The Routemaster will forever be a London bus - for many the London bus - but in its decades of public service it also graced several other UK cities, albeit in far smaller numbers, including Newcastle, Southampton and Blackpool. Glasgow is another city that enjoyed a strong Routemaster presence for a spell starting in the mid 1980s.
On Sunday 5th July The Red Bus is celebrating those days with a unique outing - a return trip from Edinburgh to Glasgow on one of the very Routemasters that worked in Glasgow all those years ago. Yes, RM875 - or RM666 as it used to be known (more on this later) - will be taking part in ‘London Comes To Glasgow’, a collaboration between the Glasgow Vintage Vehicle Trust (GVVT) and the Routemaster Association.
The bus will be leaving Charlotte Square in Edinburgh’s New Town at 9am, due to arrive at GVVT’s home, Bridgeton Bus Garage in Dennistoun, for the start of an action-packed full public open day. This will include displays, running services on parts of historic routes, simulator, shop, cafe and stalls. Basically, bus heaven for those who are this way inclined.
Our own inter-city service will operate on a first-come, first-served basis, with the bus on standby from 8.45am and maximum capacity of 64. Tickets will only be available on the day, handed out by our conductor Emma from her trusty Gibson machine. Donations of £10 single or £20 return are suggested.
Routemasters found their way to Glasgow after bus deregulation in October 1986, which combined with the era of the first withdrawals of this already iconic bus from London. They shed their traditional red livery and wore the slightly odd colours of new companies such as Clydeside Scottish (take a bow, RM875), Kelvin Scottish and Magicbus (run by Stagecoach).
RM875 may be known today by that fleet number but the brass cabin plate states RM666. The bus, new to Holloway garage in April 1961, took 875’s body in the distant past of London Transport’s heyday at least 50 years ago but it kept the WLT 666 plate, as was routine with these body swaps. After it was withdrawn from service in London in 1987 it was sold to Scottish Clydeside and worked in Glasgow for about five years, having been re-registered LDS257A. Then in 1993, under new ownership in Wales, it was re-registered again to its current WLT 875 to match its body. This was possible because the “original” WLT 875 had itself been re-registered, freeing up the number plate. So there are still two RM875s at large but only one WLT 875. It is extremely confusing! Anyway, the bus has been part of The Red Bus fleet in Edinburgh since 2012, busy with weddings, corporate hires and other events, including as a venue at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
This won’t be its first return to Glasgow. In 2023 RM 875 appeared for a few seconds in the 1970s feature film Borderland, which looked at the impact of the Troubles through the eyes of a British soldier and an IRA member - the city stood in for London, with period advertisements installed at Bridgeton.
On Sunday 5th July we’ll be back down the M8 but it will be different - this time passengers rather than actors are welcome to join us for the ride. It promises to be a landmark day on the buses when we arrive. Ding ding!