London Transport Central Area Routes 34–66

Route 34 is a very long established route running between Barnet and Walthamstow via Whetstone, Arnos Grove, Palmers Green and Edmonton. It had extensions at various times to Leyton Green and Downsell Road, or to Leytonstone. Latterly, between 1977 and 1981, the service in Leytonstone between Green Man and Harrow Green was reduced to just a few peak hour journeys, and this plate is likely to have come from one of the few stops over this short section. There would not have been many of them. The route lost crew operation in 1977 and today’s route has settled between Barnet Church and Walthamstow.

Route 35 ran between Clapham Common and Chingford Hatch via Brixton, Camberwell, Elephant & Castle, London Bridge, Liverpool Street, Clapton, Leyton, Whipps Cross and Highams Park. In 1968 the outer section was hived off as new route 235, and the 35 was cut back to various terminals in Hackney. Since 1991 the route has terminated at Liverpool Street. In more recent years it has been extended to Clapham Junction. It is still a major trunk route today, and it is difficult to believe that buses once ran through from Clapham Common to Chingford Hatch.

Route 48 ran between Whipps Cross and London Bridge via Leyton, Clapton, Dalston, Shoreditch and Liverpool Street. The second plate would therefore have most likely come from the common section of route between Shoreditch and London Bridge.

A more detailed history of route 35 can be found in Kenneth Warren’s book, The Motorbus in Central London (Ian Allan, 1986; ISBN 0 7110 1568 6).

Route 36 ran daily between West Kilburn and Hither Green Station via Royal Oak, Paddington, Marble Arch, Hyde Park Corner, Victoria, Vauxhall, Oval, Camberwell, Peckham, New Cross, Lewisham and Catford. In 1969 the Saturday service was withdrawn between Victoria and West Kilburn, and in 1971 the Monday to Friday service was similarly cut back. In 1978 the Sunday extension to West Kilburn was withdrawn, but the Monday to Friday peak hour service was extended there instead. In 1986 the daily service returned to West Kilburn, and the terminus was redesignated Queen’s Park Station. In 1991 it was withdrawn between Lewisham and Hither Green. In 1992 it was extended on Saturdays from Lewisham to Catford Garage, and further extended during shopping hours to Grove Park via Downham. In 1994 it was again cut back to Lewisham, and in 2003 it was further cut back to New Cross Gate, and replaced by the new route 436 bendy-buses. This “E” plate has considerable edge chipping (visible in the picture) and is probably because the route has had relatively few changes over the years and the plate is likely very old.

A more detailed history of route 36 can be found in Kenneth Warren’s book, The Motorbus in Central London (Ian Allan, 1986; ISBN 0 7110 1568 6).

Route 36A ran between West Kilburn and Brinkley Rise via Paddington, Victoria, Vauxhall, Camberwell, Peckham and New Cross during Monday to Friday peak hours (being withdrawn on Saturdays in January 1972) and the route was finally withdrawn in 1991. During that period it was operated by RMs, and latterly MD class vehicles.

Route 36B was introduced in 1958 as a renumbering of route 69 and ran daily between Victoria and Grove Park Station via Vauxhall, Oval, Camberwell, Peckham, New Cross, Lewisham, Catford and Downham. In 1959 it was extended daily except Saturdays from Victoria to West Kilburn via Hyde Park Corner, Marble Arch, Paddington and Royal Oak. In 1964 the Saturday service was similarly extended. In 1986 it was withdrawn between Victoria and West Kilburn, and in 1989 it was re-extended during Monday to Friday peak hours to Paddington, but this was cut back again in 1991. The route was withdrawn in 1994 and replaced by new route 136. There is some discolouration due to weathering (visible in the picture), probably because the route has had relatively few changes over the years and the plate is likely very old.

