PLYMOUTH |
The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |
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MOTOR BUS ROUTE "86" PLYMOUTH to DOUSLAND and PRINCETOWN On Monday May 13th 1929 the Western National Omnibus Company formally took over the National Omnibus Company's services 208 from Plymouth to Dousland, where it terminated at the junction with Iron Mine Lane (Yennadon Cross). During the summer months there was an additional service between Plymouth and Princetown using the same route number. The Princetown summer extension was worked independently by a vehicle based at Princetown. It ran three return trips on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, the vehicle being used to provide a separate service from Princetown to Tavistock on Wednesdays and Saturdays, the cattle and pannier market days. Until 1929 the service between Plymouth and Dousland had operated every 50 minutes in summer, this being the maximum frequency that two fully-laden vehicles could achieve. During the winter only one vehicle was used, with a consequent reduction in service. From Wednesday January 1st 1930 both sections of the 208 became Western National's service 86. When the Princetown part of the service re-started for the summer season in 1930, it ran only to and from Yelverton, where passengers had to change buses. This allowed the vehicle to make six return journeys instead of the previous three. Furthermore, because the Sunday train service on the Great Western Railway's Princetown Branch had ceased at the end of the summer of 1929, a Sunday service was introduced on the buses in 1930. During the 1920s there had been competition on the Dousland route from the Embankment Motor Company (Plymouth) Ltd. From the beginning of 1930 the services provided by both Embankment and Western National were co-ordinated into an hourly schedule. On Wednesday April 5th 1933 Western National took over the Embankment stage carriage services, the timetable on the 86 remaining as before except that the hourly schedule now ran summer and winter. The Princetown summer service continued as before. During the winter timetable of 1935-36, when the section between Dousland and Princetown was not attempted, the service ran from Plymouth's St Andrew's Cross through Old Town Street, Tavistock Road, North Hill, Mutley Plain, Crownhill, Roborough, Yelverton Golf Links, and Yelverton Cross Roads to the Manor Hotel at Dousland, where it turned right along the Burrator Road to terminate at Yennadon. The first bus left St Andrew's Cross at 7.20am and Yennadon at 8.05am. There was then a short-run service at 7.40am only as far as the George Hotel at Roborough, from where it returned at 8.05am. The next journey, at 8.20am from Plymouth, was due to arrive at Yennadon at 9.05am and leave again at 9.25am. Buses ran at hourly intervals at the same times until the 9.20pm from Plymouth and its return journey at 10.30pm. The 10.20pm departure from Plymouth ran only as far as Yelverton Cross Roads on Mondays to Fridays but covered the whole route on Saturday nights. There was then a short-run departure at 10.40pm to the George Hotel and back. The last bus from Yennadon on a Saturday night left at 11.05pm and was due back at St Andrew's Cross at 11.50pm. Adult single fares from Plymouth during the winter of 1935-36 were: to Crownhill Barracks, 4d; to Yelverton Cross Roads or Rock Hotel, 1 shilling; to Dousland Manor Hotel or Yennadon, 1/3d; and to Princetown, 2 shillings. Adult return fares to Dousland were 2 shillings and Princetown, 3s 6d. For the winter season of 1936-37 the timetable on the 86 was reduced to a two-hourly frequency. However, the hourly service was continued during the summer seasons of 1937, 1938 and 1939, with buses additionally running to Burrator Lake except when there was inclement weather. This service was operated with two vehicles. The winter timetable for September 1939 showed the expected reduction to a two-hourly frequency but the outbreak of the Second World War brought about an even more drastic reduction to just six journeys, mainly at work times. There were large gaps during the day. The services from Dousland to Princetown and Dousland to Burrator Lake did not run after Sunday September 10th 1939. Indeed, it is a surprise that the bus service continued as far as Dousland at all, given that it had a station on the Princetown Branch that was, as Mr Bryan Gibson puts it, 'operated by steam locomotives using native coal'. All passengers to Princetown, whether travelling from Plymouth or Tavistock, had to go by train to Yelverton Station and change there to the Princetown line. During the Second World War buses were dispersed into the countryside, partly to avoid the bombing and partly because every evening the war ravaged people of Plymouth would trek out onto the Moors for their safety and the buses would be filled to capacity for free. In the case of the Dousland service, this enabled the first bus to start from Yennadon at 5.30am and run via Plymouth to the Fore Street entrance to the Royal Dockyard, where it was due to arrive at 6.15am. The first bus out of Plymouth was at 7.15am. This returned from Dousland at 8am, arriving back in Plymouth at 8.45am. It left Plymouth immediately and returned to Dousland for the 9.30am departure. There was then a break until the 12.40pm departure from Plymouth, which returned at 1.25pm. There was then another break until 4.50pm. The bus returned from Yennadon at 5.35pm. The final two journeys did not return from Dousland: the first at 6.40pm from Plymouth and the second the 7pm from Fore Street, 7.15pm from Plymouth, which was due at Dousland Yennadon Cross at 7.43pm. As bombing usually started around 8.30pm this cleared the City just in time. On Sundays in the winter of 1941-42 the first bus left Yelverton Cross Roads at Midday. It returned from Plymouth at 12.40pm; Dousland at 1.25pm; Plymouth at 4.45pm and Dousland at 5.30pm. The last bus home left Plymouth at 6.40pm, arriving at Dousland at 7.23pm. As from Thursday October 1st 1942 Western National service 86 became Plymouth Joint Services route 86.
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