AEC Routemaster
The AEC Routemaster is a front-engined double-decker bus that was designed by London Transport and built by the Associated Equipment Company and Park Royal Vehicles. The first prototype was completed in September 1954 and the last one was delivered in 1968. The layout of the vehicle was conventional for the time, with a half-cab, front-mounted engine and open rear platform, although the coach version was fitted with rear platform doors. Forward entrance vehicles with platform doors were also produced as was a unique front-entrance prototype with the engine mounted transversely at the rear.
The first Routemasters entered service with London Transport in February 1956 and the last were withdrawn from regular service in December 2005, although two TfL heritage routes were subsequently operated by Routemasters in central London until 2019.
Most Routemasters were built for London Transport, although small numbers were built for British European Airways and the Northern General Transport Company. A total of 2,876 Routemasters were built, of which 1,230 are still in existence as of 2024.
A pioneering design, the Routemaster outlasted several of its replacement types in London, survived the privatisation of the former London Transport bus operators and was used by other operators around the UK. In modern UK public transport bus operation, the old-fashioned features of the standard Routemaster were both praised and criticised. The open platform, while exposed to the elements, allowed boarding and alighting in places other than official stops; and the presence of a conductor allowed minimal boarding time and optimal security, but with greater labour costs. Compared to modern buses, the high floor design was inaccessible for the disabled, and made boarding with heavy luggage or pushchairs challenging.
In 2006, the Routemaster was voted one of Britain's top 10 design icons which included Concorde, the Mini, the Supermarine Spitfire, the London tube map, the World Wide Web and the K2 telephone box. In 2009, the Routemaster was selected by the Royal Mail for their "British Design Classics" commemorative postage stamp issue. In the late 2000s, work began on a New Routemaster bus inspired by the Routemaster's traditional design. It entered service in February 2012.
Design
The Routemaster was developed between 1947 and 1956 by a team directed by AAM Durrant and Colin Curtis, with vehicle styling by Douglas Scott. The design brief was to produce a vehicle that was lighter, easier to operate and that could be maintained by the existing maintenance practices at the recently opened Aldenham Works, but with easier and lower-cost servicing procedures. The resulting vehicle seated 64 passengers, despite being lighter than buses in the RT family, which seated 56.The first task on delivery to service was to replace London's trolleybuses, which had themselves replaced trams, and to begin to replace the older types of diesel bus. The Routemaster was designed by London Transport and constructed at Park Royal Vehicles, with the running units provided by its sister company AEC. Both companies were owned by Associated Commercial Vehicles, which was taken over by Leyland Motors in 1962.
It was an innovative design and used lightweight aluminium along with techniques developed in aircraft production during World War II. As well as a novel, weight-saving integral design, it also introduced for the first time on a bus independent front suspension, power steering, a fully automatic gearbox and power-hydraulic braking. This surprised some early drivers, who found the chassis unexpectedly light and nimble compared with older designs, especially as depicted on film on tests at the Chiswick Works skid pan. Footage of RM200 undergoing the skid test at Chiswick was included in the 1971 film On the Buses.
The Routemaster was a departure from the traditional chassis/body construction method. It was one of the first "integral" buses, with a combination of an "A" steel sub-frame and a rear "B" steel sub-frame, connected by an aluminium body. The gearbox was mounted on the underside of the body structure with shafts to the engine and back axle. Later pre-war London trolleybuses, however, had previously adopted chassisless construction.
Prototypes
London Transport placed four prototype Routemasters in service between 1956 and 1958. The first two were built at the London Transport works at Chiswick, the third by Weymann at Addlestone and the fourth, an experimental Green Line coach, at Eastern Coach Works at Lowestoft. The third and fourth had Leyland engines and mechanical units. The Routemaster was first exhibited at the Earl's Court Commercial Motor Show in 1954, and the first bus went into public service on 8 February 1956.In 1961, 24 longer RMLs were built as a test, going into production from 1965. In 1962, the front entrance RMF concept was tried, with RMF1254 based on the trial RMLs. This was exhibited and toured, leading to the production of a small number of RMF and RMA buses.
