London Transport
Green Line Coach Routes 721–724

Last updated 05-03-08.

Route 721 ran between Aldgate (Bus & Coach Station) and Brentwood via Whitechapel, Mile End, Bow Road, Stratford, Forest Gate, Manor Park, Ilford, Seven Kings, Goodmayes, Chadwell Heath, Romford, Gallows Corner and Harold Park. While the 721 was once one of the busiest Green Line coach routes, running every 10 minutes on Mondays to Saturdays in the mid-60s, it was an withdrawn in about the mid-70s. The routes running from Aldgate were much shorter than the rest of the cross-London network, so “E” plates for the 721 are amongst the rarest to find.

 721
721 ILFORD ROMFORD BRENTWOOD
This plate is from an eastbound stop and may have come from Aldgate or Stratford. It also existed as an “E2” (or “double-vertical”) plate, as illustrated to the right. Although recreated in Photoshop, an example is known to have existed at Aldgate Bus Station, as evidenced by this photo of RT 3253.
RT 3253
 721 ILFORD ROMFORD BRENTWOOD
 721 STRATFORD ALDGATE
This “E” plate is from a westbound stop, and sold for a remarkable £440.01 on ebay.
721 STRATFORD ALDGATE
722-722A

Route 722 ran from Aldgate via Mile End, Bow, Stratford, Forest Gate, Manor Park, Ilford, Becontree Heath, Romford, Hornchurch and Upminster to Corbets Tey. Route 722A was planned to run from Aldgate to North Romford (Chase Cross), but it was cancelled before service started.

This -year old “E” plate was never used as the 722 was never introduced.

Route 722A route was planned to run from Aldgate following the 722 from Aldgate via Mile End, Bow, Stratford, Forest Gate, Manor Park, Ilford and Becontree Heath to Romford, from where it would have continued to North Romford (Chase Cross). However, the plans for the 722A were cancelled at the last minute owing to objections from Central Buses. Nevertheless, the number 722A did find its way onto “E” plates, and also into one timetable dated 14th October 1959.

This is an unique “E” plate, as routes rarely had plates made if they were not actually introduced. It sold on ebay for a tidy £600.

 722A ALDGATE

Route 723 ran between Aldgate and Tilbury (Ferry) via Stepney East, Poplar, East Ham, Barking, Dagenham, Rainham, Wennington, Aveley, Stonehouse Corner, Purfleet, Grays and Chadwell St. Mary. The 723 was worked initially by TF class vehicles from Grays garage and ran every 15 minutes daily between London and Grays, and hourly on to Tilbury.
Route 723 timetable 6 March, 1946
This timetable leaflet for route 723 is dated “on and after March 6, 1946”. This date saw the reintroduction of the Green Line service between London (Aldgate), Grays and Tilbury, and was therefore the first leaflet issued for the newly-numbered route. (Before the war Green Line service Z1 ran to Tilbury, and service Z2 ended at Grays.) It is a single sheet of paper, folded to give eight 31⁄2" × 51⁄4" pages, showing full timetables and boarding regulations, with a note that “single journey tickets only issued”. There were only 1,000 copies of this leaflet produced.		 723
 723
This “E” plate was originally a 723A plate with a destination, but the “A” suffix and place name have been officially ground off by London Transport, no doubt when the 723A was withdrawn in the mid-’60s. Route 723A followed the 723 between Aldgate and Wennington (Lenard Arms), but then diverted via Usk Road, Aveley, Belhus, North Stifford and Nutberry Corner to Grays.
723 POPLAR ALDGATE
This is a rare exampleof a painted “E” plate which was probably produced because of an urgent need. It was sign-written by specially-trained staff at London Transport’s Works & Buildings Department.		 723 ALDGATE
There weren’t many destinated plates on this route. Two examples of this one existed at Movers Lane (The Volunteer) and New Road (Cherry Tree Lane).		 723 ALDGATE CANNING TOWN
723 CANNING TOWN ALDGATEThis is a rare gem: a factory reject. This plate was never used (and is in pristine condition) because the locations are printed the wrong way ’round (Aldgate being the final destination). It was intended for use on a westbound stop near East Ham, but an error was made and instead the place names are reversed!.
723 GRAYS TILBURY
 723 GRAYS TILBURY
This “E” plate once had an extra name—likely DAGENHAM—above GRAYS, but it has been officially ground off for some reason by London Transport.		 723 COACH
I believe that this “E” plate may once have carried the destination GRAYS, but it has been altered to show the word COACH, which has resulted in some damage. This plate is also thicker, and therefore heavier than most similar ones (which I find slightly surprising for a Green Line plate with white, rather than the older cream, text). The reverse is also white enamel.
723B WEEKDAY

