The DMS was London's first purpose built one person operated double deck bus, however it proved unpopular due to slow boarding times compared to the open platform AEC Routemasters and also maintenance costs were high, due to the way they were designed as there was no ability to separate the body from chassis for overhaul.
Withdrawal of the DMS fleet began in early 1979 with Leyland Titans and MCW Metrobuses purchased as replacements and in some cases Routemasters were reinstated to DMS routes. Many of these now retired vehicles were sent to the dealer Ensignbus in Purfleet, which became know as the 'DMS graveyard'. As supply exceeded the secondhand demand for these buses many vehicles could not be moved or maintained and so simply rusted into disrepair.
Our model depicts one retired DMS which was spared this fate. GHV 90N (DM1090) first entered service with London Transport in 1975 running out of the Cricklewood garage, after many internal transfers it was sold in 1983 to Ensignbus where it stayed for a short while before being bought by House's of Watlington for use in their small fleet. By 1989 it had been bought as a joint venture between Maidstone & District and Network SouthEast for use as a bridge maintenance vehicle. It was given a new fleet number P90, repainted in the striking Network SouthEast livery and had its roof removed to make it more practical for its new use. Our model uses revised tooling of the upper deck to portray the changes which were made to the real vehicle.
• Authentically detailed die-cast model from EFE
• Complementary to OO scale model railways (1:76 scale)