Route 37 is a very long-established route and ran daily between Hounslow Garage and Peckham via Isleworth, St. Margaret’s, Richmond, East Sheen, Putney, Wandsworth, Clapham Junction, Clapham Common, Brixton, Herne Hill, East Dulwich and Peckham Rye. The route remined unchanged for very many years until 1991 when it was split into three sections, with the 37 remaining between Putney (High Street) and Peckham. New routes 337 and H37 covered the remainder of the service.

Route 38 ran daily between Victoria and Chingford (Royal Forest Hotel) via Hyde Park Corner, Piccadilly Circus, Bloomsbury, Islington, Dalston, Clapton, Leyton, Walthamstow, Crooked Billet and Chingford Mount. Until 1965, on summer Sundays it was extended to Epping Forest (Wake Arms). In 1968 it was withdrawn between Walthamstow Garage and Chingford and replaced by route 69. It was also diverted between Dalston and Clapton to serve Hackney. In 1969 it was withdrawn between Leyton and Walthamstow, and replaced by new route 55. In 1990 the 38 was withdrawn between Clapton Pond and Leyton, apart from Sunday garage journeys which ceased in 1997. It is now one of the last routes in London to be operated by Routemasters, and will be converted to bendy-buses later in 2005.

A more detailed history of route 38 can be found in Kenneth Warren’s book, The Motorbus in Central London (Ian Allan, 1986; ISBN 0 7110 1568 6).

Route 39 ran between Oxford Circus and Putney Bridge Station via Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Westminster, Victoria, Battersea, Clapham Junction, Wandsworth and Southfields. The section between Putney Hill and Putney Bridge did not run during peak hours to avoid traffic delays and therefore this plate came from a stop over this section. The current route 39 runs only between Clapham Junction and Putney Bridge, but in its earlier days the 39 ran through from Tottenham to Southfields via Manor House, Finsbury Park, Holloway and Camden Town, and prior to that the route ran from Parliament Hill Fields.

Route 39A ran on Saturdays only from Southfields to Parliament Hill Fields via Wandsworth, Clapham Junction, Battersea, Victoria, Westminster, Trafalgar Square, Tottenham Court Road, Camden Town and Kentish Town. This variation was a renumbered on the Saturday service on route 39, and it lasted only from August 1963 until November 1964. Another Saturday-only route 39A was introduced in January 1971 between South Kensington Station and Southfields via Chelsea, Battersea, Clapham Junction and Wandsworth. It was extended from Southfields to Putney Bridge Station in March 1973, and the route was finally withdrawn in October 1978. The 39A is particularly unusual as it has twice been introduced on Saturdays only. In any case, Saturday-only “E” plates for any route are very rare.

Route 40 is a long-established route that ran daily between Wanstead (Woodbine Place) and Camberwell Green via Wanstead Flats, Forest Gate, Green Street, Upton Park, Barking Road, Canning Town, Poplar, Limehouse, Stepney East, Aldgate, Fenchurch Street, London Bridge, Borough and Elephant & Castle. It was extended during Monday to Saturday rush hours to Herne Hill (Post Office). In 1958 it was withdrawn on Saturdays between Camberwell Green and Herne Hill, but extended on Sundays from Camberwell to Norwood Junction via Herne Hill and West Norwood. In 1965 route 40A was introduced between Herne Hill and North Woolwich on Mondays to Fridays, and the 40 was withdrawn on Mondays to Fridays between Wanstead Flats and Wanstead, and between Aldgate and Camberwell, except for rush hour journeys to Herne Hill.

