A look at London's RT Buses, which graced it's streets from 1939 'til 1979. Please follow this link for a re-authored version, which corrects the aspect ratio. • Story of the RT
London was probably the only city in the world where people came to ride around on the bus. They not only served as a means of transport for commuters but they were also a great tourist attraction. I remember just getting on a bus and riding around London and getting a feel for what life was like for ordinary Londoners. They took you places off the beaten track. It really broke my heart when they were finally replaced - I thought London had lost an icon.
Venice has their gondolas, Frisco their cable cars and Lisbon their trams. Why on earth did London get rid of their RT and RM busses, possibly the most iconic busses in the world?! I moved to Berlin shortly after the Wall came down. Local authorities removed almost every part of the Berlin Wall, and to make things even worse, they removed Checkpoint Charlie. Tourists from all over the world came to Berlin asking where those iconic monoments could be found. A couple of years later Checkpoint Charlie got rebuilt, to please the tourists demamds. Politicians, be it local or national should be prohibited to mess around with national treasures. London should have kept a certain amount of RT's and RM's, especially in the center of London, instead of just running one or two heritage lines. Seemingly stupidity increases more and more, incompetent decision makers don't give a f*** about what the people feel and want.
@@ForARide: We, especially younger generations of city administrators, often don't realize the significance of something that's so common in our lives. We may instead remember what a pain in the butt it was to maintain, or squabbles with its operators' union.
An absolute pleasure to watch this fantastic documentary on the iconic and much loved buses of London. When engineering in Britain was world class and set an example of true craftmanship and ingenuity. As a young school boy in the 70s i took many a rides to school in the route masters from fulham to putney and the fare then was 5p / 10p for kids. I miss the routemasters, they were and still are the best buses in the world. I wish i had enough money and to buy one when they were being sold off and scrapped in the early 90s...real shame to see them disposed off only to be replaced by rubbish brick moulds with no character.
Fantastic documentary and my mum and dad worked for LT just after the war. Dad worked at LT until the London Country Bus Company began as they moved out of London to South Oxhey so became easier for dad to work at Garston Garage, I remember him getting a number of service awards at Garston one of which was 30 years and no accidents. He worked there till he retired and mum when she went back to work, worked at Aldenham as did myself as a Apprentice Coach Painter and my brother started 4 years later as a sheet metal worker. Brilliant place to work and fantastic apprenticeship. Loved my time there and provided me and brother wonderful training to develop and build great careers. I have just retired after over 37 years working in Further Education.
A great film about a legendary bus the RT, which were rampant around London in the 60's. In conjunction with Aldenham works they were basically conveyor belt designed for simplicity with regard to overhauling. Their replacement the RM followed exactly the same principles and in its own right became another legend around the world, working for decades past its original design brief. However now we come to modern day, where the original concepts have all been thrown out the window together with the closure of Aldenham works. We now have a complete hotchpotch of off the peg designs which mainly have not been fit for purpose, but there you go, that is progress. To me we have regressed back to the 1930's with different operating companies all using different models.
Probably the friendliest bus ever! It's musical symphony of transmission sounds is etched in my memory since a child - hopping on at Blackheath Station and off at Shooters Hill Road. Loved it's 'moulded' interior fitments too.
In WW2 a number of London RT's were sent to the City of Bath to suppliment their fleet of "Bristol" buses. Drivers loved the pre-selector gearbox and passengers found them smoother and a little quieter than the Bristols. The only "Irritation" with the RT was that it did not like some of the very steep hills on some of the routes around Bath. I remember being on a fairly full RT at Shophouse Road in Bath which is a fairly steep hill. A passenger rang the bell to get off at the next stop half way up the hill. When the bus came to a halt and the passenger had alighted, the driver attempted to pull away, but the bus juddered and would not move. After a couple of attempted a smell of hot hydraulic fuid filled the air we all got off the bus and the driver tried again. The bus pulled away easily so we walked to the top of the hill where the bus was waiting. Of course nobody complained.... there was a war on.....
An amazing documentary and brought back so many fond memories for me. I was born in Dagenham, Essex in 1952. My cousin and I used to buy red and green rovers as kids and we were crazy about buses. We knew even central, country and green line bus routes by heart. Today most of the buses nationwide have completely lost their characters, just boxes on wheels. Thank you for unloading this video, loved it.
People rave about the Routemaster, and they were indeed a great bus but many forget the fantastic RT which set the pattern for London buses and a vehicle that worked effectively for our Capital. A great vehicle even today.
