London Transport had for many years dual-sourced chassis from AEC and Leyland,
and had good experiences with the latter in the prewar TDs and in the STDs.
It was politically important too,
that England's capital should be seen to be using Leyland as well as AEC products,
especially in the lively export market.
So when the post-war standard bus for London was proposed,
a Leyland powered version was essential.
If it could be made to fit the same bodies as the AEC version,
so much the better.. and so the RTL was born.
Chassis: 7RT: Leyland PD2/1, 16ft 4in wheel-base, 6 cylinder 9.8 litre diesel with AEC transmission
Body: Park Royal type RT3: 56 seats (26 + 30), metal frames, 4 bays.
RTL 501 was the prototype Leyland RT. Why 501? By the time it was delivered London had decided on 500 8-feet wide Leyland PD3s and was going to number the 7ft 6in wide RTLs upwards from 500. In the event the wide ones were numbered into a separate RTW series, and later RTLs were numbered into the 1-500 sequence.
RTL 501 had a Park Royal RT3 body with a roofbox.
The chassis, a PD2 reshaped to fit the standard RT bodies,
and fitted with RT-type air brakes and an AEC transmission,
was delivered to Chiswick in February 1948.
LT had been going to fit it with a Metro-Cammell body, but this order had not been finalised,
so it went instead to Park Royal to have a RT body fitted.
This body had been intended for RT657, (as had its registration number: JXC 20).
RTL 501 was the only RTL built with a roofbox,
although a few others gained them through body swaps at overhaul.
In 1964 there was a deliberate policy of placing roofbox RT10 bodies
on Leyland chassis prior to sale,
and roofbox RTLs then became rather less rare.
The complete bus arrived back at Chiswick in May 1948,
and was allocated to nearby Turnham Green garage (V),
for duties on the 91, with Sundays on the 65.
Body: Metro-Cammell, type RT7: 56 seats (26 + 30), metal frames, 4 bays.
London Transport had intended to give the entire first order of 1000 RTL bodies to Metro-Cammell, but actually they only did 450. The remainder of the order was completed by Park Royal. The Met-Camms were almost standard RT bodies, very similar to the RT8 bodies. "Almost" meant that they were not interchangeable* with the RT3 and RT8 bodies, and so they were typed RT7. They were recognizable from the standard bodies by a thicker beading above the cream stripe, which had the visual effect of narrowing the stripe.
* The body fixings for the RT7 prevented their being exchanged with RT8 bodies, and normally the 551-1000 numbers were kept for the MCCW buses, but a clerical error in January 1962 resulted in a Park Royal RT8 body receiving an RT7 batch fleet number after overhaul (RTL 626). This left the MCCW body in the Aldenham body float, which eventually came out with fleet number RTL 1005, in October 1963.
Introduced: June 1948
Body: Park Royal or Weymann, type RT8: 56 seats (26 + 30),
metal frames, 4 bays.
Park Royal completed the remaining 550 RTLs originally intended to be bought from from Metro-Cammell as standard RT8 bodies, then built more as required. Weymann built the last few, plus one (RTL 1307) for the long trip to the USA and Canada in company with RT2775/6 in 1952.
Further official trips abroad were undertaken by RTL 1459
to Switzerland and Sweden, (with RT 3710, June to August 1953);
RTL 1117 at Arnhem, Nederlands (May to August 1955); and
RTL 1482 to Helsinki, Finland (with RT 2422, August to October 1957).
Meanwhile the "ordinary" members of the class were going about their everyday business,
taking a part in the standardisation programme that eliminated the trams,
and then all the other non-RT double-deckers in London.
RTL 1222 was the first RTL to disappear from London, going up in smoke in Walworth garage in 1953.
By the time that the last RTLs were being delivered in 1954 London had realised that post-war transport in London was not going to grow in quite the expected way, due to the growth in car ownership. So the last 64 RTLs (like some RTs) were put into store from October 1954 chocked up minus tyres at a number of depots that had spare space. The last 61 were taken out of store in February and March 1958, after the first 50 had been sold through Birds in January 1958. They were easily spotted as they were operated for a while minus adverts.
The trolleybus replacement programme was originally supposed to use RMs as the new replacements. But the aftermath of the 1958 indusrial disputes between LT and its Unions resulted in a huge drop in bus travellers. So the first stages of the trolleybus programme in 1959 saw the use of RTs and RTLs instead, which took RTLs into Clapton (CT) and Bow (BW) depots.
But it was not long before London Transport began to sell surplus RT-type
buses, and the slightly non-standard RTLs were fairly high on the priority list.
They had not proved particularly popular compared with RTs,
being considered heavier to drive and noisier
(See the comparative drive test of a preserved RT and RTL in Classic Bus 13).
In July 1959 things went a bit further. In order to assemble enough green RTs for the summer Greenline extras, mainly to Windsor, a dozen RTs were transferred out of Northfleet garage, and their place taken by sixteen red RTLs. (RTL660, 703, 852, 994, 1093, 1238, 1245, 1248, 1253, 1259, 1276, 1303, 1409, 1477 and 1498, with 914 in August). They were used on the Northfleet local routes, for some weeks, trickling back to the Central Area in August and September.
