1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152 
PSV Nook Reviews
Page 68
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Edited by John Durant
3uy Motors and the Nulfrunian
3uy Motors and the WulfruIlan, by R. N. Hannay, is )ublished by the Transport lublishing Company, Simnondley, Glossop, Derbyhire, at £4.95.
VHAT'S a Wulfrunian? If uncle flows and is interested in cornlercial vehicles, then you could e on a gift winner with this icely produced book, not only ontaining large pictures and hotos, technical drawings and ocuments such as a Certificate Fitness, but with large type.
A Wulfrunian is a native of /olverhampton. Since Guy otors have been making cornercial and passenger vehicles this Midlands town for nearly If a century it is appropriate at the name Wulfrunian, an)unced in 1959, was adopted r what Mr Hannay calls the ost advanced type of double)ck 'bus ever produced. The ime Wolverhampton is deied from a combination of 'ulfrun and Ha mtun — the ime given the town by the mons.
This book gives a brief history Guys and investigates the Alfrunian, showing why such -evolutionary design failed. e of these vehicles has been served and, at least last year, I held a public service vehicle nce, in the ownership of the ist Riding Wulfrunian Preserion Society.
IA/hy then did the Wulfrunian ? "The conservatism of the ish was partly to blame,'" 's the author, who adds, laintenance costs on the king system alone were eral times that of conventiobuses," and "'The subsemt trouble with the front pension units was due to the -1 loading resulting in their ling inwards in service and )aging the air bellows."
['he bus was expensive to ke, he says. The chassis -ne, for instance, was ambled from 268 different :s. To attract customers its
selling price had to be similar to those of competitors, and it was fixed at £3500 whereas an economic figure should have been around £4000 to give a contribution to overheads.
The book includes a reprint of a complete and exclusive Commercial Motor road test of August 26, 1960, of the Wulfrunian by John Moon, saying that "it represents value for money in all respects."
However, he added later in the test: "Maintenance of the test bus was hampered by thoughtless body design, such as 12 bolts to secure the gearbox inspection trap, seven for the rear-axle trap, 15 to hold down the engine-cowl panels in the driving compartment, and 10 bolts (including one with a different thread from the others) to hold in.place the hinged panel which forms the front of the driving compartment."
The rest of the book is a history of Guys, and includes a photo of Sydney Guy at the wheel of a 20hp V8 car introduced in 1919. It was the first V8 engine made in this country, and chassis lubrication was automatic. The last type appeared at Olympia in 1923 — with a new feature, four-wheel brakes. Car production was discontinued in 1925 owing to the increasing demand for bus and lorry chassis.
Buses in Camera
Buses in Camera — English PTEs, by Malcolm Keeley, is published by Ian Allan, Shepperton, Surrey, at £5.50.
THE FIRST FOUR Passenger Transport Executives were set up in 1969 following the Transport Act of the year before. The original PTE areas were based on transport surveys logically identifying the districts which supplied road and rail users to a conurbation area. But :the 1 974 local government reorganisation adjusted the PTE. areas to coincide with new, politically influenced county council boundaries.
Malcolm Keeley, who is himself an employee of one of the largest PTEs, has now followed his book, Buses in Camera — Mercian and Welsh, with this comprehensive collection of photos of buses both in PTE service and in the colours of undertakings absorbed by their conglomerates. In this book, predominantly of photos, he has chapters on the PTEs in Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, and the West Midlands. Each area is also given a chapter about the operators in the areas before the PTEs were established.
The good old days?
A Lifetime of London Bus Work, by Bob Scanlon, is published by the Transport Publishing Company, Glossop, Derbyshire, at £6.50.
BOB SCAN LAN was 14 when he began work on London General B-type buses in 1918, and had Completed 50 years continuous service when he retired from the Drawing. Office at London Transport's Chiswick Works in 1969. He says that he has avoided reference to political and trade union controversies.
What was it like in the old days? If you are not fascinated to learn anything of the answer, this is not the book for you, because it's an in-depth reminiscence by a draught
sman, who for many years cher ished the idea of writing a book with subsidiary headings lik€ "Mishap with a magneto" anc "Armistice Day and the lamp cowls".
However, he does include a chapter on "Modern methods-, in which he claims "without any fear of contradiction that London buses are designed, developed and maintained second to none anywhere in the world". So he did say something controversial after all.
Transport in the city
London's City Buses, by John A. Gray, is published by Ian Allan, Shepperton, Middlesex, at £5.50.
BUSES and their operation within the three cities — London, Westminster and Southwark — that together form the core of Britain's metropolis, are featured in this book.. As the author says, Southwark was historically the first suburb of London, when habitation spread to the south bank of the Thames even before the walled city was filled with buildings. Westminster too was a suburb; the first westward from the Romans" original settlement.
These areas were left out of London's Suburban Buses, and the present book complements its predecessor. The West End is included, too, in order to give a broad range of bus operation in the busiest areas of London Transport's territory, from the 1933 unification to the present.
The wide spread of years and types of bus illustrated (there are more than 230 photos) will awaken nostalgic memories; this book makes a good gift for the enthusiast or transport historian.