A brief history of AEC

In 1912 the London General Omnibus Co Ltd (LGO) was acquired by the Underground Electric Railways Company of London Limited (UERL) and as part of an overall company restructure, the Associated Equipment Company, or as it is more familiarly know AEC, was created to separate the bus manufacturing elements from the rest.

From 1908 LGO had started building its own chassis so as not to rely on those from other companies. By 1912 though, it was clear that the factory at Walthomstow in north-east London was too small and so AEC began work on a new factory at Southall, west London. The new site was ready in 1926 and the first chassis rolled off the production lines in February 1927.

From 1912, AEC continued to manufacture the LGO X-type and B-type double-decker buses, but despite being famous as the manufacturer of the Routemaster bus, AEC was also a formidable lorry maker and its early years were in fact dominated by the production of lorries, and with the outset of the First World War in 1914 their assembly lines were focussed upon producing vehicles for the British military.

Between the wars AEC’s bus production went from strength-to-strengh with the introduction of the Reliance, Ranger, Regal and Renown models. AEC became so strong in London that the company started to market itself as the “Builders of London’s buses”.

By 1941, due to the war, production of all non-military vehicles at AEC had stopped whilst the company focussed on the war-effort producing over 10,000 vehicles including artillery tractors, command vehicles and armoured cars.

From the mid 20s AEC named all of the military vehicles with a name beginning with ‘M’ (e.g. Matador, Major, Mammoth) and their bus and coach range had names beginning with ‘R (e.g. Routemaster, Regal, Regent, Renown).

In the post-war years AEC acquired Crossley Motors, Maudslay Motor Co. and Thornycroft, and eventually AEC itself was taken over by Leyland Motors in 1962. Production at its Southall site continued in various forms until its closure in 1979, and the factory was demolished in 1981 and replaced with the Great Western Industrial Park.

For a full list of AEC buses see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_AEC_buses

Technical Specification

Specification of the standard Routemaster (RM)

Built: 1958 to 1965

Engines:

AEC AV590 9.6 litre
Leyland 0600 9.8 litre diesel

Power: 115 bhp at 1800 rpm

In-service top speed: 45 mph

Dimensions:

Width 2.4m (8′)
Length 8.4m (27′ 6″)
Height 4.4m (14′ 4.5″)

Number of seats: 28 downstairs, 36 upstairs (total 64)

Gearbox: AEC direct selection/automatic 4 speed
Brakes: Continuous flow power hydraulic
Turning circle: 19m (62′) circle

Front Chassis frame: engine, steering and front suspension.
Rear Chassis frame: rear axle and rear suspension.

Routemaster buses are recognised by their class:

Source: Wikipedia

Here’s an old documentary we found on Youtube charting the history of the Routemaster. According to the comments it was shot in the early 1990s, but has some great old footage – not to mention some awesome old-fashioned English accents!!!!

The video is in two parts, you can find part 2 here: https://youtu.be/pYkEunTHUF8.