Hi Jago, great video I spent many years fixing them, I also did my apprenticeship at Aldenham(Elstree). Which was originally to be the Underground depot for the Nortern line extension. And overhauled ST's, RF's, RT's before the RM's. The great thing about them from engineering stand point was the quick workshop turnaround times on major components such engines. This could be achieved in an afternoon. They're do a morning shift came into workshop around midday and be ready for late evening services. Thank you Jago, regards Bill.
I was a child when the Routemaster first ventured out onto London's streets, and I remember on many occasions, with my weekend 'Red Rover' bus pass in hand, I would let all the 'ordinary' buses go past at the bus stop and wait for a Routemaster. I still ride them now whenever I can as there are quite a few 'heritage' ones still on our roads. Excellent video as always, Jago.
This brings back fond childhood memories of me riding the top deck with my Granny, God bless her. As a regular visitor from the continent, buses have always been my favorite means of transport in central London. This video was much awaited, and did not disappoint ! Thanks so much Jago.
A second hand Routemaster was brought to the Falkland Islands and did tours for cruise ship passengers for several years - she (she was named Bessie) now serves as a cafe for tourists
Good to see a 101, it was a Routemaster long after many others had gone due to a bridge over the dock entrances. I liked the bendy bus, you could almost always find a seat. I think a lot of the hate came from drivers not being able to overtake them, of course a Conservative mayor couldn't have that!
When you are lost in London And you don't know where you are You'll hear my voice a-calling "Pass further down the car!" And very soon you'll find yourself Inside the terminus In a London Transport, diesel-engined Ninety-seven horsepower omnibus Along the Queen's great highway I drive my merry load At twenty miles per hour In the middle of the road We like to drive in convoys We're most gregarious The big six-wheeler, scarlet-painted London Transport, diesel-engined Ninety-seven horsepower omnibus Earth has not anything to show more fair Mind the stairs lady! Mind the stairs! Mind the stairs! Flanders and Swann of course.
There's so much to love about the Routemaster design. The vinyl edges to the original seat cushions were a design feature, as it caused less friction with clothes and made getting up from your seat easier. The Routemaster is packed full of features like that. That short-term fiscal issues stopped the manufacture of the front door version, the legendary FRM, proved to be a bad decision and cost LT millions during the 70s. That they outlived 3 generations of new buses says as much about the quality of the Routemaster. If you ever get to travel on one, notice how sturdy and safe they feel.
I’d definitely agree that the Routemasters are iconic, so much so that I’ve had a die-cast toy of one of them for most of my childhood all the ways in Canada
A splendid video! One of your best, and that's saying something. I've not forgotten my first ride on a Routemaster. It was in July 1960 when route 220 was the replacement service for trolleybus route 630. A school friend and I used a Red Rover ticket - how wonderful they were - to travel from West Croydon to Shepherd's Bush.
Great video as always!! The original transmission was slightly more complicated. There was a gear selector in the cab, positions 1-4 on it were gears 1 to 4 and allowed the driver to change the gears. There was no clutch pedal, the design being known as semi-automatic. Position 5 allowed the bus to become fully automatic. Drivers were instructed to drive in automatic mode within central London and semi-automatic in outer London, with defined changeover points. This was supposed to minimise wear on the gearbox.
Good that you pointed that out. Back in the 80s there were three classes of bus driver (PSV) licenses and the London drivers got the easiest level because of all of the driver aids. At the same time in Bristol, which was still using the Lodekkas with fully manual crash gearboxes and no power steering, drivers had to pass the highest level test. As a consequence, most London bus drivers couldn’t do weekend or part time work as coach drivers - they would need the mid level or high level license for that
Before I retired I worked on the buses for nearly 45 years as a conductor, then a driver before becoming a trainer. I can honestly say that of ALL the buses I worked on, including the new electric ones, nothing, but nothing compares to the Routemaster. I doubt that it will ever be bettered. Great video Jago, keep up the good work.
Yet another great video! When I were a lad - more years ago than I care to admit to - I recall the excitement of the brand new RMs replacing our local trolleybuses. They were quite a leap forward - automatically transmisdion, power steering, and - gasp! heating (admittedly fairly primitive) for passengers. Later on I used to commute from the outer burbs into London on a handy green line route using the coach version of the RM. Luxurious for 1960s London buses!!!
Brilliant. Very glad you made this one. As a lad growing up in Bexlyheath, I remember the RTs being withdrawn in about 75 or 76 (last one being the 51- recall a poster on the radiator of one announcing this). It was a delight when Routemasters were introduced to the 122 service from Slade Green to Crystal Palace. Always thought the RT and RM gave a nicer ride compared to the later rear engined "boxes". Of course the latter were faster and had better brakes. Great video. Thankyou.
They are quite often brought out of the museums into service during tube strikes. Last time I rode one, it was working part of the 94 route between Oxford Circus and Shepherd's Bush as a Central Line replacement.
I was born in Barking and thought I'd heard them all. So I doff my cockney cap at you. Barking Garage made history when it ran the last of the Routemasters' predecessors the RT mentioned in the video. I'm enough of an old duffer to have been there when the last route 62 RT bus arrived at the garage for a last time to huge crowds. Routemasters took over the route for 7 months. At the time we had a lot of Routemaster routes considering our suburban location. Weirdly, we're also a bit of a suburban hub for New Routemasters. Anyway, back to Barking, yes, a silly name for a town and I've never been convinced about the theories of it's origins.
Excellent video. I loved the buses with their open platforms at the rear. Many was the time I caught the bus after it had left the stop. That is being practical, and at the time it never occurred to me that there was a safety issue. That was just the way we did it.
Even across the pond, you'll find Routemasters soldiering on as city sightseeing buses. There's at least one where I'm from (Toronto, Canada) giving tours during the summer months.
Excellent video from Jago as always. There’s also another channel by the name of ‘Pete and his bus’ which is quite informative with regard to route masters and restoring them, well worth a look!
The funniest bit of the video is you said the Routemaster was considered dated before it went into production...and the told us you have been wanting to make the video for three or four years!
I seem to remember that Green Line also used the special buses on the Route 26 from Romford to Canvey Island but not on the 253 as it missed out the low bridge on it's way to Brentwood
Would not have been either Green Line nor Routemasters. What you are thinking of is the Eastern National Omnibus Co and Bristol Lodekka buses. They also ran on the the 151, 251 and 351 routes all the way from Wood Green, where they had a depot, to Canvey, Southend and Chelmsford. The 251 outlived the others. Unsure what the 253 route you refer to is.
