Today's BBC National Lunchtime News showed a report from outside the Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand in Central London.

 

Passing in the background  of the shot was an RT London Bus, sporting the no 15 route plate  - from memory, No 15 route does go past the Law Courts. So  I presume that what i was viewing was an operational bus.

 

RT buses are at least 60 years old now, I thought they'd all been phased-out in the late1970s.

 

Can anyone throw any light on this ?

 

N

Edited 3 November, 20169 yr by Clunkclick

Heritage bus? Phones4U shop in the pic. They weren't around in the 70's.

 

http://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-routemaster-tourist-bus-route-15-heritage-bus-in-the-strand-london-37638745.html

The Heritage bus in your picture is a Routemaster, which is a later marque than the RT.

 

The bus I saw was an RT. 

 

Just wonder how either of them meet the emissions zone criteria, given that from memory, the RT didn't even have a water pump and relied on thermo-siphon.

 

 

Nick

Not just London but 'classic' buses often get wheeled out for events. Here when there are big events at the local racecourse and old 50s/60s bus gets wheeled out as their courtesy transport. I'm sure most bust companies will keep hold of a few old buses for event hire.

Not just London but 'classic' buses often get wheeled out for events. Here when there are big events at the local racecourse and old 50s/60s bus gets wheeled out as their courtesy transport. I'm sure most bust companies will keep hold of a few old buses for event hire.

A local member of this forum has a Routemaster (YossarianG). Not persuaded him to take it to the local meet yet lol

As far as I'm aware all the surviving RT's are preserved now, none are 'in service'. Do you have a clip? 

I know a few RTs still have class 6 MOTs so can still be used for stage service. Ensign Bus have some and Roger Wright uses them for his services linked to the Epping Ongar Railway.

Every so often they have running days on the heritage route 15 using proper buses but I don't think there was one yesterday. I say proper buses as the Routemasters they normally use on the heritage route are an abomination. Horribly refurbished, tacky interiors, florescent lights , hopper windows in place of the original wind down ones and nasty little Cummins engines. They neither look, sound or even move like a proper RM. They are just something that looks vaguely Routemaster shaped from a distance.

Anyway the one you saw on telly was probably just a preserved RT. There's nothing to stop you driving your own bus round with a route number on. You can even pick people up as long as you don't charge them. We've all done that.

Any pictures of your Routemaster Yoss? 

I believe Arriva operates on behalf of TfL a couple of heritage routes with Routemasters for enthusiasts and tourists. The buses were mainly phased out of general use due to disability access and emission issues. I'm not sure how they get over that, maybe it is due to their age, much like other classic vehicles being exempt, but the Routemaster fleet was re-engined with Scania diesels.

Edited 4 November, 20169 yr by threadbear

A lot of them were refurbished in the 1990s and gained mainly Cummins and Iveco engines with a few Scanias added later on. The Scanias were probably the best in terms of sounding like a proper engine but none of the above are used in the Heritage fleet.

These come from a later batch that were refurbed around 2003 and have a later Cummins that complies, I think, to euro 3 emissions standards. Trouble is its a very small high revving unit that makes a noise totally unsuited to an RM. Bearing in mind the original AEC and Leyland engines only revved to 1800rpm and idled at a mere 2-300. It is also coupled to an Allison automatic gearbox via torque converter that gives quite a rough gear change compared to the original AEC semi auto connected via a fluid flywheel. This is so smooth that even when you mess up a gear change the passengers will barely notice.

This is mine on a day out round Southampton with a few old Southampton buses.

Having just Googled my own bus I found this. This was just over ten years ago, how time flies, and a case in point of running with the correct route numbers. Spent a day doing old Norwood routes, the 2B and 68.

Another time, another place:

Followed, then overtook a number 430 brand new bus last Wednesday on A64 Malton bypass !

Destination was ' Putney High Street ' - think it may have come from Plaxton's. ( no destination or number at rear )

Also remember passing the old AEC factory at Southall in the very early 1960s and seeing cylinder blocks outside, rusting and pickling

 - that was many years and miles away !

pretty sure there are 8 active route masters in London on the only remaining heritage route 15, they were brought back due to demand.  I thanks my lucky stars the bendy buses died and nobody wants them back.

 

Love Law Courts one of my branches i cover is there so we always get to see the demos or big cases that happen.  Think thats one of the oldest branches we have too , look like hogwarts inside

H15 route I used to work on them at West Ham bus depot

Driven them too including the one original one we had with semi auto box

Edited 5 November, 20169 yr by TrevorB33

Having just Googled my own bus I found this. This was just over ten years ago, how time flies, and a case in point of running with the correct route numbers. Spent a day doing old Norwood routes, the 2B and 68.

4914251116_cc5f7da32e.jpg

 

 Very nice! 

Proper busses had 5 cylinder Gardener engines with crash gearboxes, none of the mamby-pamby automatic nonsense.

 

But then I have always been a Bristol enthusiast (for some years I owned a quarter of two of them, a K5G and an LL5G).

Sunday 6th BBC4 7.30pm ' Books that made Britain ' included a piece about a former bus driver in London.

Some interesting period footage.

Proper busses had 5 cylinder Gardener engines with crash gearboxes, none of the mamby-pamby automatic nonsense.

 

But then I have always been a Bristol enthusiast (for some years I owned a quarter of two of them, a K5G and an LL5G).

The Routemasters that we had in Glasgow for a while mostly had pre-selector boxes (much to the disgust of anyone who tried drag-racing one with a Dominator or an Olympian).

RTs and RFs had pre select boxes, Routemasters are autos or semi auto. They were all built as autos but mine is now a semi auto. The speed sense generator (SSG) broke one day leaving us stuck in second gear. The owners club do by pass plugs (it's all done electronically). I have a 4 speed selector on the steering column which is no more than a big electric switch and it just goes in whatever gear I want when I want. There's no clutch but you do have to back off the throttle as you change gear, as you would with a manual, if you want a smooth gear change.

Pre select boxes work by magic and witchcraft. Considering the first RT was built in 1939 the technology was very advanced. I've never driven one but I've watched one being driven and it all seems counter intuitive, but I guess you get used to it. You pull away, usually in 2nd, (1st is generally only used for hill starts) then immediately put the selector in the next gear. But it won't change gear until you press the button on the floor. This was apparently so you could change gear halfway round a roundabout, for instance, without having to take either hand off the wheel, bearing in mind they had no power steering. Very clever stuff.

Pre-selectors were quite common from about 1930 to 1950.  It's an epicyclic gearbox (as in the slushamatic autos) with manual control of gear selection.  I had a 1948 Armstrong Siddely Hurricane which had one which used a centrifugal clutch, other makes used a fluid flywheel.  The 'button' on the floor was normally referred to as the Engagement Pedal.

 

If you wanted to you could be flat out in top gear with reverse selected, engaging it under those conditions tended to be rather hazardous for the half shafts, apparently.  I never tried it.

 

Whilst I had the Armstrong I hired a mini for the weekend.  I accelerated away from the hire company and then pretty much stood it on its nose.  I had overlooked the fact that when changing from first to second with a conventional box it is necessary to move the lever.......