100 British Bus Routes: Route 62
Marks Gate to Barking
19 May 2024
ABOVE: Stagecoach London 10318 (SN16 OJY), an ADL Enviro400 MMC, is on Valence Avenue, south of Chadwell Heath, at the junction with Green Lane. This bus shows "Gascoigne Estate" as the destination; others on the route show "Gascoigne Road". Photos in this article were taken on Saturday 23 March 2024, except where stated.
Runs: Daily
Operator: Stagecoach London for Transport for London
Weekday daytime frequency: Every 12 minutes
Maximum Vehicle Requirement: 15 buses
Off-peak journey time: 63-70 minutes
Route length: Nine miles
Operator: Stagecoach London for Transport for London
Weekday daytime frequency: Every 12 minutes
Maximum Vehicle Requirement: 15 buses
Off-peak journey time: 63-70 minutes
Route length: Nine miles
Across the road from where I'm standing is a large open field. It is bounded in the distance by a row of trees. A lone tree in the foreground breaks up the view of that open space. A man is working on the engine of a motor caravan. There are a couple of cars parked up, and a couple of others pass by, but there's no-one much around apart from the aforementioned mechanic.
Further up the road is a traffic roundabout. To the left of the first exit, the fields are unbroken and spread out for some way, until more trees break the countryside up. A nice peaceful spot for a Saturday afternoon like this one, if a bit chilly today.
You're probably waiting for the "...and then I wake up...", because you know this article is set in East London (there are strong clues at the top of the article!), and East London doesn't look like this...
Except that parts of it most certainly do. I'm standing at the terminus of Transport for London (TfL) route 62, at Marks Gate. We're on the wonderfully-named Whalebone Lane North, a mile north of Chadwell Heath, and less than two miles from Romford. Despite the proximity of these key suburban areas, we are surrounded by greenery here.
ABOVE: Stagecoach London 10324 (SN16 OKF), an ADL Enviro400 MMC, stands at the Marks Gate terminus of route 62.
The fields in question are the beginnings of Hainault Forest. Traipse far enough across this ground and you will come to Epping Forest, although you need to find a suitable place to cross the M11 motorway if you decide to do so.
ABOVE: The roundabout where Whalebone Road North (ahead) meets Collier Row Road (out of sight to the right). Buses on route 62 use this roundabout to turn round at the terminus.
The name of Marks Gate, according to Wikipedia, originally referred to an entrance into Hainault Forest, with the name being derived from the proximity of Marks Hall, which stood on what is now Warren Hall Farm, just to the south of the terminus here.
I sometimes write articles in the hope of increasing awareness of bus routes that people might not had discovered themselves. But this route is already something of a celebrity in its own right. In 1979, the very last London Transport AEC Regent RT buses ran on route 62 - the last handful of a fleet of almost 7000 buses that had operated on the streets of London for 40 years. Route 62 has been changed fairly regularly over the years, but seems to have settled down to its current routing, which has been in place for over 30 years now.
As we head off from the Marks Gate terminus, we immediately take a detour off the main road into the residential streets of this district, but still with glimpses of Hainault Forest to be had. Soon, we leave the Forest behind (quite literally) as we turn into the heart of the Marks Gate community (no apostrophes to be found anywhere, as far as I can see).
ABOVE: A last view of Hainault Forest, as we turn off Billet Road, Marks Gate, into Rose Lane.
There's a mix of traditional-looking houses, newer blocks of flats, shops and flats over shops to be found.
ABOVE: The hub of Marks Gate, looking north.
We come back to Whalebone Lane North, less than a mile from where we left it. Incidentally, the name is apparently because an arch, made out of a pair of giant whale ribs, stood for two centuries at a tollgate on the Romford Road, taken from a whale that became stranded in the River Thames in 1658.