In 1970 it was withdrawn completely on Mondays to Fridays and replaced by an increased service on the 40A. It continued to run on Saturdays and Sundays between Poplar (Blackwall Tunnel) and Camberwell Green, extended on Saturday afternoons to Herne Hill, and on Sundays to Norwood Junction. It was also extended on Saturday afternoons from Poplar to East Ham (White Horse). In 1974 the Sunday extension to Norwood Junction was cut back to Norwood Garage and reduced to run only from 1000 to 1400. In 1978 it was withdrawn between Poplar and East Ham, and between Herne Hill and Norwood Garage, but was extended during Monday to Friday peak hours from Poplar to North Woolwich via route 40A which was withdrawn. The extension to North Woolwich was withdrawn in 1982. In 1991 the Monday to Friday service was extended from Aldgate to Canary Wharf via Limehouse, and further extended in 1992 to Poplar, but later that year reverted to running via East India Dock Road instead of Canary Wharf. In 1993 it was again extended from Poplar to Blackwall DLR Station. In 1994 it was diverted at Camberwell Green to run to Dulwich via East Dulwich instead of Herne Hill. In 1999 it was withdrawn between Aldgate and Blackwall Station. The third “E” plate would have come from the Herne Hill extension.

A more detailed history of route 40 can be found in Kenneth Warren’s book, The Motorbus in Central London (Ian Allan, 1986; ISBN 0 7110 1568 6).

Route 40A was introduced in 1965 and ran on Mondays to Fridays between Herne Hill (Post Office) and Poplar (Blackwall Tunnel) via Camberwell Green, Elephant & Castle, Borough, London Bridge, Fenchurch Street, Aldgate, Stepney East and Limehouse. It was extended during rush hours to North Woolwich (Free Ferry) via Canning Town and Silvertown. In 1966 it was introduced on Saturdays, partly replacing the 40B, but was withdrawn on Saturdays again in 1970 when the 40 was revised. In 1978 it was renumbered 40.

Route 45 was a tram replacement route introduced in 1950, and ran daily between Faringdon Street and Battersea Garage via Blackfriars, Elephant & Castle, Camberwell Green, Brixton, Stockwell, Clapham Common and Clapham Junction. In 1951 it was extended to South Kensington Station. In 1961 it was extended from Farringdon Street to Hampstead Heath via Grays Inn Road, King’s Cross, Camden Town and Prince of Wales Road. In 1966 it was withdrawn on Sundays between Farringdon Street and Hampstead Heath, and later that year withdrawn completely on Sundays and replaced by route 17. In 1971 the Saturday service was withdrawn between Battersea Garage and South Kensington apart from early journeys, and it was also reintroduced on Sundays between South Kensington and King’s Cross Station. In 1972 it was withdrawn between King’s Cross and Hampstead Heath and replaced by new route 46. Later that year it was withdrawn on Saturdays between Clapham Junction and Battersea Garage except during shopping hours. In 1977 it was withdrawn on Mondays to Fridays between Elephant & Castle and King’s Cross except during peak hours, and during Saturday shopping hours it was diverted at Clapham Junction to Battersea Park Station. In 1978 it was revised to run daily between South Kensington and King’s Cross, extended on Mondays to Fridays via Caledonian Road and Holloway to Archway Station, covering route 17. In 1983 it was extended on Saturdays and Sundays from King’s Cross to Archway. In 1985 it was withdrawn between King’s Cross and Archway, and replaced by a reintroduced route 17. In 1988 it was withdrawn on Saturdays between Farringdon Street and King’s Cross. In 1990 it was diverted at Brixton to terminate at Lambeth Town Hall, and also extended to run to King’s Cross at all times. In 1994 it was extended from Brixton to run to Streatham Hill (Telford Avenue).

Route 47 ran at its greatest extent from Farnborough in Kent via Bromley Garage, Catford, Lewisham, Deptford, Surrey Docks, London Bridge, Monument, Shoreditch, and Dalston to Stoke Newington in North London, with a Sunday extensions to Stamford Hill. It settled down to running from Shoreditch to Bromley Garage with extension to its garage at Dalston in the north, and to Farnborough. The route currently runs from Shoreditch to Catford Garage.

A more detailed history of route 47 can be found in Kenneth Warren’s book, The Motorbus in Central London (Ian Allan, 1986; ISBN 0 7110 1568 6).

