One thing I like is how clean it is underneath. It’s not just the shiny on top that counts. Spotted the two spare belts tied up underside. Very sensible move. Thanks for another interesting vid. As always, look forward to the next instalment.
The brakes in full efficiency and the bus will stop very quickly. Tell me about it, I used to work as a conductor on Routemaster buses. One day one of the passengers dinged the bell four times and the driver, well basically stood it on its nose..! I ended up banging my head of fee front bulkhead, oh and paying in short as the change went everywhere. Enjoyed the video it brought back lots of memories. Happy days.!
Nitrogen makes up 80% of the atmosphere we breathe already. Maybe you meant to say 'Breathing air where much or all of the Oxygen has been displaced for a length of time can be fatal.' In a space the size of your workshop emptying the whole Nitrogen bottle even with the doors closed would have no appreciable effect. Your caution is still valid for confined spaces. Interesting video on these old workhorses. Thanks. Thumbs up.
These videos are not only highly entertaining, they're of educational value. Each one is a brilliant contribution to the preservation of culture through documenting the progress of mechanics and engineering through history. I especially enjoyed the reason for choosing this system. When I watch videos on older engineering, I always wonder why things were done a particular way if it seems like another way might also work.
Im a new recruit to your channel and I love it. Brilliant videos. I think the work you do is brilliant, and I for one, love to see these old buses kept alive. I do so hope you can keep hold of those small round bulbs that illuminate the inside of the bus up. @19:58 and you'll see what I mean. Such a warm and lovely welcoming Glow to the insides. I would hate to see LED's in there as a replacement. I also felt genuinely chuffed to bits when 'she' passed the brake test. Awesome! I applaud you all. keep up the good and great work that your doing.
My team did a lot of work for LTE in Nottingham, including RM refurbishment and component rebuilds. We used to overhaul front boats, gearboxes and all the sub components. Part of the LT sign off was testing the braking system with gauges on the hydracylic system so you could monitor the cut out operation. Like you we used nitrogen to refill accumulators. Your initial comments about why LT demanded this form of brakes ommited one major reasoning behind it. As traffic concentration in the city increased and hence more brake applications, the conventional air brakes systems depleted air too quickly and this resulted in the flag dropping, necessitating the driver select neutral and rev up to rebuild before proceeding. In dense traffic areas like Regent Street/ Oxford Street this resulted in clouds of diesel fumes and great concern over air pollution. Colin Curtis remained adamant that modern air brakes were untenable for inner London for years, despite considerable technical advances until they were finally persuaded to trial Leyland Nationals with all air braking. The Titan was also developed with hydracylic systems for this reason and the crippling cost of it prevented Leyland Bus from being able to sell the Titan B15 to other UK operators. Hence the lesser expensive Olympian was created for the majority of NBC and municipal customers. Good videos there chaps. Invoked memories.
Thoroughly interesting to see what is underneath the RM, it's workings and maintenance. Enjoyed every part of this film. I was surprised when you remained underneath the bus when the engine was turned over and running. That AEC AV590 has that unmistakable sound and was so much a part of the sounds of London as a child.
I recently watched a video about hydraulic brakes on the Toyota Prius. There are remarkable similarities. Since the hybrid drive shuts down under certain conditions, you don't have a constant vacuum source for typical hydraulic brakes. The system uses a hydraulic pump and a gas filled pressure accumulator so that the brake pedal can be pressed multiple times without needing a constant external energy source.
I was thinking the same thing about the Toyota Hybrid brake system. It’s a bit more complex than pure hydraulic though. When switching on the power from rest, you can usually here it run up the electric pressure pump a bit. Then it does it’s own sums to ‘blend’ regenerative braking and hydraulic, and engine braking if you select that, as you go along - including what pressure to use, such as ermergency braking. It’s ‘brake by wire’ as it were, not a conventional foot operated brake. Works well on my Yaris.
Great video, but at 14:49 I question your statement of nitrogen being at all dangerous. Every time you breathe, 78% of the air that enters your lungs is nitrogen. The only way that nitrogen could be at all dangerous is if you were inside a completely sealed vessel, or an underground tank where a LOT of nitrogen would be required to displace all the oxygen. My favorite part was when you were arriving at the commercial test depot with the interior lights on. Took me back to my childhood for a moment when the bus would arrive on a cold wintry morning with that lovely warm interior glow. I also seem to remember that the buses of yore always had a certain interior smell to them - not bad, just distinctive.
Brings back memories when I was in New Zealand just south of Christchurch I came across two Routmasters on a tour. I spoke to the owner and he said he had five of them for tourist trips
@@Routemaster4Hire Never before or since has so much time and money been spent on a bus' development, all angles were covered, passenger & crew comfort, ease of maintenance, engineering standards ensuring interchangeability of parts, etc. I think some will still be running at 100 years of age, if properly looked after.
It amazes me how wonderful the old diesels start up with such ease, Modern vehicles will be lucky if it even reaches 20 years let alone 55-60 years. I miss olden days when things was built to last not like today's world.
This is a yes and no response to your comment and being 66 years old and having worked in the bus and coach industry for 46 years I think I am qualified to comment. Yes the older vehicles were built very heavy and with a lot of engineering redundancy as rebuilding components was the normal practice due to the much higher manufacturing costs and lower labour costs. Longevity of heavy transport components has actually improved if they are properly maintained due to the better materials used in there manufacture but what hasnt improved is reliability and most of this is down to complex componentry being used to improve emmissions and control systems that once had simple mechanical control. The advent of computerised controls has seen a massive increase in power delivery for a given engine size so smaller engines can do the job that larger more polluting units used to do. Its true that we are more wasteful these days in not designing components to be rebuilt but that reflects two things That components need to be much lighter to aid in fuel efficiency and emmission control and that labour costs are much higher as a percentage of total mantenance costs. Change is never easy to deal with but you have to keep an open mind.
