London Transport
Green Line Coach Routes 723 & 724

Last updated 01-12-07.

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.

723
 723
This “E” plate was originally for route 723A and included a destination, but the A suffix and place name have been officially ground off by London Transport, no doubt when the service was withdrawn in the mid-’60s. It 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 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.
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
This 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. It was intended for use on a westbound stop near East Ham and should have read
723 CANNING TOWN ALDGATE
(Aldgate being the final destination), but an error was made and instead the place names are reversed!.
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.
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.
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 ALIGHTING POINT ONLY
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
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