The Leyland Routemaster is the AEC Routemaster, the front-engined London double-decker designed by London Transport and built by AEC and Park Royal Vehicles. Leyland Motors took over its parent company, Associated Commercial Vehicles, in 1962, and a significant number of Routemasters used Leyland engines and mechanical units.
Leyland Routemaster at a glance
| Makers | AEC and Park Royal Vehicles, later in the Leyland group |
|---|---|
| Type | front-engined double-decker bus |
| First prototype | completed September 1954 |
| In service | from 8 February 1956 |
| Production | to 1968 |
| Total built | 2,876 |
| Seats | 64 |
| Standard length | 27 ft 6 in (8.38 m) |
| RML length | 30 ft (9.14 m) |
| Engines | AEC, with Leyland engines in a significant number |
| Transmission | fully automatic |
| Last regular service | December 2005 |
| Heritage routes | until 2019 |
Based on one source, the English Wikipedia article on the AEC Routemaster; this page covers the Routemasters built with Leyland engines and under Leyland ownership.
History of the Leyland Routemaster
Design
The Routemaster was developed between 1947 and 1956 by a team led by AAM Durrant and Colin Curtis, with styling by Douglas Scott. The brief was a vehicle lighter and more fuel-efficient than existing buses, easier to operate and maintainable with the practices of the new Aldenham Works, but with cheaper servicing. The result seated 64 passengers, three-quarters of a long ton lighter than the RT family, which seated 56. The Routemaster was designed by London Transport and built at Park Royal Vehicles, with running units from its sister company AEC; both were owned by Associated Commercial Vehicles, which Leyland Motors took over in 1962.
The bus was an innovative design, using lightweight aluminium and aircraft production techniques from the Second World War. Its integral construction combined a front steel sub-frame carrying the engine, steering and front suspension with a rear sub-frame carrying the axle and suspension, joined by an aluminium body. It introduced independent front suspension, power steering, a fully automatic gearbox and power-hydraulic braking to a London bus. Early drivers found the chassis unexpectedly light and nimble, and footage of RM200 on the Chiswick skid pan appeared in the 1971 film On the Buses. The open rear platform and conductor allowed quick boarding and alighting away from official stops, though the high floor made access difficult for disabled passengers and people with heavy luggage or pushchairs.
Prototypes
London Transport put four prototype Routemasters into service between 1956 and 1958. The first two were built at Chiswick, the third by Weymann at Addlestone and the fourth, an experimental Green Line coach, by Eastern Coach Works at Lowestoft. The third and fourth had Leyland engines and mechanical units. The Routemaster was first shown at the Earls Court Commercial Motor Show in 1954, and the first bus entered public service on 8 February 1956. In 1961 24 longer Routemaster Lengthened buses, the RMLs, were built as a trial, 30 ft long against the standard 27 ft 6 in, and they went into production from 1965. In 1962 the front-entrance concept was tried with RMF1254, leading to small batches of RMF and Routemaster Airways buses. In 1964 AEC began work on a front-entrance, rear-engined prototype, FRM1, completed in 1966 and nicknamed the Fruitmaster; it saw regular London service before being withdrawn in 1983 and given to the London Transport Museum.
Production and service
Mechanical components were made mainly at AEC’s Southall site, though a significant number had Leyland engines, while bodies and final assembly were at Park Royal Vehicles. Most Routemasters were built for London Transport, with small numbers for British European Airways and the Northern General Transport Company. A total of 2,876 were built, and 1,230 still existed in September 2024. The Routemaster outlasted several of the types meant to replace it, survived the privatisation of London Transport’s bus operators and was used by other operators around Britain. The last were withdrawn from regular service in December 2005, although two Transport for London heritage routes kept Routemasters in central London until 2019.
An icon
In 2006 the Routemaster was voted one of Britain’s top ten design icons, alongside Concorde, the Mini, the Supermarine Spitfire, the London tube map, the World Wide Web and the K2 telephone box. In 2009 the Royal Mail chose it for a British Design Classics stamp issue. In the late 2000s work began on a New Routemaster inspired by the original design, and it entered service in February 2012.
Design and features
- Integral construction: aluminium body and steel sub-frames, light and strong.
- Leyland engines: fitted to the third and fourth prototypes and to many production buses.
- Modern chassis: independent front suspension, power steering, automatic gearbox and power-hydraulic brakes.
- Open platform: fast boarding with a conductor, though inaccessible by modern standards.
Leyland Routemaster versions
- RM: the standard 27 ft 6 in Routemaster.
- RML: the 30 ft lengthened version, in production from 1965.
- RMF and RMA: front-entrance and Airways versions.
- FRM1: the rear-engined Fruitmaster prototype of 1966.
The Routemaster was a London design, unlike the Leyland Atlantean and Leyland Titan that served elsewhere. More Leyland vehicles are in the Leyland collection.
Sources
- AEC Routemaster, English Wikipedia: design, prototypes, production, service
