Stuart Perry enjoyed driving RFs on the 210 whilst at Muswell Hill in the 1960's. He writes:

I arrived at MH garage in the autumn of 1963 having passed through the Chiswick training school on the RTW. Until mid 1963 the 210 was the exclusive domain of the senior drivers and there was no chance for any newcomers to work the route. Then suddenly everything changed with the arrival of the RM for the 43 and later the 134. The senior drivers were attracted away from the 210 by the prospect of power assisted steering and automatic transmission.

So the 210 was opened up to anyone who asked for a transfer. My application was accepted and I began driving on the 210 early in 1964.

The route was unusual in that it was busier on Saturdays and Sundays than during the week. There was no real peak hour surge. Nine RFs covered the route all day, only increasing to eleven in the peak hours. The Sat and Sun requirement increased from 11 to 12

Late running was unheard of except on bright summer Sundays and Bank Holidays when traffic could be gridlocked across Hampstead Heath particularly between Jack Straws Castle and the Spaniards Inn. On Sundays the route absorbed the 236 to Leyton. The inspectors at Golders Green would normally let the through services continue as there was ample opportunity to make up lost time at the eastern end of the route especially across Hackney Marshes. Buses scheduled to short work to Finsbury Park were curtailed at Archway to regain time.

Garage journeys between MH and Archway Stn were run in service. If the first destination was Finsbury Park then the route was via Highgate Stn. If the first destination was Golders Green then the route was via Crouch End Bdy and Hornsey Rise. In practice very few people used the service mainly I think because the public were bemused by the fact that the buses reached Archway by two completely different routes.

In the autumn of 1964 there was a problem with poor performance by some of the RFs and the garage TGWU rep asked us to keep records of the buses we drove. The garage allocation at the time was 12 and I drove all but one of them during the time of the survey: 337, 354, 383, 434, 441, 453, 454, 462, 475, 480, 500. For the record my list shows 441 and 500 were the star performers at the time. 337 and 454 were the only two I complained about. The records do not show 383 as allocated to MH, but I do remember that at the time there was one regular bus carrying a metal MH plate covering the painted allocation. I don’t know the reason for the long term loan as otherwise the correct number of buses appear to have been in the garage. The increased Sat and Sun requirement from 11 to 12 meaning no spare might have been the reason.

The other bit of trivia from my notes is about 475. The steering wheel on the RF was slightly larger than the RT and I was a bit surprised that 475 had an RT type steering wheel. I had forgotten about it until I did a piece of overtime on the 212 and was given RT 814 which had the RF steering wheel. Obviously they had at some time been on the pits together and someone hadn't put the bits back together properly. Whoops! A few furrowed brows I expect at Aldenham when 475 went for it's next overhaul.

The other use for the RF was on the night staff bus.  At the peak, the requirement increased from 9 to 11. The two buses working the peak hours only were MH5 and MH9. The first bus back in the garage in the evening was MH5 and this was automatically parked on the forecourt and became the night staff bus. After that duty the driver would leave it in the rear yard ready to be out again at 04.00 for the early morning staff bus.  On return it was driven onto the pumps, refuelled, and then became MH11, i.e. the last bus out from the garage on the 210. 

As the staff bus driver, you left the garage at 00.45 or when the last conductor had paid in. The route was Muswell Hill Bdy, Highgate Stn, Archway Stn, Holloway Rd (pick up J crews), Nags Head, Hornsey Rise, Crouch End Bdy, Turnpike Lane Stn, Great Cambridge Rd, Ponders End (pick up E crews). Then depending who was left on the bus and where they wanted to be dropped off, return to MH garage. The route was worked in the opposite direction in the morning, departing MH garage at 04.00.

I enjoyed the opportunity to work as a team with the conductor which the front step access allowed and when working any overtime on the garage's other routes I actually found the bell irritating. I have many fond memories of the 210 but have to confess that eventually I too caved in for the comfort of the RM and transferred onto the 43 rota.

Vehicle allocation - changes in detail