ABOVE: Stagecoach 10329 (SN16 OKL) turns off Whalebone Lane North into Rose Lane, Marks Gate
We cross the Eastern Avenue West (a confusing name, perhaps). This is the trunk A12 road that will take people as far as Lowestoft if they so wish. This junction is known locally as Moby Dick, and just across it is the Moby Golf Centre:
ABOVE: Moby Golf
We turn onto Chadwell Heath High Road, a typical East London street, apart from lampposts that look suspiciously as though they too have been modelled on whale bones:
ABOVE: Stagecoach London 10106 (LX12 DBZ), an ADL Enviro400, in High Road, Chadwell Heath.
We don't stay on the High Road for long, though, turning south again to pass Chadwell Heath station.
ABOVE: An Elizabeth Line class 345 train (left) is heading out of Chadwell Heath station for Shenfield, as the rear of what I believe to be a Greater Anglia class 745 Stadler FLIRT (right) passes through in the other direction, possibly on the 1200 Norwich to London Liverpool Street service, which would have been due at about this time (1338).
We pass along Valence Avenue, another tree-lined road that has the appearance of being in a more rural location than it actually is.
ABOVE: ADL Enviro400 10181 (SN63 JWJ) passes along Valence Road on Bank Holiday Monday, 2 January 2023.
We can't quite see it, but only a few hundred yards away is the Valence House Museum, the only surviving manor house in Dagenham. It dates back to medieval times and is still partially surrounded by a moat. The Museum celebrates local life in the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham (LBBD) the Guardian newspaper voted it as one of the 50 best free things to do in London (website here).
Incidentally, the 62 runs almost exclusively within LBBD. As far as I can tell, although I stand to be corrected here, the bus only goes outside (into the London Borough of Redbridge), in the northbound direction only, due to a one-way system around Chadwell Heath station (the road used by the southbound service, Station Road, might be on the border but seems to be on the LBBD side of the border).
There's a very distinct change to the feel of the route as we cross Wood Lane in Dagenham. We're in a much busier area now - both in terms of the number of people about and the traffic, which, at times, is at a crawl. But then, Porters Avenue has another green space for us in the form of Parsloes Park - all 58 hectares of it.
This brings us to Becontree Underground station on the District Line - we'll be following the District Line from now on, if slightly indirectly.
ABOVE: We cross the District Line tracks (left), at Becontree station (the station is behind me). To the right are the National Rail tracks of the c2c line towards Southend and Shoeburyness. Interesting to compare the four-rail District tracks with the overhead wiring of the National Rail tracks.
The District Line takes the direct route towards Upney; we need to do three sides of a square, and then some, to reach the same point. Our route takes us to the A13, another major trunk road (this one to Southend). The actual road is on a flyover but we have to cross under it twice to navigate three-quarters of a roundabout, in order to steer us back towards Upney. (Buses in the other direction merely wave at the flyover from a distance!)
ABOVE: The A13 flyover where Lodge Avenue meets Ripple Road in Dagenham. We have crossed underneath once and need to do so again to reach our road - the one in the centre right near the petrol station.
We pass the Rippleside Cemetery and turn north towards Upney station. We pass two blocks of flats named after local (and national) football heroes - Bobby Moore Court and Sir Alf Ramsey Court. Bobby Moore was born in the Municipal Borough of Barking (as-was). He captained nearby West Ham United for more than ten years and was the captain of the England national team that won the 1966 FIFA World Cup. Meanwhile, Sir Alf Ramsey was born in Dagenham and was the England Manager from 1963 to 1974, which of course also includes the time of that World Cup win.
ABOVE: 19774 (LX11 BFP), an ADL Enviro400, calls at the Meadow Road stop outside Sir Alf Ramsey Court in Upney
Upney station might only be a mile from Becontree but we have probably covered twice that by the time we get there.
ABOVE: Looking west towards central London, an S-stock District Line train calls at the westbound platform of Upney station. The c2c lines towards London are directly below.
