It's that RF again, years earlierRed RF routes

Route 254

 
Loughton's post-war panhandle route, provided with RFs earlier than planned when faster running meant fewer were required to operate the routes initially converted.
 
Dates of RF operation

7 Oct 53 to 9 Apr 76

Converted to OMO 3 Oct 65

(total 22 years 6 months, of which 12 years crew operation).

 

RF433, later a 'last 236' bus, pictured in about 1958 serving a peaceful Roding Valley.  RF433 ran the 254 again on 9 September 2007.
Photo © C Carter, Peter Gomm collection

 

Destinations
BUCKHURST HILL to LOUGHTON STATION (7 Oct 53 to 7 Jan 58)
SOUTH WOODFORD to LOUGHTON STATION (8 Jan 58 to 9 Apr 76)
 
Route history
One of the new routes which expanded London's suburban bus services once resources were available after the second world war, the 254 brought single-deckers back to Loughton garage after a gap of four years.
 
Station Garage, Loughton
Five years later, on 11 April 1959, RF407 heads for Loughton Station.  Despite the new blinds that would have been produced for the route extension the previous year, this one is still in the style of the early 1950s.  Thanks to David Trumble, we know that the bus is in Old Station Road (outside Ambrose the Auctioneers ) just before it meets High Road.  The bus has just passed Loughton Station and is on route via Debden before returning to Loughton Station.
Photo © Alan Cross, Peter Gomm collection
 
The new route started on 18 January 1950, serving housing west of Debden, and ran a 'panhandle' shape, from Buckhurst Hill Stn via Loughton Way, then a loop passing Loughton Station, via Loughton High Rd and Loughton garage, Debden Station and back to Loughton Station.  Initially operated with elderly 11T11s, these were replaced by ex-Green Line 10T10s made available by the first Green Line RFs.  In February 1953, these were in turn replaced by TDs from Muswell Hill (themselves replaced by new RFs), but still Loughton's long-standing demand for modern buses was unmet.  The allocation moved over the road when the new Loughton Garage opened on 2 Dec 53.
 
Finally, the faster running times of RFs compared with their predecessors, together with the release of training buses at the end of conversion, meant that Loughton could receive nearly-new RFs in October 1953.
 
Debden loopFrom 8 Jan 58, the 254 was extended south every half hour on Monday to Saturday over new roads to serve Woodford and South Woodford Stations, with intermediate services running the original route.  Initially, the South Woodford journeys did not cross the railway to serve Buckhurst Hill Station, but this changed 14 months later with a double-run to the forecourt.
 
The route was converted to one-man operation in October 1965, at the same time as the creation of new OMO route 20B.   From 14 Jun 69, additional Monday to Friday journeys were introduced between Buckhurst Hill Station and Loughton Garage to replace the journeys to Buckhurst Hill on the 20B, but the Saturday frequency was reduced.  On 19 Oct 75, improvements to the North Circular, previously crossed at traffic lights, meant that the route had to be diverted and now ran in to South Woodford from the east. 
 

Having passed Loughton Station inbound from Buckhurst Hill, RF503 passes Debden Station before terminating back at Loughton Station.  The route always operated in a 'P' shape, rather than a backwards 'S'.    Photo © John Parkin

 

RF operation outlasted the 20B, the 254 retaining RFs until April 1976, when the route was converted to to SMS operation.  At the end, though, RTs lasted longer at Loughton, continuing on the 20A for another six months.
 

In 1979, a simplified version of route was renumbered 255, the last day of the 254 being 30 March.  The 255 ran from Loughton Garage via Debden and Loughton Station to South Woodford; the Loughton Garage to Buckhurst Hill section was replaced by a short-lived Waltham Cross version of the 250.  The 255 itself only lasted until September 1982, when the roads were covered by revised routings of the 167 and 250.  Certain 254 roads east of Loughton are no longer served by TfL, as the whole area is outside the London boundary.