This “E” plate is either from the long-since gone route 48 which ran between West Norwood and Camberwell Green as a tram replacement service. Alternatively, it could be from the 569 trolleybuses replacement service started on 11 November 1959. This ran between Waterloo Station and Poplar via Fleet Street and Bank, thence along the trolleybus routeing via Aldgate and Stepney, with a Monday to Friday peak hour extension via Canning Town to North Woolwich. It cannot be from current route 48 (started in 1968) which has always been daily.

Route 53.

A detailed history of route 53 can be found in Kenneth Warren’s book, The Motorbus in Central London (Ian Allan, 1986; ISBN 0 7110 1568 6).

Route 54 ran daily between Plumstead Common (Woodman) and Selsdon (Farley Road) via Plumstead Common Road, Woolwich, Charlton Park Road, Blackheath, Lewisham, Catford, Beckenham Hill Road, Beckenham, Elmers End, Shirley Road, Addiscombe Road, East Croydon and Upper Selsdon Road. In 1959 the Sunday service was withdrawn between Woolwich and Plumstead Common, and in 1963 the Monday to Saturday service was similarly withdrawn. In 1965 some Monday to Friday peak hour journeys were extended at both ends of the route: from Woolwich to Woolwich Industrial Estate, and from Selsdon to Riddlesdown. A couple of journeys ran through from Riddlesdown to Woolwich Industrial Estate, and the timetable shows a running time of 1 hour 45 minutes! In 1969 the route was diverted on Sundays to run to the West Croydon bus station instead of Selsdon. In 1973 the Saturday service was similarly diverted, and the Riddlesdown journeys were withdrawn and replaced by route 12A. The Woolwich Industrial Estate journeys were also withdrawn later that year. In 1985 it was rerouted to run to West Croydon at all times, and the Saturday shopping hour service was extended from Woolwich to Charlton (Asda), although this was withdrawn in 1986. In 2000 the route was withdrawn between Elmers End and West Croydon to try to force people onto the new Tramlink service.

The second “E” plate appears to have been ground off below the route number where the plate may have possibly said “MON-SAT” or had a place name. Also, the remnants of a sticker is also visible.

Route 55 originally ran daily from Hayes Station to Chiswick (Edensor Road) via Yeading, Greenford, Hanwell, West Ealing, Northfields, Acton and Turnham Green, with a bifurcation to Chiswick (Grove Park Hotel) on Mondays to Saturdays. In 1955 it was extended beyond Hayes Station to Bourne Avenue. In 1968 it was withdrawn and replaced by new routes 274 and E3.

A new route 55 was introduced in 1969 running daily between Walthamstow Garage and Hackney (Well Street) via Leyton and Clapton. It was extended on Mondays to Saturdays, with some early Sunday journeys, via Cambridge Heath, Hackney Road, Old Street, Clerkenwell Green to Bloomsbury, and further extended on Mondays to Fridays via Oxford Circus and Baker Street to Marylebone Station. In 1971 the Monday to Friday extension was diverted at Holborn Station to run to Aldwych instead of Marylebone, and it was converted from RT/RM operation to to one-man-operated DMS buses in 1972. In 1978 it was extended daily to Aldwych, and the Monday to Friday peak hour service was extended to Waterloo Station. The first “E” plate could have come from the Bloomsbury to Marylebone section, or between Aldwych and Waterloo. Unusally, the text does not have a full stop or a dash in between the “MON” and “FRI”.

In 1981 it was one of just a few routes that were converted back to Routemaster operation, and was withdrawn between Walthamstow Central Station and Walthamstow Garage, and also diverted at Holborn to run via Piccadilly Circus and Hyde Park Corner to Victoria Station. In 1983 it was diverted at Leyton to run to Whipps Cross instead of Walthamstow Central. In 1987 the Sunday service was converted to single-deck Leyland National one-man operation, and the Monday to Saturday service became one-man later that year using Titans. Also that year the 54 was withdrawn between Tottenham Court Road Station and Victoria.