@@alistairshanks5099 I do always keep an open mind, but find these day's such as white goods regardless of price are rubbish quality, a friend had replaced a alternator twice as both units failed within 2 years of each other. These days most items are NOT repairable and i think that's where we are going wrong as often things end up in landfill.
Old diesels run so long because they don't make a bunch of power. Horsepower kills engines. Modern diesels are marvels of engineering. Even relatively small TDs in modern pickup trucks make 500 hp and 1000 lb ft. That's likely triple what these old engines make, and the new ones, especially with synthetic oil technology will easily run as long as these old engines. What kills modern diesels and makes them such pigs, of course, is government-mandated emissions controls. They've managed to just about negate any return on investment of owning a modern diesel, since almost all of them will suffer debilitating reliability issues due exclusively to emissions failure.
Thank you so much for this! It was really helpful to confirm that what I've been doing with RML2650 for the last decade is correct. It's hard to get experts in Texas.
@@Routemaster4Hire you are probably right… I lived in Whitehall road next to Thornton Heath Bus Garage and I remember South Croydon Garage well.. The buses used to drive past my house until my dad got a petition together to make it one way.. The reason was because the single deckers had a money tray next to the driver and the money rattled as it went past our house and woke my dad up 5am in the morning.. this was around 1975/76.. I collect classic Cadillacs but would love to have a Routemaster..
Another very informative video. Thank you Dave & Tim for showing us what you get up to underneath one of your immaculate Routemaster buses. Look forward to the next one!
Saw this on my feed. Great channel and well made videos. Never realised the Routemaster had independent front suspension until now. Every day's a school day.
Another very interesting video. Do like seeing the 190 route blinds on the buses and the South Croydon garage codes. As this was one of my favourite route to school and walking round the outside of the garage to see what was going on. Especially the workshop at the very back of the garage. (you never new what you mite find).. Keep up the good work gents. 👍
Hi guys thank you once again for a excellent video. Very interesting to see how the braking system works on a route master. Keep the videos coming I’ll look forward to the next one. Thank you for the outtakes as well really enjoyed them. So keep up the good work guys by the way the microphone managed to pick up every background noise that we the viewers needed to listen out for.
That braking system is really interesting and advanced. I work for Lexus and most of our models now run a similar system, with a hydraulic booster pump and an accumulator charged with nitrogen to keep pressure. We get about 40 pumps before pressure is discharged. I wish the booster/accumulator was serviceable, because they're expensive to replace when they (very rarely) fail.
That warning about nitrogen being fatal if you breathe it in must be for the lawyers, considering most air is almost 80% nitrogen 😂😂, not compressed of course, and if you’ve let out so much that the oxygen is displaced there are probably other problems as well 😂😂. Interesting and entertaining vid nonetheless.
Enjoyed this video guy's, never thought of bus maintenance, those ramps made the hair on my neck stand up tbh... thats a lot of bus up in the air on a stand.... cheers, Alex.
This is the first time I've seen a direct correlation between some of the components I and direct operations I learned in my hydraulic schooling cross over to civilian products 👍maybe a bus mechanic would be a good gig I ever find myself that way.
So interesting watching you lot looking after your amazing fleet 👍 i love your humour and the outtakes at the end!!! Keep up the such awesome work,id love to spend the day with you in your garage 👍👍
Fascinating! I wonder how modern brake systems work. It's hard to believe e.g. Chicago Transit Authority has a pair of guys that knows about accumulators and pushing the brake the exact correct number of times.
Excellent video. I am a transport enthusiast, more inclined to railways than buses, but I was very impressed by your standard of maintenance. I never realised that the RMs had a brake system like that, so well done keeping those lovely buses going. AEC was a great manufacturer of commercial vehicles of many types, and it is a pity they are no more.
I used to have an uncle and aunt live between Croydon and Addington. She was so proud of No. 64 route being one of the first to get a Routemaster. Also don’t the slack adjusters need attention if they aren’t doing their job properly?
Isn't normal air made up of 78% Nitrogen? Admittedly, if you were to replace all of the oxygen with nitrogen, it would cause hypoxia, but that would take more than a small bottle in such a large space. The exhaust fumes are much more dangerous IMHO.
My local tire shop wanted me to pay for filling my car tires with 100% nitrogen. I told them I wanted to stay with the 78% nitrogen mix, as that is my preference. They asked me where I got it, and I told them it is available at all petrol stations for a nominal fee of €0. They didn't get the joke...🤣
Hello Mark. This is a Routemaster- RM- not an RT, which was the predecessor to the RM and a totally different bus with air brakes, preselector gearbox and no power steering !
