Central Area single-deck routes

The North-east

^{Page last update}^{d 28 October
2016}

Enfield's T276 started life in 1931 as a Green Line 7T7 and was rebodied in 1938, using the body from an R-class Reliance and becoming an 11T11. The bus was repainted red after the war and lasted at Enfield until the garage lost its single-deckers in 1953. Heavily loaded, the bus heads for Chingford Royal Forest Hotel on the 205, and thanks to M Olak, we can report that the location is in Kings Head Hill, the bus just having turned left from Sewardstone Road.

Photo © EN Enthusiasts Group, Peter Osborn collection

The single-deck routes operated in the north-east of London at any time between October 1934 and the introduction of RF operation on the relevant routes are summarised in the table below the map. Minor re-routings are not shown.

The area stretches from the urban fringe, where thinly-used routes did not justify double-deck operation, to the east end with its numerous low bridges. In general, the outer routes were double-decked, whereas many of the inner ones continue to be single-decked to this day. The Finsbury Park area, despite the low bridge by the station, was served by routes that, for a variety of reasons, were only double-decked relatively recently.

An approximation of the routes operated is shown on the following map (click on the map for a larger version). Note that not all routes operated at the same time. Routes operated only before or during the war are shown in orange, red both before and after the war and purple are post-war introductions. See the table for more detail.

