A privileged peek inside a Beautiful, Classic, Vintage RT London Bus from 1954 (RT 4421)

Many, many thanks to the bus driver; for going out of his way in allowing me time to record this wonderful, magnificent bus.
Also a special thank you to "Ensignbus", the company responsible for maintaining and preserving this bus in such a pristine and original condition.
Video was recorded on 30th April 2014, whilst the bus was seen on bus number route 38 on Upper Street, Angel, London.
(The following historical Information & further details can be found on Ensignbus's website: www.ensignbushire.com/rt4421.h...
RT4421 entered service in February 1954 at Upton Park having initially been delivered to Romford. By October 1956 it was working from New Cross before moving on to Addlestone by December of that year. A brief period at Crawley ensued before the vehicle again retuned to New Cross and then Potters Bar before going back for overhaul. Following overhaul she spent longer spells at Peckham and then Croydon before moving to Amersham where she stayed until 1970. From 1970 until the end of her service life in 1976 she was working from Bromley, before being down graded to driver trainer duties at Bexleyheath until March 1978 when she was withdrawn and sold for scrap to Wombwell Diesels in Barnsley.
Saved from oblivion by Mr Andrews in Plumstead in May 1980 it passed onto Bill Boag of Grays in 1986 who later sold it to what became Arriva London, from whom it passed to Ensignbus in December 2001.

[@1957geoff]

Thanks for posting this) My Father was a London bus driver during the late 1950's early 1960's, I can remember my Mother waiting at the bus stop for long enough that we would ride passenger on his bus, we sat directly behind the drivers seat, he wiggled his fingers through the blind, very happy memories from the days when we lived at West Norwood, the bus had the long climb up Central hill into Crystal Palace.

[@MetsFanLA]

Memories! As a kid around about 1967. My friend and I rode the No. 38 from the Royal Forest Hotel (Chingford) to Victoria Station (central London), top deck, just for the fun of it. Many more shorter rides around that time until the No. 69 replaced it. What a different world that was then!

[@mr07623445678]

I'm really pleased to read that the video bought back such great memories for you.

[@electroskates2434]

69 lol funny number

[@petergoodwin2465]

They should build all buses like this ,sealed cabin so driver doesn't have to deal with stupid questions and people jamming phones in his face asking do you go here while he's driving. Beautiful bus

[@richardwalker1880]

Best busses London ever had

[@TheCopyright45]

I know that this video is many years old now but I simply had to comment. Watching this was a trip back to my childhood, the memories came flooding back. I really appreciate the filming of the signage; it is these seemingly insignificant details, upon which (without realising it), we anchor some of our fondest memories. The "no spitting" and the timetable for standing passengers stand out. They seem rather quaint today and hark back to a time now lost forever. As a child my friends and I would hop on an RT on Route 34 to Barnet Church. We would get on at The Bell in Walthamstow in East London where we lived. I was around 11 at the time and it was a 5p fare. We just did it for a "trip out" and our collective parents were ok about it! Simpler and perhaps safer times then. Lots of kids would "bus hop" just for a day out. We used to do many routes on the buses, RT's and RM's , but the RT was our favourite. The sound and smell, it was unique. I lived 2 minutes from Walthamstow Bus Garage (long gone now) and sometimes the conductor would let us ride the bus right into the depot and we would be allowed to "hang around" for a bit. The health and safety "police" would never allow this today. Such fun times. Thank you for rekindling my childhood memories.

[@mr07623445678]

Thank you for watching and sharing such fond memories of your time on buses. You're quite right about those times being simpler. Best wishes to you.

[@halimhanchi5786]

I love London bus 🇬🇧👍❤👑

[@mr07623445678]

Thank you for watching 👍🏼🙏🏽💚

[@roydavidlivermore4664]

A class that were years ahead of their time,with air operated steering column change pre selective gear boxes. Quite a sight,when hundreds even thousands were introduced in the early 1950s.

[@mr07623445678]

👍🏼💚

[@roydavidlivermore4664]

I remember it,we will never see anything like it again.

