London Buses Renault50/ Reeve Burgess B29F, RB1-35

This page created 7th March 2017 by Ian Smith. Best on 800*600.

RB sketch

Hoppas for the East End

London Buses bought 33 Reeve Burgess-bodied Renault 50s during 1990. They were allocated to Bow garage for use on routes 100, 276 and S2, on the latter pair displacing Leyland Nationals. They were London red, with grey skirts and a white cant-rail tape. They were branded with "hoppa" fleetnames.

100 Liverpool Street Stn - Aldgate - Tower Hill - Wapping - Shadwell Station
276 Stoke Newington - Hackney - Hackney Wick - Stratford - Canning Town - City Airport - North Woolwich
S2 Lee Valley Ice Centre (Sat / Sun) - Clapton (M-F) - Stratford

As normal with these lightwight buses they suffered mechanically, and were soon sharing their duties with more robust MetroRiders. An extra two (RB34 and 35) were acquired at the end of 1991. These two went on loan to Centrewest in May 1992, to help out on the 201 and 203

East London collected together their minibus operations at Stratford (SD) in September 1992, and the RBs all moved, albeit still on the same routes.

By mid-1994 the Renaults were tired - and were retired to London Bus Sales at Fulwell, replaced by Darts. They were bought by Yorkshire Traction, who sent many of them to Lincolnshire Road Car, where most survived into the new millenium. A handful went to Strathtay Scottish in Dundee.

Bus Stop midi index RB text histories photo refs