GS67

GS: The Guy Special

Prepared by Ian Smith

This page created 18th November 2003

The Gravesend network

GS1 passes GS2 on Perry Street

489 NF Ash - Longfield - Westwood - Southfleet - Gravesend

489A NF Hook Green - Meopham - Longfield Hill - Westwood - Southfleet - Gravesend

490 NF Hartley Court - Southfleet - Gravesend - Singlewell

490A NF Hartley Court - Southfleet - Gravesend - Northumberland Bottom

451 NF Hartley Court - Longfield - Westwood - Betsham - Gravesend

492 NF West Kingsdown - Fawkham Green - Fawkham - Longfield - Betsham - Gravesend


490 etc map From a casual glance at a bus map one would think that the Southfleet road south-west from Gravesend was the important one, from the number of services along it. But the trunk route was due west: the 480 and Greenlines maintained a high frequency along there, while the Southfleet lane was home to a number of infrequent rural services staggering into Gravesend this way to avoid the Maidstone and District territory of the main road from Meopham.

The 489 and 489A were large saloon routes, worked by AEC Qs and then 10T10 Regals until the RFs took over, but it was not unusual to find a GS working on them, at least as far as Longfield.

The 490 and 490A, linking the village of Hartley Court to Gravesend, and then going out again to Singlewell or Northumberland Bottom, had been Cub routes, and GSs duly took over officially in December 1953. The 490A was withdrawn in October 1955 and the 490 was cut back to Gravesend- Singlewell only.

That still left Hartley Court with the 451 via Longfield to Gravesend.

The 492, an ex-Cub route, provided a service to Fawkham and West Kingdown, with two round journeys each morning, Mondays to Fridays. On Saturdays the outlying points of the route were connected to Dartford instead of Gravesend, via the 452. The 492 was a casualty of the post-strike cuts in 1958.
GS2 at Southfleet GS2 at Hartley Court

GS2 pauses outside "The Ship" in Southfleet. As was common in those car-free days, the bus stop was essentially in the middle of the village crossroads. A little earlier GS2 had turned round in the deeply rural triangular lane junction at Hartley Court. Both photos taken on a Running Day in October 2004.
This was good GS country: decent villages linked by narrow roads to major centres. (Kent has always been a parsimonious county, even on roads). There were newly developing estates too, so there was the classic minibus mix. Northfleet maintained its GS network longer than most, and it was not until October 1969 that Northfleet said goodbye to the type.

481 494

Bus Stop GS GS Routes bus histories photo refs