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Destinations

KINGSTON to LEATHERHEAD (Sundays, 2 Jan 71 to 10 Mar 72)

RICHMOND to LEATHERHEAD (Sundays, 11 Mar 72 to 25 Sep 76)

Route operated Mondays to Saturdays by RTs

RF314 displays the wrong blind to Kingston, having terminated at Leatherhead Garage.

Note the second foglight - a legacy of staff bus operation, as for RF486.

Photo © DC Wilkinson, Peter Gomm collection

Introduced as the first new route in 1950, the 71 was up to 1990 a double-deck route covering the back roads between Kingston and Richmond, with a range of extensions either end at different times.  For most of that period, the 65 covered the main road, extending on southwards to the Country Area garage at Leatherhead.  Both were (in the main) RT routes.

 

 

In November 1968, the southern section of the 65 from Kingston to Leatherhead was switched to the 71, which gained a Sunday service (over that section only) for the first time since 1958.  Just over two years later, in January 1971, one-man operation was introduced on Sundays, using Kingston's RFs.

 

The Sunday service was extended in 1971 over the full length of the route, providing Sunday buses to the Ham Estate and the Tudor Estate for the first time.  RFs ran down to the Leatherhead London Country garage until September 1976, when Kingston's first BLs arrived to run the 216, also replacing RFs on the 71.  At the same time, the Sunday routing (only) was changed to serve Riverside Drive, Ham.

As a postscript to RF operation, the last appearance of an RF on the 71 was the Sunday before the end of RF operation at Kingston, 24 Mar 79, when driver John Boylett managed to convinced the garage engineers to swap a BL for an RF, which did a round trip Kingston - Leatherhead - Richmond and back to Kingston.  That day was also the last of Sunday operation for a while, when the Sunday service and part of the weekday service was replaced by BL-operated 265.  BLs reappeared on Sunday in 1980 when the 265 was withdrawn.

 

 

The weekday RTs lasted until March 1978, just over a year before their final run on the 62, with Routemasters operating a truncated route until 1985.  The route still operates with double-deckers, now only from Kingston to Chessington Zoo (sorry, 'World of Adventures'), with the Leatherhead section now covered by the 465 and most of the Ham section by the 371.

 

RF route in detail, with timing points

KINGSTON STATION (southbound) Clarence Street, Fairfield West, Fairfield South, (northbound) Hawks Road, Albert Road, London Road, Clarence Street, Wood Street; Villiers Road, Lingfield Avenue, Beaufort Road, Claremont Road, Surbiton Station, Victoria Road, Upper Brighton Road, Hook Road, Hook Ace of Spades, Hook Road Chessington, Leatherhead Road, Chessington Zoo, Leatherhead Road, Malden Rushett, Leatherhead Road, Kingston Road Oxshott Road, Bull Hill, North Street; (southbound only) High Street, The Crescent, Church Street; Bridge Street, Guildford Road, LEATHERHEAD LT Garage (Suns, 2 Jan 71 to 10 Mar 72)

 

RICHMOND Dee Road , Lower Mortlake Road, Kew Road, Richmond Station, The Quadrant; (southbound) Eton Street, Paradise Road, Red Lion Street, (northbound) George St; Hill Street, Petersham Road,  Petersham Dysart Arms, Sandy Lane, Ham Estate: Ham Street, Riverside Drive (N section), Ashburnham Road (W section), Broughton Ave, Dukes Ave; Ham Hawker Siddeley Works, Tudor Estate: Tudor Drive, Park Road, Kings Road Park Road, Kings Road; Richmond Road, Kingston Granada (southbound) Clarence Street, Fairfield West, Fairfield South, Kingston Station (northbound) Hawks Road, Albert Road, London Road, Clarence Street, Wood Street; Villiers Road, Lingfield Avenue, Beaufort Road, Claremont Road, Surbiton Station, Victoria Road, Upper Brighton Road, Hook Road, Hook Ace of Spades, Hook Road Chessington, Leatherhead Road, Chessington Zoo, Leatherhead Road, Malden Rushett, Leatherhead Road, Kingston Road Oxshott Road, Bull Hill, North Street; (southbound only) High Street, The Crescent, Church Street; Bridge Street, Guildford Road, LEATHERHEAD LT Garage (Suns, 11 Mar 72 to 25 Sep 76)

 

K      Kingston

 

PVR 1971 (Jan): Mon-Fri [15 RT], Sat [10 RT], Sun 4