(first posted 2/27/2014) Over the long history of London’s buses, there have been many with double decks, separate driver’s cabs, forward engines, rear entrances, open rear platforms, and red color schemes. But none have been as uniquely-designed, well-built, long-lived, well-loved and impeccably-preserved as the nigh-near immortal Routemaster, truly the ultimate London bus.
The Routemaster was designed by London Transport, then the local government body responsible for operating London’s bus and underground rail (the famous tube) network, and built by AEC, formerly known as the Associated Equipment Company, and later part of Leyland.
AEC had built the previous generation of the London bus, known as the RT. It was a regular production AEC Regent chassis equipped with a London Transport-specified body, built initially the Charles H Roe company of Leeds, in Yorkshire and later by various bodybuilders around the UK. The AEC Regent had a very conventional chassis and body construction, fitted with a 7.7 litre or 9.6 litre AEC diesel engine, a preselector epicyclic gearbox, and a body built to the operator’s specification or preference by one of several body builders around the UK.
Typically, it would seat 56 passengers and weigh around 8 tons unladen. The Regent 3, on which the RT was based, dated from the late 1930s and was manufactured into the mid 1950s. London Transport ultimately purchased over 4500 of them; operation of the RT finished in 1979. This was a very typical British double decker of the period, and the London versions were not unusual in any significant way.
Some RT series buses were built on the similarly conventional Leyland Titan chassis; hence advertisements like this. London Transport maintained all their own buses, with an extensive planned overhaul programme at the Aldenham works (now closed). It is worth following the link for an impression of the size and organisation this required. London’s buses were all designed with this type of maintenance in mind.
After WW2, London Transport identified a need for a new bus to eventually replace the RT fleet and London’s trolley bus fleet. The design priorities were increased full efficiency, passenger capacity and ease of maintenance. London Transport’s own engineering teams developed the concept of the new bus, what we now know as the Routemaster. London was unique in specifying the complete specification of its buses and then participating in the design and build. Other operators opted for either a chassis and body combination from standard options (a Leyland, AEC, Guy or Daimler chassis and a ECW, Park Royal, Weymann, Metro Cammell or Roe body–all names that have gone). London Transport’s bus works had spent the war building and repairing bombers, so a lot had been learnt about aluminium and how to use it.
The first prototype was complete in 1954 and, after doing show duty at the Commercial Vehicle Show and extensive testing, went into trial service in 1956. The initial prototypes had the radiator mounted under the bus, but this was moved to a conventional position for production, accounting for the change in the frontal appearance. The aluminium and integral nature of the construction resulted in a bus that carried 64 passengers against 56 for the RT within a reduction in unladen weight.
The Routemaster’s list of innovations was long–it had an all aluminium body, with a large element of integral construction with a front “A” steel sub-frame (including engine, steering and front suspension) and a rear “B” steel sub-frame (carrying rear axle and suspension). Independent front suspension, coil spring rear suspension, powered hydraulic brakes, fresh air heating, power steering and an automatic gearbox, complete with kick down, were all innovative features for a bus. Engines were AEC initially, though some later buses had Leyland engines. AEC was taken into Leyland in 1962, of course. The bodies were built by AEC’s body building division Park Royal Vehicles, who with AEC had been the main manufacturers of the AEC Regent bodies. So, the new bus for London was designed and built in London, but clearly was not typical of what had gone before.
The design of the Routemaster was fully and carefully thought through, from the cutaway under the stairs for the conductor to stand whilst the bus emptied and loaded, to the seat fabric that was carefully chosen to hide wear and dirt, to rear indicators (turn signals) that incorporated an arrow into the graphic, and of course the masterstroke of branding it so perfectly. This style is what it makes it so recognisable as “the London bus” and a British design icon, and also has undoubtedly helped the positive response to its longevity. Non bus fans (there are some, apparently) can recognise a Routemaster as something other than just an old bus.
The Routemaster, known in London Transport code as the RM, went into full production in 1958 and into service in 1959. It quickly became the Londoners’ preferred bus, given its greater comfort, as well as being a favourite with the drivers, who benefited from many of the more modern features, of course. It became, in effect, part of the narrative of the technical advance and strong industrial design and engineering achievements that defined post war Britain, from the Land Rover and Morris Minor to the de Havilland Comet, English Electric Lightning fighter jet and Deltic locomotive, to the Cooper and Lotus F1 cars to the Mini, Jaguar E-type and ultimately the Concorde, and perhaps the best architecture in living memory.
