< View previous picture - View next picture > Photographer / Copyright Julian Bowden-Green collection (Phil Picken) Images should not be reused without permission. View vehicle details 1624LR EGN537J Location Link/s Lillie Bridge Depot Date added to site 01/06/2021 Printer-friendly version of this page

Details: London Transport bought a total of 13 Land Rovers in the 1960s and 1970s, although some of the later examples were in fact replacements for some of the earlier ones. Illustrating this is 1624LR, new in April 1971. It was assigned to the Civil Engineer (Permanent Way) and was officially allocated to Chalk Farm Station as a replacement for 1287LR from 1963. The configuration was very similar, both being long-wheelbase 'personnel carriers', with what looks like a canvas cover over the roof. Having just looked this up I now know that this was a 'safari roof', consisting of a second metal 'skin' to keep the interior cool while on safari! This seems to have been a standard feature on long-wheelbase station wagons (such as 1578LR). There are some differences between 1287LR and 1624LR. The former had lettering in the conventional format, while 1624LR has its fleetnumbers on the cab doors, above the department name, with London Transport relegated to the bottom line. The other difference is the livery. Although it is hard to be certain from these black and white photos, the bodywork on 1624LR looks distinctly lighter than that on 1287LR. Both were listed as being grey in the original SUP15 book but I suspect that 1624LR may have actually been cream. The same also applied to 1762LR. 1624LR was withdrawn in autumn 1976, having served for five years and with no obvious replacement. Land Rovers tend to last and 1624LR almost certainly still exists. It was last licensed in 2017 and is currently SORN (off the road). The photo was taken on 4th July 1973 at Lillie Bridge.

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acned	For nine years I drove a 1982 Land Rover very similar to this. What you describe as a canvas roof is actually known in Land Rover circles as a 'safari roof'. It is a second metal roof with a gap of around an inch between the actual vehicle roof. It is designed to help keep the vehicle cool in hot climates by reflecting heat from the sun and they were invariably painted white irrespective of the the rest of the bodywork. When I used to drive my Landy, people of African descent occasionally used to come up to me and congratulate me on driving what was for them, often the first car that they ever saw or drove back home. :)	Fri 06/08/2021, 14:21