@brianbell4937 253 used to be Green Line as it ran to Brentwood via Cranham avoiding the low bridge, I could well have been Eastern National as that would make sense,but the 26 went to Romford under the low bridge but the 253 turned right at the roundabout to head to Brentwood via Warley
I am glad that they were still on service when I 1st visited London! I still remember that a conductor forgot warning me before my stop and made me jump off the RM when he realised. Thankfully, it was slowing down a bit in that moment 😂 Also, some friends rented one for their wedding and we went through the centre and Tower Bridge, while people cheered us on our way to the wedding banquet!
I saw a video once about Aldenham works - you can't believe how many man (and it was mostly men) hours went into the overhaul of the RTs and RMs - hours and hours of highly skilled work. Must have cost a fortune every time! The trouble came for the Green Country buses which were split off into London Country (part of NBC) which were unable to access Aldenham, which brought down reliability standards sharply! When I was kid in London Essex, I used the Green LIne versions a lot, as they had been downgraded from coach services to local buses - not that the coach versions were notably more luxurious than the bus versions, except for the closing door at the back!
What a wonderful video. The routemaster bus is, in my humble opinion, the biggest icon of London. Even if they didn't run at all, you couldn't escape them because they are just everywhere in merchandise. I have a routemaster key ring and I've had both so many books, and several models as a child. Honestly I just adore the bus so much. At the London transport acton depot open day back in September I happily sat on a stationary one for half an hour and I have ridden one as little as last week as Beamish open Air museum have a couple. Whenever any film wants to show off London, or show their film is set there, they always do show the Routemasters are going by in the background. I've got Christmas tree decorations of routemasters and I must say I quite like the new one as well. Just as elegant in design with all the modern safety features are I approve of. I'm even in the stages of planning a novel set in the early 1960s where the main plot is a bus conductor on one of these wonderful busses
I love the Routemaster! I have an old Cath Kidston wallet covered with a Routemaster print that makes me happy every time I get it out. It reminds me of all my happy visits to London.
There was at least one single deck Routemaster. It wasn't built as a single decker, but after it's dispute with a low bridge.... I saw it in Chiswick on an open day. I don't know if it ever went back into service.
Liverpool Corporation also tried unpainted buses, on the Routemaster's close cousin, the Regent V. I'm old enough to remember those still being around in the early 1970s, looked rather nice, although I still like Liverpool Corpy green.
I think you've missed the point on their originality. Routemasters were not a brand new type of bus. They were arguably an improved (you could say majorly improved) version of the RT. Virtually all the features that people recognise (driver high at the front, rear stairs, open rear platform) were there on RTs and indeed on their predecessors. It was how London buses were designed. If you showed most people an RT they would probably say it was a slightly funny looking Routemster! Technically Routemasters were a major advancement, but in the sort of places where most people don't notice.
RM1005 has a Cummings engine and meets the Euro6 regulations! The owner, Lord Peter Hendy, had it fitted to prove that Routemasters can be updated. Anyone wanting a ride on this bus can usually find it running on Imberbus 23A every August, as well as various bus running days around London.
Due to a low bridge, the 248 Double Decker route had special Routemasters than had a gully on the right side to lower the height of the top deck so it could pass under the St Mary's Lane railway bridge in Cranham
They weren't Routemasters. They would probably be RLH's. A low height version of the RT especially built to take in lower bridges. I think RT's were around 14'6" whereas RLH's were around 13'2", or so.
A friend of mine owns one of these and it is an AEC Bridgemaster. I remember helping refit the engine once which is a tricky operation as it goes in at an angle relative to the fore and aft line of the bus. This is so the prop shaft can run under the right hand side of the bus, under the seating area, which allows the floor to be lower in the centre than normal and consequently the overall height of the bus is reduced.
@oc2phish07 Yes, but I am as certain as I can be that if the 248 was back then run by LT, it wasn't a Bridgemaster as, if memory serves, LT didn't ever run any. If it was an LT route at the time the original poster of the comment was referring to, it would most likely have been an RLH. Also, all Bridgemasters that I've ever seen have a standard middle gangway upstairs, rather than the "gully" and four bench seats mentioned by the original post. The Bridgemaster gained its lower overall height in other ways than the low bridge design method, as you eluded to.
@@dancedecker the height if I remember correctly of the bridge was only 13' 6" and was frequently hit by container lorries, hence why we had special buses
I moved to Cranham in December 1966 and we had those special buses until they changed to single deckers after 1971, also no buses on Wednesday afternoon or Sundays
The Silverstone racing circuit uses the old Routemasters for tours and VIP transport around the track. Doubt they'd ever retire that unless they were forced to
I wonder how much the rationing of steel has contributed to the RMs longevity? I live on the Sussex Weald. Its a high and exposed place, particularly in winter. Until last year, a RM had sat in a field about a mile from here, and it had been there since I i moved to the area, around the end of the last century, yet it has been saved, even managed to move under its own power, and its now safe under cover and under restoration. Not bad, eh?
it was a combination of the Steel rationing and the sudden availability of large amounts of Aluminium production left over after the war from aircraft construction resulting in a lot of cheap Aluminium being available as well as the weight reduction
As a complete aside, while watching your video, I was reminded of something that happened in the late 70s, or early 80s, which was a scandal where it transpired that tyre manufacturers had been refusing to sell tyres to bus operators, and were hiring them out instead.
A Routemaster will be running a free service on Christmas Day. Anyone in the Putney area can travel for free on the 430 between Putney Bridge Station and Danebury Avenue in Roehampton. Buses will run every 20 mins between about 1000 & 1500. Three buses will be in use, one RML and two RTs.
I loved the RM busses, especially when I could use them as "moving walkways" along Oxford street. Back in the mid 80's I visited London, and stayed at a hotel just behind Marble Arch. With a day travelcard in my pocket I could hop on the open platform of any one of the many RM busses running (or in fact crawling) through Oxford street, basically at any point, not only at bus stops, and hop off when I saw something interesting outside. Traffic was so slow that it was possible to hop on or off even when the bus was moving.
