Bøker av Tim Machin

An interesting array of fascinating images illustrate how coach styles have developed over the years.

Until the last quarter of the twentieth century Maltese buses had generally had locally constructed bodywork, often a modified chassis of UK or American origin. A variety of liveries was carried. By the mid-1970s, out went the traditional liveries to be replaced by a uniform 'spray green' with white roof for route buses, while coaches initially carried a livery of buff and white. The start of the 1980s saw the importation of complete vehicles from the UK. AEC Swifts were sourced from London Transport, while a variety of Bedford and Ford coaches started to appear carrying bodies by Plaxton and Duple. Other types included Bristol LH, AEC Reliance, Leyland Leopard, Tiger Cub and Panther Cub. In typical Maltese fashion vehicles were often modified with different axles, engines and gearboxes, bodies rebuilt and, in some cases, replaced totally. In 1995, the livery changed to yellow/white with an orange waistband and continued so until 2011.

When the words Buses of North Staffordshire are used most people will think of PMT, and later First, running through the urban areas of Stoke-on-Trent, with additional vehicles from a few medium-sized family-owned operators thrown in for good measure. Our journey, taken over the last fifty-or-so years, will also feature the vehicles of the many smaller rural operators. Schools services and works contracts have always been an important part of the bus scene, and many of the vehicles featured will have been used for providing such services. Some of the operators featured are well-known names, with lengthy histories, others will be less familiar, and in some cases short-lived too. The traditional independents, such as Berresfords, Stevensons, and Turners, have all gone now, but in their place are new operators, new ideas, and still a wealth of interesting vehicles to cope with the ever-changing demands of a still shrinking market.