So, the deal was done. I had agreed a price and made a payment a week later. My trusted mechanic wasn’t available for some time so it had to sit in that dreaded car park a little longer. Then the worst thing happened..

Whist I was at Goodwood festival of speed I got a phone call. It was from the wife of the now previous owner of the bus. She had been informed by someone at the pub that the bus I had purchased less then 2 weeks ago had been vandalized! The worst thing about this was that she wasn’t aware of what or how it had been damaged. This got my mind racing. It could be a smashed window or burnt to the ground…. The worst thing is NOT knowing! I decided to not let it ruin my weekend and think about it on Monday. The weekend flew by and by the time it was Monday morning my mechanic was still not available to come down…

Another mechanic I know offered to come to the site and see if we could get it started and get it home. I accepted his kind offer and we proceeded to run down there with a basic tool kit and a battery jump pack. Upon arrival I held my breath as I came around the corner of the building…. Was it going to be recognizable!? Was it even still a bus!?

Turns out it was almost as I had last seen it. One of the front windows was smashed up a little more than before and the makeshift wooden door at the back had been slightly damaged as someone tried to gain entry to the bus. PHEW!!!!! It was certainly nothing to worry about.

We worked 2 hours to try and get her started but it was to no avail. The alarm kept going off and it seemed like it was somehow immobilized! We gave up in the end and had to head back. It was time to call the main man again and get him down here ASAP.

On our way out we ran into the local grounds man who looked after the site the bus was on. He said the following:

“I caught 3 little c**ts messin about with yer bus! I managed to punch one of em in the head but the other two got away. I know why they’re such c**ts, I know their dad, he’s a c**t too!……”

I nearly fell over laughing and I proceeded to thank the man for his efforts. I knew it was not a good idea to leave this bus here a second longer.

Eventually I managed to get hold of my specialist and we made our way over for what should be the last time. It was instantly clear how knowledgeable my main man was because within 5 minutes the electrical issues were diagnosed. One faulty relay was modified and we made a stop at a specialist store to buy new batteries. There was no way we where going to save the old ones.

The brakes were pumped up, some diesel was added and now time, time to see if she’d start.

Suddenly it fired up!! I jumped for joy whilst my mechanic checked all the fluid levels. Within seconds the entire carpark filled with smoke. I could barely see the bus! She warmed up quickly and the smoke did clear. As I went to unplug the booster pack at the pub my mechanic rolled the bus forward for the first time in 7 years. I missed the roll forward but I caught the roll back. Here it is!

In the end the brakes had an issue and we did actually have to go and come back one more time but when we did she went and stopped as if she’d never stood. As we drove around the corner for the first time all the regular pub goers came poring out to see her off. Some of them even took pictures with their mates on the back platform. It had been part of their lives for some time.

With my mechanic behind me as support we headed out to the new location. I never told him but it was to be my first ever experience of driving a Routemaster bus on public roads. I had driven number one (2355) plenty of times but only on the farm. There were a few hairy moments as in, I didn’t realize that with an Iveco powered RML you have to rev the nuts out of it to get anywhere! I thought 4th gear wasn’t working. My mechanic shouted over the phone, “Step on it!!” I did and off she went. We made our destination without any major problems. Now all I had figure out what to do with it! ;)