Vintage London Transport RT 786 waits near the former Creekmouth Power Station in River Road, Barking on a special journey. A series of power stations had stood on this site on the north bank of the Thames from 1925 onwards, the last one finally closing in 1981. They were served by a number of bus routes operated by London Transport and its predecessors. One of these was route 62 which gained some Sunday-only journeys to Creekmouth in 1969 which continued until 1982.
This route had the distinction of being London’s last to be operated by RT-type vehicles similar to the one seen here. Their final day of operation on the 62 was 7th April 1979, the 40th anniversary of which was commemorated with special RT-operated journeys on 30th March 2019. RTs had first appeared on London’s streets in 1939 and hence gave the capital some 40 years’ service.