Routemaster RM1859 cab ride in Central London

[43weaver]

sounds like the original engine - mine had a 9.0 l cummins

[43weaver]

Been there and done it Number 13 Golders Green To Aldwych Loved every second. lulululululululululullulululul­ulu

[4crevis]

I just love the sound of them! There really is nothing else like it!

[ECWH60RD]

Excellent video. The strange thing is, most PD2s had nothing like such a pronounced diesel knock as 0600 engined RMs, most sounded much more mellow. Coming from Greater Manchester, the exceptions were some Manchester (3696-3720) and SHMD ones - I remember my first visit to London thinking how the Leyland eng'd RMs sounded like the later Mcr PDs. Something to do with the type of air filter? Liverpool Atlanteans also made this deep thumping noise - I put this down to maintenance.

[RM1859]

@ECWH60RD I've noticed that too. At rallies, buses other than Leyland RM's fitted with the 0.600 dont have the distinct induction noise that Leyland RM's do. That said I have driven a couple that were quiet in Leyland RM terms, like RM2037 & 2089. On the other hand when you'd completed 4 hours in RM1357 or 1650 your ears would still be ringing at bed time!

[paulikxp]

Thanks for that nice video. I rode on many Routemasters and I'm actually driving Cummins C engined RML2386 on 4 days a week, but I never had the pleasure of driving a or riding on a Leyland engined RM. Sounds very nice. But I know the engine from Southend 311, a 1958 PD3 which is serving as a sightseeing bus in Berlin where I drove it several times.

[martytrain]

Great memories for me too - I used to drive on the 9.s and 88/94 out of Shepherds Bush Wells Road back in the late 80,s. The view and the sound takes me back 20 years.

[NoveltyJukebox]

Hi. This brings back more memories for me than most folk - I used to drive this bus out of Putney AF garage on the route 74 in the 70s and 80s. At least the traffic wasn't quite as bad in those days!

[jack253]

Missed these buses, I basically knew the whole bacth of Routemaster in BW ... When they were on the 8's.. RML2665 and RML2738 was both me fav's out the bacth... Least we'd get to ride them on the Heritage Routes.

Dont think the modern buses would last 50 years of services as the Routemaster did.

[mike81041]

The growl of the leyland engine takes me back to my school days when i used to catch the 41 bus from Tottenham to Crouch End in the late 70s. Its allocation was Tottenham garage (AR) which had mainly leyland engine RMs. The good old days were the best. Great video.

[RM1859]

Hi Mike.

Glad you enjoyed the video. You may well have travelled on this very bus as it was an (AR) bus from 1967-1977! It was overhauled at Aldenham in 1970 and was sent back to AR after this, abit like Mortlake gararge who used to get the 'same' bus back after overhaul.

[mike81041]

Hi,

Yes indeed RM1859 was at (AR) I used to take numbers down. I also remember RM's 1804,1856,1884,1892 along with many others housed at Tottenham at the time. Also was lucky to catch RT2178 on a few occasions which was a cover on the 41 due to the shortages. Great times i will never forget.

[Streetcar1743]

@mike81041 Thanks for the info about the engine on RM1859. It sounds grand! As you would say, this was the way people got around London. I am not sure how many speeds they had, but some did come with 5, with a deep under gear in 1st, a regular under in 2nd, while 3rd, 4th, and 5th, were direct. With a gearbox set up like that, you would have 5 possible speeds, but only 3 or 4 of them would be truly usable.

[thisiszaphodbeeblebr]

Just caught up with the video. Thanks for sharing. Lucky chap to have a wonderfulRoutemaster! They certainly didn't call those Leyland lumps rides of thunder for nothing!

[gapminded]

Thank you so much for posting this video. I am from the US and visited London with my girlfriend in Sept '05. Our hotel breify appears in this video. It's on the left with a green awning and appears just a few seconds prior to the Sainsbury's store. I love this video as it covers some the same ground that we walked every day while there. We love London and plan to return. Thank you.

[RM1859]

Hello gapminded! So glad you enjoyed the video, i certainly enjoyed making it! Great buses to drive! I really hope you enjoy your next trip to London! All the best, from Adam!

[northweezie1]

Good old days

[HORNEBEEDUBLO]

Thanks for sharing this video. I have been on Leyland powered Routemasters many times when they were in service at Blackpool. The sounds in the cab are a lot different to the passenger saloon. In the latter, the sounds are predominantly from the mid-mounted gearbox. It doesn't really sound any different whatever make of engine is fitted. However, the sounds on this video in the cab resemble Leyland PD2 & 3 sounds.

