Route 408 re-creation

Sunday 24 November 2013

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Event page retained for reference. Click here for the event leaflet.

Readers are invited to board RT4779 for a run over the former Country route 408, between Guildford and Chelsham, on Sunday 24 November 2013. The run marks 50 years since RT4779 was delivered, newly overhauled, to Leatherhead Garage on 29 November 1963.

RT4779 in Leatherhead Garage in about 1965, alongside RT3752 and (probably) RT981.

Photo © Peter Osborn

A brief history of the 408

The 406 and 408 (the '6 road' and the '8 road') were Leatherhead Garage's senior routes. The 406 started operation (unnumbered) between Redhill and Epsom in June 1920, operated by the East Surrey Traction Co under an agreement with the London General Omnibus Co. In November 1921 (92 years ago now), the route was numbered S6 and an offshoot, numbered S6B, started operating from Epsom to Guildford. In 1922 that route was extended to run from Sutton to Guildford and then renumbered S8; the S6 was extended to Kingston. The following year the S6B was extended to run from Guildford to West Croydon.

In 1924, the Bassom numbering system was introduced for routes within the Metropolitan Police area, requiring a renumbering into the 400-series for the southern 'country area'. The S6 became 406 and the S8 became 408.

The 408 ran hourly and needed eight K-type buses, which were supplied by the General and had replaced B-types in 1923. They were stabled at the yard of the Swan Inn in Leatherhead, one being swapped each day for another from Reigate Garage, running via the S6. Early in 1925, the new Leatherhead Garage opened, providing greatly increased capacity for the rapid increase in bus services in the Leatherhead and Epsom area. Chelsham Garage (south-east of Croydon) opened in the same year, looking after the 403 route that operated from Croydon to Westerham, Sevenoaks and Tonbridge, the two routes meeting at West Croydon.

The K-types were replaced by NSs in 1925, replaced by STs in 1930 with these in turn being replaced by STLs in 1936. Meanwhile, the East Surrey company had been wholly acquired by the LGOC in 1929 and was renamed London General Country Services in 1932. The whole group was absorbed into the LPTB in 1933 and LGCS became the Country Area of London Transport.

Green STL2600 working LH21 has paused by the Yew Tree Restaurant at Epsom Clock Tower, en route from Guildford to Warlingham on 14 Jan 50. The driver has left his cab, so perhaps crews changed there in 1950 rather than at Leatherhead Garage which they did later on.

Photo © Alan Cross

The Guildford to Croydon 408 was extended to Warlingham, also served by the 403, and the 403 was extended over varying parts of the 408, from March 1937. But the 408 routing in 1937 differed from the 403 by using South Park Hill Road instead of serving the Swan & Sugar Loaf in South Croydon. With the introduction of the 470 (from Dorking to Leatherhead, then via 408 to Croydon and Warlingham) in October 1938, the 408 was shortened again to run only to West Croydon; in March 1939, the 470 was re-routed south of Croydon to follow the 403. In May 1940, the 408 was re-extended to Warlingham (along the 470) and the familiar post-war pattern of 408 and 470 from Warlingham to Guildford and Dorking respectively was established.

Early in the war, the original front-entrance STLs were replaced by newer roofbox buses from the Central Area; these fine buses were repainted green over the following eight years and continued to operate the 408 and 470 until new RTs 3152 to 3183 were delivered to Leatherhead, Guildford and Chelsham in May-June 1950.

From the start of the winter timetables in 1963, just before RT4779 arrived at Leatherhead, the 408 and 470 became jointly scheduled, up to that point having had separate bus and crew duties. RTs continued to operate the 408 and 470 until replaced by modern buses in June 1972.

In December 1973, Leatherhead put a rather tired RT4549 on the 408, obviously to cover for a failed Atlantean. This is Carshalton High Street, where the run starts. The pavement-mounted filling station is no longer extant.

RT4779 50th anniversary run

The plan is to work parts of winter 1963 duties LH16 in the morning and LH17 in the afternoon, as follows. Note that this is the 1963 timetable; in present traffic conditions, actual times are unpredictable. Passengers will be carried at the discretion of the crew; all stops along the route (except West Croydon Bus Station) will be served on request. Please note: additional morning times have been added and the final Leatherhead to Guildford section deleted, for operational reasons.

	LH16	LH17		LH16
Chelsham LT Garage		1416	Guildford Bus Station	1122
Warlingham Green		1418	Merrow St Johns Church	1134
Hamsey Green Pond		1421	West Clandon Cross Roads	1137
Sanderstead Church		1426	East Horsley Wellington	1147
Sanderstead Station		1432	Effingham Woodlands Road	1154
South Croydon Swan & Sugar Loaf		1437	Great Bookham Rayleigh House	1158
East Croydon Park Lane, Fairfield Halls		1440	Leatherhead LT Garage	1206
West Croydon Centrale		1445	Leatherhead Institute	1209
Waddon Post Office		1450	Ashtead Leg of Mutton & Cauliflower	1216
Beddington Plough		1454	Epsom Clock Tower	1225
Wallington Green	E	1459	Ewell Green Man	1232
Carshalton Windsor Castle	0935	1503	Cheam Station Way	1241
Sutton Post Office	0940	1508	Sutton Police Station	1246
Cheam Station Way	0945	1513	Carshalton Windsor Castle	1251
Ewell Green Man	0954	1522	Wallington Green	1255
Epsom Clock Tower	1001	1529	Beddington Plough	1300
Ashtead Leg of Mutton & Cauliflower	1010	1538	Waddon Post Office	1304
Leatherhead Institute	1017	1545	West Croydon Ruskin Road	1309
Leatherhead LT Garage	1020†	1548	East Croydon Park Lane, Fairfield Halls	1314
Great Bookham Rayleigh House	1028		South Croydon Swan & Sugar Loaf	1317
Effingham Woodlands Road	1032		Sanderstead Station	1322
East Horsley Wellington	1039		Sanderstead Church	1328
West Clandon Cross Roads	1049		Hamsey Green Pond	1333
Merrow St Johns Church	1052		Warlingham Green	1336
Guildford Bus Station	1104		Chelsham LT Garage	1338

E Commences at Carshalton High Street stop E one minute earlier

† The departure at 1020 (Leatherhead Leisure Centre stop) will connect with the TfL 465 from Kingston due at 1021.

Certain parts of the duties may be duplicated.

The site of Chelsham LT Garage is now occupied by Warlingham Sainsburys.