Bus Coach

First Published in 1991. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

During the 1960s, a large number of independent bus and coach fleets existed, which varied enormously in size and scope of operation. They ranged from major operators such as Barton Transport (Nottinghamshire); Lancashire United and West Riding who operated stage carriage services as well as coach fleets; or Wallace Arnold Tours of Leeds, a major coach touring company in Britain and Continental Europe; to small operators who possessed just a handful of vehicles. The latter were sometimes involved only in private hire work, for such things as outings to sporting events or theaters, school or industrial contracts or often a combination of both. Smaller operators were based throughout the country, sometimes in tiny villages but also in the heart of large cities. Often the smaller operators bought redundant buses and coaches from major operators, whether BET, BTC (Tilling) or municipal concerns, or London Transport. Many got bargains from the latter, with surplus RT and RTL double-deckers sold following the disastrous bus strike and service cuts of 1958. Conversely, redundant vehicles bought by independent fleets often brought types that came from as far away as Scotland to London and the south east. In the 1960s, the oldest buses and coaches with independent fleets were those employed on school or industrial contracts. These were not subject to the rigorous tests governing those carrying fare-paying passengers, so could be kept going until they were literally falling apart! These were known as ‘non-PSVs’, i.e. non-public service vehicles. On the other hand, some very small independent fleets, often with the title ‘Luxury Coaches’, took great pride in their fleets. They would purchase new coaches every two or three years and keep them in immaculate condition. The net result was that British independent bus and coach operators in the 1960s had a fascinating variety of chassis and body makes and styles, as well as liveries. This book shows many of these as they were between fifty and sixty years ago.

The Buses and Coaches of Bristol and Eastern Coach Works outlines the history of Bristol Commercial Vehicles and Eastern Coach Works (ECW), two manufacturers that together developed some of the most familiar buses and coaches of the twentieth century. The book covers the full production histories and specifications for the standard range of models produced from 1936 to 1983. The variety of engines used to power Bristol-ECW is outlined and a mechanical specification for each chassis is provided, along with a description of the different body styles produced by ECW for each chassis. There is also a chapter on owners' experiences and advice on buying a bus for preservation.Coverage includes the development of Bristol models in the 1930s - J-type single-decker, K-type double-decker and L-type single decker; the engines, including the Bristol petrol and diesel engines, and other manufacturers' engines used in Bristol chassis; the Lodekka - the radical replacement for the Lowbridge double-decker in the 1950s; the single-deckers of the 1950s - The LWL, LS, SC, and MW; the rear-engined era - The RE single-decker and the VR double-decker; the lightweight LH single-decker and the final years of production. Illustrated throughout with 250 colour photographs - many of them previously unpublished.

Previously unpublished photographs documenting buses and coaches around the Thames Valley during this interesting period.

Chicago Motor Coach Company chronicles an era in Chicago when buses first traversed the city's park district boulevards, including the Magnificent Mile. Streetcars were not allowed on the boulevards; this situation paved the way for the first motor bus operation, Sheridan Road on the North Side, in 1917. By 1922, John D. Hertz would purchase the Sheridan Road line and secure franchises to operate over the boulevards on the South and West Sides. The Chicago Motor Coach Company was now born, along with the bus-building industry. From a Hertz plant in Chicago, it would become General Motors Truck and Coach Division at Pontiac, Michigan, the largest producer of transit buses in the world. In 1952, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) would purchase the Chicago Motor Coach Company.

Stephen Dowle offers up a terrific selection of previously unpublished photographs documenting the British bus and coach scene of the late 1970s.