Route 89 since the war
has run from Lewisham to Welling, and more recently beyond.
In 1963, the route added the section via Bexleyheath back to
Eltham, previously covered by the 132 then the 195, creating a long
loop that took 70 minutes to get from Lewisham to Eltham against 20
minutes on the 21. These days the route from Bexleyheath
covers the former 122 to Slade Green.
The route was worked by RTs from Catford (TL) on Monday to
Saturday and Old Kent Road (P) at weekends. The P allocation
moved to New Cross (NX) between 1952 and 1957, when the TL
allocation also moved across. From 1963, Bexleyheath (BX)
progressively took over the work, running RTs until 1978.
Today, BX and NX share the route.
RT1702 at the modern
Welling stand. RT3774 in Shooters Hill
(?) on the way to Lewisham.
Photos ©
Peter Larkham, Ian Armstrong collection
The return from Welling
to Catford was run over Catford route 160, which shared the
Welling stand with the 89 for many years. RT4456 pulls
onto the stand, RT1702 in Welling Way.
