Realising a major gap in the subjects covered by bus books, publisher Capital Transport has made magnificent amends. “Looking through photos, it struck me that there had never been a book about bus stations,” explained Publishing Director James Whiting. “Surprisingly few photographers took pictures. Maybe they thought it was just too easy an option, or preferred to just take photos of individual buses.” After seeking out a few images, prolific transport author Kevin McCormack was commissioned to put the book together. “Between us, with our different contacts, we were able to get a great selection of pictures.”
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The result is ‘Bus Stations in Britain – 1955-1985’ (ISBN 978 1 85414 456 0, capitaltransport.com, £30) featuring around 150 photos, all in colour and not one of them anything less than excellent. The same goes for the highly informative and readable captions which explain just how much the scene has changed today. Frighteningly so in many cases, with numerous historic buildings needlessly felled – and not just the bus stations themselves but those around them: the magnificent 1930s Derby bus station, subject of an impassioned but ultimately unsuccessful attempt to to save it, and how on earth did they get away with not even saving the frontage of Southown’s wonderfully art deco facility in Bognor Regis? Undeniably facilities have improved in many cases though.
Everywhere from Cornwall to the Scottish Highlands is covered, and everything from glorified sheds to Preston’s famous Brutalist masterpiece.
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