On Mon, 14 Nov 2005 20:53:15 +0000 (UTC), "Chris Read"
wrote:

One
nice touch is that the blinds between the drivers cab and lower saloon are
being left up, to give a better view.

As a schoolboy I always enjoyed sitting right behind the driver on
Routemasters and RTs, at least during daylight when the blinds used to
be left up; after dark the blind on the screen behing the bonnet would
also usually be lowered. I'm not sure when drivers started leaving
the blinds down all the time, nor whether it was a conscious change of
policy or just a collective habit which formed.

I left the bus without the
slightly nauseous sensation I often get on modern buses, which must be
something to do with the suspension set up or vibration.

Routemasters have firm suspension and don't roll much. It means you
sometimes feel every bump in the road but if you're even faintly
susceptible to travel sickness that can be no bad thing. The only
London buses where the ride has made me, personally, nauseous are some
of Arriva's DAFs and some of the early rear-engined double-deckers
from the 1970s.

Martin