I used to watch an overnight news program called World News Now. They had a correspondent in London named Declan. Declan sat in front of a window and these busses would pass by. They'd put a graphic of a double decker on the bottom of the screen to tally the count. I loved it! Sometimes the count got up to four. 😅
The reason the Routemaster ‘conquered London’ is simply because you lived through it’s era Jago :-) The iconic London Transport bus depends on a subjective view of LT’s history…a more objective view would be the STL morphing into the RT, RTL and RTW. This design was around longer and the RM was, as you unwittingly allude was just a remodelling of the RT design. You even showed a clip of the RTL when you were talking about the AEC RT! The reason the open platform at the back was because historically all the previous General and London Transport buses had open platforms. Trolleybuses would have been the obvious choice to develop had we been gifted with foresight and seen climate change coming. Jumping off and on buses was commonplace….I used to do it every day in Croydon where I grew up. We all loved trolleybuses…they were my favourite when I was a bus spotter along with lots of boys but you had to be very careful jumping on or off them due to their phenomenal acceleration; I’ve seen many a casualty after not making the right judgement in time. To me Routemasters were boring, dull looking buses, marginally better than the style less designs that came after but not much. A trolleybus has so much more style than an Atlantean for example…but style is always in the eye of the beholder. The iconic London Transport bus would have to be the STL/RT design simply because of the length of time that it existed; the Routemaster was the last variant of that style. Oh and my earliest memory was travelling with my father on a London Transport tram before they were consigned to the scrap heaps. Even now I can remember the sound, and feel, of riding a London tram; I wonder if I’m alone among your viewers who actually travelled on the Tram? I hope I’m not!
I missed riding the trams in London as I was born 4 months after they ceased operation. I did finally get to ride the preserved one at the East Anglia Transport Museum, number 1858, and I can see why people liked them. Growing up in London in the 1950s and 60s I used to ride RTs and RTLs all the time. There are two videos of the museum on my channel including the interior during a journey on 1858.
Great video. It's not just in London that you still see Routemasters. Almost every country walk I've taken (and I've taken quite a few!) I've seen some variant of this beloved icon, whether parked in a town or village, or left on a lay-by somewhere.
I went to seconary school in Tulse Hill and I clearly remember two, major 'landmarks' while waiting for the bus home outside Telford Avenue Bus Garage (still operating, unlike Streatham,) I can't remember the order they occured or even the year/s. The first was the Austin/Morris Mini. Introduced in 1959 so, probaly that was the first thing. There was a car showroom opposite Telford Bus Garage (I want to say Kirkwood Cars, but I'm really not sure) and as the release date approached there was a box - not a very big box - wrapped like a present in the prominent display. On the day, the present was opened and there was the Mini! The second thing then, was the first time me and my school mates saw the much heralded Routemaster. Waiting at the Telford avenue stop, watching the constant stream of RT's, RTL's and I want to say RTW(?) passing by, suddenly there was a shout and there it was; coming up from the old Tram Garage at Christchurh road, the new and wonderful RM! From memory, I don't think the RM ever served on my route - the 118 -but they were always a part of our lives from then on. After they were withdrawn - Livingstone saying; there were no plans to withdraw the RM and then withdrawing them - I can clearly remember noting that I tended to see a heritage RM at least once a fortnight. Not the same one, even though there is a bus enthusiast not far from me who does weddings and things, but always some other operator. There's something reassuring to a Londoner about a Routemaster. Great vlog Jago, as usual and I spotted a London bus that gets very little mention, but must be more than a bit special technically. A couple swam through your vlog; the RF. The single deck 'Green Line' bus. Always one of the best looking buses London (and environs) ever had. Tell us about them? I remember going from somewhere in Streatham, all the way to Chalfont on a Scout Badge course. That is a long way!.
I have to say that I really like the new Routemaster, they managed to make it with modern design but still keeping it close enough that you immediately get the reference
As part of my engineering course in 1971, I had 8 weeks at London Transport's Acton works. Pretty well every bus component was stripped down for refurbishment including engines, differentials and fuel injectors (LT had over 20 different fuel injectors on trial). Lunchtimes were spent watching the buses negotiating the skid pan. The RM drivers position adjacent to the engine was a mixed blessing: I was told that engines located at the rear of buses fared worse than those on the RMs since the diver was unable to pick up on any unusual noises. However, there was minimal heat shielding between driver and engine so the RMs became rather uncomfortable in summer.
I do like the Routemaster, and took many a trip on them as a lad. Long may it continue! I was lucky enough to visit Aldenham on a school trip, which was most enjoyable.
I grew up in Cambridge during the 60s & 70s so probably did not ride Routemaster buses per se, but certainly hopped on and off moving open platformed double-deckers on a daily basis. Also, such thick cigarette smoke upstairs that you could get lung cancer in just a couple of rides. Good memories. How about a video covering the Boris Bus which has become iconic in its own right with the sweeping rear window following the stairs to the upper level? Thanks for a great video - as always!
My father worked at AEC in the 1960s and I have memories of the huge Christmas parties they would put on for staff and their families. I also remember being annoyed at having to go to one of the parties, which meant I missed a crucial episode of some little -known TV programme called Doctor Who - I wonder what ever happened to that! 😁
Other cities in Europe went through WW2 suffering similar if not worse. They manged to keep their transport (trams) infrastructure operating. The mass expansion of cities and new towns post war meant the motor bus was more flexible in routing and cheaper initially to get operational. So we did it on the cheap.
Replacement of trams was already underway from the late 30s in most London cities - either by trolleybuses or motor buses. In much of the country this was because the tram infrastructure had worn out(c.f. the rails but also the trams themselves) and replacement with buses seemed cheaper. Whether it was you can argue about:) In London there was an added reason. Trams were run by London County Council who were rivals of the bus company, who were effectively owned by London Underground. After 1933 they all became part of "London Transport" but the senior management were inherited from London Underground and, surprise surprise, after that the trams fell out of favour. It is surprising that they lasted as long as they did - arguably the war kept them running rather than vice versa.
@@johnforrest695 Liverool had an extensive tram network - maybe the biggest, not that sure on that but big. The last tram was in late 1956. The same year the last train of the unique elevated Overhead metro train stopped running. The abolishment of the trams was by only one vote in the council. The expansion of the city was one of the reasons, and that there was no really new advanced tramcar designs about did not help - although on the Continent they were far more advanced. The city had trams running in the wide central reservations in dual carriageways giving _fast_ services. It was a really stupid thing to have got rid of the trams and the Overhead. They could have merged the two in time creating a unique transport network. Liverpool is not alone in this short shortsightedness. Probably only Liverool and London could have merged tram and metro networks.
At the London Branch of the HCVC we hired RMC4 from London Country for a trip to the Brighton and Hove Engineerium, passing the park on the A23 on the outskirts of Brighton , despite showing "Private" in the Blinds people were trying to hail us , which was strange as I think the Southdown Queen Marys had been taken out of general service and Brighton's PD3s (if any about) were a blue and cream livery.
In my 49 year's working on London's buses I've driven every type of Routemaster,excluding prototypes, there is so unless you can tell me a type I've left out here is my list. RM,RML,RMC,RCL,RMA(minus trailer)RMF and FRM 1. Can anyone better that ?!!
