Historical Bus Timetables - timetableworld.com

[shawmat]

https://timetableworld.com is making its first foray into presenting GB bus timetables. We've been working with the Bus Archive, who have made available over 30 books from the Transport Holding Company era in the late 1960s, and these are now scanned and available on the site. We have also written an overview article on the GB bus industry which appears on the front page.

We hope to add another 30 or so books from the Bus Archive to complete the THC era, but we still have all the municipals to do and make a start on other eras. If you have timetables available for lending, we'd love to hear from you.

It is important to note that we are seeking volunteers to help index the books, and only a handful are done so far. You can sign up and work online, which is a great way to explore a timetable in detail. Each takes an hour or so to do, maybe two for bigger timetables like Potteries Motor Traction.

Interested in non-GB buses? Many of the European timetables we have published are multi-modal. Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland and others cover all public transport. Germany published two huge bus books and one railway book - the "Kursbücher" - and we have one of the two bus books so far, covering the southern part of former West Germany. The other will follow once I can get it from the collector who offered them.



14th October 2020 Update:

This post has been really effective - thank you bus fans. In a couple of days, about half the bus timetables on the website have been indexed by volunteers. (I think they've been cherry-picked because they don't take long: some of the European railway timetables are more challenging). I shall now quality-check them, but the first few are available, fully bookmarked.

Try Potteries Motor Traction Co. as a example: https://timetableworld.com/ttw-viewer?token=b8228bca-c11e-4c66-b0e0-c70c457b25e7. Look for this icon to view the bookmarks:

Sign up to help out at: https://timetableworld.com/jobs.

 

[NorthOxonian]

I had a look at the Oxford timetables - it's surprising how many routes are essentially the same and have retained their number for fifty years (though usually the timetables are very different). Reading through them, I'm also struck by how much better the modern service is, at least on the main routes, with earlier first buses, later last buses, and vastly improved frequencies (Oxford - Swindon is now six times more frequent than in 1969). Though in many cases smaller villages and more marginal routes seem to have lost out.

 

[Busaholic]

All power to your elbow. I have boxes of timetables, mostly from the 1950s and early 1960s, in my attic, all unsorted and uncatalogued I am afraid, in my attic but am quite unable physically to access them for the foreseeable future. Many are of BET companies and municipals : memory plays tricks, so I won't attempt to try to remember individual ones. I do know that, around 1960/1, say, when I probably started my collection they were being given away by previous collectors, usually for the postage cost: I can imagine the family domestic pressures that led to many of these chuck-outs, being a married man myself!!

 

[Andy Pacer]

I have thousands of UK bus timetables stored away at home and would be happy to help with this project.

 

[daodao]

I had a look at the Oxford timetables - it's surprising how many routes are essentially the same and have retained their number for fifty years (though usually the timetables are very different). Reading through them, I'm also struck by how much better the modern service is, at least on the main routes, with earlier first buses, later last buses, and vastly improved frequencies (Oxford - Swindon is now six times more frequent than in 1969). Though in many cases smaller villages and more marginal routes seem to have lost out.

I found these old bus timetables fascinating, in particular the NWRCC one for my local area, and thank Shawmat for making them available on line. Sadly, current bus services in the northern and eastern part of Cheshire are a mere shadow of what was provided in the past, although a few routes, such as that over the Cat and Fiddle pass (Macclesfield to Buxton) have been improved.

 

[DaveHarries]

Very interesting site: great for comparing Bristol's bus network of 1968 to what it has since become. Being only 38 I had never heard of many of those routes: the 28 became, of course, the 528 (Avonmouth - Withywood in those timetables, later Avonmouth - Hartcliffe) of which I was a regular user. Also good to see what ran through my area of Stoke Bishop - three route through the village alone (2, 2A & 22, now just one route - Service 4). It seems strange seeing places that either no longer exist (eg. Burrington Station, route 374) or which exist as remnants (eg. Warmley Station, routes 8 & 8A, now covered by Services 35, 42 & 43). Learning that the villages through the Chew Valley used to have that many departures - routes 371 - 375, latterly 672-674 in more recent times by merging the 371-375 although the route via. Lulsgate, Redhill & Wrington latterly got merged into the 120-122 of which I was also a regular user when I was at school near Winscombe. I could go on for ages!