Somebody must have thought this was a good idea,
for in September and October 1959 eighteen RTLs were painted green at overhaul.
(RTLs 1245, 1256, 1258, 1262, 1264, 1265, 1266, 1268, 1273, 1275, 1276, 1277, 1278, 1285, 1290
1297, 1300 and 1311). Country Area (or the Unions) must have been less enthusiastic,
for all eighteen went into store at Stevenage and Grays for the winter.
In July 1960 they were allocated to Hatfield, and appeared on that garages network of routes, notably the 303/A, 324, 340B and 341,
which took them to Hertford, Stevenage, St Albans, Hitchin, Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield...
But they were not popular with crews and maintenance staffs used to RTs, and after
eleven months they were replaced by repainted RTs from the Central Area.
Central received most of them back and scattered them across the system, still green, as trainers.
(The exception went to Garston as a staff bus).
RTL1256, then privately preserved, visited the running day at Hertford in June 2001,
and worked a stint on the 395.
(left) RTL 1427 at Showbus 97.
Photo by Ian Smith.
Click for larger version.
Many RTLs were sold abroad: Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) took 728 between 1958 and 1968! Others ended up with independent bus companies in the UK, such as A1, Barton, Stevensons and OK. 14 went to Jersey, providing holiday transport on the Channel Island. The last was withdrawn from public service by LT in November 1968, when the 176 and 226 (AC) became RT operated. RTL1215, followed by RTL543, were the last two in service. The RTS were welcomed as they had " ..quieter braking - lighter steering - softer engine sound - BUT - oh JOY!!! Cab heaters!!!!". A few continued until 1970 as staff transports, and as trainers.
| The early RTL garages in the order that they changed to RTLs: |
RTL1348 outside U, Upton Park Garage.
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SP WG R BK AM S AR AP V HW E B Q CL CF |
Sidcup West Green Riverside Barking Plumstead Shepherds Bush Tottenham Seven Kings Turnham Green Hanwell (Southall) Enfield Battersea Camberwell Clay Hall Chalk Farm |
EW C CA ON AH WD RD AE WL H A AW D U SW |
Edgware Poplar Athol Street Clapham Alperton Nunhead Wandsworth Hornchurch Hendon Walworth Hackney Sutton Abbey Wood Dalston Upton Park Stockwell |
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By 1965 the pattern of RTL garages was significantly different: * = alongside RMs. No garages had mixed RTL/RT allocations. |
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AC AF AR B BN BW CF CT D GM |
Willesden Putney * Tottenham* Battersea Brixton Bow Chalk Farm* Clapton Dalston* Victoria* |
HT PR RL S SE SW W WD WL X
|
Highgate* Poplar* Rye Lane* Shepherds Bush* Stonebridge* Stockwell* Cricklewood* Wandsworth Walworth Middle Row*
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RTL1256 in preservation.
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Individual RTL bus histories
photographic references
Preserved standard RTLs
Please let me know if you know of others.
RTL 139 KGK 803 1998 repatriated from Netherlands for Cobham Bus Museum
1999 active, Cobham Museum, PCV, at Open day, RT60
RTL 358 KGU 434 4/08 preserved, Winkleigh
RTL 453 KLB 648 1978 hired to LT, trainer (roofbox)
1998 MOT after engine re-build
active, at Cobham Open Day, North Weald and Showbus98
RTL 554 KGU 4 12/01 bought by Ian Macbeth, York
RTL 598 KGU 48 Ontario
RTL 841 1998 still with Abegweit Tours, Matjiesfontein, Cape Province,
South Africa for weekly hotel duties.
RTL 988 LUC 363 active, open-top
RTL 1004 with Guernseybus
RTL 1014 in Davis (near Sacramento), California
RTL 1050 LLU 829 1996: active at E.Anglia Museum
RTL 1076 with Abegweit Sightseeing Tours, Prince Edward Is., Canada
RTL 1105 with Abegweit Sightseeing Tours, Prince Edward Is., Canada
RTL 1163 1998: active: at Cobham Open Day
RTL 1256 LYR 788 in green
RTL 1264 1998: in S.africa, engineless: body going to RT222.
RTL 1323 MLL 685 1997: at Cobham, green
2006: with Phil & Gareth Blair, repainted red
RTL 1348 MXX 71
RTL 1394 CA 5037 1998: Cape Town: open topper, current C.O.F.; operates
in service, private hires etc. in full LT livery
RTL 1427 NLE 701 1997: active, at Showbus 97 (roofbox)
1998: active, at Cobham Open Day, North Weald Rally
1999: active, at Cobham Open Day, RT60
RTL453 and RTL1427 at Cobham Open Day April 1998.
Photos by Ian Smith. Click for larger version.
Ian's Bus Stop
RT Contents
standard RTs
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