How could anyone be stressed travelling on an RT - with it's friendly reassuring design, homely interior, low revving diesel - and gloriously musical transmission. As far removed from today's high revving small engined or soulless electric buses with their hideous interiors that look as though they've been designed by a five year old using 'all' their crayons. The RT was London Transport at it's best!
Travelled every day on the green RT’s to school in St Albans, late 1960s-early 70’s. Loved these things. I think for many children, what they grow up with they register as ‘normal’, and they make the assumption that this must be how things have always been and always will be. But the world doesn’t stay still. The RT’s have long gone, buses are now a hotch-potch of non-descript boxes, and the domination of everything by car-traffic has become the new norm. I would have been horrified as a child if I had known this is how things would turn out!
Very interesting. I was a bus spotter in my childhood in the late 1950s when the RT family still formed the backbone of London's double deckers but had always understood the bodies of the RTWs were Weymann built to Leyland engines and the W stood for Weymann. Whether I still have my old bus spotting books I am not sure.
I was born and grew up in Wimbledon. I had several jobs but the job I liked most was driving an RT bus out of Sutton Bus Garage on the 93 bus route, Putney to Ewell. I made some very good work mates and my best friend and his dad, Frank Gale, came out of Putney Bus Garage. This documentary was well presented and bought back lots of happy memories for me. I was known as Johnny Booth.
We had green versions of the RT on my local route in Crawley (before conversion to single deck Merlins) in the 60's,, and in 1976, when my aunt moved to Ninefields, near Waltham Abbey in Essex, RTs were less common in London generally, but the local 217 group of routes still had them!!
You could jump off them before the stop provided the conductor wasn't fussy. These days you couldn't do that - it would be declared a National Emergency whereas really it's just a schoolboy "dare" and many of us did it. (Route 403). I always thought the RT's were "posh" compared to the STL's we used to have but then I'm 81.
RT's and RM's were everywhere whe I was as a child and occasionally I saw the RF on Green Line' Loved them all, but did think as great as the RT was it did look dated. The Routemaster didn't, well not to me. I dreaded the day we would never see them on London's roads.
The new London buses are the most stylish and distinctive double deckers since the original Routemasters. Great to see London has its own buses again, instead of the ghastly generic bought-in products of the Thatcher years.
This is an extremely well put together documentary, telling the story clearly with just enough detail and insight. For me it was a bonus to see Ken Blacker and Alan Townsin featured, as these are my two favourite transport authors. Indeed Blacker, who wrote the definitive book RT: The Story Of A London Bus in 1979, has just completed his excellent series of london bus class histories. Also a treat to see some sequences filmed at the old Cobham Bus Museum, including the walk underneath vehicles, which I enjoyed myself many years ago.
Born in London and then moved out to Stevenage - where RTs abounded in both locations! Does anyone know the source of the "London Country" clips showing Stevenage busses used in this film?
The UK with its narrow and congested roads chose the optimal solutions with their twin deckers Being not for profit they also provided excellent affordable public transport Used this service for many years before leaving for Australia where fuel and motoring was cheaper
I was in Sri lanka for a 6 month holiday 1999-2000. I stayed in Negombo for 3 month and there it was a RT still in operation. Funny enough it was quite some time between the days of use and in between the locals always put up strings across the road with flags. The bus took all of it down in just one tour. 😂 There where several other RTs in Colombo but all of them stationary.
Rts rtw best buses ever. Loved them. When r m came out didn't like it. But now love them as well. Now . The modern London bus to ne is the ugly est thing on the planet. Along with wind turbines...?
When I was a kid, the local coach operator- Smiths of Reading had about three 1940 built RTs. These were part of a fleet of double deckers that were used to ferry factory workers and other large employers' workers for various reasons. They used to come to our school and take those children who went to swimming lessons at Arthur Hill Swimming Bath up the Kings Rd. I had no desire to go- so I never went of one of these RTs but I remember seeing them- they were painted grey from memory. I don't know if any of them survived after Smiths disposed of them.
I am pretty sure that one of the was RT54. That is currently with Ensign waiting to be restored. Thank you for sharing that. I don't suppose you have a picture of the Smiths logo that was on the side of the bus do you? I'm trying to make a model of RT54.
@@OldFlapper It was the same logo as on the coaches. If you Google Smith's Luxury Coaches Reading there are some quite good side views of coaches that you may be able to enlarge. As a kid, from memory, the only time I went on their buses was occasionally, as they were used on the route we used to go into Reading as "relief" buses by the corporation instead of the usual Regent IIIs, for some reason. These were OBs.
Wonderful film about wonderful old busses. In my 1960's London youth I loved the RTWs almost as much as the RMs. In many ways I wish they were still running, as the DMS, Metrobus, Titan and all the other boring square boxes that replaced them have never recaptured the magic. Even the fabled Boris-Bus doesn't have the same timeless charm, sadly.
Living in London at the time, I travelled on virtually every type of bus featured in this very interesting video. The only thing I would criticize is the route 22 bus being incorrectly dressed. Route 22 never went to Hackney Wick, it always ran Homerton to PutneyCommon.
I was born and raised in Bradford, W.Yorks and remember well the blue double-deckers and the last of Britain's trolley buses in 1972. Moved to California by the 80s and my youngest son now attends UC Davis where he often rides the Unitrans RTs. I spoke with some of the student drivers and they take great pride in their RTs.
... I Too Hail from Bradford West Yorkshire. BD10 Area..Born 1967. Parkland 1st & 2nd School and then Eccleshill Upper (Ecky Upper) I now Live In Nearby Baildon BD17. California Eh... Brilliant Indeed... ✌️🍻🏰🏴 5:31
My Dad drove the RTWs out of Bow garage after converting from the Trolley bus. He drove on the number 8 route for many years. When they were finally withdrawn he converted again to the Routemaster. All were unique vehicles and I miss them compared to the modern buses
In one of the foggy nights in the mid-1960s, the driver could not see the kerb, even with the 'kerb spotlight. The conductor perched on the bonnet and relayed to the driver how far/near the kerb we were. (Route either 306 or 311).
The RT is an amazing bus, a true all time classic! As a ‘boomer’ it was the bus I grew up with, used them for ‘Red Rover’ bus spotting trips of a weekend, and for going to & from school & so many other journeys. Took my daughter on one a couple of weeks ago that was taking part in the Victoria Coach Station 90th year celebrations which was going from there to the Aldwych & it blew us both away. Although it was a hot sunny day the breeze blowing through the downstairs deck kept things remarkably cool, and the bench seat we used offered far more comfort than many of TFL’s current fleet. Thanks & total respect to the bus preservation community who keep these fabulous vehicles going for us & future generations to enjoy!
53:30 A blast from the past! I worked with Dave Churn in Perth WA when he was a Sergeant in the WA Traffic Police and I was leading a team to develop a Bikeplan for Perth - and, yes, he was still driving (and importing) double-decker London buses as a sideline.
