The bodies were L.G.O.C. (Chiswick-built) rear entrance, 6 bay, 29 seaters,
26ft long x 7ft 6in wide. The doorway occupied the last bay on the nearside,
with a step up into the saloon. A subsidiary step was bracketed below the platform.
T43 was an exception: it had an experimental AEC 8-cylinder engine. Its body (10276) was built 6in shorter, (losing it from the bay over the rear wheels) to allow for the longer engine. It was rebuilt with a normal engine in December 1930, when it also swapped bodies with T10. But the chassis was reduced in length by six inches (so as not to carry around six inches of air between engine and bulkhead) When the buses were coded in 1935 T43 was coded as 2T2, whereas the others were 1T1. T10, of course, was now only 25ft 6in long, (but coded 1T1), and remained that way through subsequent overhauls.
T38 was a different beast altogether: this chassis was used to make a prototype for the Greenline "coaches". To make up the numbers of buses, T156 was bodied as a 1T1 bus during the production of the Greenline 7T7s.
Once they had settled, one was called in from each of Nunhead, Sutton and Holloway
in order to stock a competitive service at Cricklewood,
to draw passengers from a Birch-operated service.
| Garages | Routes | Buses displaced |
|---|---|---|
| RD Romford | G1 Collier Row - Cranham | K |
| RD Romford | G5 Romford - Hornchurch | K |
| RD Romford | 187 Chadwell Heath - Harold Wood | K |
| W Cricklewood | 104 Golders Green Stn - Burnt Oak | K |
| CR Crayford | 99C, Erith - Crayford - Dartford | K |
| AH Nunhead | 621 Peckham - Nunhead - Peckham | K |
| J Holloway | 110 Golders Green - Finsbury Park | K |
| A Sutton | 113 Banstead - | S |
| W Cricklewood | 121E | new route |
T27 was experimentally rebuilt at overhaul in December 1930
with an open doorway at the front of the saloon,
behind the front wheel, instead of the original rear platform.
The other Central Area buses were rebuilt the same way during overhaul between 1933 and 1935.
This did not include the five (T15, 21, 25, 26, and T35) that were allocated to Crayford. These retained their original bodies at overhaul, then were transferred to East Surrey with that garage in April 1931. They never were rebuilt, and after a transfer to Slough in 1935 were withdrawn in 1938.
The 45 Central Area buses went about their duties:
there were not very many Central routes requiring single deckers,
and they kept company with the 5Q5s and LTLs.
In some cases they were used to open up new suburban routes as London sprawled outwards,
such as the 235 (Croydon - Selsdon), and the 232 (Beckenham Junction - Coney Hall).
Three suffered from the shortage of red and white paints at overhaul during the winter of 1942-3, and wore indian red and primrose livery until their next overhaul.
Many others were converted to perimeter seating, with twenty-nine inwards-facing seats: sixteen offside, thirteen nearside. This allowed twenty standing passengers to be carried, greatly increasing peak capacity. This arrangement lasted for some time after the war, when the fleet was suffering severe capacity problems. Quite a few continued perimeter seating until 1949 - some until withdrawal.
So eighteen of the 1T1s were sent to Marshalls of Cambridge
for body rebuilds, and emerged looking superb,
in red livery with narrow cream lining.
Gone was the Chiswick cummerbund, and the rubbing strakes on side and rear.
New were smooth panels from window to skirt. The doorless front entrance was retained,
and a route stencil holder mounted above it.
The rebuilds also received diesel engines from scrap STLs.
Eight others, unrebuilt, also received diesel engines
and shared the Kingston duties in their red, white and brown colours.
They also appeared on other Kingston routes alongside their later cousins.
| Garages | Routes |
|---|---|
| K Kingston | 218 Kingston - Esher - Walton - Staines |
| K Kingston | 264 Kingston - Hampton Court - Walton - Hersham Green |
The end came in 1953, when a temporary replacement bridge at Walton allowed their replacement by 10T10s.
But even then one survived: T31 became an instruction unit at Chiswick,
and stayed on training duties until October 1956.
It was then sold by London Transport direct into preservation.
T31 has since been rebuilt to original rear-entrance configuration,
and repainted in original General livery style.
It is actively preserved at Cobham Bus Museum.
T1-50: bus histories
Ian's Bus Stop
T contents
General Ts