London Buses route 248
Encyclopedia
London Buses route 248 is a Transport for London
contracted bus route in London
, United Kingdom
. The service is currently contracted to Stagecoach London
.
built quite a reputation for operating special services in London
,whilst obatining more mainstream TfL
bus route contracts. The third route to be added to its portfolio was the 248, which commenced with the company on 29 September 2001. This is a short but frequent route linking Upminster
and Hornchurch
with Romford
.
Vehicles purchased have all been on Dennis chassis. Bodywork has been split between two of the smaller body builders though, with Caetano
taking the Darts
and East Lancs
Trident
s so far. At the time of the new contract, Blue Triangle had not received the new buses ordered for the 248, and had to use their Titans
, Metrobuses
and Tridents
from the earlier batch for route 474.
Today's's route 248 commenced operation on 3 October 1934, when the newly constituted London Passenger Transport Board
instituted its own numbering system. In this scheme, all single-deck bus operated routes were numbered in the 200+ series. Route G3, which had operated daily between Upminster Station and Cranham
was allocated the 248 route number and its "sister" route, the G4, then operating between Upminster
and Corbets Tey on Mondays to Saturdays became the 248A.
to Upminster
station via St. Mary's Lane. Buses, or rather the one bus, ran every 17 minutes, which was presumably the most frequent it could run, given the 7 minutes end-to-end journey time. On Saturdays the frequency was boosted to every 8½ minutes, using the bus off the 249 (Corbets Tey to Upminster, every 16 minutes) which did not run on Saturday afternoons (or Sundays). The 248 and 249 were one-man-operated using Dennis Darts of an earlier generation, and, later, T-class AEC Regals with a crew of two.
As further development took place in the area, in 1951 the 248 was extended north from Upminster Station along Hall Lane, as far as River Drive. The 248A soon joined in and did even better by running on along the new Avon Road. In 1959 things were re-arranged, with the 86 (often stating as far away as Bow) replacing the 86A and continuing to Avon Road, and the 249 renumbered 248A and reduced again to Corbets Tey - Upminster Station running during peak hours only, London Country route 370 maintaining a service to Corbets Tey at other times. Route 193 would replace the 86 on Sundays, when neither the 248 nor 248A ran.
- the first route to terminate there, in a far cry from today - and the 193 to Hornchurch, with the 248 extended from Cranham to Romford. The first leg from Cranham completed the rectangle by running along the middle section of Front Lane to Upminster Park, where a new loop via Waycross Road was introduced, before running via Avon Road and Hall Lane back to Upminster and then on to Hornchurch and Romford to terminate at Parkside Hotel in North Street. A Sunday service was re-introduced, but only on the new section to begin with.
The route had to be single deck operated due to the low bridge in Cranham
, but a further re-structuring in November 1981 allowed Titans
to replace Leyland National
s on Mondays to Saturdays when the service was curtailed to Cranham - now approaching from the opposite direction from before. The 246 replaced this section, which is now covered by the 346. About 1984, the Sunday extension back to Upminster was removed in favour of a Sunday service on the 246, but in addition the 248 was split with a new 244 running from Upminster Park via Cranham to Romford, as opposed to the 248 which ran from Cranham via Upminster Park. The Romford terminus was also revised to the Market at this time.
Transport for London
Transport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London...
contracted bus route in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The service is currently contracted to Stagecoach London
Stagecoach London
Stagecoach London , is a bus company which principally operates services in the UK capital city of London, under contract to the London Buses arm of Transport for London. It was formed in 1989 as a subsidiary of London Buses. The company privatised in 1994 and acquired by the Stagecoach Group, but...
.
History
Blue TriangleBlue Triangle
Blue Triangle is one of many operators of London Buses, it is based in Rainham and is part of Go-Ahead London. It is the operator of the East London Transit service.-History:...
built quite a reputation for operating special services in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
,whilst obatining more mainstream TfL
Transport for London
Transport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London...
bus route contracts. The third route to be added to its portfolio was the 248, which commenced with the company on 29 September 2001. This is a short but frequent route linking Upminster
Upminster
Upminster is a suburban town in northeast London, England, and part of the London Borough of Havering. Located east-northeast of Charing Cross, it is one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan, and comprises a number of shopping streets and a large residential...
and Hornchurch
Hornchurch
Hornchurch is a large suburban town in England, and part of the London Borough of Havering. Hornchurch is in North-East London .It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan. It comprises a number of shopping...
with Romford
Romford
Romford is a large suburban town in north east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan...
