Lettered Routes A–M

Route B1 was introduced in 1972 between Eltham Church and Bromley North Station via New Eltham and Elmstead Woods. During rush hours the service ran via Logs Hill to Bickley Station instead of Bromley. The B1 was one of the first four experimental routes that were introduced using 16-seater midibuses which could serve new areas that larger buses could not reach. The B1 has long since been replaced and absorbed by the current route 314.

Route BW1 was a local circular route in the Borehamwood area in the late ’70s. It was to have been a joint operation between London Transport and London Country, but agreement could not be reached with the staff of Edgware Garage (who would have operated the London Transport allocation), and so in the event the route was operated only by London Country. The route did not last very long.

Route C1 originally ran Monday to Friday and Sunday between New Addington (Homestead Way) and West Croydon (Bus Station) via King Henry’s Drive, Lodge Lane, East Croydon Station and Wellesley Road, but the weekday service was withdrawn in 1978 or 1979, replaced by route C3. At the same time it was rerouted from King Henry’s Drive to Arnhem Drive. The C1 lasted until 1980 when the C3 was introduced on Sundays.

Blue background “E” plates are far less common than the white versions, and a Sundays-only express operation is even rarer! The second plate dates from the last years of the route.

The C2 ran Monday to Friday between New Addington (Salcot Crescent) and West Croydon (Bus Station) via Gasciogne Road, Fieldway, Lodge Lane, East Croydon Station and Wellesley Road. The route was withdrawn in 1978 or 1979 and replaced by route C4 journeys.

This “E” plate features a blue background which was traditionally used by London Transport for express services, and is far less common than the white ones.

The C3 was effectively the Saturday version of the C1. It ran between New Addington (Salcot Crescent) and West Croydon (Bus Station) via King Henry’s Drive, Lodge Lane, East Croydon Station, Croydon High Street and North End. Monday to Friday journeys were added in 1978 or 1979, replacing the C1, and it was rerouted from King Henry’s Drive to Arnhem Drive. The C3 lasted until 1982.

These “E” plates date from the introduction of the route in 1970. The first plate bears traces of a sticker over the word “SATURDAY” from when the route was later altered to run Monday to Saturday.

Route C4 ran Saturdays between New Addington (Salcot Crescent) and West Croydon (Bus Station) via Gasciogne Road, Fieldway, Lodge Lane, East Croydon Station, Croydon High Street and North End. In 1978 or 1979 it was introduced on Monday to Friday, replacing the C2 service.The route has long since been withdrawn, and as with all express “E” plates, it is on a dark blue background.

Route C11 was one of four experimental minibus routes introduced in 1972 (the others being B1, P4 and W9). The cross-Camden C11 was operated by FS-class Ford Transit minibuses and had a flat-fare of only 10p! It ran on Mondays to Saturdays between Archway Station and Cricklewood via Parliament Hill Fields, Gospel Oak, Hampstead Heath, Swiss Cottage, Finchley Road and West Hampstead. It has become very successfull over the years and in more recent times has been extended to Willeseden Green and Brent Cross Shopping Centre and now runs daily. It did, for a period, reach King’s Cross Station, although that section has been replaced by route 390. The remainder of the route survives today.

Route E1 was introduced in 1969 as a flat-fare route in the Ealing area running between Greenford (Red Lion) and Brentford (County Court) via Greenford Avenue, Drayton Bridge Road, Ealing Broadway, West Ealing, Hanwell and Boston Manor. It replaced parts of routes 211 and 255. The route has since been shortened to run only between Greenford and Ealing Broadway.

Lettered routes are relatively uncommon on “E” plates and only three of the Ealing flat-fare routes had them: the E1, E2 and E3.

Route E2 was introduced in 1968 as part of the Ealing flat-fare scheme using MBSs, and ran daily between Brentford (County Court) and Greenford (Red Lion) via Northfields, West Ealing, Ealing Broadway, Pitshanger Lane and Ruislip Road East. It was extended for a time to Ruislip Lido via Yeading, but I believe this “E” plate came from the short-lived Sunday afternoon extension to Syon Park. Route E2 continues to run today, once again between Brentford and Greenford.

It’s rather unusual to have “E” plates with the wording “SUNDAY AFTERNOON”.

Route H1 was introduced in 1969 as a flat-fare route replacing the 230 and ran between Northwick Park Station and Rayners Lane Station via Kenton, Wealdstone and North Harrow. The route has been withdrawn in recent years and replaced by a circular service numbered H10.

Route H2 was introduced to replace the Dial-a-Ride service in Hampstead Garden Suburb in the ’70s, and followed a fixed route serving roads not accessible by conventional buses, to a regular timetable. I believed that the only “E” plates for the route would have been at Golders Green Station, and at Market Place. However, Andrew Colebourne wrote:

“With reference to the Hampstead Garden Suburb minibus H2 plate, I think there were more ‘E’ plates than [orginally] suggested by the caption. In addition to the stop in the forecourt of Golders Green Station and that at Market Place, the route also picked up at the first stop west of the crossroads in Golders Green Road and there was also a stop at the Golders Green Road end of Hoop Lane. On the return to Golders Green buses set down outside the Finchley Road entrance to Golders Green station. I think all of these stops had ‘E’ plates, hence there must have been at least ten produced. I believe there were also fixed stops at Central Square and at Kingsley Way but it seems likely these would not have ‘E’ plates. I have a vague recollection of the latter stop being a ‘Request’ sign.
“Please find attached a scan of the 1979 panel timetable for the route, which includes a diagrammatic map. When the route was first introduced it ran both ways along the west end of Hoop Lane to/from Golders Green Road but I cannot recall whether there was an inbound stop at that end of Hoop Lane. After diversion to return via Finchley Road, passengers could still request the former route, as it says at the top of the timetable under the route details. This must be unusual (unique?) for an LT Central Bus route.
“The stand in the forecourt of Golders Green Station was originally in front of the Green Line stops on the west side, where the previous Dial-a-Bus service picked up. It was later moved to the end of the loading island nearest the entrance, shared with route 13. (It is still the 13 stand today.) The latter stand had ‘E’ plates on the stop sign, but I cannot say whether they were transferred from the previous location or new ones.”

“Kingfisher” branded route K10 ran from Kingston to Staines via Thames Ditton, Hampton Court and Byfleet. It was a commercial venture of the late 1980s by Kingston Bus, one of the low-cost units of London Buses whose main purpose was to tender for London Transport contracts. The service was operated by Leyland National LS-type vehicles from Norbiton Garage [NB].

A more recent K10 is the Surrey County Council service operated by Epsom Buses that runs Monday to Saturday except evenings from Kingston (Fairfield Bus Station) to Epsom General Hospital via New Malden, Worcester Park, Stoneleigh, Ewell and Epsom, with one Monday to Friday early morning journey extended to Langley Vale (Epsom Race Course).

These specially-produced bus stop stickers were designed in a unique two-tone blue style, which loosely reflected the crest of the Royal Borough of Kingston in which the route started. They would only have been displayed at a handful of stops, as most of the route was outside London and served standard Department of Transport bus stop flags. The sticker is glossy self-adhesive plastic. Very few of these stickers are known to survive.

Route M1 was introduced in 1969 as a flat-fare route running daily between Raynes Park and Hackbridge via Morden and St. Helier, replacing part of route 118. It has long since been withdrawn and replaced by extensions of other services, including route 164. It was an unusual route number as it was the only one prefixed with the letter “M”.