Aldenham Works facts for kids

The Aldenham Works, also known as the Aldenham Bus Overhaul Works, was a huge workshop where London Transport buses were fixed up and made like new. It was located near Elstree in Hertfordshire, England. This place was amazing because it could fix about 50 buses every week! It was one of the biggest and best bus repair places in the world. Aldenham Works opened in 1956 and closed in November 1986. The buildings were taken down in 1996.

History of Aldenham Works

How Aldenham Began in the 1930s

The land where Aldenham Works stood was first bought by London Transport in the 1930s. They planned to extend the Northern line underground railway to Bushey Heath. Construction for the railway was started, and a train depot was partly built.

However, World War II began, and the railway plans stopped. The site was then changed into a factory to build Handley Page Halifax bomber planes. Many companies, including London Transport, worked together to make these aircraft. After the war, the railway extension was never finished, and the plan was officially cancelled in 1949.

Turning into a Bus Repair Hub

After the war, many buses were old and worn out. London Transport's existing repair shop, Chiswick Works, couldn't handle all the repairs. So, they decided to turn the Elstree site into a major bus repair center. Aldenham would focus on fixing the bus bodies and chassis (the main frame). Chiswick Works would continue to fix engines and gearboxes.

Building the new bus repair facility started in 1952. The existing buildings were made bigger and changed to fit the new purpose. The site was huge, covering about 53.3 acres (21.6 hectares). It had its own staff canteen, a social club, offices, and a main workshop. There was even a special test track and a "tilt test shed." Here, buses were tilted to check how stable they were. The site also had its own power station to provide electricity.

Aldenham's Busy Years After the War

Aldenham started doing accident repairs and preparing new buses around 1945. However, it began fully overhauling (making like new) bus bodies in 1949-1950. Until 1955, the bus chassis were still repaired at Chiswick.

A special system called the 'works float' was used from January 1956. When a bus came in for repairs, it was often replaced by a different, already-fixed bus that took on the same identity (like its license plate). This meant the bus could go back on the road quickly. The works officially opened on October 30, 1956, with 1,800 staff members.

Because London Transport had so many similar buses, Aldenham could fix them like a modern production line. Many mechanics could work on different parts of several buses at once. This was much faster than one mechanic fixing one bus at a time.

Aldenham handled many important tasks:

• Fixing and rebuilding bus bodies.
• Repainting buses.
• Repairing buses after big accidents.
• Fixing and replacing seat covers.
• Making destination blinds (the signs that show where the bus is going).
• Getting new buses ready for service.
• Performing tilt tests to check bus stability.

When a bus arrived at Aldenham, it was first checked for damage. The bus body was then lifted off its chassis. Parts like brakes, axles, and springs were removed from the chassis and sent to Chiswick for repair. The bus body was cleaned and moved to a large workshop. Workers could access all parts of the body to repair damaged panels, fix seats, and make any needed updates.

Once the chassis and body were ready, they were put back together. The completed bus was then tested around the site, including a brake test. If everything was good, the bus went to the paint shop for a fresh coat of paint. It would get a new identity (like new numbers) and new seats. Finally, it was certified and sent back to a bus garage to return to service.

This "modular" system meant buses were fixed much faster. This thorough work helped buses like the RT, RF, and AEC Routemaster last for a very long time.

The "Works Float" System Explained Simply

The "Works Float" system was a unique way London Transport managed its large bus fleet. It started in the 1920s. To be more efficient with bus licenses, when a bus entered the works for repair, its identity (like its registration number) was immediately transferred to another bus that was ready to leave the works. This meant the repaired bus could go back into service right away, using the license of the bus that just arrived. The incoming bus would lose its identity until it was repaired and ready to leave, at which point it would take the identity of another incoming bus. This system saved London Transport a lot of money and paperwork.

Even though the chassis numbers were changed to match the new identity, London Transport kept its own secret numbers for each chassis and body. This allowed them to track the real parts. This system stopped in the mid-1980s.

Smaller bus types were not part of this system. Also, newer buses that came after the Routemaster were harder to take apart. For these, repairs were done with the bus still in one piece. This took much longer, sometimes weeks or months, and was less efficient.

In 1970, London Transport's country buses were moved to another company called National Bus Company. This meant less work for Aldenham. Aldenham also prepared new buses for service and handled major accident repairs that local garages couldn't do. For example, if a bus lost its top deck hitting a low bridge, it would go to Aldenham.

Staff working at Aldenham were brought in by bus every day from over forty London bus garages.

Why Aldenham Works Closed

Over time, bus construction got much better. Buses didn't need full overhauls as often. What used to be yearly repairs became every three, then five, and eventually seven years. Also, there was more financial pressure in the bus industry. These reasons meant that a huge repair facility like Aldenham was no longer needed.

In 1985, London Transport decided to stop completely overhauling every bus every five years. The bus fleet was also shrinking, and many new types of buses arrived that weren't suited to Aldenham's repair methods. Because of this, Aldenham became too expensive to run. It closed in November 1986.

Bus repairs then moved to Chiswick Works on a much smaller scale. The Aldenham site was bought by a property company and was mostly empty until it was taken down in July 1996. A new business park, Centennial Park, was built there.

Aldenham was a very ambitious project. It was designed to handle a massive number of buses and to give them very thorough repairs. While this made buses almost like new, it eventually became too expensive. After Aldenham closed, London buses sometimes looked a bit worn. However, new bus designs and better maintenance methods mean that London buses are now smart and efficient again.

Films Featuring Aldenham

Aldenham Works was shown in a few films. In 1957, a British Transport film called "Overhaul" showed the work being done at Aldenham.

In 1962, the first ten minutes of Cliff Richard's musical film Summer Holiday were filmed at Aldenham Works. In the movie, Cliff's character and his friends are mechanics at Aldenham. During their lunch break, they decide to turn an RT bus into a mobile home. The next five minutes show them working on the bus while the song Seven Days to a Holiday plays. These scenes were filmed during the summer shutdown, and real employees acted as extras. One shot even shows Cliff on an RT bus hanging from a crane!

The last film of the empty, unused works was made in 1992 for the BBC series Perpetual Motion. This episode was about the AEC Routemaster bus and changes at London Transport. It included parts of the old "Overhaul" film, but also showed the abandoned works with the original voiceover. It was hard to get into the site after it closed, so not many pictures exist from that time.

See Also

• British shadow factories
• Bus transport in London