The cloth is officially know as Moguette, an internet search for Routemaster Moquette should produce a good few results. An online UK shop called RoutemasterStylings is selling it by the metre along with other Routemaster Moquette themed furnishings, he also owns his own Routemaster.
These are what all the routemasters that have been sent to the scrapyard need. To be restored/refurbished and loved by all. They can be used for tourist routes as they are loved by all tourists around who visit London and other parts of England. The New routemasters have nothing on these beautiful iconic machines. Hell the way the new buses are they don’t even deserve to be called Routemasters.
Wow, this brought tears to my eyes. I grew up in London hopping on and off these beauties. It's only when you get older that you really appreciate some things. Fabulous video, thank you.
Just found this video. The lovely thing about it is that I used to drive this very bus when it was allocated to Hanwell Garage in the mid 1980s on Route 207. It looks better now than it did back then, you do a wonderful job restoring these magnificent buses. Well done to all involved.
I drove this bus after this restoration in private hire work. It was known as "the pretty bus" and was a pleasure to drive and to its passengers. It's still in operation from the same yard but is having a Covid rest.
I was a driver at CF from 1985, and we had 3 ex Country Area RMLs, 2330/31/50. By then the paint touch ups were scrappy, and there was evidence of the Lincoln Green coming through the red on all of them as I recollect. It was always a nice nostalgic feeling to be driving a former Country Area bus, even though 99.9% wouldn't have appreciated that sentiment.
If there's one thing that spoils a restoration, it's not getting the indicators back to the original ... It was my love of RT's and RM's that made me become a bus conductor in Southend ... This slideshow had me in tears ... Thank you for doing a 'proper' job ...
Cheers. The "modernised" indicators are just cheap and nasty, a big lump of rubber and plastic mounted on a piece of fiberglass and held in place with anything from rivets to duct tape! The arrangement on the rear wasn't much better either.......
I have just looked at my "bus map" from 1976 that I keep in in my Gibson ticket machine case. This machine gives tickets from route 253 which may well have been served by RMs / RMLs from Holloway , Stamford Hill , Clapton and the old Hackney garages. It is a very special treasure to me. The noise as you wind it reminds me of our trips to my Nan's house from Raynes Park to Rose Hill , via Morden Stn. My point is that Route 12 was one tough route for any bus to serve. North, from Norwood and up into Town via Trafalgar Square and Oxford Circus then South , down to Shepherds Bush and Harlesden . That was a harsh route for that RML . Especially one who started her career being able to stretch her legs in country area green . She looks so good now . As has been said , lots of time and care has been lavished on her . Bravo to those good people who have restored her to such a standard . May she forever live around her London and home counties home . Outstanding !
A real achievement, the hated cameras and all the other butchery has been repaired. This bus looks as good as new. Well done to all your team. it's good to see what is possible with skilled hands. A big thumbs up.
+JR FLYWHEEL Well put i totally agree, the so-called modernisation of the Routemasters was simply a lesson in butchery. Its ironic really as TFL (Transport for London) is now converting their last few commercially owned Routemasters back to the same 1960/70's condition. Thanks for your kind words, the team was 2 but a retirement leaves just me now!
+tilsworthworks I'd worked for London Transport and Stagecoach buses as a bus mechanic for almost 34 years. I worked with older skilled hands who had seen the RM in to service in 1959. We all know and understand that any machine cannot run indefinitely without maintenance and first class repair work. The old boys i'd worked with, would be very pleased that you and your colleagues are working hard to restore and resurrect a good hard working machine. The Routemaster is an excellent design, and although it may not fulfill the needs of Londoners i feel it was criminal to scrap these buses and throw them away. You have shown that it is possible to give older machines a new lease of life. The old RM could still work for a living, and it could still do that job effectively. I do hope that you are able to carry on your schemes of work. Hopefully younger people will show an interest and wish to learn skills that are fast disappearing. Computers may offer new opportunities for our young folk, however if we dont encourage our young to apply for repair and diagnostic work like this, then we will end up with a generation of people who wont be able to service or repair anything at all. Keep the good work going.
It must have been some sight to see, at least we have a couple of short documentary's about Aldenham on YT, but they only scratch the surface of the work that was carried out there.
Fantastic work! So many childhood memories of the RM, so good to see some of them being given a well deserved lease of life. Such a great bus for London, what a pity they were phased out. Well done to all involved in this restoration! Just put her route numbers back on, plus a few Le Miserables posters on the side and she is good to go.
