Overhauls were needed, and as Bus Engineering Ltd at Aldenham was concentrating on Titans and Metrobuses a decision was made to overhaul locally. Buses were given mechanical attention at garages, repanelled as necessary, also in the District, examined for a Freedom From Defect (FFD) certificate, and repainted at Clapham or Aldenham. Livery at this stage was still all-red.
DMS 2456 re-appeared from Chiswick in 1985,
having been altered significantly as a test-bed for ideas on bus interiors by Ogle Designs.
Most radical was the straight staircase, which meant a revision of the whole offside front.
The cab was rebuilt too, with ergonomically designed controls.
Unfortunately this proved not to be amenable to the fitting of a fare machine,
restricting the bus to crew duties. Doorways and circulating areas received attention too.
The old AFC machines had gone (most DMSs still carried them, despite their not being used).
Barriers around the doors had gone too, and the front door had a slit step entrance.
The centre doorway, moved forward slightly, received an extra internal shallow step.
Handrails were coated in a non-slip high-visibility bright green material.
It went into service on the 77, from Stockwell,
alongside the other types on the Alternative Vehicle Evaluation trials.
Two events in 1987 heralded a transformation in the performance and appearance of the B20 fleet.
In July Croydon's DMS2281 was successfully fitted with an Iveco 836-S11 engine for a three month trial period.
The trial was successful. Here was an engine that worked for the Fleetline, reliably!
From November onwards the B20 fleet was re-engined at the rate of one a day,
another 29 buses at Croydon being the first recipients.
Apart from performance and audio effect,
external signs of the transformation were the installation of a nearside air intake
and the capping of the nearside "chimney".
The other external change initiated in 1987 was the adoption in December by London Buses of an improved livery.
Addition of a grey skirt and a white stripe (the "tapegrey" livery), plus new London Buses bullseyes,
did wonders for their appearance, even if some had the changes added over the previous paint-job.
Repaints resumed. Appearance moved up the agenda, as part of a new market-orientated awareness.
In north London Leaside Buses applied
their new livery with black skirts and broad white band to their DMS trainers as they repainted them,
and they hung on to the livery for about a year until it was officially frowned upon by Higher Authority.
Towards the end of the year there was a clear-out of disused Fleetlines,
and older buses replaced the four B20 trainers, which went back into service.
Bexleybus began their adventure using resurrected Fleetlines in January. In November Suttonbus, with a vastly more reliable fleet of re-engined B20s, began their nominally independent existence.
Another open-topper appeared in the London fleet in February,
when DMS2291 returned from works after a de-roofing,
to be used for private hire work from Stamford Hill (Leaside Buses).
It was also used on the 310B (Enfield - Harlow)
and was the regular bus for the 333 (Lea Valley Leisure Bus).
Problems with the reprieved "standards" in the low-cost units at Norbiton and Bexleyheath led to their steady attrition during the year.
In January Merton was the surprise recipient of four of Norbiton's 'old bangers',
which were put to work on the 44 and 219. Others followed, but they were all retired again by August,
after the annual round of Special Events (Wimbledon, Flower Festivals...)
Bexleybus disposed of the last of its Fleetlines by March. Again, four appeared with London General in April, bizarrely partly repainted: the fronts only were London General red/tapegrey, while the sides and back were still Bexleybus blue and cream. These too were used during the peak requirements of the shows and festivals season, and retired in July.
January produced another DMS oddity: DMS1515 was rebuilt as the Supercar,
to promote Travelcards. The front was DMS, the middle was a section of a 1973 Underground Tube train,
and at the rear was a Network South East Networker train cab! It all ran on the DMS chassis - but not in service!
May 1991 saw a downturn in the fortunes of the B20s, which had hitherto remained largely intact for several years.
Stockwell, Streatham and Merton received Metrobuses to replace DMSs for the Wandsworth Area tender awards.
Leyland engined B20s departed wholesale, leaving just Merton, Sutton, Brixton, Croydon and Thornton Heath
with B20s in ordinary service.
But Leaside won some contract work, and took four B20s for it. They were followed in August by DMS681 and D1868, reappointed from training to contract work.
Another surprise in July was the appointment of D2600 to East London's contract fleet at North Street. This meant that it appeared fairly frequently on schools routes 345 (Goodmayes - Chingford) and 449 (Romford - County Park Estate).
Selkent still had open-toppers DM948 and DM1102. These were used on the Greenwich Tourist service. Another open-topper still in use was Leaside's DMS2291, which was used on the Lea Valley leisure services. This one also appeared occasionally on normal services, such as the 73 (with crew), and on the 38 when that was greatly enhanced during the closure of Charing Cross and Waterloo East stations. London Buses' open-toppers received an extra in May when D2556 joined London Northern's hire fleet at Holloway, replacing DMS2595.
Driver-trainers were being replaced by early Metrobuses and Titans too,
and several went to the sales yard during the spring.
London General selected thirteen B20s as specialist driver trainers.
They were given extra mirrors and controls, and the blind boxes were removed .
They received a special livery:
a full yellow front and roof marked them out from other vehicles,
and sign-writing on the sides invited passers-by to join the driving team.
London General classified them DMT.
They were originally distributed around the company's garages
but were gathered together to Putney in June.
Stagecoach Selkent acquired open-toppers DM948 and DM1102.
Leaside had three: DMS681, DMS 2291 (open-top), D1868
London Northern had just two: D2556 and DMS2168 (open-top)
London General had DMS2633, and twelve driver-trainer DMTs.
Bus Stop
Part 1.
Part 5.
Part 6.
Part 7.
bus histories.
photos.