London Transport Country Area Routes 800-804

London Transport
Country Area Routes 800–804

Town Services

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The 8×× numbers were used for the town services as the number of routes expanded, and there was a shortage of spare route numbers in the 3×× and 4×× series. Being local routes there would probably have not been very many of these “E” plates around, as they are likely to have been used just in the town centres or industrial areas.
800-801-802 803-804-805

Route 800 ran as a circular route from Hitchin via Little Wymondley, Stevenage Bus Station, Bedwell, Bandley Hill, Longmeadow and Marymead, Stevenage Bus Station and Little Wymondley to Hitchin. By the late 1960s it had been changed to run from Stevenage (BR) Station via Stevenage Bus Station, then clockwise through Bedwell, Bandley Hill, Longmeadow, Marymead and Stevenage Bus Station, thence to Martins Wood, Sishes End or Little Wymondley and Hitchin.

 Route 800 map
800
 800
 800 ALMOND SPRINGS
I imagine that this “E” plate is from Stevenage High Street north of the bus station, where there was likely different stops for the Sishes End and Martins Wood journeys.
800A

Route 800A provided rush hours journeys to Stevenage Industrial Area and ran clockwise from Longmeadow via Marymead, Gunnells Wood Road, Stevenage Station, Little Wymondley to Hitchin Station.

Route 800A map

Route 800C was a later introduction than the 800/800A, and provided rush hour journeys to the Northeastern Industrial Area in Stevenage from Longmeadow and Marymead.

 800C
801

Route 801 ran as a circular route from Hitchin via Little Wymondley, Stevenage Bus Station, Marymead, Longmeadow, Bandley Hill, Bedwell, Stevenage Bus Station and Little Wymondley to Hitchin. By the late ’60s it ran as a circular route from Stevenage (BR) Station via Stevenage Bus Station, anti-clockwise via Marymead, Longmeadow, Bandley Hill, Bedwell and Stevenage Bus Station, thence to Martins Wood, Sishes End or Little Wymondley and Hitchin. The railway station was later moved nearer to the town centre, and the terminus became Stevenage Bus Station.

 Route 801 map
Route 801A map

Route 801A provided rush hours journeys to Stevenage Industrial Area and ran from Hitchin Station via Little Wymondley, then anti-clockwise via Gunnells Wood Road, Stevenage Bus Station and Marymead to Longmeadow.

 801A
801C 801C

Route 801C was a later introduction than the 801/801A, and provided rush hour journeys to the North Eastern Industrial Area in Stevenage from Marymead and Longmeadow.

Route 802 was a Stevenage town service and ran during rush hours between Bandley Hill and the Industrial Area via Popple Way and Bridge Road, with journeys continuing on to the bus station and Bedwell. The Stevenage local services were RT operated for much of their life.

802
802 MON-FRI
This “E” plate is particularly unusual in showing the days of operation. This was much rarer in the country area, and tended to occur only for weekend variations or single days.		802/802B
This plate is particularly unusual in that the line splitting the two routes is diagonal rather than the usual horizontal, and I cannot establish the reason why. This treatment was applied to just this route combination and one other (the 303/303A) as far as I can tell. It also has no black line at the top and bottom, as was the case with some very early plates.
802A 802A GUNNELS WOOD ROAD SOUTH

The Stevenage town route 802A had a very short life. It was created in July 1964 to run from Pin Green—a newly built part of Stevenage New Town—into the Stevenage Industrial Area. My 1965 map shows the route marked as a special journey and, as such, does not appear on the map. A 1968 map shows the route gone with only its brother and sister, the 802 and 802B remaining.

To give you an idea of how rare “E” plates for this route are, the destinated one sold for £509 on ebay in January 2008.

I have not been able to establish exactly where the 802B variant ran (although obviously to Sishes End), but it would certainly have been another of the Stevenage Industrial Area services.

This “E” plate, being destinated, will be a very rare one.

 802B SISHES END
INDUSTRIAL AREA SERVICES

This “E” plate would probably have come from Stevenage, and date from the earliest days of development of the new town when a large number of route variations ran to the Gunnells Wood Road Industrial Area. Thus this generic plate would have saved the production of a great many individual route plates for routes 800/800A/800B/800C, 801/801A/801B/801C and 802/802A/802B. It would most likely have come from Stevenage Bus Station.

Unusually, this “E” plate does not have the black edged top and bottom, and I therefore assume it is a much older plate. This is a very unusual wording in my experience, and I have only seen one of these before (so it may be one half of an unique pair). The text is also bolder than normal.

Route 803 Express was introduced on 21st March 1956, running on Mondays to Fridays during rush hours between Welwyn Garden City and Uxbridge via New Hatfield, St. Albans, Garston, Watford, Rickmansworth and Maple Cross. The route lasted until the late ’seventies I believe.

There were only limited stops on the route and so the number of “E” plates would have been small compoared to the length of the route, and even fewer with the words FARE STAGE added. Express route plates were not common at the best of times.

 803 EXPRESS 803 EXPRESS FARE STAGE
804 GREAT PARNDON KINGSMOOR JOYNERS FIELDS Route 804 map

Route 804 ran between Latton Bush and Staple Tye via Bush Fair, Tye Green and the town centre.

Route 804A ran in the ’60s from Harlow Mill Station to Latton Bush via Templefields Industrial Area, Brays Grove, Tye Green and Bush Fair. It was a Monday to Friday rush hour service serving the factories.

 804A
804A

Route 804B was a variation of the main 804 town service, running between Harlow (Kingsmoor) and Latton Bush via Harlow Town Station. It was a rather short-lived service, introduced 27 April 1968 and withdrawn by 1973.
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