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Books > Sport & Leisure > Transport: general interest > Road & motor vehicles: general interest > General
Covers rear-wheel drive transmissions THM200-4R, THM350, THM400 and
THM700-R4; and front-wheel drive transaxles THM125/125C, THM3T40,
THM440-T4 and THM4T60.'
The origins of Wrightbus can be traced back to just after the
Second World War in 1946 when the company was founded as Robert
Wright & Son Coachbuilders in Ballymena Northern Ireland.
Robert was joined by daughter Muriel, and son William. Robert
Wright died in 1972\. In 2017 William was awarded a Knighthood in
the Queen's New Year's Honours Manufactured from the end of 2014,
the integral constructed StreetDeck is built in both single and
double-deck variations, the vast majority in the latter. At the
time of writing the workforce stud at 770, but by the end 2022 that
figure will be nearer one thousand. In 2021 70% of production was
diesel powered, but in 2022 only 30% will be diesel, with the other
70% zero emissions.
Bedford Buses and Coaches provides a detailed review of the entire
range of purpose-built Public Service Vehicle (PSV) bus and coach
chassis that carried the Bedford name from 1931 until production
ceased in 1986. Bedfords were once a familiar sight on the roads
not only of the United Kingdom, but throughout the world. They were
produced in such volume that the advertising slogan 'You see them
everywhere' was quite legitmately adopted by Vauxhall Motors, the
manufacturer of Bedford vehicles. Fully illustrated throughout with
hundreds of photographs, the majority in colour, the book includes
detailed descriptions of the Bedford petrol and diesel engines and
other manufacturers engines used in Bedford bus and coach chassis.
Detailed specifications and production histories are given for all
the full-size passenger chassis including the WHB/WLB, WTB, OB/OWB,
SB, VAS, VAL, VAM, Y-series and the Venturer. Road tests and
owners' experiences are covered along with advice on buying and
restoring a Bedford bus or coach.
When one thinks of public transport in the south west over the
years, two names tend to dominate; Western National and Devon
General. But as this book with a difference shows, there was much
more to it. Whilst it features buses past and present from a
variety of operators large and small, it does so by following the
route of one of the most well-known walks in England. The South
West Coast Path stretches for 630 miles from Minehead in Somerset,
through Devon and Cornwall along the north coast to Land's End, and
back along the south coast to Poole harbour in Dorset. It boasts
some spectacular scenery and regularly appears in lists of the
world's best walks. So this is not just a book about public
transport, it is also a travellers' guide to things to see and do
along the length of the Coast Path. Readers can imagine themselves
at the front of their own imaginary tour bus, stopping at key
points along the way. The photographs of buses date from the 1920s
through to the 2010s, and feature over twenty-five different
operators. There are brief notes on the way in which the Coast Path
connects these places and the availability of modern-day bus
services between them, and should any further encouragement be
needed to plan a visit to the area, scenic views of some of the
most beautiful locations are also included. It is hoped that this
unique volume will appeal not just to bus enthusiasts but to anyone
interested in visiting this glorious part of the country.
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 Company (later London
Transport) had put aside some old vehicles but they were not on
regular display. Private preservation started in the 1950s and the
first clubs for preservationists were established such as the
Historic Commercial Vehicle Club in 1958. A few early events were
held, but the first regular event was the HCVC (now HCVS) London to
Brighton Run which began in 1962 and has continued ever since.
Museum sites were established in the 1960s - The Museum of British
Transport opened in stages between 1961 and 1963 and would lead
eventually to the London Transport Museum. The East Anglian
Transport Museum at Carlton Colville and the Sandtoft Transport
Centre both opened in the 1960s. But it would be the 1970s when the
rallies and Open Days' we know today really began to take off. This
book looks back at the formative years to 1980 when the seeds of
the preservation and rally movement of today were being sown.
A commemorative history of fifty years of the iconic Ford Transit
van, from the launch of the first-generation Transit in 1965, right
up to the present day. Covering the full range of Transit models
and with over three hundred photographs (including previously
unpublished pictures from Ford's picture archive), Ford Transit -
Fifty Years is an ideal resource for anyone with an interest in
this world-beating commercial vehicle. Written by acknowledged Ford
Transit expert Peter Lee, the book covers the development era -
light commercial vehicles in the 1950s, the 'Project Redcap'
prototypes and the first Transit. Production and development of all
eight generations and variants of Transits are also covered,
including custom vans, camper vans, minibuses and special vehicle
options. Specification guides, awards, sales figures are all
included as well as marketing worldwide. Finally, there are
interviews with designers, engineers and Ford employees, along with
owners' experiences. The Transit has and continues to receive
numerous awards, voted 'International Van of the Year' in 2001 and
2013. With the 2014 launch of the all-new two-tonne Transit and its
pioneering technology, this looks to be only the first fifty years
of the Ford Transit story.
