My late father would have loved this. Whenever we saw a bus from the 50s, he would look carefully at them to see if there was any evidence of his work. His speciality was hand painting the, usually, gold lines that used to be on many older buses. The company also made coaches, and he would construct the wood panelling on the more expensive models.
Not always fun - I slipped once, doing this. It was raining and I lost my footing as I jumped on. Luckily (or not) I had managed to grasp the pole, but, as the bus accelerated, I was unable to get back onto the platform. As the conductor helpfully watched, unmoving, and apparently unmoved, I gradually slipped down the pole and was dragged for several hundred metres down the road, before facing the inevitable and letting go. I slid along the road for several metres, and then laid there, bruised and grazed (but luckily no worse) in the pouring rain, as the bus toodled off. Luckily there was no following traffic, so I was able to pick myself up and limp back home. Judging by my mother's face when she opened the door, I wasn't a pretty sight.
As I wrote that, I was reminded of two similar events. In the time if the rolling blackouts during the miners' strike, I jumped off the platform some distance before my stop, as I usually did, intending to hit the ground running. It was raining and dark, and I wanted to get home quickly, as one of the blackouts was due. Unfortunately, my timing was fractionally out and the blackout actually started as I was in mid-air. The street lights abruptly went out and I found myself flying though the air blind! Not being able to see the ground - or much else, I landed badly, slipped and stumbled, and crashed into a tree. Luckily, mum wasn't in when I got home... My final 'platform experience' was different, but even more potentially lethal. I wanted to get off the bus early, at the nearby shops. The stop was some distance after a large roundabout, and I didn't want to go that far, so I grabbed the pole and leaned out of the bus, ready to jump as we exited the roundabout. But, bizarrely, the bus didn't exit the roundabout. Presumably the driver was used to driving a different route, which took the second exit, but, realising his mistake just in time, he carried on round the roundabout again, back to the exit he should have taken. But because of the unexpected centrifugal force I was experiencing, I was unable to pull myself back into the safety of the bus - ending up flying right round the roundabout (just missing the metal fence!) like some sort of circus acrobat! So, no, I don't miss those open platforms at the back at all!
Yes, watching your bus pull away from the stop, but praying that it would have to stop at a red light or zebra crossing further up the road was both stressful and challenging in equal measure! Although like the other commenter, I did also fall fowl of the perceived freedom offered by the open rear platform. Travelling home from college with a "mate" (more of that in a moment), I wanted to get off our bus outside Clapham Junction Station, from where I could simply walk round the corner to catch my next bus home. Not doing so meant having to wait till the next stop outside Arding and Hobbs department store, then having to cross several busy roads to get to my next stop. As we often did, we stood on the platform waiting to see if the bus would get stopped at a red light at the bottom of the hill. However, I have no idea how this happened, but as the bus trundled slowly towards the lights, I somehow managed to lose my grip, and slipped off the platform, landing in a crumpled heap in the gutter! The bus carried on with its journey, and I looked up to see my "mate" in hysterics, still standing on the platform! Fortunately, only my pride was hurt, but the lack of concern from anyone at all was conspicuous in its absence! Not even any kindly passers-by were willing to offer any assistance. Anyway, I got up, brushed myself off, and pretended that nothing had happened...as you do. I did forgive my "mate" though. In fact, we're still friends to this day. 😊
I was out on those buses that day- unlike most of the public I had been looking for a classic bus event in London at some point so had this in my calendar- and I noticed that when one of the old buses was closely following a TfL bus on the same route, people at the bus stops would flag us down instead. It was a nice day out, and their next event will be along the 38 between Victoria, Hackeny and Clapton, I believe in mid-July. Despite only being 20 years old, there was actually a bus there I remembered from my childhood, a 51-plate Dennis Dart Marshall Capital, the owner said it was from the Lea Interchange garage, and a quick lookup of the reg plate and fleet number on Flickr shows that it could have been seen on the 308 when it was in service, my local route growing up. By far the newest bus there, but the only one that brought back any real memories.
@@jetblakink Search Classic Bus Events, you'll get the calendar. It's worth bookmarking and checking every so often as events get added at fairly short notice and unfortunately some get cancelled at equally short notice.
3:37 the 101 to North Woolwich - the route by grandfather drove, with my grandmother as his conductress. I was once allowed to sit in the driver’s cab of a Routemaster in Upton Park bus garage as a kid.
The BL at the end (the little red and white bus) was especially nice to see, as they were always associated with Kingston (including the 71 - on a Sunday Morning).
The Bristol LH ran on the 392 & the 393 from Hoddesdon to Harlow & Ongar. I remember seeing the long version on the W9 but the LH on the 392 & the 393 were replaced by the Leyland National by 1985 though had London Country went with the long version the LH would've had a longer time in service. I rode on the Daimler Fleetline when it was in service on the 217B & the W8.
Wonderful to see the Brooklands Museum buses on their day out. Super site for all motor transport, and horse-drawn public transport too. Outside there is the original Brooklands Racetrack (well a bit of it) and across the road, there is a massive (Free to enter) Mercedes car and formula 1 museum, and even a test track to hire ! ! Oh, nearly forgot, there are other activities within the Merc site to take part in too.
i'll never forget crossing New Oxford St in the 70's just as the lights were changing - the roar of three abreast Route Masters as they charged down the road towards me is something i'll always remember... followed by the ear splitting squealing of brakes when they hit the next red.
Some of the best trips on these old London buses have been when some of them have been put into service on normal bus routes during tube strikes in recent years. They seem to come to life with ordinary people riding on them. They quickly fit in with the modern buses and keep up with modern traffic favourably. Seeing them on the streets of London again, just as they did all those years ago brings them to life. We run our preserved bus at a similar event in Cornwall each April. Again they follow the bus routes and mingle with the modern buses from Penzance bus station for the day. Well worth a ride.
I'm not much of a bus enthusiast either but this is such a lovely idea. It's a pity Britain's rail networks are already too crowded to be able to do something similar. Just imagine a parallel universe where for one special day an entire route has half its rolling stock replaced by heritage locomotives and carriages with no extra charge for the regular commuters (besides the acceptance of a potentially delayed schedule) I wish we lived in that universe... 😅
As a career railwaymen, I'm afraid I don't. They'd certainly be great to look at and fun to ride, but when you see how many of today's passengers struggle to get on or off today's trains without dropping their kids down the gap or doing equally stupid things, and when you see how many morons think that because there's an old train it's OK for them to go wandering all over the tracks to take photos, you realise that it would be a recipe for disaster to have slam-door stock and historic locos in use. :( And that's before you worry about accessibility or idiots targeting the event to protest about oil extinction or whatever. Germany used to do this sort of thing but has basically given up on Plandampf now, and heritage railways are struggling to square the circle of modern safety expectations with historic stock.
Subway, not really a train (although we call them that), but NYC subway runs a couple old trains of various vintages each year for one weekend on one line.
What a lovely little bus video for a change. I’m really a bus nerd first underground nerd second having worked with both. Underground trains for a year, buses for 20+ years. ❤ a little change here and there is nice. And no Charles Jerkes for once 😉
We used to get days like this in North Hertfordshire. It was fun to be in Stevenage Bus Station with a camera ❤. But it hasn't happened for a few years now. Very similar vehicles to the ones seen here but the website for the organisers seems to have disappeared. Such a shame!
Bob, on one Saturday a month, an RT runs a shuttle from Stevenage Bus Stn to the Farmers Marker. Not a long ride, but they do start in Ware in the morning, and take you back there in the afternoon at the end of the service if you want.
@@brianbell4937 I live in Ware and didn't know this! Which Saturdays do they run? Ironically it's been very difficult to get from Ware to Stevenage by normal buses - the standard route goes all round the villages and takes over an hour. Have recently noticed a 907 service that looks new.
