BEA Routemasters

The BEA Routemasters were a batch of 65 front entrance Routemasters buses built in 1966/67, for British European Airways. Designed as coaches, fitted with interior luggage racks and tow hitches for a luggage trailer, they were used to transport passengers from their Cromwell Road Air Terminal in Kensington to Heathrow Airport. Following the merger of BEA and BOAC, they operated for British Airways. All 65 of the vehicles were later sold to London Transport, being renumbered as the RMA class (not consecutively).

Liveries & features edit

BEA1 in presevation, restored to the original BEA livery
BEA Routemasters with trailers, seen at Heathrow in 1972, wearing the second version of BEA livery of orange/white
The rear of BEA65/RMA65, showing the tow hitch
The nearside of BEA36/RMA51, showing the position of the door

Fleet edit

Caption key:

BEA fleetnumber
original registration in brackets - BEA1-25: (KGJ 601-25D); BEA26-65: (NMY 626-65E)
- followed by any later re-registrations, in brackets
RMA fleetnumber
- followed by any later fleetnumbers, in italics (returns to RMA numbers are not noted)
see #Notes
image description in italics

BEA1
(KGJ 601D)
RMA28
BEA1
LT3-UN
OO(PR)
BEA1 in preservation, at Showbus 2009
BEA3
(KGJ 603D)
RMA29
RME1
LT3-TC
OO
mod
Extended, with staircase rebuilt - Shaftesbury & District Routemaster RME1 at the 2010 Cobham bus rally
BEA12
(KGJ 612D)
RMA37
LT3-SB(BEL)
OO
drv
Timebus Travel RMA37 on a private hire job in London
BEA13
(KGJ 613D)
RMA38
LT3-TC
SC1
London Bus Company RMA48 as the BBC London 94.9 bus in Covent Garden
BEA36
(NMY 636E)
RMA51
LT3-SB(BEL)
OO(LTS)
unrestored BEA36 now in preservation at the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum, Fife (last used as a caravan bus)
BEA46
(NMY 646E)
RMA9
LT1-R175/SB(BEL)
OO
drv
Timebus Travel RMA9 at Showbus 2009
BEA53
(NMY 653E)
(67-D-813)
RMA25
LT2-SB(BEL)
OO(LTS)(EX)
mod
Converted to open top, RMA25 (67-D-813) with City Sightseeing (Dualway Coaches) in Dublin
BEA55
(NMY 655E)
RMA58
0655
LT3-SB(BEL)
OO
Ensignbus RMA58 at the 2005 Cobham bus rally
BEA65
(NMY 665E)
RMA65
LT3-SB(BEL)
OO(LTS)
The Big Red Bus Ltd RMA65 at the 2012 Kent Hop Farm Festival

Notes edit

LT1, LT2, LT3 - The sales to LT occurred in 3 batches - 13 in 1975, 14 in 1976, and the remaining 9 in 1978

- R175 - the first batch (13 buses) were put to use on route 175. This wasn't a success, so LT found new uses for all these buses - SB or TC

- TC - 11 buses (inc. 3 from the 175) were converted into driver trainers - this involved removing the staircase

- SB - 44 buses (inc. 10 from the 175) were used as staff transport buses, serving the LT bus workshops at Aldenham and Chiswick

- - BEL - 34 of the staff buses were still in use when LT's workshops were privatised, so they passed to the newly created Bus Engineering Limited

- UN - the remaining 11 buses were never used at all by LT

SC1 - a total of 29 buses never saw use after LT/BEL, being scrapped (6 of the unused, 18 of the staff buses & 5 of the trainers)

OO - the remaining 36 buses went on to see a variety of other owners

- PR - 5 buses were immediately preserved (others were preserved then re-used, others still were preserved after being re-used)

- LTS 6 of the BLE staff buses were bought back by LT and converted to London sightseeing tour buses

- EX - at least 10 of the 36 have been exported (either immediately or later)

SC2 - of these remaining 36 buses, 3 have definitely since been scrapped:
- Trainer RMA60 was scrapped in 1989 (after use by Clydeside Scottish as a trainer)
- Staff bus RMA46 was scrapped in 1991
- Staff bus RMA26 (formerly one of the LT tour buses) was destroyed in the 2011 arson attack on Dualway Coaches in Ireland (the Dublin franchisee for City Sightseeing)

mod - some buses have received significant body modifications post-LT/BEL, e.g staircase/door/length changes (not including fitting of destination eqt.)

drv - some buses have had their drivetrain (engine and gearbox) upgraded