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Re: RM for sale?

The business about the holes not lining up for the screws reminds me about someone I worked with many years ago. He had been employed at Tilling Stevens as either a fully skilled machinist or fabricator - I can't recal which. Having been made redundant when the factory closed he went on a government retraining scheme and came out as a vehicle mechanic. I asked him to fit a pair of LONG VEHICLE marker boads to the back doors of a trailer. His original trade training then took over. An hour later he had finished marking out in chalk where on each door they were to go, the holes had been marked out on the doors, duly centre popped, piloted and drilled. The markerboards had been measured, marked out, piloted and drilled at the same centres as the holes in the doors and he was about to pop rivet them in place.

The normal method used was to place the marker board in the bottom corner of the door, hard up against the door rubbers, hold it in place and having centre popped the board already, drill through board and into the door, fit one rivet, repeat in the opposite corner and then repeat for the rest of the securing fixings. Or, if simply replacing faded markers, put the old board accurately on top of the new one with both on a piece of wood. Using the old holes as a guide, drill the new holes and then rivet in place in the old door holes . Both methods about 15 minutes work plus acquire tools etc and put everything away again.

Re: RM for sale?

Neil G
I certainly agree with your view that Aldenham would never have let a bus go out with that gap in the moulding.
But I find it too difficult to accept that it was sanctioned at garage level to spend the time to swap mouldings for cosmetic gain. Especially after what you`ve said about the different fixing holes. Had it been a direct, quick swap it would be time consuming enough. Would there really have been that quantity of the aluminium moulding sitting in stores? The red plastic insert I can understand being a stock item as I`ve seen sections missing as a result of deliberate vandalism. But how often would a complete bus set of aluminium moulding be needed? Not a likely accident repair is it? And another thing: If the original moulding was held on with screws, my picture of the section beneath the rear dome appears to show an out of line rivet - possible aimed into a screw hole?

As it couldn`t have involved RM 64 which already had the earlier moulding, I think it`s more probable that the `conversion` was done in post LT days when scrap buses were plentiful to donate the aluminium moulding. I also wonder if the PermaFloor came from a scrap bus. I can`t claim my records are infallible but to have B1609 listed as not fitted with it takes on a certain suspicion when it now has jam sandwich moulding that also shouldn`t be there. Anyone undaunted by the task of taking the entire cant rail moulding off a scrap bus would probably be equally unfazed by drilling out the rivets to remove the PermaFloor from a scrapper. It`s a good picture that I have of RM 108 ready to leave the Sales Department but it`s not enough to see for sure what`s inside it!
The jam sandwich moulding as you call it Neil is held on with cheese head screws sunk in countersunk holes in the moulding. Lots of work was done at garage level supposedly at weekends and evenings etc, to convert buses back to original as delivered condition.
Re-installing (or installing) the O/S route blind isn't a five minute job, and that was done on many show buses including yours.

That moulding may have been available in stores as a roof accident would have needed it, but saying that I believe there is one RM that has flat painted mouldings on the top deck.
Unless someone connected with the bus at ED comes forward we will never know who fitted it, but I think that your theory of post LT is more likely and yes plenty of that moulding was available at PVS.

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

Re: RM for sale?

RML2532 is offered for sale, asking price £37500. Cummins C series, recon gearbox, king pins and wishbone bushes replaced, tacho fitted, new eyes down seats, class 6 ticket to April next year, many windows replaced. Good runner, very economic to run. Will do 50+ mph.

My bus number (if any): RML2532