Hi all. I recently came across (in The Heyday of the RT) an article about the use of RT's as training vehicles, despite their mass withdrawal months earlier (trainers were scarce), as the RM took over. My question is how similar (or not) are RT's to RM's to drive. Or put another way, if you were taught to drive in an RT,how easy was it to then make the transition to an RM?

Hi Andy,

I went through Chiswick as a driver in 1978. As you say, a lot of the training buses were still RTs, living on borrowed time due to the poor performance of the new generation of vehicles. Likewise, RMs continued to be the service backbone of LT. When LT acquired the RMs from London Country a lot of the standard RMLs were painted red and went into service and the coaches (RMCs & RCLs) went into the training fleet. I did my basic training in a RT then changed into a RCL. When you passed your test you were then ‘Type Trained’ on the various vehicles being operated from the garage that you were allocated to, 2 hours per type. With my basic I was considered RT trained and RM/L, because of the RCL, so I was just type trained on a DM/S. These were recorded on your driver record and off you went.

From a general driving view RTs were broadly similar to RMs but a bit different. With the handbrake on the right they were a little more cluttered to get into and you sat with your feet in bit of a trough compared with the flat floor of a RM cab. They certainly felt dinky next to a RML, only 7ft 6 wide instead of 8ft and nowhere near 30ft long, they felt very manoeuvrable and lively, even without the power steering of a RM.

The main difference in my mind was the driving technique. LT wanted top drivers and the key to driving professionally, safely and effectively, (ie keeping to time), was ‘anticipation’. This was drummed into you constantly; to keep looking around, in your mirrors and up the road, to see what was happening and what was about to happen, then you could react and drive in a gentle, flowing motion. Of course, the RT was ideally suited to this driving skill development. They were fitted with pre-select gearboxes so once you operated a gear you pre-selected the next gear that you considered you would need. When you were training you’d operate a gear and immediately the instructor would shout; ‘Pre-select!’ This made you constantly think about what was going on, you’d be looking up the road, watching lights, watching pedestrian crossings, cars pulling in & out, etc etc to try and plan your move. Very taxing when you were new, you’d get out of the cab after a couple of hours, sweat running down your back and feeling zonked!

By comparison, the RMCs were a breeze. There was no auto gear change option, only 2 pedals and you changed gear by moving the gear lever. The thing was, you only changed gear when you needed to, just like in any other vehicle, as a reaction to whatever had occurred, ie slowing down or speeding up. As a result there was no need to be quite so focussed on the anticipation of a gear selection, you could just drive along and if someone pulled in, you’d slow down and change gear, simply as that and of course the automatic option in service buses made even that less of a chore.

So there you are, that’s what I found. RTs were great fun, you’d drive down the road, holding the wheel and the whole body would be swaying, creaking & groaning, you could almost feel it rolling on the chassis. As an aside, the RMs had a funny attachment to the hand brake lever so the instructor could pull it on from inside the saloon in case of an emergency. Because it was on the left he couldn’t reach pass the driver’s seat to grab it if need be whereas you could in a RT, as it’s on the right there’s room to grab it. Hope this is of interest. Hi to all as usual.

Regards,

Danny Robins

The driver training fleet at Chiswick was dominated by RTs for 3 decades with all variants being in the fleet.
RFs and RMs as well as Merlins were also allocated in small numbers to allow specific type training.

If you can drive an RT well you can drive an RM and probable almost any bus thereafter.

RTs offered no power steering and the operating pedal for the pre selective gearbox, it does demand a well disciplined method to drive it.
Without hesitation I would say it is an absolutely wonderful bus to drive and requires work and good skills which are well rewarded by the bus.

The AEC RT was far better than the Leyland, which alway felt heavy by comparison.

Getting into an RM afterwards is a treat. Different. The RT would sway and bounce the RM will bounce when light but is very sure footed on cornering.

I was told this tale some years ago about driving RTs when fully loaded. It was said that newly qualified drivers put onto route 4 were warned in no uncertain terms to remember this if their duty included a southbound evening rush hour journey over Waterloo bridge. They were told that since the bus would be 'standing only' over the bridge, it was imperative that as soon as the bus reached the crest of the bridge to start braking, because if they didn't then the thing was not going to stop at the bridge foot.

Single line system air brakes operating at 50 psi on front shoes only some 3 odd inches wide are just a little bit worrying.

It's called pre-select braking. :)

My bus number (if any): RML2532

Since he still does an appreciable amount of RT driving, hopefully Paul Almeroth will see this and add a few gems. All I will say is that there is a marked difference between driving an RT which is full up, at 25 mph max a few hundred yards at a time in Central London, and the bus in the same condition in the country area where stops are a mile or more apart and speeds are significantly higher.

It would be interesting to hear why LT Regal IVs (RFs) had a rear stabilizer when the LT RT did not, although this was normally fitted to the Regent III offered for sale outside London. Or perhaps were these originally fitted and removed at some time during overhaul?

I understand the stabilisers were removed at an early date as they were deemed ineffective. Many RFs had them removed too.

An RT cornering at speed (25mph) fully laden is likely to scrape the platform on the road. It's also un-nerving when doing so to see the rear wheel appear from out of the side of the bus!! Done it once on Garratt Lane in Earlsfield :)

My bus number (if any): RML2532

RT's are a fantastic bus to drive and as Roy states I get to drive them on a regular basis, on private hires, The Wartime London Tour and normal London routes on strike days ! They are certainly different when fully loaded but you quickly adapt to that and when a fully laden bus unloads and you pull away you think you have power steering ! AEC & London Transport really got it right when they designed the RT, it's hard to belive how old they are when driving one round London, they just get on with the job in hand and do everything you ask. The ones I drive all have there own little differences too some a bit quicker, some slower, some sing to you ! Have to say I havent driven anything better than an RT ( 760 powered RMC & Metropolitans come close ) and get a great deal of pleasure in doing so and I'd glady do it for nothing! ( erm don't tell Peter, Ross or Steve that though ! )

Paul.

Duly noted Paul... :)