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Two main route recreations, one in the
Country Area and one in the Central Area ·
Travel under a Low Bridge in an RLH ·
Dusk photographic opportunities
(interior lights blazing!) ·
Garage photo shoots at Harrow Weald and
Guildford |
All
journeys today (Sunday 13th October) are free of charge and you can
board and alight at any of the stops advertised in the timetables. However,
please make sure you can make your way home again as not all the feeder
services return to the same position at the end of the day.
If
you are planning to join us for the whole day, a lunch break will be taken at
the old Staines West Station, giving walking access to facilities in Staines
Town Centre.
Please
don't delay the buses, the departure times from pick up points and photo stops
need to be kept to, and can all be found listed here. Please stand on the
pavement when taking photographs.
Event organized by R. Proctor and E.
Pring with the gratefully acknowledged and vital support of Metroline, Arriva
Buses, Timebus and London Bus AG (Switzerland).
TODAY'S
COMMEMORATIVE ROUTES
The route pattern represents
both Country Area and Central Area RLH operations. Guildford and Harrow Weald
Garages were chosen, as they remain much as they were during the RLH years.
The first RLH route
(and the oldest) was the 336 from Amersham, and we hope that you were able to
join us last Sunday to commemorate that with two of the RLHs also.
Route 436 Guildford - Staines RLH
operated from Sep 1950 until Jul 1970
Route 463 Guildford - Walton RLH
operated from Sep 1950 until Jul 1970
Route 461 Walton - Staines RLH
operated from Sep 1950 until Jul 1970
Route 230 Rayners
Lane - Northwick Park RLH
operated from Dec 1952 until Jun 1969
Route 230A Harrow Weald
Garage- Northwick Park RLH
operated from Oct 1962 until Jan 1966
This
RT route did not pass under any low bridges, but was operated by RLHs when
required
"Feeder" routes:
Route 353
Berkhamsted – Windsor Operated
by Amersham RLHs on an ad hoc basis
to
cover for RT's (no low bridges)
Route 703 Wrotham –
Amersham Possibly
operated by RLHs on QEII's Coronation (6th Jun 1953)
as relief
coaches from Amersham to London (required due to low bridge at Amersham Common).
THE RLH STORY
Since the replacement of
open-top double-deck buses with closed-top vehicles in the early 1930s, London
Transport (and its predecessors) found it necessary to use a limited number of
"Lowbridge" designed buses to accommodate heavy loadings on routes
passing under bridges with clearance heights lower than 14'6".
"Lowbridge"
buses came from a variety of sources - the earliest being 8 AEC Regents dating
from 1930 which originally ran on route N6 (later 336 in L.T. numbering) under
the Metropolitan Line's 13'6" clearance bridge at Amersham Common. Then in
1934 route 410, which passed under a low bridge at Oxted, was converted from
open-top double-deck with the purchase of 12 new "Lowbridge" AECs -
affectionately known as "Godstones" as they were all based at that
Garage.
During the second World
War the increased need for public transport caused two Central Area routes to
be converted from single-deck to "Lowbridge" double-deck operation,
so 10 Daimlers were bought for route 127 at Merton and 20 standard STLs were
converted at Chiswick Works to carry "Lowbridge" bodies. These 20 STLs
were shared between route 230 at Harrow and routes 436/461 & 462 operating
from the Addlestone area into Staines, thus replacing single-decks in both
locations.
By the late 1940s the
oldest vehicles in the "Lowbridge" fleet were badly in need of
replacement, so two measures were adopted. Firstly, to extend their useful
life, the eight 1930 vintage petrol-engined STs were re-engined with diesel
units from scrapped STLs. Secondly London Transport secured the loan of new
Bristol "Lowbridge" buses, originally destined for various companies
in the "National" Group. These measures kept the L.T.
"Lowbridge" fleet going until a permanent solution could be
implemented.
The permanent solution
took the form of the Government diverting an order for 20 Weymann (Addlestone) bodied
"Lowbridge" AECs from Midland General to London Transport. These were painted in green Country Area
livery, given the Fleet Code RLH and numbered 1-20, and delivered in May and June 1950. The first 6 went to Amersham to replace the
same number of ageing STs, 6 more went to Godstone to release half of the 12
"Godstone" STLs, and the remaining 8 went to Addlestone. However, rather than being scrapped, the
older STLs were retained and used to augment the Addlestone group of routes by
extending them south of Woking to Guildford and Ripley.
This programme still left
all the wartime utility "Ds" at Merton and many of the STLs in
service, so a further order was placed for 56 additional RLHs, which were delivered between October
and December 1952. RLH numbers 21-52 were painted green, the remainder (RLH
53-76) were painted in red Central Area livery. It is the 50th
anniversary of these ‘second batch’ buses, we are celebrating.
Even then, 7 of the
STL's were retained and re-licensed for use in June 1953 to assist with the
Coronation traffic.
By the late 1950s RLH
operations were at their peak. A total
of 76 vehicles were in use on a dozen or so routes running from Garages at
Amersham, Addlestone, Guildford, Reigate, Godstone, Merton, Harrow Weald,
Hornchurch and latterly Dalston
In 1958 route 127 at
Merton was withdrawn, releasing its fleet of RLH's to go to Dalston to start
route 178, but by 1964 the decline had set in and routes were being converted
to single-deck one-man operation fairly rapidly, including route 230 in June
1969.
By December 1969 only
four garages retained RLHs - Addlestone, Guildford, Hornchurch and Dalston.
The 17 vehicles based at
Addlestone and Guildford were transferred on 1st January 1970 to the
newly formed London Country Bus Services company (part of the National Bus
Group) and they continued to operate for a few months in that guise, the last
green RLHs running on 31st July 1970.
The red Hornchurch buses
were withdrawn a couple of months later in September 1970 but the Dalston buses
survived into 1971.
The last RLH ran on
route 178 on 16th April 1971, thus ending 41 years of "Lowbridge"
bus operation in London.
Today more RLHs survive
abroad (exported in the 1970s) than can be found in the U.K., however very few
others are preserved or operational like those you will travel on today.
Interestingly RLH number
50, will shortly have a complete rebuilding project completed by its owners,
who we wish every success, and are also planning a 50th celebration soon- but
on the opposite side of the globe in New Zealand!
