Heyday Of Ribble

The name, Ribble Motor Services Ltd, was first registered in June 1919.

From modest beginnings, the company grew to become one of the largest bus operators outside London, dominating much of north west England.

By 1930 the company's fleet had expanded to over 650 vehicles and, a decade later, it reached more than 1,000 buses, with operations stretching from Carlisle south to Liverpool and Manchester and into the West Riding of Yorkshire.

Part owned by the London Midland & Scottish Railway, Ribble was a subsidiary of British Electric Traction and its influence grew through the acquisition of other operators such as the well-established coach company W C Standerwick of Blackpool in 1932 and Scout of Preston in 1961.

Through its Standerwick subsidiary, Ribble operated express coach services from the north west to London, using double-deck vehicles, taking advantage of the new motorway network to offer timings that had not been previously available by road.Like other BET subsidiaries, Ribble passed to the National Bus Company in 1969, its individual identity being subsumed by the NBC corporate colours from the early 1970s. In his second volume devoted to Ribble, Roger Davies, whose first book on the subject, "Glory Days: Ribble", was a great success, provides a colourful reminder of the operator, its vehicles and services from the late 1950s through to the early 1970s.

The great majority of the colour images in the book are previously unpublished.

The pictures combined with Roger Davies' detailed captions will delight the many enthusiasts who admired Ribble and will also appeal to those who lived in the large area served by the company.