Celebrating a British icon 107
the outer sections of the 66 and
66A between Collier Row and
Hornchurch, initially with RTs
from North Street, which is the
only garage to have operated
the route. Conversion to driver-
only operation followed a year
later, using SMS-class AEC Swift
single-deckers. The current route
dates from 1986 and describes
a U-shape from Noak Hill in the
north-east, though Gidea Park
and Romford to Havering Park in
the north-west.
Route 296 (Ilford-Romford) is
another result of the September
1982 reorganisation of London
bus services and ran initially
between Harold Wood and
Romford using Leyland Titans
from North Street. In 1987 it was
altered to run between Harold
Wood and Ilford via Romford,
replacing routes 66A and 139.
Tendering saw the route pass to
Capital Citybus in October 1992.
In 2000 the Romford-Harold
Hill section was passed to new
service 496, operation of which
was awarded to Stagecoach East
London with vehicles allocated
to North Street. The 296 retuned
there in 2005 following a tender
win and both routes have been
operated from this site since
then. A weekend night service
was introduced in August 2016.In place of First Essex
In 2005, First Essex — formerly
Eastern National — withdrew
the section of route 351 (then
Chelmsford-Romford) west of
Brentwood, which had operated
within Greater London under
a London Local Services
Agreement as an integral part of
the bus network.
Transport for London replaced
the withdrawn section and
route 498 started running on 26
December, with operation initially
contracted to Arriva Southern
Counties. First Essex continued
to run a Sunday service under
contract to Essex County Council
until August 2007.
Retendering transferred the
route to First London in 2008,
then to Go-Ahead Blue Triangle
in June 2013 when Go-Ahead
acquired First’s Dagenham
operation. Stagecoach wonLondon Bus Garages
TOP LEFT:
Experimental
branding,
showing the main
intermediate
points on route
247, applied to
Stagecoach 17981,
one of the short
length TransBus
ALX400-bodied
Tridents. TransBus
International
was the UK bus
manufacturer
acquired from
receivership in
2004 and renamed
Alexander Dennis.
RICHARD GODFREYBELOW TOP LEFT:
TransBus ALX400-
bodied 9.9m Trident
17989 in Harold
Wood on route
294 when painted
in the livery that
Stagecoach was
permitted to use
before Transport
for London insisted
on 100% red buses
on the network.
The dark blue skirt
and orange and blue
swoops towards the
rear were adapted
from the group’s
standard livery
outside London.THIRD DOWN:
TransBus ALX400-
bodied Trident
17979 in Romford
on route 294 in
2014, designed
Transport for
London’s Year
of the Bus, with
commemorative
graphics on the
panel behind
the front wheel.
PAUL GODDINGBOTTOM:
Alexander Dennis
Enviro200 36261 in
Ilford on route 296.