ABOVE: Preserved London Transport Routemaster RM 1397 (397 CLT) is seen in Worcester Park, en route for Sutton, during the Route 213 Heritage Day on Saturday 13 June 2026. All photos in this article were taken that day.
Picture Gallery:
Route 213 Heritage Day
20 June 2026
The latest of the London Bus Museum's Bus Heritage Days took place on Saturday 13 June, and was based mainly on route 213 between Kingston and Sutton, with a service also running on route 293 (North Cheam to Epsom). I took a straight "out-and-back" along route 213, starting from Kingston mid-morning.
Route 213 has a complex history. The London General Omnibus Company launched a new route 113 in 1921 between Kingston and Lower Kingswood, using B type single-deckers from Putney garage. It was renumbered 213 in 1934 as part of the London Passenger Transport Board's exercise of numbering single-deck bus routes in the 200 series. Over the years, the destinations beyond Sutton have been rich and varied, and there have been times when the core route has been numbered 213A.
Today it is a straight-forward run through Norbiton, New Malden, Worcester Park and Cheam, using electric double-deckers, with a Sunday daytime frequency that matches the weekday one, and a full night service.
This is difficult territory in terms of road traffic, though, and Heritage Day buses (and those on the normal service) quickly fell behind the intended schedule, not helped by major roadworks and a diversion in Kingston, more works in the New Malden area forcing car and bus traffic (including the SL7 Superloop service) onto another diversion, and rail replacement buses adding to the chaos around New Malden.
But our intrepid preserved bus owners battled through the traffic and brought us a delightful day out in decent warm sunshine. Here are some of the vehicles that were out and about, presented in the order that I photographed them.
ABOVE: P720 RYL is a preserved 1996 Dennis Dart SLF / Plaxton Pointer 1, originally LDP20 in the London General fleet. It is seen here in Eden Street, Kingston. This is one of the first generation of low-floor buses (excluding the 1994 'trial' vehicles from Wright's). It's hard to believe that this bus can be 30 years old! A genuine modern-day 213 is behind, and I missed that one as well!
ABOVE: A few yards along Eden Street comes RF 406 (MXX 294). New in 1953, this bus will take me to Sutton. RFs ran on route 213 from 1953 until 1963, when the road was lowered at Worcester Park station to enable RTs to take over.
ABOVE: I was on the very back seat of RF 406 so my photos reflect that! I wouldn't have included this one except that it's the only one I got of the two (at least) Leyland Nationals that were out. This is LS 103 (OJD 903R).
ABOVE: I did get a lucky angle, though, in New Malden, as Leyland Titan T 1064 (A64 THX) went through.
ABOVE: Here's RM 1397 again, rounding the New Malden Fountain Roundabout. Built in 1894, and originally a stone water trough for horses and pedestrians funded by the Band of Mercy, the fountain was demolished by traffic accidents twice. The current structure, of fibre-glass, was installed by the Rotary Club in 1982.
ABOVE: Another back-seat photo: G610 BPH is a 1989 Volvo B10M with East Lancashire Citybus bodywork, which originally operated as fleet number 610 for London & Country.
ABOVE: Almost seven thousand RT family buses (including the RTL and RTW variants) were built between approximately 1938 and 1954. RT 2293 (KGU 322) dates back to 1949. It is crossing the A24 trunk London Road in North Cheam.
ABOVE: A 'proper' view of RF 406, which has just completed its busy run from Kingston. Like most buses on the Heritage Day, it was carrying a capacity load for significant parts of the journey. A few passengers on my bus left in Sutton Town Centre but most stuck it out to the Garage (the garage is out of shot to the right).
ABOVE: For me, the star of the show was the appearance of FRM 1 (KGY 4D), the prototype front entrance Routemaster. This was designed to see whether the successful Routemaster design could be adapted into a vehicle for driver-only operation on London's busy streets, to tackle both staff shortages and costs.
At one point during the rollout of the infamous Bus Reshaping Plan of 1966, nearly 3000 FRMs were anticipated for service, comprising 2492 in the Central area and a further 460 in the Country Area (source: Reshaping London's Buses by Mike Harris and Barry Arnold).
But plans changed. "Off the shelf" buses were bought instead, and no more FRMs were built. FRM 1 worked in service in various parts of London, both as a crew bus and as a driver-only vehicle, from 1967. It eventually settled on Potters Bar local (and one bus allocation) route 284 from 1973. As a child, it used to be a treat for me to be taken for an occasional trip up to Potters Bar to ride this bus.
It remained in service until an accident in 1976. Route 284 (DMS operated when the FRM wasn't available) was replaced by minibus route PB1 in 1977. FRM 1 saw further service as a sightseeing bus and passed to the London Transport Museum in 1983 (source: London Transport Museum).
Could I get on it for a ride on this occasion? Not a chance! There was by this time a significant queue, out of sight behind the buses. Sutton Bus Garage forms the backdrop here, and the two other buses in sight feature later. It's the second one that I will end up travelling back to Kingston on.
At one point during the rollout of the infamous Bus Reshaping Plan of 1966, nearly 3000 FRMs were anticipated for service, comprising 2492 in the Central area and a further 460 in the Country Area (source: Reshaping London's Buses by Mike Harris and Barry Arnold).