In 1964, just before commencement of mainstream production of the RML, the final front-engined Routemasters, AEC started work on a front-entrance, rear-engined prototype, FRM1. Completed in 1966, it saw regular London service, then on London Coaches tour operations, before being withdrawn in 1983. It was nicknamed the 'Fruitmaster'.
Production
Production of mechanical components was undertaken chiefly at AEC's Southall site with body construction and final assembly at Park Royal Vehicles.Although regulations already permitted 2-axle double deck buses up to in length by the time the Routemaster went into full production, the majority of production examples were long, the introduction of "long" types being delayed by union resistance to the extra work for conductors.
| Class | Type | Headlights | Length | Number | Notes |
| RM | Single | 2,123 | |||
| RML | Single | 524 | |||
| RMC | Twin | 69 | |||
| RCL | Twin | 43 | |||
| RMF | Single | 51 | all except one for Northern General Transport Company | ||
| RMA | Twin | 65 | for British European Airways and used with a luggage trailer | ||
| FRM | Single | 1 | new shaped rear engined single operator prototype |
RM & RML class
London Transport took delivery of 2,123 RMs and 524 RMLs. The RML was a standard RM with a distinctive and seemingly out of place half-window section added in the middle giving eight extra seats. This was not a dramatic change, as it took advantage of the modular design approach of the Routemaster that would be copied by other manufacturers. The RML code was originally used to identify the "Routemaster Leyland", with what became the RML originally designated the ER. The RM and RML had an area beneath the rear staircase where, when not collecting fares, the conductor could stand without obstructing boarding/alighting passengers. Seating was provided for 64 passengers on RMs.RMC & RCL class
The RMC was a coach version for Green Line routes. RMCs had modified suspension and interiors to allow a longer range and more comfortable running, an electrically operated door instead of an open platform, and a semi-automatic gearbox with higher gear ratios. The RCL was a long version of the RMC with a larger engine and similar coach-style features. Seating was provided for 57 on RMCs and 65 on RCLs.RMF & RMA class
The RMF and RMA class were production versions of the front entrance Routemaster, primarily for non-London and airline use. Like the RMC/RCL they had an electrically operated door, but at the front of the bus, along with the staircase. After being exhibited and demonstrated to other operators, the RMF attracted little interest, apart from an order from Northern General Transport Company and, in a short version, from British European Airways.Northern General
The British Electric Traction subsidiary Northern General Transport Company introduced the RMF in 1964/65, with an initial batch of 18, followed by another 32 and later joined by the prototype RMF1254. This order created considerable interest and raised eyebrows within the bus industry, as Northern had been one of the biggest investors in the new rear-engined Leyland Atlanteans.However, Northern shared many routes with the United Automobile Services, which operated the Bristol Lodekka, and the Atlantean did not match their performance and passenger satisfaction, so Northern brought in the RMFs as a better match. They were fitted with Leyland engines and a higher-ratio rear axle for operation on longer trunk routes. Other notable differences were a standard, single-panel front destination blind, sliding windows and a one-piece driver's windscreen.
File:Routemaster bus PCN 762 Northern General 2099.jpg|thumb|upright|Preserved Northern General Transport Company 2099 in red and cream pre National Bus Company livery
They operated in various Northern red and cream liveries, receiving the poppy red corporate livery and NBC Northern fleetnames in the National Bus Company era. The RMF fleet wore the long-standing adverts characteristic of buses in the north-east of England, "Shop at Binns". Northern Routemasters were well liked by their crews: the high axle ratio meant a good turn of speed on long-distance routes such as Newcastle to Darlington, and power steering was well appreciated on busy urban services in Gateshead and Sunderland. Their service in the north also produced the odd sight of a Routemaster with a rollsign "X1 Scandinavia", connecting with the DFDS ferry from North Shields to Scandinavia.
However, throughout the 1970s it became increasingly uneconomic to have conductors on inter-urban services. Despite driver and customer satisfaction, Northern had little option but to replace them. Northern placed a large order for Bristol VRs with Eastern Coach Works and Willowbrook bodywork in 1977 to replace them. Withdrawals began in May 1977 with the last withdrawn in October 1980. Most were scrapped although 14 were sold to London Transport. Only one entered service, as an open-top with London Coaches.