London Country also had two types, both 26ft 5in long, but different widths: the London Country BL was 8ft 2in wide, while their BN was only 7ft 6in wide.
London Transport had been using small Ford Transits with Strachans bodywork since 1972,
and had opened up a number of routes where other buses feared to tread -
through narrow-street estates and along exclusive suburban avenues.
But they wanted something more substantial, more bus-like than the "bread-vans" (or MLK floats).
| Garage | No. | Route |
|---|---|---|
| HT Holloway | C11 | Archway Stn - Hampstead Heath - Willesden Green Stn |
| TB Bromley | B1 | Bromley North Stn - Elmstead Woods Stn - Eltham Church |
| SW Stockwell | P4 | Brixton Stn - Brockley Rise |
| E Enfield | W9 | Enfield Town - Highlands Hospital - Southgate Stn |
The BL class was adopted for a different purpose.
London Transport still had a number of RF operated routes that were unsuitable for Leyland Nationals
- even the short LSs - due to width restrictions.
In the case of Kingston garage, the centre of RF operations in Surrey,
the restriction was the width of the inspection pits!
Despite the Aldenham renewal programme, the RFs were getting OLD,
passing their quarter century of intensive town service.
The Bristol LH was chosen as a replacement,
probably because it was the only narrow bus still made!
In other ways its specification was not as good as the RF it was replacing:
both were underfloor mid-engined buses with high floors.
Certainly the RF was quieter, the Bristols being raucous beasts.
| Garage | No. | Route |
|---|---|---|
| NS North Street (Romford) | 247 | Brentwood - Romford North Street |
| NS North Street | 250 | Epping (St Margaret's Hospital) - Romford Stn |
| R Riverside (Hammersmith) | 290 | Richmond - Chiswick - Hammersmith |
| A Sutton | 80/A | Morden Stn - Lower Kingswood/Walton-on-the-Hill |
| FW Fulwell | 264 | Kingston - Sunbury-Hersham |
| FW Fulwell | 206 | Hampton Court - Claygate |
| FW Fulwell | 201 | Kingston - Dittons - Hampton Court (w/e shared route) |
| K Kingston | 216 | Kingston - Ashford - Staines |
| K Kingston | 71 | Kingston - Leatherhead (Sunday mornings) |
| NB Norbiton | 215 | Kingston - Church Cobham |
| FW, K, NB | 201 | Kingston - Dittons - Hampton Court |
They were not received with rapture, the driving and riding experience not being what drivers and passengers were used to with the RF, or even other modern London classes. Their reliability was not everything expected either. Routes 80 and 80A, only four months after conversion to BL, were abbreviated and replaced in part or whole by extending double-decker routes. Four released BLs went to Norbiton to convert the 215 (although 2 RFs were still required as well on Saturdays for the next month). November 1976 saw the rest of the 201 allocation converted, with extra BLs going to Norbiton, Fulwell and Kingston.
January 1977 saw the 250 disppear as a separate route, the route being amalgamated with the 247. Of the two BLs released by the change one was used on new route 247B, connecting Romford Station and Ongar.
New BLs continued to arrive. Croydon received six (plus a spare) in January to convert the 234A from RF operation, while Edgware took thirteen for the 251. In April the 215 was abbreviated to Esher, and was given to Kingston to operate. Hounslow received nine new BLs plus eight culled from elswhere to convert the 202 and the 237.
Uxbridge received the last three new ones for Hillingdon's route 128 service, commencing in September 1977.
| NS North Street | 247 | Brentwood - Romford - Epping (S.M.H) |
| NS North Street | 247B | Romford Stn - Ongar |
| TC Croydon | 234A | Purley - Wallington - Hackbridge |
| EW Edgware | 251 | Stanmore Stn - Edgware - Arnos Grove Stn |
| K Kingston | 215 | Kingston - Esher |
| AV Hounslow | 202 | Hounslow - Whitton - Richmond |
| AV Hounslow | 237 | Hounslow - Chertsey |
| UX Uxbridge | 128 | Ruislip Stn - Mount Vernon Hospital - Harefield Hospital |
They were found to be able to negotiate the "minibus routes" so recently taken over by the BS class,
and began to displace them: the B1 was the first in April 1978, when they also took over from RTs
the mainly-rural route 146 from Bromley to Downe.
October 1978 saw more Surrey cuts. The 206 disappeared, and a truncated 215 was turned back along it to reach Hampton Court. The 202 allocation was moved from Hounslow to Fulwell.
| FW Fulwell | 270 | Richmond Station - Fulwell Garage |
| NB Norbiton | 211 | Tolworth - Kingston - Walton-on-Thames |
| TB Bromley | B1 | Bromley North - Elmstead Woods - Eltham Church |
| TB Bromley | 146 | Bromley North - Hayes - Keston - Downe |
From 1979 the BLs started to be repainted into plain red livery:
those with an anticipated future with London Transport anyway.
Spares were a problem during 1979, as upheavals in the British motor industry brought misery
to anyone trying to keep its products operating.
The 71 disappeared in the west, and was replaced by the 265 using BLs, and Norbiton sent its last official BLs to Kingston with its share of the 201.
After a pilot overhaul to BL22 during 1980 the survivors started to go through Aldenham from 1981 onwards. The overhaul round lasted until 1985, when a second was started. Any red and white survivors were repainted red at overhaul.
1980 saw more losses of BL work. North Street converted the 247/B to Leyland National in January.
The 201 went. The 215 became even more complicated, with special journeys to cover withdrawn routes.
The 265 disappeared again, and BLs were again seen on the 71 on Sundays between Richmond and Chessington.
