In an early tendering exercise by London Regional Transport, an entire group of routes were transferred from London Buses to Eastern National, who set up a separate "Citybus" operation (later to become part of Thamesway) to operate routes 20, 167 and 206. These changes saw the closure of Loughton Garage (now demolished and replaced by housing) and the dispersal of its fleet of Leyland Nationals, some of which were later used on the short lived "Forester" X99 service which ran through Debden and Loughton.

Eastern National took over routes 20, 167 and 206 on 24 May 1986, using Bristol VRTs on the 20 and 206, Leyland Nationals on the 167 (although in practice, the Nationals strayed on to the other Citybus routes). A leaflet published by London Regional Transport promised a more comfortable ride from the VRTs, a claim which may seem surprising by today's standards.

Eastern National were not the only winners in this round of tendering. Some school journeys to and from West Hatch School, Chigwell were renumbered 203 and passed to Cullinan Coaches. Some school journeys between Loughton and Debden were renumbered 204 and also passed to Cullinan.

Another newcomer to the Loughton scene was West's Coaches, who operated route 201 between Loughton and Chipping Ongar. This service was originally introduced to replace off peak Central Line underground services between Epping and Ongar. Today there are no Central Line services beyond Epping.

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	Nearing the end: During the last few weeks of operation, LS407 is seen at Debden Broadway.
	Eastern National Bristol VRT/ECW 3118 at the Debden terminus some time during 1986.
	A service changes leaflet extolled the ride quality of Eastern National's Bristol VRTs - 3100 (UAR 590W) is seen in Debden Estate, heading for the terminus at Debden Station in the first few weeks of "Citybus" operation.
	West Coaches Leyland National waits at Loughton Station shortly after arriving from Chipping Ongar via Epping. The three track route number display on this vehicle was replaced by a vinyl, restricting use to the 201 service. The displays were re-instated when West's expanded their network in 1989.
	London Country North East Leyland National KPG 238N on service 502 (Romford and Harlow) in Loughton High Road
	Eastern National Bristol VRT/ECW 3101 (UAR 591W) waits at Debden Station with a departure for Walthamstow  in 1987
	Bordabus operated service 8 between Waltham Cross and Romford via Debden on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. East Lancs bodied Atlantean OBN 293H is seen in Burton Road, Debden in late 1990
	By 1990, Eastern National had been split, the southern half (including the Citybus operation) becoming Thamesway. Bristol VRT/ECW 3105 (UAR 595W) is seen in Burton Road, Debden.
	Service 20 was usually the preserve of double deck vehicles, although Leyland Nationals such as Thamesway 1911 (DAR 133T) made the occasional appearance. The bus is seen in Burton Road, Debden in late 1990.
	West's Coaches had expanded their operations by 1990, operating a small network of minibus services in Loughton and Chingford. Metrorider F714 CWJ waits in Burton Road with two similar vehicles.
	West's Metrorider F718 CWJ in Burton Road before taking up a service 214 journey via Traps Hill to Loughton Station. 1990
	London Country North East had become Townlink by 1990. Leyland National SNB216 (LPB 216P)  is seen in Burton Road, Debden with a service 502 journey to Romford.

Click on the thumbnail for a map of Eastern National services serving Loughton and Chigwell, 1986 (opens in new window)

• London Miscellany • Boro'line London • Depot at Acton Town • Greenwich Gallery • Loughton in 1986 • Titan Twilight • Gateway to the East • Routemaster Summer • Routemaster Autumn • Routemaster Farewell • Turnham Green in 2001 •

This page was updated on 08/05/08