The 50-year EvOlution of the London Bus
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I N London, 50 years ago last Sunday, the Motor Traction Co. put into service the first internal-combustionengined bus, which ran between Kennington and Victoria via Westminster bridge. The venture was short-lived and ceased in 1900.
In the next few years, however, buses propelled by steam, petrol and electricity were introduced.
This was a period of intense competition, and old and new companies vied with one another to evolve a more efficient motorbus. The London General Omnibus Co., which had operated horsed buses for nearly half a century, tried some 30 different types, including petrol-electric and steam, before introducing in 1910 the 34-seater petrol-driven B type.
The next advance in the evolution of n20 the London bus was the introduction in 1919 of the K type. It had 46 seats and for the first time incorporated a forward position for the driver. At the end of 1920 an improved version, known as the S type with 54 seats appeared.
The year 1923 saw a radical advance in bus design with the introduction of the 52-seater NS type. This was designed to allow for roofing over the upper deck and for equipping with pneumatic tyres when the necessary Sanction for these measures could be obtained. It received its roof in 1925 and thus was made possible the provision of upholstered seats on the upper as well as the lower deck. Pneumatic tyres were not added to this type until 1928, but in 1927, the first General sixwheeler appeared—the 66-seater LS.
The LS in turn led, in 1929, to the six-wheeled LT with 60 seats. This was the first London type with an enclosed cab for the driver. The 50-seater ST in 1930 reverted to four wheels and was designed with an enclosed platform and inside staircase.
Experience with the ST resulted in 1932 in the STL, the original 60 seats of which were later reduced to 56. Although from 1930 oil engines graduallY superseded petrol engines, there was no other major change in design until 1939, when the oil-engined RT appeared. This was the • prototype of London's standard post-war bus and introduced a high degree of comfort for passengers and crew alike. Development of this type was hampered by the war, but the past three years have already seen the appearance of several modifications.