I’d always wondered what happened to bendy buses. I remember being about 4 years old when they came in and thinking they were the coolest thing ever and then they vanished and for ages I thought I was the only one who remembered them, like Chocolate Frosties and Dave Benson Phillips 😂
political reasons, mostly germanophobic ones like, another YTber made a Video about them recently and well, the comments are interesting, in a good way this time, since many bus drivers from other parts of the world have no problems, never catched fire and getting rid of them on the whole network don't make sense, as if the whole of london has Narrow Streets
Although I liked the Routemaster, I was a little sad when they were re-engined. The earlier engine had a very distinctive idling sound, which for me was as much part of the London soundscape as Big Ben.
Although showing RTs, rather than Routemasters undergoing refurbishment, the 1957 British Transport Film ‘Overhaul’ gives a fascinating view of Aldenham bus works .
I saw a silver Routemaster in the Strand a few weeks ago. I had to go straight home and have a lie down in a darkened room to recover from the shock. I've just checked the photo I took and it was T15 to Tower Hill.
It is used fairly often on the T15, a tourist version of the 15, but unlike the expensive tours most get used on, the single and all day fares on this are very reasonable.
As a kid my favourite place to sit was upstairs right at the front. I used to get so excited I’d jump up and down. Then the conductor would come along and tell my mother to get me to stop since it was annoying the driver below 😂
My Uncle drove early RMs from Clapton Garage ( He must have joined after it ceased as a trolleybus depot ). He said there were problems with acceleration from stops (i think engine governing and gearbox changes were made) , along with braking issues, again modifications were made.
Mercedes city blight, fare-dodger’s delight, red sky at night, bendy-bus alight. And they used to break down more often than the by-then 40-year-old Routemasters!
Out of those remaining, one of my employers has one. It needed to go for an MOT the other week and he asked for volunteers to take it. Every driver but me declined. He delegated one of the full timers to take it in the end as they needed to make their hours up. Many of the drivers there seemed to be under the impression that it is either pre-select or semi-automatic. Which you correctly identify that it is not. They still are a bit sceptical when I tell them that it is fully automatic with gear hold override. Why do I care? RM's are nice and all, but give me back my Leyland with her Gardner engine, true semi, and gorgeous diff whine. They were the machines for me 🤣
Along the Queen's great highway, I drive my merry load, at twenty miles per hour, in the middle of the road. ca. 1957, I was climbing up the stairs when a lorry carrying scaffold poles injected its load through the upper rear window. I collected a quantity of the debris in my gumboots.
I really used to like the Routemasters, and hated it any time people said they should be replaced... ...until one day I sat down in front of the TV and saw a protestor who got out of his wheelchair, crawled underneath a routemaster like he was a worm and then handcuffed himself to the drive shaft, as a protest. He could not get on the busses I liked. And nobody was listening to people like him. So he did the only thing he could do, and carried out a peaceful protest that saw a routemaster bus immobilised for hours. And then it hit me that my city was blocking people in wheelchairs from getting on busses. As much as I liked them, there were two big steps up, to get onto them and no real way to adapt them to allow wheelchair users to get on. I realised that the Routemaster had to go. And it had to go as fast as possible. I heard people talking about how much tourists like them. I heard people argue that every second bus should be a Routemaster. I heard people argue we should keep them for specific routes. And I've always disagreed with all those arguments. I'm glad the Routemaster existed, but I'm also glad it is gone.
It was quite common to see people jumping on, and off, a moving bus when there were open platforms at the back, also seeing people (usually young boys) go sprawling when they miss timed it, so not surprising they were phased out.
When I started my working life as Adding Machine Repairman I did my rounds on open platform buses in Sheffield. I nearly came to grief as I was standing on the platform when the bus went round a tight right hand bend and the centrifugal force acting on my tool case nearly pulled me off the bus.
![SahBabii - Viking [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/D37cL92JX0I/mqdefault.jpg)
Surely the most iconic bus of all time
I agree ☝🏻
Unless you slipped off the open platform and died of complications from a fractured skull. This happened to an elderly colleague who had survived WW1.
Hi Jago, great video I spent many years fixing them, I also did my apprenticeship at Aldenham(Elstree). Which was originally to be the Underground depot for the Nortern line extension. And overhauled ST's, RF's, RT's before the RM's. The great thing about them from engineering stand point was the quick workshop turnaround times on major components such engines. This could be achieved in an afternoon. They're do a morning shift came into workshop around midday and be ready for late evening services. Thank you Jago, regards Bill.
3:10 Safety hazard? Jago mentioning one of his relatives here!
😌👌
I was a child when the Routemaster first ventured out onto London's streets, and I remember on many occasions, with my weekend 'Red Rover' bus pass in hand, I would let all the 'ordinary' buses go past at the bus stop and wait for a Routemaster. I still ride them now whenever I can as there are quite a few 'heritage' ones still on our roads. Excellent video as always, Jago.
So we weren’t alone in the late 50s, when the RM started on the 15 route we would also let a few RTs pass hoping an RM would come along.
This brings back fond childhood memories of me riding the top deck with my Granny, God bless her. As a regular visitor from the continent, buses have always been my favorite means of transport in central London.
This video was much awaited, and did not disappoint ! Thanks so much Jago.
I do like the video. I like the curvy windows that follow the stairs down the back of the new buses, too.
A second hand Routemaster was brought to the Falkland Islands and did tours for cruise ship passengers for several years - she (she was named Bessie) now serves as a cafe for tourists
From your user name I suspect a connection . . .
The Routemaster- a bus so famous that it even became an international unit of measurement, be it height, length or weight!
How many Routemasters can you fit in an Olympic size swimming pool? Or in an area the size of Wales?
Good to see a 101, it was a Routemaster long after many others had gone due to a bridge over the dock entrances. I liked the bendy bus, you could almost always find a seat. I think a lot of the hate came from drivers not being able to overtake them, of course a Conservative mayor couldn't have that!
When you are lost in London
And you don't know where you are
You'll hear my voice a-calling
"Pass further down the car!"
And very soon you'll find yourself
Inside the terminus
In a London Transport, diesel-engined
Ninety-seven horsepower omnibus
Along the Queen's great highway
I drive my merry load
At twenty miles per hour
In the middle of the road
We like to drive in convoys
We're most gregarious
The big six-wheeler, scarlet-painted
London Transport, diesel-engined
Ninety-seven horsepower omnibus
Earth has not anything to show more fair
Mind the stairs lady!
Mind the stairs!
