London Transport
Central Area Routes 77–79

Last updated 06-05-08.

77 MON.-FRI.

Route 77 ran daily between King’s Cross Station and Wallington via Euston, Russell Square, Aldwych, Trafalgar Square, Whitehall, Lambeth Bridge, Vauxhall, Wandsworth Road, Clapham Junction, Earlsfield, Tooting Broadway, Mitcham, Hackbridge and Carshalton. The route ran in two sections—Kings’s Cross to Tooting (Mitre) and Tooting Broadway to Wallington. In 1953 the Sunday service was diverted via Vauxhall Bridge and renumbered 77B. In 1957 the 77 was withdrawn between Euston and King’s Cross. In 1960 it was withdrawn between Aldwych and Euston on Saturday afternoons. In 1965 the Saturday service was diverted via Vauxhall Bridge and renumbered 77B. In 1973 the 77 was reintroduced on Saturdays between Aldwych and Tooting, and also reintroduced on Sundays between King’s Cross and Tooting to replace the 77B which was withdrawn. In 1981 the 77 was withdrawn between Aldwych and Euston, and diverted instead during Monday to Friday peak hours to Farringdon Street. It was also withdrawn between Tooting and Wallington, and extended on Mondays to Fridays from Tooting to Streatham Garage via Southcroft Road. On Sundays it was withdrawn between Trafalgar Square and King’s Cross. In 1984 the Streatham terminus was changed to St. Leonard’s Church. In 1985 it was again diverted during Monday to Friday peak hours at Aldwych to King’s Cross instead of Farringdon Street. In 1986 it was converted to one-man operation and revised to run from Euston on Mondays to Fridays, Russell Square on Sundays and Aldwych on Saturdays to Tooting, extended on Mondays to Fridays to Streatham, but the following year the extension to Streatham was cut back and the route terminated at Tooting Station on Mondays to Fridays. In 1991 the route was standardised to run between Waterloo and Tooting Station via Albert Embankment, Vauxhall, Clapham Junction, Earlsfield and Tooting Broadway.
77A MON.-FRI.
 77A MON-FRI KINGS CROSS
This “E” plate would probably have come from a bus stop in Euston where buses towards King’s Cross served a different stop from terminating buses. It is especially rare.		 77A SUNDAY AFTERNOON
It is uncommon to see the description SUNDAY AFTERNOON on an “E” plate, and this one would have come from the section between Wandsworth and Putney Heath between 1981 and 1983.
77A SPECIAL JOURNEYS

Route 77A ran daily between King’s Cross Station and Raynes Park via Euston, Russell Square, Aldwych, Trafalgar Square, Whitehall, Lambeth Bridge, Vauxhall, Wandsworth Road, Clapham Junction, Wandsworth, Wimbledon Park and Wimbledon. Some Monday to Friday morning journeys were extended to Worcester Park Station in 1956. In 1959 the Sunday service was diverted via Westminster Bridge and renumbered 77C, and the Saturday service was similarly rerouted and renumbered in 1965. In 1978 the Worcester Park journeys were withdrawn. In 1981 the 77A was reintroduced on Saturdays and Sundays, and Monday to Friday school journeys and Sunday afternoon buses were extended from Wandsworth to Putney Heath. In 1983 the 77A was withdrawn between Wandsworth and Raynes Park except for a Monday to Friday peak hour extension to Wimbledon Station which was withdrawn the following year. In 1990 the school journeys to Putney Heath were curtailed at Tibbetts Corner and a year later the route was revised to run between Aldwych and Wandsworth only. The 77A was the last route in London with a suffix letter, and another bit of London’s bus history ended when it was renumbered 87 in June 2006.

This plate was officially (but not very neatly) modified from a plain 77 plate with the addition of some wording cut from self-adhesive vinyl stickers. It probably came from the Putney Heath extension of 1981, by which time the use of enamel “E” plates was being phased out in favour of vinyl stickers.