[RM1859]

Hello Hornebeedublo. I'm really pleased so many people have enjoyed this film. I used to work for Reading Mainline who bought all the Blackpool RM's and went up twice to collect them, so we will have driven the same buses! How about that!

[HORNEBEEDUBLO]

It used to be good at Blackpool between 1986-88 when both Routemasters and the remaining Leyland PD3s were operated. Thankfully, Blackpool's first Routemaster RM1583/521 (583 CLT) was acquired by the Lancastrian Transport trust in 2003. It is restored in Blackpool red and white livery but, has an AEC engine from its days at Reading Mainline, rather than the Leyland it had when was operated by Blackpool.

[nelsontaylor1971]

Lovely Sound that Leyland......music to my ears...When are you going to do another trip down memory lane for the old girl?, im sure she will like it...

Keep up the good work, that engine sounds so sweet.

[Mitsugejl]

This must be the sound of a very well kept leyland engine... sadly, leylands dond't hang on the trees anymore, but a real dieselfan can always recognize the sound of a leyland diesel, no matter what the engine might be built into!

[HORNEBEEDUBLO]

Ashok Leyland in India still make the 680 engine. mqainly for marine use.

[Mitsugejl]

Oh yeah, the good old .680 engine... They used to power danish built leyland buses from the 60'ies to the 80'ies... Cool to know that they are still being built in India...

[HORNEBEEDUBLO]

That's right. DAF used to build O.680s under licence. They later developed the engine further to produce their own range of 11.6 litre units. Atlanteans in Dublin were re-engined with them and so where various Leopards in the UK. In the latter case, it was difficult to tell the difference in sound compared to a O.680, except that they were quieter and perhaps sounded more like a Leyland than a Leyland!!!

[Mitsugejl]

DAF is from the Nederlands as far as i remember. The danish built leyland buses were built by DAB (just like the radiobandwidth) in Silkeborg, Jutland. The "package" consisted of a Leyland frame with engine and gearbox, wheels, brakes, circuitry etc mounted on it, and DAB made their own bodywork to it. The only direct link to England is the front window, as it's design was taken directly from the Leyland National. If you would like to see pictures of such vehicles, i can mail them to you...

[Mitsugejl]

It's just like NorwoodLeyland says, you don't need the film, just the sound. Lovely...

[RM1859]

Thanks Mitsugejl! I am planning a re-run with this bus this summer over the whole route (74)from Putney to Camden! Should be fun!

[Mitsugejl]

Sure thing. I'm only 23 years old, and live in denmark. But my father used to work on danish built leyland coaches and i always loved the sound of the leyland diesel. This filmclip reminds me of what i've been missing by living in denmark...

[superking1968]

Adam, a quality Leyland Routemaster being driven by real pro, lovely music comming from that cab, have you got emergency window open to get all the noise in ? did you see them low trees heading towards Roehampton ?

[tom6058]

i love that bus

[tiddybumbum]

Great video ,great memories .Was the video taken from inside the cab ( sitting on the little black box conductors used to get on for a warm in winter ) or from inside bus.I drove the "Airbus " along that route for years.

[RM1859]

Hello! The video was shot by my mate through the sliding window fitted behind me, the driver. He was leaning through!

[ianbillericay]

Brings back memories of driving one around north weald when I was 14

[video47]

I like it, these are a great piece of engineering and the sound has come out great!

[barringtonbank]

Great video mate, I love these buses. It must be a great experience being in the cab of a bus.

[NorwoodLeyland]

Hi Adam that was great. Fantastic Leyland thrash. You don't even need the pictures, just the sound. Superb.

[RM1859]

Hi Norwood Leyland! Glad you enjoyed it. I was really pleased with the sound when I uploaded the video. Its a great bus to drive. The novelty never wears off!

[JamesMorganLondon]

What a great video. I have always loved the Routemaster as I grew up with them. It must be great fun to drive one.

[kidzdoc]

Wonderful video! I stayed in this neighborhood during my recent visit, and it's great to be able to see it, especially from a Routemaster. Thank you!

[RM1859]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it. I certainly enjoy driving this bus. They seem to fit in so well in London even though they've been around over 50 years!

[JohnGBUK]

What a lovely sounding old bus !

[RM1859]

Thank you very much! Glad you enjoyed it! They are great buses to drive, especially in London!

[RM1859]

Hi jaggass, there must be around 200 worldwide. The majority in Britain. Any bus show around London you'll always see ten or more!!

[jaggass]

how many routemasters are these left? isnt some preserved