Absolutely brilliant documentary, so many of us recall using these magnificent vehicles and still love programmes such as this to bring back so many great memories, and rides! Thanks for this.
Thanks for the trip back to the past. First bus I drove when training out of Chiswick in '72. Great vehicle. Newspaper rolled into the gaps in the winter, and the draught up your right trouser leg on those cold mornings & nights from the accelerator still haunt. This model & the RF were a joy to drive, even without power steering!
My old Dad worked for LT Central Area then transferred to the Country Area for over 40 years as a driver. It was a good job back then when Companies looked after their staff.
Great video, but how times have changed, sad really as I love the old RTs I remember as a child sitting up top front seat, using the window winder to mimic I was steering the bus love it .
Hi I did not work for london transport, , But I did work for a very special bus company, The REAL origanal ,BartoN Transport Ltd, of Chilwell Nottinghamshire, , and that job would have been a bus enthuasts dream, ,we had a very obsolete mixed fleet including RTS ,,,,Leyland AEC,,,,Bedfords,,,,I did running repairs/breakdowns recovery (long distance and local) PSV driving/private hire / conducting once,,,later we had a new fleet of lovely Leyland leopards,,,(like RTs they could have been running for ever) I was there in the best years 1961 until 1989 (the awfull trent takeover -most family and staff did not want this) I still have my full uniform and badge (EE 45170) to go to work to enjoy ones self is one thing but to get paid for it is better,,
Brought back many memories of driving them out of AL (Merton) on route 155 and the 77 group of routes in the early 70's. They were much better than the RM in my opinion.
Saw a lot of these when I was a kid in Romford. 247, 247a, and 252, I remember going with my cousin to get Red Rover tickets from the South Street bus garage in 1966.
Brilliant video - thanks! My Dad was a conductor at Godstone after the war. I grew up with buses. Can remember the crew room, canteen ( being a little lad was always treated with cakes etc!) Great days!
Great documentary bought back fantastic memories as I used to be a garage hand at muswell hill garage working on the maintenance of these great buses roy
Great documentary. A bonus for me was seeing two of my favourite bus authors, Alan Townsin and Ken Blacker. Also the Guernsey front entrance conversion was fascinating
In the 70s I conducted the RT on routes 19, 31 and 39. They were magnificent old workhorses. I'd even say they were friendly! If my old driver from Battersea Garage Alec Jenkins reads this...best wishes to you! Hold tight old friend.
@Mike Lloyd I remember reading about it in I think Bus and Coach Preservation and the way the buyers were so underhanded say they were bus collectors etc. It just goes to show you have to be very careful who you sell to.
In 1981's An American Werewolf In London, they used two withdrawn RTs with white roundels on the sides to represent typical London buses in the movie and they looked fantastic like that. A pity some didn't receive them in real life as it really suited them.
Nice to see a roofbox example wearing Rte 12 blinds, used to use the stop at Kirkdale where the 12 &122 turn right into Dartmouth rd, could often tell a 12 as it approached as there were no roofbox busses I ever saw on the 122. Glad to see the 93 in Australia is carrying the correct garage code (A). Happy memories of being a small child in 60s London
Really enjoyed that. There couldn't be many cities in the world where they had two such iconic buses, the RT, then the RM one after the other (& of course for many years riding around London in the same time period.
A great video indeed, we had a lot of these buses build by Leyland in India. Recalling childhood memories. They were out of service by the early 80s. The gear transmission mechanism was like a joystick, due to the small driver cabin. Today miss them the most.
I joined London Transport as a conductor at Peckham as an 18-year old in 1962. Routes then were 188 and 78. I remember one ride we had in icy weather at Dulwich when we were going up the hill to Crystal Palace and came down backwards from the top. That might have been with a 63. All drivers liked the RT, conductors preferred it to the Routemaster because it was difficult to balance and collect fares.
I remember going up Leavesden Road on a 306 in a fog and it was so thick that the spotlight was ineffective. The conductor sat on the radiator cover and told the driver where the kerb was.
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
In the comments it was said the Routemaster bus was introduced to replace trams or trolley busses.not so,they where introduced to boost the ageing RT busses in the early nineteen fifties.they also had a better guality heating system for passengers!
It's a pretty solid look at a world-wide icon, much more in-depth than the usual fluffery. Although they don't get full marks - they kept talking about manufacturing Halifaxes all the while showing film of a Short Stirling...
