London Transport
Central Area Routes 1–3

Last updated 18-07-06.

Route 1 actually predates London Transport, first appearing in 1906 as a Vanguard (London Motor Omnibus Company) service between Cricklewood and Elephant & Castle via Edgware Road and the Law Courts. In 1950 route 1 ran from Lewisham (Rennell Street) to Willesden Garage via Lewisham Road, Deptford Broadway, Surrey Docks Station, Southwark Park Road, Bricklayers Arms, Elephant & Castle, Waterloo, Aldwych, Strand, Trafalgar Square, Charing Cross Road, Tottenham Court Road, Marylebone Road, Marylebone, Maida Vale, Kilburn High Road and Willesden Lane, except Saturday afternoons when services were curtailed at Marylebone. In 1956 the Marylebone to Willesden section was replaced by new route 176 Monday to Saturday, with a peak hour extention to Catford Garage. The 1 continued to run from Lewisham to Willesden Garage on Sundays. The following year the Monday to Friday section between Surrey Docks and Lewisham was replaced by new route 199. In November, all Saturday service was extended to Lewisham, and Saturday afternoon journeys were also extended from Marylebone to Willesden Garage. In 1959 Saturday peak journeys were added to Catford Garage. In 1962 the Saturday afternoon extension from Marylebone to Willesden Garage was withdrawn, and Saturday peak journeys to Catford Garage were also withdrawn. In November all peak journeys to Catford Garage were withdrawn. On Monday to Friday and Saturday mornings route 1 ended at Surrey Docks Station, with the Saturday afternoon extension to Lewisham. In 1965 Monday to Friday journeys were extended from Surrey Docks to Bromley Garage replacing part of withdrawn route 199, and Saturday service was re-introduced between Marylebone and Willesden. Sunday service was withdrawn in 1966 with the introduction of route 1A between Willesden and Greenwich. In 1969 the 1 was withdrawn on Saturday between Trafalgar Square and Willesden Garage. In 1971 it was re-routed via Baker Street, Oxford Street, and Charing Cross Road instead of Tottenham Court Road. In 1972 Saturday shopping hours journeys were extended from Trafalgar Square to Oxford Circus. In 1978 Monday to Friday journeys were withdrawn between Catford and Bromley, and Sunday service was re-introduced between Charing Cross and Surrey Docks, replacing route 1A. In September 1982 Sunday journeys were extended, now running from Trafalgar Square to Surrey Quays Station, but just seven months later Sunday service was again withdrawn, and once more replaced by a re-introduced 1A. In 1985 route 1 was withdrawn beyond Deptford, now terminating at Greenwich (Cutty Sark). Sunday service using one-man-operation Titans was also re-introduced at the same time, replacing route 1A for a second time. In 1986 Sunday service was extended from Trafalgar Square to Oxford Circus. From June 1987 the 1 was completely converted to opo and runs daily from Trafalgar Square to Bromley Garage via Aldwych, Waterloo, Elephant & Castle, Bermondsey, Surrey Quays, Deptford, Greenwich, Lewisham, Catford, Downham and Bromley. In 1991 Sunday service was once again withdrawn, and the route was shortened to operate between Aldwych and Surrey Quays Station only. In 1992 troute 1 was extended from Surrey Quays Station to Rotherithe Tunnel Roundabout via Salter Road and Brunel Road for with-the-flow journeys in the single direction only. The City terminus was changed to Holborn Station in 1992, and then to New Oxford Street (Centre Point) in 1994. Since then service has been transferred from London Central to Capital Citybus, then Blue Triangle and East Thames Buses.

Route 616 was an express route introduced on 15 June 1970, running Mondays to Fridays between Cricklewood and Oxford Circus via Kilburn, Edgware Road and Marble Arch, supplementing the 16. In latter days it was reduced to peak hours only, and was eventually replaced by route 16A (which has also now disappeared).

A more detailed (or at least more readable) history of route 1 can be found in Kenneth Warren’s book, The Motorbus in Central London (Ian Allan, 1986; ISBN 0 7110 1568 6).