[@Scangull]

What memories you bring back with this video: That large bell-housing which projected out into the lower deck. The pre-selector lever which the driver operated with his left hand. I always marvelled at the way he moved that lever to a new position as we trundled along, then a touch on the clutch and we were in another gear. That great big hand-brake lever and right next to it that three-position switch to set the traffic indicators to left, right or off (I have to admit to getting a little concerned when, sometimes, the driver forgot to cancel it after completing the maneuver). Then there were those blinds which were dropped down at night on the nearside front passenger window and the window directly behind the driver (the conductor took care of the nearside window, the driver had to look after the one his side). The cord for ringing the bell and those little spherical light-bulbs (no flourescent lights back then). The timetable behind a pane of glass right by the sideways facing seats at the back where the conductor (clippie) stood when he/she had completed fare collecting. Before they had those ticket machines which printed tickets onto a strip of paper they had a holder from which they took a ticket and clipped it in a little machine. At the conductors station there was a place under the stairs for luggage and above that there was a little cubbyhole to put the ticket holder (I often wondered whether that cubbyhole was so deep that the ticket holder could slip out of reach). At the end of your journey as you stood on the platform waiting for the bus to stop you dropped your ticket into the "Used Tickets" box. I used to ride a particular route (467 from Sidcup to Dartford) every day for two years. The nearest bus stop to my house on the return journey in the evening was after negotiating a roundabout (Ruxley Corner). Jumping off the bus before it entered the roundabout could save me several minutes walk home. That platform and no door enabled me to do that almost every day when the bus had to give way to traffic on the roundabout. No chance of doing that now; you have to wait until you are released! Finally, they might have looked less than dynamic but more than once I have been on one of these magnificent buses when it was running late or the driver just wanted to get home. These Routemasters could move fast, very fast, and it was an exhilarating ride. But you know all of these things. It was a lovely time. Please excuse any bad grammar or other errors I have made and thank you very much for taking the time to make this video.

[@sixstonks9385]

Kenneth Billis so u we're alive when these were in service. Cool

[@jiveturkey9993]

I enjoyed reading that.

[@chrisavery5980]

Kenneth Billis Happy memories of going to school in Woodford Bridge on the old (proper) number 10's. BTW the glass covered table was fares, not a timetable.

[@warweezil2802]

Yes fare table was well spotted. The ones I travelled on as a kid (rtes 12, 122,124,176,108, 185) all had trim plates that fitted into the rear wheels which I note were missing from this one. Many happy hours spent at Molesworth st and Rennel st watching the busses that used to terminate/start from there as well as the rtes 1,21 and 47 . There probably other routes around Lewisham worked by RTs but I have forgotten them.

[@michaelwhite8031]

It brings back memories of when l was a little boy waiting for the bus with my Dad in the freezing fog.

[@johnjephcote7636]

The RTs always had a tarp across the lower half of the radiator, 4421 not red-underlined in my 1962 spotter's book, though 4429 is!

[@MichelleReneDorsey]

This bus is beautiful

[@mr07623445678]

Thank you for your comment. Yes, wish they made things with such character nowadays

[@walkoART]

I love this bus :)

[@barry5111]

My childhood mate's dad was a bus driver and quite a few weekends he drove an RT down to the coast with the wives and families for a day out. It was a long draughty trip to Margate at about 40mph, but we loved it.

[@ironicallynice]

My boys favourite is the green RT in the Mshed a (Bristol museum) we can spend there the whole day. Now with the current situation the museums closed it is an awesome surprise to find this little video and learn that it is an RT and not a RM as I have always called it. Thank you very very much and keep safe.

[@mr07623445678]

Thank you for watching and your comment. Very best wishes to you. Take care. 👍🏼

[@supersakthi1]

Love it.Thanks a lot!

[@richarddc77]

Brings back memories. Riding the bus home from school in the 1970s

[@mr07623445678]

👍🏼 🙏🏽

[@jiveturkey9993]

That's cool thanks for posting this.