Thank you for running this site: please keep it up.

Dave

 

[shawmat]

I had a look at the Oxford timetables - it's surprising how many routes are essentially the same and have retained their number for fifty years (though usually the timetables are very different). Reading through them, I'm also struck by how much better the modern service is, at least on the main routes, with earlier first buses, later last buses, and vastly improved frequencies (Oxford - Swindon is now six times more frequent than in 1969). Though in many cases smaller villages and more marginal routes seem to have lost out.

I was fully expecting most people would report bus services being hollowed out - they certainly have been where I live in Maidenhead. When I'm not doing Timetable World, I'm part of a group campaigning for improved local public transport, and the older timetables start to provide the evidence we need. But I was surprised to see Oxford bucking the trend. Why is that?

 

[carlberry]

I was fully expecting most people would report bus services being hollowed out - they certainly have been where I live in Maidenhead. When I'm not doing Timetable World, I'm part of a group campaigning for improved local public transport, and the older timetables start to provide the evidence we need. But I was surprised to see Oxford bucking the trend. Why is that?

First of all thank you for the effort involved in producing the archive.
The answer can vary however it's usually the combination of an older urban area (so traffic jams are common) and a local authority that's willing to work with the local bus operator(s) to achieve something (proving bus lanes on their part, and expecting the operators to put efforts into making the services attractive for their part). Unfortunately it's quite rare.
Sometimes there are specific reasons (the extra house building on the Oxford-Swindon corridor for example). Another example is the long inter urban service between Bristol and Wells; hourly in 1968 now half hourly and even ran 4 times an hour for a short period post covid.

 

[TheSel]

Fantastic effort already. Count me in - I similarly have boxes of timetables in the attic, primarily North West England, but also just about a full set of Derbyshire ones from the 1990/2000 decades.

Incidentally, I was delighted to note that the default page for the 'Crosville' section goes straight to the F38/9 from the June 1968 - January 1969 edition. Guess what bus I got home from school during that period? That's right. Meols, Railway Inn being the closest stop to my [then] home.

 

[GusB]

https://timetableworld.com is making its first foray into presenting GB bus timetables. We've been working with the Bus Archive, who have made available over 30 books from the Transport Holding Company era in the late 1960s, and these are now scanned and available on the site. We have also written an overview article on the GB bus industry which appears on the front page.

We hope to add another 30 or so books from the Bus Archive to complete the THC era, but we still have all the municipals to do and make a start on other eras. If you have timetables available for lending, we'd love to hear from you.

It is important to note that we are seeking volunteers to help index the books, and only a handful are done so far. You can sign up and work online, which is a great way to explore a timetable in detail. Each takes an hour or so to do, maybe two for bigger timetables like Potteries Motor Traction.

Interested in non-GB buses? Many of the European timetables we have published are multi-modal. Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland and others cover all public transport. Germany published two huge bus books and one railway book - the "Kursbücher" - and we have one of the two bus books so far, covering the southern part of former West Germany. The other will follow once I can get it from the collector who offered them.

View attachment 84481

I have taken the liberty of amending the thread title slightly, and I've made the post sticky in order to make it more visible.

I haven't had a look at your site yet, but it seems like a worthwhile project.

 

[shawmat]

Fantastic effort already. Count me in - I similarly have boxes of timetables in the attic, primarily North West England, but also just about a full set of Derbyshire ones from the 1990/2000 decades.

Incidentally, I was delighted to note that the default page for the 'Crosville' section goes straight to the F38/9 from the June 1968 - January 1969 edition. Guess what bus I got home from school during that period? That's right. Meols, Railway Inn being the closest stop to my [then] home.