We used to have 'London Link' buses that went from Blackwater Camberley to London stopping at the museums and many other places. For fiver each and less for the children we could have a day out in London. On one occasion the ghost of Fangio was driving, he was worse than Fangio it was like the scene fron that harry Potter movie. He hit the curb several times, drove like a maniac, it was great fun but some passengers were obvious;ly nervous. Needless to say all good things come to an end and, London Link vanished, we have never seen London since, I hate to think what the cost would be now and the bus changes.
Such a shame London gave up on the trams! (I was born there in July 1966) But haven't lived there in 57 years...... The buses are still extremelely inpressive though!
If you were born in July 1966 you cannot have moved away from London 57 years ago ! Simply because you haven’t lived long enough to be 57 years old yet !
The tilt test was interesting. I wonder if it was anyone's job to wonder what would happen with a top deck full of passengers adding their weight to the equation?
In fact one of the tests was a bottom deck empty and a top deck loaded with sandbags representing a worse case passenger loading scenario and it still passed the tilt test
London had thousands of RTs and RMs, yet many of them had short service-lives in spite of those impressive overhaul facilities at Aldenham. Many provincial operators could make their buses last as long without such a set-up.
There is a heritage Bus line in London with RT buses. The 15H. Just check google and Wikipedia . The RT buses are passing from St Paul and Fleet Street. It is a short trip starts from Tower Hill and ends at Trafalgar Square with RT busses. Much better than the tourist busses.
No it wouldn`t. One of the design requirements was to be able to tilt test with empty bottom deck and a top deck fully loaded with sandbags in each seat representing a worse case scenario. It met the design parameters and passed. A separate video by London Transport actually shows the test being performed.
I remember riding RTs as schoolboy in Northamptonshire in the late 1960s. One model had an aisle on the right hand side upstairs. The seats went off to the left, and sometimes were staggered into individual seats. Can anyone tell me more about those models?
It was probably a low height version - the aisle to the right would have been lower than the "floor" of the seats to allow the vehicle height to be reduced for low bridges in its area of work without impacting headroom in most of the lower deck, which a centre "dropped" aisle would do.
A great pity the filmed material is all shown in the wrong aspect ratio, i.e. widescreen, when it was not originated in this format: it should be 4:3 or academy ratio.
I'm not sure I have a solution to whether a watcher can hear or not before watching. I could hear it okay. However, I purchased a better authering program and have uploaded again in improved quality, both sound and picture in the hopes that this better meets your standards.
Using production line methods actually increased the cost of each body, 7000 pound average instead of 6000 pound using traditional methods. The advantage of standardisation outweighed the extra cost, as any body could be installed onto any chassis.
Hi Guy's my name is Mr C. T. Boxill-Harris I was wondering, why coudn't you find a nice fresh shiny Leyland Titan B15's and Repaint them to a Grey Green Color's just like the original Scania Grey Green's which were in the East London bus route's such as 125, 313 and also the bus route 103, if you guy would like to find about 11 Leyland Titan B15's, please could you Repaint them in the Exact Grey Green Bus Color's for us because it would be a Very Very Very Very Interesting Buses to see them Repainted to a Grey Green Color's and I'am a Big Fan of all of the Leyland Titan B15's😉😅😅😅😀😀😀
I liked the story, however it was spoilt by the landscape movies which should have been kept in the original formats. It made the RT well over 8ft wide and over 30 ft long! The people in it were short and wide rather than normal height and narrow in stature.
Yes indeed. Something in the way RU-vid handled the upload widened it. If anyone knows how to prevent that, I'll upload the 4.3 again, hopefully unmolested.
The RT is THE classic London bus, not the RM which only became an icon because it stayed in service much longer than planned because London Transport didn't have the money to replace them when they were due to be retired. The RT was the bus of my childhood, happy memories................THanks for the post.
Curiously the RM outlasted the Daimler Fleetline which were supposed to replace them...it was not not having the money to replace them - they were much more efficient than any replacement for them.
