Green Line Coach Route 716 & 716A

Route 716 was introduced in 1946 as part of the post-war re-instatement of the coach services, replacing the west leg of the C1 and north half of the K1 services. It ran from Chertsey to Hitchin via Addlestone, Weybridge, Walton, East Molesey, Hampton Court, Kingston, Ham, Richmond, Barnes, Hammersmith, Kensington, Hyde Park Corner, Marble Arch, Baker Street, Finchley Road, Golders Green, North Finchley, Barnet, Potters Bar, Brookmans Park, Hatfield, Welwyn Garden City, Knebworth and Stevenage. Operated throughout most of the 1950s and the early 1960s by the famous RF-class coaches, conversion to RMC (Routemaster) coaches came in 1963, although the service reverted to one-man-operated single-deckers in 1972. The 716 struggled on until 1976 when it was merged with the 716A, and the southern terminus switched to Woking. In 1978 it was withdrawn north of Oxford Circus, with the southern section not surviving much longer.
	Laurie Akehurst writes: “This particular plate was displayed at Lister Hospital, Stevenage. From 15 October 1972 [route 716] coaches were diverted to call there on Sunday-only when bus services were not as frequent as they were on Monday to Saturday”.	This plate probably came from a stop in Central London where space was at a premium on the stop flags.
This rather poor excuse for an “E” plate comes from the “make-do” era of London Country Bus Services. Vinyl stick-on numbers were affixed to the back of a HEAD STOP plate.	This plate is made with a vinyl sitcker, possibly put on during privatisation, on the reverse of a route 280 “E” plate.
N O R T H B O U N D
This type of plate is particularly sought after as it has four lines of text which is quite rare. The white colour for the lettering suggests that this is a newer “E” plate, from the ’70s.		The cream lettering and the use of the word VIA and the lack of a “teardrop” inside the figure 6 indicate that this is an older plate.
This “E” plate is from a stop between Stevenage and Hitchin and dates from the late 1960s.	Note the non-standard numeral 6 on this “E” plate.
S O U T H B O U N D
This “E” plate came from a stop near the start of the route and dates from about 1960. The reverse of the plate is unusual in that it is plain cream.
This plate was obviously altered from 716A to 716 at the time when the two were amalgamated, to save the expense of making a new plate. Unfortunately, the change was rather inexpertly done. (And where exactly is the “Marble Arc”?)

Route 716A began running in October 1955 from Woking to Stevenage via Addlestone and Weybridge, then the same roads as the the 716 to Hatfield and Stanborough, where it branched off to run to Welwyn via Lemsford and Ayot instead of Welwyn Garden City. The 716A disappeared in May 1976, absorbed into the the 716, and there is virtually no trace of it left now, like so many of the traditional Green Line coach routes.
		◀ A July 1935 fare table for Green Line Route “C” (Chertsey–Sevenoaks & Tunbridge Wells). It is 19.5" × 7.5", with print code 35 - 2390. 200. B.P. -8279, suggesting that this is one of 200 copies. The west half of the “C” services were the pre-War predecessors of the 716 group: C1 to Chertsey and C2 to Woking.
N O R T H B O U N D
	The sole example of an “E” plate with this wording was at Hampton Court (Bushy Gate).	MARBLE ARCH was generally used rather than HYDE PARK CORNER because it would fit onto one line.
The numbers are spaced out more than usual on this “E” plate.		Another “E” plate with cream lettering and the word VIA.
The numbers are of a slightly different style—and the lettering somewhat condensed—on this “E” plate, compared to the older version with cream lettering.		A newer example of the previous “E” plate, with white lettering.
S O U T H B O U N D
		Eliminating the word VIA allowed for an extra destination. This example is (or was) very common and was posted on stops all the way from Welwyn Garden City to North Finchley. Unfortunately this particular plate is damaged by a couple of stone chips.
	The use of the word VIA on an “E” plate with white lettering is unusual.

Click on any of the tiles below to go to images of the “E” plates and the route descriptions for that number series.
Clicking on any stop flag will return to the home page.

Central Area Routes 1-3

Central Area Routes 4-6

Central Area Routes 7-9

Central Area Routes 10-12

Central Area Routes 13-16

Central Area Routes 17-19

Central Area Routes 20-24

Central Area Routes 25-26

Central Area Routes 27-29

Central Area Routes 30-35

Central Area Routes 36-39

Central Area Routes 40 & 40A

Central Area Routes 41-44

Central Area Routes 45-49

Central Area Routes 50-55

Central Area Routes 56-59

Central Area Routes 60-65

Central Area Routes 66-69

Central Area Routes 70-73

Central Area Routes 74-76

Central Area Routes 77-79

Central Area Routes 80-82

Central Area Routes 83-89

Central Area Routes 90-95

Central Area Routes 96-99

Central Area Routes 100-106

Central Area Routes 107-109

Central Area Routes 110-115

Central Area Routes 116-119

Central Area Routes 120-129

Central Area Routes 130-133

Central Area Routes 134-139

Central Area Routes 140-149

Central Area Routes 150-159

Central Area Routes 160-164

Central Area Routes 165-169

Central Area Routes 170-174

Central Area Routes 175-179

Central Area Routes 180-184

Central Area Routes 185-189

Central Area Routes 190-194

Central Area Routes 195-199

Central Area Routes 200-209

Central Area Routes 210-219

Central Area Routes 220-223

Central Area Routes 224-229

Central Area Routes 230-239

Central Area Routes 240-245

Central Area Routes 246-249

Central Area Routes 250-259

Central Area Routes 260-269

Central Area Routes 270-276

Central Area Routes 277-279

Central Area Routes 280-289

Central Area Routes 290-299

Country Area Routes 300-303

Country Area Routes 304-309

Country Area Routes 310-316

Country Area Routes 317-319

Country Area Routes 320-324

Country Area Routes 325-329

Country Area Routes 330-334

Country Area Routes 335-339

Country Area Routes 340-344

Country Area Routes 345-349

Country Area Routes 350-359

Country Area Routes 360-369

Country Area Routes 370-379

Country Area Routes 380-389

Country Area Routes 390-394

Country Area Routes 395-399

Country Area Routes 400-405

Country Area Routes 406-409

Country Area Routes 410-419

Country Area Routes 420-423

Country Area Routes 424-429

Country Area Routes 430-439

Country Area Routes 440-449

Country Area Routes 450-456

Country Area Routes 457-459

Country Area Routes 460-469

Country Area Routes 470-479

Country Area Routes 480-484

Country Area Routes 485-489

Country Area Routes 490-499

Red Arrow & Express Routes 500-616

Trolleybus Routes 513-699

Green Line Routes 701-703

Green Line Routes 704-705

Green Line Routes 706-708

Green Line Routes 709-710

Green Line Routes 711-713

Green Line Routes 714-715

Green Line Routes 716-718

Green Line Route 719

Green Line Route 720

Green Line Route 720A

Green Line Routes 721-723

Green Line Routes 724 & 727

Green Line Routes 725-799

Country Area Routes 800-804

Country Area Routes 805-854A

Mobility Routes 900-980

Lettered Routes A-C

Lettered Routes D-M

Night Routes N1-N83

Night Routes N84-N88

Night Routes N89-N93

Night Routes N94-N299

Lettered Routes P-T

Lettered Routes U-W

Other Operators’ Routes

Other Operators’ Routes

Other Operators’ Routes

Other Operators’ Routes

Other Operators’ Routes

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