at Avery's for repaint in preparation for RM60.

My bus number (if any): RMs 238, 471. 2213 & GS17

Oh it got there at last? I had a conversation with the driver last week, apparently it overheated on two separate days trying to get there and ended up being towed back both days.

My bus number (if any): RML2532

that was the plan but i was told not to tell anyone so

Just shows even the front entranced version doesn't like standing around. cannot be any basic design fault, it ran perfectly well in service.

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

I had a long chat with a friend who worked on FRM1 when it was in service at PB and has subsequently been involved whilst it's been with LTM.

The 691 engine is well known for overheating as it has quite thick liners. The cooling system is a weird concoction based on the Bristol Lodekka. There was a problem with the fan and steering hydraulics for many years. I understand bob Bird sussed out someone, when it was in service, fitted a standard brake Plessey pump a it looked the same as the others. What that someone didn't realise is that what was needed for the other applications was large volume, not high pressure. With the right pump fitted, the problems were eased.

My suggestion to the recent problem is that the radiators are blocked.

My bus number (if any): RML2532

She had an engine bay fire at some point. I made and installed new wiring harnesses in the early 1990's under the instruction of Bob Bird and Lionel Moss while she resided at Fulwell bus sales (at least that was where I did the work). Has there not been a history of overheating?

My bus number (if any): RML 2276 M1001 T806

Leyland's engineers considered the AEC engine to be a rather expensive method for boiling water.

Timely mention of AEC kettles, or not..
My experience of 1842 is that she runs cool, rarely getting over 65C.
However I know of another that has recently been a regular boiler, which would imply it's not a design issue but one of radiator efficiency?....

My bus number (if any): 1842

I also always understood that there has been a history of overheating problems with the FRM - I work with a chap who used to be the regular driver on it when at Potters Bar - but it only worked a short route there. Most early rear engined vehicles of that era where prone to overheating issues (Atlantean, Merlin, Swift etc.) Think the VR's were ok Gardners never seem to get too hot.

My bus number (if any): RML2747

Correct coolant, idle speed, belt tension and the correct spec water pump make all the difference.

At HL a lot of RMLs were being pulled up by drivers complaining of them running cold. They were right.

Many were the ex LCBS vehicles that were overhauled and some were fitted with new AEC 590s. Not much has been mentioned about these but they were painted black when new with yellow fan blades. Most were given a silver blow over at Aldenham but one or two came through as manufactured. 2336 & 2345 were 2 of them I recall and Red 2630 another.

But it turned out they had the wrong pump spec and the idle speed was wrong. Ironically, they ran very well on long runs but were dreadful on the stop start inch by inch crawl on the busy bits of the 207. They always failed in Acton and Southall but never in Hayes and Hillingdon! 2630 was put on the 65 as it suited the sunday route well and never failed. In fact it was a great all round bus.

By the time LT got round to issuing a mod, it had become Cardinal District and everything started going belly up.
I don't know now if anything was actually actioned apart from the engineers just doing tweeks to the idle speeds.

I recall RMCs had a faster idle speed and were set to run hotter to make the heater better but the faster idle was to prevent overheating on the traffic sections and in hot weather.

I don't think they ever quite got the heating and cooling system quite as intended, and the same shortcoming was in the FRM.

That said during FRM 1s stint on the RLST it was said to have performed very well.

FRM 1 managed to run in central London traffic successfully on the Sightseeing Tour without problems for quite a while. When it passed to the LT Museum I looked after it when stored at Mortlake and later at the Bus Sales site. I would run it and move it as often as possible and every so often would borrow trade plates and take it for a longer run. It never gave any trouble. On that basis, the LT Museum agreed to `loan` it to Clydeside for a garage open day where it would be the star attraction at a time when RM`s were migrating there in great quantity. So I drove it all the way to Glasgow and back a week later! No problems at all though I did have my Mortlake colleague Neil Townsend with me, just in case, as RM 1563 went too as the Bus Sales `demonstrator` to also be on display at the open day. Both buses faultlessly accomplished that lengthy round trip - but we didn't attempt to hammer them and did our best to get them both there and back having given no cause to have such an exercise banned in the future.

A few years earlier Neil T and I (and RM 1563) had an unexpected encounter with FRM 1 when we came across it at the side of the A217 on Burgh Heath. I pulled in behind it as there was obviously a problem and we had a good stash of spares with us. Neil T was insistent that we never went anywhere in 1563 without raiding the stores at Mortlake the night before and filling a couple of boxes with pipes, clips, belts, hoses and anything else that might get us out of trouble. And we just happened to have the hose (and a full set of tools plus a large can of water) that fixed their overheating problem and got them rolling again. So we carried on together to the Green Line 50 rally at Crawley. Maybe a higher speed run than FRM 1 was used to was the cause but at least Neil T`s diligence and foresight paid off as always.......

So here we are on Burgh Heath. July 13 1980. Neil T is the one in the white shirt. Assessing the problem in the first picture and then getting stuck in to fix someone else`s bus in the second one!