In 1990 the route was withdrawn between Clapton Pond and Whipps Cross, and in 1992 was extended to Oxford Circus. In 1998 it was further extended from Clapton Pond to Leyton Green. In 2001 is was again re-comverted to crew operation, this time using low floor doored double-deckers, as an experiment to see how boarding times might be improved using conductors, and this experiment ceased in 2003 when it again became one-man operated.

The last plate would have probably come from one of the short-working terminals, such as Bloomsbury (Red Lion Square), or possibly between Leyton Green and Leyton (Bakers Arms), as the route never had any special journey sections other than stand workings. It is therefore quite a rare plate.

Route 57 was introduced in 1951 as a tram replacement route and ran daily between Tooting Broadway and Victoria via Longcroft Road, Streatham, Brixton, Stockwell and Vauxhall. The Sunday service was withdrawn in 1958. In 1964 it was extended from Tooting Broadway to Kingston via Merton, Wimbledon, Worple Road, Raynes Park, Coombe Lane and Norbiton. It was also withdrawn between Stockwell and Victoria. The service beyond Streatham (St. Leonard’s Church) was reduced to Monday to Friday peak hours and Saturday shopping hours. In 1966 it was withdrawn completely between Streatham and Stockwell. In 1967 it was extended from Streatham to Brixton Garage. A Sunday service was introduced in 1992, and the route still runs today.

Route 57A was introduced in 1955 as a Sunday-only route, and ran between Streatham Garage and Victoria via Brixton, Stockwell and Vauxhall. In 1956 it was extended from Streatham Garage to South Croydon Garage via Thornton Heath High Street and West Croydon. In 1959 it was extended for the summer from Victoria to Hampstead Heath via Hyde Park Corner, Marble Arch, Baker Street, The Zoo and Camden Town. During 1960 and 1961, the summer-only extension ran to Camden Town. In 1966 it was withdrawn between Stockwell and Victoria, but extended from South Croydon Garage to Selsdon via Purley and Riddlesdown. In 1969 it was withdrawn between South Croydon Garage and Selsdon. In 1971 it was withdrawn between Thornton Heath High Street and Croydon. The route was withdrawn completely in 1978. Sunday-only routes are not at all common.

Route 63 ran daily between and King’s Cross Station and Honor Oak via Farringdon Road, Blackfriars, Elephant & Castle, Old Kent Road, Peckham and Peckham Rye. In 1954 it was extended on Mondays to Saturdays from Honor Oak to Crystal Palace via Lordship Lane and Upper Sydenham, with the Sunday service similarly extended in 1960. In 1961 it was extended from King’s Cross to Parliament Hill Fields via Kentish Town replacing trolleybus services. In 1963 the Saturday and Sunday services were diverted to Hampstead Heath and renumbered 63A. In 1970 a Saturday and Sunday service was reintroduced, with the route terminating at King’s Cross except on Sunday when it continued via Camden Town to Hampstead Heath, although this Sunday extension was withdrawn in 1972, lasting only two years. This is the section from which this “E” plate is likely to have come. In 2003 the route was withdrawn between Honor Oak and Crystal Palace, thus reverting to what it was in 1949. The 63 lost its Routemasters in 1976 when the MD class was introduced.

Route 65 ran daily between Ealing (Argyle Road) and Leatherhead Garage via Ealing Broadway, South Ealing, Kew Bridge, Richmond, Petersham, Ham Common, Kingston, Surbiton, Hook, Chessington and Malden Rushett. In 1966 it was withdrawn on Saturdays and Sundays and replaced by route 65A. In 1968 the weekend service was reintroduced, but it was withdrawn between Ealing Broadway and Argyle Road except during Monday to Friday peak hours. It was also withdrawn between Chessington Zoo and Leatherhead, and replaced by route 71. In 1975 some peak hour journeys were extended to Chessington (Fox & Hounds). In 1982 the peak hour extension to Argyle Road was withdrawn. From February 1987 it was withdrawn on Mondays to Saturdays between Kingston and Chessington, and the Sunday service was similarly cut back a few months later. Under the terndering system, the route has been worked since by London & Country, Armchair, and now London United.