Seen at Cobham's Routemaster day on October 30th 2005 was RM44 which has been preserved in its Southend colours with fleet number 122. The bus was new in August 1959 and remained in London service until May 1985. For most of the 1990s it was in service with Southend Transport, and later with Reading Mainline. It has been in preservation since 2000. (Photo by Paul Ogilvie).

Following on from RM2217, the last 27' 6" long bus, a further 43 coach versions were produced, in 1965. These however were 30 feet long 65 seaters and were classified RCL. London Transport then added a further 500 30 footers to its fleet, these being finished as open platform 72 seater buses. 100 of these were in green for outer suburban services, the rest being delivered in red.

In 1966 an unusual and unique variation of the Routemaster was built, this being numbered FRM1. It had the mechanical layout of the Leyland Atlantean and Daimler Fleetline, but by this time the Leyland group's bus model range included the above two models, as well as the Bristol VRT, so this may be one reason why the rear engined AEC decker remained a one-off.

Returning to the forward entrance layout of RMF1254, this was adopted for 115 Routemasters ordered by other operators. Northern General Transport in Gateshead placed 50 30 foot long buses in service in 1964, while in 1966 and 1967 British European Airways took delivery of a total of 65 of the shorter length. These B. E. A. vehicles were adapted to tow luggage trailers, which were built by Marshall Coachworks in Cambridge.

The first Routemasters to change owners were the 69 RMCs, 43 RCLs and 100 green RMLs, all of which passed to the newly created London Country Bus Services in 1970, while four years later, British Airways took responsibility for the former B. E. A. vehicles, following a merger of two airlines. As the airport bus service was gradually reduced, London Transport bought all 65 of the B. E. A. buses, in three batches. The next acquisitions by L.T. were of most of the London Country buses, with the exception of RMC4 (retained by L. C. B. S. for preservation), and the small number of buses which went for scrap from L. C. B. S. Later on, London Transport acquired some of the ex Northern General buses as well.

Withdrawal of London Transport Routemasters only commenced in 1982 (other than early fire or accident losses), and at first only non standard buses were axed, such as those with Leyland engines. Initially these buses were despatched to breakers yards, but during the mid 1980s they were to become very much sought after in the early days of de-regulated bus services, and appeared in many fleets and towns throughout the UK. Other buses were sold off to Australia, New Zealand, the U. S., Sri Lanka, Holland, Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Sweden, Portugal, Ireland and Hong Kong. Indeed for a while Routemasters were running in both Perth in Scotland and in Perth in Western Australia!!!

An interesting development was the conversion of ten opentop RMs by London Coaches. The buses were cut in two, and an additional body section added in the centre of the bus to produce a higher capacity vehicle. These were reclassified as ERM. More recently Verwood Transport undertook a similar conversion on RMA29, although as this was a closed top bus, there was much more work needed. It now carries fleet number RME1.

Gradually though, most of these out of London operations fizzled out, and at the turn of the century buses were actually being re-acquired for service in London. This was combined with a re-engining and full body overhaul programme, so these remarkable buses could continue to serve for some years yet in their native city. Further developments with public transport in London has seen the introduction of pre-paid ticketing, bendi-buses, and congestion charging for private cars in central London. Together these moves have rendered the crew operated Routemaster more and more redundant, and by the end of 2004 approximately 200 buses remained in use, on seven routes. With the increasing availability of Routemasters, they have gradually reappeared across the U. K., mainly on tourist services and private hire work.

As mentioned at the top of the page, RM1 first appeared in 1954, so a weekend display was held on July 24th and 25th 2004 at Finsbury Park to commemorate its 50th anniversary. Our second RM page takes up the story from that point, and continues with the gradual rundown of the type in London service during 2005.

From the very early days of Routemaster operation, this evocative photo shows several lines of new RMs being prepared for service at Poplar garage in late 1959, these new buses having just replaced the trolleybuses (some of which are in the background) at that depot. From left to right are RM62, 103, possibly 66, and 82. Of these four buses, new in September/ October 1959, RM62 was scrapped in August 1984, 82 in April 1983 and 103 in July 1984. RM66 survives today as a cut down single deck towing vehicle. Photo supplied by Dick Gilbert and reproduced from L. T. staff magazine dated December 1959.

A view of two of the Northern General buses, supplied by Glyn Matthews. Nearest the camera is FPT 593C from the final batch of the NGT buses, with ex London 254 CLT in the background. FPT 593C entered service in January 1965, was withdrawn in 1980, and scrapped for spares by a preservationist during 1981. 254 CLT was new in October 1962 and spent a few years on trials in Liverpool, East Kent and Halifax, as well as test runs with British European Airways. It passed to N. G. T. in November 1966 and was sold for preservation in 1980.

Seen making its way through the grounds of Woburn Abbey for Showbus 1988 was Strathtay Scottish SR21, ex London Transport RM26 which was new in June 1959. By 1978 it had received a body from a younger bus with opening front windows. Withdrawn from London service in October 1986, it subsequently saw service with Strathtay (who later re-registered it to XSL 220A), and then with Reading Mainline. It was finally scrapped in April 1998.

United Counties acquired eight Routemasters to operate on route 101 in Bedford. This is 703, ex RM682 and was also photographed at Woburn. New in April 1961, a later body swap produced the opposite result to RM26 seen above, i.e. it received an older body with fixed front windows. Seen in United Counties green livery (as carried between January 1988 and 1994), it ended its days in Stagecoach corporate colours. Reported as sold for scrap in 1999, it was later discovered working as a static snack bar in Sliedrecht, about 35 kilometres south east of Rotterdam in Holland.