Mind the stairs!
Flanders and Swann of course.
🫡👌🇬🇧
There's so much to love about the Routemaster design. The vinyl edges to the original seat cushions were a design feature, as it caused less friction with clothes and made getting up from your seat easier. The Routemaster is packed full of features like that.
That short-term fiscal issues stopped the manufacture of the front door version, the legendary FRM, proved to be a bad decision and cost LT millions during the 70s. That they outlived 3 generations of new buses says as much about the quality of the Routemaster.
If you ever get to travel on one, notice how sturdy and safe they feel.
I’d definitely agree that the Routemasters are iconic, so much so that I’ve had a die-cast toy of one of them for most of my childhood all the ways in Canada
This man is single handedly entertaining all the transport enthusiasts. I salute you Jago! :D
A splendid video! One of your best, and that's saying something.
I've not forgotten my first ride on a Routemaster. It was in July 1960 when route 220 was the replacement service for trolleybus route 630. A school friend and I used a Red Rover ticket - how wonderful they were - to travel from West Croydon to Shepherd's Bush.
Great video as always!! The original transmission was slightly more complicated. There was a gear selector in the cab, positions 1-4 on it were gears 1 to 4 and allowed the driver to change the gears. There was no clutch pedal, the design being known as semi-automatic. Position 5 allowed the bus to become fully automatic.
Drivers were instructed to drive in automatic mode within central London and semi-automatic in outer London, with defined changeover points. This was supposed to minimise wear on the gearbox.
Good that you pointed that out. Back in the 80s there were three classes of bus driver (PSV) licenses and the London drivers got the easiest level because of all of the driver aids. At the same time in Bristol, which was still using the Lodekkas with fully manual crash gearboxes and no power steering, drivers had to pass the highest level test. As a consequence, most London bus drivers couldn’t do weekend or part time work as coach drivers - they would need the mid level or high level license for that
Next time you're up to Epping Jago, catch a ride on Routemasters on route 339.
You may even find me driving one!
Before I retired I worked on the buses for nearly 45 years as a conductor, then a driver before becoming a trainer. I can honestly say that of ALL the buses I worked on, including the new electric ones, nothing, but nothing compares to the Routemaster. I doubt that it will ever be bettered. Great video Jago, keep up the good work.
We had bendy buses at Stockwell garage long before the Mercedes -that's if you count one of our drivers wrapping his bus round a lamp post !!
Yet another great video! When I were a lad - more years ago than I care to admit to - I recall the excitement of the brand new RMs replacing our local trolleybuses. They were quite a leap forward - automatically transmisdion, power steering, and - gasp! heating (admittedly fairly primitive) for passengers. Later on I used to commute from the outer burbs into London on a handy green line route using the coach version of the RM. Luxurious for 1960s London buses!!!
Brilliant. Very glad you made this one. As a lad growing up in Bexlyheath, I remember the RTs being withdrawn in about 75 or 76 (last one being the 51- recall a poster on the radiator of one announcing this). It was a delight when Routemasters were introduced to the 122 service from Slade Green to Crystal Palace. Always thought the RT and RM gave a nicer ride compared to the later rear engined "boxes". Of course the latter were faster and had better brakes. Great video. Thankyou.
I remember FRM1 on the 233 route in 1970, it just looked so different to the usual buses on that route. Great video, lots of fascinating information.
My eldest brother was a conductor and then a driver on the route master. Firstly out of Bromley bus garage and then Peckham.
A conductor eh? Was your brother called Jack by any chance? 😛
I love being able to get off and on at the back of the bus.
I’ve been curious about Routemaster buses since I first heard about them. Thank you for making our Sunday!
They are quite often brought out of the museums into service during tube strikes. Last time I rode one, it was working part of the 94 route between Oxford Circus and Shepherd's Bush as a Central Line replacement.
And not just Routemasters: I was surprised, during a strike a few years ago, to see an RT in service!
Wonderful vid Jago. Your research and effort is much appreciated.
Probably the one time that quality and quantity converged 👍❗️
Fabulous - all that was missing was a nod to Flanders and Swann Transport of Delight. I always really enjoy your videos.
Wonderful video Mr Hazzard. Well worth the wait. Thanks
The gold bus's destination sign says "Barking Garage"! I guess that's where dogs take shelter! LOL😁
I was born in Barking and thought I'd heard them all. So I doff my cockney cap at you.
Barking Garage made history when it ran the last of the Routemasters' predecessors the RT mentioned in the video. I'm enough of an old duffer to have been there when the last route 62 RT bus arrived at the garage for a last time to huge crowds. Routemasters took over the route for 7 months. At the time we had a lot of Routemaster routes considering our suburban location. Weirdly, we're also a bit of a suburban hub for New Routemasters.
Anyway, back to Barking, yes, a silly name for a town and I've never been convinced about the theories of it's origins.
@@Gideonsmythe Surely you'd have a "ruff" idea! LOL😁
Sadly none ever went to Yapton, a village in Sussex. (Somebody's going to tell me I'm wrong . . .)
@@caw25sha Yapton? That's where the little puppies are! (yap, yap, yap!) LOL😁
Excellent video. I loved the buses with their open platforms at the rear. Many was the time I caught the bus after it had left the stop. That is being practical, and at the time it never occurred to me that there was a safety issue. That was just the way we did it.
Even across the pond, you'll find Routemasters soldiering on as city sightseeing buses. There's at least one where I'm from (Toronto, Canada) giving tours during the summer months.
I saw a couple of Routemasters at Niagara Falls in 2005, used for tours.
64 is 8 more than 56. But anyway I see "Routemaster" I click instantly. Thanks for doing this, Jago.
Went all over London on the RTs and RMs with a 2/6d Red Rover.
Excellent video from Jago as always. There’s also another channel by the name of ‘Pete and his bus’ which is quite informative with regard to route masters and restoring them, well worth a look!
The funniest bit of the video is you said the Routemaster was considered dated before it went into production...and the told us you have been wanting to make the video for three or four years!
I seem to remember that Green Line also used the special buses on the Route 26 from Romford to Canvey Island but not on the 253 as it missed out the low bridge on it's way to Brentwood
Would not have been either Green Line nor Routemasters. What you are thinking of is the Eastern National Omnibus Co and Bristol Lodekka buses. They also ran on the the 151, 251 and 351 routes all the way from Wood Green, where they had a depot, to Canvey, Southend and Chelmsford. The 251 outlived the others. Unsure what the 253 route you refer to is.
