Hi everyone and Happy New Year to you all.

We recently got RM548 back from having a re-spray and despite my instructions the paint shop have painted a continuous cream band across the front of the bus - I had left instructions for the area across the front grills to be red!

I have seen many photos and examples of a continuous cream band, as well as examples of the cream broken up with the grills across the front painted red, so can anyone shed some light one which is correct?

I assume they are both correct, but had this small alteration at some point in their early development?

Many thanks

David

My bus number (if any): RM765 and RM548

The heater grille at the front was originally a full depth unit consisting of a frame with spaced louvres.
It was painted red and the cream band stopped either side of it. The vertical beading running either side of the blind box was the border and was red so the cream band ended at the same point that ad posters were vertically aligned.

As most Routemaster passengers will admit, the heater was all but useless and an attempt to make a few improvements involved the reduction of cold air to the heater matrix. This was combined with a few other styling modifications.

The band was made continuous by a plate being fitted complete with beading to make the alteration appear seamless.

Early grilles were modified on overhaul and repaints but later (from RM2063 on) RMs and all the main batch of RMLs had a grille that was half and half with the continuous band as an integral part of the unit.
The number of louvres also differs from early batches to later batches and again with the spacing on the 50/50 unit.

During the changeover, some RMs had the bottom half of the grille painted cream. (Mainly buses located at Camberwell) and the odd bus could be seen like this well into the late 1970s but more down to a lack of part availability than intention.

Only a small number of RMs were delivered new with the continuous cream band as the change to flake grey took place shortly after the heater mod was made at production stage. RM2128 was the first to carry a grey band but the factory finished batch began at RM2210

Anyway, I thought Cream dis-banded many years ago when Eric Clapton went solo...

My bus number (if any): RML2532

Off the top of my head i know that RML903 was running about with a cream band applied across the heater vents, (maybe still is?) Looks wrong to me, but each to there own of course.
My own RM should be nicknamed 'Joseph the technicoloured Routemaster'. When purchased years ago she had the cream band that appears on most preserved vehicles. So to break the habit i painted the grey band in readiness for Duxford. This was done as easy to spot in the line up of countless others on the circuit. Now as i write this she is getting a white band applied. I had asked before i believe on this forum or maybe on Alans if anyone had a paint code for this colour. I'm afraid noone knew the answer.. By total chance though a fellow bus owner discovered an old tin lurking in the deepest depths of that spares room that looks correct.
The difference i have noticed with heater grills is the number of slats showing. I'm not a rivet counter, but seem to recall (i think) on a proper RML half panel one there is less slats visible and more on a plated over full depth one..

My bus number (if any): RM158

Not aware there is a discernible difference in the number of slats showing on panelled over RMs and those from new on RMLs. There were 8 slats and the blanking plate covered 4 of them. Not aware of any design change unless re-manufactured after Aldenham closed

My bus number (if any): RTL 960, RMC 1458 RM 1585 and several RTs

Not something I`ve ever really noticed but after seeing some of the above posts I`ve zoomed in on a selection of the Routemaster pictures I`ve had digitalised. It does appear that the `earlier` bodies show four slats and the `later` bodies show three. I suspect, though, that it is the same eight slat arrangement on both but maybe there`s just a slightly thicker top bit of beading on later bodies that partially covers slat 4.

My bus number (if any): RTL 960, RMC 1458 RM 1585 and several RTs

The grilles manufactured as reduced depth only have three slats and the mouldings at the edge of the aperture are different. On full depth grille bodies the vertical mouldings which join the destination box to the front wrap-around panels go from under the top deck windows to the top of the cab/canopy whereas on later, reduced depth grille bodies, the moulding is in two pieces to allow the horizontal moulding which forms an extension of the top cream band separator to join the moulding which separates the slats from the blank section on the heather intake grille.

My bus number (if any): RM 912

Slat's enough on that subject.
Now onto 50 Shades of Grey !!

I can only think of two shades of LT grey - Flake and Mist.
Perhaps I should get out more...........

The plot thickens. When i purchased my RM it had a RML style half slatted heater grill and i did a straight swap with a fellow RML owner who had a full slatted one. Maybe your right Brian it was a future mod? Since then i have made a simple flat panel that can easier remove if required to reveal full depth..

My bus number (if any): RM158

RMC 1469 was the first bus to receive the modified grille in May 1964 and the part number was changed to CR 308 EU1. In November 1964 RM 2063 were delivered with the revised grille under mod 401 and as Chris Sullivan says the mouldings around the door were also modified for the new look.

I believe for the rest of the RMs, the doors were panelled over full grille doors as the CR part number was applied to them.

An Alteration Advice was also issued for the blanking plate to be fitted to all buses on overhaul and to doors being repaired. The rest of the RMCs also had the mod applied at garages.

When the stock of full grille doors ran out, the new design and a new part number RM 076 EU1 was introduced and fitted to new buses. The new design doors were also stocked at Aldenham in the Main Stores from where the garages and Aldenham's High Bay and Accident Shop were supplied.

Damaged old style doors that were repaired and modified to the new condition were also stocked as RM 076 EU1, so any bus that required a replacement door could have got a modified full grille door or one of the later 3 slat design, depending on what was first in the bin.

My bus number (if any): RTL 960, RMC 1458 RM 1585 and several RTs