Books by Mike Rhodes

The Blackpool Electric Tramway Company commenced operation of a conduit system of railed vehicles along the Promenade between Cocker Street and Station Road on 29 September 1885. By the 1930s the rolling stock was becoming somewhat worn out and, following the appointment of Walter Luff as General Manager in November 1932, the fleet was revolutionised. Over the next few years Luff introduced a fleet of eighty-four streamlined cars and built a new depot at Rigby Road in which to house them. These formed the backbone of the fleet for several decades and a considerable number, although significantly altered, continued in service until the end of conventional tramway operation on 6 November 2011. Following a substantial injection of government funding in January 2008 the failing tramway was revitalised and like a phoenix from the ashes the whole system was modernised and reopened as a Light Rail Transit system in April 2012, with a fleet of new LRT articulated vehicles, which were housed in a new depot at Starr Gate. This book features a wide cross-section of trams that have operated at the seaside resort over the past forty years and follows the line from Starr Gate to Fleetwood, with many comparisons made between the old and new systems.

The AEC Regal IVs and Regent IIIs, or to give them their class prefix letters RFs and RTs, are among the most revered buses to have served London over the years. The RFs were maids of all work and were tailored for private hire work, Green Line coach work and ordinary stage bus work in both the central and country areas. The first of the type were introduced in October 1951 and a total of 700 vehicles were built for the London Transport Executive. They replaced virtually all the other types of single-deckers then operating in the metropolis. The RT was first introduced to service in 1939 and production ran to 151 vehicles before construction ceased in early 1942. Following the war the Park Royal factory recommenced building the type in 1947 with the last new chassis being rolled out in 1954, taking the bonnet number RT4825. Both types soldiered on throughout the 1970s as LTE encountered severe problems with their 'OPO' replacements before both finally bowed out within a week of each other in March/April 1979. This account charts the last years of operation of both types from the mid-1970s onward, focusing on South London.

The AEC Regal IVs and Regent IIIs, or to give them their class prefix letters RFs and RTs, are among the most revered buses to have served London over the years. The RFs were maids of all work and were tailored for private hire, Green Line coach work and ordinary stage bus work in both the central and country areas. The first of the type were introduced in October 1951 and a total of 700 vehicles were built for the London Transport Executive. They replaced virtually all the other types of single-deckers then operating in the metropolis. The RT was first introduced to service in 1939 and production ran to 151 vehicles before construction ceased in early 1942. Following the war, the Park Royal factory recommenced building the type in 1947, with the last new chassis being rolled out in 1954, taking the bonnet number RT4825. Both types soldiered on throughout the 1970s as LTE encountered severe problems with their 'OPO' replacements before both finally bowed out within a week of each other in March/April 1979. This account charts the last years of operation of both types from the mid-1970s onward, focusing on North London.

An illustrated look at the Routemaster which is an iconic London bus, recognised around the world, from the late 1970s to early 1980.

Previously unpublished images of British buses in Canada, Macau, India South Africa, Portugal and Hong Kong.