Don't take this as some kind of "quasi-shot" for those not-in-the-know, but more of a lesson... Why? Well, because I like to let people know about our dream and the more tangible element of it... our bus.

RLH 3 or Regent Low Height Three is not a model as such, but a model and number.

The Regent Low Height bus was an accident. The first batch of twenty designed and built by Associated Equipment Company Ltd. were intended to go to Midland General in order to fill a 30 "low bridge" bus order. Midland decided to take only ten of them and the other twenty were offered to London Transport. The Midland buses were registered starting with the letters ONU and are thusly known... but London Transport refered to theirs as "Regent Low Height". Thus, RLH 1 through 20 were delivered to London Transport in the Summer of 1950.

Happy with their new purchase, London Transport then ordered an additional batch of 56 slightly modified Regent Low Heights to replace it's aging fleet of STL model low bridge buses. These were delivered in the Fall of 1952 for a total of 76 Regent Low Height buses running various routes for London Transport and it's associated "Green Lines" (country routes).

The Regent Low Heights lasted from the first delivery in 1950 until 1971 when they were finally retired from service.

Many RLHs ended up in North America because their "low bridge" bodies (a mere 13 feet 4 inches,) made them ideal for North American and some European restrictions.

Of the original 76, the "whereabouts" of only 37 are known... One bus is dismantled, 2 are "derelict", 15 are "not operational", 11 are running, 2 are under repair, and 4 are in "unknown" condition.

17 of them are "MIA" so to speak... 10 are presumed scrapped (including four that were running tours in Hawaii, RLH 26, RLH 33, RLH 36, and RLH 47,) and 12 are definitely in scrap yards.

Although we are unsure (although our contacts in Santa Rosa say it's pretty much a sure thing) that RLH 3 is truly "for sale" (considering right now, it's being used as a large garbage can inside a barn near the city, and the current owner has asked what he should expect for the sale of the bus... I think we can grab her,) the only Regent Low Heights that are definitely for sale are three in a field in Murrieta, California. I have spoken to the fellow out there, (who in the article I have linked, did say he'd "donate" the buses to a good cause... of course, by "donation", he meant recover SOME of his costs... and offered me the three buses that were working "when he parked them" for $30,000.00 USD... not a bad deal, but still $30k more than I have...)

So, there you have it... not truly completely "rare" by any stretch, but rare enough...

Regent Low Height 3 is a very important bus to us... and we hope we can save her... and yes, we've done our homework about her and her sisters.

For those wondering, here's the "stats"...

• Height: 13 feet 4 inches

• Length: 26 feet

• Width: 7 feet 6 inches

• Seating Capacity (Upstairs): 27

• Seating Capacity (Downstairs): 26

• Wheelbase: 16 feet 4 inches

...and for those wondering how you make a "low height" double-decker, basically, in the RLH, there's a "trench" on the upper deck beside the seats... so where the seats are, it's a scant 4 feet 8 inches high... but along the "trench", it's 5 feet 8 inches high.

There's some GREAT drawings and diagrams at this link to show the whole story above...

She has an AEC Type A217 9.6 litres diesel engine and has a maximum speed of about 35 miles per hour...

For more information on Regent Low Heights, the BEST pages are...

Ian's Bus Stop
The RLH Information Centre

The standard last note on the old blog... PLEASE SUPPORT THE DREAM!

This blog is here to help promote a dream that an entire family shares... that dream is to rescue an old London Double-Decker bus.

Please, if you have a few minutes, take some time to find out more about this bus and the kooky dream by clicking here.

This bus is VERY special to myself and the whole family, and any help any person can lend us would be most gratefully accepted.

If you or someone you know might be interested, there's our tiny banner site, HelpCoverTheBus.Com and a PayPal donation button (see the upper-right hand side of the blog) and, of course, a Cafe Press shop for T-Shirts and shtuff!
(...and who doesn't need some shtuff!)

Please help us make this dream a reality and save a piece of history!

We thank you for your support!

Please Note: We are also hoping for help from a public relations/marketing standpoint... If you might be able to assist OR know someone who might be willing to, please click here and read this entry...