Build The Classic Routemaster - Part 042

Welcome to Part 42 of a 130 part series where I take on the London Routemaster, a weekly partwork by Hachette.

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The AEC Routemaster is a front-engined double-decker bus that was designed by London Transport and built by the Associated Equipment Company (AEC) and Park Royal Vehicles. The first prototype was completed in September 1954 and the last one was delivered in 1968. The layout of the vehicle was traditional for the time, with a half-cab, front-mounted engine and open rear platform, although the coach version was fitted with rear platform doors. Forward entrance vehicles with platform doors were also produced as was a unique front-entrance prototype with the engine mounted transversely at the rear.

The first Routemasters entered service with London Transport in February 1956 and the last were withdrawn from regular service in December 2005, although one heritage route is still operated by Routemasters in central London. The first London bus route to be operated by the Routemaster was route 2, on 8 February 1956, with RM1. The same bus, with a revised front end, appeared at the Lord Mayor's Show in November 1956.

Most Routemasters were built for London Transport, although small numbers were built for British European Airways and the Northern General Transport Company. A total of 2,876 Routemasters were built, of which 1,280 are still in existence.

A pioneering design, the Routemaster outlasted several of its replacement types in London, survived the privatisation of the former London Transport bus operators and was used by other operators around the UK. In modern UK public transport bus operation, the old-fashioned features of the standard Routemaster were both praised and criticised. The open platform, while exposed to the elements, allowed boarding and alighting in places other than official stops; and the presence of a conductor allowed minimal boarding time and optimal security, but with greater labour costs.

Despite the retirement of the original version, the Routemaster has retained iconic status, and is considered a British cultural icon. In 2006, the Routemaster was voted one of Britain's top 10 design icons which included Concorde, Mini, Supermarine Spitfire, London tube map, World Wide Web and the K2 telephone box. In the late-2000s, work began on a New Routemaster bus inspired by the Routemaster's traditional design. It entered service in February 2012. - (Wikipedia 2018)

More details of Hachettes fantastic partwork can be found can be found here

[mikedurkin]

Great video penny, with your input is helping me get through my issues

[horlixs]

Hi there guys. I see there is 8 Dislikes to this episode. Can i please ask the 8 dislikers what you did not like about the episode / issue. It would really help us to improve the channel. If we dont know what we can improve on we cant. Please we urge you to reply to this comment. :-) Thank you.

[pf]

Remember that the ORIA screwdriver is extendable. Extending the head of the screwdriver out would have made it easier to put in the screws when you attached the cab floor to the cab.

[mikedurkin]

When do we fit the stairs to the bus penny