Route 77B was introduced in 1953 as a Sunday-only variant of the 77, and ran between King’s Cross Station and Wallington via Euston, Russell Square, Aldwych, Trafalgar Square, Whitehall, Millbank, Vauxhall Bridge (the 77 ran via Lambeth Bridge), Wandsworth Road, Clapham Junction, Earlsfield, Tooting Broadway, Mitcham, Hackbridge and Carshalton. What was unusual (these days) is that it ran in two overlapping sections: from King’s Cross to Tooting (Mitre) and from Tooting Broadway to Wallington. It was also one of the last routes to be introduced using D-class Daimlers (along with RTLs). The Ds were replaced early in 1954 with RTs. In early 1957 it was withdrawn between Euston and King’s Cross. At the end of 1958 the Tooting Broadway to Wallington section was withdrawn and replaced by an extension of route 44 from Mitcham to Wallington. In 1965 the 77B was introduced on Saturdays between Euston and Wallington replacing the Saturday journeys on the 77 (but still via Vauxhall Bridge), and again running in sections. In 1969 the Saturday service was withdrawn between Aldwych and. July 1969 saw the Saturday route cut back from Euston to Aldwych. In October 1970 the Sunday service was withdrawn between Trafalgar Square and Euston, only to be extended back to King’s Cross the following May! In October 1971 the 77B route gained RMs, but this was to be the last hurrah for the route. In May 1972 the Tooting to Wallington service was withdrawn and replaced by new route 115B. The 77B was withdrawn in 1973 when the 77 was diverted via Vauxhall Bridge, and the whole service was renumbered plain 77.

Eight years later (in 1981) the 77B had a reincarnation when it was introduced as another Sunday-only route between Clapham Junction and Raynes Park to replace part of the 77C (described below) when that route was withdrawn again. Operated this time by DMSs, it was not to be a long-running venture, lasting only two years and then withdrawn for the second time, replaced by new route 156. It’s fair to say that the 77B was never one of London’s best known Central routes, mainly due to only running on the weekend. Add in the overlapping sections (an unusual mode of operation for London), and this makes it a rather “unsung hero”.
77B SAT.-SUN.
 77B SAT. & SUN.
This is a somewhat more unusual variation, with the entire plate in red instead of just the SUN. element, and an ampersand symbol instead of a dash between the two days.		 77B SUNDAY
This plate is more likely to have been made for the route’s second life, in which case it must be one of the last enamel “E” plates to be made as vinyl stickers were introduced from 1981 onwards.
77B SAT. & SUN. 77C SAT. & SUN.
 ← This plate would have come from the common section between Euston and Westminster at a time when both routes were running on both days: between 1965 and 1971. It is not too common to find a split plate totally in red, showing a pair of suffix routes with both SAT. & SUN., as latterly references to Saturdays were changed to black.
77C SATURDAY
This “E” plate is likely to come from the Trafalgar Square–King’s Cross section.		77C SAT.-SUN.
77C SATURDAY KINGS CROSS
This plate would probably have come from Euston during the period when only the Saturday service ran there: between 1971 and 1975. As the plate is “destinated”, it is likely to be one of only two made.

Route 77C was introduced in 1959 on Sundays to replace the 77A which was withdrawn on this day, and ran between King’s Cross Station and Raynes Park via Euston, Russell Square, Aldwych, Trafalgar Square, Whitehall, Westminster Bridge, Vauxhall, Wandsworth Road, Clapham Junction, Wandsworth, Wimbledon Park and Wimbledon. In 1965 it was introduced on Saturdays, again to replace the 77A which was withdrawn on this day. In 1971 the 77C was withdrawn on Sundays between Trafalgar Square and King’s Cross, although in 1975 some early Sunday journeys were re-extended to King’s Cross. The 77C was withdrawn in 1981, being replaced by the 77 and 77A. There was a later route that carried the number 77C for schools, and it was the last route in London to have a “C” suffix.