1 MON-SAT
From 1966 to 1978 there was no Sunday service on route 1, and this “E” plate probably came from the section between Catford Garage [TL] and central London.		1 MON-FRI
Route 1 had two Monday to Friday only sections: Bromley Garage [TB] to Catford Garage [TL], and Oxford Circus/Trafalgar Square to Marylebone Station; the former from 1966 to 1978, and the latter during the years 1969 to 1987.		1 MON-FRI - 616 MON-FRI EXPRESS
This plate is interesting because it combines the lowest-numbered route with the highest-numbered Central Area one, and would presumably have come from a stop in Oxford Street. I would imagine that LT avoided making split-background-colour plates as far as possible owing to their additional complexity.
1A SUNDAY 1A SUNDAY FARE STAGE

Route 1A was introduced in 1966 as a RT-operated Sunday replacement for route 1, running from Willesden Garage to Greenwich (Cutty Sark) via Kilburn, Maida Vale, Marylebone, Warren Street Station, Tottenham Court Road, Trafalgar Square, Aldwych, Waterloo,Elephant & Castle, Southwark Park Road, Surrey Docks Station and Deptford. In 1969 Routemasters replaced RTs, and the route was withdrawn between Trafalgar Square and Willesden Garage. In 1978 it was withdrawn, replaced by a reintroduced route 1. In 1984 the 1A returned, again as a Sunday replacement for route 1 running between Trafalgar Square and Greenwich, but this time with one-person-operated Titans. The following year the route was again withdrawn, and once more replaced by route 1.

The “FARE STAGE” plate was obtained in the late 1970s at Garston (Country Area) garage—no idea how it got there!

Route 2 ran between Crystal Palace and Golders Green via West Norwood, Herne Hill, Brixton, Stockwell, Vauxhall, Victoria, Hyde Park Corner, Marble Arch, Baker Street, Finchley Road and Swiss Cottage. It was the first to be operated by a Routemaster, when RM1 ran on it in 1956. In 1962 the route was extended from Golders Green to North Finchley via Finchley Central. In 1970 it was withdrawn between Golders Green and North Finchley (replaced by route 26), and between Norwood Garage and Crystal Palace (replaced by route 2B). In 1972 it was withdrawn between Baker Street Station and Golders Green except during peak hours and at weekends, but re-extended there at all times in 1974. In 1978 it was withdrawn on Saturdays between Swiss Cottage and Golders Green, and diverted daily at West Norwood to run to The Rosendale. In 1982 it was withdrawn between Baker Street Station and Golders Green at all times. Between 1983 and 1985 it was extended to the Zoo on Summer Sundays. In 1986 it was revised to run daily between Stockwell Station and West Norwood (Rosendale), extended Mondays to Saturdays to Victoria. In 1987 the Sunday service was withdrawn. In 1988 it was withdrawn on Saturdays between Stockwell and Victoria. In 1992 the route was withdrawn, and replaced mainly by new route 322, but in 1993 the route number 2 was resurrected for the renumbering of the 2B.

Route 26 was introduced in 1970 between Victoria and New Barnet Station via Hyde Park Corner, Marble Arch, Baker Street, Finchley Road, Swiss Cottage, Golders Green, Finchley Central, North Finchley and Whetstone, replacing part of route 2. The route was withdrawn between Golders Green and Victoria in 1978, and extended on from New Barnet on Sundays to Barnet, Chesterfield Road. In 1980 it was converted to one-man-operation and extended from Golders Green to Brent Cross Shopping Centre on Mondays to Saturdays. The route was withdrawn completely in 1991, and mainly replaced by routes 84A and 326.

A more detailed history of route 2 can be found in Kenneth Warren’s book, The Motorbus in Central London (Ian Allan, 1986; ISBN 0 7110 1568 6).

2
2 MON-FRI PEAK HOURS SAT SUN
These two “E” plates (↑ →) came from the section between Baker Street Station and Golders Green during the years 1972 to 1974.		2 MON-FRI PEAK HOURS SAT SUN FARE STAGE
The fare stage plate is a little more uncommon than those without.
RM 1Route 2 is known as the proving ground for prototype Routemaster RM1 [SLT 56]. The tower in the background with the UNDERGROUND roundel suggests that this photo was taken in Finchley Road.
London Transport photo; BM3RM
2 - 26 MON-SAT
This “E” plate would have come from the common section of routes 2 and 26, between Golders Green and Victoria.
2B

Route 2B began running in 1956 as a Sunday-only route between Golders Green Station and Norwood Garage via Swiss Cottage, Baker Street, Marble Arch, Hyde Park Corner, Victoria, Vauxhall, Stockwell, Brixton and Tulse Hill, with an afternoon extension to Crystal Palace. It replaced route 195 which was withdrawn on Sunday. In 1964 daily service was introduced, replacing part of route 186. The 2B now ran daily between Swiss Cottage and Norwood Garage, with a northern extension to Golders Green Sunday through Friday, and a southern extension to Crystal Palace Sunday afternoon through Friday. In 1970 Monday to Friday service was withdrawn between Swiss Cottage and Golders Green except for peak hours, but Sunday journeys were extended from Golders Green to North Finchley. In 1972 the peak hours journeys between Swiss Cottage and Golders Green were withdrawn. In 1974 Monday to Saturday journeys were diverted from Crystal Palace to West Norwood (Rosendale), replacing withdrawn route 2A. (These journeys started from Stockwell Station.) In 1978 Monday to Saturday service was extended from Swiss Cottage to Golders Green, Sunday service was withdrawn between Golders Green and North Finchley, and West Norwood (Rosendale) journeys were replaced by a diverted route 2. In 1986 the 2B was withdrawn between Baker Street Station and Golders Green, replaced by new route 82. In 1988 Monday to Saturday evening journeys were withdrawn in favour of an extended 2A service. In 1991 the route was withdrawn daily between Norwood Garage and Crystal Palace, and replaced entirely on Sundays by the 2A.