[@jamesfrench7299]

In now favouring the RT over the Routemaster for the vintage car look on the front and how mechanically advanced they were underneath. The engines were essentially little changed up to the late 1970s when AEC was shut by their then parent company British Leyland.

[@83226505]

Greetings all. I still drive one of the old RT's to this day.

[@Steven_Rowe]

Paul Harrington well many think of the RM as THE LONDON BUS and its true it is, i still think of he RT as the London bus. Traveling on RMs on route 41 it was normally an RM or RML but some times it was and RT or an RTL and on very rare occasions we even got RTWs. These were all from Tottenham Garage

[@hassangarah5858]

Good job now i know the top of this bus

[@richardwalker1880]

The rout master still is by far the best Bus ever to be built and in service

[@roydavidlivermore4664]

I really think the RT class comes very close.

[@maxbacon4828]

@@roydavidlivermore4664 Me too. The RT is classy. A Transport of Delight.

[@classicm1097]

London Bus classic ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok very Beautiful

[@edmundprice5276]

Why don't you still see buses like this in London for the tourists

[@hellooohowareudoing]

The "Do not spit" sign is a £1 fine for downstairs and £5 for upstairs!

[@davidbutler5526]

That is what you call a bus no big chunks of rubber holding in the windows propper coachwork plus conductors to keep the bus on the move great days very much missed.

[@theextremeanimator4721]

1. What do you mean by chunks of rubber?

[@theextremeanimator4721]

2. I agree. Some conductors are stupid. Their stupidity is even worse in Latin America, based on my experiences in Peru.

[@loganhanssen6004]

How do bus drivers get into and drive???

[@prof.hectorholbrook4692]

So, going by the history of this vehicle, she probably swapped red for green liveries a couple of times. Also, she probably worked the 84 to St.Albans for a few years, while garaged at PB?

[@mikefisher2530]

I never, ever saw a "do not spit - penalty £1" sign on a London bus. Whose idea was that?

[@GEOFF0906]

I remember 'Spitting Prohibited' on Hants and Dorset buses of the 1950s and 60s

[@johnjephcote7636]

I do not remember cream around the driver's footstep and there were never 'No Spitting' notices, though the trolleys had them...presumably 'bus passengers were better behaved. I bemoaned the loss of the metal ringed discs in the rear wheels.

[@jacksugden8190]

I liked the RT classes, as today’s buses are not fit for service, there’s no fun and joy anymore with sub standards stock pulled of the washing line.

[@weetabix2]

“I’ll ‘ave you Butler! Get outta of it.”

[@TheDoctorWheels]

😍❤😎👌🏽

[@mr07623445678]

❤️🤍🖤

[@darrentan4579]

England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@mr07623445678]

Thank you for watching 👍🏼

[@BurnedNoodle]

This bus is as old as the TTC Subway.

[@Baylescreen]

It looks as if it was more expensive to spit upstairs (£5) than downstairs (£1)!!

[@johnorford7317]

Vintage? That's a Routemaster - I can remember when they came in as the new bus.

[@cigmorfil4101]

@@r.h.8754 There's a distinctive shape at the back as well which makes the RM look less portrait. Also the rear lights were different. I seem to remember the right turn arrow on the RT had an arrow head at both ends (the left one being blanked out) which leads me to suspect it originally didn't have a separate left turn arrow on the back.

[@aleksandrasc7987]

Is it manual?

[@davidjones332]

Preselector with an air assisted change pedal.

[@shoominati23]

Behaviour yeah ASBO

[@grahamsibbert2412]

No spitting was and probably still is LAW.

[@danielferstendig]

omg its bulgy the bus

[@kenh3344]

Bewtifull,???

[@mr07623445678]

Thank you for watching bro 👍🏼

[@younis4662]

penalty £1

[@younis4662]

do not spit

[@supersakthi1]

Love it. Thanks a lot!

[@mr07623445678]

👍🏼