On the other hand, the P4 was converted from BS to Bl operation in August. BL29 was so badly burned while on the B1 during November that it was withdrawn.
The other BS routes were converted in 1981. Sutton lost its remaining BLs in April. Some went to Croydon for the 234A, which was stretched to reach to Streatham Garage.
BLs started to go to the Sales Department. On the other hand, BL1 became Croydon's pet bus, and was treated to a showbus livery: a cream band below the windows and small gold fleetnames.
| K Kingston | 265 | Leatherhead - Kingston - Richmond |
| SW Stockwell | P4 | Brixton - Dulwich Village - Brockley Rise |
| E Enfield | W9 | Enfield Town - Southgate |
| HT Holloway | C11 | Archway Stn - Hampstead Heath - Brent Cross |
| TC Croydon | 234A | Purley - Streatham Garage |
But 1982 was the year when BLs suffered most, following on from Bromley's legal challenge to the London Fares Fair policy, resulting in savage service cuts, frequency reductions and fare rises throughout the LT system. Fulwell turned the 202 over to Metrobuses, and Croydon converted the 234A to National operation. Bromley's 146 was converted to LS operation (and lost its Sunday service). The 290 was transferred from Hammersmith to Fulwell and adopted Metrobuses. Kingston's 215 and 216 became LS-operated - by Norbiton, together with the Sunday workings on the 71. Edgware's 251 lost its evenings and Sunday services. That left just the Hillingdon 128 service (UX); and the reduced 251 at Edgware, plus the reduced ex-BS routes, B1(TB), C1(HT), P4(SW) and W9(E). The requirement for BLs thus dropped drastically. Many were sold for further use, some were overhauled. BL1 was now Edgware's pet.
Gradually the BL system withered or outgrew the buses. The P4 was extended to Lewisham in 1983, with ex-Red Arrow Mk2 Nationals. The 128 gained another bus (BL56). Elmtree Coaches borrowed BL32 and BL79 for various periods for their tendered 98B. Edgware fitted their BLs with blinds for other routes. The C11 was extended to Brent Cross, and required an extra BL. Enfield's W9 was taken over by Eastern National in July 1985 during the first tender round. Bromley's B1 received Leyland Nationals from November 1985 - the erstwhile FS-route having proved very popular.
By the start of 1986 only 38 remained in LT service of the original 95, but only routes 128, 251, and C11 still required them. With its Brent Cross terminus the BLs were now also too small for peak shopping loads, and Metrobuses began to appear. Holloway's BLs started to appear on the 210.
The Hillingdon Three had meanwhile grown to Four.
To provide cover for overhauls and maintenance, BL 56 was rescued from the Sales Department in 1984 and given the Hillingdon treatment.
By now this included an increased yellow livery, with LARGE Hillingdon route branding applied.
This was first worn by BL 94 in 1981, when it went into works for fire damage repair.
It emerged with the new livery and a standee configuration: 29 seats plus 19 standing. The others were so modified too.
But the standee idea was never popular in this country, and they regained four seats in 1983.
There were occasional other services operated by the class, particularly during Christmas shopping periods: Lewisham in 1987, Peckham in 1988 and Wood Green in 1989 used the Selkent BLs for such services. Holloway clung on to BL36 as a spare, and BL81, after a period in store, was used by Westlink from July on their 592 and 602.
| HT (Holloway) | H1 | Northumberland Park Stn - Wood Green |
| WK (Hounslow Heath) | 592 | Kingston - Stanwell |
| WK (Hounslow Heath) | 602 | Feltham - Shepperton |
1990 saw their remaining role taken over by new, quieter, more modern-looking Dennis Darts, as DTs, DWs and DRs began the Dart revolution in London. The BLs found a new role, in places where they had been seen years before, and in places where they hadn't been before, as driver-trainers ready for the rush of Darts.
The C11 went in July 1989, R&I taking over the route with new Darts. Route 251 from Edgware was the last to operate the Bristols, in November 1989, by which time they were sporting a white waistband, grey skirt and Metroline flashes.
Westlink continued to use BL81 until June 1991, still with the grey skirt and broad white band.
A reprise came in 1993, when BL85 was repainted, with a white waist-band and Roundabout fleetnames.
It was used by Orpington Buses while their MC class was modified, between November 1993 and May 1994,
when it returned to training duties after an appearance at Hounslow garage open day.
But that was not the end of the road for them. Many continued as trainers,
Centrewest taking no fewer than fifteen at privatisation in 1994. London United had one too.
Centrewest continued to make use of the tough little characters up until 1998..
Meanwhile the sold buses had dispersed round the country, notably
to OK (Bishop Auckland), Tally Ho! (Kingsbridge), Grampian Regional Transport (Aberdeen),
Thamesdown, Rhymney Valley, Tyne and Wear Buses and in particular Guernseybus.
Guernseybus had bought some direct from London Transport,
but bought others third-hand.
Some were still in operation on Guernsey into 2000,
but a sale of the company has rendered them redundant,
and they have returned to the mainland via Mike Nash.
Perhaps some will find new homes in preservation?
Others have a variety of uses as caravans or sheds: see the histories! If you know of others, please let me know.
An excellent compact history of the small BS and BL classes, by Malcolm Papes, can be found in "The London Bus Magazine" Vol 114, with much more information than on these pages: recommended reading. (Obtainable by post from LOTS)
For a picture gallery of BLs in service with LT try the R.J.Waterhouse Web Site.
Ian's Bus Stop
BS, BL
BS histories
BL histories
photos
BL, BN