London Transport

1933-2000

In 1933 London's bus services were brought under the control of the London passenger Transport Board. Bus services operated as London Transport Central Buses (red) or London Transport Country Buses (green). Country Buses also operated Green Line express services. London Transport continued until the London Regional Transport Act of 1984 created London Buses Ltd and in 1985 bus services started to be put out to tender.

During London Transport's heyday two bus types designed by LT dominated . The RT had gone into production in 1940 but the war intervened and it was to be six years before production could start again. Based on the AEC Regent chassis the body was detachable so that buses could be overhauled every three of four years at LT' s Aldenham Overhaul works. The Routemaster was an integral design developed after the war to replace the 1800 strong trolleybus fleet. Again it was designed to be overhauled at Aldenham. The Routemaster carried on well past its design life.

Trolleybuses

In 1959 London Transport started a three year process of abandoning the world's largest trolleybus system in favour of the inferior Routemaster bus. It was to be the death knell for trolleybuses in Britain. Some of us fought a rear guard action pointing out that it was foolish to become dependent on a fuel source imported from potentially unstable parts of the world (memories of the Suez crisis of 1956 were still fresh in our minds) and that more diesel buses would only add to the pollution of our city streets (London still suffered from "pea soupers" in those days). We were dismissed as cranks. Progress was the Routemaster. Well fifty ears on , although the RM served London faithfully for much of that time, it can now be seen as a foolish decision to abandon such a superior mode of transport for our capital and other city streets. Although the trolleybus will not return to British streets, there is a distinct possibility that battery buses will become a feature of public transport in the not too distant future.

Click on image to view trolleybus photos

Routemaster

A new life for London Transport Routemaster RML 2324 as it departs on Cavendish route 11 from Hailsham. Normally a Dennis Dart is sufficient to cope with the loadings on this route. (March 2006)

RM2 at Golders Green station (1981) Ring the bell for contents page