Well its good to be back from my holidays in the beautiful DERBYSHIRE PEAK DISTRICT ..... never been there before and on our travels found a pub that sold the best beer we've ever tasted or tried , its called ROBINSONS DARK & SMOOTH .oh my gracious its ' the nuts ' , Absolutley gorgeous stuff .

Anyway having caught up with all the posts here during our holiday I can make several offerrings and you must decide for yourself if interested ........

The cost of ANY ROUTEMASTER IS NO LONGER WORTH A PENNY MORE THAN £12,000 and even that is stretching it, anything bigger is pure ripoff no matter whose selling, the big money profit days of Routemasters changing hands is now long gone, you gets what you pay for !!

Speedo drive for Mr Anderson ........ I have supplied him with replacement ........ NOTE -- WHEN THE RM Assoc' got hold of all the MARSHALLS disgarded material from the 44 refurbs they did this contained a LARGE NUMBER OF SUCH ITEMS as this speedo unit along with SSG / COMPRESSORS / BRAKE PUMPS / QUILL DRIVES etc etc and NO ONE out of all who got these items managed to come to Steves help when asking for a speedo unit OR just the drive shaft ... yes they are rare BUT at least one of you who has these items could have offereed to help out , when he asked if I could help -- yes was the straight reply and glad to be of help for A FELLOW OWNER .... shame on the rest of you who has these spares - your day will come rest assured !!

During our holiday I had the pleasure of meeting up with yet another RM Assoc' member, Mr David Colin , who kindly allowed / offerred me the chance to drive his ex Q garage RML 2276 around part of CHESTERFIELD , his home town. Good bus , easy to drive as they are , complete with AUTO gears . David was pleased to be a passenger on his own as he'd never riden it like that before.. Observations == very heavy throttle feel probably due to throttle cable location on pedal arm and brakes require a pump up . We went into the huge CHESTERFIELD STAGECOACH bus garage whilst there and the regime has changed if asking about the RMLs they have OR DID HAVE to be precise ...... Dave asked of we could get the info / photos of those that remained there and was told that unless one has WRITTEN PERMISSION before hand there is no cooperation there any longer to get such info . We said thanks and got the fleet numbers of whats left there anyway - NO photos-- but if our eyes were accurate then RML 2303 // RML 2437 are at the back corner gathering dust. ANY ONE KNOW where the other 6 have gone ???

So over the last 3 years I have driven .. Brian Jennings RML 2302 In NORTH YORKSHIRE // Ed Rowsons RML 2335 In CORNWALL and now Dave Colins RML 2276 In DERBYSHIRE .... what a fantastic pleasure and memory from each one , its the EXPORTED ones thats cause for concern == the rest of you lot should get out more , ho ho ho !

"the rest of you lot should get out more , ho ho ho !" Alan old freind, perhaps YOU should get out more in your own bus(es) rather than enjoying the drive in other peoples!!!!!!!!!!! He he he

Chesterfield "L"s- I believe some of them were the ones which ended up at Lillyhall in Carlisle- 4 or 5 I think- at least one got scrapped, several moved on SOMEWHERE in about April, I believe one remains in poor condition and is likely to be scrapped.

Speedo drive, yes, Alan has kindly offered one from his personal spares collection. Also Mark Prescott from Manchester sourced a shaft which would fit but had 13 teeth instead of 14 which would have meant an incorrect speedo reading, I am extremely greatfull to Mark for his rummaging and helpfull information and to Alan for his response when he found out I needed the said item. As Alan said, some people are obviously sitting on such items amongst their vast collections of spares, most of which they will probably never use.

Still, its made round to go round. Myself and another owner are about to purchase a large stock of RM spares, some of which will be usefull for my bus, a lot of it is "Original" stuff for non refurbs, the freinds who have helped us may well hear of items they may need for their buses, the silent majority won't.

Hi

And the difference between your friend and you and those others with their vast unused collections of spares is what?

Claire

Claire ,

the difference is that at least I will help where possible if I have a spare I can pass to the enquirer to help them out ..

Many others here will not lift a finger to help FELLOW MEMBERS with buses IN THE SAME HOBBY supposedly SHARED with them , this is why so many will never let others know what they might have as a simple spare to be helpful YET when the RM ASSOC' acquires some spare they all SHARE the same principals as politians with their noses firmly planted in the same trough from the minute the gate opens.

Hello Alan

Thanks for the name check. Hanna and I are glad you both enjoyed your holiday.

Regarding spare parts,Clare has a point and we do have to be careful here. I am not so sure that buying a possibly rare part for future use is wrong. What if somebody kindly sold me their one and only and very rare giggle pin only to find theirs stopped giggling shortly afterwards. Do I have to sell it back to them? Maybe their bus would be fit only for scrap without it. They are not going to be happy are they. I still maintain (while doing bu**er all about it) that we need a list of all important (peculiar to RM's?) parts and where they can be obtained, what kind of quantities are available as well as typical prices etc. We would then know beyond doubt what we should be looking out for. In fact does the association have a full stock and price list of all parts they hold?