Loving these videos guys, thank you, I know how much time and effort goes into putting films like this together. They're really insightful to watch and it's great to hear about the many innovations on these buses that made them so advanced in their day... and still! My seven year old (future engineer) is loving watching the videos with me and I block his ears for the bloopers, ha ha!! He wants me to buy an RM...! It's also interesting reading the comments from the time served LT people - the whole system that used to be operated was incredible in my mind, and Aldenham and Chiswick no doubt kept these wonderful vehicles young. They were never the same when that era ended. She's a beautiful bus and looking forward to more instalments and hearing those wonderful AEC sounds ;-)
i love that you will not spare anything for safety that is how it must be an a very good video i wish we did more testing like this in the states that is also a very nice bus
Real old school route masters ACTUALLY had the conductor do the braking, he threw a fortress anchor of the back. My Sister from another mister’s rickrolling grandpa said that’s how they did it back in the day to save doing this braking system maintenance, also down to a few strikes the ship workers were having and the few who decided bus work was way more frequented with ladies who don’t charge u like the ones at the docks. Downfall was that to retrieve the anchor the driver had to enter reverse gear and back up slowly while the conductor recoiled the anchor line and chain, communicating the the distance (don’t wanna run over it) to the driver by tapping out Morse code on the body of the bus, people remained silent as they knew how to behave in public. Driver could feel it as the engine up close on his side. Then when the conductor gave the Duh - Duh - Duh Duh - Duh - Duh - Duh wow. The driver then knew to slam into 1st, and the passengers could carry on chatting about how much it means to be a good citizen….. Oddly enough when this system was in place I would bet money that the wild animals such as rats cats and dogs in London was an incredible amount less than it is now. Maybe they should bring it back? “I just got the bus to work, it makes me feel so council” said in complete jest…. This girl didn’t speak to me for 3 maybe 6 mths at work in a team of 7.
I would really love to visit GB one day, but while the rest of my tour group was oogiling over Buckingham Palace, or Big Ben and places like that, I'd want to visit garages like these!
The braking system on these seems similar to a Citroen. Not super hard to work on, just different. And if you use the wrong fluids it causes a heap of trouble! I used to have an Audi 100 with hydraulically boosted brakes. It used conventional brake fluid; the accumulator and pump were only for servo assistance. It's nice you take your passenger's safety seriously.
I work on vintage buses over here in the states. Mainly gm 4104’s crowns and gilligs but there was a guy that brought one of these in for service last year and it was converted to air brakes. We had no idea how to work on it due to never seeing one in person before. Took the boss a ton of research and calling someone in london to help us figure out how to work on it. That brake test at the end is odd to us, we road test our buses to check the brakes after adjustment. We check at 5mph, 15mph, 25mph, 50mph and 65mph for pulling or uneven stopping
Amazing that such a system was thought better than a traditional hydraulic brake system. I guess the need for a fail safe brake system is the main reason.
I used to drive one of these with brakes that faded away the longer you drove and the hotter the bus got. It turned out that a non return valve was missing from the system.
Well, thank you to the algorithm for recommending a really interesting video. I would have liked a brief look at a few schematics of the braking system to fully understand the works of it.
My dad used to drive route 101 out of East Ham Bus garage in the 1950/60. I would go with him sometimes, He would take a break at Becton gas works he'd let me sit in the cab and tell me not to press the brake peddle I always would to watch the stop sign drop down. But I cant remember pressing it 32 times only a few presses would bring it down. when dad got back in the cab he'd tap on the window and give me the LOOK
My father was a London bus mechanic in the 1950s and then when he moved back to Glasgow he worked with Glasgow transport as a bus mechanic he also worked with Alexander’s buses in Milngavie just outside Glasgow my older brother worked there as a diesel mechanic many years ago now
I don't know why I was suggested this video on YT, but apart from jumping on and off of these buses as a kid, I served my apprenticeship in Southall not that far away from the AEC factory! I also did a small amount of work at Acton Tech College on a Leyland engine from one of these as part of my City & Guilds. Im guessing they used accumulators on these instead of compressed air for passenger & pedestrian noise comfort?
Great show, men at work. Thought you would have checked the brake action 17:19 first, before any other work. Got to see if the pistons move before any adjustment.
Very interesting video thanks. I must admit, I wouldn't be keen standing under there when a quarter of the weight is being supported on just that single pin in the axle stand!
As an apprentice I always had a 9/16” AF spanner and 12mm spanner at hand for “pulling up” brakes at MOT, even after adjusting them at pre MOT inspection, the time you got into test hall you always asked if you could “jump down and pull them up” the Volvo z cam was a different story though, they were a terrible braking system for trucks
Me too and most of the time I was hauling 20 tons or better and I always sneaked around and set my own brakes. Diesel trucks, dumpers and tandems and trailer pullers and never had an issue but almost all were air systems. Doesn't look like a lot of weight savings between this air and your hydraulic but maybe enough to make it worthwhile. I always tightened the slack adjusters tight and backed off 1/4 turn or till the lock engaged and never jacked a wheel off the ground and never had a hot brake and plenty good stopping power. Had to have good 'S' cam bushings and everything greased though. I have carried a grease gun and greased the cam bushings 2ice a day when they were worn to keep them from binding. So CHEERS and stay greasy! I sure do!
Interesting look at circa 1960 bus engineering. Surprised it is not a full air system but I suppose a lot of trucks back then were only vacuum/hydraulic. Given the climate, maybe full hydraulic was a good choice. Also surprised to see independent front suspension. I have only used a 32 Tonne forklift with hydraulic brakes but I wonder what sort of feel this system has as the forklift was not that nice to use and seemed to buzz the pedal a lot. Maybe it was a rubbish system compared to the Routemaster. Thanks for showing us around. Ditto comments on underside cleanliness but it makes your job a lot easier.
I remember being told a story from the late 40s or early 50s about a local bus company which had bought some new buses. After the first one had been serviced it ran away down a steep hill, turned over at the bottom and crushed a parked car with the owner standing just feet away. Fortunately there were no serious injuries. Apparently the mechanics had never worked on the type of brakes before so I suspect that, given the date, it was this type of Lockheed braking system and they got it very wrong.