Hello Jago, that video was a true “Transport of Delight” - a song about the London Bus by Flanders & Swann. Seeing the red RTs running brought back school days memories of travelling on them on the 194 route - Forest Hill to Croydon Airport, London’s first international airport (the original building still exists) before Heathrow. A friend and I were invited to attend a families day tea party at Chiswick bus works - true Heaven. When I moved from the London area to Oxford, I was surprised to see a sign for a Forest Hill in this area. I admit loving both trains and buses. Good stuff, more of each please Jago.
When you are lost in London And you don't know where you are You'll hear my voice a-calling "Pass further down the car!" And very soon you'll find yourself Inside the terminus In a London Transport, diesel-engined, Ninety-seven horsepower omnibus
'Seeing the red RTs running brought back school days memories ...' Me too. Mine was route 163 from Parliament Hill Fields to Plumstead Common via Greenwich and Charlton.
'Along the Queen's great highway I drive my merry load At twenty miles per hour In the middle of the road We like to drive in convoys We're most gregarious The big six-wheeler, scarlet-painted, London Transport, diesel-engined, Ninety-seven horsepower omnibus'. Some things change. Some don't.
I used to catch the 65 routemaster from Putney Bridge to Kingston every weekday morning and return home on it while studying at Kingston Polytechnic (as it was back then) in the early 1980s, about 1 hour each way if I timed it right. It gave plenty of time to catch up on reading the paper or a book, or doing a bit of extra studying 'en route'. My commute was roughly from Stamford Bridge to Kingston and after an experimental tube and Network Southeast venture I settled into the 14 and 65 combo, with occasional sallies onto the 11 if it came first on my return journey. Of course those were the 'good old days' of (Ken Livingstone's?) Fares Fair policy, at least briefly. Happy days indeed. Apparently it was on the 85, not 65, see below!
Would that not have been the 85 route from Kingston to Putney Bridge? I used to use it myself a lot in the early 70s. The 65 went from Kingston to Ealing.
The 65 didn't go to Putney. In the days I drove them (1970s.80s) they ran from Chessington Zoo (now the World of Adventures) to Ealing Broadway (extended to Argyle Road in the peak hours) via the Copt Gilders Estate Chessington - Surbiton - Kingston - Ham - Richmond - Kew - Brentford. The 85 ran from Putney Bridge to Kingston via Roehampton.
Oops, I stand corrected - many thanks @PreNeanderthal. In my defense it was a while ago! I probably did take the 65 from Kingston to Richmond after hours, or to change onto the District line at Richmond for Earls Court. Memory is a curious thing…
Thank you fabulous! If you go on the Epping and Ongar Railway (as I did last October when I was in the UK), they run old LT red and country green buses between Epping Underground Station and the North Weald station (EOR) Keep rolling along, greetings from Ontario
1:30 We had Roe-bodied AEC Regent IIIs in Leeds when I was a kid. They ousted the trams, and we no longer had the wonderful ride through Middleton Woods (including what Keith Waterhouse refers to as the Murder Woods in _There is a Happy Land_ ). 2:40 Upstairs on Regent IIIs and other Leeds buses around that time were signs declaring "spitting prohibited". I didn't get annoyed: I reserved my expectoration for downstairs; I was being phlegmatic. 3:09 A friend (now dead - not passed - properly dead) was a well-known author. Going out for coffee or a meal with her could be embarrassing as she would listen in to people's conversations, and then talk about the interesting bits quite loudly. It amused me to see how these events had made it to her pages, but when I discovered myself only slightly disguised in Chapter 3 of _Passion among the Paeonies_ I stopped reading her books. There is a transport museum not far from me in Wythall. At this time of year I often pass excursion buses from the museum on my way to the supermarket at Maypole.
Spike Milligan limerick: There was a young man from Dealing Who caught the bus for Ealing It said on the door: "Don't spit on the floor!" So he jumped up and spat on the ceiling.
As a man of a certain vintage I remember the days of Green & Red Rover tickets. I was not rural enough & close to only one route to take advantage of the former, however during the Summer holidays all many of adventures & new locations were available for a flat fare. "A London Transport, diesel engine, 97 horse power omnibus" Not that I that old to remember them, Routemasters were ubiquitous during my childhood.
Hello Mr Jago First time commenter, superb video as always. I too was at this event but spent most of my time hopping about in the Kingston, Surbiton, Hook & Chessington area. Hope you enjoyed your day. You mentioned you aren't especially a bus enthusiast, and if the day arises you might like to learn more, feel free to get in touch. Two of my friends had their buses out and about on the day. SM88 (AML88H) @03:21 and BL88 (OJD88R) @4:15
The first vehicle I ever drove was an AEC Regent (RT) it was at North Weald Airfield which was at the time innthe 80s owned by LT for training purposes. During the airshow they had the opportunity to drive one for a pound. So with a crisp pound note extracted from my dad, off I went aged about 8 or 9. Also have fond memories of Routemasters and various Bristol buses used around Essex. thanks Jago, you are the extra row of seats to my RML
That green Leyland "something" double-decker is from Winchester. A 'King Alfred' bus service vehicle, (a local company, all gone now). I would ride sometimes on that very bus to or from school as a boy. I was pleasantly surprised to see it here on this video.
It may be of some interest then that there's an organisation called Friends of King Alfred Buses, who have apparently saved every surviving King Alfred Motor Services bus and even made a couple of pseudo KAMS. vehicle to look like missing ones. They run them in Winchester at various times of the year, recreating the old routes as they were in the fifties and sixties.
@@highpath4776 That's interesting. Thanks. Had a quick look and it lists a Cresta Coaches in Wimbledon, but also a company with same name, running in Winchester too, which confuses the issue a bit. But FoKAB formed in 1985, so yes, probably it went before they could get hold of that one. But I think they do have one of her sisters, so all is not lost.
@@dancedecker Cresta indeed had two operating centres and licences , I have info in PSV Circle news sheets and one of the Passenger Transport (later Ian Allan buses "little red book" somewhere. Wimbledon didnt have many coach companies, Hall and Co of Durnsford Road ( later one vehicle on licence which was actually based at LC Davis in Mitcham that had acquired the company). Wimbledon Belle coaches for a while were in the group that owned the London Terminal coach station but then ended up with Mitcham Belle in Fred Wilde''s ownership. Guidline of Battersea for a while parked up at Haydons Road Station Goods yard as did a couple of one man operators whos offices were in the Raynes Park Area, Ewer Group had acquired United Service Transport of Southfields but had cloase it down, later to re start with the ownership of World Wide Coaches with a large Mercedes fleet parked off Plough Lane roughly where Pets at Home is now. (they moved more to Coldharbour Lane and were sold to Wahl which I think became Redwings ). Our coaches for school trips would be Barbers of Mitcham (at Goat Road,) sometimes Duvals ( RACs) , or Claremont of Worchester Park. Ir mum wanted posh for the ladies club days out it was Chivers of Wallington (who always seemed to have one ex Glenton centre entrance vehicle in the fleet ) or Fountain/Isleworth coaches.
It is really nice seeing the older busses out and running. And really makes you notice that back 30-40 years ago there was just ALOT more variety of busses even up here in the north where there was old bristols from the 1960's running along side newer leylands and Dennis. These days it's the same few busses made by 2 manufacturers. There is only 2 busses left from my town's old council fleet, A leyland double decker and a old bristol that once had a special roof orniments and called the "Santa bus" it got close to being scrapped but it's now being restored to running condition and it's blood and custard livery.
Aw the good old London Bus museum. Went in there with a friend of mine last year - we must have looked like a classic pair of nerdy anoraks because we’d been inside five minutes and were thoroughly engrossed in the “bus safety training” videos until a very nice man tapped us on the shoulders and eagerly pointed us towards the routemaster tour around weybridge 😂 worth the extra couple of quid and, as you say, a good time was had by all 😁
There was a similar event on 2 April in High Wycombe. I was broken down - dead battery - so was unable to explore this much, but it was great to see London Country buses plying their old routes. RTs, AEC Regal and a few others I only caught glimpses of.