Those busses looked pretty fragile when you look at them in the videos as they are when you where around on them as you see how they taken how they gone in so long very well and now what a change
Superb restoration. Really looks the part and a credit to all the hard work I know will have gone into this. One slide probably equates to a couple of weeks work in some cases, if not more. Nice to see all original features lovingly retained . I could drive Routemasters all day (apart from the Tottenham garage ones with their heavily sprung accelerator pedals.....phew).
So many makeshift repairs on the bodywork, carried out by the private operators on these buses, during their final London years. RMLs suffered in particular as they were kept right through the 1990s.
What a superb restoration. Credit to those who carried it out. Nice to see original features reinstated too. Shame many are without original engines and gearboxes now as they sound so much nicer but I appreciate its not always practical. They did a one off with a DAF engine as an assessment for the re power program back in the early 90's and it sounded great but LT got a better deal on the Cummins, Iveco and Scania units. Shame. Next best thing to an 0600.
This beautiful iconic beauty is the real routemaster!! The new hybrid buses don’t deserve the name!! I plan on visiting London soon and was hoping to take a ride on one of these. Why can’t London still have these as public transportation? I mean I know it’s the future and London is changing things also due to the pollution. But why must the beautiful icons go too? If it’s also the engines then they should at least be changed to Cummins euro 6 engine.
Well what can i say a truly wonderful restoration job throughout and a credit to all who worked on the project, question ? what is your next restoration job ... maybe another Routemaster perhaps ... Well Done.
In reply to tilsworthworks, that explains why these new wheels are used. I did notice the rear ones too but, they could have hub covers. I agree with you on perception on red.I just think that the eye always notices the detail especially with a Routemaster fan. These RMLs looked tatty in their latter years and it's great to see it returned to an original state.
Fabulous video and thx for the upload! Although a staunched hater of advertising, I think it does need some period advertisng banners in the blank spaces and corners to finish it off, I dunno, PG Tips, BEA, Lucozade or the politically incorrect and frowned on Players no6!
Totally agree but the owners wanted it (and all their fleet) without adverts. But sometimes adverts can go to far..... search google for "7up campaign bus", it is this RML!
Thanks Alan. That's a tough question and there are many variables to consider...... do you re-panel the bus or fill the dents, fit new rexine or or just paint the panels, fit new Treadmaster or clean & varnish the old stuff, re-paint with a quick blow over or go for the new car look, new glass? The list is virtually endless and if you add in work on the engine, gearbox, brakes, chassis etc. you could easily spend £50k or more! But I doubt that happens to often.
Amazing transformation. Superb result. Well done. Can I ask (an odd question) did you use number plate transfers for the garage code in the stencil holder?
Many thanks. Not number plate transfers, they are to big. If i remember correctly they were a standard off the shelf self adhesive vinyl type, we gave the customer some options and that's the one they chose!
Wow ? what a great restoration job you people have done on these classic buses keep up the good work, i suspect the restoration work is better than when it was new............... whats your next project ?
I drove this type on the route 13 in the 1980s out of the long closed Finchley Garage (FY). I like that you have re-fitted an orginal set of rear lights which includes the ONE brake light configuration. At the front ya managed to re-fit the original (fold flat) turn signal lamps too! Shame ya could not fit the exact style mirrors each side at the front for the driver, although the ones that are there are to scale. I am of the opinion that this RML 2335 and many other restoration RM/L s are now superior to the "preserved" ones that are maintained by various TFL contracted companies!
Many thanks, I couldn't agree more about the rear lights & indicators, the so-called "modern" replacements were just terrible. Stocks of the originals are now running low but some parts including the rubber "ears" and front indicator lenses are back in production thanks to the "Routemaster Association". The company (thisbus.com) that owns and operates RML2335 were keen to get this bus (inc RML2408,2394 & RF512) close to the original condition but a few compromises were made.
Thanks Nigel. The fog light and grille mix up is a common mistake but thankfully the current owners wanted it restored to a reasonably original condition. It's a shame it couldn't have gone back to to green, but as a hire (weddings) bus it had to be red.
Thanks Alan. It's probably inappropriate to quote numbers here, if i said it took around 1000 hours of work it should give you a good idea of the cost. Add to that the parts, the repaint, the reupholstered seats and the mechanical work, it's a good chunk of money!
+Mark Riviers Well spotted, but the rear wheels are also wrong. These are the tubeless type wheels fitted to replace the old split rims with inner tubes & flaps, it's not cost effective to go back to them. Modern bus red is as you say more cherry and darker, but it mostly comes down to individual perception and this also applies green buses. When sanding parts like the bonnet we find many layers of slightly different reds, we stick to the Mason's LTE red paint code (where LTE is London Transport Executive 1940's to 1960's).
