Worcester Park 2008

Olde Alan's photo gallery*

Alan Cross has kindly loaned a range of photographs taken in our area to be scanned for use on the site. However, I must apologise to Alan that the quality of the scans does not do justice to the real thing.

Originally allocated to Camberwell in March 1949 for the 35, the SRTs brakes were inadequate and needed modifying. After only three months, SRT2 spent a few weeks off the road before being reintroduced to the less arduous 5 and 5^A. Built on the chassis of STL2520, the new body later became RT4440. The bus is seen at Worcester Park on Sunday 17 Jul 49, four months after the 5 replaced the 32 at weekends, a short-lived working.

Photo © Alan Cross

Route 156 was one of the routes to see the hired coaches operated during the period of severe bus shortage after the war. Here at Morden on 25 May 48 is Bedford O(W?)B CNJ347 of Sargents of East Grinstead, carrying a non-standard but non-the-less professional lazy blind for the peak hour short working.

Photo © Alan Cross

Green lowbridge ST157 at Worcester Park working the 127 on 9 Jun 52, in the final few months of its life helping out at Merton until the arrival of the RLHs that December.

Photo © Alan Cross

Sutton Green on 8 Jan 54 and a study in blinds. RF399 (showing off the left rear trafficator on the right side of the bus) has already had its blind changed by the conductor for the return to Kingston, in order to avoid cutting into tea time at Sutton Garage. Saunders RT1227 (which had arrived at Sutton 2 days earlier for only a 5-week stay) shows the method of revealing the direction of the circular 156. The via points read in the wrong direction. The only clue is the cramped destination 'Morden Stn via Sutton & Cheam', distinguishing the working from an anti-clockwise journey 'via Cheam & Sutton'.

Photo © Alan Cross

Dismal weather, but a photographer has to be there.... Green lowbridge STL2229 shows its wartime origins with the lack of a rear indicator. On 29 Mar 52, it is working the 127 at Morden (the route plate is visible on the back), with STL1630 on the 118 and an RT on the 93.

Photo © Alan Cross

For a month in early 1966, London Transport suffered an overtime ban by staff and emergency services were operated. The 151 was operated on weekdays by Carshalton Belle between Hackbridge and St Helier Avenue (Middleton Road) and by Paynes between Carshalton (Windsor Castle) and Belmont.

A small page on Carshalton Belle is here.

Can anyone tell us any more about Paynes?

Photo © Alan Cross

* as Alan's customers (and readers of his book) will know, the book is based on the series of 'Olde Alan's Almanac' or Chit-Chats produced for customers of his photo stall over the years.

We unashamedly borrow his title.

Sutton Daimlers D227 and D214 have both boarded at Morden for the 93 road to North Cheam and, in the case of the second, Epsom. The date is 16 Apr 49 and they are accompanied by Brush-bodied D119 on the 156 at the start of its short loan to Sutton.

Photo © Alan Cross

Kingston's T745 in Cheam Common Road, North Cheam, on the 213 in 1947. Although only a year old, these standard provincial buses were a throwback so far as London Transport was concerned, with crash gearboxes and old-style bodywork.

A Sutton RTL on the 93 - brand new in late 1952, RTL1340 was one of the batch delivered to replace Sutton's STLs and Daimlers, before later in 1953 being themselves replaced by RTs.

Another stopgap. Godstone had replaced its twelve famous front-entrance STLs with RLHs on the 410, but they found other uses in the Country Area. On 17 Jul 52, five months before the 127 itself converted to RLH operation, STL1048 made it to Merton to help out.

In 1958, the St Helier terminus at Middleton Avenue looked rather different from today. RLH66 shows clearly the seat arrangement on the type, with benches for four upstairs. In August it moved to Harrow Weald for the 230.

15 Sep 50, and Kingston garage are on strike. The station yard is seen here - clearly demonstrating that Kingston's large fleet didn't fit into the small garage. In the foreground, TD98 is blinded for the 213. Behind it, is 1T1 T156, the out-of-sequence bus that was built to replace T38 when it became the Green line prototype. It was still being used on the 218 due to the weak bridge at Walton. To the right is T750, also from the 213. More Mann Egerton TDs complete the scene.

RTL1372 shows off the design of Leyland dumbirons that required the modification to the RT3 body. It is loading at Morden, working a Christmas Day short on the 156 in 1952.