About the bus

Our bus is one of 700 built for London Transport in the early 1950s. The first arrived for use at the Festival of Britain in 1951.

The AEC RF’s pleasing appearance both inside and out is down to the fact that London Transport engaged one of Britain’s first professional industrial designers – Douglas Scott – to create the bodywork. Scott was a quiet master of practical styling, whose many achievements include the Rayburn cooker, Ideal Standard’s Roma washbasin found in the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and London Transport’s Routemaster bus, one of the world’s most famous vehicles.

Scott’s design for the RF included complex curved panels which give the bus a friendly appearance, and make it seem smaller than it really is. Its streamlined look inspired one observer to say that it ‘might almost have been extruded from a single sheet of curved metal’. If the exterior is striking, the interior is a small masterpiece, with the brown and cream theme of London Transport’s quality seating material carried through to the ceiling and interior panelling. When illuminated at dusk by the warm glow of the tungsten lighting, the interior is a real pleasure to behold. The bus even sounds friendly; while modern buses roar, ours has a melodic almost tuneful tone.

The RF type served London well for 28 years and developed a great reputation for reliability. Its simple rugged London Transport design means there is less to go wrong. Our bus has been refurbished to a high mechanical standard, and although built in 1953 it is subject to the same stringent safety regime as modern vehicles. It is regularly checked by an independent engineer, and is fitted with a modern ‘spy in the cab’ tachograph which keeps a record of miles travelled, speed and driver’s hours. It is operated under a Certificate of Professional Competence and Operator’s Licence issued by the Department for Transport.

Please note that the bus was designed for local work and has a maximum speed of 35-40mph, so is not really suitable for long motorway trips.