Routemasters were built in many variants, which can be summarised as varying in length or as a coach for longer distance work. The RML was 30” longer, with an insert in the centre of the bus giving 8 more seats. The vast majority of those produced were either the RM or RML versions. The coach version, still double deck, were used by London Transport’s suburban to semi-rural services, known as Greenline and painted in a distinctive green livery. Around 100 coach versions (RMC and the longer RCL) were built, along with a similar number of front entrance configuration buses, with a single front entrance with folding doors at the front of the lower and closed off rear platform. This one has been repainted in London Transport red.
The coach versions were produced for British European Airways (BEA), then the Britain’s nationally owned European regional airline, and now part of British Airways. The coaches were used to feed the passengers from a west London check in at West London Air terminal in Kensington to Heathrow, and the buses were equipped with baggage trailers and longer top gears for motorway work to the airport.
The Routemaster never achieved significant sales outside London; I suspect this was due to the cost compared with a regular Leyland, AEC or Daimler bus (all that bespoke design and lengthy development period had to be paid for), the lack of any maintenance facility equipped to handle it outside London and, of course, its dated configuration. By the early 1960s, the rear engined, front entrance double decker was available and being capable of one man operation, at least off-peak, soon became the preferred bus of most operators. One rear engined, front entrance Routemaster was built, allegedly sharing 60% commonality with a RM series.
The Routemaster was due to be phased out by the late 1970s but got a reprieve as the replacement (rear engined, front entrance buses) didn’t match the robust standards needed for central London. The Routemaster was kept running, especially in central areas, with many having extensive overhauls and replacement engine programmes. It finally retired from front line service in December 2005, a remarkable 50 years since its introduction.
Even after its withdrawal, finally prompted by compliance with (perfectly proper and decent) disability access regulations, the Routemaster was retained for two heritage routes; Route 9 from Trafalgar Square to Hyde Park and then to the Royal Albert Hall and Kensington and Route 15, from Trafalgar Square to St Paul’s Cathedral and the Tower of London. So, you can go from one London landmark to another as a passenger on a third.
The remaining Routemasters, reportedly 1200 out the original 2700, are now used for anything from tourist work often now with an open top deck, to wedding hire and even restaurants, throughout the world, as well as being a guaranteed hit at British bus show.
Over the years since the Routemaster was first conceived, the organisation of London Transport has changed considerably, although the law requires that the buses be predominantly red. It is now known as Transport for London (TfL) and bus services are provided by private companies under contract to TfL and the London Assembly and the, er distinctive and characterful Mayor of London, Boris Johnson. Johnson has led the progress of defining and commissioning a new Routemaster, known officially as the NBfL (New Bus for London) and unofficially as the new Routemaster or even the Borismaster.
This is a 90- seater double decker, with 3 entrances including an open rear platform, and takes many traditional Routemaster styling cues, including thorough attention of interior design and a thoroughly modern mechanical configuration, featuring an electric motor powered by a battery pack, which is recharged by a diesel engine and regenerative braking. An initial batch of 600 are all due to be in service by 2016.
But will we recall it fondly in 60 years time?
Related reading 1948 London Motor Show; GMC Coach “Old Look” Transit bus GMC “New Look” Transit Bus Silversides Greyhound bus; Greyhound Scenicruiser
There’s one here in my town in Japan…it was on a limited regular route through the tourist areas until this year. It was retired to static display due to maintenance issues…it overheated in the hot muggy summers here quite often, apparently. Fortunately my family and I rode it a month before! Lovely machine.
A great read on an unfamiliar topic. Of course, I have seen these on TV and in movies over my entire life, so I suppose I am at least a little familiar. Here in the US, the double decker bus just screams of London. I suppose the American analog is the GM new look bus features earlier this week.
I had no idea that there were really only 2 designs that served for much of the 20th century. Now I want to ride in one.
It’s interesting that in Britain bus operators had such a wide choice of bus bodies and chassis while US ones bought the GMC or a Flxible (basically a GM ripoff from the competitor GM allowed to exist to keep the Department of Justice at bay).
School buses were another matter, though. There, a number of body-and-chassis combinations were available, which proved as unsustainable as the same scenario in Britain.
Ahhhh… What a great article! Thanks Roger. My fave is the version with the Rover P5 lookalike grille.
These were the bus used on ‘San Monique’ in Live and Let Die. IIRC, there’s something about the design that prevents them from toppling over, hence the ambitious driving in the film (helmed by a British bus driver for filming). Cheers.
I loved this, Roger; I was especially fond of the passage about the narrative of the technical advance and strong industrial design and engineering achievements that defined post war Britain. To me, that defines my understanding of your country and is not something I hear enough about. Thanks for a good read.