I Think UA-cam should put an emotions reactor in like Facebook done that would tell creators allot more about the content people like to see and don't this one right here would get ❤ button smacked from me it's an amazing video loved it just came across your channel while browsing UA-cam and it's amazing to see this type of thing I've Subbed to the channel!
Don’t worry about nitrogen : 79% of the air we breathe is nitrogen. It’s not toxic at all, but slightly narcotic when you breathe it at elevated pressures. Ask any diver …
Nitrogen poisonous? Hope not, 80% of the air we breathe is nitrogen. It is an asphyxiant because it's not oxygen/air, but breathing it in in the workshop won't harm you so long as there is air as well.
Nothing wrong with erring on the side of caution. You wouldn't be able to tell until you keeled over which is why there are a depressingly monotonous list of confined space deaths especially in India where someone passes out and the helper/rescuer succumbs too and then another erstwhile rescuer in a septic tank , well or other enclosed space.The only way to be sure is to use a certified gas tester which will alarm if 02 levels get too low or there are dangerous gases like hydrogen sulphide etc. Mandated when working in designated confined spaces.
Fascinating glimpse into a world not normally seen. I was hoping that you were going to check the schrader valves for nitrogen leaks while they were exposed. Assuming they were not leaking where does the gas leak out to? Into the hydraulic fluid?
I believe it's been completely dismantled, each part thoroughly cleaned, and repainted. After 60 years, it's going to have scuffs, stains and and chipped paint all over under there--no matter how top-notch the initial quality was.
Hi how long between brake flag up and full pressure "knock" after the adjustments and accumulator top up had been performed? Did it improve the wait time? I don't think you mentioned it in the video. Cheers and keep up the good work guys.
Interesting brake system, basically uses hydraulic oil instead of air and recirculates it? Ford trucks used a similar system on their truck that used hydraulic oil for their park brake. Made by Lucas girling
There is certainly more to maintaining these iconic machines than meets the eye!Great video, very interesting, just an observation, but I thought it was good that the underside was painted silver, seems to make things easier to see,was that standard practice back in the day?
The outtakes are prime examples of why I love the British so much.....
Cheers
One thing I like is how clean it is underneath. It’s not just the shiny on top that counts. Spotted the two spare belts tied up underside. Very sensible move. Thanks for another interesting vid. As always, look forward to the next instalment.
I don't get how the underside of a bus can be so clean. I'd say it's more than just clean, it'snearly pristine.
Exactly
I think it has to be that clean each time it goes in for the dot test and on buses used as these are it is easier to keep it that way.
The brakes in full efficiency and the bus will stop very quickly. Tell me about it, I used to work as a conductor on Routemaster buses. One day one of the passengers dinged the bell four times and the driver, well basically stood it on its nose..! I ended up banging my head of fee front bulkhead, oh and paying in short as the change went everywhere. Enjoyed the video it brought back lots of memories. Happy days.!
Nitrogen makes up 80% of the atmosphere we breathe already.
Maybe you meant to say 'Breathing air where much or all of the Oxygen has been displaced for a length of time can be fatal.'
In a space the size of your workshop emptying the whole Nitrogen bottle even with the doors closed would have no appreciable effect.
Your caution is still valid for confined spaces.
Interesting video on these old workhorses. Thanks.
Thumbs up.
Couldn't agree more. Nitrogen is as dangerous as CO2: Harmless by itself but it shouldn't be the only gas you breathe in.
These videos are not only highly entertaining, they're of educational value. Each one is a brilliant contribution to the preservation of culture through documenting the progress of mechanics and engineering through history. I especially enjoyed the reason for choosing this system. When I watch videos on older engineering, I always wonder why things were done a particular way if it seems like another way might also work.
Thank you Paul. Glad you appreciate our videos.
Im a new recruit to your channel and I love it. Brilliant videos. I think the work you do is brilliant, and I for one, love to see these old buses kept alive. I do so hope you can keep hold of those small round bulbs that illuminate the inside of the bus up. @19:58 and you'll see what I mean. Such a warm and lovely welcoming Glow to the insides. I would hate to see LED's in there as a replacement. I also felt genuinely chuffed to bits when 'she' passed the brake test. Awesome! I applaud you all. keep up the good and great work that your doing.
I've been watching your videos over the last fews weeks: all excellent, but this is the best so far!
This was a lot more interesting than I thought it would be
Thank you Ryan
My team did a lot of work for LTE in Nottingham, including RM refurbishment and component rebuilds. We used to overhaul front boats, gearboxes and all the sub components. Part of the LT sign off was testing the braking system with gauges on the hydracylic system so you could monitor the cut out operation. Like you we used nitrogen to refill accumulators.
Your initial comments about why LT demanded this form of brakes ommited one major reasoning behind it. As traffic concentration in the city increased and hence more brake applications, the conventional air brakes systems depleted air too quickly and this resulted in the flag dropping, necessitating the driver select neutral and rev up to rebuild before proceeding. In dense traffic areas like Regent Street/ Oxford Street this resulted in clouds of diesel fumes and great concern over air pollution. Colin Curtis remained adamant that modern air brakes were untenable for inner London for years, despite considerable technical advances until they were finally persuaded to trial Leyland Nationals with all air braking. The Titan was also developed with hydracylic systems for this reason and the crippling cost of it prevented Leyland Bus from being able to sell the Titan B15 to other UK operators. Hence the lesser expensive Olympian was created for the majority of NBC and municipal customers.
