Route 357

Route 357
6 July 2011

The 357 is one result of a drive by London Transport to eliminate route numbers with suffix letters, which has now been achieved – although, strangely, there is no comparable grudge against prefix letters. In this case the route was previously numbered 97A, not illogically as it has a fairly substantial common section with route 97 between Chingford Mount and Leyton Bakers Arms.

The 97A had originated as the replacement for the western wing of the circular flat-fare Walthamstow route W21, linking the Chingford Hatch area into Walthamstow. It also ran via Friday Hill to Chingford, linking this area to Chingford Mount, and had a brief extension to Hackney Central in the 1980s. Capital Citybus, as it was then, took the route over in September 1991 after London Forest, which had originally won the tenders for the Walthamstow area network, collapsed.

The route was soon extended to Whipps Cross, and from 1995 was extended on Sunday afternoons into the Hospital there. Due to a low bridge within the hospital campus, the Sunday service therefore had to be single deck.

From February 2000 a new contract was started, and the opportunity was taken to alter the number, as explained previously. In this case the number chosen probably reflects a previous routing of the 257, which used to run further north than Walthamstow to Chingford Mount and the Fantaseas Leisure Centre on New Road, in parallel with the 97A. Although this section no longer runs, the 357 does still parallel the 257 on the short section between Whipps Cross and Walthamstow Central.

However, the route was also withdrawn on the section between Friday Hill and Chingford, since the 212 provides an alternative service from this area to Walthamstow. The 212 was increased in frequency at the same time, while direct links from Friday Hill to Chingford Mount were maintained by new route 397 (albeit not during evenings or Sundays).

The new contract also specified low floor double deckers, and unusually these were not brand new ones but short wheelbase Trident/Presidents from a batch originally purchased for routes 25/N25. They were quickly found to be inadequate in capacity on that route, and the opportunity was taken to replace some with longer wheelbase versions, with the short versions coming off onto the 97 and 357 where capacity was not thought to be such an issue.

Photo © Brian Creasey.

Here the normal Monday to Saturday type for the 357 is demonstrated by TN32851 (T851 LLC) on Tuesday 4 November 2008 departing from Walthamstow Central Bus Station for Chingford Hatch. These early Tridents have actually left the fleet now, but newer buses of the same type are still used, and this updated photo is closer to the typical appearance of buses today than what I had featured before. Since Capital Citybus took on the 97A, the company has changed ownership several times, and is now in the hands of First Group, and for a while new double deckers were fitted with these illuminated 'f' logos either side of the blind display.

Northumberland Park garage, which runs the 357, also has a few long wheelbase Tridents which may appear on the 357 from time to time. Again I do not have a photo of a current vehicle to hand, but at least a few vehicles from the same batch hang on by a thread at other garages! TNL32894 (V894HLH) was at Walthamstow Central on the same day, having just completed a short journey from Chingford Hatch. This bus is in an even more up to date version of the livery – plain red, which is the way all London buses are now going following the latest dictat from TfL.

Finally, and what held up the update of this page, we have an illustration of the single deck Sunday operation, necessarily single deck owing to the low bridge mentioned above, in the form of DM41778 (X778 HLR) nearly grounding as it leaves Walthamstow on another northbound journey on 18 April 2010. This bus is actually still in the fleet, though the type is rapidly disappearing! It is one of a number of single door buses allocated to route 299 – which should be getting new buses in the next month or two.

Navigation

Previous Next

Chronologically 62 195

Numerically 356 358
See also routes 87, 97, 257, 212, 397, 25

Photo Gallery | Bus route list | Operational details | Service changes | Operators & Garages