Route 3 is a very long-established route and ran daily between Camden Town and Crystal Palace via Great Portland Street, Oxford Circus, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Westminster, Millbank, Lambeth Bridge, Kennington, Brixton, Herne Hill and West Dulwich. In 1981 it was extended on Mondays to Saturdays from Camden Town to Parliament Hill Fields via Kentish Town, and cut back to Camden Town again in 1984. In 1986 it was cut back further to Oxford Circus except for Saturday shopping hours and Sundays, and completely cut back to Oxford Circus in 1987.

Route 53 ran from Camden Town to Plumstead Common via Great Portland Street, Oxford Circus, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Westminster, Elephant & Castle, New Cross, Deptford, Blackheath, Charlton, Woolich and Plumstead. The return journeys ran via Portland Place instead of Great Portland Street. A Sunday extension continued on to Erith via Plumstead Garage, Wickham Lane, Bedonwell Road and Parsonage Manor Way. The 53 was extended to Parliament Hill Fields in 1984, cut back in 1987 to Oxford Circus, and further back in 2003 to its present northern terminus in Trafalgar Sqare.

A more detailed history of route 3 can be found in Kenneth Warren’s book, The Motorbus in Central London (Ian Allan, 1986; ISBN 0 7110 1568 6).

The split “E” plate would have come from the common section of routes 3 and 53 between Camden Town and Westminster, and it is interesting to have two very long-established routes together on the same plate. Both these routes remained unchanged for many years and this plate will be particularly old, hence there is some surface discolouration due to age.

 3 3
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Click on any of the tiles below to go to images of the “E” plates and the route descriptions for that number series.
Central Area Routes 1-3 Central Area Routes 4-6 Central Area Routes 7-9
Central Area Routes 10-14 Central Area Routes 15-19 Central Area Routes 20-24
Central Area Routes 25-29 Central Area Routes 30-35 Central Area Routes 36-39
Central Area Routes 40-44 Central Area Routes 45-49 Central Area Routes 50-54
Central Area Routes 55-59 Central Area Routes 60-69 Central Area Routes 70-75
Central Area Routes 76-79 Central Area Routes 80-89 Central Area Routes 90-99
Central Area Routes 100-109 Central Area Routes 110-119 Central Area Routes 120-129
Central Area Routes 130-139 Central Area Routes 140-149
Central Area Routes 150-159 Central Area Routes 160-164 Central Area Routes 165-169
Central Area Routes 170-174 Central Area Routes 175-179
Central Area Routes 180-189 Central Area Routes 190-194 Central Area Routes 195-199
Central Area Routes 200-209 Central Area Routes 210-219 Central Area Routes 220-229
Central Area Routes 230-239 Central Area Routes 240-245 Central Area Routes 246-249
Central Area Routes 250-259 Central Area Routes 260-269 Central Area Routes 270-279
Central Area Routes 280-289 Central Area Routes 290-299
Country Area Routes 300-303 Country Area Routes 304-309 Country Area Routes 310-316
Country Area Routes 317-319 Country Area Routes 320-324 Country Area Routes 325-329
Country Area Routes 330-334 Country Area Routes 335-339 Country Area Routes 340-344
Country Area Routes 345-349 Country Area Routes 350-359
Country Area Routes 360-369 Country Area Routes 370-379
Country Area Routes 380-389 Country Area Routes 390-394 Country Area Routes 395-399
Country Area Routes 400-409 Country Area Routes 410-419 Country Area Routes 420-429
Country Area Routes 430-439 Country Area Routes 440-459
Country Area Routes 450-459 Country Area Routes 460-469
Country Area Routes 470-479 Country Area Routes 480-489 Country Area Routes 490-499
Red Arrow & Express Routes 500-616 Trolleybus Routes 513-699
Green Line Routes 701-705 Green Line Routes 706-710 Green Line Routes 711-714
Green Line Routes 715-716 Green Line Routes 717-723 Green Line Routes 724-799
Country Area Routes 800-804 Country Area Routes 805-854A
Lettered Routes A-C Lettered Routes D-M Night Routes N1-N88
Night Routes N89-N299 Lettered Routes P-W Other Operators’ Routes
Other Operators’ Routes Other Operators’ Routes Other Operators’ Routes
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