The RTWs had the distinction of being London's first 8ft wide motor buses with 500 being introduced in 1949 on modified Leyland Titan PD2 chassis. Originally they were banned from Central London, and from anywhere with tram tracks, which limited their scope somewhat. The Metropolitan Police were only prepared to admit them as suburban buses until trials took place that allowed them into central areas from 1950. RTWs had a relatively short life with London Transport with withdrawal commencing in 1963 after the last trolleybuses had been replaced by the conquering Routemaster. Some survived in use as driver training vehicles, others were sold to small UK operators whilst a large number (279 of them) were exported to Sri Lanka.
RTW335 ended its service career with London in 1965 and was exported to Solingen, Germany and latterly used as a demonstration bus for Hywema vehicle lifts. It was stored outside for many years where it's condition deteriorated until rescued by two prominent preservationists in 2004 and returned to England.
RTW335 ended its service career with London in 1965 and was exported to Solingen, Germany and latterly used as a demonstration bus for Hywema vehicle lifts. It was stored outside for many years where it's condition deteriorated until rescued by two prominent preservationists in 2004 and returned to England.
In 2008 it passed to Ensignbus for future restoration to join their heritage fleet and in October 2009, Ensign commissioned the BusWorks to rebuild the bus. It arrived in Blackpool on 24 November and will be fully restored to operational condition over the next 12-18 months.
