The Borismaster Taxiing

There weren't many high points about attending the recent Cobham Bus & Coach Rally. The weather was awful and the facilities on offer were poor. Torrential rain and strong winds will always see fewer entrants and visitors - I even considered turning the alarm clock off and going back to sleep when I took a look outside - but the organisation of the event fell very short of that which regular attenders have become accustom.

Not only did your entry fee to the site no longer afford you free entry to the new London Transport Museum (now that it's been re-housed), but free shuttle transport wasn't offered to take you between both sites, as had become customary for many years previous.

However, the event did give me the opportunity to finally catch up with the New Bus For London - the Routemaster fit for a 21st century London, often referred to as the 'Borismaster' on account of it being sanctioned by the current Mayor of London. Two have been produced thus far: LT1/2 (LT61 A/BHT) and are a special commission awarded to Wrightbus of Ballymena. From what I have read, LT2 was the first of the duo to enter regular passenger service with Arriva London, operating Service 38 (Victoria-Hackney), with LT1 making regular return trips to Northern Ireland for modifications.

LT1 also made a visit to the UK Coach Rally at the East of England Showground in Peterborough last week. It also made it to Cobham yesterday and is seen here taxiing along the now decommissioned Wisley runway. A nice shot - very untraditional. It proved unquestionably the biggest hit, despite both RT1 and RM1 being in attendance. A very much appreciated photo shoot took place in the early afternoon, with RT1, RM1 & LT1:

And by this time, the rain had stopped. Quite an iconic shot and if nothing else it demonstrates how much bus design has changed over the past decades. It makes me wonder what the latest revolutionary bus will look like in 2050!