BusTalk

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

.....unlike the "olden days" of LONDON TRANSPORT, there are no longer any "standard" type of London bus; while the once-familiar, stalwart "RT" was the next-to-the-last "standard" type built for London, the "ROUTEMASTER" had the distinction of being the very last of the "standard" type of bus built for London.

Having been intensely interested in London buses for decades, I can look at vintage photographs, and, almost invaribly, am able to identify the various types of buses that once operated in London.

Today, however, when I am looking at modern-era London buses, I am VERY hard-pressed to be able to identify virtually any of the buses now in service.

Though, in years past, GREEN LINE and RED ARROW single-deck buses were commonplace, today's London finds that there are now more single-deck buses in London than in previous decades.

Of course, single-deck "coaches" (intercity buses) were commonplace in Britain even prior to the Second World War......

"NYO"

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Here's an excellent (and lengthy!) page on double-decker buses (be sure to check out the vintage ROUTEMASTER in Sri Lanka!)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-decker_bus

Some of the new-model double-deckers are a bit too "off-beat" for me (giant, insidious-looking mutant "Transformers"??)

There are some classics on this page as well, including some really interesting old rear-engine double-deckers in India, as well as an ancient Leyland "TITAN", now residing in Australia.......

"NYO"

[N4 Jamaica]

I call attention to the recent fiscal problems of Wrightbus, which manufactured many Routemasters at their factory in Ballymena, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland. I think the Wikipedia article on Wrightbus is outdated, so it would be useful to check news.google.co.uk
---
Link to a December 2, 2020, Belfast Telegraph story of an order of 145 low-emission double-deckers is HERE

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Joe; appreciate this update....thank you.

MUCH has changed in England, bus-wise, over the past few decades; with the retirement of the last of the original "ROUTEMASTER", there are no longer conductors on board.

I've also read that there have been (and still are) issues regarding articulated buses (dubbed "bendys") in London.

Recall, too, that "London Transport" itself has undergone tremendous changes over the last several decades; it echoes the early days of motor buses in London, when "GENERAL" had much competition from many "independent" bus operators, and the early "tube" (Underground) lines were operated by private companies.......

"NYO"

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Links of interest*:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Buses

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buses_in_London

*Much of interesting here, including some vintage photos.......

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

From 1931 until 1962 (when "ROUTEMASTERS" were still new), trolleybuses operated in London; at its peak, London's trolleybus fleet was the world's largest.

By 1962, the once-great network had been pared down tremendously; originally, there had been plans to keep the remaining trolleybuses routs in service until the 1970's......

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolleybuses_in_London

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Here is an excellent, exhaustive site dedicated to London's bus routes, beginning in 1934........

www.londonbuses.co.uk

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

.......to truly delve into London's buses in past years is indeed to have to do as much detective work along the lines of the great Sherlock Holmes himself; unlike here in the States, the majority of the buses built for London (and other British bus companies) the chassis were built by several different manufactures, as were the bodies themselves.

Ditto the bodies; there were, many decades ago, a host of companies that not only built bus bodies, but also, bodies for Underground (tube) trains.

Though many London buses carried their original bodies throughout their service lives, many more had, at some point, the original body removed, and a new one installed.

It was not uncommon, for LT to have a bus in service for, say, 25 years, and carry the bodies of two or three different builders, along the way.

As the buses were designed to have the bodies lifted off the chassis and replaced with a substitute, this was not at all as difficult as it sounded.

For instance, let's say that "STL5643" entered service in 1938; by the time the bus was retired years later, it MIGHT have been carrying it original body, but, then again, it might have already been fitted with one or more different bodies, at some point during its service life.

"Extra" bodies that were in stock (recall the heavy disruption caused by WW2, and for a number of years afterwards) were called "floaters", as they could be "floated" to any bus that needed, for whatever reason, a new body.

This was commonplace through the "RT" era; with the newer ROUTEMASTERS ("RM"), though the bodies could still be removed, they, unlike older double-deckers, had no separate chassis, just front and rear sub-frames, but the general principal remained the same.......

"NYO"

[N4 Jamaica]

Can that sort of replacing the body be done with U.S. transit buses or with school buses?

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Interesting..........

The first several orders of "RMs" were equipped with interior incandescent lighting.

Later orders featured florescent lighting.

By the time that the "RM" production was in full swing (early/mid-1960s) all new buses were equipped with "trafficator" turn signals.

These were small illuminated "ears" that were mounted between decks at the front; all older buses/coaches in the "LT" were re-equipped with these............

"NYO"

["32A-EPPING VIA UXBRIDGE"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

It is also interesting to note that, like the older "RT"-types, there were also a number of "RM" sub-classes........

The following abbreviations designated types of chassis, power plants, lengths, widths, etc..........

"RT"

"RTL"

"RTW"
---------------------------------------------
"RM"

"RMC"

"RML"

"RMA"

Indeed, in Great Britain, the long, long-established bus hobby has always been QUITE complex and indeed quite fascinating, a major study unto itself.........

"NYO"

["77 VICTORIA-REGENTS PARK"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

It is also interesting to note that the "RM"-types that operated for the "GREEN LINE" (a now-defunct, long-established company that operated into the nearby suburbs and "country" areas) were "RMCs".

Unlike those operated by London Transport, the "RMCs" featured power-operated folding doors; like the "RMs" rostered by London Transport, they were operated by a two-man crew.............

"NYO"

["711 TUNBRIDGE WELLS"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Here is an interesting page on the "RMC", once operated by the now-defunct "GREEN LINE"; unlike their red "LT" counterparts, these smart-looking buses featured luggage racks and more comfortable seating.........

https://routemaster.org.uk/pages/history-68-RMC

["GREEN LINE"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Also of interest..........

www.busspotter.com/RM/RM.html

["37-HOUNSLOW VIA KENNSINGTON"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

The "RMA" Routemaster were quite distinctive in their day, back in the 1960s.

Sixty-five of these buses were built for BEA's airport service, from 1966 to 1967; the buses were equipped with hitches to haul luggage trailers, and, unlike "standard" Routemasters, were furnished with front entrances, with powered folding doors.........

www.busspotter.com/RMA/RMAa.html

["BRITISH EUROPEAN AIRWAYS"]