Good videos there chaps. Invoked memories.
I was surprised at no gauges put on the hydraulic system for cut out and operation.
I thought it might have been climate considerations but never considered that aspect. Obviously they didn't have very big compressors back then.
Beautiful bus and knowledgeable mechanics. Thanks lads
Thoroughly interesting to see what is underneath the RM, it's workings and maintenance. Enjoyed every part of this film. I was surprised when you remained underneath the bus when the engine was turned over and running. That AEC AV590 has that unmistakable sound and was so much a part of the sounds of London as a child.
I recently watched a video about hydraulic brakes on the Toyota Prius. There are remarkable similarities. Since the hybrid drive shuts down under certain conditions, you don't have a constant vacuum source for typical hydraulic brakes. The system uses a hydraulic pump and a gas filled pressure accumulator so that the brake pedal can be pressed multiple times without needing a constant external energy source.
I was thinking the same thing about the Toyota Hybrid brake system. It’s a bit more complex than pure hydraulic though. When switching on the power from rest, you can usually here it run up the electric pressure pump a bit. Then it does it’s own sums to ‘blend’ regenerative braking and hydraulic, and engine braking if you select that, as you go along - including what pressure to use, such as ermergency braking. It’s ‘brake by wire’ as it were, not a conventional foot operated brake. Works well on my Yaris.
Great video, but at 14:49 I question your statement of nitrogen being at all dangerous. Every time you breathe, 78% of the air that enters your lungs is nitrogen. The only way that nitrogen could be at all dangerous is if you were inside a completely sealed vessel, or an underground tank where a LOT of nitrogen would be required to displace all the oxygen.
My favorite part was when you were arriving at the commercial test depot with the interior lights on. Took me back to my childhood for a moment when the bus would arrive on a cold wintry morning with that lovely warm interior glow. I also seem to remember that the buses of yore always had a certain interior smell to them - not bad, just distinctive.
Brings back memories when I was in New Zealand just south of Christchurch I came across two Routmasters on a tour. I spoke to the owner and he said he had five of them for tourist trips
Just found this channel. Just the noise of that engine brings back so many memories from the sixties/seventies.
Yep, its a lovely sound - never get tired of hearing it.
Wow I never realised how sophisticated these machines were.
There were ahead of their time when designed back in the 1950's.
@@Routemaster4Hire Never before or since has so much time and money been spent on a bus' development, all angles were covered, passenger & crew comfort, ease of maintenance, engineering standards ensuring interchangeability of parts, etc. I think some will still be running at 100 years of age, if properly looked after.
It amazes me how wonderful the old diesels start up with such ease, Modern vehicles will be lucky if it even reaches 20 years let alone 55-60 years.
I miss olden days when things was built to last not like today's world.
This is a yes and no response to your comment and being 66 years old and having worked in the bus and coach industry for 46 years I think I am qualified to comment. Yes the older vehicles were built very heavy and with a lot of engineering redundancy as rebuilding components was the normal practice due to the much higher manufacturing costs and lower labour costs. Longevity of heavy transport components has actually improved if they are properly maintained due to the better materials used in there manufacture but what hasnt improved is reliability and most of this is down to complex componentry being used to improve emmissions and control systems that once had simple mechanical control. The advent of computerised controls has seen a massive increase in power delivery for a given engine size so smaller engines can do the job that larger more polluting units used to do. Its true that we are more wasteful these days in not designing components to be rebuilt but that reflects two things That components need to be much lighter to aid in fuel efficiency and emmission control and that labour costs are much higher as a percentage of total mantenance costs. Change is never easy to deal with but you have to keep an open mind.
@@alistairshanks5099 I do always keep an open mind, but find these day's such as white goods regardless of price are rubbish quality, a friend had replaced a alternator twice as both units failed within 2 years of each other. These days most items are NOT repairable and i think that's where we are going wrong as often things end up in landfill.
Old diesels run so long because they don't make a bunch of power. Horsepower kills engines. Modern diesels are marvels of engineering. Even relatively small TDs in modern pickup trucks make 500 hp and 1000 lb ft. That's likely triple what these old engines make, and the new ones, especially with synthetic oil technology will easily run as long as these old engines. What kills modern diesels and makes them such pigs, of course, is government-mandated emissions controls. They've managed to just about negate any return on investment of owning a modern diesel, since almost all of them will suffer debilitating reliability issues due exclusively to emissions failure.
Thank you so much for this! It was really helpful to confirm that what I've been doing with RML2650 for the last decade is correct. It's hard to get experts in Texas.
Wow that brings back memories as I used to go on the 190 to school in the mid seventies as I was living in Croydon then.
You may have travelled on this actual bus, she was based at South Croydon Garage for a while in the 70's and 80's.
@@Routemaster4Hire you are probably right… I lived in Whitehall road next to Thornton Heath Bus Garage and I remember South Croydon Garage well..
The buses used to drive past my house until my dad got a petition together to make it one way..
The reason was because the single deckers had a money tray next to the driver and the money rattled as it went past our house and woke my dad up 5am in the morning.. this was around 1975/76..
I collect classic Cadillacs but would love to have a Routemaster..
Another very informative video. Thank you Dave & Tim for showing us what you get up to underneath one of your immaculate Routemaster buses. Look forward to the next one!
Gr8 video. Beautiful old bus
Saw this on my feed. Great channel and well made videos. Never realised the Routemaster had independent front suspension until now. Every day's a school day.
Another very interesting video.