But plans changed. "Off the shelf" buses were bought instead, and no more FRMs were built. FRM 1 worked in service in various parts of London, both as a crew bus and as a driver-only vehicle, from 1967. It eventually settled on Potters Bar local (and one bus allocation) route 284 from 1973. As a child, it used to be a treat for me to be taken for an occasional trip up to Potters Bar to ride this bus.
It remained in service until an accident in 1976. Route 284 (DMS operated when the FRM wasn't available) was replaced by minibus route PB1 in 1977. FRM 1 saw further service as a sightseeing bus and passed to the London Transport Museum in 1983 (source: London Transport Museum).
Could I get on it for a ride on this occasion? Not a chance! There was by this time a significant queue, out of sight behind the buses. Sutton Bus Garage forms the backdrop here, and the two other buses in sight feature later. It's the second one that I will end up travelling back to Kingston on.
ABOVE: The inclusion of route 293 on this Heritage Day was designed to enable owners of preserved buses that are not exempt from the Low Emission Zone to take part whilst staying outside the zone. I didn't ride this section but I did capture DML 41424 (LN51 DXH) turning into London Road in North Cheam.
This Dennis Dart SLF / Marshall Capital was new to First Centrewest in 2001 as its DML 424, but survived with the company long enough to be transferred to Tower Transit (whose logos it is carrying here), after First withdrew from London (they came back, of course).
This Dennis Dart SLF / Marshall Capital was new to First Centrewest in 2001 as its DML 424, but survived with the company long enough to be transferred to Tower Transit (whose logos it is carrying here), after First withdrew from London (they came back, of course).
ABOVE: Former London General PVL 104 (W504 WGH), a Volvo B7TL Plaxton President, in Cheam Common Road.
ABOVE: The first production MCW Metrobus, M 6 (WYW 6T), shows off its original livery. Metrobuses were a part of route 213 from 1979 (when the route was numbered 213A) until 1987, and again from 1990 until 1997.
ABOVE: Route 213 was spared the indignity of midibus operation in the midibus revolution of the 1980s & 1990s, when so many unsuitable routes were so converted. So Transdev DPS 692 (SN03 LFH), a Dennis Dart SLF Plaxton Pointer 2, would not have operated on route 213 in reality. The bus, which has just crossed the Kingston Bypass, shows off the fine London United livery that was prevalent in South West London in the 1990s and early 2000s.
ABOVE: Another MCW Metrobus, M394 (GYE 394W), is on the Malden Road between the Kingston Bypass and the Fountain Roundabout in New Malden. The photographer in the front passenger seat probably has a picture of me - that's my anonymity blown if it ever gets out!
Progress in our direction is very slow at the moment. Based on the photograph time stamps, the quarter-mile between the last two pictures has taken four minutes.
Progress in our direction is very slow at the moment. Based on the photograph time stamps, the quarter-mile between the last two pictures has taken four minutes.
ABOVE: A very colourful scene in High Street, New Malden finds RF 395 (MXX 283) pushing its way through the early afternoon traffic. The ADL Enviro400 behind it is working a Rail Replacement service from New Malden to Surbiton.
ABOVE: And here, at the Fairfield Road Bus Station in Kingston, is the bus that has been my steed from Sutton this afternoon. This is former London General WVL 38, a Volvo B7TL Wrightbus Eclipse Gemini 1. The bus also saw service with York Pullman, where it was registered TJZ 4286. Restored to its original registration, the bus now belongs to the Bus Hire Group.
This vehicle seems to have spent much of its London life at Putney Garage. It would not have worked the 213, but it would have met the 213 at Kingston when working the 85!
And, as you will gather from some of the photos above, I somehow managed to get the front seat from North Cheam onwards!
This vehicle seems to have spent much of its London life at Putney Garage. It would not have worked the 213, but it would have met the 213 at Kingston when working the 85!
And, as you will gather from some of the photos above, I somehow managed to get the front seat from North Cheam onwards!
ABOVE: Another view of Leyland Titan T 1064, about to pick up some, but probably not all, of the people in this lengthy queue at Fairfield Bus Station in Kingston. Overtaking it is a representative of the current route 213 fleet - London General Ee 151 (LG23 FGU), a BYD D8UR-DD ADL Enviro400EV. The latter bus is distinctly devoid of passengers from this point! This would have made a really good comparison if only the display on the modern bus had been picked up by the camera!
In the distance is FRM 1, which my bus managed to overtake very early on in the journey from Sutton.
In the distance is FRM 1, which my bus managed to overtake very early on in the journey from Sutton.
ABOVE: A side view of former London Country Leyland National SNB 449 (YPL 449T), heading along Cromwell Road towards the Cromwell Road Bus Station. There was once a transport bookshop in this block, behind the bus, called "The Smokebox". I visited it many times in my childhood!
ABOVE: To finish off, as I leave Kingston, Routemaster RM 1005 (5 CLT) turns into Cromwell Road. This vehicle is famously owned by Lord (Peter) Hendy, currently Minister for Rail. Those waiting at the Cromwell Road Bus Station (behind me) have no chance of boarding this bus, as it already has a capacity load!
Thanks as always to the organisers, the vehicle owners, drivers and conductors who bring their buses out, and to everyone else who is involved in making these occasions such a lot of fun.
Details of the London Bus Museum can be found here.
Thanks to the London Bus Routes website by Ian Armstrong for the historic information about route 213.