Reason for single-deck operation

RF344 in May 1968, newly repainted and still bearing side adverts, having left the stand at Crystal Palace Parade and about to run round the roundabout.  Snappy Snacks no doubt provided tea to crews on the 154 and 157, which terminated at the top of Anerley Hill.

Photo © John King

Terence Uden conducted on the 227 and recorded his memories in LHRG Bulletin 199.  They are copied here with his permission:

‘I was very happy to have worked on RFs for nine years as a Conductor at TB, although, unlike most LT garages, we did not (thankfully) stay on one route all the time.  In fact, on the terrible day of conversion, 2 January 1971 I recall, TB went over to a fully common rota for crews as the OMO rota had been from inception, and the 47 duties joined the 61, 94, 119 an 146 rota.  Prior to the introduction of OMO in 1968 [this was the 126], there had been three rotas, but all of them contained varying elements of RF work on both Saturdays and Sundays, so all crews worked them at some point, and as they by far exceeded the number of duties (up to 48 Mon-Sat) on any other route, it was rare not to be working an RF at some time each month, even if only on overtime or a rest day.

With regard to the comment about “the disaster” of the conversion of the 202 at NX, this was certainly reflected in greater magnitude at TB after conversion of the 227.  The revenue literally halved, and lost mileage, hitherto almost unknown apart from conductor shortages towards the end, spiralled to create an almost complete breakdown of the service.  LT must have been fully aware of the consequences of conversion, as from day one, they had already instituted a formal turning arrangement at Widmore Green (blinds, stands, etc), and I can recall actually seeing three consecutive buses being turned at that point.  How the residents of Bickley and Chislehurst, after enjoying a four-minute peak service, not to mention am peak ‘shorts’ worked just from the Gordon Arms to Chislehurst Station, coped with routine gaps of up to an hour, of course was reflected in the appalling loss of revenue.  I recall some Chislehurst passengers actually taking the 45 minute journey on a 61 via Orpington as the only sure means of getting to Bromley!  With the later mechanical difficulties of the SMS class, it took years for the service to really recover, and the numbers carried by the wonderful and hard-working RFs, which negotiated three steep hills on each journey, never returned.

Although we had one OMO-fitted vehicle for some time, much sought-after on cold winter nights with the added luxury of a door which could be controlled Country Area fashion by both conductor and driver, during the last six months, many vehicles fitted for OMO and the future ‘Uxbridge’ scheme came our way, where only the driver controlled the doors.  This reduced capacity by two, but did stop people flinging themselves onto the steps at the pedestrian crossing encountered immediately after leaving the eastbound stop in Bromley Market Square.  This happened on almost every journey during the busy daytime, and the astonished looks of those now unable to do this was a sight to behold.  On the very last day, Friday 1^st January [1971], then a perfectly normal working day, we were actually scheduled to do the very last handover in the Market Square at 2139 that night, the crew of the final bus into TB taking over.  But we also had a spell of overtime that morning, also on the 227, and I was astonished to be given a £5 note by an elderly male passenger in Bickley, who I vaguely recognised but never thought of as particularly friendly, with the comment “thank you for all the service you have given us on this route”.

As a post script, I recall that when we regained the 47 route on a Saturday, sometime around 1982, a youngish woman boarded in the Market Square as were heading back to TB, looking at me as if she’d seen a ghost.  “How are you?” she gushed, “I can’t believe you are still here, and thought you had left when the 227 lost its conductors”.  Happy days!’

Terry Cooper, Roger Newport and Ian Smith all remember RFs on the 227, read their accounts on the next page.

In Bus Crew: London 1924-1970 by Jim & Mary Cooke, Jim has the following about the 227.  ‘Eventually we lost a number of 47 duties to Catford garage.  These were replaced by 227 duties that had previously been worked out of Elmers End.  The buses were old LT-type single-deckers, bad to work on and to drive.  Later on they were replaced by RFs, which were much better to drive and even had a heater in the cab.

One night we were proceeding up Summer Hill at twelve o’clock, being the last 227 to Chislehurst.  On going through the water-tower, I misjudged the entrance – this was quite narrow, with only a three-inch clearance on either side – with the result that I hit the nearside pillar of the tower and knocked off the mirror, which fell on Mary’s foot as she was standing beside me.  The impact also broke the handrail on the right hand side of the entrance.  Luckily I had a piece of string in my pocket, so Mary and I tied the handrail up as best we could and carried on to Chislehurst.  When the people wanted to get off, Mary descended first and held the handrail to make sure they did not slip or fall into the road.  Of course, I had to sign up for this [a ‘caution’ in the disciplinary book]’.

Re-creation

RF486 operated route 227 at the Sidcup Running Day in 2007 and (with other RFs) at the Bromley Running Days in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016 (twice) and 2017.

Early fleet details

Thanks to GJ Robbins in LHRG Bulletin 81, we know that the twelve single-deck Tillings TS7s were placed in service on the 109^A on 7 Oct 25, with O168-179 working the following duties (in order): TB1, TB2, X, TB3 - TB11, X being the spare bus.  This allocation remained unchanged throughout.