Tuesday 27 November 2012

The Numbers 445/6/7/8/9 Routes -Not


We are coming to a part of the list of London bus routes where the non-existent numbers almost outnumber the ones that remain.  But we feel it worth acknowledging them

There is a 445 National express Coach that takes you from Hereford, via Ross on Wye, Gloucester and other such places and lands up at Victoria Coach Station
And in the 1970s, there seems to have been a 445 around Windsor according to this website. Which reminds me, I am very grateful for the helpful explanations attached to my post for the missing 437/8/9.

The 446 is an Abellio Surrey bus which takes you from Staines to Woking;  the number was used for a variety of round ‘round there’ in the days of London Country buses.

Nowadays the  447 is a coach that runs from Victoria Coach Station to Lincoln.
But in the 1950s and 60s, there were several routes 447//A/B/C running into and out of Reigate and Merstham though they seem to have been infrequent and/or school journeys only.

448 is a National Express Coach that will take you from London Victoria to Grimsby.  This makes me think of that family board game, the Great Game of Britain, based on the railways of the 19th century.  One of the innumerable hazard cards read 'enticed to fish: go to Grimsby'.  Ah, those happy family games, when one could be sure that at least one person would slam out of the room in tears before the end.
There was also a 448 around Guildford till the 1960s, thanks again to E plates.  But I think if you wanted to ride a 448 today you would need to be in West Bromwich, not the South East.




And, finally, the 449 used to travel to and from Dorking but there also used to be one in and around Romford.

None of that being particularly interesting, I thought I would cheer you up by linking to a splendid website pointed out by the great Diamond Geezer. We LWB enjoy shop fronts, and shop names, and we have often mentioned and photographed punning hair dressers and butchers.  But we are beginners compared to the relentless collector whose site this is.

You get a proper bus again next.




1 comment:

  1. There was also a 446 from Upminster Station to Upminster Park. See http://www.londonbuses.co.uk/routes/446.html for details.

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