Routemaster midcentury London bus number blind

A midcentury 1950-60s Routemaster bus number blind system.

The Routemasters became the iconic red double decker buses in London, with their open rear platforms. They were developed by London Transport and produced between 1954-68.

‘Routemaster’ is embossed into the rotary handle.

The three columns of these blinds which show the public the route number can be changed by the driver with the lever and rotary handle to the back.

The three-position lever selects which column is activated and the handle can be rotated in either direction to spool each blind forward or backwards.

The column to the left (from the front) has A, B, C, X, 0-9. The next two columns just the numbers 0-9.

You can set it to your favourite route or a special number.

This wonderful relic of British history is fully functional, and every character and number can be revealed. There are however some quirks with the mechanism. Sometimes two roll together, and this can be corrected by switching rolling direction. Sometimes the selector lever won’t reach the left column (from the back) and turning the piece on its side has it working again, sometimes by waggling the selector lever. The blinds have been taped together in a couple of places.

An impressive collector’s piece and striking talking point.

50cm wide X 25.5cm tall X 10cm deep including handles.

A midcentury 1950-60s Routemaster bus number blind system.

The Routemasters became the iconic red double decker buses in London, with their open rear platforms. They were developed by London Transport and produced between 1954-68.

‘Routemaster’ is embossed into the rotary handle.

The three columns of these blinds which show the public the route number can be changed by the driver with the lever and rotary handle to the back.

The three-position lever selects which column is activated and the handle can be rotated in either direction to spool each blind forward or backwards.

The column to the left (from the front) has A, B, C, X, 0-9. The next two columns just the numbers 0-9.

You can set it to your favourite route or a special number.

This wonderful relic of British history is fully functional, and every character and number can be revealed. There are however some quirks with the mechanism. Sometimes two roll together, and this can be corrected by switching rolling direction. Sometimes the selector lever won’t reach the left column (from the back) and turning the piece on its side has it working again, sometimes by waggling the selector lever. The blinds have been taped together in a couple of places.

An impressive collector’s piece and striking talking point.

50cm wide X 25.5cm tall X 10cm deep including handles.