Michael Hitchen

South Wales Transport, as a National Bus Company, served a large and diverse area of South West Wales, from Port Talbot in the east, throughout the industrial Swansea Valley and City, and out across rural West Wales to the remote Pembrokeshire coast. It had grown following National Bus Company’s acquisition of BET/THC bus companies in South Wales. With the resulting overlapping areas of services, NBC reorganised its operations and from January 1971 South Wales Transport took control of United Welsh Services, Thomas Brothers (Port Talbot) and Neath & Cardiff Luxury Coaches. In 1972 Western Welsh services from Neath and Haverfordwest were also transferred to South Wales Transport, leaving Western Welsh only operating to the east of South Wales Transport. The outcome of these four acquisitions was a fascinating and diverse fleet, a rich mix of BTC and BET vehicles, an early user of Minibuses, Inter-urban joint coach services and the well-known AEC Regents, including the short version for Gower services. In this book you are taken on a fascinating pictorial journey back to the 1970s and early 1980s when De Cymru Poppy Red buses could still be seen climbing steeply up to Townhill from the centre of Swansea, through the industrial Lower Swansea Valley and to the far distant rural lanes around Haverfordwest.

Crewe has long been a destination for the rail enthusiast keen to see lots of interest and continuous operation. In the era when Rail Blue dominated, it drew huge numbers with the guarantee of loco-hauled trains, close-ups of the large diesel depot and the potential to explore beyond the station to see heavy freight activity. If you were to visit on the occasion of a works open day, then the bonus of a look inside the extensive workshop facility where a large number of locomotives were under repair or construction could also be enjoyed.Michael Hitchen presents a vibrant selection of images featuring the platform ends at the station, visits to the depots and a trip around the world-famous locomotive workshops, as well as plenty of lineside scenes now consigned to history.

Between 1972 and 1986 the roads of England and Wales were served by the country’s own National Bus Company, carrying a corporate livery introduced to bring the thirty-six or so companies together and help the public see it owned its bus services. At the time, it was the largest bus company in the world, and there was much interest in its vehicle fleets, along with the changes to operating areas and fleet amalgamations.In the 1970s, most towns had a bus station and garage, and the constituent companies still retained much individuality even if the buses were painted in a similar fashion. Information was not as readily available as today, so there was plenty of interest to be discovered. In this book, Mike Hitchen takes a look back to a time when variety was the norm; red or green (and occasionally blue) buses connected communities across the country from Cornwall to Kent, Hampshire to Northumberland and most places in between.