Most of these buses were built in 1930-31 for Thomas Tilling (London).
(A similar batch was built for Tillings Brighton, including four that were transferred to Tillings London
before the compulsory purchase by London Transport in 1933.)
They had 52-seat outside staircase bodies with six bays and balloon roof,
built by Dodson or Tilling.
Compared with the other Regents going into service these bodies were quite old-fashioned.
They retained the open staircase, and initially had board displays at front and rear.
These were soon replaced by a very inadequate single-line number/final destination roller blind in a protruding box,
at both front and rear. Livery was Tilling red and white, with a silver roof,
with very prominent Thomas Tilling fleetnames.
The first (ST 837) went into service at Tillings Bromley (TB) on 27 June 1930 for route 36.
Bromley was one of three garages in south-east London owned by the General but operated by Tillings.
The others were Catford (Tillings Lewisham) and South Croydon (Tillings Croydon).
These too received the new STs
for a variety of important routes, which Tillings operated:
| 1930 route no. | Route | Garages |
|---|---|---|
| 36 | Hither Green - West Kilburn | TB and TL |
| 47 | Green St Green - Shoreditch | TB and TL |
| 12 | South Croydon - Oxford Circus | TL and TC |
| 146A | Westerham Hill - Lewisham | TB |
| 59A | Reigate - Camden Town | TC |
| 112A | Dulwich - Park Royal | TL |
| 112E | Lower Sydenham - East Acton | TL |
One significant route that was not converted was the 136 (Lewisham - Southborough, later the 94),
which could only receive clearance for open-top buses at this time
due to the low railway bridge at Lee Green.
The conductors would instruct all upstairs passengers
to remain seated while they passed under the bridge!
The many overhanging trees along Baring Road and Burnt Ash Lane seem
not to have been too big a problem.
Almost all the survivors were loaned to other companies throughout the UK, some staying in the provinces for a few months and some for several years. Some companies even seemed reluctant to send them back once hostilities had ceased! One was equipped with a gas trailer for operation in Coventry, but this gave rise to complaints about smells because of the open nature of the rear on both decks.
Post-war the heavy traffic demand meant that some had to go back into public service, in between spells as trainers. They were now scattered around the LT system rather than concentrated in the south-east, despite their totally non-standard destination blind requirements, which resulted in a host of sticky labels.. The official excuse for the scattering was conductress' sensibilities about skirts on open staircases - although this didn't affect the concentration of equally-open LTs! The STs were often used as spare buses and rush-hour extras, and kept away from the roving eyes of the Men from the Ministry, as their bodywork often sagged like bananas. They began to appear with a variety of vertical body straps and steel cross-plates at the waist-rail joints, in an attempt to hold them together. They were obviously considered too far gone to be sent for body rebuilds by outside contractors. They were high priority for replacement as the utilities and then the RTs became available.
One was converted to a single-deck mobility bus, with wheelchair ramp, at the behest of the British Legion, presumably for use with disabled servicemen.
Four were converted to tree-loppers for the service fleet (ST985, ST1001, ST865 and ST870
became 647J, 648J, 650J and 651J, although 648J had its Tilling body replaced by a Lewis one before conversion.
These tree-loppers replaced NS conversions, two in autumn 1943, two more in autumn 1945.
These received Chiswick Green livery when conditions allowed, and lasted until 1953,
when they gave way to Country STL conversions.
Six other Tilling STs were converted after the war into mobile canteens, replacing ancient NS vehicles in
giving succour to the needy (ie tea and meals to crews). ST888, ST969, ST867, ST917, ST951 and ST922
became 699J - 693J. They worked at a variety of locations where crews needed refreshment,
including some garages, such as Putney, Windsor, Cricklewood, Kingston and Streatham.
Other famous locations were the Royal Forest Hotel at Chingford and the bus stance at Belmont.
They worked alongside the new semi-trailer canteens, and lasted until 1952-55.
This one came to LPTB in 1933, and was allocated first to Camberwell (Q) and then to Croydon (TC) until withdrawn on the outbreak of war due to blackout restrictions. The body was destroyed by air-raid on Bull Yard, Peckham in October 1940 , but the chassis survived and was sold to the Ministry of Defence for use under a Home Guard Armoured Car.
This one also came to LPTB in 1933, and was also allocated to Camberwell and then Croydon, until withdrawn on outbreak of war due to blackout restrictions. It was stored at Windsor, and later loaned to West Monmouthshire Omnibus Board and then Rhondda Transport. It was scrapped at Chiswick in June 1946.
ST1030 came to LPTB in 1933, and was allocated to Camberwell (Q), and then then Croydon (TC) until it was withdrawn on the outbreak of war (due to blackout restrictions). It was destroyed by the air-raid on Bull Yard, Peckham, in October 1940.
This too came to LPTB in 1933, and was allocated to Croydon (TC) until withdrawn on outbreak of war due to blackout restrictions. It too was destroyed by that air-raid in October 1940.
Bus Stop
ST index.
bus histories
photo refs
standard STs.
Tillings.
Independents.
Part3: Country STs.