You do not see many bus photos on my blog. I really prefer trams! But I spent many happy holidays in London over 20 years and simply fell in love with their Routemaster buses.
In July 2014 I attended the RM60 event at Finsbury Park in London. The Routemaster Association celebrated the 60th birthday of this iconic London bus. 2760 vehicles were built for London Transport (plus 65 front entrance versions for BEA later British Airways and 50 similar but longer buses for Northern General Transport in Gateshead). The event took place over two days (July 12/13) and most buses attended on both days. I rode up to the event as a guest on RM938 from Croydon on the Sunday (I could not get a cheap flight for Saturday). I also attended the event 10 years ago at the same location. Many different buses on show this time (10 years ago most of the longer RMLs were still in regular service and thus not present on the rally circuit). Over 20% of the surviving Routemasters registered in the UK came to Finsbury Park – 136 in total.
A few years ago I had a website dealing with Routemasters (and other older London buses) and thanks to archive.org the content survives here. You will find a lot of additional information and photos there.
- Routemaster overview:
RM – standard bus – 27.5 feet (8.4 m) – 2,123 buses built (10 RMs were later lengthened to ERM “extended” bus for LT Original Tour sightseeing duties – unfortunately no ERM attended the Finsbury Park event)
= prototypes RM1-2
= Leyland/Weymann prototype RML3 (later RM3)
= test bus RM8 (into public service in 1976)
= production buses RM5-7, RM9-879, RM904-1253, RM1255-1452, RM1521-2217
RML – long bus – 29.11 feet (8.87 m) – 524 buses built
= long buses RML880-903, RML2261-2760
RMC – coach – 27.5 feet (8.4 m) – 69 buses built (prototype RMC4 was originally called CRL4 – this was Leyland engined)
= coach prototype CRL4 (later RMC4)
= production coaches RMC1453-1520
RCL – long coach – 29.11 feet (8.87 m) – 43 buses built
= long coaches RCL2218-2260 (11 of them were later converted to convertible open top and used on LT sightseeing duties)
RMF – front-entrance bus – 29.11 feet (8.87 m) – 51 buses built (all except one for Northern General Transport Company)
= front entrance bus RMF1254 (later Northern General 2145 and then 3129) and Northern General “RMF”s 2085-2102/2103-2134 (later 3069-3118) – London transport later bought 12 buses and numbered them RMF2761-2772 (though they never ran in passenger service); LT also operated RMF2791-4 (owned by Obsolete Fleet) on sightseeing duties (later purchasing 2 and running them as open top RMT2793-4)
RMA – front-entrance bus – 27.5 feet (8.4 m) – 65 buses built for British European Airways
= airport coaches 1-65 (when purchased by LT renumbered RMA1-65 but not in the same squence)
FRM – front-entrance bus – 31.3 feet (9.5 m) – 1 bus built (rear engined)
= rear engined bus FRM1
Here are the buses I saw (listed is also the registration number and the livery the bus carries):
FRM1 KGY 4D 1960’s LT
RM1 SLT 56 1950’s LT (prototype)
RM2 SLT 57 1950’s LT (prototype – sporting again its original front)
RML3 (later RM3) SLT 58 1950’s LT (prototype – also now again its original front)
note: originally the Leyland engined buses were to be classed as RML but this idea was dropped and the code went to the “long Routemasters” instead
RM5 VLT 5 1960’s LT
RM6 VLT 6 Queen’s Jubilee Gold
RM7 VLT 7 1960’s LT
RM8 VLT 8 1950’s LT
RM9 VLT 9 1960’s LT
RM16 VLT 16 1980’s LRT
RM44 VLT 44 Southend Transport
RM66 VLT 66 1980’s LT (this bus was cut-down in preservation)
RM108 VLT 108 1960’s LT
RM116 VLT 116 1980’s LT
RM188 VLT 188 1960’s LT
RM238 VLT 238 1960’s LT
RM275 VLT 275 1960’s LT
RM308 WLT 308 1980’s LT
RM349 WLT 349 1970’s LT
RM357 WLT 357 1960’s LT
RM479 WSJ 737 Timebus Travel
RM545 WLT 545 1960’s LT
RM613 WLT 613 1960’s LT
RM752 677 DYE LT red
RM765 WLT 765 1960’s LT
RM811 WLT 811 Lincoln green
RM848 448 UXS London bus Red
RM857 WLT 857 1960’s LT
RML883 TAS 466 Red with white relief
RML898 WLT 898 1960’s LT
RML903 WLT 903 1960’s LT
