British Buses in Colour
The buses on Britain's roads went through a period of great change between 1950 and 1986. In 1950 the bus manufacturers were at last recovering from the effects of World War 2, and had new and innovative designs to offer. By the time bus services were deregulated in 1986, buses were very different — longer, wider, more powerful, often with rear engines — and the industry had changed dramatically, with changes of ownership affecting nearly every major operator. Gavin Booth has assembled 150 colour photographs in this large-format all-colour bus book, to tell the story of the buses that served Britain between 1950 and 1986. The book traces the progression from the time-served prewar buses that survived well into the 1950s, through the early underfloor-engined single-deckers; the lightweight era; the rear-engined double-deckers; the often unsuccessful rear-engined single-deckers; through to the types that can still be seen on the streets today, including the first of the new-generation minibuses. It looks particularly at the major operators who tended to buy the vast proportion of new buses and therefore influenced the shape and size of the market and the viability of Britain's ever-shrinking list of bus chassis and body builders. This is a tribute to the British bus industry in its regulated and largely publicly-owned state, and a reminder of makers, operators and liveries no longer to be seen in the very different world of the late 1990s.
Hardback with dust jacket, 112 pages, black & white photographs
Condition: Very Good
ISBN: 9780711024779
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Updated: 2 January 2025