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    British Municipal Bus Operators: A Snapshot of the 1960s
    British Municipal Bus Operators: A Snapshot of the 1960s
    British Municipal Bus Operators: A Snapshot of the 1960s
    Ebook247 pages53 minutes

    British Municipal Bus Operators: A Snapshot of the 1960s

    By Jim Blake

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    About this ebook

    The renowned transport photographer and author of British Railways in Transition looks at municipal operators in England and Wales in the 1960s.
     
    Going back to the very first horse-bus or tram operations in Victorian times, many towns and cities throughout Britain had such operators, owned and run by the town or city councils. Most of them had tramway systems, many of which were replaced by trolleybuses from the 1920s onwards. In turn, after the Second World War, trolleybuses too were on the way out, with motorbuses unfortunately replacing both forms of electric traction. By the 1960s, only a handful were still operating trams, then by the end of the decade only few trolleybus systems remained.
     
    During this period, some of these operators had very large fleets, for example those serving the conurbations of Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester, whilst others had very small fleets, such as West Bridgford Urban District Council in Nottinghamshire.
     
    Municipal operators had a wide variety of vehicle types, encompassing virtually all chassis and body makes then in service, and were also well known for their distinctive, traditional liveries. In addition to the buses, there were also still trams and trolleybuses, which to many enthusiasts made them that much more interesting.
     
    “Jim Blake has a number of bus books to his name, and is well regarded in bus circles. The photos are good and clear with information about each bus and information on various bus types as well. A potentially useful resource for the modeler.” —Diesel and Electric Modellers United
     
    “Magnificent portrait of the time through an interesting collection of images.” —Miniaturas JM
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOpen Road Integrated Media
    Release dateApr 30, 2019
    ISBN9781473857193
    British Municipal Bus Operators: A Snapshot of the 1960s
    Author

    Jim Blake

    Jim Blake was born at the end of 1947, and he soon developed a passionate interest in railways, buses and trolleybuses. In 1965, he bought a colour cine-camera, with which he captured what is now very rare footage of long-lost buses, trolleybuses and steam locomotives. These transport photographs have been published in various books and magazines. Jim also started the North London Transport Society and, in conjunction with the group, he has compiled and published a number of books on the subject since 1977, featuring many of the 100,000 or so transport photographs he has taken over the years.

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      Book preview

      British Municipal Bus Operators - Jim Blake

      BRITISH MUNICIPAL BUS OPERATORS

      A SNAPSHOT OF THE 1960S

      BRITISH MUNICIPAL BUS OPERATORS

      A SNAPSHOT OF THE 1960S

      JIM BLAKE

      First published in Great Britain in 2019 by

      Pen and Sword Transport

      An imprint of

      Pen & Sword Books Ltd

      Yorkshire - Philadelphia

      Copyright © Jim Blake

      ISBN 978 1 47385 718 6

      eISBN 978 1 47385 719 3

      Mobi ISBN 978 1 47385 720 9

      The right of Jim Blake to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

      A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the Publisher in writing.

      Pen & Sword Books Ltd incorporates the Imprints of Pen & Sword Books Archaeology, Atlas, Aviation, Battleground, Discovery, Family History, History, Maritime, Military, Naval, Politics, Railways, Select, Transport, True Crime, Fiction, Frontline Books, Leo Cooper, Praetorian Press, Seaforth Publishing, Wharncliffe and White Owl.

      For a complete list of Pen & Sword titles please contact

      PEN & SWORD BOOKS LIMITED

      47 Church Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S70 2AS, England

      E-mail: enquiries@pen-and-sword.co.uk

      Website: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk

      or

      PEN AND SWORD BOOKS

      1950 Lawrence Rd, Havertown, PA 19083, USA

      E-mail: Uspen-and-sword@casematepublishers.com

      Website: www.penandswordbooks.com

      CONTENTS

      About the Author

      Introduction

      Pictures

      ABOUT THE AUTHOR

      Iwas born at the end of 1947, just five days before the ‘Big Four’ railway companies, and many bus companies – including London Transport – were nationalised by Clement Attlee’s Labour government.

      Like most young lads born in the early post-war years, I soon developed a passionate interest in railways, the myriad steam engines still running on Britain’s railways in those days in particular. However, because my home in Canonbury Avenue, Islington was just a few minutes’ walk from North London’s last two tram routes, the 33 in Essex Road and the 35 in Holloway Road and Upper Street, my parents often took me on these for outings to the South Bank, particularly to the Festival of Britain which was held there in the last summer they ran, in 1951. Moreover, my father worked at the GPO’s West Central District Office in Holborn and often travelled to and from work on the 35 tram. As a result, he knew many of the tram crews, who would let me stand by the driver at the front of the trams as they travelled through the Kingsway Tram Subway. This was an unforgettable experience for a four-year-old! In addition, my home was in the heart of North London’s trolleybus system, with route 611 actually passing the door, and one of the busiest and complicated trolleybus junctions in the world, at Holloway, Nag’s Head, a short ride away along Holloway Road. Here, the trolleybuses’ overhead almost blotted out the sky! Thus, from a very early age, I developed an equal interest in buses and trolleybuses to that in railways, and have retained both until the present day.

      I was educated at my local Highbury County Grammar School, and later at Kingsway College, by coincidence a stone’s throw from the old tram subway. I was first bought a camera for my fourteenth birthday at the end of 1961, which was immediately put to good use photographing the last London trolleybuses in North West London on their very snowy last day a week later. Three years later, I started work as an administrator for the old London County Council at County Hall, by coincidence adjacent to the former Festival of Britain site, and travelled to and from work on bus routes 171 or 172, which had replaced the 33 and 35 trams mentioned above.

      By now, my interest in buses and trolleybuses had expanded to include those of other operators, and I travelled throughout England and Wales between 1961 and 1968 in pursuit of them, being able to afford to travel further afield after starting work! I also bought a colour cine-camera in 1965, with which I was able to capture what is now very rare footage of long-lost buses, trolleybuses and steam locomotives. Where the latter are concerned, I was one of the initial purchasers of the unique British Railways ‘Pacific’ locomotive 71000 Duke of Gloucester, which was the last ever passenger express engine built for use in Britain. Other preservationists laughed at the group which purchased what in effect was a cannibalised hulk from Barry scrapyard at the end of 1973, but they laughed on the other side of their faces when, after extensive and innovative rebuilding, it steamed again in 1986. It has since become one of the bestknown and loved preserved British locomotives, often returning to the main lines.

      Although I spent 35 years in local government administration, with the LCC’s successor, the Greater London Council, then Haringey Council and finally literally back on my old doorstep, with Islington Council, I also took a break from office drudgery in 1974/75 and actually worked on the buses as a conductor at London Transport’s Clapton Garage, on local routes 22, 38 and 253. Working on the latter, a former tram and trolleybus route, in particular was an unforgettable experience! I was recommended for promotion as an inspector, but rightly thought that taking such a job with the surname Blake was unwise in view of the then-current character of the same name and occupation in the On The Buses TV series and films, and so declined the offer and returned to County Hall!

      By this time, I had begun to have my transport photographs published in various books and magazines featuring buses and railways, and also started off the North London Transport Society, which catered for enthusiasts interested in both subjects. In conjunction with this group, I have also compiled and published a number of

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