What a wonderful idea, congratulations to the bus museum! Also an excellent idea to record it on a YT video. I'm also not a bus nerd, but it's nice to be able to recall one's youth spent on such machines. I remember the smelly and very sooty exhaust which many of them discharged into your ankles as you walked past.
As a child of the 60s and 70s' the Routemaster and its predecessor, were my transports of delight for a number of years. Since their disappearance, I had a couple of occasions to ride the old timers again during Routemaster 60. I also went to a Camberwell bus garage open day a few years' ago, but they did not put on any excursions.
We've enjoyed this style of event yearly here in Edinburgh for many years. Extra fun, it often runs the route out to the seaside at Portobello for a Cliff Richardesque fun time.
Lovely to see my old stamping grounds around Kingston as a student, and brought back happy memories of some of the buses I used then (50 years back!). Makes me wonder if there would be scope for regular heritage bus services in say, some of the leafier suburbs on Summer Saturdays. The Routemasters would seem up for it!
Lovely video , I have been to Brookland's museum it is a great day out and stood on the famous banked race track apart from sitting on Concord , the museum is worthy of a video in its self.
My old home ground. I used the 65 (and 71) routes frequently to get from Chessington to wherever mainly on the RTs but later on the RMs when they were eventually introduced. The green RT buses were generally liveried as London Country as I remember and would take one to Epsom and beyond.
I'm one of London's longest serving bus workers. I started in 1974 as a bus operating trainee when I was 17.I was basically a tea boy.Every department they sent me to I had to make the tea.This only lasted for six months until I was 18 when I became a conductor at Stockwell garage. At 22 I became a driver and have been driving buses ever since. I am now 66 and as I write these lines am just about to start work on a 417(Crystal Palace to Clapham Common) operating from Norwood Garage. Talking of Norwood garage does anyone remember London Transport's star crew,a husband and wife, "Tommy "Thompson the driver and his wife Dotty.They appeared on the popular children's TV programme Blue Peter where presenter Leslie Judd learned how to conduct a bus. The Thomson's were a regular sight on Norwood garage's 137 route and Tommy always wore a dickie bow but never a cap. Probably because he had a fine head of silver hair to show off, unlike me as I'm now bald !! If anyone remembers them please leave a comment. Got to go,I can hear Blakey shouting oi baldy get that 417 outa here !!
I recently sat on the top deck of a Routemaster, on the lovely little tour from Waterloo to Waterloo, which is something I wanted to do when I visited recently after I saw it in one of Jago's previous videos. To anyone wondering, I can confirm being on the top deck is extremely bouncy, but I wouldn't have it any other way. The modern buses just can't hold a candle to the Routemaster and the RT bus
Seeing the routemaster brings back memories of the night about 40 years ago, when I was travelling on one from Islington to Dalston with a friend. We were both fairly drunk after (probably) a night out at the Hope and Anchor. Standing on the rear platform ready to get off at the stop across the road from Dalston Junction station, the bus went round the slight bend at the junction of Balls Pond Road and Kingsland High St, and my friend fell off, landing sprawled in the middle of the road. I jumped off too, did a bit of a backwards somersault and dragged her out of the road before she got run over. The conductor stopped the bus as soon as she saw us getting off (the signal for the driver to make an emergency stop was fast repeated ringing of the bell) . An ambulance was called and my friend and I were taken to the Hackney hospital. The bus crew (and everyone else involved, no doubt) didn't believe she'd fallen and I'd jumped to try and save her life - they thought we'd jumped off to save walking back from the bus stop (which wasn't an uncommon thing to do in those days, on those buses). Luckily I wasn't injured, as I don't think I would have got much sympathy. My friend, fortunately, wasn't badly injured either. Just one of many ridiculous drunken incidents in my time in that part of the world 😀
I thoroughly applaud your branching out into bus enthusiasm as well as railways Mr J..... Now, if we could get you looking at aircraft, and drinking real ale, you could be a member of the Weekly Wind-up group (based in London with a northern branch in Yorkshire) where "beer and buses, planes & trains" folk gather to drink and discuss such matters....... I don't remember the RT's on the 65s (yes, the bus you thought was a Regent was indeed so) but i do the Routemasters and Metrobuses .But i did ride on RT's in East London where i grew up, and where they finished their days out at Barking in 1979.....
Hi Jago from Spain. In Sarfend in the late 50s we had a couple of AEC Regent single deckers that had been used as ambulances during the war (Yes I know I shouldn't mention the war.) One of them was converted to One Man Operation with a sort of Heath-Robinson contraption so that the driver could operate the door which had been converted from a sliding door to a bi-fold.
Regents were always double deck, but perhaps they'd been rebodied? The standard single deck from AEC was the Regal & there would have been a lot of those around at the time. London Transport had a large fleet of them pre-war & a number were taken out of service (as coaches) in the late 30s. Most would have been xcrapped, but some were sold on or requisitioned for war work.
Brings back some bus memories. There were two bus routes through Crowthorne, the 3 from Reading to Camberley via Wokingham, and the 53 from Windsor to Camberley via Bracknell. Both operated by Thames Valley. Going to Reading seemed to take ages but useful if trains weren't running. The bus station at Bracknell had a small cafe which would be a nice place to get a cup of tea. The buses still run afaik, but I don't know who operates them.
The problem for me is that these events never seem to get advance publicity - we had such a day where classic buses were run on two local routes - 174 and 1975 - but the local newspaper only mentioned it a week later. Is there a database which gives advance notice of events in London?
The single-decker at thec4:25 mark is an ex-London Transport Bristol LH (OJD 88R, fleet number BL88). There were to types of the LH bought by LT,. They had 17 of the shortened version, the LHS, and the standard length LH which were about 4ft longer than the LHS. They were all built to 7ft 6in wide, the width of the chassis, compared to the standard 8ft 2in width. This was because some of the routes were along narrow roads and also because of the restricted space at the Kingston depot. BL88 was also once of the last ones to be delivered.
There was a similar event here in Barking in 2019 with RT1s running the 62 route 40 years after they'd been withdrawn from service at Barking bus garage. I hadn't been aware of it so it was a lovely surprise to not just see them but to be able to hop on for a trip to the supermarket and back. 😀
Love it! For me the AEC Regent is THE classic London bus. Bouncing down lea Bridge Road flat out at 40mph! And the fun of getting up chingford mount! Novice drivers made the mistake of trying to charge up it in 3rd gear, but that only worked if it was lightly loaded and they got a good run at it. Ah, happy days
A shame this can no longer be done with Trolleybuses unless one visits a Living Museum. My favourite bus both to travel in and drive was an RT, light, quick and manoeuvrable as a driver and comfortable as a passenger, unless 80-90+ school kids crammed into one when the morning school bus (a long diversion to avoid a low bridge). The afternoon ones were the normal service RF's, the local schools had staggered finish times and many after school clubs.
I used to ride the RTs when they served the 65 route from Ealing Argyle Road to Ealing Broadway on my way to school in the early 1970s - so a marvellous nostalgic sight - thanks for this one!
Excellent content buses are nice too I remember as a tiny tot being amazed at all the different liveries -green and cream for South Downs, red and ivory in Southampton and portsmouth, green for Hants and dorset Yellow and maroon in Bournemouth. My mother didnt drive until 1980 so we went on a lot of buses
some lovverly buses, some of which i can remember from my short trousers years..but the quick glance of my favourite flying machine nearly brought a tear to my eye....Thanks Jago!
Routemasters and the occasional Regent were a significant part of my childhood, but it's funny the way memory works. I remember Routemasters as looking distinctly more modern, but of which visual cues I was using to determine modernity, I now have almost no idea. Maybe it'll come to me later, suddenly, in the middle of the night when I don't want to be disturbed. But probably not, these things tend to come back to me slowly. I'm already thinking the bus with the more vertical grille must have been the older one. The paint jobs they're now in don't help; both types were in the same livery in my day.
