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Red RF routes
Route 212
A significant route for us because our RF486 was delivered new
to Muswell Hill garage in February 1953 for the 212. A high
capacity route that used single deckers until the bridge on Muswell
Hill was removed.
Dates of RF operation
10 Feb 53 to 5 Jan 60
(total 6 years, 11 months, all crew
operation).
Destinations
FINSBURY PARK - MUSWELL HILL BROADWAY
Express service M-F peaks introduced 12/10/55
RFs 411 and 352, plus
one, lay over at Muswell Hill Broadway, 4 August
1959 Photo © KG
Carr, Peter Gomm collection
Route history
Originally numbered the 111, the route was introduced in
April 1914 from Finsbury Park to Muswell Hill. Initially
worked by Holloway garage (J), the route was reallocated to Muswell
Hill (MH) when that garage opened on 23 Sep 25. Using LT
'Scooters' from 1931, the route was renumbered on 3 Oct 34 into the new 200-series of
single-deck routes.
The LTs lasted until 1946/7, when there was a phased
replacement by new 14T12 Regals during 1946. However,
the 7.7 litre AECs proved underpowered (presumably the burden of
full loads up Muswell Hill was too much for them), so from December
1946 they were in turn replaced by the whole of the first
batch of 31 TDs, with 7.4 litre Leyland engines and Weymann
bodywork, a process completed in June 1947. With a few now
spare, the TDs also appeared on the 210. Meanwhile, Muswell Hill's 244 was
still LT-operated (until at least 1950), and some joint allocation
meant that one LT working reappeared on the 212, Mondays to
Fridays in the late 1940s.
 TD2 will pick
up in Muswell Hill Broadway once the driver resets the blind for
its journey to Finsbury Park. Note the flared rear lower
panels of the Weymann-bodied TD, classic Weymann and unlike the
later Mann Egerton bodies.
Photo Ian Armstrong collection
Providing important links for Muswell Hill and Crouch
End, the 212 was always a very busy route, with a bus every
two minutes in the 1930s to 1950s. LT would have
dearly loved to run double-deckers - indeed, the LGOC
was fined in 1921 for running double-deckers on the 111 over
the weight-restricted railway bridges at Crouch Hill and Muswell
Hill. The peak requirement increased steadily, to a maximum
of 23 LTs, 27 when run by a mixture of LTs and Ts and finally
30 TDs in 1952, falling back slightly to 29 on the
introduction of the larger RFs (but 29 41-seat RFs provided 20%
more seats than 30 33-seat TDs).
The 212 was the second route at Muswell Hill garage
operated by the RF class, from February 1953. The first was
licensed on 4 February and the last few of the batch were held back
and not licensed until 1 March. The route required many more
buses than the 210, but was busiest Monday to Friday, whereas the
210 was busier at weekends, particularly Sundays. Hence the
31 new buses allocated for the 29-bus peak requirement on the 212
also provided just enough (at least in theory) for the 210 to
convert fully to RF at the weekends. In addition, there were
enough buses to allocate some RFs to the 251 on Saturday and, when the winter schedules
came in and the 210 requirement reduced, on Sunday as well.
Meanwhile at Muswell Hill, the 244 kept its TD allocation. In
practice, it seems likely that the picture was less clear-cut than
this.
The route was still under pressure, despite the increase in
capacity provided by the RFs, so to ease the plight of passengers
at intermediate stops waiting in vain for a bus with room to
board, a peak-hour express service was added from 12
Oct 55. This ran the full length of the route in both
directions, stopping only at Alexandra Park (Muswell
Hill Victoria Hotel) and Crouch End
Broadway, but as the faretable shows, the morning peak
journey to Finsbury Park was the key section. Blue blinds
with white lettering were apparently used, but these
journeys seem to have eluded the photographers - does anyone
know of a picture of an RF-operated 212 Express?
The Express was highly successful and continued right through the
RT era until replaced by MBSs on the W2 in 1968.
The route finally converted to RTs in January
1960, once the bridge on Muswell Hill over the abandoned
railway was removed. The majority of the RFs moved
overnight to Kingston for the 218/9, which needed 22
buses. RTs remained until the end on Monday to Friday, but
operation switched to RMs at weekends in June 1963. Other
than the express service, the route converted to one-man flat-fare
operation in the changes of May 1969, being renumbered W7 in the
Wood Green series. The last 212 was an RT on 9 May.
The W7 continues over the same route today. Still
very busy, it is one of the few (the only?) suburban double-deck
routes that is pay-before-you-board.
RF route in detail, with timing points
FINSBURY PARK Wells Terrace, Clifton Terrace, Lennox
Road (return direct from Stroud Green Road to Wells Terrace),
Stroud Green Road, Stroud Green
The Stapleton, Crouch Hill, Crouch End Broadway, Park Road,
Muswell Hill Victoria
Hotel, Muswell Hill, MUSWELL HILL BROADWAY
Faretable
We don't have access to the faretable during RF
operation. However, to view the faretable for May 1965, when
the route was RT operated, including garage journeys click
here; for the Express working, click
here. Note that higher fares for
short journeys were only charged before 0945 and only towards
Finsbury Park, moving the crowds to Finsbury Park being the key
role for the 212.
Garages
MH Muswell Hill
Garage journeys: to/from Muswell Hill Broadway
Vehicle allocation
PVR 1953 (May): Mon-Fri 29, Sat 23, Sun 20
PVR 1953 (Oct): Mon-Fri 26, Sat 19, Sun 18
PVR 1954: Mon-Fri 24, Sat 19, Sun 16
PVR 1955 (May): Mon-Fri 23, Sat 18, Sun 16
PVR 1955 (Oct): Mon-Fri 23, Sat 18, Sun 15
PVR 1958 (Nov): Mon-Fri 21, Sat 15, Sun 15
New RFs delivered Feb 53: 436, 443, 449-453, 462, 466-467,
469-473, 475-478, 480-487 (total 27 + 4 second hand = 29 +
2 spare)
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