Green Line plates are very sought after nowadays and not easy to find, and are especially interesting as there are so many variations of wording. The “E” plates which show destinations were a feature of Green Line coach stops from the early days, but particularly from the early 1960s onwards when declining patronage forced London Transport to make a greater effort to market the coach network. Laurie Akehurst writes: “My researches show that the stops were provided with destinated plates in two phases. The earlier ones at the more important points involved the use of the word “VIA”. On a route such as 716 this would be at points such as Finchley Road Station and Golders Green Station, for example. Having destinated the major stops they then turned their attention to the other stops along the route, by which time the plates had been modified to include another intermediate point instead of the word “VIA”. Some examples of newer plates with the word via are to be found. This is probably where they have been used to replace earlier plates, perhaps through weathering or damage.” |
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Route 704 was introduced in 1946 as part of the post-war re-instatement of the coach services. It ran between Tunbridge Wells and Windsor via Southborough, Tonbridge, Sevenoaks, Riverhead, Knockholt, Farnborough, Bromley, Catford, Lewisham, New Cross, Old Kent Road, Elephant & Castle, Millbank, Victoria, Hyde Park Corner, Kensington, Hammersmith, Turnham Green, Osterley, London Airport North, Colnbrook, Langley, Slough and Eton. The first of the famous RF-class vehicles was introduced on this route in 1951 and this type stayed on the route until conversion to RCL (Routemaster Coach, Long) in 1966. These in turn gave way to one-person-operated RP coaches in 1972. Apart from some summer Sunday variations, the terminals of the route never changed until it was withdrawn later in the 1970s as the traditional Green Line network collapsed due to lack of patronage. |
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This “E” plate is from an easbound stop. |
This plate is unusual in that the word “VIA” is in smaller letters and is not on its own line. |
This one is from a westbound one, and dates from the days before the name Heathrow Airport was widely used, and later “E” plates carried that rather than “LONDON AIRPORT” as on this plate. |
Another westbound stop plate, possibly from the Heathrow Airport bus terminal. |
Routes 704 and 705 ran together between Bromley and Windsor. |
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| This is a copy of a leaflet for coach routes 704 and 705 with a print reference of 1063/2806S 60M. It is a single sheet of paper, folded to give ten 3" × 6" pages. It has complete timetables and a faretable, showing four coaches per hour over the common section of route between Windsor and Bromley. The through fare for the 3 hour and 20 minute journey from Windsor to Tunbridge Wells was only 12 shillings (60p). It is printed in maroon throughout, with blue being used for the express section of the timetables for route 705 between Victoria and Windsor. |
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Route 705 was introduced in 1946 as part of the post-war re-instatement of the coach services. The 705 ran between Sevenoaks and Windsor via Riverhead, Sundridge, Westerham, Biggin Hill, Keston, Hayes, Bromley, Catford, Lewisham, New Cross, Old Kent Road, Elephant & Castle, Victoria, Hyde Park Corner, Kensington, Hammersmith, Osterley, Heathrow Airport North, Langley, Slough and Eton. From 1963 until 1967 journeys from Victoria to Windsor ran as a limited-stop express service and white-on-blue “E” plates were used on that section of the route. Operated throughout most of the 1950s until 1967 by the famous RF-class coaches, conversion to Routemaster double-deck operation came in that year, followed by one-man conversion in 1972 with RP-class coaches. The Green Line route network began to be run down in the 1970s but the 705 survived longer than some others by means of a re-routing via Heathrow Airport in 1977 and journeys to Windsor safari park on summer Sundays. However, by 1978 it had been reduced to one weekday evening local journey between Tunbridge Wells and Westerham, plus a Sunday through service from Windsor. No trace of it remains today although the Kent part of its former route is covered by bus 402/405. |
| These three “E” plates are all from eastbound coach stops. |
This plate perhaps came from the start of the 705 in Windsor. |
This plate is unusual in that the back of this plate is cream rather than the more common Lincoln green. |
This “E” plate may have been from Westerham. |
This plate would have been from a westbound stop at the eastern end of the route, probably between Sevenoaks and Bromley. |
The observe of the plate above. |
This plate is particularly interesting as the name “HEATHROW AIRPORT” is in smaller condensed lettering than the other destinations. |
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