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Notes About This Vehicle |
| London Transport was formed on 1st July 1933, though in reality little changed that day. The Underground by then had been operating all sub-surface and tube lines except the Metropolitan, as well as a high proportion of local buses. The new ‘London Transport’ was heavily based on the former Underground group, including being based at its headquarters at 55 Broadway. |
| Nevertheless, the date did mark the start of a new era in public transport in London. What didn’t change was the continuance of the bespoke design of buses to run in the capital, culminating with the Routemaster in 1954. |
| OA number of events were organized to mark this 50th anniversary and two buses were chosen by London Transport to be re-painted in special gold liveries – RM1983 and Titan T747 (temporarily re-designated T1983). In addition another Titan and one Metrobus were painted in liveries reminiscent of the ancestral London General Omnibus Company (LGOC). |
| In 1981 a local initiative of staff at Dalston garage created a sort of showbus, at their own expense and in their own time. This resulted in the emergence of the particularly well presented RM1737 into daily service. Others followed suit elsewhere. |
| With the obvious attraction of 1983 to celebrate, four Routemasters gradually appeared from other garages re-painted in a very handsome pastiche LGOC livery. As always the elegant styling of the bus readily lapped up what was a 50-year-old colour scheme. |
| March saw Sidcup’s RM8 first to the streets; RM17 from Willesden, RM1933 from Chalk Farm and RM2116 from Seven Kings were the others. The four buses varied in small areas of detail and some minor adjustments were made during the short time they operated in this form. |
| Though all four entered 1984 still in this delightful guise, senior management decreed that these vehicles, and all the other local ‘showbuses’, should return to their standard livery. |
| RM1933 returned to its normal red in February 1984, along with RM8. RM17 lasted until April but RM2116 survived the diktat having been de-licensed in May and subsequently sold to private preservationists who retained the pseudo-LGOC colour scheme. |
| This drawing shows RM1933 as it operated, complete with its back-lit upper deck offside advert panel. |
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Notes About This Drawing |
| The drawing is based on a Chiswick Works general arrangement drawing from 1963 ‘RM001.Z.1’, revised a few times to 1964. This type of black & white sketch drawing, as implied by the name, is not intended to define detail but as a specification guide to builders. |
| All the fine detail has been interpreted from several black & white and colour photographs of sufficient quality that could be found and attempts to show the vehicle as closely as possible to how it looked when it was in service in this livery. None of the detail can be regarded as definitive. |
| It should be understood that all four elevations are seen here as one would see each part of the vehicle at a truly perpendicular angle. In real life this is of course impossible. |
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| © drawing copyright Douglas Rose – March 2018 |
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