GS67

GS: The Guy Special

Prepared by Ian Smith

This page created 3rd November 2003

471 DG Orpington Stn - Green St. Green - Pratts Bottom - Knockholt Pound - Cudham - Green St. Green - Orpington Stn.

471 DG Orpington Stn - Green St. Green - Cudham - Knockholt Pound - Dunton Green (L.T. Garage).

471 map

GS buses took over operation of the 471 in November 1953 from Leyland Cubs, and stayed in charge until 31st December 1966, when one man operated RFs took over.

The frying pan-shaped route started in suburbia. This was one of the few GS routes that rubbed shoulders with red buses on a regular basis. (Indeed its modern equivalent is operated by TfL, the route being within the old GLC boundary.) It followed the main road out to Green Street Green, erstwhile terminus of the 51A, and there went either left on the main A21 to Pratts Bottom, or straight on up Cudham Lane. The road to Pratts Bottom was shared with green RTs on the 402, and Maidstone & District's express services. At Pratts Bottom the buses turned right and climbed the easier north flank of the North Downs, labouring up the hill past increasingly exclusive housing, eventually reaching the little green at Knockholt Pound.
Here too there were RTs at times: the 431 worked from Orpington via Chelsham and Halstead to Knockholt Pound, and on to Dunton Green and Sevenoaks. There was also the 431B works service to Fort Halstead, and in the early years the red 47 on summer Sundays.
GS1 at Dunton Green (March 99) GS62 displays Cudham blind (April 03) From there garage journeys went down steep Star Hill to reach Dunton Green. The main route turned west along the narrow rural lane atop the North Downs (but with no views, due to the trees), to Scotts Lodge. A sharp right turn there took the buses onto narrow Cudham Lane, which they followed north past Cudham Church, and back down to Green Street Green.

There were school journeys that operated to and from Cudham Church, too.

GS1 at Dunton Green on a revisit, March 1999. GS62 wears the Cudham Church school-run blind at Cobhan Open Day, April 2003.

GS56 in Dunton Green garage (Feb.98) GS56 and GS62 at Knockholt Pound (Feb.98)
On the day that Dunton Green garage closed (14th February 1998) GS56 and GS62 visited the garage and the 471 route at Knockholt Pound

Allocation

The 471 was operated by Dunton Green's GS allocation. The standard allocation was five GSs.
During the 1955 railway strike they were supplemented on the Orpington - Dunton Green section by RTs, including some soon-to-be-withdrawn Cravens RTs drafted in for the purpose.
Some GSs strayed onto other routes in times of plenty, and there were other official route allocations at times.

The Dunton Green GSs included: 


GS10  4/65 - 12/66
GS16  8/60 - 10/64
GS18  9/60 -  8/64
GS19 10/60 - 12/61,  5/63 -  8/64
GS20  */56 -  8/60
GS21  */56 - 12/59
GS22  */56 - 10/60 o/h 1/61-10/64 stored 12/64-1/65
GS23 12/56 - 12/56 o/h 11/60-12/64
GS24  */56 -  5/59
GS25
GS27  */54 - 11/60
GS28  */62 -  */62
GS30 12/59 -  5/61
GS32 11/53 - 11/56
GS34 10/64 -  9/65
GS38  2/61 -  3/65
GS52  8/64 - 12/66
GS55  8/65 - 12/66
GS56 10/64 - 12/66
GS62 12/64 - 12/66
GS76 10/62 - 11/62
GS78  5/59 -  5/61
Note: this provisional list is incomplete, especially for the 1953-1956 period

464, 465, 485 473

Bus Stop GS GS Routes bus histories photo refs