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Four prototypes were completed between 1954 and 1957. The first two were assembled at the now demolished London Transport works at Chiswick, although in close co-operation with AEC at nearby Southall and Park Royal.
The other two prototypes had bodywork built respectively by Weymann at Addlestone and Eastern Coach Works at Lowestoft. Numbers 3 and 4 both had Leyland engines fitted, the fourth being an experimental double deck Green Line coach.
Although the Routemaster was designed in the 1950's, one should not forget what an advanced design it was for its time. |
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| By using a light alloy body, it was possible to produce a 64-seat bus within the weight limits of the older 56-seat RT bus. The RM also differed from earlier London designs in being of integral construction. Instead of having a traditional body and chassis, the Routemaster has a strengthened body which does not require a chassis to take the stress. The mechanical units are mounted on front and rear sub-frames rather than a heavy fixed chassis. Other novel features for a bus of the 1950's, but fitted as standard to the Routemaster, included independent front suspension, power steering, fully automatic gearbox and power-hydraulic braking. In 1961, 24 vehicles were built and then lengthened by the insertion of an additional 2ft 6in bay in the centre of their bodywork. Classified RML, this version with its 72-seat bodywork became the standard product from 1965 and remains the most common type today. At approximately 7 3/4 tons, the RML is still some 2 tons lighter than modern double deck vehicles of similar passenger capacity. |
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Many modifications or variations took place during the production of the fleet. During 1962/63, 575 RMs were fitted with Leyland engines from new. From 1964, several batches of vehicles were built with offside illuminated advert panels. Other design changes affected the radiator grille, head lamp panels, heater grille, offside route number panel, brake cooling grilles and upper deck front windows, to name just a few examples. This list does not include the many variations to the mechanical components or the interior of the vehicle. What may appear a standard bus is far from it!
Following on from the fourth prototype, 68 |
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| similar vehicles were built for use on Green Line routes from 1962. This production batch, classified RMC (Routemaster Coach), were built as 57-seaters, with fully enclosed platforms with electrically-operated doors, air suspension, fluorescent lighting, different interior trim, luggage racks and twin headlamps. In 1965, 43 further Green Line coaches were built to the longer (RML) 30ft length and classified RCL. These were 65-seaters and were equipped with larger AEC engines. |
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From May 1964, 50 vehicles were delivered to Northern General Transport of Gateshead. These vehicles, known in London as RMFs, were to the 30ft length, fitted with Leyland engines, forward staircase and entrance. With different windows, interiors and many other features, they were quite distinct from the London examples. Despite these variations and the hilly operating environment, they were another successful Routemaster variant.
British European Airways (BEA) was the only other customer for the Routemaster. A batch of 65 vehicles was built in 1966/67 but to the shorter 27ft 6in length. Like the Northern General examples, they were forward- |
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| entrance and had non-London interiors, but mechanically they were fitted with the larger AEC engines and were capable of running at up to 70 mph and towing luggage trailers. |
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In 1966, a final prototype was completed, namely FRM1, the front entrance Routemaster. It was built with some 60% of standard RM parts, an AEC engine fitted at the rear, and staircase and platform doors fitted at the front.
From January 1970, 69 RMCs, 43 RCLs and 97 RMLs all passed to the newly formed subsidiary of the National Bus Company, namely London Country Bus Services. However, at the end of the 1970's, the majority of these vehicles were re-acquired by London Transport and were put to variety of uses. Of these, most of the RMLs became intermixed with the original red examples and remain in service to this day. |
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Withdrawals from service were commenced by British Airways (formerly BEA), Northern General and London Country in the 1970s and London Transport from 1982 onwards. Many were relegated to driver training duties, including the infamous Chiswick skid pan. Nearly 1500 Routemasters have been scrapped but many have been sold for further service around the United Kingdom or around the world; others have been used for a variety of non-pcv duties and numerous examples have been preserved. However, from 1985 onwards examples were acquired by operators around the British Isles as a competitive tool for use in the newly privatised and deregulated world. By late 1988, examples could be seen operating in Southampton, Blackpool, Glasgow, Perth, Dundee, Hull, Carlisle, Bedford, Kettering, Manchester, Southend and Burnley to name some of the major operators. During the early |
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| 1990s, with the recession biting hard, their vehicles in most cases having completed their roles and rationalisation was the name of the game, most Routemaster operations were withdrawn. |
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Meanwhile in London, between 1990 and 1994, all but two of the 502-strong RML fleet together with more than 100 RMs, were re-engined with new Cummins and Iveco engines. In addition, between 1992 and 1994, 500 RML's were refurbished for a widely quoted "further ten years" service. A further variation to the standard Routemaster specification occurred in 1996 with the commencement of the fitment of Scania engines to London Central's RM fleet for route 36, followed later by Stagecoach London RMLs for routes 8 and 15, and Arriva RMs for route 159.
At the end of 1994, the privatisation of London Buses was completed and most of the Routemasters in London were in private company ownership. However, the 43 RML's for routes 13 and 19 remained owned by London Transport and were leased to the operators. From 1996, London Transport Buses offered the individual contracts for the RM operated routes for re-tender. All but one of the routes remained with Routemasters, which seemed to confirm that Routemaster operation would remain a common feature on London's streets at least until the year 2007.
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| A further statement of confidence was made when another refurbishment was carried out on 49 standard RMs between 2001 and 2004. Buses were acquired from many sources, including preserved examples, and most were initially refurbished by Marshall Bus of Cambridge. This company ceased trading in late 2002 and Arriva London continued the work. The main changes were the fitment of new Cummins Euro 2 or 3 engines, Allison automatic gearboxes and the swapping of the wind-down windows for the hopper variety. Many other cosmetic changes were made and again they were said to be fit for a further 10 years of service. Bold statements were made by the Mayor, Ken Livingstone, about how important the RM was to London and the advantages of conductors etc. but suddenly it all went very sour and Transport for London made it very clear that mainstream RM operation would be over by the end of 2005. |
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