I saw your thumbnail Jago and thought crikey that’s a green line bus outside C&A. Of course it’s Wilco now. It reminded me of the late 60’s when a family member got married in a green suit. Very fashionable then! People thought he’d got a job as a green line bus conductor. 😂 Just to say my knowledge of busses is par with yours, but it bought back some memories. RT Routmaster is about my limit. Just to add in those days as an 8 year old I could travel on a brand new routemaster 205 from Wimbledon to Heathrow airport for a day out. Via Kingston. Thanks always enjoy your vids, this one was my old stomping grounds. 😂😂😊
If you want to ride buses from the Brooklands Museum, check that they are actually running before you visit. I think (from memory) they only run during school holidays. Has no-one opened a trolley bus museum? There are some tram museums around the UK.
As an American that's never ridden any of those makes of buses, I still found watching this fascinating. I'd love to have the chance to ride some of those someday, especially the double deckers, which you never see around here. Even without a lot of info about them, this was still a very enjoyable video for me, so thanks for that.
When you pointed out "Kingston, not the one in Jamaica" and one of the old double decker buses was shown that moment, I had to immediately think of the Bond movie "Live and Let Die", where the upper deck of one of these buses is sheered off by a low bridge. That scene was filmed in Jamaica.
There is a similar event run in Glasgow by the Glasgow Vintage Vehicle Trust (25th June is the next one) - plus they also do regular open days at the bus garage. I think old buses remind us of our days as kids... going to school or perhaps heading into town, all whilst having a sneaky B&H at the back lol!
Lothian Buses organise regular running days for their historic collection, and some guests, and they too have them running on regular bus routes. We get to pay regular fares though.
An interesting diversion to an omnibus edition On The Buses. I don't know much about buses either but I know a few people with a PSV liscence and I've heard stories about manual clutches and manual steering putting hairs on your chest. I grew up with Leyland Atlanteans. YSG 101 was the oldest running service bus in Scotland. It was owned by Lothian Regional Transport when it was finally retired. I used to watch On The Buses as a kid with dad. We loved it. Roy Hudd did a marvellous News Huddlines sketch about a bus driver seeing an angel dancing on his bonnet and used phrases like 'Frien Barnet' and 'Green Line to Welwyn Garden City' and 'Convey a gift of some Brussels Sprouts to her mother.' That was decades ago too, but it was sheer poetry. 3:07 That white car is strangely animated chasing the bus.
I never understood the low class humour of that show-but as I got older i realised the way to enjoy it was to appreciate how badly written [and acted] it was.
Excellent, last time I was back in the UK went down to Amberley museum for their bus day. That's always worth a visit and you can get there by train the station is opposite.
AEC for the win, all round. Lovely Routemasters, Regents, and I think I saw a Swift too. I love those old busses - Leyland and Bristol not so much. The AEC rolling frame was designed specifically to be a bus, whereas a lot of the old Leylands and Bristols were, basically a standard goods lorry chassis with a passenger friendly body strapped on top... and boy did you feel like a sack of spuds when you went over a bump in one.
I feel so old… Used to travel on quite a few of the 1950's - 1980's buses. The AEC Regal single deckers were still running in north London in the early to mid '70's along with the unreliable (but I still love them) AEC Merlin. Must take my old Dinky model and take a picture of it on the Merlin Drive street sign in Sandy, Beds one day. Although judging by the fact that the RSPB are based along the road, I can safely say that the road is not named after an unreliable bus from the late '60's… Love the upload.
Last summer I was at a classic bus event from the Victoria bus station. They were all inter-city buses, not urban transit vehicles. Quite fascinating but they weren't picking up passengers on the streets. I was at a classic bus thing at Brooklands a few years ago and was surprised to see a yellow North American style school bus. I'm a train and classic car guy but my friend is a tram and bus guy so we went to the show and again, I foudn it fascinating. One bus had a baby tiger as it's radiator ornament-very cool!
Are you sure you don't mean Victoria Coach Station? I can't see an event like that taking place at Victoria Bus Station. There's hardly enough room for the 38s let alone a whole event !!
"One bus had a baby tiger as it's radiator ornament" The model name was Tiger Cub, hence the badge. Leyland buses of that era and until the 1970s had very ornate radiator badges...
Just to say when you said buses from the thirties, had to check it was 1930s not 1830s. But its great to see the old buses out and been used by everyone.
Excellent. Wish I could still run behind the bus, and just jump on without the conductor having a heart attack. Not that there are any conductors left.
Leyland Titan PD2 was that decker, The 80s double deck was an M class MCW Metrobus, I spotted an AEC Merlin/ Swift single deck in Country livery and a Bristol LH/ BL class in LT livery
In the days when buses had conductors, it was good to hear the ding-ding of the signal for the driver to move on or the ding, to stop at the next bus stop. As a child I couldn’t reach the bell cord on the lower deck but i could use the push button on the upper level.
Kingston's ideal for a bus event as there's no Underground station within the borough's borders - but buses to all sorts of places. Sounds like a great event and made me more than slightly nostalgic for an area I used to live in.
They can't charge passengers apparently! There was the same thing between North weald and Epping, and people were getting on the RT doing their shopping!
As a bus enthusiast of 57 years and a bus driver of 37 years, I really enjoyed this. You should do more!
Subscribe to my channel if you like buses
My late father would have loved this. Whenever we saw a bus from the 50s, he would look carefully at them to see if there was any evidence of his work. His speciality was hand painting the, usually, gold lines that used to be on many older buses. The company also made coaches, and he would construct the wood panelling on the more expensive models.
That feeling when you were young and you run to catch the bus that you just missed, and managing to jump on board before it sped away. Priceless.
Not always fun - I slipped once, doing this. It was raining and I lost my footing as I jumped on. Luckily (or not) I had managed to grasp the pole, but, as the bus accelerated, I was unable to get back onto the platform. As the conductor helpfully watched, unmoving, and apparently unmoved, I gradually slipped down the pole and was dragged for several hundred metres down the road, before facing the inevitable and letting go. I slid along the road for several metres, and then laid there, bruised and grazed (but luckily no worse) in the pouring rain, as the bus toodled off.
Luckily there was no following traffic, so I was able to pick myself up and limp back home.
Judging by my mother's face when she opened the door, I wasn't a pretty sight.
As I wrote that, I was reminded of two similar events.
In the time if the rolling blackouts during the miners' strike, I jumped off the platform some distance before my stop, as I usually did, intending to hit the ground running. It was raining and dark, and I wanted to get home quickly, as one of the blackouts was due.
Unfortunately, my timing was fractionally out and the blackout actually started as I was in mid-air. The street lights abruptly went out and I found myself flying though the air blind! Not being able to see the ground - or much else, I landed badly, slipped and stumbled, and crashed into a tree. Luckily, mum wasn't in when I got home...
My final 'platform experience' was different, but even more potentially lethal. I wanted to get off the bus early, at the nearby shops. The stop was some distance after a large roundabout, and I didn't want to go that far, so I grabbed the pole and leaned out of the bus, ready to jump as we exited the roundabout.
But, bizarrely, the bus didn't exit the roundabout. Presumably the driver was used to driving a different route, which took the second exit, but, realising his mistake just in time, he carried on round the roundabout again, back to the exit he should have taken. But because of the unexpected centrifugal force I was experiencing, I was unable to pull myself back into the safety of the bus - ending up flying right round the roundabout (just missing the metal fence!) like some sort of circus acrobat!
So, no, I don't miss those open platforms at the back at all!
Yes, watching your bus pull away from the stop, but praying that it would have to stop at a red light or zebra crossing further up the road was both stressful and challenging in equal measure!
Although like the other commenter, I did also fall fowl of the perceived freedom offered by the open rear platform. Travelling home from college with a "mate" (more of that in a moment), I wanted to get off our bus outside Clapham Junction Station, from where I could simply walk round the corner to catch my next bus home. Not doing so meant having to wait till the next stop outside Arding and Hobbs department store, then having to cross several busy roads to get to my next stop.
