Just been for a spin in a...........

[fossyant]

51 year old London Routemaster Bus.

Fab condition - FIL's friend has one, and offered us a ride as they were 'exercising it'..... spent an hour trundling round Stockport, including filling up at the local Morrisons - just fitted with about 4 inches to spare to the roof.....

The poor thing struggled up the hills a bit...

 

[Night Train]

I wanted to buy one as a mobile home/workshop just before they were phased out but then they became expensive.
I do like them, great design ethos for their job.

 

[Maz]

Lucky you, fossy...I love the design of the old Routemaster. My old man used to work as a bus conductor and I have many endearing memories of bus journeys.

 

[Globalti]

They were a very sociable way to travel - you could sit downstairs where most of the action took place, facing your fellow passengers and enjoying the bustle of people getting on and off, meeting people and chatting with the conductor, who you felt was in charge of your journey as he would give advice and tell you when to get off. Nowadays you sit in ordered rows all facing the same way and speak to no one, there's not even a conductor. When the conductor was on the platform you felt as if you were entering his territory and I bet there was no misbehaviour on those buses.

The slow steady movement made them a lot less dangerous as well; you couldn't have a platform with today's speeds.