Regarding Steve's point. If all it takes to be in the group (clique?) is to say "if I had one, I'd give it to you" then yes, If I'd had one I'd have given to you. The same applies to all of you. However if I remain silent it means either I haven't been on the site to read your post or I ain't got one, because if I did i'd have given it to you. If that's enough to include me in the group that can have parts, well expect an awful lot of useless replies to your request.

Sitting on a spare part (and for the record the only parts I have are electrical or pretty common or at least rarely' if ever go wrong parts(gear control panel) is a fairly natural thing to do I think and I would not blame anyone for doing it. If however a member, having acquired parts in quantity and perhaps in a dubious manner, is simply holding out for the best price then be very ashamed especially if you are not a bus owner yourself.

David

PS Having supplied the association with a particular part recently I also have in stock or at fairly quick turnaround the following parts and services:

Nuts, Bolts, Washers, Rivets, Cable ties and accessories, Cable and wire (all types and in cut lengths), Connectors (crimped, military, multi-way plastic, sealed etc) Air tube, fuses and circuit breakers, cable protection, tools, Wiring harness manufacture (modern or to historical standards), A full electrical repair and rewire service, usual bus electrical components where still available, the facility to look at any re-manufacture or pattern part manufacture, Accumulator recharge service, sheet aluminium and steel, cut and folded or formed if required, conversion of any bus into a mobile..... well whatever you wish, The facility to temporarily give bed and board to your bus (if you are ever stranded in the Chesterfield area) and finally access to bus mechanics, a trimmer and a travelling coach painter. That is what I have in stock/available. What have you got?

Continued from above

Relays, Switches, oil and water level and pressure monitors, voltage converters, buzzers, bells and bell-pushes, temperature sensors, a whole range of the now obsolete Thomas electronics parts, radolarms, 3 mph switches, diodes and resistors, some external light fittings (

all the above for 1960's,70's and 80's LT buses

David

In fact now I've re read your message steve, You really are going to do what you condemn others for. If we are all serious about this spares issue then instead of buying the parts yourself, should you not ask the association to do it so we can stop the very thing you are complaining about and we can all benefit.I do not know how many members there are that actually own a Routemaster but surely a small payment of say £10 to £20.00 per bus owning member would begin the process of securing these parts and make them available to (and at a price agreed by all) participating members.


David

Claire and David, valid points, taken on the chin where they were aimed. But my point was, it seems the old ways of bartering and swapping, and assistance to others where it could be offered, do not exist amongst many RM owners. I was not suggesting people should sacrifice their one and only spare part which they may need themselves. It was aimed at those who over the years have bought, begged, borrowed or STOLEN parts in, in some cases, large quantities from their original owner, in number which they would personally never use. Some is slowly being released via Ebay, some is sitting safely in storage accumulating value and dust and will not be passed on at a fair price to those who need it NOW.

Most of those who have aquired RMs in the last 5 to 8 years will never aquire the kinds of spares which people who began the aquisition process in the 1980s were fortunate enough to aquire. Few of those people offer such items to others do they? How many adverts for such parts do you see in the RMOOA mag? Or on this forum? See it on Ebay though don't you? So by my reckoning, that means the vendors are not interested in helping other owners, they are interested solely in the monetary value. Yes, when times are hard money can be your God, but does that mean everyone?

A very small number of people seem genuinely interested in offering rarer parts at a FAIR price, to help fellow owners. Alan Gregory has been extremely helpful to me and MANY OTHERS since I bought my bus, Graham Meadows and Kieran Redman obtained usefull spares which were offered to others at realistic prices, other local owners actually SHARED their own spares,- Barry Walker, Kelvin Platt to name but two. Rob Duker and Mark Prescott have offered assistance. These people and several others I may have forgot share my OWN values of helping other like minded owners if you are in a position to do so. We are all in this together! So lets say about 600 routemasters in the UK in private hands. A good percentage of the owners in the RMOOA and a good percentage read this forum but do not post. So thats 7 people who have helped. Out of poentially how many? And how many of those others simply thought "mm yes I have one of those, good, its value is increasing"?

So my choice when I recieve the parts I have secured, eveything from glass to new propshafts to AEC engine parts to compressors to accumulators, do I offer the surplus parts to those who I know may need them, and who have helped me ,such as all those named above, or do I offer them to all, including the greedy bast***s who effectively stuck up two fingers to others in their time of need? You can see my dilemma. When you need a part which you know is out there, yet no-one comes forward with, and your bus is stuck without it, it has a tendancy to seriously pi** off the owner. My heart says offer the stuff to everyone, be a shining beacon of good amongst a sea of sludge. But the general tendancy of owners seems to be the opposite.

Steve

I do actually agree with you. Finding that fine line of being prepared for the future parts wise or being greedy is difficult.

