On 8 Aug, 00:16, wrote:
In article ,

(Graham Harrison) wrote:
I'm from the era when the registration of a Routemaster and the
stock number matched. * For instance I seem to remember something
along the lines WLT885 was RM (or was it RML) 885.

RML885 was part of the 1961 trial batch of 24 RMLs, 880-903.

But over the years, some Routemasters seem to have acquired new
registrations. * Now, I can understand that when sold on from LT
they might have received new registrations but is it that simple
and why did LT not sell with the registrations, was it because of
the "exclusivity" of the LT in WLT, VLT etc?

Some bus operators appear to have regarded the original plates as
cherished and therefore transferred them to newer buses when RMs were
sold. There was a bit of a racket involved as it enabled the new owners to
gain a new plate without a year letter at one time but later
reregistrations got "A" year letters. Then some of the sold RMs found
their way back to London after 2000.

That kind of marks them out, because none of the Routemasters
originally had A plates. They went straight to B. I don't know if
that corresponds to a break in deliveries.

In message
, MIG
writes

RML885 was part of the 1961 trial batch of 24 RMLs, 880-903.

But over the years, some Routemasters seem to have acquired new
registrations. * Now, I can understand that when sold on from LT
they might have received new registrations but is it that simple
and why did LT not sell with the registrations, was it because of
the "exclusivity" of the LT in WLT, VLT etc?

Some bus operators appear to have regarded the original plates as
cherished and therefore transferred them to newer buses when RMs were
sold. There was a bit of a racket involved as it enabled the new owners to
gain a new plate without a year letter at one time but later
reregistrations got "A" year letters. Then some of the sold RMs found
their way back to London after 2000.

That kind of marks them out, because none of the Routemasters
originally had A plates. They went straight to B. I don't know if
that corresponds to a break in deliveries.

When the registration system moved to the year suffix it was because
offices were running out of registrations. Not all local offices issued
A marks as they had not used up all their existing marks. I gather by
the time C came along all were issuing under the new system.

Also, in the case of the Routemasters, LT had a large block of numbers
allocated and would have just continued to use them until they ran out
which would have long gone past the start of the As. Things were much
more flexible back then.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle...f_the_United_K
ingdom notes this further down in the history part.
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