Extended Bodies for Most of the Buses Much as I am not comfortable to ask the depot why they stopped running the London Suburban Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox Gardner 6LX and Gardner 6LXC Diesel Engine Olympian ECW’s on routes N26, 30, 121, 230, 271, 349, N279 And 158 why can’t we make the same make of the Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox Gardner 6LX and Gardner 6LXC Diesel Engine Olympian ECW Buses but Modernise the insides of these Buses. Also make it low floor up and down and also extend the middle body part of these vehicles a little bit more so there will be more space for the wheelchair users. By the way, if you could remake and Modernise these vehicles could they also make it into a Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox Gardner 6LX and Gardner 6LXC Diesel Engine Olympian ECW Version’s that if it will be possible and to Modernise the insides of these Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox Gardner 6LX and Gardner 6LXC Diesel Engine Olympian ECW’s make it low floor up and down and also extend the middle body part of these vehicles a Little bit more so there will be more space and even a London Suburban Scania N230UD Enviro 400 MMC and also extend the middle body part of these vehicles a little bit more. Why couldn’t we have those London Suburban Buses Pale red on the top roof Pale red again on the top middle Milk Chocolate brown on the middle Creamy white on the Bottom Middle and Milk Chocolate Brown again on the Bottom on most of those kind of those Particular Double Decker Vehicles. Could you put the Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox in the Scania N230UD Enviro 400 MMC and also put the Loud 3-Speed Voith Diwa Gearbox in the Volvo TD102KF Engine East Lancs Olympus and also extend the middle body part of these vehicles a little bit more and also turn most of them to a London Suburban Buses. By the way could you also make the routes N26, 349, 121, N279 and 271 into a London Suburban Buses and have a mixture of a Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox Scania N230UD Enviro 400 MMC and Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox Gardner 6LX and Gardner 6LXC Diesel Engine Olympian ECW Version’s. Could they also transfer the Arriva Bus Depots from Hackney to Stagecoach company so they can replace all the Arriva buses so that all of them can go to Birmingham and Leeds and they can be replaced by Stagecoach Loud 3-Speed Voith Diwa Gearbox Volvo TD102KF Engine East Lancs Olympus and also Extend the Middle body part of these Vehicles and that includes A Mixture of a Stagecoach Loud 3-Speed Voith Diwa Gearbox Volvo TD102KF, Gardner 6LXC and Gardner 6LXCT Engine Northern Counties Palatine One and that Includes a Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox Scania N230UD Enviro 400 MMC Vehicles A Little Bit More. Can Arriva London Bus Company’s Replace Most of their Wight Buses so they can also transfer them to Birmingham and Also Manchester so they can be Replaced by Loud 3-Speed ZF Ecomat Gearboxes Volvo D10A Engine East Lancs Olympus and also Extend the Middle body part of these Vehicles A Little Bit More Thank You Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Much. Oh buy the way could the bus Factory Companies also Make More of Those Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox Gardner 6LX and Gardner 6LXC Diesel engine Olympian ECW Vehicles And that also includes Those Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox Cummins L10 Enviro 400 MMC And also Extend the Middle Body part of those Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox Gardner 6LX and Gardner 6LXC Diesel Engine Olympian ECW Vehicles and the Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox Cummins L10 Enviro 400 MMC Vehicles and that also includes The Loud 3-Speed ZF Ecomat Gearboxes Volvo D10A Engine East Lancs Olympus A Little Bit More And Paint Those 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox Cummins L10 Enviro 400 MMC Vehicles and also those Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox Gardner 6LX and Gardner 6LXC Diesel engine Olympian ECW Vehicles and that also includes The Northern Counties Palatine One with a Volvo TD102KF, Gardner 6LXC and Gardner 6LXCT Diesel engines with a Loud 3-Speed Voith Diwa Gearboxes and The Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox Scania N230UD Enviro 400 MMC Vehicles and also The Loud 4-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Automatic Gearbox Cummins L10 Enviro 400 MMC Vehicles to the Grey Green Colours Just Like The Other Original Scania Grey Green on the Bus Route 313 and the 103, If all The Leyland Titan B15’s are Fully Red and even Mostly Red, could they also Repaint All of The Leyland Titan B15’s into Grey Green Colours Just Like The Other Original Scania Grey Green on the Bus Route 313 so they can Reuse them for Only Every 5 and a Half Months and also Reuse them on those Rail Replacement London Bus Routes if that will Be Alright for Only Just Every 5 and a Half Months and also Reuse Those Buses Only on the London Bus Routes witch are The 341, N41, 34, 123, N29, 149, 221, N73, 121, 86, 30, 262, 147, 396, N26 so Please make sure that the builders can do as they are told!!!!!!!!!! And Please do something about these Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Important Professional Ideas Please Please Prime Minister and also Includes the Mayor of London.😉😉😉😅😅😀😀