It may be that I am annoyed that I didn't steal EVERYTHING not screwed down during my 13 years association with London Transport but I am endlessly amazed at the people selling parts on eBay. I don't have a massive problem with the price as it will only ever sell for what someone is prepared to pay for it but how (and why) on earth did johnsrmparts in peterborough (i just made that up) come to own a routemaster accumulator, 2 windscreen motors and an emergency door handle! Certainly my enquiries to all sellers of " out of interest, how are you involved in the bus industry?" is invariably met with a blank. They can't all be ex employees surely. (I will accept a former employee enhancing his pension with the sale of the odd redundant part taken as a souvenir as being a legitimate sale because if I don't pot, kettle and black keeps springing to mind). Which reminds me. Many years ago I was based at Fulwell garage carrying out metrobus modifications. A call came in to say that a garage employee had died the night before. A few weeks later a call came from his widow asking if someone could collect some bus parts he had bought home as "souvenirs". When they went to his house apparently his garage, shed and attic were full of bus components.

david

David Colin

To all and Alan

Just to clarify the what have you got at the end of one of my earlier messages was not actually aimed at Alan or the association. It was to everyone but I forgot I had addressed the main message to Alan. Profuse apologies. Must remember to re-read and spell check befour sunding
David

Thats right. A fine line between being prepared for the future and shere greed. People sitting smugly watching the demand (and price) rise for trinkets they have squirreled away, never to be used on their own vehicle.

Working in the motor industry for many years there are similar tales to tell. Opening up lockers of long retired people has in the past yielded Viva indicators, Chevette sidelights, optional foglights and much more in the way of tools than you could shake a stick at. Then there was the guy sacked for stealing CD players, the one sacked for stealing stillages of tyres (honestly), they found his garage full of catalytic converters as well when the police opened it up. And the hero who piched a box of badges and sold them on Ebay. The company security dept actually bought one off him and asked if he had more...so they instantly knew his name and address- and asked where he got the parts ..and if he had a reciept...and what he intended to tell his wife when he went home with no job. So there you have classic examples of the difference between "being prepared" and downright greed.

What I say below is not intended to upset the seller if they read this forum. The gentleman was honourable and stood by the price I won the item for.

I saw recently an almost complete set of Metrobus seats and frames on eBay. It had a starting price of 1p and no reserve. I bid a maximum of £10.00 and of course the way the system works is it automatically bid the 1p starting price. 10 days later I won the auction at 1p as no one else had bid. As I said above the seller honoured the sale and I did actually give him the £10.00 I had bid. I think that actually made it worse as previously he had received £200.00 for a similar set. Bargain methinks

So not all bad on eBay!

David

Thanks for the note David, no probs ...broad shoulders as you know mate so i can take it.

I have to agree with so many points made about the overall RM spares situation and actually helping someone out in their time of need is sometimes a difficult decision ifm one has 'just the one' .. this does not mean we cannot get such parts again but perhaps NOT by next week as some would want .

When the RM ASSOC managed to get hold of and purchase the UNWANTED & removed parts from standard RMs that went thro' MARSHALLS for refurbishment the ASSOC' MEMBERS who jumped at the chance of making a purchase of many of these spare parts and yes I was one of them did so and have put this stock away for a rainy day OR torrential storm whatever occurs first - ONE SUCH MEMBER PURCHASED 8 -- YES 8 -- PROPELLER shafts ... what the hell for ?? but others who made purchases of other goods could easily have made the effort to help Steve out when he asked for help promptly arrogantly sat back and did nowt yet could easily have helped out even as a temporary measure... is it any wonder the secrecy phenomenon is so rampant amongst ROUTEMASTER OWNERS especiallty here in the SOUTH ... what for and why juat beggars belief . Clearly we are all NOT in the Same hobby ... if many other organisations who don't own BUSES can support each other when items are less available then WHY ARE WE SO DIFFERENT ????? we are far from unique !

TIN HAT ON and TIRADE READY...

I wholeheartedly agree with the EBAY 'how much can I get today for this piece of whats to me useless junk thats been in my loft for years and I don't even own a BUS let alone ICONIC Routemaster' mentality , if you don't own a bus then why the hell keep the 'junk'in the first place.

I'm pleased to say that there is the beginnings of a group of like minded RM owners who are willing to both source and PUT SOME CASH UP FRONT -- NOT MEGABUCKS EITHER -- to help get parts remade where much needed. Anyone interested in this ' little ACORNS / mighty OAKS ' thing please feel free to contact any of the following .

DAVID COOPER, RM A membership sec
Myself
COLIN -- DOC

There are several others who are willing to be involved but wish to remain in the background !!

There is NOTHING formal YET but we have begun the process of parts remanufacture as being both required AND in some instances URGENT for your buses SAFETY.

Hi there,

I am desperately seeking some white rail handles!

Looking to buy ASAP!

Do you have or know anyone that has any?

Many thanks