I worked as a London bus driver and regret not driving a Routemaster.It looked very cramped in the cab plus it was on a route I wasn’t familiar with.
Mate o mine had a single deck 49 AEC and the cab is very cramped theres no room to shift gears but it had a preselect box so that problem was averted.
On our first morning in London (in 1999) we were very jet lagged and couldn’t really think straight about what to do. So the two boys and I hopped on the first Routemaster that came by, were able to get the front upper seats, and just kept riding it to wherever it went. What an terrific way to see London, and the views from up there are amazing, as the bus wound its way through very narrow streets and tight traffic. It was like an amusement [ark ride. The boys loved it…. and fortunately, we didn’t get lost forever. IIRC, it actually made a big loop and took us back to where we started. Or maybe we had to get on another one…as I said, I was very jet lagged. But I’ll never forget riding that Routemaster for sever hours.
Thanks for an excellent look at these splendid machines.
Wondering why no one built double Decker RV? Living dining on first level, then two bedrooms one bath on the second?
Bridge height issues here in the USA would preclude that, I think. Unless you want a 6′ living room and a 4′ bedroom/bath. I wouldn’t want anything taller than 12 feet.
4.25 metres is the international maximum height for trucks and buses we have a couple of overpasses that are tight but most road structures are made adequately high enough nowdays.
Hi,
I’m pretty sure many Routemasters and other old buses have been converted in that sort of way
There are many of them plying the roads of Victoria, British Columbia, which plays up its British connection for tourists. The Routemasters either shuttle tourists around (both open and closed versions) and also ferries them to the Buchart Gardens tourist trap. The road out there is pretty hilly in sections and when one gets behind a Routemaster, patience is definitely the order of the day.
Great article. I remember the Matchbox version of these, which were painted a very deep red.
I have always been fascinated by these. It was a thrill to finally get a ride in one in the late 90’s. As Paul said, right up front on 2nd level was fantastic. I have subsequently done the jet lag thing early in the morning too (my 6 year old son was as thrilled as me to just ride around London up there…). I’m glad they still have the Heritage routes. It always amazed my how they didn’t tip over. CG must be a lot lower than it appears. Great write up!
And how many buses have been honored in Rock&Roll classics like Magic Bus?
I want it, I want it, I want it…
Now I have to go listen to “Live at Leeds.”
Harold LeMay used to use one of the older manual-transmission buses to ferry people between the two main show sites on open-house day (which is always the last Saturday in August). Somewhere I have a photo of him driving the thing and enjoying it immensely.
It’s a weird feeling to ride the top deck, because any sideways shift in the road surface, such as when the bus turns out of a slanted driveway onto the road, is magnified when one is sitting so far above ground.
Why didn’t The Beatles use one of these when they filmed ‘Magical Mystery Tour’? It would have added much to the movie.
to tall too slow not that cosy really.Built for urban work …no heater….
Theres a double decker in use in Napier for tourist work but it an Aussie version a Leyland Atlantean rear engine ex Sydney refugee, I saw a film once of routemasters being flung around on a skid pan very impressive for stability going sideways.
Fantastic write up. The design is visually near perfect. No wonder it lasted so long. Sounds like they nailed the mechanical aspect too until the game moved to rear engined designs.
I once got to drive a 1950s Leyland Titan double decker – interesting experience.
LT put some serious engineering into the Routemaster, including weighing the horsehair stuffing in the seats and very extensive tipover testing. Because the upper structure is very lightweight and all the really heavy parts are at ground level they are actually very stable.
I have fond memories of vising London and riding in front upper deck seats where the view was spectacular.
I had the pleasure of riding the “old style” London double deckers a few times in the early and mid part of the last decade. On my latest trip it was clear that the modern busses (most still double deck) had taken over.
The old bus I particularly remember from 10+ years ago was a rear engine Bedford, sporting an cast rear engine cover (bonnet?) with B E D F O R D cast into the iron. It was a loud, smoky, cool old bus. I’m guessing it was at least 20 years old at that time. Were Bedford busses common in London?
Cheers!
Gee I like the cover pic for this article. The thickness of curve on the hood piece is almost edible. These are such iconic designs. Unfortunately, when you see one in Australia it’s usually painted garish colours and is full of bogans having raucous party time on a Saturday night.
I always wanted to ride in one of these, top front. Must be a lot of fun, and what a view. I wonder why the new Nbfl 90 passenger has no bumpers? Pedestrian safety? Great write up of a interesting history of these buses.
