000b5
Log:
Merge pull request #110 from jenkinsci/JENKINS-44324

[FIXED JENKINS-44324] fix readResolve() of build cards for ancient ve…

Compare: https://github.com/jenkinsci/build-pipeline-plugin/compare/08939fa2c3bb...6fab1fdbd64b

Fixed in build-pipeline-plugin v1.5.7