Collections close up: RT type bus, 1954

The RT type bus formed London’s largest ever standardised bus fleet. Introduced in 1939, it served London for 40 years. Its mass production was delayed by the Second World War.

This vehicle in our collection, RT4712, is typical of its type apart from its distinctive livery. It was painted gold for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee in 2002. We also hold a more typically red example, RT4825, in our collection.

The RT type and its variants formed London’s largest ever standardised bus fleet. The 7,000 RT types produced employed the best engineering practice and styling of the day. 

Standardised, interchangeable parts drove down repair times and costs, making the fleet highly efficient. The RT type was engineered specifically to cope with the heavy traffic on London’s streets and was in service for 40 years. 

The RT type bus was initially designed between 1938 and 1939, following experiments to adapt the earlier STL type. Between 1940 and 1942, 150 new 55-seater RT type buses entered service, but mass production was delayed by the outbreak of the Second World War.

The refined design of post-war RT types included more streamlined bodies, which were interchangeable between chassis. This development was informed by wartime aircraft manufacture. A large overhaul facility, Aldenham Works, was established for efficient overhaul of the standardised fleet.

The first RTs were introduced in 1939 and served Londoners in difficult wartime conditions. After the war London Transport aimed to standardise its bus fleet and by the mid-1950s almost every bus on London’s streets was an RT. By the time it was withdrawn in 1979, the RT had been serving London for 40 years. 

The RT type bus ran with a driver and a conductor who travelled in the back with the passengers, collecting fares and checking tickets.

RTs were built at a time when the use of public transport in London was declining. The rise of car ownership and home entertainment in the 1950s meant that fewer people were choosing to travel by bus. Subsequent bus types such as the Routemaster were built in much smaller numbers.

RT4712 entered service on 15 February 1954 from Upton Park garage, initially on Route 101 as a replacement for STL type buses. It was subsequently allocated to eleven other garages, finally ending up at Bexleyheath in 1978.

The bus was withdrawn from regular service in 1978 and set aside by London Transport for publicity purposes and used for various special events. It was transferred to the Museum collection in 1986 as an operational duplicate for RT4825. In 2002, it was painted gold to mark the Queen’s Golden Jubilee.

RT4712 is normally stored at the Museum Depot in Acton and operated at various events. It is displayed in the gallery while RT4825 is undergoing necessary maintenance.

See the horse bus - and a larger selection of this content - on display at the Museum in our On the Surface 1945 to today gallery.