A beautifully illustrated history of the Leyland bus, one of the
most important British buses of the twentieth century. With full
production histories and technical specifications for all the major
models, A History of the Leyland Bus also includes the evolution of
the Leyland Bus company, and tells the full story behind the iconic
Leyland badge. Including some previously unseen illustrations, the
book covers a full company history - from beginnings as the
Lancashire Steam Motor Company in 1886, to the acquisition by Volvo
Buses in 1988. Technical details of all the main models are given
including the Lion, Titan and Olympic ranges. Gearless buses and
rear-engined double-deckers are covered as well as charabancs,
trolleybuses, First World War military vehicles and overseas
models. A History of the Leyland Bus will be an essential guide to
these much-treasured vehicles.
East Kent - Services of the Golden Jubilee Era takes the reader on
a journey along the routes of all the stage-carriage services
operated by East Kent in 1968, just after the Company celebrated
its Golden Jubilee in 1966/7 and immediately prior to the National
Bus Company (NBC) taking full control. Supported by over two
hundred and fifty photographs, most not published before, of nearly
every bus route as well as most London express services and all the
operational garages, this book reveals the contrasting nature of
East Kent's services from rural byways to the seasonal, but very
busy routes serving the still-popular resorts around the Kent
coast. It includes a comprehensive fleet list and details a
specimen allocation of cars to each service on a typical day in
1968; local route maps of all major town services as well as a
sectionalised reproduction of the original East Kent network map of
1968 and, finally, a summary of the Centenary celebrations of 2016.
Hong Kong has long been a place of great interest to transport
enthusiasts. Its mixture of predominantly British-built buses
operating in a bustling oriental setting holds endless fascination
while Hong Kong Tramways’ 1920s-style tramcars evoke past times
in an ultra-modern setting. Changes to Hong Kong’s bus and tram
scene during the final twenty-one years of British rule are
recounted and illustrated in this book. Included are the decline of
the China Motor Bus Company’s operations and the emergence of
Citybus Limited as a major player. Vehicles of the Kowloon Motor
Bus Company, which claimed to be the world’s largest
privately-owned bus company operating in a single city, are
depicted at various locations including the New Territories. Bus
and light rail transit operations of the Kowloon-Canton Railway
Corporation are illustrated as are buses of Argos Bus Services, the
Motor Transport Company of Guangdong and Hong Kong, the New Lantao
Bus Company, Public Light Buses, Stagecoach (Hong Kong) Limited and
operations of the Peak Tramways Company. This book includes
pictures of some of the many hundreds of second-hand buses from
British operators, such as London Transport, Ribble and Southdown,
which were imported into Hong Kong from the 1970s onwards.
This is the story of how for more than a hundred years steam power
played a vital role in the development of road transport. It all
began with tentative attempts to build steam carriages by pioneers
such as Cugnot in France and Trevithick in Britain, and in the
early part of the nineteenth century there were significant
attempts to develop steam carriages and omnibuses. That these
attempts ultimately failed was largely due to opposition by road
authorities and draconian legislation. Steam power did, however,
find a real purpose in agriculture, where the traction engine was
used for a variety of tasks from towing and working threshing
machines, to ploughing. Once the value of the traction engine had
been established, it soon found a use in many parts of the world
for heavy haulage work and appeared in an exotic guise as the
showman's engine. The latter was not only used to haul rides to
fairgrounds but also powered a dynamo that could light up the fair
at night. By the end of the nineteenth century, steam on the road
took on a new life with the development of steam cars and trucks.
For a time they vied the new internal combustion engine for
supremacy on the road. The American Doble Company even developed a
100mph steam sports car. Ultimately steam lost the war, but steam
vehicles survive and delight us still thanks to enthusiastic owners
and restorers.
During the mid-1990s Nottingham's scene was dominated by Nottingham
City Transport and the Wellglade group that included Trent buses
and Barton buses. Notable independents had been purchased by
Wellglade and Nottingham City Transport respectively, with evidence
of their existence still very much on the road. Other players
included Kinch, Nottingham Omnibus and Delta bus, who tried to make
a mark on the scene but were eventually swept away. By the end of
decade low-floor buses would start to become the new normal, and
new operating practices began to change. This nostalgic look back
at buses in Nottingham in the 1990s presents a picture of an
interesting and varied bus scene.
Golden Miller was a rare bus operator permitted to run bus services
within London Transport's vast monopoly area. Starting in 1967, the
company went on to build up a network of routes around Feltham in
west London and Staines in Surrey. Its frequently changing fleet
comprised a fascinating array of mostly second-hand buses sourced
from across the United Kingdom and even Ireland. The growth of
Golden Miller and its transition into Tellings-Golden Miller,
including the latter's Cardiff Bluebird operation, is described
along with insight into some of the personalities involved.
Comprehensive fleet lists detail all vehicles operated. Photos
illustrate the development of individual routes along with coaches,
contract work and garages, using more than 150 pictures including
images of previous and successor operators on some services. Route
maps complement the coverage. This book showcases independent bus
variety in an otherwise highly standardised bus scene.
Each 96 page, hard cover book in the series is 10 1/2" x 7 5/8" and
contains color and black and white photos, drawings, charts, and
catalog facsimiles. Each classic model is presented in its historic
and developmental aspects.
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