Hi, well spotted..... but it's actually the other way round! The original nearside wing/light pod and the grille are original RM type parts, the RML's had that continuous curve style with no cut out for the fog light and no molding for the registration plate. I believe the fog light would have just hung below. Later on these parts did end up being interchanged, i guess because no one really knew about this (or cared anymore).
Probably out of place to make this comment after this length of time. Perhaps these buses were less efficient than the newer modes of transportation, hence they had to go. Restoring and putting them back on roads defeats the very purpose of phasing them out unless corruption was the motive behind inducting the newer systems.
It would have been a more authentic restoration if they had replicated some of the original posters on the outside of the bus e.g. Phantom of the Opera.
That's a great job,well done. Could I ask where you sourced the cloth from for the seat upholstery
The cloth is officially know as Moguette, an internet search for Routemaster Moquette should produce a good few results. An online UK shop called RoutemasterStylings is selling it by the metre along with other Routemaster Moquette themed furnishings, he also owns his own Routemaster.
Holdsworth's Mill in Halifax used to make moquette fabric for bus seating. Might be worth looking them up.
These are what all the routemasters that have been sent to the scrapyard need. To be restored/refurbished and loved by all. They can be used for tourist routes as they are loved by all tourists around who visit London and other parts of England. The New routemasters have nothing on these beautiful iconic machines. Hell the way the new buses are they don’t even deserve to be called Routemasters.
Wow, this brought tears to my eyes. I grew up in London hopping on and off these beauties. It's only when you get older that you really appreciate some things. Fabulous video, thank you.
Many thanks, a very pertinent comment!
Just found this video. The lovely thing about it is that I used to drive this very bus when it was allocated to Hanwell Garage in the mid 1980s on Route 207. It looks better now than it did back then, you do a wonderful job restoring these magnificent buses. Well done to all involved.
I drove this bus after this restoration in private hire work. It was known as "the pretty bus" and was a pleasure to drive and to its passengers. It's still in operation from the same yard but is having a Covid rest.
Wow, a beautifully restored bus. How on earth can people give this a thumbs down? Well done on a brilliant restoration job. Thumbs up!
Many thanks.
It’s called jealousy Blue Horizon
Have to say what stunning bus. She probably looks better than when she was first built!!
I was a driver at CF from 1985, and we had 3 ex Country Area RMLs, 2330/31/50. By then the paint touch ups were scrappy, and there was evidence of the Lincoln Green coming through the red on all of them as I recollect. It was always a nice nostalgic feeling to be driving a former Country Area bus, even though 99.9% wouldn't have appreciated that sentiment.
If there's one thing that spoils a restoration, it's not getting the indicators back to the original ... It was my love of RT's and RM's that made me become a bus conductor in Southend ... This slideshow had me in tears ... Thank you for doing a 'proper' job ...
Cheers. The "modernised" indicators are just cheap and nasty, a big lump of rubber and plastic mounted on a piece of fiberglass and held in place with anything from rivets to duct tape! The arrangement on the rear wasn't much better either.......
I have just looked at my "bus map" from 1976 that I keep in in my Gibson ticket machine case. This machine gives tickets from route 253 which may well have been served by RMs / RMLs from Holloway , Stamford Hill , Clapton and the old Hackney garages. It is a very special treasure to me. The noise as you wind it reminds me of our trips to my Nan's house from Raynes Park to Rose Hill , via Morden Stn. My point is that Route 12 was one tough route for any bus to serve. North, from Norwood and up into Town via Trafalgar Square and Oxford Circus then South , down to Shepherds Bush and Harlesden . That was a harsh route for that RML . Especially one who started her career being able to stretch her legs in country area green . She looks so good now . As has been said , lots of time and care has been lavished on her . Bravo to those good people who have restored her to such a standard . May she forever live around her London and home counties home . Outstanding !
A real achievement, the hated cameras and all the other butchery has been repaired. This bus looks as good as new. Well done to all your team. it's good to see what is possible with skilled hands. A big thumbs up.
+JR FLYWHEEL Well put i totally agree, the so-called modernisation of the Routemasters was simply a lesson in butchery. Its ironic really as TFL (Transport for London) is now converting their last few commercially owned Routemasters back to the same 1960/70's condition.
Thanks for your kind words, the team was 2 but a retirement leaves just me now!