As we often did, we stood on the platform waiting to see if the bus would get stopped at a red light at the bottom of the hill. However, I have no idea how this happened, but as the bus trundled slowly towards the lights, I somehow managed to lose my grip, and slipped off the platform, landing in a crumpled heap in the gutter! The bus carried on with its journey, and I looked up to see my "mate" in hysterics, still standing on the platform! Fortunately, only my pride was hurt, but the lack of concern from anyone at all was conspicuous in its absence! Not even any kindly passers-by were willing to offer any assistance. Anyway, I got up, brushed myself off, and pretended that nothing had happened...as you do.
I did forgive my "mate" though. In fact, we're still friends to this day. 😊
Jago, you simply must make another of these! Then you can splice both episodes together and call it your 'omnibus' edition...
I second the motion! Find-out what bus is what, and make the "Omnibus" edition!
I was out on those buses that day- unlike most of the public I had been looking for a classic bus event in London at some point so had this in my calendar- and I noticed that when one of the old buses was closely following a TfL bus on the same route, people at the bus stops would flag us down instead. It was a nice day out, and their next event will be along the 38 between Victoria, Hackeny and Clapton, I believe in mid-July.
Despite only being 20 years old, there was actually a bus there I remembered from my childhood, a 51-plate Dennis Dart Marshall Capital, the owner said it was from the Lea Interchange garage, and a quick lookup of the reg plate and fleet number on Flickr shows that it could have been seen on the 308 when it was in service, my local route growing up. By far the newest bus there, but the only one that brought back any real memories.
38 is in September
I bet Clapton will see the Cream of the fleet.
How does one find out when these are happening?…
@@jetblakink That generic search engine brings up a Bus Events Diary with dates.
@@jetblakink Search Classic Bus Events, you'll get the calendar. It's worth bookmarking and checking every so often as events get added at fairly short notice and unfortunately some get cancelled at equally short notice.
3:37 the 101 to North Woolwich - the route by grandfather drove, with my grandmother as his conductress. I was once allowed to sit in the driver’s cab of a Routemaster in Upton Park bus garage as a kid.
I hired a Routemaster for my wedding in 2005. It brought back memories of jumping on and off as a 16 year old lad in hackney in 1986.
Yeah mate jumping off the no.22 at the black house in chatsworth Rd corner of clifden Rd where it terminated .
"Listening in on the conversations on the bus - it's fine, I'm doing journalism." Ultimate justification.
Not as good as "it's fine, I'm nosey".
The BL at the end (the little red and white bus) was especially nice to see, as they were always associated with Kingston (including the 71 - on a Sunday Morning).
The Bristol LH ran on the 392 & the 393 from Hoddesdon to Harlow & Ongar. I remember seeing the long version on the W9 but the LH on the 392 & the 393 were replaced by the Leyland National by 1985 though had London Country went with the long version the LH would've had a longer time in service. I rode on the Daimler Fleetline when it was in service on the 217B & the W8.
Used to get the RT from Southall to Ealing to get to school fare 3d one way, 1969
OMG that was OLD 566! OLD 666 was in the Bicycle Repair Man sketch by Monty Python. You almost touched greatness, Jago!
Wonderful to see the Brooklands Museum buses on their day out. Super site for all motor transport, and horse-drawn public transport too. Outside there is the original Brooklands Racetrack (well a bit of it) and across the road, there is a massive (Free to enter) Mercedes car and formula 1 museum, and even a test track to hire ! ! Oh, nearly forgot, there are other activities within the Merc site to take part in too.
i'll never forget crossing New Oxford St in the 70's just as the lights were changing - the roar of three abreast Route Masters as they charged down the road towards me is something i'll always remember... followed by the ear splitting squealing of brakes when they hit the next red.
Some of the best trips on these old London buses have been when some of them have been put into service on normal bus routes during tube strikes in recent years. They seem to come to life with ordinary people riding on them. They quickly fit in with the modern buses and keep up with modern traffic favourably. Seeing them on the streets of London again, just as they did all those years ago brings them to life. We run our preserved bus at a similar event in Cornwall each April. Again they follow the bus routes and mingle with the modern buses from Penzance bus station for the day. Well worth a ride.
As a primary school kid, green RFs on route 434 were the lazy way home. Happy days!
I'm not much of a bus enthusiast either but this is such a lovely idea.
It's a pity Britain's rail networks are already too crowded to be able to do something similar.
Just imagine a parallel universe where for one special day an entire route has half its rolling stock replaced by heritage locomotives and carriages with no extra charge for the regular commuters (besides the acceptance of a potentially delayed schedule)
I wish we lived in that universe... 😅
As a career railwaymen, I'm afraid I don't.
They'd certainly be great to look at and fun to ride, but when you see how many of today's passengers struggle to get on or off today's trains without dropping their kids down the gap or doing equally stupid things, and when you see how many morons think that because there's an old train it's OK for them to go wandering all over the tracks to take photos, you realise that it would be a recipe for disaster to have slam-door stock and historic locos in use. :(
And that's before you worry about accessibility or idiots targeting the event to protest about oil extinction or whatever.
Germany used to do this sort of thing but has basically given up on Plandampf now, and heritage railways are struggling to square the circle of modern safety expectations with historic stock.
Subway, not really a train (although we call them that), but NYC subway runs a couple old trains of various vintages each year for one weekend on one line.
“Buses are the natural enemy of the train”
Cars.
Cars are the natural enemy of everything.
What a lovely little bus video for a change. I’m really a bus nerd first underground nerd second having worked with both. Underground trains for a year, buses for 20+ years. ❤ a little change here and there is nice. And no Charles Jerkes for once 😉
We used to get days like this in North Hertfordshire. It was fun to be in Stevenage Bus Station with a camera ❤. But it hasn't happened for a few years now. Very similar vehicles to the ones seen here but the website for the organisers seems to have disappeared.
Such a shame!
Bob, on one Saturday a month, an RT runs a shuttle from Stevenage Bus Stn to the Farmers Marker. Not a long ride, but they do start in Ware in the morning, and take you back there in the afternoon at the end of the service if you want.
@@brianbell4937 I live in Ware and didn't know this! Which Saturdays do they run? Ironically it's been very difficult to get from Ware to Stevenage by normal buses - the standard route goes all round the villages and takes over an hour. Have recently noticed a 907 service that looks new.
"Smokers Must Occupy Rear Seats" is the bus equivalent of "Dogs Must be Carried" on tube escalators.
Don't try smoking on the Tube either !!
@@simonwinter8839 I am old enough to remember when smoking was allowed on the tube. It was not pleasant!
@@andywarne963 No it wasn't and neither was the Kings Cross fire,the reason for the ban.
Hello Jago, that video was a true “Transport of Delight” - a song about the London Bus by Flanders & Swann. Seeing the red RTs running brought back school days memories of travelling on them on the 194 route - Forest Hill to Croydon Airport, London’s first international airport (the original building still exists) before Heathrow. A friend and I were invited to attend a families day tea party at Chiswick bus works - true Heaven. When I moved from the London area to Oxford, I was surprised to see a sign for a Forest Hill in this area. I admit loving both trains and buses. Good stuff, more of each please Jago.
When you are lost in London
And you don't know where you are
You'll hear my voice a-calling
"Pass further down the car!"
And very soon you'll find yourself
Inside the terminus
In a London Transport, diesel-engined,
Ninety-seven horsepower omnibus
'Seeing the red RTs running brought back school days memories ...' Me too. Mine was route 163 from Parliament Hill Fields to Plumstead Common via Greenwich and Charlton.
🎶 Hold very tight, please - ting ting! 🎶
My school was built on the site of Croydon Airport. We had alot of local history lessons on it!
'Along the Queen's great highway
I drive my merry load
At twenty miles per hour
In the middle of the road
We like to drive in convoys
We're most gregarious
The big six-wheeler, scarlet-painted,
London Transport, diesel-engined,
Ninety-seven horsepower omnibus'.
Some things change. Some don't.
