Testing of Prototype Routemaster Bus, 1955

The prototype of the revolutionary London Transport Routemaster bus is put through its paces at a test circuit in the Midlands.

London Transport’s new Routemaster bus design boasted an aluminium construction based on their experience of building Halifax bombers during the Second World War. After its unveiling at the Commercial Motor Show in 1954, the first prototype clocked up 7,000 miles in rigorous tests during 1955 before entering passenger service the following year. Here it is seen undergoing performance tests at the Motor Industry Research Association’s Nuneaton circuit.

This film is from the collection of London Transport Museum, a member of the London's Screen Archives Network.