RF507 in 1975 at the southerly terminus
of the
234A.
The balance of the 225 red RFs were
delivered in early 1953, enabling the replacement of the last
pre-war single-deckers in London (with the exception of the 10T10
class, which had to await the double-decking of the
205 at Enfield in May 1953 and their replacement
at Kingston by TDs from Enfield). In addition to six
more routes converted with new buses (taking the total to
thirteen), 1953 saw the introduction of RFs to the
251 (weekend spares at Muswell Hill) and, as the
new buses were faster than the buses they replaced, enough buses
were squeezed out across the network later in the year to permit
conversion of the
254 at Loughton.
In the meantime, an RF provided a temporary service on a section of
the
108, due to road works.
By 25 March, when the last of 225 red RFs was licensed, the
fleet had been delivered and placed in service in a little over 6
months, and all remaining Central Area pre-war single-deckers had
finally been withdrawn from public service. The last LT
Scooters were replaced by RFs on the 234A and (working as spares only) on
the 208, the 5Q5s, the last of the
Q-class, on the 241 and the 1T1s and
ex-Country 4Q4s at Kingston indirectly by post-war Ts and TDs
released by the RFs. This period was celebrated at the
Worcester Park running day in 2008; for
more detail, see The RF Story.
