Glory Days

Ribble

Plot

One of the great names in British road passenger transport, Ribble was to dominate the provision of bus services through much of northwest England. First registered in 1919, the company grew rapidly over the succeeding years to the point where, by 1930, it possessed a fleet of some 650 buses and, by the outbreak of World War 2 in 1939, this had increased to more than 1,000. By this date, Ribble was jointly owned by BET and the LMSR and its operations had expanded to include coaching services - courtesy of the Blackpool-based operation Standerwick, taken over in 1931. Apart from long-distance services, Ribble was the major provider of bus services in much of Lancashire and the Lake District, although services could reach much further. Like the rest of BET's passenger transport operations, Ribble passed to the National Bus Company in the late 1960s. In his first book for Ian Allan Publishing, noted expert and regular columnist in Classic Bus magazine, Roger Davies, examines the history of Ribble from its earliest days through to the 1970s when the company's traditional image was subsumed into the corporate identity of the National Bus Company.In compiling the book, the author has made contact with large numbers of erstwhile employees of the company, drawing upon their collections and recollections to provide a comprehensive account of the company, its vehicles and operations over a near 60-year period. Whilst the superb colour and mono photographs provide the bulk of the illustrative content, the book also includes a range of memorabilia from Ribble's golden years, providing the reader - whether enthusiast or local - with a fascinating portrait of a much-mourned local operator.