Prepared on Notepad by Ian Smith, This page created 17th February 2023. Best on 800*600.

The Original London Sightseeing Tour

The arrival in January 2006 of articulated buses to Edmonton for route 29 caused a wholesale flurry of transfers and disposals. Ms and Ls ceased to carry passengers for TfL, DLAs moved from Edmonton to Enfield, and the first batch of Presidents, DLP1-14, were packed off to Arriva TOLST at Wandsworth. They were quickly sent to Pickerings in Leicestershire for conversion to part open-top, losing the centre doorway bur retaining the central staircase.

The converted DLPs were renumbered by adding 200 to their original numbers. They were painted in TOLST's red with large pale cream scoop at the front. Seating was PO44/21F.

They wore a variety of full-rear adverts, mainly advertising current shows in the West End. So they made fairly frequent trips to Mardens to have the vinyls changed.

long TOLST DLP DLP 201 at Showbus September 2009

DLP201 was reregistered as 201 KYD in time to appear at Showbus in 2009.

DLP 204 DLP211
Early conversion DLP204 on the T1 at Aldwych, July 2007, in the early TOLST livery. DP211 shows the early rear livery in October 2006.

later long TOLST DLP DLP15-20 had initially been intended for the first tranche with TOLST, but didn't go. DLP15 and 16 were transferred and converted in early 2012. Regulations had changed by then, requiring a central emergency exit on the offside. This was squeezed in ahead of the central staircase, thereby losing the trapezoidal window that had been a distinctive feature of the first DLPs. The covered portion of the top deck went further back, and the rear was given a shaped top. The top-deck handrails were tidied up too.

DLP17-20 retained their top decks. They were acquired by TOLST and were treated to Arriva deep-scoop livery without TOLST branding. Possibly TOLST was anticipating contract use for them during the Stratford Games. They were sold in 2014-15 to The London Bus Company at Northfleet.

Two more batches for TOLST: new engines, open-top and part open-top

DLP40-49, 51-65 were transferred to Arriva TOLST early in 2012, and were sent to Smiles Engineering in Newcastle for refurbishment and to have their Euro-2 engines replaced by Euro-4 Cummins ISBe engines.

City Sightseeing long TOLST DLP

During 2012 and 2013 they went to Hants & Dorset at Eastleigh for conversion to open-top. There were two new designs, one with a partial covered section of nearly three bays, and the other with only the first upstairs bay with windows (but no roof). With a forward staircase these no longer required the centre offside emergency exit as on DLP215 and 216. DLP41-DLP49 were part open-top and became DLP241-249. DLP40 was open-top and was given DLP250. DLP50 was renumbered to DLP266, following on from DLP51-65 which became DLP251-265..

During the summer of 2013 some of the new conversions appeared in red CitySightseeing London livery instead of the red and cream TOLST livery worn by the earlier conversions.

Disposals of the remaining ordinary DLP fleet

During early 2013 surplus DLPs had been withdrawn into store at Edmonton and then moved north to Bus & Coach World at Blackburn. There they were converted to single-doorway, digital displays and Arriva interurban blue/blue livery. They went into service with Arriva NorthWest from August 2013.Some more were treated at Derby in 2014.

The last public service DLPs were withdrawn from Palmers Green in December 2014. Throughout their London careers thay had always worked the Lee valley routes and garages: Enfield, Wood Green, Palmers Green, Edmonton and briefly Tottenham. Rather camera-shy, they had outlasted their DLA contemporaries (apart from the DLA trainers).

The Sightseeing fleet continues with the RATP group.

The TOLST open-top fleet continued. The later conversions had been re-engined with Euro-5 engines, which meant that they could continue to work in Central London. Arriva sold the operation in September 2014 to the RATP group. Wandsworth garage was part of the deal. The new owners, not suffering the British management disease of boldly marking their property, maintained the red/cream livery. The few Arriva logos disappeared, to be replaced by discrete RATP labels, but the red and cream livery, and the red London CitySightseeing liveries continued, refreshed frequently, mostly by Mardens. A new livery, based on the red, white and blue of the Union flag followed from 2017.

Union Flag long TOLST DLP DLP 246

DLP246 in the red CitySightseeing London livery in November 2014


short TOLST DP

Short sightseers

In November 2014 TOLST bought four of the shorter (10.2m) DLPs, which were numbered DP267-270. They had added-on side screens beside the second bay on top. They were initially in the original red/cream TOLST colour scheme. Two at least later wore the Union Flag livery, and DP268 was used on the TOOTBUS operation in Windsor. Two were sold to English Riviera Tours in Torbay, where they wore a similar Union Flag livery.

Takeovers

London City Tours was taken over from Groupo Julia in August 2018. Some of the TOLST DLPs were repainted in their mainly red livery.

Sightseeing operations in Windsor (The Windsor Sightseeing Tour) were also taken over in 2018. The DLPs were not involved at first, although they were later. Windsor operations were based at Hounslow Heath.

COVID-19

The pandemic hit the tourism industry very hard, especially during the lockdown period. Many of the DLPs were put into store, and some were sold. By May 2021 the operational fleet in London was down to fourteen, while three DLPs were holding the fort in Windsor. Other types of tour buses were also sold.

Union Flag long TOOT DLP June 2021 saw a bad taste rebranding: Instead of the buses being labelled "The original London Sightseeing tour", albeit in small writing, now they boldly wore the label TOOTBUS in large writing. OK if foreign or indigenous visitors knew what it stood for, but otherwise incomprehensible, and rather vulgar! Some gained somewhat more understandable "The LONDON Tour" or "The Original Tour" lettering on the sides. I suppose it made booking more accessible to the mobile phone generation, via the TOOTBUS.com page.

Bus Stop 1. 2. histories. photo refs.