We're now very much on the road into Barking. At Fair Cross, we take a left-turn onto Longbridge Road, which will take us into the Town Centre. Barking Bus Garage, 100 years old in 2024, stands at this junction, and is the spiritual home of route 62. The route, when new in 1935, was based here and, although it has moved around a bit, it has always come back in the end! It's latest stay began in 1991.
ABOVE: 11063 (YX68 UNG), another Enviro400 MMC, turns into Longbridge Road, Barking, on Wednesday 8 May 2024. The grand buildings on the left are part of Barking Bus Garage, and you may make out some buses in the open parking yard beyond.
There's yet more green space to be found as we head into town, in the form of Barking Park.
ABOVE: Looking towards Barking, with Barking Park on the right, we pass 10319 (SN16 OJZ), another ADL Enviro400 MMC, heading out of town.
Wikipedia tells us that Barking was a huge Manor (landholding), first mentioned in a charter in 735 AD. The Manor covered the areas now known as Barking, Dagenham and Ilford. By 1871 the Parish of Barking covered the four wards of Chadwell, Ilford, Ripple and "Town" (Barking itself).
In the Town Centre is an old Alexander ALX400, S111 UYA, operating as the "Suya Hut" restaurant, offering "charcoal-grilled street food" with a West African influence. The vehicle seems to have been new to Stagecoach Devon, as its 18073 (WA04 CSX), and may have come here via Reading Buses. The business started as a van-based take away, but now accommodates eat-in diners on the upper deck - you can even book a table!
ABOVE: The Suya Hut bus, in the middle of Barking Town Centre.
The last lap for the 62 is the short run to the Gascoigne Estate, on the south side of the town centre. The 1960s-built estate was "widely regarded", according to Hidden London, as one of the borough’s least desirable addresses. It originally consisted of 17 high-rise blocks.
The LBBD Council concluded that the best way to regenerate the Estate was to demolish-and-rebuild it, and the redevelopment is well under way in 2024. It hasn't all been plain sailing, though, In 2023, a housing company had to warn residents not to use the balconies in their new-build flats after one collapsed. More than 400 new properties are now having to be made safe.
And it's in the shadow of all of this, half a mile or so from Barking Town Centre, that the 62 reaches journey's end.
ABOVE: On Wednesday 8 May 2024, 10324 (SN16 OKF), an ADL Enviro400 MMC, stands at the Gascoigne Estate terminus of route 62, with another unidentified vehicle immediately behind.
I must just mention the route out of the Estate. Buses have to go around the block, but to do so, they need to venture onto the A13, and squeeze into three lanes of fast-moving traffic, just to get started on the return journey to Marks Gate.
ABOVE: This is the King Edwards Road stop on the busy A13. Taken on Wednesday 8 May 2024.
After just over 300 yards of the A13, buses pull off again, to head down the opposite side of the Gascoigne Estate, back into town.
ABOVE: 10178 (SN63 JWE) in King Edwards Road, on the opposite side of the Gascoigne Estate, on Wednesday 8 May 2024.
Across the road from where I'm standing is a half-built tower block - an empty husk that won't have anyone in residence for another year or two. Alongside, a 1960s tower block, fully occupied but already under sentence of demolition. The sun is shining, and I can hear schoolchildren, somewhere nearby, enjoying their morning break in the playground. Hundreds, if not thousands of people in close proximity, living their lives.
This is what East London looks like. But then so is Marks Gate - just five miles away as the crow flies but feeling like another world. And the 62 brings them together.
ABOVE: The bus that made the 62 famous: RT-family buses arrived for route 62 in 1949 and stayed for 30 years. Here, RT 2688 (LYR 672) heads for Barking Garage on the occasion of the 40th anniversary commemorations of the last RT service, on Saturday 30 March 2019.
See also - Picture Gallery: Route 62 / 145 Heritage Day and Barking Bus Garage Open Day
Acknowledgement: Historical information from London Bus Routes by Ian Armstrong
Acknowledgement: Historical information from London Bus Routes by Ian Armstrong