London Transport
Central Area Routes 134–139

Last updated 06-05-08.

Route 134 ran daily between Pimlico (Dolphin Square) and Potters Bar (The Avenue) via Victoria, Westminster, Trafalgar Square, Tottenham Court Road, Camden Town, Kentish Town, Tufnell Park, Archway, Highgate, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Barnet Church and Hadley Highstone. In 1955 it was extended in Potters Bar to the station. In 1958 it was withdrawn between Victoria and Pimlico during the off-peak on Mondays to Fridays, and also between Potters Bar Garage and Potters Bar Station on Sundays. In 1969 it was withdrawn between Victoria and Pimlico on Saturdays and Sundays. In 1970 it was withdrawn between Warren Street Station and Pimlico following the opening of the Victoria Line. In 1975 it was extended to Tottenham Court Road Station. In 1983 it was withdrawn between Barnet Church and Potters Bar. In 1989 it was withdrawn between Friern Barnet and Barnet Church. In 1990 it was extended on Mondays to Saturdays from Friern Barnet to North Finchley, and the Sunday service was similarly extended in 1998.

Route PB1 was a Monday to Saturday minibus service that began operating in 1976 between Potters Bar Garage and Rushfield via Oakmere Estate, the High Street, Potters Bar Station, Baker Street and Dugdale Hill Lane. In 1977 the Saturday service was withdrawn outside of shopping hours, and it was rerouted between the Garage and Station to run via Chace Avenue, Southgate Road and The Walk. The PB1 was one of only two routes that had two letters in their route “number”, the other being the BWI in Borehamwood.
134
 134
 134
134
 134 MON.-SAT. - PB1 MON.-SAT.
This plate most likely came from Potters Bar Station.
135A MON.-SAT.
 135A WEEKDAY RUSH HOURS
 135A WEEKDAY RUSH HOURS
135A SPECIAL JOURNEYS

Route 135A was introduced in May 1962 between Forty Hill and Brimsdown Station via Baker Street, Lancaster Road, Chase Side, Enfield Town, Southbury Road, Ponders End and Green Street. Peak hour journeys were extended to the Lockfield Avenue Industrial Estate, and this was the reason for the “A” suffix, as the main 135 route ran daily between Forty Hill and Brimsdown Station, with journeys to the Power Station. From 1971 both routes were rerouted to Carterhatch instead of Forty Hill, and use of the 135A number finally ceased in August 1977. The route operated from Enfield Garage [E] using RT buses for its entire life.

Route 136 was introduced in 1966 running on Mondays to Fridays only between South Harrow Station and Harrow MET Station via Roxeth Hill, London Road, High Street and Peterborough Hill, serving new roads, and operated by just a single RF. In 1969 it was extended from Harrow via Headstone Road, Harrow View, Courtenay Avenue and Long Elmes to Harrow Weald Garage, and also introduced on Saturdays between Harrow and Harrow Weald, by now using two vehicles. The Saturday service reached South Harrow in 1971. In 1979 it was rerouted in Harrow Weald via Boxtree Road instead of Long Elmes. In 1985 it was extended during Monday to Friday peak hours to Northwick Park Station via College Avenue, Belmont Circle and Kenton Lane replacing route 209. In 1987 it was reduced to peak hours only and withdrawn between Harrow Bus Station and South Harrow. The 136 was withdrawn completely in 1991.

Today’s 136—introduced after the use of enamel “E” plates had ceased—runs daily between Peckham and Grove Park.

136 MON-FRI
 136 MON.-FRI.
137 137 MON.-SAT.

Route 137 ran daily between Crystal Palace and Oxford Circus via Leigham Court Road, Streatham Hill Station, Kings Avenue, Clapham Common, Chelsea Bridge, Sloane Square, Knightsbridge, Hyde Park Corner and Marble Arch. It was extended on Mondays to Fridays and Saturday mornings to Archway Station via Great Portland Street, Warren Street, Camden Town, Kentish Town and Tufnell Park. In 1970 the Saturday afternoon service was extended from Oxford Circus to Archway. In 1987 it was withdrawn between Oxford Circus and Archway. In 1991 it was withdrawn between Streatham Hill and Crystal Palace, and withdrawn completely during evenings and on Sundays at which times it was replaced by route 137A. In 1998 it was reintroduced at all times replacing the Clapham Common to Oxford Circus section of the 137A.

Route 138 was introduced in 1940 and ran daily between Coney Hall and Bromley North Station via Hayes, Pickhurst Lane, Westmoreland Road and Bromley South. In 1954 it was extended on Saturdays and Sundays from Bromley North to Grove Park Station via Burnt Ash Lane, but this extension was reduced to just Saturday afternoons in 1956, and withdrawn completely in 1958, along with the entire Sunday service. The route was withdrawn in 1989 and replaced by an extension of route B1. The number was resurrected in 1990 for a new service between Catford Bridge Station and Coney Hall via Downham, Downham Way, Bromley North, Bromley South and much of the old 138 route.

 138
139 SATURDAY SEE BELOW
 ← This plate is especially interesting: firstly as it shows SATURDAY, which is relatively uncommon on “E” plates; and secondly it states SEE BELOW which usually means the plate came from a specific bus stop served only at certain times. My guess is that it is from the Dagenham Dock stop post-1972, when most of the Saturday service was diverted to New Road.
This “E” plate possibly came from the section of route served by garage journeys to Romford (North Street) Garage [NS]. It has the rarer SPECIAL JOURNEYS ONLY wording. (The word ONLY was usually omitted.) →		 139 SPECIAL JOURNEYS ONLY

Route 139 ran between Dagenham Dock and Gants Hill Station via Heathway, Becontree Heath, Whalebone Lane, Eastern Avenue and Newbury Park, with a Monday to Saturday peak hours extension to Barkingside (Fulwell Cross) via Cranbrook Road, but the peak hours extension only lasted until October 1950. In 1972 In 1975 the route was extended from Gants Hill to Ilford Station, and also diverted between Whalebone Lane and Newbury Park via Rose Lane Estate. In 1982 the Saturday and Monday-to-Friday-evening service service was withdrawn. In 1986 Monday to Friday garage journeys operated in service from Ilford to Barking Garage via South Park Drive. In November 1987 the 139 was withdrawn.

In 1992 a new route 139 began operating between Trafalgar Square and West Hampstead (West End Green). In 2003 it was extended to Waterloo.
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