Spooky...
I chose the F38/F39 because it was a decent service from early to very late
The website is reproducing timetables that came in book form. Could you please send an email to the site with any offers? That way I can keep track.

 

[Andy Pacer]

I'm in the process of indexing a Trent timetable from the late 60's. Taking me a while as I keep stopping to study a lot of the pages!

 

[LUYMun]

I have a few bus timetables dated from 1965 - London Country (South-West division), London Country (South division) and Aldershot & District, though not too sure how to index it. Would photoscreening it do just the job?

 

[shawmat]

I have a few bus timetables dated from 1965 - London Country (South-West division), London Country (South division) and Aldershot & District, though not too sure how to index it. Would photoscreening it do just the job?

Timetable World can do the scanning for you (I'm not sure what "photoscreening" is in this context). The indexing comes later when the books have been scanned, and can be done by anyone who wishes to volunteer - it doesn't have to be you. Initially, please contact the site via the email address on https://timetableworld.com so that we can exchange address details securely.

 

[Ken H]

Great site. I have done some indexing. But Matt needs more municipal operators timetables to complete the archive.
BTW, you can post a link to a particular timetable. you get the link by pressing the clipboard icon to the left.
and for train nuts, many timetables have a train departures section which may be of interest

 

[Busaholic]

I have a few bus timetables dated from 1965 - London Country (South-West division), London Country (South division) and Aldershot & District, though not too sure how to index it. Would photoscreening it do just the job?

Sorry to interfere in something not my business, but London Country only came into being on 1st January 1970, so are you certain of dates?

 

[noddingdonkey]

I find it quite remarkable that the 1976 WYPTE timetable design persisted for so long. Even the latest version is more or less the same format, just with slightly nicer spacing and a more modern font.

 

[Ken H]

All power to your elbow. I have boxes of timetables, mostly from the 1950s and early 1960s, in my attic, all unsorted and uncatalogued I am afraid, in my attic but am quite unable physically to access them for the foreseeable future. Many are of BET companies and municipals : memory plays tricks, so I won't attempt to try to remember individual ones. I do know that, around 1960/1, say, when I probably started my collection they were being given away by previous collectors, usually for the postage cost: I can imagine the family domestic pressures that led to many of these chuck-outs, being a married man myself!!

message me if you are in yorkshire/lancashire and I will gladly help.

 

[shawmat]

message me if you are in yorkshire/lancashire and I will gladly help.

Ken H is part of the Timetable World team. Please make contact with either him or me and we'll sort something out...

 

[Busaholic]

Ken H is part of the Timetable World team. Please make contact with either him or me and we'll sort something out...

I'll try to sort something out in due course - I'd like those timetables to go to a good home, or, alternatively, the info contained within them made widely available to those interested. I've so much to sort out both physically and mentally. Luckily, I'm strong in the latter department, but have little strength in the former, and have the complication of a sick wife for whom I am in effect the main carer. I am domiciled in Cornwall by the way, and travel much beyond there would be difficult, despite my huge desire to be able to do so. I'll try to do some lateral thinking to achieve a part solution, but don't expect anything in the next few weeks, please.

 

[Ken H]

I'll try to sort something out in due course - I'd like those timetables to go to a good home, or, alternatively, the info contained within them made widely available to those interested. I've so much to sort out both physically and mentally. Luckily, I'm strong in the latter department, but have little strength in the former, and have the complication of a sick wife for whom I am in effect the main carer. I am domiciled in Cornwall by the way, and travel much beyond there would be difficult, despite my huge desire to be able to do so. I'll try to do some lateral thinking to achieve a part solution, but don't expect anything in the next few weeks, please.

no worries. this stuff is 50 years old. a few more months wont matter!!!!

 

[Statto]

I have a load of timetable books & maps up to modern era that i've collected through the years, wouldn't have a clue how to scan/pdf them though, i don't have a scanner, but would love them up on the website, but a few are a bit delicate to send through the post.

