At London's service: 50 years of London Transport road services

Blake, Jim

Regent Press

The London bus and underground review: Golden Jubilee year 1983

Regent Press, in association with the London Passenger Transport League

The London DM and DMS Buses - Two Designs Ill Suited to London

Engineering & Transportation

Automotive

Pen and Sword Transport

The London MB and SM Buses - A London Bus Disappointment

Transportation

London's Underground Since 1985: A Journey in Colour

The London Underground, 1968-1985: The Greater London Council Years

History

Europe

This book looks at an important turning point in the history of the bus industry in Britain. 1967 was the penultimate year to the end of an era, when private and semi-nationalized company’s operated the bus networks in this country. After 1967 the network was never the same again, with the formation of the National Bus Company in 1968. The NBC was a very bland organization compared to the colorful bus companies that had existed before nationalization, and many small municipal fleets amalgamated to form Passenger Transport Executives. This comprehensive volume covers a large number of the bus companies throughout the country in 1967 and also has a good readable narrative describing Jim Blake’s journeys traveling on these services across Britain.

British Buses 1967

This pictorial book covers London’s railways from 1967 to 1977, showing the transition from steam to diesel and electric traction. This volume has a very readable narrative, telling tales of the authors adventures during his many trips around the London railway network. The volume encapsulates a period of time in Britain, during which a great deal of change was taking place, not only with railways and transport, but also socially and economically. Jim Blake, describes all of these changes, while also looking at the capitals transport scene of the period.

London’s Railways 1967 - 1977: A Snap Shot In Time

Wharncliffe

In this new album from Pen & Sword, transport historian and photographer Jim Blake presents a selection of pictures he took around the country in British steam's final years.British Railways withdrew their last steam engines with almost indecent haste in the mid- to late-1960s, many having seen only a few years' service before consignment to the scrapheap. Jim's pictures graphically show how not only the locomotives themselves were neglected in their final years, but also their working environment. Their motive power depots were also badly run down, particularly when slated for closure upon steam's demise.Most of Jim's pictures of steam locomotives, taken fifty years ago, are previously unpublished. In BR steam's last two years, they were based in two distinctly different areas on the London & South Western main line, and in the industrial north. However, their decline was just as sad and depressing in both areas once proud depots such as London's Nine Elms, with broken windows and roof open to the sky, not repaired after wartime, piles of ash and clinker everywhere, were just as derelict as those in such places as Wigan or Sunderland. Many scenes herein invoke the sad, eerie atmosphere of steam's last months.Ironically, it was London Transport who operated the last publicly-owned standard gauge steam locomotives in 1971, some three years after BR's had gone. These are included within these pages too.

British Steam Sunset: A Vision of the Final Years 1965–1968

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.

British Independent Bus and Coach Operators: A Snapshot from the 1960s

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Books by Blake, Jim