RM 1543, registration 543 CLT, has body number B1536, new to RM 1536, A frame / B frame A1584 / B1584, new to RM 1584 but the AEC unit number is 2R2RH 1588, which was new as RM 1592. So as can be seen the only thing from the original RM 1543 is the registration number. London Transport didn't want to de-license it's buses during overhaul, so a bus ready to leave the overhaul works at Aldenham would receive the tax disc, registration number and chassis number (sub frames on Routemaster) of a bus just entering works. This is why the A frame and B frame numbers don't match the AEC unit number. During overhaul the body was removed from the sub frames and they were overhauled separated. The only thing that remained constant was the body number, for these reasons I have decided to trace the history of body B1536 instead of fleet number RM 1543.
Body B1536 was overhauled three times, so it has carried four different identities.
| RM 1536 | 536 CLT | New to 1st overhaul |
| RM 1523 | 523 CLT | 1st overhaul to 2nd overhaul |
| RM 1657 | 657 DYE | 2nd overhaul to 3rd overhaul |
| RM 1543 | 543 CLT | 3rd overhaul to present |
B1536 entered service as RM 1536 at Peckham garage in March 1963 and was used in the conversion of route 36 from RT to RM. It was also used on route 63 on Sundays and on night route N86. In July 1963 Peckham got more Routemasters to fully convert route 63 and then RMs started to appear on route 78 on Sunday and route 188 on Saturdays. In October 1963 Peckham started to work new Saturday and Sunday only route 63A. The spread of Routemaster operation at Peckham continued in April 1965 when they started to work on route 173 on Saturdays only but it became Monday to Saturday from November 1967.
In April 1968 B1536 was overhauled and left Aldenham as RM 1523 and entered service at Rye Lane garage, which was very close to Peckham, in June. Routemasters at Rye Lane were used on routes 13, 36A, 36B, 37, 173 and N85. When Rye Land closed in March 1969, RM 1523 was transferred to Peckham along with routes 36A, 36B (part), 37 (Sundays) and N85. Peckham Routemasters were now used on the following routes - 36, 36A, 36B, 37, 63, 63A, 78, 173, N85 and N86. The route 37 allocation be came daily in April 1971 but was lost altogether in January 1972. Routes 63A and 173 were withdrawn in January 1970 and routes 78, N85 and N86 were converted to DMS in May 1972.
RM 1523 stayed at Peckham until May 1975 when it went to Aldenham for it's second overhaul. This time it left as RM 1657 and was allocated to Clapton garage in July but was transferred to Stockwell the following month. The Routemasters at Stockwell were used on routes 2, 2B, 37 (RML), 77A, 77C, 88 (mainly RML) and 168 (RML or DM).
In March 1980 B1536 had it's third and final overhaul. It left Aldenham in May as RM 1543 and was allocated to Hackney garage for routes 30, 35 and 106. Hackney had RMLs for route 6 so it's possible that it could have strayed onto this route as well. In April 1981 Hackney was closed and RM 1543 was transferred to the new Ash Grove garage to work on routes 6 (RML), 9, 11, 30, 35, 47, 106 and 253. The unthinkable happened in September 1982 - London Transport started mass withdrawals of Routemasters and Ash Grove lost it's allocation on routes 30, 47 and 106. The first to be withdrawn were the "un-standard" RMs with Leyland engines and Simms electrical equipment, RM 1543 was safe for the time being as it was not due for overhaul until 1984. So in August 1984, instead of getting overhauled again it was withdrawn and sent to the old AEC factory at Southall for storage.
It was to stay in storage for nearly three years until it was acquired by Southampton CityBus in May 1987. It entered service with Southampton in August 1987 and was numbered 411. Routemaster operation came to and end in January 1989 and 411 was one of the five in service on the last day. It was put into store again and was nearly sold to a Japanese buyer in 1990 but the sale fell through. 411 re-entered service in Southampton (with RM 1682) for a month before Christmas 1990 an a service marketed as 'Hoppa Shoppa'.
Seen in the Portswood depot.
Photo by Alex Dyba
Seen soon after entering service in Southampton.
Photo by Bill Young, 4-8-87.
In January 1991 it was sold to Southend Transport for further service and was numbered 116. On the 12th of June 1993 it spend a day on loan to London United to operated on route R70 on the occasion of the Fulwell open day. The last day in service at Southend was the last day of 1993 when the Routemasters were withdrawn. When I went to view the Southend Routemasters, eight were left, RM 1543 was the only one with a Leyland engine. So In the 11th of February I became the owner of an ex London Transport Routemaster. The seven remaining all passed to Reading Mainline very soon afterwards.
The 1st of May 1991 was the first day I saw RM 1543 since London days.
On loan to London United on route R70
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