The Heritage Fleet

The Heritage Fleet is a company set up in 2006 by Arriva. It uses Routemasters for private hire work, and was formed after Routemasters in London were withdrawn from normal service.

History

The world-famous London Routemaster bus was withdrawn from normal London service on December 9 2005, after the vehicle type was introduced some 50 years earlier. Arriva operated the last service to be operated by Routemasters, which was route 159. The last day was celebrated by many enthusiasts and visitors, with extra vehicles running.

Following this, Arriva London collected some of the most significant Routemasters in their fleet, and set up the Heritage Fleet in early 2006.

Current operations

The Heritage Fleet currently offer their vehicles for private hire, such as events celebration and weddings. The buses can also be hired to attend other public events, and often the buses appear at bus events, such as Showbus or the LBPT Cobham bus rally.

Fleet

The Heritage Fleet is made up of 9 unique examples Routemasters. As Arriva were the biggest operator of Routemasters before they were withdrawn from normal services, they operated some of the most significant Routemasters. These include;

* [http://www.theheritagefleet.com/C_Heritage_J.html RM5] : This is the first ever production Routemaster.
* [http://www.theheritagefleet.com/C_Heritage_A.html RM6] : This was the second production model. In 2002, it was painted in a gold livery to celebrate the Queen's jubile, the livery of which it now wears.
* [http://www.theheritagefleet.com/C_Heritage_K.html RML901] : This was part of the first batch of 24 RMLs (Routemaster Long) to enter service.
* [http://www.theheritagefleet.com/C_Heritage_B.html RM1124] : This was retained as it contains a Cummins Euro II engine, meaning it already meets emission standards to be set for London.
* [http://www.theheritagefleet.com/C_Heritage_G.html RMC1453] : This was the first production Green Line Routemaster Coach.
* [http://www.theheritagefleet.com/C_Heritage_C.html RMC1464] : This is an open top bus, so is popular for private hires.
* [http://www.theheritagefleet.com/C_Heritage_L.html RM2217] : This was the last production Routemaster built, and was the last bus to finish service on route 159 when Routemasters were withdrawn.
* [http://www.theheritagefleet.com/C_Heritage_L.html RML2355] : This is still in the condition as when it left service, but is awaiting restoration. It is unusual in retaining its original body and chassis after the Routemaster overhaul scheme.
* [http://www.theheritagefleet.com/C_Heritage_H.html RML2360] : This is being looked after for the London Transport Museum. It has been converted inside for exhibition use.

External links

* [http://www.theheritagefleet.com/ The Heritage Fleet website]
* [http://downloads.csndigitalmedia.com/root/ArrivaTHFCorporate/The%20Arriva%20Heritage%20Fleetv2.wmv The Heritage Fleet video]

Picture Gallery