Revell 1/24 AEC Routemaster concepts

[Weaver]

I'm liking the idea of an airport shuttle full-size RM more and more. How about this: the lower deck luggage space only extends from the driver's cab to the end of the forward facing seats, where there's a bulkhead. The space between the rear wheels, where the sideways bench seats are, is a separate luggage space, accessible from the platform. The idea is that aircraft-hold luggage, which is "checked-in" before boarding the bus (i.e. not when you get to the airport) goes in the middle bit and is then secured, being taken straight off the bus by baggage handlers at the airport without being seen by the passengers again. Hand-luggage, on the other hand, goes in the back bit of the lower deck, where it can be collected by passengers as they come down the stairs to disembark. Obviously this would give modern airport security kittens, but we're talking about a 1950s concept here.

Perhaps, in whiff-world, it could be servicing a flying-boat terminal? 30-odd passengers plus stacks of luggage sounds about right for a days-long journey to Australia with overnight stop-overs, and separating the luggage booking-in from the luggage-loading might be a practical requirement of shoreline operation.

[NARSES2]

That green UC one reminds me of the good old London Country service ones back in the 60's/70's when we had LT and LC before privatisation 

Oh yes, the GreenLine buses. We used to go and see my Auntie in Caterham on them when we lived in Croydon, that was a major expedition in those days!

Yup getting to Biggin Hill for the Airshow took about 3 hours each way via Greenline - only one change as well. Talk about going round the houses. Still you could get a Green Line to Crawley and then a local bus to Brighton 

[raafif]

looks like the modern RouteMaster is going like most others .... no more antiquated British design

The "old" Neoplan coach ... one's currently for sale ($185,000)


Like the Titanic, the upper deck is for 1st Class, the lower deck is for "steerage".

[PR19_Kit]

That must be the world's largest windscreen wiper on the upper deck!

[McColm]

Was there ever a rear twin axle version built or trolley bus routemaster?

[NARSES2]

Was there ever a rear twin axle version built or trolley bus routemaster?

Trolley buses had gone to pastures new by the time Routemasters came along - at least in London.

Used to love getting the 264 trolley bus to my Nan's. If you were lucky the clippie would let us youngsters "help" her swing the pickup arm round while it was at West Croydon terminus  Health and safety circa 1956/57

[PR19_Kit]

Trollybuses??

They're modern technology, I can remember riding in TRAMS in Croydon when I lived there!

Near where my Nanna lived they changed from the overhead wires to the sled thingies that rode in the slots between the rails for the trip up to Central London. We'd spend ages watching them doing the changeover and trying to figure out if we could spoil it for them by moving the sleds around on their holding track before the next tram arrived....

That was before my Grandad told me they ran on 600 V! 

[NARSES2]

They're modern technology, I can remember riding in TRAMS in Croydon when I lived there!

The tracks were still there Kit, but the trams themselves had stopped running a few years before. Mind you we now have our new tram service which hopefully will be extended to Crystal Palace  Interestingly when they built it they opted to call it a tram rather then a "light railway"

[PR19_Kit]

I've ridden the 'new' Croydon' tram Chris, and was MOST impressed.

Mind you, it was like riding through Chicago compared to the Croydon I knew back then. It took me over an hour to find my Nanna's old house as I couldn't find my way across that monster by-pass in the middle of the town!

[Martin H]

Was there ever a rear twin axle version built or trolley bus routemaster?

Like Chris said, the trollybus was long gone by the time the Routemaster came along. Altou Dennis built an experimental trolly bus version of their Dominator decker chassis in the late 80s. I think it ended up at the tramway museum.
As for triple axles versions. As far as I know the last triple axle AEC decker was the AEC Renown. And that predated the Routemaster as well, but not by to long.

[McColm]

I was just thinking that the trolley bus idea might look good on a small oo/ho layout.

[Radish]

But ia anyone actually BUILDING one?

[Martin H]

wadda you think?  lol

[NARSES2]

I was just thinking that the trolley bus idea might look good on a small oo/ho layout.

I have a vague memory of seeing a layout with working small scale trolley buses. Probably at a Model Engineering Exhbition in the far and murky past 

[PR19_Kit]

There was a German firm used to do a range of trollybuses in HO gauge (3.5 mm/ft) and the overhead stuff as well. The buses used the overhead to guide the wheels to steer the busses. And a UK firm did a conversion kit to make a London Trolley using one of those chassis.

I had an idea the German company was Roko, but can't find any reference to them under that name now.