"Anyone can ride on them for free. You can't say fare-er than that" Groan. 🤣 The Routemaster you show at 3:40, RML 2760, was the last one made.
I used to catch the 65 routemaster from Putney Bridge to Kingston every weekday morning and return home on it while studying at Kingston Polytechnic (as it was back then) in the early 1980s, about 1 hour each way if I timed it right. It gave plenty of time to catch up on reading the paper or a book, or doing a bit of extra studying 'en route'. My commute was roughly from Stamford Bridge to Kingston and after an experimental tube and Network Southeast venture I settled into the 14 and 65 combo, with occasional sallies onto the 11 if it came first on my return journey. Of course those were the 'good old days' of (Ken Livingstone's?) Fares Fair policy, at least briefly. Happy days indeed.
Apparently it was on the 85, not 65, see below!
Would that not have been the 85 route from Kingston to Putney Bridge? I used to use it myself a lot in the early 70s. The 65 went from Kingston to Ealing.
The 65 didn't go to Putney. In the days I drove them (1970s.80s) they ran from Chessington Zoo (now the World of Adventures) to Ealing Broadway (extended to Argyle Road in the peak hours) via the Copt Gilders Estate Chessington - Surbiton - Kingston - Ham - Richmond - Kew - Brentford. The 85 ran from Putney Bridge to Kingston via Roehampton.
Oops, I stand corrected - many thanks @PreNeanderthal. In my defense it was a while ago! I probably did take the 65 from Kingston to Richmond after hours, or to change onto the District line at Richmond for Earls Court. Memory is a curious thing…
And the 'Fares Fair' policy was destroyed by Bromley Council.
Thank you fabulous!
If you go on the Epping and Ongar Railway (as I did last October when I was in the UK), they run old LT red and country green buses between Epping Underground Station and the North Weald station (EOR)
Keep rolling along, greetings from Ontario
1:30 We had Roe-bodied AEC Regent IIIs in Leeds when I was a kid. They ousted the trams, and we no longer had the wonderful ride through Middleton Woods (including what Keith Waterhouse refers to as the Murder Woods in _There is a Happy Land_ ).
2:40 Upstairs on Regent IIIs and other Leeds buses around that time were signs declaring "spitting prohibited". I didn't get annoyed: I reserved my expectoration for downstairs; I was being phlegmatic.
3:09 A friend (now dead - not passed - properly dead) was a well-known author. Going out for coffee or a meal with her could be embarrassing as she would listen in to people's conversations, and then talk about the interesting bits quite loudly. It amused me to see how these events had made it to her pages, but when I discovered myself only slightly disguised in Chapter 3 of _Passion among the Paeonies_ I stopped reading her books.
There is a transport museum not far from me in Wythall. At this time of year I often pass excursion buses from the museum on my way to the supermarket at Maypole.
Spike Milligan limerick:
There was a young man from Dealing
Who caught the bus for Ealing
It said on the door: "Don't spit on the floor!" So he jumped up and spat on the ceiling.
As a man of a certain vintage I remember the days of Green & Red Rover tickets. I was not rural enough & close to only one route to take advantage of the former, however during the Summer holidays all many of adventures & new locations were available for a flat fare.
"A London Transport, diesel engine, 97 horse power omnibus" Not that I that old to remember them, Routemasters were ubiquitous during my childhood.
Hello Mr Jago
First time commenter, superb video as always. I too was at this event but spent most of my time hopping about in the Kingston, Surbiton, Hook & Chessington area. Hope you enjoyed your day.
You mentioned you aren't especially a bus enthusiast, and if the day arises you might like to learn more, feel free to get in touch.
Two of my friends had their buses out and about on the day. SM88 (AML88H) @03:21 and BL88 (OJD88R) @4:15
The first vehicle I ever drove was an AEC Regent (RT) it was at North Weald Airfield which was at the time innthe 80s owned by LT for training purposes. During the airshow they had the opportunity to drive one for a pound. So with a crisp pound note extracted from my dad, off I went aged about 8 or 9.
Also have fond memories of Routemasters and various Bristol buses used around Essex.
thanks Jago, you are the extra row of seats to my RML
That green Leyland "something" double-decker is from Winchester. A 'King Alfred' bus service vehicle, (a local company, all gone now). I would ride sometimes on that very bus to or from school as a boy. I was pleasantly surprised to see it here on this video.
It may be of some interest then that there's an organisation called Friends of King Alfred Buses, who have apparently saved every surviving King Alfred Motor Services bus and even made a couple of pseudo KAMS. vehicle to look like missing ones.
They run them in Winchester at various times of the year, recreating the old routes as they were in the fifties and sixties.
@@dancedecker Cresta Coaches at Wimbledon had at least on ex King Alfred Tiger Cub ? I think it got scrapped before FOKAB had got going.
@@highpath4776 That's interesting. Thanks.
Had a quick look and it lists a Cresta Coaches in Wimbledon, but also a company with same name, running in Winchester too, which confuses the issue a bit.
But FoKAB formed in 1985, so yes, probably it went before they could get hold of that one.
But I think they do have one of her sisters, so all is not lost.
@@dancedecker Cresta indeed had two operating centres and licences , I have info in PSV Circle news sheets and one of the Passenger Transport (later Ian Allan buses "little red book" somewhere. Wimbledon didnt have many coach companies, Hall and Co of Durnsford Road ( later one vehicle on licence which was actually based at LC Davis in Mitcham that had acquired the company). Wimbledon Belle coaches for a while were in the group that owned the London Terminal coach station but then ended up with Mitcham Belle in Fred Wilde''s ownership. Guidline of Battersea for a while parked up at Haydons Road Station Goods yard as did a couple of one man operators whos offices were in the Raynes Park Area, Ewer Group had acquired United Service Transport of Southfields but had cloase it down, later to re start with the ownership of World Wide Coaches with a large Mercedes fleet parked off Plough Lane roughly where Pets at Home is now. (they moved more to Coldharbour Lane and were sold to Wahl which I think became Redwings ). Our coaches for school trips would be Barbers of Mitcham (at Goat Road,) sometimes Duvals ( RACs) , or Claremont of Worchester Park. Ir mum wanted posh for the ladies club days out it was Chivers of Wallington (who always seemed to have one ex Glenton centre entrance vehicle in the fleet ) or Fountain/Isleworth coaches.
It is really nice seeing the older busses out and running.
And really makes you notice that back 30-40 years ago there was just ALOT more variety of busses even up here in the north where there was old bristols from the 1960's running along side newer leylands and Dennis. These days it's the same few busses made by 2 manufacturers. There is only 2 busses left from my town's old council fleet, A leyland double decker and a old bristol that once had a special roof orniments and called the "Santa bus" it got close to being scrapped but it's now being restored to running condition and it's blood and custard livery.
Aw the good old London Bus museum. Went in there with a friend of mine last year - we must have looked like a classic pair of nerdy anoraks because we’d been inside five minutes and were thoroughly engrossed in the “bus safety training” videos until a very nice man tapped us on the shoulders and eagerly pointed us towards the routemaster tour around weybridge 😂 worth the extra couple of quid and, as you say, a good time was had by all 😁
There was a similar event on 2 April in High Wycombe. I was broken down - dead battery - so was unable to explore this much, but it was great to see London Country buses plying their old routes. RTs, AEC Regal and a few others I only caught glimpses of.
What a wonderful idea, congratulations to the bus museum! Also an excellent idea to record it on a YT video. I'm also not a bus nerd, but it's nice to be able to recall one's youth spent on such machines. I remember the smelly and very sooty exhaust which many of them discharged into your ankles as you walked past.
As a child of the 60s and 70s' the Routemaster and its predecessor, were my transports of delight for a number of years. Since their disappearance, I had a couple of occasions to ride the old timers again during Routemaster 60. I also went to a Camberwell bus garage open day a few years' ago, but they did not put on any excursions.
