In Buses and Coaches in and around Walton-on-Thames and Weybridge, 1891–1986 the author, Laurie James, strives to cover more than just routes and vehicles – he also attempts to show how road passenger transport was influenced by local social historic and economic activity.
Beginning in Walton in the 1890s the story opens with the horse drawn omnibuses which linked the town with the local railway station, then continues through the dawn of the motor era and the rise of the charabanc and hackney carriages. The many entrepreneurial opportunities open to the proprietors of the transport services are explored. Such companies ran coaches for private hire, contracts and pleasure outings and the author seeks to record the history of these locally based operators, such as Ben Stanley whose business ran in the Walton and Hersham area for around sixty years.
He also features the London bus network, which served the towns of Walton-on-Thames and Weybridge for many years before the London Passenger Transport Act 1933 resulted in the formation of London Transport. He then looks at the gradual decline of bus services from the 1960s and culminates with the return to a de-regulated operating environment in 1986.
Accompanying the account is an interesting selection of mainly black & white photographs, depicting a wide range of the vehicles covered. Also shown are some route maps, timetable miscellanea and a table showing details of a selection of local operators’ vehicles.
200 black & white and colour photographs. Hardback. 208 pages.