London Transport
Lettered Routes P–W


 

Last updated 29-05-08.

Peckham

Route P1 was introduced in 1968 to replace part of route 202, as a one-man-operated flat-fare single-deck route using MBSs. On Mondays to Saturdays it ran from New Cross (Clifton Rise) to South Bermondsey via Woodford Road, Trundleys Road and Surrey Docks, thence an anti-clockwise circular service via Galleywall Road, St. James’s Road and Rotherhithe New Road back to South Bermondsey and New Cross. On Sundays it ran from New Cross to Old Kent Road (Canal Bridge) via Trundleys Road, Surrey Docks and South Bermondsey. It has long since been withdrawn, and the area is presently serviced by routes 225 (Surrey Docks–New Cross) and 381.
Route P1 in 1970
Route P1 (Monday to Saturday and Sunday) in 1970.
Adapted from The Greater London Bus Map.
P1 MON.-SAT.
 P1 SUNDAY
These two plates would have come from the few stops which were served only on Sundays (Rotherhithe New Road from Galleywall Road to the Canal Bridge terminus at St. James’s Road). They are especially interesting as the P is smaller than the number.		 P1 SUNDAY VIA ROTHERHITHE NEW ROAD
I can’t figure out where this “E” plate would have been posted, as the only Sunday-only section of the route was in Rotherhithe New Road! Perhaps the bus stand at the end of the route was in St. James’s Road and faced the opposite direction?
P2 MON-SAT VIA ROTHERHITHE NEW ROAD
 P2 MON-SAT VIA ROTHERHITHE NEW ROAD
Route P2 in 1970
Route P2 in 1970. Adapted from The Greater London Bus Map.
This “E” plate would have come from the Surrey Docks Station area where the loops met, to indicate whch stop was for which direction. And the use of the singular is correct (note the chip below the A in ROAD), as the two images show that it’s not impossible to remove years of London grime with a little effort!

The P2 was a flat-fare route replacing the 82 via Surrey Commercial Docks to Surrey Docks Station then covering part of route 202, the Rotherhithe New Road loop. The P2 has now long gone being (mostly) replaced by route 381.
P3 leaflet

Route P3 was introduced in 1970 as a one-man-operated flat-fare double-deck route using XAs, replacing the 173 which ran as a circular route in both directions from Peckham Garage via Peckham Rye and Nunhead and back to Peckham. In subsequent years it was extended to London Bridge Station and has now disappeared, being replaced partly by today’s route 343.

Eight-page leaflet for the P3’s inauguration with flat fare XA-type buses on January 24th 1970.

 P3
P4 MON-SAT

Route P4 began operating in 1972 as a Monday to Saturday minibus route between Brixton Station and Brockley Rise via Loughborough Junction, North Dulwich, East Dulwich and Honor Oak Park. By 1984 the daytime service had been extended to Lewisham via Crofton Park, Brockley Grove and Ladywell.

 P4 leaflet

Route P5 was introduced in the 1970s. It now runs daily between Elephant & Castle and Nine Elms (Patmore Estate) via Walworth, Brandon Estate, Myatts Fields, Loughborough Park Estate, Brixton, Bedford Road, Clapham North and Stockwell.

It is very rare to find “E” plates for the P-prefix routes as they tended to be short routes with relatively few bus stops that carried them. Therefore, this one is astonishingly rare.

 P5
Stratford
S1

Route S1 was introduced in 1969 running daily as a circular service from Stratford via Upton Park and East Ham back to Stratford. It was a flat-fare route and replaced route 272, which was itself a trolleybus replacement route replacing routes 689 and 690. The S1 has long since been withdrawn and replaced by changes to other services.

Route S2 was introduced as a lettered flat-fare route in 1970 to replace route 208 which had been worked by crewed RFs. It ran daily between Clapton Pond and Bow (Seven Stars) via Urswick Road, Homerton, Hackney Wick, Victoria Park and Old Ford. In later years the S2 was extended to Bromley-by-Bow Station, and more recently has been further extended to Stratford bus station. It has also been extended at the other end to Clapton (Nightingale Road).

Flat-fare buses ventured into Clapton and Bow beginning 18 April 1970 on new route S2.
Route S2 booklet
S2
The S2 was a short route and largely served unique roads, so the use of “E” plates would have been limited to the few stops that it shared with other services. It is a rather uncommon plate nowadays.		 S2
The lettering on this “E” plate is in a bolder face than normal.		 S2
This is an astonishingly rare “E” plate, as it is particularly unusual to include the word TO.
S3 MON-SAT
The lettering on this “E” plate is somewhat uneven, suggesting that it may have been applied by hand.		S3 MON-SAT
This plate has been officially altered to show MON.-SAT. on a strip below the number, which had been added over whatever wording was there previously.		Route S3 booklet
This leaflet was issued by London Transport to announce new route S3 to start on 17 April 1971 “with new-type buses”.