Those old buses are iconic great to see them in service
We've enjoyed this style of event yearly here in Edinburgh for many years. Extra fun, it often runs the route out to the seaside at Portobello for a Cliff Richardesque fun time.
But as a an originally SW London boy (CoasterDad) this video was lovely to see.
Love the old buses, they have class . Thanks for the video
Lovely to see my old stamping grounds around Kingston as a student, and brought back happy memories of some of the buses I used then (50 years back!). Makes me wonder if there would be scope for regular heritage bus services in say, some of the leafier suburbs on Summer Saturdays. The Routemasters would seem up for it!
Lovely video , I have been to Brookland's museum it is a great day out and stood on the famous banked race track apart from sitting on Concord , the museum is worthy of a video in its self.
My old home ground. I used the 65 (and 71) routes frequently to get from Chessington to wherever mainly on the RTs but later on the RMs when they were eventually introduced. The green RT buses were generally liveried as London Country as I remember and would take one to Epsom and beyond.
406 mainly
@@highpath4776 same here. I remember having to get the 406 but not the 418 (because that went a different route).
Events like this are always enjoyable to bring back memories of our younger days.
I was there too! I go to these often. Very enjoyable!
Thank you Jago for sharing this episode and taking me along with you. Cheers from California 😊
I'm one of London's longest serving bus workers. I started in 1974 as a bus operating trainee when I was 17.I was basically a tea boy.Every department they sent me to I had to make the tea.This only lasted for six months until I was 18 when I became a conductor at Stockwell garage. At 22 I became a driver and have been driving buses ever since. I am now 66 and as I write these lines am just about to start work on a 417(Crystal Palace to Clapham Common) operating from Norwood Garage. Talking of Norwood garage does anyone remember London Transport's star crew,a husband and wife, "Tommy "Thompson the driver and his wife Dotty.They appeared on the popular children's TV programme Blue Peter where presenter Leslie Judd learned how to conduct a bus.
The Thomson's were a regular sight on Norwood garage's 137 route and Tommy always wore a dickie bow but never a cap. Probably because he had a fine head of silver hair to show off, unlike me as I'm now bald !! If anyone remembers them please leave a comment. Got to go,I can hear Blakey shouting oi baldy get that 417 outa here !!
I recently sat on the top deck of a Routemaster, on the lovely little tour from Waterloo to Waterloo, which is something I wanted to do when I visited recently after I saw it in one of Jago's previous videos. To anyone wondering, I can confirm being on the top deck is extremely bouncy, but I wouldn't have it any other way. The modern buses just can't hold a candle to the Routemaster and the RT bus
The one at 1.38 is the livery of London Country Buses which I remember from the 70s when I first moved out of London to live in the sticks.
I live in Dublin but i would've loved this
.......great again Jago
Seeing the routemaster brings back memories of the night about 40 years ago, when I was travelling on one from Islington to Dalston with a friend. We were both fairly drunk after (probably) a night out at the Hope and Anchor. Standing on the rear platform ready to get off at the stop across the road from Dalston Junction station, the bus went round the slight bend at the junction of Balls Pond Road and Kingsland High St, and my friend fell off, landing sprawled in the middle of the road. I jumped off too, did a bit of a backwards somersault and dragged her out of the road before she got run over. The conductor stopped the bus as soon as she saw us getting off (the signal for the driver to make an emergency stop was fast repeated ringing of the bell) . An ambulance was called and my friend and I were taken to the Hackney hospital. The bus crew (and everyone else involved, no doubt) didn't believe she'd fallen and I'd jumped to try and save her life - they thought we'd jumped off to save walking back from the bus stop (which wasn't an uncommon thing to do in those days, on those buses). Luckily I wasn't injured, as I don't think I would have got much sympathy. My friend, fortunately, wasn't badly injured either. Just one of many ridiculous drunken incidents in my time in that part of the world 😀
Knew we'd get you onto buses eventually, Jago
I approve no end.... lol
Nice bit of variety there! I will await future videos on the architecture of bus shelters! 😄
I thoroughly applaud your branching out into bus enthusiasm as well as railways Mr J..... Now, if we could get you looking at aircraft, and drinking real ale, you could be a member of the Weekly Wind-up group (based in London with a northern branch in Yorkshire) where "beer and buses, planes & trains" folk gather to drink and discuss such matters....... I don't remember the RT's on the 65s (yes, the bus you thought was a Regent was indeed so) but i do the Routemasters and Metrobuses .But i did ride on RT's in East London where i grew up, and where they finished their days out at Barking in 1979.....
Hi Jago from Spain. In Sarfend in the late 50s we had a couple of AEC Regent single deckers that had been used as ambulances during the war (Yes I know I shouldn't mention the war.) One of them was converted to One Man Operation with a sort of Heath-Robinson contraption so that the driver could operate the door which had been converted from a sliding door to a bi-fold.
Regents were always double deck, but perhaps they'd been rebodied? The standard single deck from AEC was the Regal & there would have been a lot of those around at the time. London Transport had a large fleet of them pre-war & a number were taken out of service (as coaches) in the late 30s. Most would have been xcrapped, but some were sold on or requisitioned for war work.
Brings back some bus memories. There were two bus routes through Crowthorne, the 3 from Reading to Camberley via Wokingham, and the 53 from Windsor to Camberley via Bracknell. Both operated by Thames Valley. Going to Reading seemed to take ages but useful if trains weren't running. The bus station at Bracknell had a small cafe which would be a nice place to get a cup of tea. The buses still run afaik, but I don't know who operates them.
Probably still Thamss Valley, but not the same company you knew. It's a subsidiary of Reading Buses these days.
The problem for me is that these events never seem to get advance publicity - we had such a day where classic buses were run on two local routes - 174 and 1975 - but the local newspaper only mentioned it a week later. Is there a database which gives advance notice of events in London?
@@JP_TaVeryMuch Many thanks
The single-decker at thec4:25 mark is an ex-London Transport Bristol LH (OJD 88R, fleet number BL88). There were to types of the LH bought by LT,. They had 17 of the shortened version, the LHS, and the standard length LH which were about 4ft longer than the LHS. They were all built to 7ft 6in wide, the width of the chassis, compared to the standard 8ft 2in width. This was because some of the routes were along narrow roads and also because of the restricted space at the Kingston depot. BL88 was also once of the last ones to be delivered.
There was a similar event here in Barking in 2019 with RT1s running the 62 route 40 years after they'd been withdrawn from service at Barking bus garage. I hadn't been aware of it so it was a lovely surprise to not just see them but to be able to hop on for a trip to the supermarket and back. 😀
Love it! For me the AEC Regent is THE classic London bus. Bouncing down lea Bridge Road flat out at 40mph! And the fun of getting up chingford mount! Novice drivers made the mistake of trying to charge up it in 3rd gear, but that only worked if it was lightly loaded and they got a good run at it. Ah, happy days
Thank you for the video, I wish I had the chance to ride on some of those buses. And I really enjoy all of your videos!
A shame this can no longer be done with Trolleybuses unless one visits a Living Museum. My favourite bus both to travel in and drive was an RT, light, quick and manoeuvrable as a driver and comfortable as a passenger, unless 80-90+ school kids crammed into one when the morning school bus (a long diversion to avoid a low bridge). The afternoon ones were the normal service RF's, the local schools had staggered finish times and many after school clubs.
I used to ride the RTs when they served the 65 route from Ealing Argyle Road to Ealing Broadway on my way to school in the early 1970s - so a marvellous nostalgic sight - thanks for this one!
We did the Putney and Hendon ones.
Ended up in a nice pub both times and a great time was had by all.
Prices very reasonable as well 😀
The "smokers must occupy the rear seats" notice reminds me of the old "dogs must be carried" joke.
When I was a lad, the bus museum at Brooklands used to be at Cobham.
The first time thing I ever drove was an AEG Regent.
I'd love to drive an AEC Regent bus but I'll probably never be so lucky.
In that case, perhaps an AEG appliance might be a consolation prize.😂
You are quite right about the ventillation.