Do like seeing the 190 route blinds on the buses and the South Croydon garage codes. As this was one of my favourite route to school and walking round the outside of the garage to see what was going on. Especially the workshop at the very back of the garage. (you never new what you mite find)..
Keep up the good work gents. 👍
Glad you enjoyed it, I also would walk round South Croydon Garage as a kid - and take the 190 to School everyday.
Hi guys thank you once again for a excellent video. Very interesting to see how the braking system works on a route master. Keep the videos coming I’ll look forward to the next one. Thank you for the outtakes as well really enjoyed them. So keep up the good work guys by the way the microphone managed to pick up every background noise that we the viewers needed to listen out for.
That braking system is really interesting and advanced. I work for Lexus and most of our models now run a similar system, with a hydraulic booster pump and an accumulator charged with nitrogen to keep pressure. We get about 40 pumps before pressure is discharged. I wish the booster/accumulator was serviceable, because they're expensive to replace when they (very rarely) fail.
All this stuff makes me want to just apprentice in your workshops!
Yes technical stuff very interesting lovely bus excellent content.😎
That warning about nitrogen being fatal if you breathe it in must be for the lawyers, considering most air is almost 80% nitrogen 😂😂, not compressed of course, and if you’ve let out so much that the oxygen is displaced there are probably other problems as well 😂😂. Interesting and entertaining vid nonetheless.
Enjoyed this video guy's, never thought of bus maintenance, those ramps made the hair on my neck stand up tbh... thats a lot of bus up in the air on a stand.... cheers, Alex.
This is the first time I've seen a direct correlation between some of the components I and direct operations I learned in my hydraulic schooling cross over to civilian products 👍maybe a bus mechanic would be a good gig I ever find myself that way.
Great Video, well done.
It’s a pleasure to look into your world.
I honestly love the attention to detail and safety you guys have. How it should be done. Love the channel keep it up guys.
Wonderful to see these still running. I grew up in north London with the route master and love them dearly. Thank You
Glad you enjoyed it, thank you.
So interesting watching you lot looking after your amazing fleet 👍 i love your humour and the outtakes at the end!!! Keep up the such awesome work,id love to spend the day with you in your garage 👍👍
This was a very interesting video working on old buses keeping them alive. Very fascinating
Simply thee Best busses ever built for London and the out skirts
Fascinating! I wonder how modern brake systems work. It's hard to believe e.g. Chicago Transit Authority has a pair of guys that knows about accumulators and pushing the brake the exact correct number of times.
Most are air now
Nice work Tim and Dave, another gem of a video, bus looking brand new, certainly better that the current stuff on London’s roads 👌.
Excellent video. I am a transport enthusiast, more inclined to railways than buses, but I was very impressed by your standard of maintenance. I never realised that the RMs had a brake system like that, so well done keeping those lovely buses going. AEC was a great manufacturer of commercial vehicles of many types, and it is a pity they are no more.
Thank you Mervyn, yes AEC did manufacture some great vehicles, such a shame there were taken over by British Leyland!
Drove these buses many times with LT and really enjoyed your video on the brakes, nice to know what the engineers did.
Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for watching.
I remember the early ERFs and Maudsley wagons had this type of braking.
Ha!
Respect to anyone who keeps in the "Out-Takes" to prove they are not perfect :-)!
Great video, well presented and filmed. Also, excellent presentation of RM765 - good to see the cab neatly painted. Well done all round guys.
Glad you enjoyed it
I used to have an uncle and aunt live between Croydon and Addington. She was so proud of No. 64 route being one of the first to get a Routemaster. Also don’t the slack adjusters need attention if they aren’t doing their job properly?
Isn't normal air made up of 78% Nitrogen?
Admittedly, if you were to replace all of the oxygen with nitrogen, it would cause hypoxia, but that would take more than a small bottle in such a large space.
The exhaust fumes are much more dangerous IMHO.
Yes it’s not toxic. Probably better to say “this gas is dangerous if it is allowed to fill the room”
My local tire shop wanted me to pay for filling my car tires with 100% nitrogen. I told them I wanted to stay with the 78% nitrogen mix, as that is my preference. They asked me where I got it, and I told them it is available at all petrol stations for a nominal fee of €0. They didn't get the joke...🤣
@@sjokomelk When people ask me if we have nitrogen I tell them we use a proprietary 75/25 nitrox mix.
Another great Video, thanks for uploading more about my favourite Bus,it's so informative! 👍
Another fantastic informative video, keep them coming 👍
Great vid Dave/Tim very informative keep up the good work
Thanks Gary, hopefully see you & Peter soon.
loved taking them for mot in paisley scotland
Great video...just love seeing how these lovely RT's operate ....keep the vids coming 👍
Hello Mark. This is a Routemaster- RM- not an RT, which was the predecessor to the RM and a totally different bus with air brakes, preselector gearbox and no power steering !
Loving these videos guys, thank you, I know how much time and effort goes into putting films like this together. They're really insightful to watch and it's great to hear about the many innovations on these buses that made them so advanced in their day... and still! My seven year old (future engineer) is loving watching the videos with me and I block his ears for the bloopers, ha ha!! He wants me to buy an RM...! It's also interesting reading the comments from the time served LT people - the whole system that used to be operated was incredible in my mind, and Aldenham and Chiswick no doubt kept these wonderful vehicles young. They were never the same when that era ended. She's a beautiful bus and looking forward to more instalments and hearing those wonderful AEC sounds ;-)
Your son will soon learn the 'naughty' words when he becomes an engineer! I wish him all the best.
very cool to see your keeping these lovely old buses going, everything looks very well maintained and restored
Thank you, we do our best.
