London Transport
“Double Vertical” E2 Plates

Last updated 25-01-08.

Here are some examples of the magnificent “double verticals” (as they were commonly known; technically “E2”) plates. Normally only to be found at major interchange points and termini (e.g. Aldgate Bus Station), they were a little more common in the Country Area and for Green Line coach routes.

Route 82 was introduced in September 1970 running daily between Hounslow Bus Station and Heathrow Central via Hounslow West, Cranford and Harlington Corner. It was extended on Mondays to Saturdays to Hatton cross via the Cargo Tunnel and Cargo Terminal, and further extended on Mondays to Fridays to Hounslow West Station. It replaced route 81B and provided the first regular bus service through the Heathrow Cargo Tunnel. Because the route ran as a loop, buses travelling clockwise had yellow destination blinds. On the opening of the Piccadilly Line extension to Heathrow Airport in July 1975, the 82 was withdrawn between Hatton Cross and Hounslow West via the direct routeing, and became a daily route between Hounslow and Hatton cross via Heathrow Airport. The service was withdrawn in September 1982 and replaced by route 202.

The current route 82 runs between North Finchley and Victoria.

This “E” plate is an unusual size—approximately 5 inches × 8 inches—because at the time the bus stops at Heathrow Airport were provided by the British Airports Authority and were non-standard. Therefore, a number of the plates at Heathrow were this size. This is a rare example of a painted “E” plate which was produced because of the non-standard size. It was sign-written by specially-trained staff at London Transport’s Works & Buildings Department.

 82 MON-SAT HATTON CROSS VIA CARGO TERMINAL
419 VIA LONG GROVE HOSPITAL FARE STAGE

Route 419 was a short local route running between Langley Vale and Brettgrave via Woodcote Park, Epsom and Long Grove Hospital.

My guess is that this plate came from Epsom. With an ebay selling price of £204.99 in January 2008, it could be considered somewhat of a bargain given how rare “E2” plates are.

Route 708 ran between East Grinstead and Hemel Hempstead via Felbridge, Lingfield, Godstone, Caterham, Whyteleafe, Purley, Croydon, Norbury, Streatham, Brixton, Stockwell, Vauxhall, Victoria, Hyde Park Corner, Marble Arch, Kilburn, Cricklewood, Colindale, Edgware, Stanmore, Bushey, Watford, Kings Langley and Two Waters. In 1975 the route was extended to Aylesbury to replace the withdrawn 706. The section south of London was replaced by route 719 in 1978. The remainder of the route was withdrawn in the early eighties.

 708 CROYDON VICTORIA WATFORD HEMEL HEMPSTEAD
721 ILFORD ROMFORD BRENTWOOD

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 withdrawn in about the mid-70s.

Although recreated in Photoshop, an example of this “E” plate is known to have existed at Aldgate Bus Station, as evidenced by this photo of RT 3253 taken by A.B. Cross. 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.

RT 3253

The original route 727 was introduced on 4 November 1964 as a Monday to Saturday express service between London (Victoria) and Tring via Westminster, Trafalgar Square, Oxford Circus, Baker Street, Finchley Road, Golders Green, Hemel Hempstead, Two Waters and Berkhamsted. It was withdrawn on 30 October 1965.

On 13 May 1967 the 727 was reintroduced as a limited-stop western orbital service, running daily between Crawley and Luton Station via Gatwick Airport, Woodhatch, Reigate, Kingswood, Tadworth, Epsom, Ewell, Tolworth, Kingston, Teddington, Hanworth, Hatton Cross, Heathrow Airport, West Drayton, Uxbridge, Rickmansworth, Watford Junction, Garston, St. Albans and Harpenden. (In fact, the only part of the original routeing that the new 727 still served was a short stretch of St. Albans Road between Watford North Station and Garston!) In 1971 the Luton terminus was moved north to Luton Airport. Of course, it has long since been withdrawn, like so much of the traditional Green Line network.
727 CRAWLEY GATWICK WATFORD LUTON
The plate is not actually an “E” plate, being a non-standard size, but was intended for display at Heathrow Airport. Perhaps it should be called an “E1½” plate?		 GREEN LINE 727 EXPRESS HEATHROW AIRPORT WATFORD JUNCTION LUTON AIRPORT
This northbound “E” plate is almost certainly from Crawley Bus Station. Note the semi-condensed lettering for the place names.		 GREEN LINE 727 EXPRESS HEATHROW AIRPORT GATWICK AIRPORT CRAWLEY
The southbound plate was most likely posted at Watford Junction. The GREENLINE legend at the top is also unusual.
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