London Trolleybuses - Napier Arms Terminus

Napier Arms Terminus
Click on picture [LTM7] for an enlarged version

From: "Julian Walker" <julianrwalker@hotmail.com>

I was interested in the picture of Woodford, Napier Arms, Trolleybus Terminus. As Roy rightly points out, Napier Arms was as close as London Transport could get trolleybuses to Woodford. Trams had terminated at Waterworks Corner and Napier Arms was something of a compromise that LT had to accept. The terminal was built by purchasing land at the corner of Oak Hill from the Custodians of Epping Forest; in return London Transport had to donate a similar-sized piece of land to Epping Forest "in perpetuity"! Having had trolleybuses decisively rejected by the good people of Woodford, LT was then somewhat non-plussed when the very same residents demanded improvements to the 10A bus through Woodford Green! The poor location of the trolleybus terminus was demonstrated when route 625 was replaced by bus 275 in February 1960; from day one the replacement buses continued to Woodford Green, and then into new territory along Broadmead Road, St Barnabas Road and Snakes Lane to Woodford Bridge.

The 275 was subsequently altered to serve the then-new Victoria Line on 7th September 1968, when it was diverted at "The Bell" to Walthamstow Central. The 123 had run to Manor House to feed into the Piccadilly Line; but with stations on the new Victoria Line at Blackhorse Road, Tottenham Hale and Seven Sisters it was no longer required to do this and was diverted over the erstwhile 625/275 route to Wood Green and Enfield. In 1972 the 275 was further modified when it was diverted via Hale End Road, Highams Park and Chingford Lane; as a result of this it now bore very little resemblance to the trolleybus route it had replaced, and no longer ran past the Napier Arms terminus. The only bus route to pass the Napier Arms today is the 20; when a turn is needed buses can circumnavigate the roundabouts at Waterworks Corner or Woodford Green, both of which are less than a mile away, and the terminus is no longer used by buses. However the terminus still exists today; it has now found a bizarre new use, as a parking lot for the car dealership on the opposite side of the road! I have attached a couple of pictures; I apologise for the quality as they were taken on my mobile phone.



Old Napier Arms Terminus   Old Napier Arms Terminus