An unusual visitor to Drogheda on May 1st 1987 was RM1417, by then acting as a promotional vehicle for Interflora. Until 2008 it was the only Routemaster known to ever have ever visited the town. This was another of the Leyland engined buses and entered service in January 1963, remaining in service until May 1984. By 1996 it had been exported to Hungary for promotional work in Budapest.

One of the Blackpool fleet of Routemasters, 526 (735 DYE) seen on a wet day in the Lancashire resort, with some ornate lining out and an underlined London inspired fleetname. The bus was new in October 1963 and went to Blackpool in 1986. Ten years later it went south again, to Reading Mainline as fleet number 36 where it worked until July 2000. It was then re-acquired for London service and is still in use with First Centrewest.

Among the many exhibits seen at the 1993 AEC rally in Nottingham were this multi-coloured trio of Routemasters. RM429 in yellow and red Capital Citybus livery ran for London Transport between July 1960 and March 1987, then passing to Greater Manchester Buses, Rotherham and District, and Ensign Citybus before going to Capital in June 1991. Its last known use was in the filming of 101 Dalmations in March 2000, for which it was painted white with black spots. RM2116 (in a special 50th anniversary livery from 1983) was new in December 1964, and worked from Bow and later Seven Kings garage up till May 1984, when it was sold for preservation. The green bus is RMC1459 which was new as a Greenline coach in August 1962 and passed to London Country in January 1970. It was re-acquired by L.T. in December 1977 and used as a driver trainer until November 1990. It has since been in preservation in National Bus Company green livery, the colours it has carried for much of its life.

New in May 1965, this view of RCL2235 shows the non-standard rear view of the Greenline vehicles, all of which were built with platform doors. It followed a similar career to the RMC above, being re-acquired by L. T. in December 1977 for training drivers. From 1986 it became a dedicated vehicle on London Sightseeing work, later becoming a convertible open- topper. It was sold to Blue Triangle of Rainham in October 1997.

Former Greenline coach RCL2254 entered service in June 1965, and after the Greenline/L. C. B. S. / L. T. trainer route, it re-entered passenger service as a red bus in 1980 on route 149. Withdrawn in July 1984, it was then bought by a window supplier from Watford, and ran in this pale blue livery. It was seen in Showbus in 1988 against the backdrop of a red example of its type, and was later acquired for preservation.

Seen in Victoria garage in 1986 were RML2535 and opentop RM762. RM762 was new in April 1961, and worked from Edmonton and West Ham garages during a 25 year career. Losing its roof in 1986, it became one of 50 Routemasters on the Original London Sightseeing Tour. It was scrapped in April 1993. RML2535 was new in July 1966 and spent many years at Upton Park garage. It is now owned by Amber-Lee Coaches, since May 2005.

67-D-816 is one of two RMA class buses bought by Dualway Coaches of Rathcoole for Dublin Sightseeing Tours. New in March 1967 as NMY 660E, it spent nine and a half years on the Airport service, passing to L. T. in 1976. Seven years of staff bus duties were followed by a return to passenger service in the sightseeing fleet, finally being exported to Dublin in 1995. Alongside the RMA is the company's first RM, 64-D-805 (ex RM2005), which was new in August 1964. During the late 1980s it operated for Southampton City Transport, and later passed to Southend. In March 1994 it crossed the Irish Sea as the first ever RM to be registered in Ireland, as well as being the only Leyland engined example. Sadly, both of those buses (along with two RMLs) were destroyed in an arson attack on the company's premises in April 2011.

RMA29, new in November 1966 was a standard Airport coach until June 1978. After being acquired by L. T., it became a trainer bus, losing its staircase in the process. In 1988 it was sold to Clydeside Scottish for spares, and was acquired by Shaftesbury and District in 1992. It was then extended by an extra bay, fitted with a centre staircase, equipped for driver only operation, and renumbered RME1. (Photographer unknown, picture courtesy of the AEC website).

A reminder of why so many Routemasters were re-registered in the 1980s - the financial gain to be had from selling the pre 1963 numbers for more modern vehicles. In this case, the identity of RM149 went onto a Volvo coach owned, appropriately, by Vale of Llangollen Tours, or V. L. T.! The real VLT 149 saw service from four London garages between November 1959 and March 1985, subsequently seeing service in Glasgow, Manchester and Hull. It was exported to Germany in July 1995 and was still in use as a playbus in Starnberg in October 2004.

RM1783 and RMA11 were used by Western Greyhound in Newquay, Cornwall. RM1783 was new in December 1963 and went to Cornwall in January 2004, the RMA which dates from February 1967 joined it in July 2004. The RM had RCL style blind boxes at the front, while the RMA was fitted with standard RM type ones, it originally had none. Photos kindly supplied by Mark Howarth, Managing Director of Western Greyhound.

RML2560 was new in August 1966 and apart from service in London until March 2004, it also undertook two overseas visits, to Canada in 1967 and to Sweden in 1968. In May 2004 it was acquired by McGowan of Belfast, and repainted in Belfast Corporation livery. The fleet number carried, 560, was originally that of a 1962 Daimler Fleetline, and the Corporation itself had 100 ex London Transport Daimler half cabs during the 1950s and 1960s. (Photo by Kevin Horgan).

One of the first operators to acquire Routemasters for further service was Stagecoach in 1985, then just a small Perth based company. 245 CLT was new in December 1962 and worked in London until March 1987. Although acquired by Hampshire Bus initially, it found its way to Magicbus in Glasgow instead, and by the time this photo was taken, it was working in Perth with the registration LDS 210A. Although re-acquired for London use in 2000, it was not refurbished, and instead passed to a film company in July 2001. (Photo by George Bett)