Buses, trams and commercial vehicles: general interest

Keen to quickly expand during the 1980s, Stagecoach purchased three former National Bus Company subsidiaries during its sell-off in 1986/7 to give it a foothold in the English bus market.

In the days before privatisation, many bus companies adapted old buses for a variety of specialist uses as service vehicles.

Following the 1920s, bus transport experienced several decades of strong growth with an explosion of new operators and bus types.

The AEC Regal IVs and Regent IIIs, or to give them their class prefix letters RFs and RTs, are among the most revered buses to have served London over the years.

Maidstone Corporation fi rst began operating trams on 14 July 1904, in conjunction with the municipal electricity supply.

The advent of the charabanc to the working classes - especially those slaving in the cotton mills in the North - seemed to evoke a special kind of freedom that not many had ever experienced before.

Propelled towards the end of the 1990s by accessibility imperative requiring low floor buses both in London and the rest of Britain, Dennis developed a tri axle Trident double decker for Hong Kong and then adapted the design as a two axle version for Britain.

The story of bus and tram services in the Edinburgh area in the period following the deregulation of bus services has been rich and varied.

One of the great names of the British bus and coach industry was Royal Blue, whose vehicles were a familiar sight on the express routes between London and the West Country.

First appearing in 1972, National Express coaches have become a familiar site on the UK's roads, and are very much a part of popular culture, celebrated in songs and on television.

The Blackpool Electric Tramway Company commenced operation of a conduit system of railed vehicles along the Promenade between Cocker Street and Station Road on 29 September 1885.

The Isles of Lewis and Harris are unique in that they are made up of a number of small private bus and coach operations tendered for by the local council.

Following the deregulation of bus services in the United Kingdom in 1986, it did not take long for many distinctive local liveries to disappear.

Until production ceased in 1986, Bedford buses and coaches were a familiar sight on roads across the world.

What happens to old buses at the end of their career, when they are replaced by newer vehicles?

From 1940 until the mid-1970s Britain supplied Portugal with many of its bus chassis.

The design of buses and coaches is constantly changing as new technology is developed and environmentally friendly and emission-related legislation evolves.

Rikisha to Rapid Transit: Urban Public Transport Systems and Policy in Southeast Asia examines the historical development of urban public transport systems and policy in Southeast Asia.

In the 1960s, many of the bus services in Scotland's Western Isles, from Lewis and Harris in the north down to Islay in the south, were operated by MacBrayne's, the company which also operated the ferry services between the islands and the mainland.

Introduced in 1989, the Dennis Dart became one of the most successful midibuses in the UK.

From 1929 until 1979, a succession of buses and trucks trundled out of the AEC works in Southall, Middlesex.

During the mid-1990s Nottingham's scene was dominated by Nottingham City Transport and the Wellglade group that included Trent buses and Barton buses.

Essex is a diverse county ranging from the urban areas in the south, such as Brentwood, Basildon and the huge Southend conurbation, to the less built-up central and northern areas, which include interesting places such as Chelmsford, Braintree, Halstead, Colchester, Billericay, Finchingfield, Clacton and Walton on the Naze.

When the words Buses of North Staffordshire are used most people will think of PMT, and later First, running through the urban areas of Stoke-on-Trent, with additional vehicles from a few medium-sized family-owned operators thrown in for good measure.

Philip Wallis visited West and East Yorkshire with his camera in 1962.

'You see them everywhere' was the slogan adopted by Bedford when advertising its commercial vehicles in the 1930s and it held true for many decades.

The AEC Regal IVs and Regent IIIs, or to give them their class prefix letters RFs and RTs, are among the most revered buses to have served London over the years.

East Lancashire Coachbuilders was first registered in October 1934 when two former Massey Bros of Wigan employees decided to set up their own company in Blackburn.

In July 1901, the Leicester Tramways Company was taken over by Leicester Corporation.

Carrying on the story of Stagecoach, this volume looks at the company's continuing growth across the UK and its various overseas ventures, which took it to Hong Kong, mainland Europe, the USA, Canada and New Zealand.

The transport scene in the historic city of York has seen numerous changes since 1986, with the breakup of the National Bus Company into a number of separate units whose ownership have since changed several times.

This book records the vehicles and services operated by Maidstone Borough Council from its creation with the local government reorganisation in 1974, through coordination with Maidstone & District in 1981, to the rapid growth following bus deregulation in 1986 and to its demise in 1992.

The origins of Wrightbus can be traced back to just after the Second World War in 1946 when the company was founded as Robert Wright & Son Coachbuilders in Ballymena Northern Ireland.

The exact definition of east Scotland can be difficult to define due to its wide geographical areas, but for the purpose of this book the bus services covered are from a wide range of destinations including Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Perth, Fife, the Borders and the Lothians.

Following the deregulation of bus services in 1986, West Yorkshire became flooded by small independent operators, some of whom survived while others were swallowed up by larger companies.

Although to many enthusiasts, municipal vehicles never extended beyond the trams, trolleybuses and buses that were required to provide the basic public service, behind them were a range of vehicles that were required to enable operations to proceed smoothly.

Plaxton launched the President model in 1997 but construction of the type did not commence until 1999.

The Alexander ALX400 was the first low-floor bus body built in the United Kingdom, first appearing in 1997.

The larger bus operators, whether municipal or company owned, have traditionally trained their own new drivers.

The London to Brighton Historic Commercial Vehicle run is one of the premier events in the calendar for preserved commercial vehicle owners and enthusiasts alike.

Although the Surrey towns of Walton-on-Thames and Weybridge were for many years served by the London bus network, there were also a number of small scale locally based operators running bus services, before selling out to London Transport in the 1930s.

Walsall's bus fleet was always idiosyncratic, reflecting particularly the ideas of their General Managers.

Located in the Chiltern Hills, Luton has a rich transport history, being home to London Luton Airport and Vauxhall Motors.

Throughout their existence from 1904 until 1981, the Birmingham & Midland Motor Omnibus Co.

Based in the city of the same name, Bristol commenced production of buses at the turn of the twentieth century, initially for its own bus fleet.

In 1961 the maximum length of single-deckers was increased to 36 feet.

From its launch in 1958, the Leyland Atlantean played a pivotal role in the British bus industry.

Few transportation maps can boast the pedigree that London's iconic 'Tube' map can.

Aided by various TR Specialists, ample photographic support, his own experiences & those of other amateur restorers, the author explains in some detail the characteristics of the various Triumph TR Sports cars, what to look out for when purchasing one & how to restore it cost effectively.