Route 211
Southall garage's Ealing to Greenford route, which saw a wide
range of types during its 35 year life.
Dates of RF
operation
26 Nov 58 to 30 Jun 64
(total 5 years 7 months, all
crew operation).
EALING BROADWAY to GREENFORD
Looking rather the worse
for wear, RF453 sets down a good load at Ealing in
1960.
Photo credit unknown
Route
history
Introduced by Mrs VFA Sayers ('Royal Highlander') in May 1931,
the route originally ran from Greenford
Hare &
Hounds to West Ealing Station, but was rerouted to Ealing
Haven Green in September of that year. The route
number, having been issued in the
independents' series, did not need to change in
the 1934 renumbering.
A year after it started, the route was purchased by the LGOC
and operated using one-man Beans by Southall garage (then called
Hanwell). There was obviously a demand, as the number of
buses allocated rapidly increased from one to three, but Sunday
services were withdrawn during 1933. Two of the Beans were
replaced by Dennis Darts the same year, all in turn being
replaced by the new 20-seat Cubs in May 1936. The
route became crew-operated with ex-Country Area 30-seat
11T11 AEC Regals in May 1939 - like so many, the route had become
busy.
The Greenford terminus changed several times, first in
1933 to Eastmead Avenue, about a quarter of a mile short of the
Hare & Hounds, then in 1937 a quarter-mile beyond to
Adrienne Avenue, then the route was cut back to the Red Lion at the
start of 1941. In October of that year, the route was
extended over new bus roads via Yeading and West End Road
to Ruislip, terminating initially at the Lido, shortened after
two years to Ruislip High St. In 1946, Sunday
working was reintroduced, along with a summer Sunday
service to Ruislip Lido annually until 1951. At Ealing, the
Haven Green terminus involved a clockwise circuit of the Green to
stand on the east side, returning via Central Road direct to the
north-west corner.
During the winter of 1948/9, many of 11T11s succumbed
to the second batch of new 33-seat TDs, with Ts working on
Sundays only by April 1949. A further three were
replaced temporarily by 35-seat 14T12s from June that year.
From then on, the bulk of the service was provided by TDs, but with
a handful of Ts scheduled until the route was shortened in
1952. The older Ts were replaced in 1951 by a batch of
repainted Country 10T10s, then they and the TDs were replaced by
post-war 14T12s in January 1953, part of the ripple effect caused
by the arrival of RFs at Sidcup.
The whole Greenford to Ruislip section, including the summer
Sunday extension, passed to route 97 from April 1952, so the 211
reverted to its pre-1937 length, running to Greenford Adrienne
Avenue in Monday to Friday peaks for a further two months, but
otherwise terminating at the Red Lion.
In November 1958, Sidcup routes
228
and
241 were double-decked, releasing RFs
to replace the Ts at Southall. After so much change, the
route settled down to a regular service for five years.
Given LT's clear preference for double-decking routes wherever
possible, the 211's was a late conversion to RTs. The
reason was the bridge over the railway at Drayton Green
Station - see Keith Williams' notes below. In advance of
the change, from 1 Dec 63, the westbound routing in Ealing was
changed to remove the sharp turn off Haven Green.
The RTs arrived on the 211 on 1 Jul 64, at the same time
re-absorbing the 97 on Mondays to Saturdays by running through
to Ruislip Station, and operated until the 'Reshaping Plan' hit
Ealing in November 1968.
The 211 was replaced in phase two of Reshaping by the
flat-fare MBS-operated E1 between Ealing and Greenford, with
new Southall RT route 273 covering the section beyond
Greenford.
RF route in detail, with timing points
EALING BROADWAY STN, Haven Green, Gordon Road, The Avenue,
Sutherland Avenue, Sutherland Road, Drayton Green, Drayton Bridge
Road, Greenford Avenue Drayton
Bridge Rd, Greenford Avenue, Ruislip Road East, The
Broadway, GREENFORD Windmill Lane (return via Otter
Road, Greenford Road to Ruislip Road East) (26 Nov 58 to 30
Nov 63)
EALING BROADWAY STN, Haven Green, Castlebar Road, Longfield Road
(return direct to Haven Green), Gordon Road The Avenue, Sutherland
Avenue, Sutherland Road, Drayton Green, Drayton Bridge Road,
Greenford Avenue Drayton Bridge
Rd, Greenford Avenue, Ruislip Road East, The Broadway,
GREENFORD Windmill Lane (return via Otter Road,
Greenford Road to Ruislip Road East) (1 Dec 63 to 30 Jun
64)
Garages
Vehicle allocation
PVR 1958-64: Mon-Fri 8, Sat 8, Sun 6
Memories
Keith Williams remembers
using the 211 to go to school in Drayton Bridge Road,
Hanwell: 'RFs never had anything other than the Ealing Bdy -
Greenford "lazy blind" used - the drivers never even bothered
to change it for use on Southall Garage journeys (always to - from
Greenford via Greenford Road, although "via Uxbridge Road" fares
were included on fare charts). The driver turned left
into Greenford Road, stopped outside the main Post Office in
Greenford Road and told everyone to get off, whereas in those days,
ordinary journeys crossed over the Greenford Road, passed the Red
Lion and then turned left into Windmill Lane stopping outside the
market, sharing the stand with short working 55s. Short
journeys on the 97 terminating at Greenford Red Lion were
unknown, although there were regular 97short workings to
Ealing Perivale Lane from Brentford.'
He adds that the reasons for single deck working the 211 were
originally twofold.
(1) The poorly fenced weak bridge by Drayton Green Halt, which
was on a snaking bend and had a very dodgy camber. It was the
rebuilding of this bridge that finally permitted RT operation.
(2) Ts and TDs were used because of their length. Buses
originally started from Ealing Broadway with a 120 degree right
turn to cross Haven Green. Then with Haven Green passed, there was
a sharp, narrow approximately 120 degree left turn to get on a
short southbound stretch before another narrow right turn into
Gordon Road. This section was rerouted 6 months before
RTs were introduced.