+tilsworthworks I'd worked for London Transport and Stagecoach buses as a bus mechanic for almost 34 years. I worked with older skilled hands who had seen the RM in to service in 1959. We all know and understand that any machine cannot run indefinitely without maintenance and first class repair work. The old boys i'd worked with, would be very pleased that you and your colleagues are working hard to restore and resurrect a good hard working machine. The Routemaster is an excellent design, and although it may not fulfill the needs of Londoners i feel it was criminal to scrap these buses and throw them away. You have shown that it is possible to give older machines a new lease of life. The old RM could still work for a living, and it could still do that job effectively. I do hope that you are able to carry on your schemes of work. Hopefully younger people will show an interest and wish to learn skills that are fast disappearing. Computers may offer new opportunities for our young folk, however if we dont encourage our young to apply for repair and diagnostic work like this, then we will end up with a generation of people who wont be able to service or repair anything at all. Keep the good work going.
In watching this thoughts of the past and nostalgia nearly had me to tears. It is well and truly done and brought back to life. Bravo sir!
I used to work at Aldenham bus works, did my apprenticeship there. Nice to see people still doing up these fantastic old buses.
It must have been some sight to see, at least we have a couple of short documentary's about Aldenham on YT, but they only scratch the surface of the work that was carried out there.
Nice to see that they put the original indicators on a nice job and correct colour number plates 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Saw that Bus on the m25 on a wedding hire must say it’s Beatiful when I saw it I went SWEET
Nearly 3000 Routemasters were built and at least 1200 of them are still on the road. These are a British icon.
Beautiful restoration great to see
That restoration is amazing. It is just as good as anything that could have been done at Aldenham works back in the 1960s.
Amazing job.
Thanks!
Really wonderful restoration and a credit to all of you best wishes from Australia
Fantastic work! So many childhood memories of the RM, so good to see some of them being given a well deserved lease of life. Such a great bus for London, what a pity they were phased out. Well done to all involved in this restoration!
Just put her route numbers back on, plus a few Le Miserables posters on the side and she is good to go.
Those busses looked pretty fragile when you look at them in the videos as they are when you where around on them as you see how they taken how they gone in so long very well and now what a change
Superb restoration. Really looks the part and a credit to all the hard work I know will have gone into this. One slide probably equates to a couple of weeks work in some cases, if not more. Nice to see all original features lovingly retained . I could drive Routemasters all day (apart from the Tottenham garage ones with their heavily sprung accelerator pedals.....phew).
So many makeshift repairs on the bodywork, carried out by the private operators on these buses, during their final London years. RMLs suffered in particular as they were kept right through the 1990s.
What a superb restoration. Credit to those who carried it out. Nice to see original features reinstated too. Shame many are without original engines and gearboxes now as they sound so much nicer but I appreciate its not always practical. They did a one off with a DAF engine as an assessment for the re power program back in the early 90's and it sounded great but LT got a better deal on the Cummins, Iveco and Scania units. Shame. Next best thing to an 0600.
Cheers, i imagine there can't be many of the RML's left with original engines, i believe a cummins was fitted in this RML.
Was not DAF effectively Leyland anyway , engine wise (they acquired rights to use leyland designs)
Absolutely wonderful stuff!
Many thanks!
Fantastic job well done guys. Nice incidental music also.
Pete
Amazing job in restoring this bus!
Wonderful job, well done!
This beautiful iconic beauty is the real routemaster!! The new hybrid buses don’t deserve the name!! I plan on visiting London soon and was hoping to take a ride on one of these. Why can’t London still have these as public transportation? I mean I know it’s the future and London is changing things also due to the pollution. But why must the beautiful icons go too? If it’s also the engines then they should at least be changed to Cummins euro 6 engine.
Nodding my head in agreement! It looks like the only regular(ish) Routemaster service is 15H ruclips.net/video/QWYPRenknK4/видео.html
Stunning work - as always!
Thanks for sharing.
I don't miss doing this. Bodies were knackered inside panels after 5 years. That's why they had COFs
Well what can i say a truly wonderful restoration job throughout and a credit to all who worked on the project, question ? what is your next restoration job ... maybe another Routemaster perhaps ... Well Done.
+John Rees Its funny you ask...... the interior restoration of a Routemaster is almost finished and it should be very close to as-new condition.
In reply to tilsworthworks, that explains why these new wheels are used. I did notice the rear ones too but, they could have hub covers. I agree with you on perception on red.I just think that the eye always notices the detail especially with a Routemaster fan. These RMLs looked tatty in their latter years and it's great to see it returned to an original state.
Brings a lump your throat doesn't it? Lovely to see it restored as much as possible to the original spec.
Kind words, thank you
Awesome!
wish we had them here I oz
Fabulous video and thx for the upload! Although a staunched hater of advertising, I think it does need some period advertisng banners in the blank spaces and corners to finish it off, I dunno, PG Tips, BEA, Lucozade or the politically incorrect and frowned on Players no6!
