London Transport was created in 1933 with monopoly powers. Not only did it have exclusive rights to run bus (and tram and trolleybus) services in the Greater London area, it also ran services in a Country Area all around London. Green Line express services linked the country towns to London and in most cases across to other country towns the other side of the metropolis. This country area extended north as far as Hitchin, east to Brentwood, south to Crawley and west to Windsor. But what of...

Explore London Transport's transformation from monopoly in 1933 to decentralized bus services, reflecting regional changes in Greater London and beyond. London Transport was created in 1933 with monopoly powers. Not only did it have exclusive rights to run bus (and tram and trolleybus) services in the Greater London area, it also ran services in a Country Area all around London. Green Line express services linked the country towns to London and in most cases across to other country towns t...

The commercial life of traction engines and steam wagons largely came to an end in the 1950s and early 1960s. It was also at this time that preservation and display in the form of rallies came into being. It is generally acknowledged that the traction engine rally scene has its origins in a race between two engine-owning farmers at Appleford, Berkshire in August 1950. The rally movement soon grew as area preservation societies were formed. Some of these early societies and rallies continue...

Nowadays, with concerns about air quality in our town centres, many new cars, vans and buses are hybrid or fully electric. However, over a century ago zero-emission public transport dominated our towns and cities in the form of electric trams and trolleybuses. Yet, in the post-war era these fell out of favour and were replaced by diesel buses. Now trams have made a comeback in some cities, although trolleybuses no longer operate in Britain.Many examples of trams and trolleybuses ha...

The preservation of our transport heritage is something that the British excel at. The Buses magazine Museum & Rally Guide 2020-21 lists forty museums in the United Kingdom plus one in the Republic of Ireland with collections of buses (and sometimes trams or trolleybuses) amongst their exhibits. The rally calendar section lists hundreds of events taking part every year. This has all developed since the 1950s. Prior to this a few far-sighted companies such as The London General Omnibus Comp...

Britain’s railways in the early 1970s looked to be in terminal decline. The Beeching cuts of the 1960s had slashed much of the network, but still lines were closing and underinvestment left much of the rest in a sorry state. Since then, there has been privatisation and transformation (although whether these are cause and effect are debatable) to a situation now where passenger travel is booming. Nowhere has change been more pronounced than in East London. The redevelopment of the former do...

While there are thousands of preserved commercial vehicles, there can be few that evoke such public excitement as fire-fighting vehicles. The sight of a vintage fire engine parading around the ring at a rally event can be a stirring one, with the crew (often fire-fighters themselves) in period uniforms with brass helmets gleaming and the bell clanging as the vehicle proceeds. Sometimes the crew may demonstrate a turntable ladder being extended to its full height or the hose reels being dep...

Reg Batten was a railway and transport photographer, who started taking pictures in the early 1930s, mostly on the Great Northern and Great Eastern sections of the L N E R. He later started taking pictures elsewhere on the railway network, covering other companies, also looking at other forms of transport like traffic on the river Thames. This is the first book of Reg Batten's work, covering his railway photography from the early 1930s, through wartime into the 1950s, and steam on into the...

Traffic congestion has become a major problem in many of England’s towns and cities. Historic locations, in particular, have road layouts that predate the internal combustion engine and are not suited to the volume of traffic from residents, delivery trucks and tourists. Parking space is at a premium and competing for land with offices, shops and housing use. An added consideration in recent years has been air quality. Many towns and cities have introduced Park & Ride schemes with out-of-t...

The London Borough of Newham was created in 1965 by the merger of the County Borough Councils of East Ham and West Ham. At first, industry was concentrated on the banks of the River Lea (or Lee). The coming of the railways coupled with the rise of new technologies in the Victorian era, and legislation prohibiting many of the smellier and noisier industries from operating within London, led to the rapid growth of industry and population within Newham from the 1840s onwards. The area grew ri...

When double-deck motorbuses were first introduced they were all open-top, like the horse buses that preceded them. Roofs were not permitted until the 1920s, but once they were the vagaries of the British climate dictated that they would normally be fitted. However, when the sun did shine, what could be nicer than a trip along the seafront with the sea air in your nostrils and ruffling your hair? Therefore, many seaside towns introduced seasonal open-top services. Many of these towns had th...

While bus services in Britain have generally been in decline since the heady days of the early 1950s, there has been one area of bus operation that has seen significant growth. There has been a boom in overseas tourists to Britain’s historic towns and cities with the advent of cheaper long-haul flights and budget European airlines, along with the Channel Tunnel.Bus companies started to offer tours of these towns and cities, often using open-top buses. This idea was not new. London ...