The AEC Routemaster bus must be one of the most recognisable British icons in the world. Although development began in the late 1940s it was not until 1954 that the first prototype, RM1 (SLT 56) was revealed to the public at the Commercial Motor Show at Earls Court on 24th September 1954. After extensive trials it entered public service on the 8th February 1956 from Cricklewood Garage. Three further prototypes followed, before production commenced. A total of 2,876 Routemasters were built, numerically the last Routemaster built for London Transport was RML2760 (SMK 760F) in early 1968. The Routemaster was designed, developed and tested at London Transport’s Chiswick Works situated at 566 Chiswick High Road in west London. All of the Routemaster’s running units were built at the AEC works in Southall and fitted to the body built by Park Royal in their nearby factory. In 2024 the iconic Routemaster celebrates its 70th Birthday and independent transport videos were asked by the Routemaster Association to film their celebrations which were held at the site of the former Chiswick Works, which has been transformed into the ‘Chiswick Business Park’. The event was held over the weekend of 20th and 21st July 2024.

With having the honour of filming this event we decided to follow the happenings from the set up on Friday 19th, all day Saturday and Sunday up until the closure of the event late on Sunday afternoon with the hope of filming as many Routemasters in action for you to enjoy. On both days we see the Routemasters arriving along Chiswick High Road and entering the site where the buses are all lined up for inspection. On the Saturday we see the opening speeches from John Ward, Chairman of the Routemaster Association and Lord Peter Hendy who declared the event open. We also take a ride on BEA2 (KGJ 602D) in the original BEA livery. This front-entrance Routemaster takes us on a spirited ride along the M4 motorway to Heathrow Airport and returns along the A4 recreating the route that these magnificent vehicles covered back in the day. With a camera in the cab we see the speedometer in action and with a camera on the top-deck we see the passenger's experience. A shorter and more sedate ride is taken on RM1357 (357 CLT) on the local X70 circular route. At the end of Saturday we film some of the buses leaving the event for the day. Sunday also begins very early for our cameramen who capture the action as even more Routemasters arrive for the second day. Our camera also takes a ride on the X70 circular, this time on board RML2267 (CUV 267C). We see the action at the ‘bus station’ as the buses come and go. We also have a visit from RT1530 (KGU 290), one of the RTs that was used on the famous Chiswick Works Skid Pan! Complete with ‘SKID BUS’ notice on the bulkhead window the RT took people on rides (seated only on the lower deck) along the adjacent road to the RM display recreating the start of a ‘skid’! As the day comes to a close we see the Routemasters leaving for their homes after a very successful event.

Well done to all concerned from the Routemaster Association for organising and putting on this absolutely brilliant event. Our programme concludes with a short cine film shot by our cameraman Malcolm King in the late 1970s on two visits he made to Chiswick Works where we see RM2 and the RT ‘Skid’ buses in action. Enjoy.

Produced by - Independent Transport Videos
Duration - 194 minutes (2 discs)
Region - 0 (worldwide) PAL
Aspect Ratio - 16:9 Widescreen
DVD only
Released - August 2024