AEC Routemaster RML900 Clydeside Scottish Oor Wullie's Special

The standard Routemaster bus was an undoubted success story for London Transport (LT), and its integral construction had kept LT at the forefront of new bus innovation. Its success led to a number of Routemaster variants being produced for LT including short and long wheelbase coaches (the RMCs and RCLs), short wheelbase airport coaches (the RMAs), and long wheelbase, front entrance buses (the RMFs). However, the most successful of all was arguably the RML – a long wheelbase version of the standard Routemaster.

The deregulation of UK bus services in 1986 coincided with large scale withdrawals of the standard Routemasters in London. Many of these saw further service across the UK, with several of the newly formed Scottish bus companies taking advantage of well-maintained, traditional open-platform, crew-operated buses. The RMLs, meanwhile, remained in London, with only one seeing service outside the Capital.

This was RML registration WLT900 (fleet number RML900), which had been earmarked for scrap by LT following a heavy collision with an excavator. Deemed beyond economic repair by LT, it was bought by Clydeside Scottish and rebuilt, re-entering service in Glasgow in June 1988. It subsequently became something of a celebrity, not only as the only RML outside London, but also for its striking ‘Oor Wullie’s Special’ livery. This was applied to promote the popular cartoon strip in The Sunday Post newspaper, and as such featured images of the cheeky character all round.

Our model depicts the vehicle in its post-March 1989 condition following the addition of its Clydeside Scottish fleet number – JC10. Extensive research has gone into ensuring that every feasible aspect of the Oor Wullie livery has been reproduced accurately, including the rarely photographed roof artwork, and even the Clydemaster radiator badge. To complete the artwork, Service 36 blinds are shown together with a Kilbarchan destination.

But it doesn’t end there, as the model comes in a bespoke box sleeve which, as a licensed DC Thomson product, features classic Oor Wullie character artwork and the official tartan too.

The new model is based on EFE Road’s refined and updated RML tooling, which incorporates full bodyside panel lines for the first time on an EFE RML.

• Colours/details of final model may vary from illustration
• Authentically detailed die-cast model from EFE Road
• Complementary to OO scale model railways (1:76 scale)
• Bespoke sleeve artwork
• Officially licensed by DC Thomson & Co Ltd