Today, September 4th, is the thirty seventh anniversary of the first mass withdrawals of RM`s in London. The plan, as we were told at the time, was to eliminate crew operation in the capital (and the Routemasters that were the mainstay of it) by the early 1990`s. Disappointing though such a plan was, it didn`t seem unreasonable that with the oldest RM`s likely to be thirty years old by that projected date they would continue on for ever. After all, the last RT`s that had been withdrawn a few years earlier had also been around thirty years old.

Would anyone have guessed back in 1982 that Routemasters would still be in front line service over twenty years later having had a major refurbishment in the years after their original withdrawal date?

Here`s something to consider.....


For The Great Dorset Steam Fair held from August 22 - 26, Damory Buses as part of the GoAhead South Coast group hired from GoAhead London RM 9 as they also did last year to be part of a heritage fleet operation on the service from Blandford to the Steam Fair. Running from 0755 to 0030 on the first four days and finishing by 1930 on the fifth (final) day of the Steam Fair, four `heritage buses` were required.



At the Blandford terminus, RM 9 is with a Swindon Corporation Daimler.



The Steam Fair site is huge and held in several fields. Fortunately the ground was baked by strong sun for all five days as with no steel carpet there could have been some serious problems had it rained. This ex Western National Bristol LH came from Plymouth.




A VR that was in the Wilts & Dorset fleet was kept when GoAhead South Coast took over. It was also part of the heritage fleet.



The RM was scheduled to run all day until close of service.



The reality was that the RM finished at 2100 in order that a higher capacity bus with doors would be more suited to the high loadings and predictable drunks that are a feature of the late evening trips.



Not exactly a heritage bus but this Scania was definitely the right choice late at night for the numbers and calibre of passengers......



At the depot on the final evening. The Swindon Daimler ended Day 3 with a failure of the entrance doors which put it off the road and the VR came to an abrupt end late on Day 4 when a drunk opened the upper deck emergency exit which was rotted out and could not be securely shut. The LH returned to Plymouth during the evening of day 4. That left the RM as the only heritage bus running on the final day.

I drove the RM on all five days and the other buses briefly at various times. The RM is eight years older than the Daimler and twenty years older than the VR and the LH. The Daimler is very basic inside and not aesthetically pleasing. It drives quite nicely but an awful and undignified climb in and out of the cab spoils the enjoyment. The VR has more rattles than Mothercare, the suspension is awful and the steering is way too light. The cab layout is good and on a straight well made road it`s quite pleasant to drive. I didn`t drive the LH in service, just around the showground as, frankly, anything involving a clutch and a gear stick lost its appeal for me long ago. The modern Scania `decker drives well but is let down by the poorest headlights I`ve ever known. On the long dark miles along the A354, even knocking out half of the lower saloon lights really didn`t help to take the glare out of the windscreen that was making the poor headlight problem even worse.

That leaves the RM. Ok, I have a known bias towards Routemasters but I can honestly say that this sixty year old bus didn`t miss a beat and performed faultlessly every day. The ride quality and braking ability was the best of any of the buses I drove. No rattles, road holding excellent, cab layout and driving position perfect. Headlights good, and with no screen glare it was easily the best bus to be driving on an unlit road after dark. The ventilation possibilities of an RM cab ensured comfort and alertness even at the hottest part of the day - and it was hot each day. After all these years of working with Routemasters I am still in awe of the skill and commitment that went into the initial design and subsequent thorough pre-service testing that produced a bus that is still capable at sixty years old of doing a full days work effortlessly.

Not only did I rate it highly, so too did many passengers. Rear platform buses went from the Blandford area over forty years ago so nobody under fifty would have clear memories of daily trips on them. We lost count of how many people had no idea how old the RM is. Some people thought it was new. What a compliment to bestow on this icon that just looks inviting to be in.






And here`s a little bit of interest as regards the seats. Many have similar inscriptions....




September 4th 1982 may have seemed like a depressing time in Routemaster history but in 2019 there`s still scope for reflecting just how good that design was and how a full days work in an RM is just as easy and enjoyable as it was back in the day.....

Remember this rm has a new engine not the traditional aec