 

[CW2]

I have a load of timetable books & maps up to modern era that i've collected through the years, wouldn't have a clue how to scan/pdf them though, i don't have a scanner, but would love them up on the website, but a few are a bit delicate to send through the post.

I'd suggest you either list what you have, or take some photos of it, then get in contact with Matt Shaw (either via this site or via timetableworld.com)..
Let him know where you live, then he can decide which volunteer to farm out the scanning to - or do it himself.
There are two types of scanning.The fastest and easiest involves shaving off the spine of the book and feeding the individual pages into the scanner - but this obviously results in the destruction of the book, so it is only used were the book is no longer required. If you expect to get your books back undamaged then non-destructive scanning is used. That is a lot slower, but gives good results without any damage to the books.

 

[Statto]

I'd suggest you either list what you have, or take some photos of it, then get in contact with Matt Shaw (either via this site or via timetableworld.com)..
Let him know where you live, then he can decide which volunteer to farm out the scanning to - or do it himself.
There are two types of scanning.The fastest and easiest involves shaving off the spine of the book and feeding the individual pages into the scanner - but this obviously results in the destruction of the book, so it is only used were the book is no longer required. If you expect to get your books back undamaged then non-destructive scanning is used. That is a lot slower, but gives good results without any damage to the books.

Ok cheers.

 

[Ken H]

I'd suggest you either list what you have, or take some photos of it, then get in contact with Matt Shaw (either via this site or via timetableworld.com)..
Let him know where you live, then he can decide which volunteer to farm out the scanning to - or do it himself.
There are two types of scanning.The fastest and easiest involves shaving off the spine of the book and feeding the individual pages into the scanner - but this obviously results in the destruction of the book, so it is only used were the book is no longer required. If you expect to get your books back undamaged then non-destructive scanning is used. That is a lot slower, but gives good results without any damage to the books.

smaller books that are just folded paper with staples can be scanned on a flatbed scanner. I scanned the 1966 Leeds city Transport that way.

 

[Ken H]

Anyone who wants to scan large documents, like maps, this is how you do it

Scan the document in sections making sure there is a decent overlap, at least an inch. Use Paint or Microsoft Photos to rotate them make them the same way up. So you have 2 or more image files on disk.

Download image composite editor from here https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/res...tography-applications/image-composite-editor/

Load your image files into the composite editor and let it stitch them

Save the resulting composite image.

Job done

here is a BR provincial Yorkshire Wolds leaflet from 1989 I scanned earlier. sorry its a link to google drive but its too big to post here. (No timetable info, just tourist info)

yorkshire wolds BR leaflet – Google Drive

drive.google.com

New release on TTW yesterday. new rail and bus timetables. Over 800 timetables, maps and other documents on there now. Go and browse, guys.

 

[shawmat]

Timetable World has just done its February 2021 release. It includes some interesting bus and coach timetables, and adds to the 25 or so late-1960s books already published on the site.

Here are a couple of highlights. You should be able to click on the images to go to the full timetables.



And here is the full list bus and tram timetables added. (Those interested in railway timetables will find another 30 or so of those)

Title	Year	Credits
ABC Coach & Bus Guide Summer 1961 [Great Britain}	1961	Book loan by Conrad Smith. Scans by Ivybridge
Blackpool Tramway 1979	1979	Scans by Ken Holway
Brussels Trams STIBMIVB 2016 [Belgium]	2016	Collected by Ken Holway
CIE Bus Summer 1971 [Ireland]	1971	Book loan by Conrad Smith. Scans by Ivybridge
Harrogate and District 2011 [Great Britain]	2011	Collected by Ken Holway
Lancaster City Council Jun 1977 [Great Britain]	1977	Scans by Ken Holway
Midland Classic July 2014 [Great Britain]	2014	Scans by Ken Holway
Northumberland North & Central Jun 1981 [Great Britain]	1981	Book loan by Conrad Smith. Scans by Ivybridge
Northumberland South East Jun 1981 [Great Britain]	1981	Book loan by Conrad Smith. Scans by Ivybridge
Northumberland West Jun 1981 [Great Britain]	1981	Book loan by Conrad Smith. Scans by Ivybridge
Pennine Motors May 2008 [Great Britain]	2008	Collected by Ken Holway
Pennine Motors Oct 2013 [Great Britain]	2013	Collected by Ken Holway
Ribble Area 1 (Cumbria) Jun 1960 [Great Britain]	1960	Book loan by Conrad Smith. Scans by Ivybridge
Todmorden Mar 1969 [Great Britain]	1969	Scans by Ken Holway
Ulster Transport Jun 1962 [Northern Ireland]	1962	Book loan by Conrad Smith. Scans by Ivybridge