I used to go to school on a Routemaster ( after the Trollybuses were withdrawn). Front seats on the top deck were favourite when you were small, but by the time you became a teenager the top back seats were the “mature” choice. But it was always a special treat when an old RT came out of the depot instead of a Routemaster. Some operators were still using old AEC buses, with pre-selector gearboxes, into the 90’s.
Dad’s a trolleybus fan and we went on the last London trolleybus in the early 60s
Thank you. A wonderful article on a wonderful vehicle – as a Londoner I found this a great read, all the more so because it added rather more analysis than most accounts of the RM I’ve read – and couldn’t agree more that although it’s sad to see them go, the DDA legislation is absolutely right in ensuring everyone can use the buses!
Once London started getting rid of RMs in the late 1980s, many moved elsewhere as a cheap alternative to a new bus for start up operators; I remember Glasgow in the early 90s being full of them in garish liveries in a period of fierce bus competition.
And if you want to see the best of 6s British architecture, try the Civic Centre in Newcastle upon Tyne. http://www.c20society.org.uk/100-buildings/newcastle-civic-centre/
There is a whole fleet of these buses here that are used for cruise ship visitors, all painted a bright pink. We rented one for wedding transportation; it had a five-on-the-tree, IIRC.
Double decker buses are common in Hong Kong, where their additional capacity is welcomed. I don’t recall them using Roadmasters, though. Leylands, Volvo Olympian, Dennis, Neoplan are the current or recent makes seen.
Great article, Roger. To be in service so long, the engineering had to be top-notch. I’m impressed with these busses even more after reading this.
The new one looks exactly like a 1960s imagining of the “London bus … Of The Future!”
Nice article ! .
Agreed , the post war British engineering was very good , I’ve always liked the various cars , trucks and the looks of these buses , never got to ride in one yet tho’ .
When I lived in Guatemala City C.A. in the mid 1970’s they used old beat up Bedford buses that were simply unkillable if rather small .
-Nate
This was a great read. Of course I’ve seen Routemasters from 007 movies and my Corgi Toys and Matchbox books, but never knew the story. Thanks for that!
Please accept my apology for the quality of my photo. Can someone i.d. this bus please? I can’t find a pic of one exactly the same
It looks like a Bristol Lodekka.
I actually find the looks of those new buses to be quite fetching and original with all those diagonal lines neatly worked into it. How many vehicles of any type have you seen with asymmetrical windscreens?
Thank you Roger. Excellent biography, and supporting images, for this icon. Thousands of kilometres away, these were iconic in Ottawa as well. As sightseeing buses downtown. They were a fixture in the 70s on Elgin and Wellington Street when I was growing up.
I went to school in Britain for a few years in the 1960’s, and the ubiquitous smell of diesel in British towns & cities seemed exotic to a young Canadian at the time. I’m not even sure I knew what it was initially – it was just what Britain smelled like. 🙂
I can’t find a CC article on the Borismaster. I know there were a lot of complaints about them at first – eco AC system that didn’t work plus windows that don’t open, etc. and maybe the rear entrance thing was eventually abandoned? I haven’t ridden in one but to me the very rounded rear seemed like something from 1940.
I think another criticism of the Borismaster was its exorbitant cost.
But the idea of getting on any London (or elsewhere) double decker bus, scoring the front top seat, and just riding around is a good one. Berlin also has double deckers. Maybe elsewhere?
Oh look, Berlin is getting a new style double decker bus. Needs CC article.
https://www.alexander-dennis.com/media/news/2018/october/alexander-dennis-wins-berlin-contract-for-new-double-decker-fleet/
Here’s the Berlin counterpart to the iconic Routemaster, the Bűssing D2U, in service 1951-1978, 869 produced, according to Wiki.
The Matchbox version
and here’re mine, from Corgi Classics
Another great read Roger. Many thanks.
“Non bus fans (there are some, apparently)” : brilliant!
“But will we recall it [the Johnson/Heatherwick bus] fondly in 60 years time?” I think we now know the answer – no. TfL has given up on the rear entrance and so we’re left with a very expensive, badly ventilated, unloved bus, ranked alongside other Johnson follies like his cablecar, water cannon and unbuilt garden bridge. The newer Wright SRM shares the styling cues of the Johnson bus, which it has superseded, with more conventional underpinnings.
In addition to front and top on a double decker, London visitors may enjoy a trip in the front seats of the driverless Docklands Light Railway. Mostly on elevated viaducts, it provides great views of the old East End and the new world of Canary Wharf.
Terrific history! Thanks.
CC-in-scale has built one of these too. 1/24 scale, same as the cars, so it’s huge. This Revell kit even comes with a choice of engines, the original AEC or a later, emission-compliant Scania.
In happier but now long gone days you could smoke on the top deck !!