@brianbell4937 253 used to be Green Line as it ran to Brentwood via Cranham avoiding the low bridge, I could well have been Eastern National as that would make sense,but the 26 went to Romford under the low bridge but the 253 turned right at the roundabout to head to Brentwood via Warley
I am glad that they were still on service when I 1st visited London! I still remember that a conductor forgot warning me before my stop and made me jump off the RM when he realised. Thankfully, it was slowing down a bit in that moment 😂 Also, some friends rented one for their wedding and we went through the centre and Tower Bridge, while people cheered us on our way to the wedding banquet!
There was probably a lot of aluminium from surplus WW2 aircraft even in1960
I saw a video once about Aldenham works - you can't believe how many man (and it was mostly men) hours went into the overhaul of the RTs and RMs - hours and hours of highly skilled work. Must have cost a fortune every time! The trouble came for the Green Country buses which were split off into London Country (part of NBC) which were unable to access Aldenham, which brought down reliability standards sharply! When I was kid in London Essex, I used the Green LIne versions a lot, as they had been downgraded from coach services to local buses - not that the coach versions were notably more luxurious than the bus versions, except for the closing door at the back!
I remember taking the heritage route when I visited the UK for the first time
it was awesome
the fact that the heritage routes are gone is pretty sad
Well, you might be pleased to know that they are back.
Londoner Buses run some on service.
that's soo cool I didn't know that
@MasalaYLegoStopMotion You are welcome
What a wonderful video. The routemaster bus is, in my humble opinion, the biggest icon of London. Even if they didn't run at all, you couldn't escape them because they are just everywhere in merchandise. I have a routemaster key ring and I've had both so many books, and several models as a child. Honestly I just adore the bus so much. At the London transport acton depot open day back in September I happily sat on a stationary one for half an hour and I have ridden one as little as last week as Beamish open Air museum have a couple. Whenever any film wants to show off London, or show their film is set there, they always do show the Routemasters are going by in the background. I've got Christmas tree decorations of routemasters and I must say I quite like the new one as well. Just as elegant in design with all the modern safety features are I approve of. I'm even in the stages of planning a novel set in the early 1960s where the main plot is a bus conductor on one of these wonderful busses
I love the Routemaster! I have an old Cath Kidston wallet covered with a Routemaster print that makes me happy every time I get it out. It reminds me of all my happy visits to London.
Brillient piece of work . Thank you jago
9:34 "Passengers couldn't inadvertently get on" ROFLMAO
Yep ! Best time to ‘drop off’ was as the bus slowed down to turn left :-)
Great video. Not forgetting of course the single "front entrance" Routemaster built for London Transport - RMF1254.
As indeed featured in the video!
@@AtheistOrphan RMF1254 was built new for LT. All the other RMF's were originally new to Northern General, passing to LT later
There was at least one single deck Routemaster. It wasn't built as a single decker, but after it's dispute with a low bridge.... I saw it in Chiswick on an open day. I don't know if it ever went back into service.
This is a very useful and helpful video thanks for making this
Liverpool Corporation also tried unpainted buses, on the Routemaster's close cousin, the Regent V. I'm old enough to remember those still being around in the early 1970s, looked rather nice, although I still like Liverpool Corpy green.
We hired a Routemaster to take the us and the guests to our pagan wedding in Epping Forest.
I think you've missed the point on their originality. Routemasters were not a brand new type of bus. They were arguably an improved (you could say majorly improved) version of the RT. Virtually all the features that people recognise (driver high at the front, rear stairs, open rear platform) were there on RTs and indeed on their predecessors. It was how London buses were designed. If you showed most people an RT they would probably say it was a slightly funny looking Routemster! Technically Routemasters were a major advancement, but in the sort of places where most people don't notice.
10:17 "Silver Lady"? Ah, yes. The late actor/singer David Soul would know about this bus! LOL😆
The Routemaster was re-engined using the Italian Iveco engine. It was a disaster as the engine was designed for truck use.
RM1005 has a Cummings engine and meets the Euro6 regulations! The owner, Lord Peter Hendy, had it fitted to prove that Routemasters can be updated. Anyone wanting a ride on this bus can usually find it running on Imberbus 23A every August, as well as various bus running days around London.
My grandfather drove a Routemaster and I was lucky enough to be able to visit the depot, sit in the cab and play with the wonderful indicator dial.
Due to a low bridge, the 248 Double Decker route had special Routemasters than had a gully on the right side to lower the height of the top deck so it could pass under the St Mary's Lane railway bridge in Cranham
They weren't Routemasters.
They would probably be RLH's.
A low height version of the RT especially built to take in lower bridges.
I think RT's were around 14'6" whereas RLH's were around 13'2", or so.
A friend of mine owns one of these and it is an AEC Bridgemaster. I remember helping refit the engine once which is a tricky operation as it goes in at an angle relative to the fore and aft line of the bus. This is so the prop shaft can run under the right hand side of the bus, under the seating area, which allows the floor to be lower in the centre than normal and consequently the overall height of the bus is reduced.
@oc2phish07 Yes, but I am as certain as I can be that if the 248 was back then run by LT, it wasn't a Bridgemaster as, if memory serves, LT didn't ever run any.
If it was an LT route at the time the original poster of the comment was referring to, it would most likely have been an RLH.
Also, all Bridgemasters that I've ever seen have a standard middle gangway upstairs, rather than the "gully" and four bench seats mentioned by the original post.
The Bridgemaster gained its lower overall height in other ways than the low bridge design method, as you eluded to.
@@dancedecker the height if I remember correctly of the bridge was only 13' 6" and was frequently hit by container lorries, hence why we had special buses
I moved to Cranham in December 1966 and we had those special buses until they changed to single deckers after 1971, also no buses on Wednesday afternoon or Sundays
So iconic and loved I have even seen some in use on the Canadian side at Niagra falls. No idea if they are still in use there now though.
The Silverstone racing circuit uses the old Routemasters for tours and VIP transport around the track. Doubt they'd ever retire that unless they were forced to
I wonder how much the rationing of steel has contributed to the RMs longevity?
I live on the Sussex Weald. Its a high and exposed place, particularly in winter. Until last year, a RM had sat in a field about a mile from here, and it had been there since I i moved to the area, around the end of the last century, yet it has been saved, even managed to move under its own power, and its now safe under cover and under restoration.
Not bad, eh?
it was a combination of the Steel rationing and the sudden availability of large amounts of Aluminium production left over after the war from aircraft construction resulting in a lot of cheap Aluminium being available as well as the weight reduction
@andreww2098 All rather fortunate. At least for the Routemaster, and by extension, us!
