Central London Buses, Trams, and Trolleybuses – A Photographic Review

This book is a photographic review of London Transport’s Central buses, trams and trolleybuses within Central London covering the period from the late 1940s until 1970 with a few photographs of traditional buses in the early 1970s also included. Featured in an approximate chronological order are the pre-war and utility types, loaned Bristols, the RT family, and the abandonment of the tramway system. Notable events such as the Festival of Britain and Coronation period special services are covered together with the 1958 bus strike casualty routes. The story continues with the Trolleybus Replacement Programme followed by a temporary stability with the RT and RM families until a modern generation of front entrance, rear engine buses appeared. Some discretion has been used as to what has been included as Central London with the area being slightly larger than that within the Circle Line. At the end of 1945 London Transport had a total scheduled fleet across all road services of 7,638 which peaked by the end of 1953 at 9,018. Decline in the popularity of public transport, exacerbated by the bus strike in 1958, meant that by the end of 1969 this figure had dropped to exactly 6,900. The work of a number of photographers, some well-known and others not so has been included and a debt of gratitude must be expressed to the efforts of these individuals for placing on record examples of their work for subsequent generations to enjoy. In some instances the quality of an image has been balanced against the rarity value of the subject matter.