Martin Dibbs & Geoffrey Skelsey Published by the LRTA 2020

In 1950 the LRTA’s predecessor, The Light Railway Transport League, decided to publish historical material relating to first generation tramways in the British Isles separately from the house journal "Modern Tramway", which was featuring more and more good news on tramway renewal in continental Europe and some other countries. Thus was born the historical supplement "Tramway Review", which has grown in the intervening years to be a full magazine with expanded world-wide coverage of interesting aspects of tramway history.

The seventieth anniversary of this journal is being celebrated in 2020 with the publication of an anthology put together by the current editor of TR, Martin Dibbs and prolific LRTA author Geoffrey Skelsey.

A5 softback; 144 pages. Due late September 2020

Dieses Buch ist ein Fotoalbum, das die Straßenbahnen von Wien zwischen 1956 und 1978 in Farbe zeigt. Es ist zweisprachig, in Englisch und Deutsch. Als eines der größten Straßenbahnsysteme der Welt hatte Wien schon immer eine große Auswahl an Autos, Routen, Depots, Arbeitsmitteln, Straßenlandschaften und Kulissen. Für dieses Buch haben die Autoren herausragende Farbbilder gesammelt, die von Fotografen aus Australien, Großbritannien und den USA sowie aus Wien selbst aufgenommen wurden, die frühesten stammen aus der Mitte der 1950er Jahre. Der Großteil der ausgewählten Bilder stammt aus dem Online Transport Archive, einer in Großbritannien ansässigen Wohltätigkeitsorganisation, die sich der Erhaltung und Aufbewahrung transportbezogener Bilder widmet. Das Buch soll jede der verschiedenen Typen darstellen, die nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg an möglichst vielen Orten eingesetzt werden, manchmal mit und manchmal ohne Anhänger. Es gibt auch ausgewählte Ansichten der Stadtbahn und der Badner Lokalbahn sowie verschiedene Werkstattwägen. Um das Gesamtbild zu vervollständigen, wurden einige historische Ansichten von Bussen und Oberleitungsbussen aufgenommen. Die Berichterstattung endet 1978, als das letzte der klassischen M-Wagen zurückgezogen wurde. Um sicherzustellen, dass das Buch eine möglichst breite Leserschaft erreicht, sind Text und Bildunterschriften in Englisch und Deutsch. Martin Jenkins hat ein lebenslanges Interesse an den Straßenbahnen von Wien, zum ersten Mal war er in den 1950er Jahren da und war von der Komplexität des Netzes und der Vielfalt der Straßenbahnen fasziniert. Im Laufe der Jahre ist er mehrmals zurückgekehrt und freut sich, dieses Buch gemeinsam mit Mike Russell verfasst zu haben. Der Co-Autor war von Anfang an fasziniert vom straßenbasierten Personenverkehr mit einer entschiedenen Vorliebe für elektrische Traktion. Er besuchte Wien zum ersten Mal im Jahr 1973 und hat in den vergangenen Jahren die meisten Straßenbahn- und Oberleitungsbussysteme der Welt besucht, um eine besondere Zuneigung für diejenigen in den ehemaligen Habsburgerländern und Osteuropa im Allgemeinen zu entwickeln. Er hat mehrere Bücher über Straßenbahnen und Oberleitungsbusse verfasst oder mitverfasst, ist ehemaliger Herausgeber des Trolleybus-Magazins, derzeit Vorsitzender der National Trolleybus Association und Vizepräsident der British Trolleybus Society sowie regelmäßiger Mitarbeiter von Tramways u. Urban Transit und Trolleybus Magazin. 144 Seiten im A4-Format, in englischer und deutscher Sprache, Hardcover. 144 Seiten im A4-Format, in englischer und deutscher Sprache, Hardcover.

Britain's Second-Hand Trams (Hardback)

An Historic Overview

During the history of Britain’s electric tramcar fleets, many thousands were manufactured of which the vast majority saw out their operational life with a single owner. However, for several hundred there was to be a second – if not, in certain cases, a third – career with a new operator.

Almost from the dawn of the electric era in the late 19th century tramcars were loaned or bought and sold between operators. The reasons for this were multifarious. Sometimes the aspirations of the original owners for traffic proved wildly optimistic and the fleet was downsized to reflect better the actual passenger levels. War was a further cause as operators sought to strengthen their fleets to cater for unexpectedly high level of demand or to replace trams destroyed by enemy action. For other operators, modernisation represented an opportunity to sell older cars whilst, certainly from the 1930s, a number of operators – such as Aberdeen, Leeds and Sunderland – took advantage of the demise of tramways elsewhere to supplement their fleet with trams that were being withdrawn but which still had many years of useful operational life in them. The process was to continue right through to the mid-1950s when Glasgow took advantage of the demise of the once-extensive Liverpool system to purchase a number of the streamlined bogie bogie cars that were built in the late 1930s.

In this book the author provides a pictorial history – with detailed captions – to the many electric trams that were to operate with more than one tramway during the period up to the closure of the closure of the Glasgow system in 1962.

By Peter Waller
Imprint: Pen & Sword Transport
Pages: 184
Illustrations: 250 colour & black and white illustrations

20th Century Landmarks

A Snapshot from the 1960s

This book looks at an important turning point in the history of the bus industry in Britain. 1967 was the penultimate year to the end of an era, when private and semi-nationalized company’s operated the bus networks in this country.

After 1967 the network was never the same again, with the formation of the National Bus Company in 1968.

The NBC was a very bland organization compared to the colorful bus companies that had existed before nationalization, and many small municipal fleets amalgamated to form Passenger Transport Executives.

This comprehensive volume covers a large number of the bus companies throughout the country in 1967 and also has a good readable narrative describing Jim Blake’s journeys traveling on these services across Britain.

50 color illustrations and 150 black & white illustrations

Format Available

Binding : Hardback

Dimensions : 11 X 8.5 inches
Stock Status : In stock

Pages : 160

Although better known as a pioneer of trolleybus operation – the city played host to Britain’s longest surviving trolleybus network (61 years) – Bradford Corporation operated a sizeable fleet of 4ft 0in-gauge trams through to May 1950. As such, the city could lay claim to being the last operator of this gauge of tram in Britain and – in the restoration of No 104 – the first to see a derelict tramcar restored to use. Now, however, little remains to remind people of this once important form of transport other than historic photographs.

Locations featured include: The city centre, Allerton, Duckworth Lane, Heaton, Crossflatts route, Idle, Undercliffe, Bradford Moor, Stanningley, Wakefield Road, Manchester Road, Wibsey, Queensbury.

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Arguably the last of the ‘traditional’ tramways to operate in Britain, Dundee’s fleet of some 56 trams were to survive through until the mid-1950s when – despite considerable opposition – this popular form of transport was replaced by bus. The final Dundee trams operated in October 1956.

Locations featured include: High Street, Nethergate, Murraygate, Albert Square, Hilltown, Maryfield, Blackness, Lochee, Ninewells, Downfield.

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Aberdeen – the granite city – was to play host to two electric tramways: the corporation’s services within the city, which survived until 1958, and the short-lived services operated by the Aberdeen Suburban Tramways Co. Acquiring modern trams in the late 1940s, Aberdeen was perceived as one of the safest of British tramways in the post-war years, but even here the diesel bus was to take-over. Now, however, little remains to remind people of this once important form of transport other than historic photographs.

Locations featured include: St Nicholas Street, Castle Street, Union Street, Albyn Place, Bridge of Don, Torry Route, King Street, Bridge of Dee, Pittodrie Loop, Sea Beach, Woodside Route, Rosemount Circle.

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