.
Vehicles purchased have all been on Dennis chassis. Bodywork has been split between two of the smaller body builders though, with Caetano
Salvador Caetano
Grupo Salvador Caetano, SGPS, SA is a Portuguese holding based in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal that controls some enterprises on vehicle assembly, components and distribution business....
taking the Darts
Dennis Dart
The Dennis Dart is a rear-engined midibus built by Dennis in the United Kingdom. More than 11,000 were built during 18 years of production....
and East Lancs
East Lancashire Coachbuilders
East Lancashire Coachbuilders Limited was a manufacturer of bus bodies and carriages founded in 1934 in Blackburn, Lancashire, England.In 1994 the company expanded in to new premises and commenced a programme of development that resulted in a range of single and double deck buses which was the...
Trident
Dennis Trident 2
Dennis Trident 2 is a 2-axle low-floor double-decker bus chassis originally built by Dennis in the United Kingdom, which was unveiled in 1997 and replaced the Dennis Arrow...
s so far. At the time of the new contract, Blue Triangle had not received the new buses ordered for the 248, and had to use their Titans
Leyland Titan (B15)
The Leyland Titan was a model of double-decker bus produced by the Leyland Truck & Bus division of British Leyland from 1977 until 1984, almost exclusively for London Transport.-Development:...
, Metrobuses
MCW Metrobus
The MCW Metrobus is a double decker bus model manufactured by MCW from 1977 until 1989, with over 4,000 examples built. The original MkI model was superseded by the MkII model in 1981/1982, although production of the original MkI continued for London Transport until 1985...
and Tridents
Dennis Trident 2
Dennis Trident 2 is a 2-axle low-floor double-decker bus chassis originally built by Dennis in the United Kingdom, which was unveiled in 1997 and replaced the Dennis Arrow...
from the earlier batch for route 474.
Today's's route 248 commenced operation on 3 October 1934, when the newly constituted London Passenger Transport Board
London Passenger Transport Board
The London Passenger Transport Board was the organisation responsible for public transport in London, UK, and its environs from 1933 to 1948...
instituted its own numbering system. In this scheme, all single-deck bus operated routes were numbered in the 200+ series. Route G3, which had operated daily between Upminster Station and Cranham
Cranham
Cranham is a residential suburb in northeast London, England and part of the London Borough of Havering. It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross and comprises an extensive built-up area to the north and a low density conservation area surrounded by open land to the south. It was historically...
was allocated the 248 route number and its "sister" route, the G4, then operating between Upminster
Upminster
Upminster is a suburban town in northeast London, England, and part of the London Borough of Havering. Located east-northeast of Charing Cross, it is one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan, and comprises a number of shopping streets and a large residential...
and Corbets Tey on Mondays to Saturdays became the 248A.
Origin
The 248 started as a local route running just from CranhamCranham
Cranham is a residential suburb in northeast London, England and part of the London Borough of Havering. It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross and comprises an extensive built-up area to the north and a low density conservation area surrounded by open land to the south. It was historically...
to Upminster
Upminster
Upminster is a suburban town in northeast London, England, and part of the London Borough of Havering. Located east-northeast of Charing Cross, it is one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan, and comprises a number of shopping streets and a large residential...
station via St. Mary's Lane. Buses, or rather the one bus, ran every 17 minutes, which was presumably the most frequent it could run, given the 7 minutes end-to-end journey time. On Saturdays the frequency was boosted to every 8½ minutes, using the bus off the 249 (Corbets Tey to Upminster, every 16 minutes) which did not run on Saturday afternoons (or Sundays). The 248 and 249 were one-man-operated using Dennis Darts of an earlier generation, and, later, T-class AEC Regals with a crew of two.
As further development took place in the area, in 1951 the 248 was extended north from Upminster Station along Hall Lane, as far as River Drive. The 248A soon joined in and did even better by running on along the new Avon Road. In 1959 things were re-arranged, with the 86 (often stating as far away as Bow) replacing the 86A and continuing to Avon Road, and the 249 renumbered 248A and reduced again to Corbets Tey - Upminster Station running during peak hours only, London Country route 370 maintaining a service to Corbets Tey at other times. Route 193 would replace the 86 on Sundays, when neither the 248 nor 248A ran.