Excellent Video, thanks for that. Just came across your channel - I'm looking forward to the next!
Thank Alan. We’ve enjoyed your videos too.
Thanks for a informative video about the rt brakes.
I just came across your video by my video list provided by you tube.
👍👍👍👍🇸🇪
Awesome, thank you!
@@Routemaster4Hire you are welcome
👍👍✨🇸🇪👍🇸🇪🇸🇪
Brilliant video, great job
Good work ! It's so amazing just how clean and rust free the underneath of that bus was !
Thank you very much!
@@Routemaster4Hire You are very welcome - Have a great Christmas :)
i love that you will not spare anything for safety that is how it must be an a very good video i wish we did more testing like this in the states that is also a very nice bus
Real old school route masters ACTUALLY had the conductor do the braking, he threw a fortress anchor of the back. My Sister from another mister’s rickrolling grandpa said that’s how they did it back in the day to save doing this braking system maintenance, also down to a few strikes the ship workers were having and the few who decided bus work was way more frequented with ladies who don’t charge u like the ones at the docks.
Downfall was that to retrieve the anchor the driver had to enter reverse gear and back up slowly while the conductor recoiled the anchor line and chain, communicating the the distance (don’t wanna run over it) to the driver by tapping out Morse code on the body of the bus, people remained silent as they knew how to behave in public. Driver could feel it as the engine up close on his side. Then when the conductor gave the
Duh - Duh - Duh Duh - Duh - Duh - Duh wow. The driver then knew to slam into 1st, and the passengers could carry on chatting about how much it means to be a good citizen…..
Oddly enough when this system was in place I would bet money that the wild animals such as rats cats and dogs in London was an incredible amount less than it is now. Maybe they should bring it back?
“I just got the bus to work, it makes me feel so council” said in complete jest…. This girl didn’t speak to me for 3 maybe 6 mths at work in a team of 7.
😂😂
Fascinating stuff, these buses are so interesting, and you guys do great work.
Thanks Jim.
Rather good video, don't worry about not being able to talk I have that problem every day🏴🤣
Excellent video , well done
Many thanks!
I would really love to visit GB one day, but while the rest of my tour group was oogiling over Buckingham Palace, or Big Ben and places like that, I'd want to visit garages like these!
And Beaulieu
Keep the videos coming
I liked the video so much I hit the like button twice instead.
We find hitting the like button 1, 3, or 5 times works best ;-)
I never thought I'd be so interested in this. Subscribed and liked 😊
Thanks Gavin.
The braking system on these seems similar to a Citroen. Not super hard to work on, just different. And if you use the wrong fluids it causes a heap of trouble!
I used to have an Audi 100 with hydraulically boosted brakes. It used conventional brake fluid; the accumulator and pump were only for servo assistance.
It's nice you take your passenger's safety seriously.
Great video!
I work on vintage buses over here in the states. Mainly gm 4104’s crowns and gilligs but there was a guy that brought one of these in for service last year and it was converted to air brakes. We had no idea how to work on it due to never seeing one in person before. Took the boss a ton of research and calling someone in london to help us figure out how to work on it. That brake test at the end is odd to us, we road test our buses to check the brakes after adjustment. We check at 5mph, 15mph, 25mph, 50mph and 65mph for pulling or uneven stopping
Very interesting and well made film thanks. They used to service Routemasters at a garage near me in Elstree/Borehamwood.
Glad you enjoyed it
This bus is RM765 WLT765, I also saw RM1214 214CLT. Wrexham in North Wales is where green Crosville Bristol Lodekkas operated.
It’s midnight and this is what UA-cam chooses to show me. They know me too well.
Hope we didn't keep you up too late?
Your dog must be a government official.
Just looking busy without actually doing anything!
Lol. I like seeing dogs in people's videos.
Yes I think she is, quietly inspecting our work and probably taking mental notes too! :-)
Great video! Thanks.
LOL I really liked hearing you cuss at the end "Fucking dickhead!", every language is filled with beautiful curse words 🙂
Amazing that such a system was thought better than a traditional hydraulic brake system. I guess the need for a fail safe brake system is the main reason.
Yes that's exactly why.
I used to drive them routemaster RML, Gunnersbury trained. 217 Uxbridge to Shepherds Bush
No 9 Mortlake to Oxford Circus
I used to drive one of these with brakes that faded away the longer you drove and the hotter the bus got. It turned out that a non return valve was missing from the system.
Funnily enough, we have just had one of those explode on us!
Well, thank you to the algorithm for recommending a really interesting video. I would have liked a brief look at a few schematics of the braking system to fully understand the works of it.
Great suggestion, thank you!
I simply had to get out my abc 1961 spotter's book, and yes, I've underlined RM765! (The RMs only went up to 1178 in that 19th edn.)
Great interesting video, so too are your others
Thank you very much Trevor.
@@Routemaster4Hire Sure, you're welcome. Brilliant stuff what you guys do, real proper work,!
Very interesting, thank you.
My dad used to drive route 101 out of East Ham Bus garage in the 1950/60. I would go with him sometimes, He would take a break at Becton gas works he'd let me sit in the cab and tell me not to press the brake peddle I always would to watch the stop sign drop down. But I cant remember pressing it 32 times only a few presses would bring it down. when dad got back in the cab he'd tap on the window and give me the LOOK
My father was a London bus mechanic in the 1950s and then when he moved back to Glasgow he worked with Glasgow transport as a bus mechanic he also worked with Alexander’s buses in Milngavie just outside Glasgow my older brother worked there as a diesel mechanic many years ago now
I don't know why I was suggested this video on YT, but apart from jumping on and off of these buses as a kid, I served my apprenticeship in Southall not that far away from the AEC factory! I also did a small amount of work at Acton Tech College on a Leyland engine from one of these as part of my City & Guilds.
