| So
we've come to the end of the line, having spent twelve
solid hours on 8s, near 8s or in front of 8s with
cameras. This final section is devoted solely to RML
2760, the last 8 of all as BW75. On we crowded at Bow,
hoping to still be able to stay on once we got to
Victoria, and off we went, departing Bow Garage at 9:48
pm. As on all the special buses today, all cash fares
taken were donated to St Joseph's Hospice. To add to the
realism of the event, which I should add included full
blinds displayed by every single bus, the conductors used
proper Gibson machines (another piece of fifty-year-old
technology that's stood the test of time) to issue
commemorative tickets. To accept today's standard £1
fare, those conductors equipped with the very rare
example of a Gibson whose numeric fare wheels had not
been converted to letter codes (a practice adopted in the
1970s to accommodate steadily increasing fares and the
progressive deletion of halfpenny values) had to issue eight
12½p tickets! |
 |
It was
inevitable that the Victoria terminus would be
mad as the last four 8s arrived at eleven
o'clock. We were surprised to be asked to
disembark from RML 2760 so that the driver and
conductress (who would be retiring after this
last run - and they weren't the only ones to lose
their jobs on Friday night) could take their last
statutory break. At least that got me and others
the chance to try and get a photo at Terminus Place, and here it is. Once
we'd managed to barge our way back aboard round
the corner in Wilton Road, we were joined by two
separate film crews, one from the BBC who are
making a documentary about the demise of the
Routemasters to be screened in September, and a
private project whose cameraman and interviewer
were taking statements upstairs. I hope they all
shot around the odd bit of boisterousness that's
apt to come from certain among our number - bus
enthusiasts get dodgy enough PR as it is! |
 |
Journey's end
as RML 2760 completes its final run and poses for
photographs in Fairfield Road. Time check - 12:25 am,
nearly an hour behind schedule but who was
worrying? It was a Friday night, and that time of
day has become extremely busy in central London
in the last decade or so. It's worth noting that
the front numberplate on RML 2760 was
straightened before the final days; it had been
mounted a little too far to the right. At least
it's a proper white-on-black version that won't
white out under a flashgun - another little piece
of tradition that lasted longer than everywhere
else and that slipped away almost unnoticed,
except by people like me. One last special 8 I
saw out late in the day is Blue Triangle's fourth
entry, RM 298 (VLT 298) seen opposite the RML,
and that makes the full set. Some people thought
they might have trouble both snapping and riding
all of what was on offer, but through sheer hard
work and a good bit of planning I got it all. The
excellent timetable produced for the occasion
really made things easy - the special buses'
headway was so frequent that all we had to do was
turn up with cameras pointed. |
 |
As the last of
their respective batches, RML 2760 and RML 903
from what is now Metroline London Northern were
deliberately retained in original condition while
the other 500 went through the refurbishment
programme of ten years ago. Seeing the care given
to RML 2760 by first Upton Park and then Bow,
even through daily gruelling service, makes one
wonder why the others needed to be refurbished at
all. The AEC engine on RML 2760 remains
lightweight, quiet and reliable even if parts are
not as immediately plentiful as they were, and
the decor is second to none with its gentle bulb
lighting and classic London Transport moquette.
In fact, Routemasters had centrally-mounted rear
stop lights thirty-five years before they became
mandatory on cars! Here's a rear view as RML 2760 inched
along Fairfield Road towards the two hundred
photographers lined up at the entrance to Bow
garage, many of whom cheered and clapped as its
fellow Routemasters were seen leaving Bow's
arched exits for the last time, heading to
Stratford 'SD2' depot for storage prior to
dispatch to the provinces. The staff at Bow were
very efficient and professional in accommodating
the milling crowds as well as deflecting the
other traffic to be found in the area. We were
even allowed five minutes inside the garage for
one last look around as RML 2665 in beachball
livery was posed beside RML 2760 and outgoing
staff had their pictures taken in front of their
last Routemaster. The opportunity was also taken
to produce commemorative T-shirts in two designs
plus erasers, rulers, yo-yos, pens and mugs, and
these were on sale outside the garage gates
during the afternoon (and will still be
available, while stocks last, from the Stagecoach
Travelshop in Ilford). |
 |
After a
fifteen-hour day, my digital camera batteries had
had it and were showing a flashing half bar, so
I'd been husbanding them for the perfect last
shot, and the result here couldn't be much
better. Good thing I had two other cameras with
me in the event of the unthinkable! The Union flag is displayed in all its
glory on RML 2760's bonnet as it prepares to make
its final entrance to Bow Garage at 12:30 am.
Although this was its last day in service after a
thirty-six year career (short for a
Routemaster!), RML 2760 is being retained by
Stagecoach East London for permanent private
hire. I wonder if they can be persuaded to return
the favour shown by other companies today and
lend it to some of the next forthcoming
Routemaster last days...? To perform the unhappy
task of re-focusing minds from today's glorious
finish back to the continuing tragedy of the end
of London's Routemasters, I must remind readers
that the next two route conversions are happening
in quick succession and are both earlier exits
than the expiry dates of their last contracts
suggested - the 7's final day falls on Friday 2nd
July and the 137's is on Friday 9th July. |
|
| Here is the full
runout of vehicles on the 8 on the last day,
Friday 4th June 2004. Running numbers are not
included as they were swapped repeatedly
throughout the day. If buses are late into meal
reliefs, their crews 'step back' by taking up the
previous duty and its bus, ensuring flexibility. |
| Stagecoach East London (Routemasters) RML
2456, 2462, 2470, 2488, 2493, 2495, 2592, 2624,
2641, 2665, 2671, 2709, 2748, 2749, 2760 |
| Stagecoach East London (Others) T
1, Tridents
17539s, 17554s, 17560s, 17783, 17818, 17888,
17909, 17927, 18204-18207, 18212, 18213, 18218,
18221, 18222 |
| Blue
Triangle - RT
3871, RM
298, RML
900, T
2 |
| Arriva London North - RM
5 |
| First
London
- RM
1650 |
| Memory Lane - RT
1790 |
| Cobham Bus Museum- RTL
139, RMC
1461 |
| Other
Privately Preserved - RT
1702, RTW
75, 467, RM
1, RMC
1456, 1469 |
| Ensignbus - RT
3232, 4421 |
|
It's
time for me to attempt to thank everybody involved with
what many are feeling is the true final day of the
Routemaster in spirit - unless any of the other London
companies reckon they can top a send-off like that, the
likes of which none of us have ever
seen. The challenge is on!
I am in absolute awe of the love and care that was put
into this unforgettable event by Stagecoach East London
in the form of MD Barry Arnold and Jon Batchelor, Blue
Triangle's Roger Wright, First London at Westbourne Park,
Arriva London North at Tottenham, Memory Lane Travel,
Cobham Bus Museum and its tireless staff, the LT Museum
and Depot, Ensignbus and the Newman family, Russell Young
for the outstanding publicity given to the event, the
drivers and conductors of all these vehicles and those of
the regular 8s out of Bow for that one last day, and the
private preservationists who so kindly lent their buses,
expertise and time to the cause, trading the risk that
comes with exposing their pristine buses to the ravages
of London's sometimes maddening bus passengers for being
a part of the glory that was for so long a standard
component of what was once known as London Transport, but
which now only exists when such good people join forces
to give us back our pride, just for a little while. I
take my hat off to you.You can return to Part
One, pick
up the story at Part Two, or start again at the Table
of Contents.
|
