45worlds - Railmaster London

Railmaster London

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Railmaster London 11th Apr 2019		Book Ken Blacker - The London Trolleybus Volume Two 1946-1962	Sou Wester's Review From Amazon This is the second of Ken Blacker's definitive two part history of the giant London trolleybus system. The first volume took the story from the dramatic growth of the system in the 1930s and into the incredibly difficult operating conditions of the Second World War. Volume Two takes the story on from from the end of hostilities. Having taken trolleybuses on board in such a big way immediately before the war it is interesting how quickly that enthusiasm had waned by the time peace returned. Herr Hitler's intervention had interupted London's massive tram to trolleybus conversion programme, but when this resumed in the late 1940s it was motorbuses rather than trolleys that supplanted the surviving trams, the last of these iconic beasts running in 1952. This was an ominous sign for the trolleybuses and, only a year or so after the trams they were supposed to replace had vanished, London Transport announced that the trolleybuses themselves were to be replaced. This cast something of a cloud over the final decade of trolleybus operation, although a considerable time elapsed between their proposed demise being announced and the replacement programme actually being implemented. Thus, throughout the 1950s the trolleybuses remained a common sight right across the city and its is probably this period that is best remembered by people today. All this is brilliantly portrayed in Mr. Blacker's book and the text and pictures combine to give a fine recollection of both the trolleybuses and the general London street scene of the 1950s. No less interesting, though inevitably sad, is coverage of the massive switchover from trolleybuses to motorbuses carried out between 1959 and 1962. Ironically, the last trolleybus stronghold was in south-west London where the vehicles had first been introduced in 1931. This wasn't quite the end of the story, however. Nearly all of London's postwar trolleybuses (the Q1 class, sometimes described as the Rolls Royce version of the trolleybus) found new lives in Spain and their fascinating afterlife is also covered in this book, as is the story of the few London trolleybuses that survived into preservation. This is where this excellent history ends. However, it is interesting to reflect that trams have since returned to London and, in these more environmentally concious times, some would argue that trolleybuses might still find a role to play, so perhaps the final chapter of Mr. Blacker's fine and thoroughly recommended book has yet to be written!
Railmaster London 11th Apr 2019		Book Ken Blacker - The London T Types	Publisher Blurb This volume marks, in effect, the completion of a trilogy devoted to the buses and coaches bought by the London General Omnibus Company and its associates in the final years of its independent existence. The LT class six-wheelers, and their four-wheeled double deck ST counterparts, dominated the London bus scene during the later days of the LGOC and retained a significant foothold for two decades before the last remnants finally drifted away in 1953. The T class was different. Although clearly in the same general mould as the LT and ST, its impact on the LGOC itself was not so great, although the phenomenal growth and expansion of the Green Line network could not have been achieved without it. The big difference, however, is that the T class continued to grow, right through the tenure of the London Passenger Transport Board and into the early days of post-war nationalisation. Newer members of the class continued in service for several years after the LTs and STs had all gone, and as a result, remain fresher in the memory. 216 pages Hardback
Railmaster London 10th Apr 2019		Book Ken Blacker - The London LT	Publisher Blurb Having dealt with the Routemaster, the RT, the Utilities and the STL in previous books, Ken Blacker has now turned his attention to the LT type, which first made an appearance in 1929, the first vehicles of which had outside staircases. All the variations are covered, including the famous Bluebirds, the 'Scooter' single deckers and the two coaches. His usual thorough research into his subject is presented in a very readable form and is well illustrated.
Railmaster London 10th Apr 2019		Book Ken Glazier - Routes To Recovery	Publisher Blurb In 1945, after six years of war, London Transport found itself with a fleet of motor buses, trams and trolleybuses impoverished by the enforced neglect and lack of materials which were an inevitable consequence of wartime conditions. This book takes a look at the seven years following the end of the war and at the measures that had to be taken to keep bus services running with a time-expired fleet.
Railmaster London 9th Apr 2019		Book John A. S. Hambley - London Transport Buses And Coaches 1955	Publisher Blurb A pictorial record of London Buses & Coaches in 1955. The ninth in a series. Also available London Buses & Coaches in 1939-1945, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953 and in 1954. In 1955 the pinnacle with regard to the number of buses and coaches operated by London Transport has now past and a steady decline in the number of vehicles owned will be witnessed in the following years. A great number of vehicles had been scrapped or disposed of since the cessation of hostilities in 1945 with a slightly higher number of replacements being put into service. Several reasons for the reduction of the number of public transport vehicles have been mentioned in earlier editions but car ownership and a steady decline in population in Inner London are two important factors.