Im guessing they used accumulators on these instead of compressed air for passenger & pedestrian noise comfort?
Great show, men at work.
Thought you would have checked the brake action 17:19 first, before any other work.
Got to see if the pistons move before any adjustment.
Very interesting video thanks. I must admit, I wouldn't be keen standing under there when a quarter of the weight is being supported on just that single pin in the axle stand!
IT IS AMAZING STUFF WAS BUILT SO MUCH BETTER THEN
As an apprentice I always had a 9/16” AF spanner and 12mm spanner at hand for “pulling up” brakes at MOT, even after adjusting them at pre MOT inspection, the time you got into test hall you always asked if you could “jump down and pull them up” the Volvo z cam was a different story though, they were a terrible braking system for trucks
Me too and most of the time I was hauling 20 tons or better and I always sneaked around and set my own brakes. Diesel trucks, dumpers and tandems and trailer pullers and never had an issue but almost all were air systems. Doesn't look like a lot of weight savings between this air and your hydraulic but maybe enough to make it worthwhile. I always tightened the slack adjusters tight and backed off 1/4 turn or till the lock engaged and never jacked a wheel off the ground and never had a hot brake and plenty good stopping power. Had to have good 'S' cam bushings and everything greased though. I have carried a grease gun and greased the cam bushings 2ice a day when they were worn to keep them from binding. So CHEERS and stay greasy! I sure do!
Neither of those spanners would've been any use for the RP adjusters on RMs.
@@bobcornford3637 I'm in the US and was working on Macks mostly. And I do have metric stuff too.
Interesting look at circa 1960 bus engineering. Surprised it is not a full air system but I suppose a lot of trucks back then were only vacuum/hydraulic. Given the climate, maybe full hydraulic was a good choice. Also surprised to see independent front suspension. I have only used a 32 Tonne forklift with hydraulic brakes but I wonder what sort of feel this system has as the forklift was not that nice to use and seemed to buzz the pedal a lot. Maybe it was a rubbish system compared to the Routemaster. Thanks for showing us around. Ditto comments on underside cleanliness but it makes your job a lot easier.
i remember as a young man working on my car you had to check to see if your brake fluid was Lockheed or Girling
I remember being told a story from the late 40s or early 50s about a local bus company which had bought some new buses. After the first one had been serviced it ran away down a steep hill, turned over at the bottom and crushed a parked car with the owner standing just feet away. Fortunately there were no serious injuries. Apparently the mechanics had never worked on the type of brakes before so I suspect that, given the date, it was this type of Lockheed braking system and they got it very wrong.
I Think UA-cam should put an emotions reactor in like Facebook done that would tell creators allot more about the content people like to see and don't this one right here would get ❤ button smacked from me it's an amazing video loved it just came across your channel while browsing UA-cam and it's amazing to see this type of thing I've Subbed to the channel!
Thanks Peter, glad you found us and enjoying what we do.
Don’t worry about nitrogen : 79% of the air we breathe is nitrogen. It’s not toxic at all, but slightly narcotic when you breathe it at elevated pressures. Ask any diver …
Nitrogen poisonous?
Hope not, 80% of the air we breathe is nitrogen.
It is an asphyxiant because it's not oxygen/air, but breathing it in in the workshop won't harm you so long as there is air as well.
Nothing wrong with erring on the side of caution. You wouldn't be able to tell until you keeled over which is why there are a depressingly monotonous list of confined space deaths especially in India where someone passes out and the helper/rescuer succumbs too and then another erstwhile rescuer in a septic tank , well or other enclosed space.The only way to be sure is to use a certified gas tester which will alarm if 02 levels get too low or there are dangerous gases like hydrogen sulphide etc. Mandated when working in designated confined spaces.
@@rogerpearson9081 I agree with caution, but factually nitrogen isn't a poisonous gas like carbon monoxide etc.
@teepi280 You beat me to it 👏🏼
Haha yeah I also keep my tea kettle well circulated to prevent it from cumulating dangerous amounts of dihydrogenmonoxide xD
@@GrafRucola 😁😂🤣
Fascinating glimpse into a world not normally seen. I was hoping that you were going to check the schrader valves for nitrogen leaks while they were exposed. Assuming they were not leaking where does the gas leak out to? Into the hydraulic fluid?
Yes it leaks into the oil side of the accumulator.
The bus is in great condition underneath. Wouldn’t think it’s nearly 60 years old?!
That's because it was built before western society went into full on 'everything is a disposable consumer good' mode.
I believe it's been completely dismantled, each part thoroughly cleaned, and repainted. After 60 years, it's going to have scuffs, stains and and chipped paint all over under there--no matter how top-notch the initial quality was.
Hi how long between brake flag up and full pressure "knock" after the adjustments and accumulator top up had been performed? Did it improve the wait time? I don't think you mentioned it in the video. Cheers and keep up the good work guys.
Interesting brake system, basically uses hydraulic oil instead of air and recirculates it? Ford trucks used a similar system on their truck that used hydraulic oil for their park brake. Made by Lucas girling
There is certainly more to maintaining these iconic machines than meets the eye!Great video, very interesting, just an observation, but I thought it was good that the underside was painted silver, seems to make things easier to see,was that standard practice back in the day?