Festival of Britain buses and bus routes

London Transport buses and bus routes related to the Festival of Britain of 1951.

World tour

As a promotional exercise, London Transport sent four brand new RT class buses on a world tour - RT1692/1702/3070/3114. They departed at the end of July 1950, returning on 30 Oct 1950. RT1702 (KYY 529) has since been preserved - Category:Preserved bus in the UK (KYY 529).

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  RT1702 in Festival of Britain guise, on display in 2000 in the Millennium Dome as part of the Millennium Experience exhibition.

Bus routes (A-F)

London Transport also operated 8 special routes in London, using STL class buses. These were given letters rather than numbers:

• Service A - Science Exhibition to Festival Gardens (which later became route 45A)
• Service B - Sloane Square to Festival Gardens (which later became route 137A)
• Service C - South Bank to Festival Gardens
• Service D - West India Dock Pier (Manila Road) to Lansbury (feeder for the river bus to South Bank)
• Service E - South Bank to Elizabeth Bridge (for connections to Victoria Coach Station and Green Line services in Ecclestone Bridge)
• Service F - Festival Gardens to Clapham Common (serving a large coach park)
• Service G - A park & ride network for South Bank, linking it to six car parks in surrounding areas
• Service F- A park & ride for Festival Gardens

Preserved STL2377 (EGO 426) wearing blinds for Service B:

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  (far right) During the 2014 Stockwell bus garage open day (21 June 2014)
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  During the Regent Street Bus Cavalcade (22 June 2014)
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Bus tour (Service J)

In addition, Service J was a 2 hour circular sightseeing tour of London, operated using the four RT buses which had been used on the world tour. It used three stops:

• Buckingham Palace Road
• South Kensington Station (Cromwell Place)
• Bloomsbury (Southampton Row)

It was later renamed Excursion 1, and was the forerunner of the Round London Sightseeing Tour.

RT1720, with Service J blinds, giving mystery tours from the South Bank Centre as part of the 60th anniversary celebrations of the Festival of Britain (13/14 August 2011):

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