London Transport
Central Area Routes 224–229

Last updated 01-06-08.

224 MON.-FRI.
 224 MON-SAT

Route 224 ran from Uxbridge Station to Laleham via Cowley, Yiewsley, West Drayton, Harmondsworth, London Airport, Colnbrook, Horton, Wraysbury, Staines, Kingston Road and Worple Road. It was initially operated by TD single-deckers which were replaced by RFs in 1958-59. In 1963 the roadway under the bridge at West Drayton was lowered allowing RT-type double deckers to be used. From 8 May to 19 June 1963 the 224 was extended on Monday to Friday afternoons to Ruislip Station via Swakelys, but evidently the service was unsuccessful. In 1969 Sunday service was withdrawn between Harmondsworth (Hatch Lane) and Laleham. In 1971 Sunday service was withdrawn entirely, and the remainder of the service was curtailed at Staines except for Saturday shop hours and Monday to Friday peak hours journeys. The latter were diverted via Poyle (Golden Cross). In 1974 the journeys via Poyle were diverted to serve the GAF factory along Blackthorne Road. In 1976 the 224 was withdrawn entirely between Poyle and Laleham. It now ran between Uxbridge and Colnbrook (Coleridge Crescent) on Monday to Saturday, and was extended during peak hours to Poyle (GAF Factory). In 1977 the Saturday service was withdrawn, and the route was finally eliminated completely on 22 April 1978. In March 1979 the former 224B service was renumbered 224.

Route 224B was introduced in January 1957 running on Mondays to Saturdays between Uxbridge and Stockley Estate (Mulberry Parade) via Cowley, Yiewsley, West Drayton and Porters Way. It was converted to one-man-operated RFs in January 1971, and rerouted at West Drayton to run via Swan Road, Church Road, Station Road and Porters Way, partly replacing route 224A which was withdrawn. A Sunday service was finally introduced in April 1978; and the route lost its “B” suffix, being renumbered 224 in March 1979.

The first plate would have come from a stop either at Uxbridge or at West Drayton where “E” plates were fitted, and have had a service life of less than a year.

 224B 224B MON.-SAT.
226
 226
 226 MON.-FRI.
RT 2071 Weymann-bodied RT 2071 [LYF 9] makes a hard right turn from Edgware Road into Criclewood Lane, with an omnipresent Morris Minor in the background.
Alan Gryfe photo; (one of my few that survived from 1970.)
 I’m not sure about this, but I think the Monday-to-Friday-only sections of the 226 would have been between Golders Green and Willesden Junction from November 1964 to December 1968, between Cricklewood and Willesden Junction from December 1968 to November 1971, between Cricklewood and Harlesden between November 1971 and October 1976, and between Cricklewood and Park Royal between October 1976 and October 1978 (phew!).

Route 226 ran from Golders Green Station to Cricklewood (Ash Grove) via Hodford Road, The Vale, Pennine Drive, Claremont Road and Cricklewood Lane. In 1953 it was extended Monday to Saturday to Willesden Junction via Anson Road (and Anson Road Public School, where the webmaster attended classes for a year), Dudden Hill Lane, Willesden, Pound Lane, Robson Road and Harlesden, and further extended Monday to Saturday peaks to Park Royal Stadium via Acton Lane and Abbey Road. In April 1958 Saturday service was withdrawn between Harlesden and Park Royal, and in November Sunday service was withdrawn between Cricklewood (Ash Grove) and Willesden Junction. In 1964 Saturday and Sunday service was withdrawn entirely, replaced by new route 245A. In 1966 evening service was withdrawn between Cricklewood and Willesden Junction. In 1968 Saturday and Sunday service was reintroduced between Golders Green and Cricklewood (Ash Grove). In 1970 Sunday service was once more withdrawn, again replaced by a reintroduced 245A. In 1971 the 226 was withdrawn in Harlesden between Jubillee Clock and Willesden Junction, and the peak hour terminal was changed from the Park Royal Stadium to Park Royal Trading Estate. In 1976 service was extended from Harlesden (Jubillee Clock) to Park Royal between peaks, and in 1978 daily service was introduced throughout. In 1984 the 226 was extended from Park Royal to Burnt Oak, replacing the withdrawn 79, now running daily between Golders Green Station and Burnt Oak Broadway via Pennine Drive, Cricklewood, Anson Road, Willesden,Pound Lane, Robson Road, Harlesden, Park Royal Asda (double-run during Monday to Saturday shopping hours), Heather Park, Alperton, Wembley, North Wembley, Kingsbury, Colindale and Grahame Park. In 1987 The route was split in two sections (except evenings and Sundays): Golders Green to Alperton, and Park Royal to Burnt Oak. In 1990 Monday to Saturday service was withdrawn between Park Royal and Burnt Oak, replaced by new route 224 between Park Royal and North Wembley, and a new 204 between Wembley and Burnt Oak. In 1992 the Sunday extension was rerouted to Wembley (Brent Town Hall) via Wembley and Wembley Hill Road, and withdrawn beyond Alperton Station on Sunday evenings. In 1993 a double run was added during Sunday daytime via Alperton (Sainsburys). In 1995 the 226 was withdrawn beyond Park Royal (Asda), replaced by the 224, and the contract assigned to First Centrewest. In 2004 the route was extended in Park Royal to First Central Business Park via Coronation Road.

Route 227 ran daily from Penge (Crooked Billet) to Chislehurst (Gordon Arms) via Beckenham, Shortlands, Bromley and Bickley. In 1951 it was extended daily from Penge to Crystal Palace via Westwood Hill. It was converted to RF operation in 1952, and then to SMS one-man-operation in 1971. In 1972 it was extended on Saturdays from Chislehurst to Eltham (Well Hall Station) via Green Lane and New Eltham, but cut back again to Chislehurst in 1974. In 1991 it was withdrawn between Bromley and Chislehurst, and replaced by route 161.

