Aviation Specials – June 2018

Celebrating a British icon 61

Corner end of the route when

vigorous circumnavigation of

the roundabout created the same

result. Simple pleasures kept us

entertained for hours back then.

The trolleybus service ran

largely unaltered until 3 January

1962 when Routemaster

motorbuses took over on what

became routes 245 (North

Finchley-Stanmore Station)

and 266 (Edgware Station-

Hammersmith). The 245 and the

245A added later were replaced

in September 1968 when route

251 was extended from Burnt

Oak to Stanmore.

Radical change

A more radical change in

June 1970 cut the 266 back to

Colindale, replaced by new route

32 between Edgware and Kilburn

Park stations, still operated

with Routemasters. The 142

was shortened then to operate

between Watford and Colindale,

its RT-class double-deckers

replaced by SMS-class AEC Swift

single-deckers.

Several other routes have

operated along the High Street,

such as the 107 to Queensbury

(now withdrawn in favour of

the cross-town 288), 204 to

Wembley and Sudbury, 251 to

Arnos Grove, 292 and 292A to

Colindale one way and Watford

the other, the 303 to Colindale

and 305 to Kingsbury. Today,

Station Road has probably the

greatest concentration of buses

and routes as they either pass

through Edgware or terminate at

its bus station.

Along with the aforementioned

routes, others to the west have

over the years been the 18

extended through from Wembley,

Paddington and London Bridge,

79 to Wembley and Alperton,

113 to Canons Park, 114 to

Rayners Lane, 140 to Harrow

and Heathrow and 209 to South

Harrow. The 79 has remained

fairly constant, while the 18 was

shortened at Harrow in favour

Suburban London

ABOVE: N1-class

AEC trolleybus

1623 on route 666

to Edgware. J. H.

ASTON/MALCOLM

PAPES COLLECTION

LEFT: AEC Swift

SMS60, with

Park Royal body,

operating local

route 288 in

Broadfields in June

1971 when it was

little more than a

year old.