Based on the 1949 bus map © London Transport

Single-deck routes in north-east London, October 1934 to RF conversion

Route	Destinations (daily unless shown)	Garage(s)	Bus types	Dates of operation (pre-RF)
204	Enfield Town The George and Gordon Hill Station (M-Sa from 26 Mar 34)	E	D, DS (early 34), also DA (early 36) (crew operated), C (Apr 36)	Existing route (ex Admiral, London Public) 21 Jun 33 to 22 Feb 38
	Lower Edmonton Station and Gordon Hill Station, journeys to Chase Farm Hospital (from 14 May 41)	E	LTL	23 Feb 38 to 12 Aug 41 Route double-decked as 128
205	Potters Bar LT Garage (from 13 Mar 35), Cuffley Station and Waltham Cross, Chingford Royal Forest Hotel (from 18 Jul 34)	E	DA (OMO), C/DA (OMO, May 36), C/CR (OMO, late 39)	New route (until 3 Oct 34, numbered 205/^A/^B) 23 Aug 33 to 1 Sep 40
	Potters Bar LT Garage and Chingford Royal Forest Hotel. Journeys Potters Bar LT Garage and Woodford Wells, extended to Loughton Station from 22 Jan 41	E	T	2 Sep 40 to 28 Oct 41 Potters Bar section replaced by 242
	Hammond Street Rising Sun and Chingford Royal Forest Hotel. Journeys Hammond Street Rising Sun and Loughton Station, extended to Loughton LT Garage from 31 Dec 41	E L (from 21 Apr 43)	T T	29 Oct 41 to 22 May 46
	Hammond Street Rising Sun and Chingford Royal Forest Hotel	E	T, TD (early 49)	23 May 46 to 5 May 53 Route double-decked
205^A	Hammond Street Rising Sun and Waltham Cross	E	C/DA (OMO), T (1 Sep 40)	New route 6 Oct 37 to 28 Oct 41 Replaced by 205
208	Bromley-by-Bow Seven Stars and Clapton Pond, journeys to Clapton Stadium (periodically between 7 Oct 36 and 28 Nov 39, Tu/Th/Sa evenings)	D AR (Sa, to 26 Oct 43)	LTL, Q (Apr 36), LTL/Q (Jun 38) LTL/T	Renumbered from 108^D 3 Oct 34 to RF conversion
208^A	Stratford Maryland Station and Clapton Pond (M-Sa)	D	LTL, Q (Mar 42), LTL/Q (Oct 46)	New route 30 Apr 41 to RF conversion
210	Golders Green Station and Finsbury Park Wells Terrace	MH J (17 Apr 35 to 2 Jan 40)	LTL, LTL/TD (spring 47) TD/Q (Mar 52) LTL	Renumbered from 110 3 Oct 34 to RF conversion
212	Finsbury Park Wells Terrace and Muswell Hill Broadway	MH	LTL, LTL/T (spring 46), TD (spring 47)	Renumbered from 111 3 Oct 34 to RF conversion
231	Waltham Abbey Powdermill Lane and Epping Town. Journeys Waltham Abbey and Epping Town to Quinton Hill (until 25 Oct 44)	L	T	New route 29 Jun 42 to 21 May 46 Replaced to Wake Arms by 242
232	Archway and Crouch End Broadway	J	LTL	Renumbered from 41^A 3 Oct 34 to 16 Feb 37 Replaced by extension to 41 (double-deck) on strengthening of the bridge at Crouch End Station
233	Finsbury Park Wells Terrace and Muswell Hill Victoria	WG	T	Renumbered from 154 3 Oct 34 to 31 May 38
	Finsbury Park Wells Terrace and Wood Green LT Station	WG	Q	1 Jun 38 to 25 Oct 49
	Finsbury Park Wells Terrace and Northumberland Park Station	WG	Q	26 Oct 49 to RF conversion
236	Leyton High Road Hainault Road and Finsbury Park Rock Street (Plimsoll Road from 19 Apr 44). Extended from 23 Feb 38, M-Sa (M-F from 14 Feb 55) to Stroud Green The Stapleton	T AR	LTL, TD (late 49) LTL, TD (late 49)	Renumbered from 263 3 Oct 34 to RF conversion
238	Forty Hill The Goat and Stroud Green The Stapleton (M-Sa)	E	LTL	Renumbered from 538 3 Oct 34 to 22 Feb 38 Forty Hill section replaced by 144^B
238^A	Forty Hill The Goat and Lower Edmonton Station	E	LTL	Renumbered from 539 3 Oct 34 to 22 Feb 38 Replaced by 144^B and 204
239	Tufnell Park Tufnell Park Hotel and Kings Cross Albion Street (York Way from 23 Sep 42) (M-Sa)	J	LTL, T (Mar-May 40 only)	Renumbered from 297 3 Oct 34 to 6 Mar 45 Route double-decked
241	Wood Green LT Station and Alexandra Park East Gate	WG	LTL	Replaced tram route 37 23 Feb 38 to 31 May 38 Replaced by 233
242	Waltham Cross and Waltham Abbey Green Man, journeys TuThSa to Epping Forest Volunteer. Extended summer Su to Epping Forest Wake Arms	E	S, T (Apr 36)	Renumbered from 306^B and 306^F 3 Oct 34 to 7 Jun 40
	Cheshunt Old Pond (Sa pm), Waltham Cross and Waltham Abbey Green Man, journeys TuThSa to Epping Forest Volunteer, journeys M-FSu to Quinton Hill ICI Works from 20 Nov 40. Extended summer Su to Epping Forest Wake Arms	E	T	8 Jun 40 to 28 Oct 41
	Potters Bar LT Garage and Waltham Abbey Green Man, journeys M-FSu to Quinton Hill ICI Works, journeys Sa to Epping Forest Volunteer.	E	T	29 Oct 41 to 30 Dec 41
	Potters Bar LT Garage and Waltham Abbey Green Man, journeys to Waltham Abbey Honey Lane Isolation Hospital, journeys to Quinton Hill ICI Works to 24 Oct 44, journeys Sa to Epping Forest Volunteer to 4 Apr 42. Extended Su to Epping Forest Wake Arms 29 Mar and 7 Apr 42 only	E	T	31 Dec 41 to 21 May 46
	Potters Bar LT Garage and Epping Forest Wake Arms	E	T, TD/T (early 49)	22 May 46 to 5 May 53 Route double-decked
243	Upshire Princesfield Road and Waltham Cross. Extended MF peaks (also Sa journeys from 11 Oct 50) to Cheshunt Flamstead End	E	TD/T	New route 26 Oct 49 to 5 May 53 Replaced by route 144^A
244	Muswell Hill Broadway and Winchmore Hill Chase Side Tavern	MH	LTL	Renumbered from 603 3 Oct 34 to 26 Oct 43
	Muswell Hill Broadway and Winchmore Hill Chase Side Tavern, journeys to Winchmore Hill Capitol Cinema	MH	LTL, 6Q6 (Mar 52), TD (Oct 52)	27 Oct 43 to 5 May 53 Double-decked and extended peaks from Muswell Hill to Archway

Note on routings: see the map for an outline; in a few cases, detailed changes took place that are not shown.

Note on bus types: all classes shown did not necessarily work throughout the relevant period. LTL is used for LT single-deckers ('Scooters').

Garage codes: see list of RF garages, others that do not appear are:

J Holloway

Barry Weatherhead's wonderful 1922 S-type is dressed for route 242 at Brooklands in 2012. The bus is presented in late pneumatic-tyred form complete with enclosed cab; the type ran on the 242 until replaced by Ts in 1936. A contemporary photo of S433 is here. The story of the rescue and rebuilding of S433, the oldest General single-decker still surviving, merits a book on its own.