What a delight! So much fun. Glad you got to go, so I could share the experience...
3:50 someone bent Concorde!
Thanks again for another diverting video!
I must admit, even though I'm more into trains, I'd love to ride an old bus.
Excellent content buses are nice too I remember as a tiny tot being amazed at all the different liveries -green and cream for South Downs, red and ivory in Southampton and portsmouth, green for Hants and dorset Yellow and maroon in Bournemouth. My mother didnt drive until 1980 so we went on a lot of buses
some lovverly buses, some of which i can remember from my short trousers years..but the quick glance of my favourite flying machine nearly brought a tear to my eye....Thanks Jago!
Whilst railways are my jam, I like the idea of a day of routes being operated by vintage vehicles.
Routemasters and the occasional Regent were a significant part of my childhood, but it's funny the way memory works. I remember Routemasters as looking distinctly more modern, but of which visual cues I was using to determine modernity, I now have almost no idea. Maybe it'll come to me later, suddenly, in the middle of the night when I don't want to be disturbed. But probably not, these things tend to come back to me slowly. I'm already thinking the bus with the more vertical grille must have been the older one. The paint jobs they're now in don't help; both types were in the same livery in my day.
I saw your thumbnail Jago and thought crikey that’s a green line bus outside C&A. Of course it’s Wilco now. It reminded me of the late 60’s when a family member got married in a green suit. Very fashionable then! People thought he’d got a job as a green line bus conductor. 😂 Just to say my knowledge of busses is par with yours, but it bought back some memories. RT Routmaster is about my limit. Just to add in those days as an 8 year old I could travel on a brand new routemaster 205 from Wimbledon to Heathrow airport for a day out. Via Kingston. Thanks always enjoy your vids, this one was my old stomping grounds. 😂😂😊
If you want to ride buses from the Brooklands Museum, check that they are actually running before you visit. I think (from memory) they only run during school holidays.
Has no-one opened a trolley bus museum? There are some tram museums around the UK.
Try the East Anglia Transport Museum - nice collection of trams and trolley buses!
As an American that's never ridden any of those makes of buses, I still found watching this fascinating.
I'd love to have the chance to ride some of those someday, especially the double deckers, which you never see around here.
Even without a lot of info about them, this was still a very enjoyable video for me, so thanks for that.
Sitting on the upper deck when the bus goes three quarters around a roundabout takes a lot of trust and courage.
There should be some still in Vancover, Los Angeles (run by a university) and I think there is one at the tourist attraction where London Bridge is
When you pointed out "Kingston, not the one in Jamaica" and one of the old double decker buses was shown that moment, I had to immediately think of the Bond movie "Live and Let Die", where the upper deck of one of these buses is sheered off by a low bridge. That scene was filmed in Jamaica.
I love vintage buses they're great for weddings❤
There is a similar event run in Glasgow by the Glasgow Vintage Vehicle Trust (25th June is the next one) - plus they also do regular open days at the bus garage. I think old buses remind us of our days as kids... going to school or perhaps heading into town, all whilst having a sneaky B&H at the back lol!
Lothian Buses organise regular running days for their historic collection, and some guests, and they too have them running on regular bus routes. We get to pay regular fares though.
I am a bus enthusiast but also interested in trains and trams. Very much enjoyed this video. More coverage of running days would be welcome!
An interesting diversion to an omnibus edition On The Buses. I don't know much about buses either but I know a few people with a PSV liscence and I've heard stories about manual clutches and manual steering putting hairs on your chest.
I grew up with Leyland Atlanteans.
YSG 101 was the oldest running service bus in Scotland. It was owned by Lothian Regional Transport when it was finally retired.
I used to watch On The Buses as a kid with dad. We loved it.
Roy Hudd did a marvellous News Huddlines sketch about a bus driver seeing an angel dancing on his bonnet and used phrases like 'Frien Barnet' and 'Green Line to Welwyn Garden City' and 'Convey a gift of some Brussels Sprouts to her mother.' That was decades ago too, but it was sheer poetry.
3:07 That white car is strangely animated chasing the bus.
I never understood the low class humour of that show-but as I got older i realised the way to enjoy it was to appreciate how badly written [and acted] it was.
@@rick11960 Indeed! And the humour defines the nation.
Excellent, last time I was back in the UK went down to Amberley museum for their bus day. That's always worth a visit and you can get there by train the station is opposite.
AEC for the win, all round. Lovely Routemasters, Regents, and I think I saw a Swift too. I love those old busses - Leyland and Bristol not so much. The AEC rolling frame was designed specifically to be a bus, whereas a lot of the old Leylands and Bristols were, basically a standard goods lorry chassis with a passenger friendly body strapped on top... and boy did you feel like a sack of spuds when you went over a bump in one.
I feel so old… Used to travel on quite a few of the 1950's - 1980's buses. The AEC Regal single deckers were still running in north London in the early to mid '70's along with the unreliable (but I still love them) AEC Merlin. Must take my old Dinky model and take a picture of it on the Merlin Drive street sign in Sandy, Beds one day. Although judging by the fact that the RSPB are based along the road, I can safely say that the road is not named after an unreliable bus from the late '60's… Love the upload.
There were similar green Leyland buses on the Isle of Wight when we used to holiday there as kids in the 60's. Shanklin to Ventnor.
My family and I love the Vintage Buses in London. I had the privilege of seeing one when I was there.
I rode the MCWs before.
childhood memory… all the way from hong kong😊 very lovely it is very well preserved and actually functional!
Last summer I was at a classic bus event from the Victoria bus station. They were all inter-city buses, not urban transit vehicles. Quite fascinating but they weren't picking up passengers on the streets. I was at a classic bus thing at Brooklands a few years ago and was surprised to see a yellow North American style school bus. I'm a train and classic car guy but my friend is a tram and bus guy so we went to the show and again, I foudn it fascinating. One bus had a baby tiger as it's radiator ornament-very cool!
Are you sure you don't mean Victoria Coach Station?
I can't see an event like that taking place at Victoria Bus Station. There's hardly enough room for the 38s let alone a whole event !!
@@simonwinter8839 Yes, it was from the coach station. Thanks!
"One bus had a baby tiger as it's radiator ornament"
The model name was Tiger Cub, hence the badge. Leyland buses of that era and until the 1970s had very ornate radiator badges...
Just to say when you said buses from the thirties, had to check it was 1930s not 1830s. But its great to see the old buses out and been used by everyone.
There’s nothing like the sound of a Routemaster to get my hairs standing up! Well, what’s left of them.
What an excellent event, you've brought back happy memories for those of us advanced in years, many thanks Jago!
Excellent. Wish I could still run behind the bus, and just jump on without the conductor having a heart attack. Not that there are any conductors left.
Leyland Titan PD2 was that decker, The 80s double deck was an M class MCW Metrobus, I spotted an AEC Merlin/ Swift single deck in Country livery and a Bristol LH/ BL class in LT livery
In the days when buses had conductors, it was good to hear the ding-ding of the signal for the driver to move on or the ding, to stop at the next bus stop. As a child I couldn’t reach the bell cord on the lower deck but i could use the push button on the upper level.
Bit left field for you sir ,but as always presented with your usual enthusiasm , jolly well done sir .
Kingston's ideal for a bus event as there's no Underground station within the borough's borders - but buses to all sorts of places.
Sounds like a great event and made me more than slightly nostalgic for an area I used to live in.
Yes! I also remember trolley buses in Kingston, as a cyclist in the 1960s they weren't so smelly! 😂
Was a nice event!
Love a vintage running day, we have a great garage in Glasgow, the GVVT
Wow, what a fab event! Thanks for showing it to us!
If you ever fancy a nice day out on the Isle of Wight, they have the same sore of event on the Isle too, and free to travel even better.
Thanks Jago...i remember those small buses being used in Sutton in 1970s..and i'm glad any council jobsworth did stop them on this special day.
They can't charge passengers apparently! There was the same thing between North weald and Epping, and people were getting on the RT doing their shopping!