1960 onwards
In 1964 the 193 replaced the 86 as the service to Avon Road and Upminster Park, but during 1970 there was a more major re-structure making the 248 a much more prominent service. The 86 was curtailed to Romford railway stationRomford railway station
Romford station is located in Romford, London Borough of Havering. It is situated between Chadwell Heath and Gidea Park. It is the western terminus of the Upminster branch line from Upminster....
- the first route to terminate there, in a far cry from today - and the 193 to Hornchurch, with the 248 extended from Cranham to Romford. The first leg from Cranham completed the rectangle by running along the middle section of Front Lane to Upminster Park, where a new loop via Waycross Road was introduced, before running via Avon Road and Hall Lane back to Upminster and then on to Hornchurch and Romford to terminate at Parkside Hotel in North Street. A Sunday service was re-introduced, but only on the new section to begin with.
The route had to be single deck operated due to the low bridge in Cranham
Cranham
Cranham is a residential suburb in northeast London, England and part of the London Borough of Havering. It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross and comprises an extensive built-up area to the north and a low density conservation area surrounded by open land to the south. It was historically...
, but a further re-structuring in November 1981 allowed Titans
Leyland Titan (B15)
The Leyland Titan was a model of double-decker bus produced by the Leyland Truck & Bus division of British Leyland from 1977 until 1984, almost exclusively for London Transport.-Development:...
to replace Leyland National
Leyland National
The Leyland National is a British single-deck bus built in large quantities between 1972 and 1985. It was developed as a joint project between two UK nationalised industries - the National Bus Company and British Leyland. Buses were constructed at a specially built factory at the Lillyhall...
s on Mondays to Saturdays when the service was curtailed to Cranham - now approaching from the opposite direction from before. The 246 replaced this section, which is now covered by the 346. About 1984, the Sunday extension back to Upminster was removed in favour of a Sunday service on the 246, but in addition the 248 was split with a new 244 running from Upminster Park via Cranham to Romford, as opposed to the 248 which ran from Cranham via Upminster Park. The Romford terminus was also revised to the Market at this time.
Current route
- Romford MarketRomford MarketRomford Market is a large open market with 270 stalls, located in Romford, London Borough of Havering, east London, England. The market is open on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 8.30 am to 4.30 pm...
- St Edward's Way
- Mercury Gardens
- Western Road
- Chandlers Way
- Eastern Road
- South Street
- Romford StationRomford railway stationRomford station is located in Romford, London Borough of Havering. It is situated between Chadwell Heath and Gidea Park. It is the western terminus of the Upminster branch line from Upminster....
- South Street
- Rom Valley Way
- Rush Green Road
- Roneo Corner
- Hornchurch Road
- HornchurchHornchurchHornchurch is a large suburban town in England, and part of the London Borough of Havering. Hornchurch is in North-East London .It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan. It comprises a number of shopping...
High Street - HornchurchHornchurchHornchurch is a large suburban town in England, and part of the London Borough of Havering. Hornchurch is in North-East London .It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan. It comprises a number of shopping...
- HornchurchHornchurchHornchurch is a large suburban town in England, and part of the London Borough of Havering. Hornchurch is in North-East London .It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan. It comprises a number of shopping...
High Street - Upminster Road
- Upminster Bridge StationUpminster Bridge tube stationUpminster Bridge tube station is a London Underground station on Upminster Road in the Upminster Bridge neighbourhood of the London Borough of Havering in northeast London, England. The station is on the District line and is the penultimate station on the eastern extremity of that line...
- Upminster Road
- St Mary's Lane
- Bell Corner
- Station Road
- Upminster StationUpminster stationUpminster station is a London Underground and National Rail station located in Upminster in the London Borough of Havering and in London fare zone 6. Located east-northeast of Charing Cross, it is the easternmost station on the London Underground network and the eastern terminus of the District...
- Hall Lane
- Avon Road
- Front Lane
- Roseberry GardensUpminsterUpminster is a suburban town in northeast London, England, and part of the London Borough of Havering. Located east-northeast of Charing Cross, it is one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan, and comprises a number of shopping streets and a large residential...
- Upminster Park Estate
- Waycross Road
- Brunswick Avenue
- Front Lane
- CranhamCranhamCranham is a residential suburb in northeast London, England and part of the London Borough of Havering. It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross and comprises an extensive built-up area to the north and a low density conservation area surrounded by open land to the south. It was historically...
Moor Lane