Route S3 was introduced in 1971, running on Mondays to Saturdays from Stratford (Maryland Station) to Hackney Wick via Carpenters Road. It was later extended to Maryland. The S3 was a flat-fare route and replaced part of route 178 which was London’s last RLH low-height double-deck route. The 178 had run from Clapton Pond, but the new MBS vehicles on the S3 were too long to negotiate some of the roads on the old routeing. The S3 was not very successful and was replaced with an improved service on route 276 which provided more links. Since the S3 was a very short route only a few bus stops displayed “E” plates, so plates for this route are very uncommon.

Wood Green

Route W1 was introduced in September 1968 as part of the Wood Green flat-fare scheme. It ran between Turnpike Lane Station and Edmonton (Cambridge) via Westbury Avenue, The Roundway and Great Cambridge Road. It was an early withdrawal and was replaced by extra buses on route 144.

The W1 is not an easy route to find on “E” plates, and with SATURDAY in red is unusual for such a late plate, as by the 1970s red was usually reserved to denote Sunday services. The wording (EXCEPT RUSH HOURS) on the first plate makes it of particular interest. I believe it came from one of the stops in Wood Green High Road which was intially served by an off-peak extension of the route, but which was short-lived.

 W1 MON.-FRI. (EXCEPT RUSH HOURS) SATURDAY W1 MON-SAT
W2 MON.-FRI. (EXCEPT RUSH HOURS) SATURDAY
This plate likely came from the Wood Green shopping hours extension. If so, it would be amongst the last enamel “E” plates manufactured, as they were being phased out at that time, in favour of vinyl stickers.		 W2 GARAGE JOURNEYS MON.-FRI. EXPRESS
The text GARAGE JOURNEYS did not appear often on “E” plates.
W2 route map
Route W2 in 1970. Adapted from The Greater London Bus Map.
W2 MON.-FRI. EXPRESS
 W2 MON.-FRI. PEAK HOURS EXPRESS
This is one of the paper stickers which were used in the era between vinyl sitckers and plastic “E” tiles. It likely came from the Finsbury Park extension.

Route W2 was also introduced in September 1968 as part of the Wood Green flat-fare scheme. It replaced route 231 between Turnpike Lane Station and Alexandria Park (Victoria) and ran via Priory Road, with a Monday to Friday peak hours extension to Finsbury Park via Crouch End and Stroud Green. In 1976 the weekend service was withdrawn, and all journeys ran to Finsbury Park. In the early 1980s the route was extended to Wood Green during shopping hours.
W3 route map

Route W3 began operating in 1968 as a direct replacement for crew-operated route 233 between Finsbury Park and Northumberland Park via Stroud Green, Hornsey, Alexandria Palace, Wood Green and White Hart Lane; and has remained more or less unchanged to this day. For the first six months of its operation the W3 ran on Sundays to Fridays, with the Saturday service provided by routes W5 and W6, which covered the service in two sections and along Wood Green High Road to Turnpike Lane Station. However, this arrangement was found unnecessary and abandoned in March 1969 when Saturday service was introduced. The initial fare was a flat 6d (21⁄2p). In 1974 the fare went up to 4p, and then increased another 1p the following year.

Route W3 in 1970. Adapted from The Greater London Bus Map.

 W3
W4 W4 MON-FRI (EXCEPT RUSH HOURS) SAT & SUN

Route W4 was introduced in 1968 running between Turnpike Lane Station and Winchmore Hill via Wood Green and Palmers Green, replacing part of route 141 as part of the Wood Green flat-fare scheme. For a period of time it did not run between Wood Green and Turnpike Lane during rush hours to avoid traffic delays. The route has long since been withdrawn.

The second “E” plate is particularly unusual in that it has part of the wording in parentheses, in a smaller, condensed type face.

Route W8 was introduced in 1969 as a flat-fare route operated by MBS single-deckers, replacing the 128 which ran between Chase Farm Hospital and Edmonton Green via Gordon Hill, Enfield Town and Church Street. It was extended from Edmonton to Picketts Lock in the early ’70s to serve the new Leisure Complex, and received DMS double-deckers around 1975.

This plate is most likely to have come from the bus stop at Edmonton Green bus station where buses ran through in both directions, but serving different stops. It is therefore a very rare plate.

 W8 PICKETTS LOCK
Walthamstow
W21
Route W21 map
Route W21 in 1970. Adapted from The Greater London Bus Map.
W21 fare table
Route W21 fare table dated 18.6.78.

Route W21 was introduced as part of the Walthamstow flat-fare scheme in September 1968, and ran as a circular service from Walthamstow Central via Hoe Street, Chingford Mount, New Road, Highams Park Station and Wood Street in both directions. It was withdrawn around 1980. It is a very rare plate to find nowadays.
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