Introducing our Fourth Bus – Julia
We’ve been keeping a secret – admittedly a bad one as many of you will have seen her around Dublin and in fact some of you may have even had the pleasure of being on board one of her first tours. Call that a soft launch if you will! We had to ensure she was as beautiful, efficient and ready for the roads as possible!
So now it’s time for the hard launch – we’d like to introduce the newest member of our fleet: Julia. She’s now the fourth bus that we’ve purchased and lovingly restored to resemble our iconic biscuit tin on wheels!
Like all our vintage buses she is named for someone important and integral to our Karen’s life. This time her daughter Julia.
Her interiors are warm and inviting this time with plush buttery yellow seats – did someone say Kerrygold? And of course we have her decked out with floral garlands, twinkly lights and most importantly – a boiler for cups of tea and an oven for warm scones!
As a Routemaster bus she began her life servicing London City from 1960 to 1970 with routes in West Ham, Shepherd’s Bush, and Thornton Heath, to name a few.
From the 1980s to the 1990s, she was repainted numerous times, fitted with new engines and served private routes in London.
In 2004 she entered the bright lights of Hollywood being used to promote the new Harry Potter movie – Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. For this promotional tour she was transformed into the infamous triple decker purple Knight Bus featured in the movie.
Taken by @Hobgoblin737 on Flickr.com
She was bought and sold twice more before fast-forwarding to 2026, beginning a new lease of life 66 years later in the heart of Dublin with her new sisters Pauline, Jean & Kitty as part of the Vintage Tea Trips family.
We’re so happy to have RM 275 aka Julia back on the road, repaired and refurbed and bringing a sense of nostalgia and romanticism to all who witness her on a jaunt through Dublin.