Route 723B ran between Aldgate and Tilbury (Ferry) via Limehouse, Poplar, Canning Town, East Ham, Barking, Dagenham, Rainham, Aveley, Stonehouse Corner and Grays. By the end of 1964 the 723B had been cut back to Grays in the east and East Ham in the west, except for a rush hour extension to Aldgate, and it was withdrawn completely by 1969. As with so many of the traditional Green Line coach routes, there is no sign of the route left today.

This plate is I think particularly interesting as it combined the very rare use of a “B” suffix for a Green Line route with the use of WEEKDAY rather than the usual selection of place names.

Green Line coach service 724 ran from Romford to Staines via Abridge, Epping, Harlow, Hertford, Hatfield, Welwyn Garden City, St. Albans, Watford, Rickmansworth, Uxbridge and Heathrow Airport. It had previously ran to High Wycombe instead of Staines, but was rerouted in the early ’70s with the growth of travel to Heathrow Airport. The 724 survives as the last remnant of the “’round-London” routes introduced in the 1950s (725, later 725/726 between Gravesend and Windsor; now X26 Croydon to Heathrow) and 1960s (724 and 727: Luton–Heathrow–Crawley). It was operated by RF coaches, and subsequently RPs and latterly Leyland Nationals. It was once a major link and remains alive and well, operating daily with coaches hourly (two-hourly on Sundays) between Harlow and Heathrow. (Thanks to Matthew Keyte for the additional information.)

The original route 727 began running in November 1964 as a Monday to Saturday express service between London (Victoria) and Tring via Oxford Circus, Golders Green, Mill Hill, Garston, Hemel Hempstead and Berkhamsted. It was withdrawn after only 51 weeks of operation. The number 727 was reintroduced in 1969 as a western orbital service, running daily between Crawley and Luton Station via Gatwick Airport, Reigate, Epsom, Ewell, Kingston, Teddington, Heathrow Airport, Uxbridge, Rickmansworth, Watford, St. Albans and Harpenden. In 1971 the Luton terminus was moved north to Luton Airport.

724-727 leaflet
London Country fare and timetable leaflet for routes 724 and 727 from 3 June 1972.
724-727 poster
A London Country Bus Services poster advertising the new 724 and 727 services. The design emphasizes the orbital nature of the two routes.		 724 ALIGHTING POINT ONLY
This “E” plate may have come from London (Victoria), as most points served by this limited-stop route would have been marked with blue EXPRESS plates.
724 EXPRESS ALIGHTING POINT
 		 724 EXPRESS FARE STAGE
 724 EXPRESS HIGH WYCOMBE
724 EXPRESS STAINES
 		 724 EXPRESS HEATHROW AIRPORT STAINES
 724 EXPRESS HEATHROW AIRPORT STAINES
724 EXPRESS HEATHROW AIRPORT ROMFORD
Unlike other eastbound “E” plates, this one could only have been posted at Staines and could quite possibly be one of only four made. It was originally bought at a LOTS sale, and its sale on ebay in November 2007 for £787.47 was the first appearance of such a plate since the mid ’seventies. It is in immaculate unmarked condition.		 724 EXPRESS ROMFORD
 724 EXPRESS - 727 EXPRESS
← →
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 40-44
Central Area Routes 45-49 Central Area Routes 50-55 Central Area Routes 56-59
Central Area Routes 60-69 Central Area Routes 70-73 Central Area Routes 74-76
Central Area Routes 77-79 Central Area Routes 80-89 Central Area Routes 90-99
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 270-279 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 Routes 719-720 Green Line Routes 721-724
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-W
Other Operators’ Routes Other Operators’ Routes
Other Operators’ Routes Other Operators’ Routes Other Operators’ Routes
Stops
Bus Stops
 Sources
Sources		 Maps
Maps

Links
Links		 Advanced Search
Advanced Search