As a complete aside, while watching your video, I was reminded of something that happened in the late 70s, or early 80s, which was a scandal where it transpired that tyre manufacturers had been refusing to sell tyres to bus operators, and were hiring them out instead.
A Routemaster will be running a free service on Christmas Day. Anyone in the Putney area can travel for free on the 430 between Putney Bridge Station and Danebury Avenue in Roehampton. Buses will run every 20 mins between about 1000 & 1500. Three buses will be in use, one RML and two RTs.
I loved the RM busses, especially when I could use them as "moving walkways" along Oxford street. Back in the mid 80's I visited London, and stayed at a hotel just behind Marble Arch.
With a day travelcard in my pocket I could hop on the open platform of any one of the many RM busses running (or in fact crawling) through Oxford street, basically at any point, not only at bus stops, and hop off when I saw something interesting outside. Traffic was so slow that it was possible to hop on or off even when the bus was moving.
Just to point out that LT had been running unpainted aluminium trains on the Piccadilly line since 1969, or if you count prototypes since about 1956.
I used to watch an overnight news program called World News Now. They had a correspondent in London named Declan. Declan sat in front of a window and these busses would pass by. They'd put a graphic of a double decker on the bottom of the screen to tally the count. I loved it! Sometimes the count got up to four. 😅
The reason the Routemaster ‘conquered London’ is simply because you lived through it’s era Jago :-)
The iconic London Transport bus depends on a subjective view of LT’s history…a more objective view would be the STL morphing into the RT, RTL and RTW. This design was around longer and the RM was, as you unwittingly allude was just a remodelling of the RT design. You even showed a clip of the RTL when you were talking about the AEC RT!
The reason the open platform at the back was because historically all the previous General and London Transport buses had open platforms. Trolleybuses would have been the obvious choice to develop had we been gifted with foresight and seen climate change coming. Jumping off and on buses was commonplace….I used to do it every day in Croydon where I grew up. We all loved trolleybuses…they were my favourite when I was a bus spotter along with lots of boys but you had to be very careful jumping on or off them due to their phenomenal acceleration; I’ve seen many a casualty after not making the right judgement in time.
To me Routemasters were boring, dull looking buses, marginally better than the style less designs that came after but not much. A trolleybus has so much more style than an Atlantean for example…but style is always in the eye of the beholder.
The iconic London Transport bus would have to be the STL/RT design simply because of the length of time that it existed; the Routemaster was the last variant of that style.
Oh and my earliest memory was travelling with my father on a London Transport tram before they were consigned to the scrap heaps. Even now I can remember the sound, and feel, of riding a London tram; I wonder if I’m alone among your viewers who actually travelled on the Tram? I hope I’m not!
I missed riding the trams in London as I was born 4 months after they ceased operation. I did finally get to ride the preserved one at the East Anglia Transport Museum, number 1858, and I can see why people liked them. Growing up in London in the 1950s and 60s I used to ride RTs and RTLs all the time. There are two videos of the museum on my channel including the interior during a journey on 1858.
Great video. It's not just in London that you still see Routemasters. Almost every country walk I've taken (and I've taken quite a few!) I've seen some variant of this beloved icon, whether parked in a town or village, or left on a lay-by somewhere.
I went to seconary school in Tulse Hill and I clearly remember two, major 'landmarks' while waiting for the bus home outside Telford Avenue Bus Garage (still operating, unlike Streatham,) I can't remember the order they occured or even the year/s.
The first was the Austin/Morris Mini. Introduced in 1959 so, probaly that was the first thing. There was a car showroom opposite Telford Bus Garage (I want to say Kirkwood Cars, but I'm really not sure) and as the release date approached there was a box - not a very big box - wrapped like a present in the prominent display. On the day, the present was opened and there was the Mini!
The second thing then, was the first time me and my school mates saw the much heralded Routemaster. Waiting at the Telford avenue stop, watching the constant stream of RT's, RTL's and I want to say RTW(?) passing by, suddenly there was a shout and there it was; coming up from the old Tram Garage at Christchurh road, the new and wonderful RM! From memory, I don't think the RM ever served on my route - the 118 -but they were always a part of our lives from then on.
After they were withdrawn - Livingstone saying; there were no plans to withdraw the RM and then withdrawing them - I can clearly remember noting that I tended to see a heritage RM at least once a fortnight. Not the same one, even though there is a bus enthusiast not far from me who does weddings and things, but always some other operator. There's something reassuring to a Londoner about a Routemaster.
Great vlog Jago, as usual and I spotted a London bus that gets very little mention, but must be more than a bit special technically. A couple swam through your vlog; the RF. The single deck 'Green Line' bus. Always one of the best looking buses London (and environs) ever had. Tell us about them? I remember going from somewhere in Streatham, all the way to Chalfont on a Scout Badge course. That is a long way!.
I have to say that I really like the new Routemaster, they managed to make it with modern design but still keeping it close enough that you immediately get the reference
It's been a great many years now, but my memory of them is that they were more comfortable than any bus I've ridden since.
As part of my engineering course in 1971, I had 8 weeks at London Transport's Acton works.
Pretty well every bus component was stripped down for refurbishment including engines, differentials and fuel injectors (LT had over 20 different fuel injectors on trial).
Lunchtimes were spent watching the buses negotiating the skid pan.
The RM drivers position adjacent to the engine was a mixed blessing:
I was told that engines located at the rear of buses fared worse than those on the RMs since the diver was unable to pick up on any unusual noises.
However, there was minimal heat shielding between driver and engine so the RMs became rather uncomfortable in summer.
Wasn't that Chiswick?
I do like the Routemaster, and took many a trip on them as a lad. Long may it continue!
I was lucky enough to visit Aldenham on a school trip, which was most enjoyable.
I grew up in Cambridge during the 60s & 70s so probably did not ride Routemaster buses per se, but certainly hopped on and off moving open platformed double-deckers on a daily basis. Also, such thick cigarette smoke upstairs that you could get lung cancer in just a couple of rides. Good memories. How about a video covering the Boris Bus which has become iconic in its own right with the sweeping rear window following the stairs to the upper level? Thanks for a great video - as always!
Surely the most iconic bus of all time.
My father worked at AEC in the 1960s and I have memories of the huge Christmas parties they would put on for staff and their families. I also remember being annoyed at having to go to one of the parties, which meant I missed a crucial episode of some little -known TV programme called Doctor Who - I wonder what ever happened to that! 😁
Excellent video! Long live the Routemaster!
Other cities in Europe went through WW2 suffering similar if not worse. They manged to keep their transport (trams) infrastructure operating. The mass expansion of cities and new towns post war meant the motor bus was more flexible in routing and cheaper initially to get operational. So we did it on the cheap.
