Although served by the Surbiton to Cobham railway since 1885, Claygate did not have a bus service until the introduction of the 206 in May 1936 to serve the growth in housing.   One-man operated by Kingston garage and running between Claygate The Causeway and Esher every half hour, the service initially used DA-class Darts.  Cubs were allocated briefly over the 1936/7 winter, but the petrol-engined Darts were finally withdrawn at the outbreak of war and replaced by Cubs.

OMO Cub operation continued through the war years, with the route being extended in 1942, first just to Lower Green in peak hours and Saturday afternoons from March to May only, then Monday to Saturday (except evenings) to Imber Court Ember Lane from December - but via Portsmouth Road, not Lower Green.

OMO working came to an end, first time round, on 10 Sep 46 when the route was converted to 14T12 crew operation and extended daily north of Imber Court to Hampton Court Station.  A further small extension came in June 1950 when the Claygate terminus moved south to Holroyd Road.

Still (nominally) T-operated, the allocation moved to the new Norbiton garage in May 1952, where the Ts were officially replaced by TDs in October 1954.  Two months later, the route was diverted to run north and west of Sandown Park, finally serving Lower Green again. 

Just before the TDs were replaced, Sunday operation moved back to Kingston in May 1959.  In June, the RFs arrived as part of the phased conversion of both garages, still leaving the 215/218/219 group nominally in the hands of TDs.  Those at Norbiton entered service immediately, Sunday operation (from the 216 allocation) waiting three weeks for Kingston driver training to be completed.

After the trams came the trolleybuses.  After the trolleybuses came the RFs (and RMs).  Fulwell Depot on 7 Sep 69, and RFs have been in residence for over 7 years.  RF524 ready for the 206 stands in front of two Routemasters on trolleybus replacement routes 281 (601) and 267 (667).   RFs again stood on the forecourt on the 30th anniversary RF celebration on 22 Mar 09.

Photo © Peter Esposito

Although nearer to Kingston, operation of the 206 moved to Fulwell as part of the reshuffle following the end of the trolleybus era on 8 May 1962, bringing garage journeys via Hampton Hill.

On 18 November 1964, London Transport finally realised its ambition to bring one-man operation back to the Central Area, and four routes were converted - the 206, Norbiton's 201, Kingston's 216 and North Street's deeply rural 250.  The route then continued unchanged for 12 years until 1976, when it was converted to BL operation. 

However the end was near, and the route ran its last journey on 28 October 1978, effectively absorbed into the 215.  Steve Thomson lives in Claygate and notes that the change was regarded there as "something of a triumph for local pressure over LT.  When the 206 went, Claygate at last got a direct link to Surbiton & Kingston, the places in demand then and now - and the 15-min service offered by the K3 today is probably the best that Claygate has ever had."  Towards the other end of the route, in Ember Lane, Richard Day laments the passing of RFs running the 206.  "If only they were running now.  I think it was a seven day a week, every twenty minute service.  These days we have the 515, which runs Monday to Saturday daytime, once an hour. Well, that’s progress for you."