Route 78 ran daily from Shoreditch Church to Dulwich (Plough) via Liverpool Street Station, Aldgate, Tower Bridge, Dunton Road, Old Kent Road, Peckham Park Road, Peckham, Peckham Rye and Barry Road. Originally operated by RTs from Nunhead [AH], Dalston [D] and Old Kent Road [P] garages, RTLs also ran on the route from 1954 to 1968. Routemasters first appeared on the 78 in 1963 on Sundays only, moving to Saturdays as well in 1969. In 1972 the route was converted to one-person-operation with DMS type buses, but these were replaced with Scania MDs in 1980. The 78 was converted from Scania MD to single-deck Leyland Nationals in 1981, and the following year double deck Leyland Titans ousted the LS class. In 1988, after almost 40 years of running between the same termini, it was extended from Dulwich to Forest Hill, partly replacing the withdrawn section of route 12. In 1990, under the tendering process, operation was transferred to London & Country on a two-year contract using Leyland Atlanteans and hired Fleetlines from South Yorkshire. In 1994 it was withdrawn between Peckham Rye and Forest Hill, now turning at Peckham Rye (Eastern Arm). In 1995 it was operated by Londonlinks, and in 1997 it moved within the Cowie group to Kentish Bus. In 1998 it was transferred to Grey Green, then to Arriva London North East in 1999. In 2000 the 78 was extended from Peckham Rye to Nunhead (St. Mary’s Road) via Nunhead Lane.
78
 78
 78 DULWICH
This “E” plate would have come from the bus stop in Aldgate High Street where buses in both directions passed the same point, and thus it will be an exceedingly rare plate.
78 SUNDAY
 ← The 78 is not an easy route to find on “E” plates, and being a red Sunday plate is of particular interest. It would have come from the section of route between Aldgate and Bishopsgate, where on Sundays the route had to run via Dukes Place and Bevis Marks, as the normal routeing via Middlesex Street was impassable owing to Petticoat Lane Sunday Market. In later years this routeing variation ceased as buses were rerouted daily along Dukes Place and Bevis Marks, avoiding the need for a different routeing.
This astonishingly rare plate would have come from a stop in Bevis Marks, which was used on Sunday mornings by buses towards Shoreditch as they could not use Middlesex Street owing to it being used for the Petticoat Lane Market. There are a number of different wordings for this message and all are equally rare. →		 78 SUNDAY BEFORE 4.00 P.M.
79
 79 MON.-FRI.
 79 MON.-SAT.
79 SPECIAL JOURNEYS ONLY
“E” plates with the wording SPECIAL JOURNEYS ONLY are rather rare as they usually were made for specific stops.

Route 79 ran daily between Colindale Station and Alperton via Canons Park, Kingsbury and Wembley, with some Monday to Saturday journeys extended to Northolt (Target) via Hanger Lane, Western Avenue, Perivale and Greenford. Later in 1949 the Northolt journeys were extended to Northolt Airport. In 1952 the Northolt journeys were transferred to route 79A, and the 79 was rerouted at Alperton via a loop to Perivale (Dawlish Avenue). In 1956 the Sunday service was withdrawn, and in 1966 the Saturday service was withdrawn. In 1968 it was withdrawn between Alperton and Perivale, and the following year it was converted to one-man-operation and extended during peak hours from Alperton to Northolt (Target). In 1972 it wa extended from Colindale to Grahame Park Estate. In 1973 it was extended from Grahame Park to Burnt Oak Broadway and a Saturday service was added. A Sunday service was introduced in 1975 between Burnt Oak and Alperton. In 1978 the Northolt journeys were extended from the Target to Northolt Station. The route was withdrawn between Alperton and Northolt in 1980. In 1983 it was extended on Mondays to Saturdays from Alperton to Willesden Junction via Park Royal, and in 1984 it was extended on Sundays from Alperton to Ealing Broadway. The route was withdrawn later that year. The current route 79 is the old route 79A renumbered.

Route 79A ran weekdays between Edgware Station and Perivale (Dawlish Avenue) via Canons Park, Queensbury, Kingsbury, North Wembley, Wembley, Alperton and Bilton Road, with some Monday to Friday rush hour and two Saturday journeys extended to Northolt Airport. Starting in 1954 on Saturdays and Sundays the 79A ran in an anticlockwise loop through Perivale via Aintree Road and Bideford Avenue, returning along Horsenden Lane and Bilton Road, and the service to Northolt Airport was cut back to Northolt (Target Inn). In 1956 the Sunday service was altered to run in both directions around the Perivale loop, but two years later the Sunday service was withdrawn. In 1966 the Saturday journeys beyond Perivale to Northolt were withdrawn. In 1968 route 79A was withdrawn between Alperton Station and Northolt except for Monday to Friday rush hour journeys, and replaced by new route 297. In 1969 the Northolt journeys became lunchtime only, and the remainder were transferred to route 79. In 1973 it was withdrawn between Alperton Station and Northolt. In 1980 it was extended from Alperton to Willesden Junction via Mount Pleasant, North Circular Road, Park Royal Trading Estate, Twyford Abbey Road and Acton Lane. In 1983 it was withdrawn between Alperton Station and Willesden Junction and replaced by route 79, and also rerouted in Kingsbury via the Mall. In 1987 the 79A was renumbered plain 79 when it was transferred to London Buslines

79A MON.-FRI.
 79A MON.-SAT.
 79A MON.-SAT.
79A SPECIAL JOURNEYS ONLY
← This “E” plate would have come from the section between Alperton Station and Northolt after the service was reduced to lunchtime only in 1969.
A special bus stop timetable display for routes 79 to Colindale (weekdays) and 79A to Edgware (weekdays) posted at the northbound stop in Bideford Avenue, Perivale at Dawlish Avenue for buses starting there, dated 11 October 1961. →
bus stop notice
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