Replacement of trams was already underway from the late 30s in most London cities - either by trolleybuses or motor buses. In much of the country this was because the tram infrastructure had worn out(c.f. the rails but also the trams themselves) and replacement with buses seemed cheaper. Whether it was you can argue about:) In London there was an added reason. Trams were run by London County Council who were rivals of the bus company, who were effectively owned by London Underground. After 1933 they all became part of "London Transport" but the senior management were inherited from London Underground and, surprise surprise, after that the trams fell out of favour. It is surprising that they lasted as long as they did - arguably the war kept them running rather than vice versa.
@@johnforrest695
Liverool had an extensive tram network - maybe the biggest, not that sure on that but big. The last tram was in late 1956. The same year the last train of the unique elevated Overhead metro train stopped running.
The abolishment of the trams was by only one vote in the council. The expansion of the city was one of the reasons, and that there was no really new advanced tramcar designs about did not help - although on the Continent they were far more advanced. The city had trams running in the wide central reservations in dual carriageways giving _fast_ services. It was a really stupid thing to have got rid of the trams and the Overhead. They could have merged the two in time creating a unique transport network.
Liverpool is not alone in this short shortsightedness. Probably only Liverool and London could have merged tram and metro networks.
At the London Branch of the HCVC we hired RMC4 from London Country for a trip to the Brighton and Hove Engineerium, passing the park on the A23 on the outskirts of Brighton , despite showing "Private" in the Blinds people were trying to hail us , which was strange as I think the Southdown Queen Marys had been taken out of general service and Brighton's PD3s (if any about) were a blue and cream livery.
I remember that BOAC (Better On A Camel) advert on the bus (at 2:00) and the BEA advert and busses to Heathrow (at 9:00) - I must be getting old...
Love the Boris Bus. Brilliant design
Great video!
Excellent video Jago, well done. Ding ding next stop please. 🤓
In my 49 year's working on London's buses I've driven every type of Routemaster,excluding prototypes, there is so unless you can tell me a type I've left out here is my list. RM,RML,RMC,RCL,RMA(minus trailer)RMF and FRM 1. Can anyone better that ?!!
They have two of these classic buses in Yokohama both in absolute mint condition!
I’d always wondered what happened to bendy buses. I remember being about 4 years old when they came in and thinking they were the coolest thing ever and then they vanished and for ages I thought I was the only one who remembered them, like Chocolate Frosties and Dave Benson Phillips 😂
political reasons, mostly germanophobic ones
like, another YTber made a Video about them recently and well, the comments are interesting, in a good way this time, since many bus drivers from other parts of the world have no problems, never catched fire and getting rid of them on the whole network don't make sense, as if the whole of london has Narrow Streets
Although I liked the Routemaster, I was a little sad when they were re-engined. The earlier engine had a very distinctive idling sound, which for me was as much part of the London soundscape as Big Ben.
This is one of your best, Jago…! 😎❤️
Thanks for a great video
Although showing RTs, rather than Routemasters undergoing refurbishment, the 1957 British Transport Film ‘Overhaul’ gives a fascinating view of Aldenham bus works .
I saw a silver Routemaster in the Strand a few weeks ago. I had to go straight home and have a lie down in a darkened room to recover from the shock.
I've just checked the photo I took and it was T15 to Tower Hill.
It is used fairly often on the T15, a tourist version of the 15, but unlike the expensive tours most get used on, the single and all day fares on this are very reasonable.
They run on Heritage route T15, a privately operated service between Trafalgar Square and Tower Hill.
As a kid my favourite place to sit was upstairs right at the front. I used to get so excited I’d jump up and down. Then the conductor would come along and tell my mother to get me to stop since it was annoying the driver below 😂
My friend at schools father worked at AEC Southall on the ‘new’ RM busses
My Uncle drove early RMs from Clapton Garage ( He must have joined after it ceased as a trolleybus depot ). He said there were problems with acceleration from stops (i think engine governing and gearbox changes were made) , along with braking issues, again modifications were made.
Mercedes city blight, fare-dodger’s delight, red sky at night, bendy-bus alight. And they used to break down more often than the by-then 40-year-old Routemasters!
Out of those remaining, one of my employers has one. It needed to go for an MOT the other week and he asked for volunteers to take it. Every driver but me declined. He delegated one of the full timers to take it in the end as they needed to make their hours up.
Many of the drivers there seemed to be under the impression that it is either pre-select or semi-automatic. Which you correctly identify that it is not. They still are a bit sceptical when I tell them that it is fully automatic with gear hold override.
Why do I care? RM's are nice and all, but give me back my Leyland with her Gardner engine, true semi, and gorgeous diff whine. They were the machines for me 🤣
Along the Queen's great highway, I drive my merry load, at twenty miles per hour, in the middle of the road.
ca. 1957, I was climbing up the stairs when a lorry carrying scaffold poles injected its load through the upper rear window. I collected a quantity of the debris in my gumboots.
Fond memories of jumping on and off RMs in Oxford Street as a young guy in the eighties.
I really used to like the Routemasters, and hated it any time people said they should be replaced...
...until one day I sat down in front of the TV and saw a protestor who got out of his wheelchair, crawled underneath a routemaster like he was a worm and then handcuffed himself to the drive shaft, as a protest. He could not get on the busses I liked. And nobody was listening to people like him. So he did the only thing he could do, and carried out a peaceful protest that saw a routemaster bus immobilised for hours.
And then it hit me that my city was blocking people in wheelchairs from getting on busses. As much as I liked them, there were two big steps up, to get onto them and no real way to adapt them to allow wheelchair users to get on. I realised that the Routemaster had to go. And it had to go as fast as possible.
I heard people talking about how much tourists like them. I heard people argue that every second bus should be a Routemaster. I heard people argue we should keep them for specific routes. And I've always disagreed with all those arguments.
I'm glad the Routemaster existed, but I'm also glad it is gone.
It was quite common to see people jumping on, and off, a moving bus when there were open platforms at the back, also seeing people (usually young boys) go sprawling when they miss timed it, so not surprising they were phased out.
When I started my working life as Adding Machine Repairman I did my rounds on open platform buses in Sheffield. I nearly came to grief as I was standing on the platform when the bus went round a tight right hand bend and the centrifugal force acting on my tool case nearly pulled me off the bus.
@7:18 Nice pic of Wallasey 1, in short lived Merseyside PTE Wirral Division livery, essentially simplified Birkenhead Corporation colours.
Good video. Would be interested to see one on the new bus for London.
Thank you Mr Bus Driver!