 

[Ken H]

Re Matts post ^^^, the ABC guide is a marvelous record of express buses pre NBC. Brings back memories of the long queues of people waiting in Leeds to board the buses to Scarborough, Bridlington, Morecambe & Blackpool on a summer Saturday.

 

[40129]

Just been browsing the Crosville No 1 Area Timetable 1971/2. I have to admit that the route map was more interesting than the timetables as although I currently live in what was Crosville terriotory. It’s not no. 1 area. The map was very interesting because I grew up in Shropshire, and it shows other operators routes. Something I hadn’t realized was that Midland Red used to operate the Shrewsbury-Oswestry services which I had always assumed were Vaggs services prior to that company going bust around 1980/81 IIRC. I am just about old enough to remember Vaggs operating Shrewsbury (Raven Meadows)-Ruyton XI Towns as my late grandparents lived in Baschurch though I never went there by bus.



Interestingly, the Crosville route map shows Shrerwsbury-Ruyton- Oswestry as being Midland Red route 976. I’m not old enough to remember when Midland Red lost/gave up this route (I was literally a baby in 1971/2) but I do know that after Vaggs collapsed Midland Red (North) (MRN) took over the following routes under their Hotspur division:



Shrewsbury-Oswestry direct: 1, then V1*, then 971. Route jointly operated with Crosville (their D70) until Apr 25, 1987 when MRN withdrew and all journeys were operated by Crosville Cymru as D70 until c.1990 when MRN took over Oswestry depot from Crosville Cymru and operated D70 as part of their Cambrian division. At some point after this (possibly in the Arriva error) the D prefix was dropped



Shrewsbury-Oswestry via Ruyton XI Towns: 2, then V2*, then 972. Withdrawn April 25, 1987 and operated IIRC by Tanat Valley under contract to Shropshire County Council (SCC) with no number for c.18 months before being regained by MRN (Cambrian division) (SCC contract) as route 576 (note similarity to original Midland Red number). Subsequently lost to Williamsons Motorways in 1995 but regained by Arriva c.1999 when Williamsons sold out. IIRC the contract subsequently passed to Bryn Melyn until they went bust when it reverted to Arriva



Shrewsbury-Lower Hopton / Wilcott: 4/8 then V4*/V8* then 974/978. Withdrawn April 25, 1987



* Prefix letter not displayed on buses as no major town in the erstwhile Midland Red operating area begins with the letter V resulting in the alpha-numeric left hand number blind not including that letter (don’t think Crosville had that letter either)



Something that has always puzzled me about Crosville is there area prefix letters. Were they suppoed to coincide with geographical areas or not? I was once told that D was for Denbighshire, but that doesn’t quite fit with their routes as I remember them, certainly none of Shrewsbury (D55, D70. D74, D75, D77), Ellesmere (D55 and others), Oswestry (D53, D63, D70, D71 and others) have ever been in Denbighdhire though I can see how C and K could relate to Cheshire and F to Flintshire. However I’m then not sure how A, B, J or M would fit.



Incidently, as a former Shropshire lad I may still have a collection of Hotspur timetable from the late 1970s/early 1980s at my parents house. I will try and check if there still there once lockdown is over

 

[Statto]

Crosville area no 3 timetable book which is Wrexham, Owestry, from 1968 is on the site, i'm not sure what changes took place after that until 71/72 but most of the network would still be the same