London Trolleybus on Route 630 at the west side of Scrubs Lane

Click on picture [544] for an enlarged version

Click on picture [544a] for an enlarged version

Click on picture [545] for an enlarged version

Click on picture [EQV] for an enlarged version

Click on picture [QV2] for an enlarged version

From: "Michael Neal" <sbp@red1.net>

In picture 544, the road seen crossing the end of Scrubs Lane is Harrow Road Nw10. All the buildings behind the trolleybus were demolished many years ago. There is a railway line behind the buildings and Willesden Junction station is not far away. There's a little line of terraced houses or flats standing there now, I not quite sure what they are, it's nearly ten years since I've been to that location.

The 662 trolleybus passed that location along the Harrow Road and is the only London trolleybus route I remember travelling on. It is now the 18 bus route.

As far as I know, the pub on the right hand side of both pictures in Scrubs Lane is still standing, but for the life of me I cannot remember what it's called!

From: "Geoff Bannister" <Gbannister10@aol.com>

Wasn't the pub on the corner called the College Park Tavern or something?

From: "Peter Golds" <PSGolds@aol.com>

I was for some years a Councillor in Brent and I used to examine the historic planning documents which were logged in the Town Hall. I actually read all the planning applications regarding the demolition of Colindale Depot. Some comments below are from my recollections regarding a planning application for the College Park Inn.

The Inn at the corner of the Harrow Road was called the College Park Tavern and still bears the name rendered into the building. Currently there are proposals to turn the Inn building into homes! The interesting feature is that the name "College Park" came into being simply because of this Tavern. Also the reason the road is so wide at the intersection of Harrow Road is that it was designed to accommodate the stub for terminating trams on route 30. When the trams were abandoned the turning loop around the side streets was constructed. Now of course the 626/628/630 and their successor buses are just a memory in this area. The 18 still continues to terminating at the roundabout constructed for the 662s when they were introduced.

Where the hoarding's can be seen in the picture are a group of recently built houses and maisonettes.

From: "Richard Shanahan" <richard.shanahan@btinternet.com>

Thank you indeed for the display of trolleybus pictures for London.

My especial interest was in respect of the 630 route that I was to use so much until the end of the system. Looking at your fine photographs numbered 544 and 545 I seem to have a problem that is possibly due to my increasingly poor memory. That is, I always seemed to think that the 630 came along the Harrow Road [from its terminus in Waldo Road] and used its own overhead wires. That is, the wires for the 662 were separate. As the 630 actually entered Scrubs Lane it remained on its own circuit until just before the actual stop to pick up the passengers for the run to West Croydon. Having said this your pictures contradict since they show that the actual junction was much sooner.

I wonder if anyone else has raised this point.

From: "Michael Bent" <mbent@irp.com>

Your site is a wonderful resource for trolley bus reminiscing. I came across your site after finding information on the reintroduction of trams in London.

I live outside of Boston, USA now, but I lived in Harlesden when the trolley buses ran. They are permanent memories of my childhood since I associated the trolley in the children's book "Tootles the Taxi" with the 630 trolley. I would have been 2 months shy of my third birthday when the trolleys stopped running in 1960. I always wondered what had happened to Lt's trolley bus service.

Good luck with your picture restoration efforts. Maybe, someday the 630 will return to service.

From: "Graham Sullivan" <rockerboy@bikerider.com>

I have just retired at last from work at the BBC Television Centre and whilst there I picked up this little anecdote regarding the College Park PH shown in pictures 544 & 545.

When the BBC were planning the scenery for Eastenders at Elstree they based the bridge used on the set on the Metropolitan & City line bridge which crosses Scrubs Lane outside TVC, the Queen Vic being based on the College Arms pub at the top of Scrubs Lane/Harrow Road Nw10.

Obviously the 'luvvies' who chose and photographed them for the set were not fans of travelling, although they had to pass the North Pole PH in North Pole Rd. and it's adjacent railway bridge, which were half the distance!

Once again, a great site.

From: David Bradley, Webmaster

To accompany the notes provided by Graham Sullivan, I carried out a Google picture search for the "Queen Victoria" I came upon this news item: Shabby Eastenders to move. But of course the public house that the Queen Victoria is modelled on has been converted to flats; I doubt if the rebuild of the Queen Victoria will suffer the same fate as otherwise there would be nowhere for the storylines to be played out!

From: "Robert Howard" <robert@parkviews.org.uk>

I just found your website whilst looking for a picture of a 630 trolleybus and found your wonderful photograph, 544.jpg, showing a 630 turning off Harrow Road into Scrubs Lane. I am currently writing a memoir for a writing group I am in about travelling from Wembley to Tooting by trolleybus during the 1950s. [I trust you will post it here in due course!]