 

RF route in detail, with timing points

It was thirty-one years ago today,...BUCKHURST HILL LT Stn, Victoria Road, Roding Lane, Loughton Way, Valley Hill, Roding Road, Alderton Hill, Loughton Station Approach, Old Station Road, Loughton High Road, Church Hill, Loughton LT Garage, Rectory Lane, Debden LT Station, Chigwell Lane, Oakwood Hill, Roding Road, Alderton Hill, Station Approach, LOUGHTON LT Station  (7 Oct 53 to 7 Jan 58)            

 

SOUTH WOODFORD LT Station, Daisy Road, Cowslip Road (return direct), Maybank Road, Latchett Road, St Barnabas Road, Hillside Avenue, Hillside Avenue Snakes Lane (for Woodford LT Station), Hillside Avenue, Buckhurst Way, Albert Road, Buckhurst Hill LT Station, Loughton Way, Valley Hill, Roding Road, Alderton Hill, Loughton Station Approach, Old Station Road, Loughton High Road, Church Hill, Loughton LT Garage, Rectory Lane, Debden LT Station, Chigwell Lane, Oakwood Hill, Roding Road, Alderton Hill, Station Approach, LOUGHTON LT Station  (8 Jan 58 to 12 May 59)

 

The last day of operation of RFs on the 254 was 9 April 1976, when RF685 is seen ready for departure from South Woodford for Loughton.  RFs returned on 9 September 2007 for a day.  RF685 is one of the green RFs repainted red when at Muswell Hill in 1969.  It subsequently worked on the 291 at BK before allocation to L.

Photo © John Parkin
 

SOUTH WOODFORD LT Station, Daisy Road, (return via Cowslip Road, terminal working amended from 8 Jan 62), Maybank Road, Latchett Road, St Barnabas Road, Hillside Avenue Snakes Lane (later Woodford Station), Hillside Avenue, Buckhurst Way, Albert Road, Roding Lane, Victoria Road, Buckhurst Hill LT Station, Victoria Road, Roding Lane, Loughton Way, Valley Hill, Roding Road, Alderton Hill, Loughton Station Approach, Old Station Road, Loughton High Road, Church Hill, Loughton LT Garage, Rectory Lane, Debden LT Station, Chigwell Lane, Oakwood Hill, Roding Road, Alderton Hill, Station Approach, LOUGHTON LT Station  (13 May 59 to 18 Oct 75)

 

SOUTH WOODFORD STATION Cowslip Road, Daisy Road, Maybank Road (now Mulberry Way), George Lane, Chigwell Road, Maybank Road, Gordon Road, (return via Latchett Road, Southend Road (A406 slip road) to Chigwell Road), St Barnabas Road, Woodford Station, Hillside Avenue, Buckhurst Way, Albert Road, Roding Lane, Victoria Road, Buckhurst Hill Station, Victoria Road, Roding Lane, Loughton Way, Valley Hill, Roding Road, Alderton Hill, Loughton Station, Old Station Road, Loughton High Road, Church Hill, Loughton Garage, Rectory Lane, Debden Station, Chigwell Lane, Oakwood Hill, Roding Road, Alderton Hill, Station Approach, LOUGHTON STATION  (19 Oct 75 to 9 Apr 76)

 

Garages

L   Loughton
 
RF allocation
PVR 1953 (Oct): Mon-Fri 6, Sat 7, Sun 4
PVR 1954 (May): Mon-Fri 5, Sat 6, Sun 3
PVR 1956 (Oct): Mon-Fri 5, Sat 6, Sun 2
PVR 1958 (Jan): Mon-Fri 6, Sat 7, Sun 2
PVR 1965 (Oct, OMO): Mon-Fri 7, Sat 9, Sun 3
PVR 1969 (Jun): Mon-Fri 8, Sat 7, Sun 3
PVR 1971 (Jul): Mon-Fri 8, Sat 6, Sun 2