AEC Regent I - the pre-war standard London
bus
Buses planned for
operation: STL441, STL2377
Cobham Bus Museum's STL2377
arriving at Wallington during the Carshalton running day last
year. This is an example of the large late batch of
'roof-box' STLs and dates from 1937.
Photo © Peter
Osborn
In 1929, the General adopted as its standard buses the 27ft
six-wheeled AEC Renown (LT or long type), the 25ft four-wheeled AEC
Regent (ST or short type) and the 26ft single deck AEC Regal (T) -
all legal maximum lengths in the capital at that time.
In 1932 the overall length of four wheel double-deck buses was
raised from 25 to 26 feet, and the gross weight from 9.5 to 10
tons. AEC produced a lengthened Regent chassis, 16ft 3in to replace
the 15ft 6.5in version used on the LGOC ST class buses.
The new class - the Short Type Lengthened or STL - was
built continuously by LGOC and London Transport until the
outbreak of war in 1939. Most bodies were built at the
Chiswick works, but a few were unsatisfactorily contracted to Park
Royal. The type operated until replaced by RTs in the early 1950s.
In our area, STLs were used on many routes from before the war
until the early 1950s. Many were replaced by utility Daimlers
in 1945-6, allowing the STLs to replace older types around the
fleet, but a small number of STLs were retained.
Thanks to Ian
Smith for many details for the type histories.
'Leaning-back' STL251 dating from 1933 is
working from Sutton on the 156 in October 1949, at a time when
Sutton was nominally all-Daimler. However, absence for
overhaul meant that a small number of STLs also operated.
Photo © Alan
Cross
