AEC Regent III RT bus was a variant of the AEC Regent III. It was a double-decker bus produced jointly by AEC and London Transport
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5360 x 3560 px | 45.4 x 30.1 cm | 17.9 x 11.9 inches | 300dpiDate taken:
25 September 2016Location:
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The AEC Regent III RT was a variant of the AEC Regent III. It was a double-decker bus produced jointly between AEC and London Transport. It was the standard red London bus during the 1950s. The prototype (London Transport RT 1) was built in 1938 with an AEC 8.8-litre engine (a stopgap measure until the new 9.6-litre was available) and air-operated pre-selective gearbox. Finding a satisfactory British substitute for the German air compressor, bought from Bosch, was to cause problems for AEC, once war broke out. A prototype chassis was placed into service, disguised as an old vehicle. It carried a secondhand open-staircase body previously carried on Leyland Titan (fleet number TD 111), dating from 1931. Thus bodied, RT 1 entered service in July 1938 as ST 1140, even though it was nothing like a standard ST vehicle. It continued in service until December 1938. While the chassis was on trial, a new body was constructed at London Transport's Chiswick Works. Its four-bay body resembled that of the Roe Leeds City Pullman body exhibited at the 1937 Commercial Motor Show, though the overall impression of modern design and the features included marked a big step forward. This body replaced the old one on RT 1 and the bus re-entered service in 1939. Production of the RT recommenced in late 1946, being delayed by London Transport's wish to have the bodies jig-built, following its experience building Halifax bombers at Aldenham Tube Depot (later to become its main bus works). The new vehicles were built to a modified version of the pre-war London Transport design, but were similar in appearance to their predecessors. The very last RT in service (RT624), now preserved by Ensignbus, operated on route 62 from Barking Garage on 7 April 1979. FXT288 RT113 is a 1940 built example