BEA Routemasters

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The BEA Routemasters were a batch of 65 front entrance Routemasters buses built in 1966/67, for British European Airways. Designed as coaches, fitted with interior luggage racks and tow hitches for a luggage trailer, they were used to transport passengers from their Cromwell Road Air Terminal in Kensington to Heathrow Airport. Following the merger of BEA and BOAC, they operated for British Airways. All 65 of the vehicles were later sold to London Transport, being renumbered as the RMA class (not consecutively).

Liveries & features

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Fleet

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Caption key:

  • BEA fleetnumber
  • original registration in brackets - BEA1-25: (KGJ 601-25D); BEA26-65: (NMY 626-65E)
    • followed by any later re-registrations, in brackets
  • RMA fleetnumber
    • followed by any later fleetnumbers, in italics (returns to RMA numbers are not noted)
  • see #Notes
  • image description in italics

Notes

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  • LT1, LT2, LT3 - The sales to LT occurred in 3 batches - 13 in 1975, 14 in 1976, and the remaining 9 in 1978
    • R175 - the first batch (13 buses) were put to use on route 175. This wasn't a success, so LT found new uses for all these buses - SB or TC
    • TC - 11 buses (inc. 3 from the 175) were converted into driver trainers - this involved removing the staircase
    • SB - 44 buses (inc. 10 from the 175) were used as staff transport buses, serving the LT bus workshops at Aldenham and Chiswick
      • BEL - 34 of the staff buses were still in use when LT's workshops were privatised, so they passed to the newly created Bus Engineering Limited
    • UN - the remaining 11 buses were never used at all by LT
  • SC1 - a total of 29 buses never saw use after LT/BEL, being scrapped (6 of the unused, 18 of the staff buses & 5 of the trainers)
  • OO - the remaining 36 buses went on to see a variety of other owners
    • PR - 5 buses were immediately preserved (others were preserved then re-used, others still were preserved after being re-used)
    • LTS 6 of the BLE staff buses were bought back by LT and converted to London sightseeing tour buses
    • EX - at least 10 of the 36 have been exported (either immediately or later)
  • SC2 - of these remaining 36 buses, 3 have definitely since been scrapped:
    • Trainer RMA60 was scrapped in 1989 (after use by Clydeside Scottish as a trainer)
    • Staff bus RMA46 was scrapped in 1991
    • Staff bus RMA26 (formerly one of the LT tour buses) was destroyed in the 2011 arson attack on Dualway Coaches in Ireland (the Dublin franchisee for City Sightseeing)
  • mod - some buses have received significant body modifications post-LT/BEL, e.g staircase/door/length changes (not including fitting of destination eqt.)
  • drv - some buses have had their drivetrain (engine and gearbox) upgraded