Totally agree but the owners wanted it (and all their fleet) without adverts. But sometimes adverts can go to far..... search google for "7up campaign bus", it is this RML!
@@tilsworthworks LoL, yes thats a bit OTT, would prefer the blanks than that crap....but still, if that's the owners choice, so be it
Amazing job! How much does a full routemaster restoration cost?
Thanks Alan. That's a tough question and there are many variables to consider...... do you re-panel the bus or fill the dents, fit new rexine or or just paint the panels, fit new Treadmaster or clean & varnish the old stuff, re-paint with a quick blow over or go for the new car look, new glass? The list is virtually endless and if you add in work on the engine, gearbox, brakes, chassis etc. you could easily spend £50k or more! But I doubt that happens to often.
Amazing transformation. Superb result. Well done. Can I ask (an odd question) did you use number plate transfers for the garage code in the stencil holder?
Many thanks. Not number plate transfers, they are to big. If i remember correctly they were a standard off the shelf self adhesive vinyl type, we gave the customer some options and that's the one they chose!
Anyone know what routes this RML operated on apart from the 12?
Wow ? what a great restoration job you people have done on these classic buses keep up the good work, i suspect the restoration work is better than when it was new............... whats your next project ?
Many thanks John,
Modern materials & tools do help but we only bring them back to as good as they looked 50-60 years ago, we couldn't improve them!
nice job,,just whish I had a dime for each mile I rode on a bus like that as a kid in the UK
I drove this type on the route 13 in the 1980s out of the long closed Finchley Garage (FY). I like that you have re-fitted an orginal set of rear lights which includes the ONE brake light configuration. At the front ya managed to re-fit the original (fold flat) turn signal lamps too! Shame ya could not fit the exact style mirrors each side at the front for the driver, although the ones that are there are to scale. I am of the opinion that this RML 2335 and many other restoration RM/L s are now superior to the "preserved" ones that are maintained by various TFL contracted companies!
Many thanks, I couldn't agree more about the rear lights & indicators, the so-called "modern" replacements were just terrible. Stocks of the originals are now running low but some parts including the rubber "ears" and front indicator lenses are back in production thanks to the "Routemaster Association". The company (thisbus.com) that owns and operates RML2335 were keen to get this bus (inc RML2408,2394 & RF512) close to the original condition but a few compromises were made.
The front wing is correct the inset spotlight was only on RM,s not RML,s
I worked as a conductor on this bus when it was green in 1974
Thanks Nigel. The fog light and grille mix up is a common mistake but thankfully the current owners wanted it restored to a reasonably original condition. It's a shame it couldn't have gone back to to green, but as a hire (weddings) bus it had to be red.
Can I ask out of interest, what the rough cost of a full restoration such as this would be? The workmanship is incredible.
Thanks Alan.
It's probably inappropriate to quote numbers here, if i said it took around 1000 hours of work it should give you a good idea of the cost. Add to that the parts, the repaint, the reupholstered seats and the mechanical work, it's a good chunk of money!
The front wheels are wrong, but it looks good, I think the red should have been a bit more cherry or darker and would look good with adverts.
+Mark Riviers Well spotted, but the rear wheels are also wrong. These are the tubeless type wheels fitted to replace the old split rims with inner tubes & flaps, it's not cost effective to go back to them.
Modern bus red is as you say more cherry and darker, but it mostly comes down to individual perception and this also applies green buses. When sanding parts like the bonnet we find many layers of slightly different reds, we stick to the Mason's LTE red paint code (where LTE is London Transport Executive 1940's to 1960's).
My only fault is that the new front wing is wrong. The original is correct, and there should be another light mounted in the cut out.
Hi, well spotted..... but it's actually the other way round! The original nearside wing/light pod and the grille are original RM type parts, the RML's had that continuous curve style with no cut out for the fog light and no molding for the registration plate. I believe the fog light would have just hung below. Later on these parts did end up being interchanged, i guess because no one really knew about this (or cared anymore).
ding ding
Probably out of place to make this comment after this length of time. Perhaps these buses were less efficient than the newer modes of transportation, hence they had to go. Restoring and putting them back on roads defeats the very purpose of phasing them out unless corruption was the motive behind inducting the newer systems.
I used to go to school on her when she was green....
Some of the original green is still there. The company now running RML2335 couldn't use it in green, nobody wants to hire a green London bus!
Fair enough, I totally understand. Best wishes.
It would have been a more authentic restoration if they had replicated some of the original posters on the outside of the bus e.g. Phantom of the Opera.
Agreed, but after an expensive repaint i imagine it's a tough decision for an operator to fit posters they may need to remove at some point?
Absolutely amazing job!!!
Thank you! Cheers!