Whether living in an urban sprawl, a sunny suburb or rolling countryside, the taxi is a mode of transport that no doubt every resident of the UK will use in their lives. So prevalent is it in British society that the black cab has become one of the most iconic symbols of the country and its capital. Here Danny Roth presents the most comprehensive history of the taxi service of Britain complete with in-depth appendices and a wide-ranging, fascinating collection of 250 taxi images. Beginning from the birth of the taxi, four millennia before Christ, through Victorian times to the present day with views on the future, no stone is left unturned in this history of British taxi service. Accessibly written and filled with technical detail, this is a volume no car or taxi enthusiast can do without.

In the 1970s the main UK bus groups were the National Bus Company, the Scottish Bus Group, the Passenger Transport Executives and various council owned concerns. Today we have Stagecoach, First and Arriva, plus several smaller groups, with just a handful of councils still owning bus operations. Throughout these major changes to the bus industry, there have been hundreds of smaller independent bus companies running stage carriage services on the roads of the United Kingdom. In this book we look at these, from the small operators with just one or two buses, to the larger fleets, such as Lancashire United. Many independent companies have, since the 1970s, been swallowed up by larger groups one or two have ceased trading. However, many are still thriving and other operators have taken the place of those that we've lost. Deregulation in 1986 brought a host of new bus operators, competing for business with the companies that had run their services for many years. Inevitably, there were some casualties, but today the independent bus sector is alive and well. The purpose of this book is to illustrate the great variety of independent buses that have graced Britain's roads, from the early 1970s to the present day.

Probably the single most numerous of tramcar constructed for operation on Britain's first generation electric tramways, the London County Council's 'E/1' class had an operational history that stretched for almost 50 years. The first were produced towards the end of the first decade of the 20th century and the last were withdrawn with the conclusion of 'Operation Tramaway' - the final conversion of the once great London tramway system - in July 1952. Over the years, more than 1,000 were built for operation by the LCC with similar cars being constructed for a number of the council operated systems in the capital prior to the creation of the LPTB in July 1933\. The last batch - effectively rebuilds of single-deck cars that had once operated through the Kingsway Subway prior to its modernisation - not completed until the early 1930s. During the 1920s the LCC cars had undergone a Pullmanisation programme and, during the following decade, a number underwent the LPTB's Rehabilitation scheme. Moreover, with the removal of the restriction on the use of enclosed lower-deck vestibules, many others were converted to fully-enclosed during that decade. Although withdrawals commenced in the 1930s, as the tram system north of the river was converted to trolleybus operation, and others were lost as a result of enemy action during the war, a sizeable number survived to the system's final days. This book examines the history of this important class from development through to preservation.

In the nineteenth century, Jules Verne imagined a journey round the world. At the start of the twentieth century, an American millionaire, Charles J. Glidden, did it for real - though it took many more than eighty days. Assisted by Charles Thomas, a Sussex engineer, the millionaire took his Napier car twice around the world, to places that had never seen a powered vehicle. The journeys took them across thirty-nine countries on four continents. In Switzerland they were arrested for driving on a forbidden road. Later they fitted the car with railroad wheels and drove to Vancouver on the tracks of the Canadian Pacific. During their travels they met people of all kinds, from impoverished pilgrims to maharajahs. In Fiji there was an encounter with the last cannibal; in militarist Japan they experienced anti-Western attitudes. Andrew Jepson tells the fascinating story of these ground-breaking journeys with the aid of images taken from Charles Thomas' own photograph albums. This is a must-read for all motoring enthusiasts.

David Pearson spent more than four decades working for Ford's tractor business, starting on the production line at the maker's Dagenham factory before moving to the Basildon tractor plant opened in 1964. He went on to become the maker's UK sales manager, and earned a reputation among farmers and dealers as the man who knew all there was to know about Ford tractors. Along the way, he was involved in the development of some of the most famous machines to bear the blue livery, from the Dexta to the 7000, and the FW articulated tractors to the 7810. Edited by agricultural journalist Martin Rickatson, Forty Years with Ford Tractors builds on a series of recollections which originally featured in Classic Tractor magazine, and includes additional material to tell David's fascinating story in full. It includes a comprehensive selection of black-and-white and colour photographs, many of which have never before been published and will be of interest to all Ford fans and tractor fans more generally.Front cover photograph: (c) Dave Franciosy / www.farmingphotography.co.uk

The aim of this series is to appeal to readers of all ages, perhaps for different reasons...In this volume: We travel back to the year 1963For the younger reader there are wonderful pictures of buses and coaches that they will never have seen. There will, for example, be half-cab single and double deckers the like of which are no longerin production. Some will be recognised from models and books, while others will be seen for the first time. For the older reader the books are designed to build into a collection placing road transport in the context of key events, thus providing an historical perspective of travel in times past. For those old enough to remember the years depicted, the series will, we hope, provide reminders for many of school days, time perhaps spent bus-spotting, depot visiting and generally visiting interesting locations! The books also make ideal theme gifts for the year of birth, marriage, retirement, starting work and other such events in life.

The more than 150 photographs in this new volume in the series were taken between 1951 and 1978. The majority are in colour and have never before been published. Covering all the major bus, tram and trolleybus operators in the area, most of the pictures show the buses in pre-National Bus Company and Passenger Transport Executive liveries. They also, of course, provide nostalgic views of street scenes, shops and contemporary road vehicles. Midlands Main Operators will feature: City of Oxford East Midland Mansfield & District Midland General Midland Red Notts & Derby Potteries Motor Traction South Midland Stratford Blue Trent United Counties