The second “E” plate would have come from the short section of route between Chislehurst and Eltham for just the two years between 1972 and 1974. It is probably a very difficult plate to find, as are any which simply show SATURDAY.

 227 227 SATURDAY
228
 228 MON.-FRI. SPECIAL JOURNEYS SAT.-SUN.
This SPECIAL JOURNEYS “E” plate is hand-painted onto sheet aluminum, hence the slight irregularities.
228
Bus stop timetable panel for BUS SERVICE WINTER 1934-1935: Route 228 (formerley route 195), To ELTHAM (WELL HALL STATION), Commencing 3rd October 1934. The route has a journey time of just over half an hour, and the reverse side shows the service in the opposite direction.

Route 228 was a long-established service between Chislehurst (Gordon Arms) and Eltham (Well Hall Station) via Perry Street, Sidcup, Station Road, Halfway Street, Avery Hill Road and Eltham High Street, using single deck buses. In October 1960, route 228 was extended on Mondays to Fridays to Surrey Docks Station via Blackheath (Royal Standard), Ship & Billet, Woolwich Road, Greenwich, Creek Road and Evelyn Street, replacing route 70. The Saturday service was similarly extended to Surrey Docks Station via the same routeing as Mondays to Fridays, with some early trips projected to London Bridge Station, further replacing route 70 which was withdrawn on this day. However, during October 1968, route 228 was withdrawn between Surrey Docks Station and Eltham, which was replaced by revised route 108A. During February 1984, route 228 was rerouted at Sidcup (Police Station) to run to Sidcup Garage except for Monday to Friday peak journeys when the route was extended to Chislehurst. The Sunday service was also withdrawn at this time, replaced by new route 299 and revised route 161. A month later, the Sidcup Garage journeys were rerouted at Sidcup (Police Station) to run to Queen Mary’s Hospital at Sidcup, and latterly that year, the Sunday service was reintroduced replacing part withdrawn route 299. In November 1986, the route was revised to run as a circular route via Chislehurst, renumbered, 228A (anti-clockwise) and 228C (clockwise). In January 1988, the anti-clockwise service was renumbered 328, with the route being withdrawn in September 1996.
229
 229
Note the unusual figure 9 on this “E” plate.		 229 FARE STAGE
229ALIGHTING POINT ONLY “E” plates are very rare, usually having been made for just a single stop at a terminus.

Route 229 was introduced on 21 February 1951 using SRT buses, running Mondays to Saturdays between Sidcup Garage and Sidcup (Wren Road) via Sidcup Station and Faraday Avenue. Eight months later Sunday service was added, RT types replaced the SRTs, and the routing was revised to run from Orpington Station to Bexleyheath Trolleybus Depot via Orpington High Street, Chipperfield Road, St. Mary Cray Station, Midfield Way, Foots Cray, Sidcup, Bexley Park, Rochester Way and Townley Road. In 1959 the 229 was extended from Bexley (Bexley Park) to Woolwich (Parsons Hill) via Bexleyheath, Erith, Lower Belvedere, Abbey Wood and Plumstead, with Monday to Friday peak hour journeys running on to Woolwich Road (Victoria Way), replacing withdrawn trolleybus route 698. In 1964 the Monday to Friday peak extension from Woolwich to Charlton was withdrawn. In 1977 a major revision to the route withrdew it between Bexleyheath Garage and Woolwich except for a Monday to Friday peak service via Erith Road and Bexley Road to Erith; extended it from Orpington to Farnborough via Sevenoaks Road and Farnborough Hill, replacing a withdrawn section of route 51, and supplanted RTs with Routemasters. In 1982 the 229 was rerouted between Sidcup and Bexleyheath via Hurst road and Parkhill Road instead of Murchison Avenue and Elmwood Drive; withdrawn between Sidcup Station and Bexleyheath Garage on Monday to Friday evenings, Saturday except shopping hours, and Sundays; withdrawn between Green Street Green (Rose & Crown) and Farnborough, replaced by new route 261; also being converted to one-person-operation with double deck DMS buses. Two monthls later the DMS type was replaced by Leyland Titans. In 1984 the Sunday service was replaced by new route 299 running between Green Street Green and Eltham, but eight months later it was reinstated when the 299 was withdrawn. In 1986 the route was withdrawn between Bexleyheath (Market Place) and Bexleyheath Garage and between Sidcup Garage and Green Street Green, service was discontinued during evenings, early Saturday mornings and all day Sundays, and Leyland Olympians replaced the Titans. In 1988 the infamous Bexleybus Scheme was enacted, resulting in the closure of Sidcup Garage [SP] which had been the 229’s home for its entire life and its transfer to Bexleyheath [BX], journeys from Bexleyheath to Erith on Monday to Saturday instead of just during peak hours, the terminus changed from Sidcup Garage to Foots Cray (Sidcup Hill), and joint operation with route 178. In 1991 the route was diverted at Sidcup to Queen Mary’s Hospital instead of Foots Cray. In 1994 it was extended from Erith to Thamemead (Town Centre) via Belvedere, Abbey Wood and Crossway, evening service was introduced, and MRL Metroriders covered the Sunday service. In 1999 it was diverted between Bexley and Bexleyheath via Bourne Road instead of Townley Road, and the Sunday service was converted to double-deck buses. In 2000 double deck PVL (Plaxton President bodies on Volo B7L low-floor chasis) buses began operating the route.
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Central Area Routes 224-229 Central Area Routes 230-239 Central Area Routes 240-245
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