RM938 WLT 938 1960’s LT (taken earlier that day near the owners home in Croydon)
RM999 WLT 999 Reading Mainline
RM1000 100 BXL 1960’s LT
RM1005 5 CLT 1960’s LT
RM1033 DSL 540 1980’s LT
RM1063 63CLT 1960’s LT
RM1086 86 CLT 1960’s LT
RM1138 138 CLT 1960’s LT
RM1348 348 CLT Metroline
RM1357 357 CLT 1960’s LT
RM1368 368 CLT 1970’s LT (after fire damaged in 1974 London Transport converted this bus into their only single deck RM and used it as an experimental test vehicle only)
RM1394 394 CLT 1960’s LT
RM1397 397 CLT 1960’s LT
RM1403 403 CLT 1960’s LT
RM1449 449 CLT 1960’s LT
RM1462 462 CLT 1980’s LT
RMC1476 476 CLT London Country (NBC)
RMC1486 486 CLT Green Line
RMC1497 497 CLT Green Line
RMC1507 507CLT Green Line
RM1650 650 DYE Silver
RM1699 699 DYE 1960’s LT
RM1804 804 DYE MTL London
RM1822 OWJ 112 Under restoration to London Buses route 159 branding
RM1840 840 DYE 1960’s LT
RM1842 842 DYE bus red
RM1871 ALD 871B Timebus Travel
RM1955 ALD 955B London Buses
RM1990 ALD 990B Reading Mainline
RM1993 ALD 993B Southampton Citybus
RM2037 ALM 37B 1980’s LT
RM2060 ALM 60B Heritage route
RM2097 ALM 97B 1980’s LT
RM2116 CUV 116C LT 1983 Jubilee
RM2173 CUV 173C 1960’s LT
RM2179 CUV 179C 1960’s LT
RM2180 CUV 180C 1980’s LT
RM2186 CUV 186C 1960’s LT
RM2208 CUV 208C George Shillibeer
RM2213 CUV 213C 1960’s LT
RM2217 CUV 217C Arriva London
RCL2229 CUV 229C 1960’s Green Line
RML2262 CUV 262C Bus red
RML2266 CUV 266C Bus red
RML2267 CUV 267C 1960’s LT
RML2271 CUV 271C London Central
RML2276 CUV 276C London Central
RML2284 CUV 284C Green (cut-down in preservation)
RML2291 CUV 291C 1960’s LT / @thebus
RML2304 CUV 304C Millwall Football Club
RML2306 CUV 306C 1970’s LT
RML2310 CUV 310C Timebus Travel
RML2323 CUV 323C 1970’s National Bus Company
RML2334 CUV 334C London Country
RML2344 CUV 344C 1960’s LT
RML2352 CUV 352C First London
RML2363 CUV 363C 1960’s LT
RML2364 JJD 364D 1980’s LT
RML2366 JJD 366D 1960’s LT
RML2393 JJD 393D 1980’s LT
RML2396 JJD 396D London Central
RML2400 JJD 400D 1980’s LT
RML2412 JJD 412D London Transport (Country)
RML2440 JJD 440D London Transport (Country)
RML2452 JJD 452D Arriva London South
RML2468 JJD 468D 1960’s LT
RML2478 JJD 478D 1960’s LT
RML2494 JJD 494D Route 38 branding
RML2498 JJD 498D Buspitality
RML2514 JJD 514D Kentish Bus
RML2516 JJD 516D The Ghost Bus
RML2528 JJD 528D The Ghost Bus
RML2539 JJD 539D London Central
RML2544 JJD 544D 1960’s LT
RML2589 JJD 589D London Buses
RML2606 NML 606E Aurora Lighting
RML2620 NML 620E Metroline
RML2660 SMK 660F Leaside Buses
RML2663 NE-001H Bus red (all the way from Germany!)
RML2683 SMK 683F 1960’s LT
RML2698 SMK 698F red
RML2699 SMK699F 1990’s London Buses
RML2715 SMK 715F London Transport Red
RML2731 SMK 731F Metroline
RML2740 SMK 740F LT Red
RML2741 SMK 741F Pink
RML2751 SMK 751F Bus red
RML2755 SMK 755F London Buses
RML2760 SMK 760F 1980’s LT
RMA28 KGJ 601D BEA
RMA58 NMY 655E 1960’s LT (red)
RMF2771 EYY 776B Red & Blue
I did not manage to photograph the following Routemasters at this event (they were either only there on Saturday when I was not or I gave up on taking a photo because of the many people standing in front of them…):
RM254 VLT 254 1960’s LT
RM291 VLT 291 1960’s LT
RM471 KVS 601 1960’s LT
RM1274 LDS 67A 1960’s LT
RMC1485 485 CLT Ensignbus
RM1620 620 DYE 1970’s LT
RCL2226 CUV 226C Ensignbus
RCL2233 CUV 233C Green Line
RML2368 JJD 368D 1960’s LT
RML2391 JJD 391D London Buses
RML2394 JJD 394D 1960’s LT
RML2464 JJD 464D NatWest Bank
RML2583 JJD 583D 1960’s LT
Noticeably absent were: any ERMs, RM110 (cut-down), any RMAs with luggage trailer, RME1 (this is an extended RMA), RMC(CRL)4, RMF1254 and also any RMFs in NG livery. Also I had hoped there would be more RMs in provincial liveries (where these buses went in large numbers after their initial withdrawel in London – long before the last RMs ran in London…).
There were a few other non-Routemaster buses at the show:
19000 LX55 HGC Stagecoach London
B2737 LH 8186 1914 General
DLA1 R101GNW Arriva
L2 A102 SYE 1980’s LT
LT60 LTZ 1060 2013 London
RT113 FXT 288 1939 LTPB
T1 THX 401S 1980’s LT
I missed: