Country Buses: 1933-1949: V. 1

Synopsis

London Transport's Country Buses provided services in the outer London area and part of the Home Counties extending to an approximate 25 mile radius from central London. Upon its formation in 1933 the London Passenger Transport Board faced the task of acquiring many independent operators in the Country area, restructuring the route network and dealing with the great variety of vehicle types. In the following years London Transport designed a range of new buses for these services and built a number of well-equipped garages. The Second World War saw a vast expansion of services with many new routes serving the needs of war workers. After the war a start was made in replacing the war weary fleet, and a number of new routes in rural areas were established. This first volume of the book tells the story from the origins of the Country area in the early 1920s until the end of 1949.