Cuddington: route 262

One of London's least known locations, Cuddington enjoyed a very short-lived bus service which must have been one of the first RT routes to be withdrawn. 

Situated between Cheam, Ewell and Banstead, the parish of Cuddington extended for about 4 miles in a strip about a mile wide running north west to south east (the 262 terminus being towards the south-east end of the parish). In a sense, Cuddington hadn't been a real place for a long time because Henry VIII demolished the village, church and manor house of Cuddington in order to create Nonsuch Palace and its two parks, the Little Park (which the current Nonsuch Park occupies part of) and the Great Park to the north west.  Subsequently, the Earl of Worcester was appointed Keeper of the Great Park - hence Worcester Park [followers of Red-RF events might like to keep the name Worcester Park at the back of their minds].

RT4280 on the stand in Cheam   Photo Bob Turner collection

Route 262 (Cheam & Cuddington via Sandy Lane) ran from 10 June 1953 until 2 March 1954, operated by a single bus out of Sutton Garage with Daimler D-type until 8 January 1954, thereafter with RTs.  The route was (with the 151 at A and 32 at AL) one of the last three to operate the Daimlers, each of which ran a single D on 8 January 1954, the last utility buses to see service in London.

The routeing of the 262 was as follows:

CHEAM Kingsway Road, Kingsway Road, Station Way, High Street, St Dunstan's Hill (A217), Belmont Rise (A217), Manor Road, Upper Mulgrave Road, Sandy Lane, CUDDINGTON Sandy Lane, Downs Side where a reversing manoeuvre into Downs Side was required.

The ghost of the 262 lives on in the one-journey a week mobility bus from Sutton to Cuddington, the 962, although this covers none of the 262 roads.  Part of the 262 is now covered by the Optare-operated 470.

Special service on route 262

After the end of the main Carshalton event, there will be a run over route 262 as follows:

These timings allow time for photographers.

A connecting service will run from points served by the running day as follows: