{"title":"Matthew Wharmby","description":"\u003cp\u003eExplore the poignant and thought-provoking world of Matthew Wharmby. Delve into themes of identity, belonging, and self-discovery in his captivating novels and short stories, perfect for reflective readers.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"london-s-seventies-buses-book-matthew-wharmby-9781854144430","title":"London's Seventies Buses","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49543450034449,"sku":"GOR011244982","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50823667450129,"sku":"GOR011777556","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/185414443X.jpg?v=1751379245"},{"product_id":"london-buses-book-matthew-wharmby-9781802826449","title":"London Buses","description":"The year 2022 will be remembered as the year London buses almost came apart. Although the capital's population was struggling gamely back to some semblance of normalcy after the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, the fact remained that not quite enough of them had resumed their previous travel patterns. A cavernous gap in revenue thus grew, and increasing acrimony between the Mayor, Transport for London and central government over how this shortfall was to be filled, and by whom, prompted drastic plans to slash bus numbers by 4 per cent, including an astonishing 18 central London routes rich in history. Although the crisis was averted when funding was scraped together from emergency reserves, the issues affecting London's buses are by no means over and may yet arise.  This book contains over 180 previously unpublished colour photographs of each contract change, new bus delivery and company upheaval as it happened over the calendar year 2022, showcasing great variety in the ever-changing arena of London's buses.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49556176699665,"sku":"GOR013200533","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1802826440.jpg?v=1751248646"},{"product_id":"london-titan-book-matthew-wharmby-9780711032996","title":"The London Titan","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49567660278033,"sku":"GOR002220985","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49928558248209,"sku":"GOR002882434","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50578013094161,"sku":"GOR008747309","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0711032998.jpg?v=1750913366"},{"product_id":"london-s-advert-buses-book-matthew-wharmby-9781802827545","title":"London's Advert Buses","description":"A fixture of London Transport in the 1970s, the all-over advert bus was relaunched by the modern Transport for London (TfL) at the turn of the century, and since then the concept has exploded. With each year that passes, hundreds of London buses are adorned with intricate and imaginative adverts printed on durable vinyl. The easily removable nature of this material means that buses can swap adverts quickly whenever one advertising contract ends and another begins. Some vehicles may thus carry up to four adverts in any one calendar year. The characteristic New Bus for London, aka 'Borismaster', designed specifically for London needs, has proved to be the most prolific carrier of these adverts. The majority of the thousand-strong fleet of TfL-owned buses, which are divided among several operators, have carried such ads in their decade in service. Most older double-deck types have also been treated to adverts, generally omitting the front and latterly concentrating on in-house publicity for TfL's own services and fare bulletins.  This book contains more than 230 previously unpublished colour photographs of the fast-changing all-over advert scene on London's buses, covering an enormous variety of subjects including fashion, food and drink, technology, entertainment, travel, property and even dating.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49573720916241,"sku":"GOR013364751","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":50683301953809,"sku":"NGR9781802827545","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1802827544.jpg?v=1751217442"},{"product_id":"london-transport-s-last-buses-book-matthew-wharmby-9781473823860","title":"London Transport's Last Buses","description":"The Olympian was Leyland's answer to the competition that was threatening to take custom away from its second-generation OMO double-deck products. Simpler than the London Transportcentric Titan but, unlike that integral model, able to respond to the market by being offered as a chassis for bodying by the bodybuilder of the customer's choice, the Olympian was an immediate success and soon replaced both the Atlantean and Bristol VRT as the standard double-decker of the NBC. It wasn't until 1984 that London Transport itself dabbled with the model, taking three for evaluation alongside trios of contemporary double-deckers.The resulting L class spawned an order for 260 more in 1986, featuring accessibility advancements developed by LT in concert with the Ogle design consultancy, but the rapid changes engulfing the organisation meant that no more were ordered. During the 1990s company ownerships shifted repeatedly as the ethos of competition gave way to the cold reality of big business, an unstable situation which even saw London's bus operations broken up.The L class was split between three new companies, but the backlog of older vehicles to replace once corporate interests released funding ensured the buses up to a further decade in service. Finally, as low-floor buses swept into the capital at the turn of the century, Olympian operation at last declined, and the final examples operated early in 2006.  This profusely illustrated book describes the diversity of liveries, ownerships and deployments that characterised the London Leyland Olympians' two decades of service.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49612556894481,"sku":"GOR009711901","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1473823862.jpg?v=1750826978"},{"product_id":"london-metrobus-book-matthew-wharmby-9780711033771","title":"The London Metrobus","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49663265276177,"sku":"GOR007097774","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50114826502417,"sku":"GOR005500629","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50578013061393,"sku":"GOR006007322","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51150048919825,"sku":"GOR006351125","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0711033773.jpg?v=1751200078"},{"product_id":"london-dennis-trident-book-matthew-wharmby-9781526786913","title":"The London Dennis Trident","description":"Propelled towards the end of the 1990s by accessibility imperative requiring low floor buses both in London and the rest of Britain, Dennis developed a tri axle Trident double decker for Hong Kong and then adapted the design as a two axle version for Britain.  Orders came thick and fast between 1999, when the first Tridents for London entered service with Stagecoach and 2006, when the Enviro 400, a combination of its unified body builders, replaced it.  In those years over two thousand of the type appeared in London, ordered by Stagecoach, First London, United, Metroline, Metrobus, London General, Blue Triangle, Connex, Armchair, and Hackney Community Transport.  The body work was by Alexander ALX400, Plaxton, (Precedent) and East Lancs, to two available lengths,  while badging itself progressed although  Trans Bus, until this troubled organisation was suspended in 2004 by todays Alexander Dennis.  Versatile and personable, the Trident in all its forms lasted two decades in London, the last examples being withdrawn from service in 2020.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49739155833105,"sku":"NGR9781526786913","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50807426810129,"sku":"GOR013303630","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1526786915.jpg?v=1751022154"},{"product_id":"london-bus-routes-one-by-one-book-matthew-wharmby-9781802820317","title":"London Bus Routes One by One","description":"Following on from \u003ci\u003eLondon Bus Routes One By One: 1-100\u003c\/i\u003e, this volume takes a look at the next hundred routes in Transport for London's spectrum, from 101 to 200. Spread out across the city and with a wealth of bus types from different operators, these busy services are caught amid 2021's gradual changeover from diesel and hybrid buses to pure electric and hydrogen operation. All the routes have been subject to considerable change over the years they have been in existence, from extensions and re-routings to withdrawals and reuse of the same number, and later to operator changes in accordance with competitive tendering. Illustrated with over 180 up-to-date color photographs, this volume continues to build a snapshot of the fascinating modern London bus scene.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49741497205009,"sku":"NGR9781802820317","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50142344184081,"sku":"GOR012024215","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53254368166161,"sku":"GOR014835802","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1802820310.jpg?v=1751122503"},{"product_id":"london-transport-1970-84-book-matthew-wharmby-9781913870348","title":"London Transport 1970-84","description":"In 1970, around 3,000 RTs were still in service in the UK's capital. However, by 1984, transport in London was changing beyond recognition and would continue to do so as a result of tendering and devolution. London Transport 1970-84 covers the gently declining years of London's bus operations, during which the venerable RT and Routemaster types were compelled to give way to ambitious modern buses like the Merlins, Swifts and DMSs. These enjoyed less success, however, and their time in London was short, affording the Routemasters a reprieve that would last for two and a half further decades. In this book, 120 stunning color images from the camera of noted bus and railway photographer R. C. Riley are accompanied by detailed and informative captions, giving the full picture of this time of huge change.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49741507002641,"sku":"NGR9781913870348","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50335763235089,"sku":"GOR013257262","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1913870340.jpg?v=1751422810"},{"product_id":"london-bus-routes-one-by-one-201-300-book-matthew-wharmby-9781802821321","title":"London Bus Routes One by One: 201-300","description":"Following on from \u003ci\u003eLondon Bus Routes One By One: 1-100\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eLondon Bus Routes One By One: 101-200\u003c\/i\u003e, this third volume in the series explores what used to be the old London Transport's highest-numbered block of routes. These numbers were once reserved for single-deck services, but the weight of post-war expansion soon filled in the sequence. As in previous volumes, a potted history of each route is accompanied by a list of points served and one or two pictures of the kind of bus that can be found in service today. The pace of tendering and Transport for London's imperative towards emissions-free propulsion has meant increasingly rapid turnover of bus models, which are expected to last the length of two full-term contracts of seven years before replacement. Illustrated with over 190 color photographs, this volume represents an up-to-date snapshot of the fascinating modern London bus scene as it stands in autumn 2021.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49742432796945,"sku":"NGR9781802821321","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51148329287953,"sku":"GOR012650685","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53210105250065,"sku":"GOR014807887","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1802821325.jpg?v=1751280649"},{"product_id":"london-bus-routes-one-by-one-301-969-book-matthew-wharmby-9781802821758","title":"London Bus Routes One by One: 301-969","description":"Following on from \u003ci\u003eLondon Bus Routes One by One: 1-100\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eLondon Bus Routes One by One: 101-200\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eLondon Bus Routes One by One: 201-300\u003c\/i\u003e, this fourth volume in the series investigates those routes with the highest numbers used today. In times of old, the numbers 300-499 were restricted to the green buses of the old London Transport Country Area, with 200-399 covering the territory north of the river and 400-499 covering the territory to its south. Since the hiving-off of those operations, these numbers have been freed, and increasingly, they have been used to sectionalize longer routes, which have come up against London's relentless traffic and thus needed to be shortened again and again. Some, as might be expected, denote out-of-the-way minibus routes, but others, such as 390, work in busy central London. Though the higher-numbered routes have been around for less time overall, they too have been subject to the whims of tendering, with many regularly changing operators.As in previous volumes, a potted history of each route is accompanied by routing details and one or two pictures of the kind of bus that operates on that route. Illustrated with over 190 color photographs, this volume represents an up-to-date snapshot of the fascinating modern London bus scene as of autumn 2021.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49745008951569,"sku":"NGR9781802821758","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51148329320721,"sku":"GOR012650702","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1802821759.jpg?v=1750833588"},{"product_id":"last-years-of-the-london-routemaster-book-matthew-wharmby-9781399061940","title":"Last Years of the London Routemaster","description":"The last decade of Routemaster bus operation in London saw over seven hundred surviving RMs and RMLs divided between several new companies following the privatisation of London Buses Ltd's subsidiaries in 1994. Now operating their existing twenty routes under contract to LRT (renamed TfL in 2000), Centrewest, Metroline, MTL London Northern, Leaside Buses, Stagecoach East London, South London, London Central, London General and London United all adopted their own predominantly red liveries, but by the turn of the century these firms had clustered in pairs and generally sold out to the emerging big corporate groups. Two independents, BTS and Kentish Bus, had also won a Routemaster route each and were similarly brought under the control of larger parents.  In this photographic archive, each company's last Routemaster-operating decade is outlined in detail up to when each route was converted to OPO one by one between 29 August 2003 and 9 December 2005. The two heritage routes are then explored all the way up to their own end in 2019.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49746770624785,"sku":"NGR9781399061940","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51251674349841,"sku":"GOR013347832","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53069198754065,"sku":"GOR014726288","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1399061941.jpg?v=1750954178"},{"product_id":"london-bus-routes-one-by-one-a10-x140-book-matthew-wharmby-9781802822052","title":"London Bus Routes One by One: A10-X140","description":"Following on from \u003ci\u003eLondon Bus Routes One By One: 1-100\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eLondon Bus Routes One By One: 101-200\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eLondon Bus Routes One By One: 201-300,\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eLondon Bus Routes One By One: 301-969\u003c\/i\u003e, this fifth and final volume in the series takes a look at the route numbers with letter prefixes. They derive from the Reshaping Plan of 1966, whereby established trunk routes were broken up, and their outer sections turned into feeder services linking interchange hubs or Underground stations. As these new routes were intended to be operated by flat-fare buses, it was decided to distinguish them by using letter prefixes based on geographical area. Flat-fare operation proved unreliable and was soon dropped, though the lettered routes remained, and the system was applied to the normal network when it came time to further sectionalize bus routes because of London's insurmountable traffic.As in previous volumes, a potted history of the routes and their routing details are accompanied by up-to-date color photographs showing the buses that operate on each route. Illustrated with over 190 color photographs, this volume represents an up-to-date snapshot of the fascinating modern London bus scene as it stands as of the latter half of 2021.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49747042599185,"sku":"NGR9781802822052","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50938673561873,"sku":"GOR012650703","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1802822054.jpg?v=1751440674"},{"product_id":"london-transport-1970-1984-book-matthew-wharmby-9780711037304","title":"London Transport 1970-1984","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49974508912913,"sku":"GOR006829739","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52765217128721,"sku":"GOR007092423","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0711037302.jpg?v=1751393405"},{"product_id":"london-dms-bus-book-matthew-wharmby-9781783831739","title":"London DMS Bus","description":"Vilified as the great failure of all London Transport bus classes, the DMS family of Daimler Fleetline was more like an unlucky victim of straitened times. Desperate to match staff shortages with falling demand for its services during the late 1960s, London Transport was just one organisation to see nationwide possibilities and savings in legislation that was about to permit double-deck one-man-operation and partially fund purpose-built vehicles. However, prohibited by circumstances from developing its own rear-engined Routemaster (FRM) concept, LT instituted comparative trials between contemporary Leyland Atlanteans and Daimler Fleetlines.The latter came out on top, and massive orders followed. The first DMSs entering service on 2 January 1971.  In service, however, problems quickly manifested. Sophisticated safety features served only to burn out gearboxes and gulp fuel. The passengers, meanwhile, did not appreciate being funnelled through the DMS's recalcitrant automatic fare-collection machinery only to have to stand for lack of seating.Boarding speeds thus slowed to a crawl, to the extent that the savings made by laying off conductors had to be negated by adding more DMSs to converted routes! Second thoughts caused the ongoing order to be amended to include crew-operated Fleetlines (DMs), noise concerns prompted the development of the B20 'quiet bus' variety, and brave attempts were made to fit the buses into the time-honoured system of overhauling at Aldenham Works, but finally the problems proved too much. After enormous expenditure, the first DMSs began to be withdrawn before the final RTs came out of service, and between 1979 and 1983 all but the B20s were sold - as is widely known, the DMSs proved perfectly adequate with provincial operators once their London features had been removed. OPO was to become fashionable again in the 1980s as the politicians turned on London Transport itself, breaking it into pieces in order to sell it off. Not only did the B20 DMSs survive to something approaching a normal lifespan, but the new cheap operators awakening with the onset of tendering made use of the type to undercut LT, and it was not until 1993 that the last DMS operated.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49974522708241,"sku":"GOR008095904","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1783831731.jpg?v=1751345022"},{"product_id":"london-ls-book-matthew-wharmby-9781473862272","title":"The London LS","description":"Dissatisfied with the reliability of its AEC Merlin and Swift single-deck buses, London Transport in 1973 purchased six Leyland Nationals for evaluation. Liking what it saw of this ultimate standard product, where even the paint swatch was of Leyland s choice, LT took up an option to buy fifty more from a cancelled export order and then bought further batches of 110, 30 and 140 to bring the LS class to 437 members by the middle of 1980\\. A year later the last MBAs and SMSs were replaced on Red Arrow services by sixty-nine new Leyland National 2s.  Straightforward but reliable, the LS satisfied London Transport s single-deck needs for a decade and a half, often standing in for double-deckers when needed, and then going on to help hold the fort during the tough years of early tendering, during which some innovative LS operations introduced several new liveries and identities. The type served the ten years expected out of it with few worries, only starting to disappear when minibuses came on strength at the end of the 1980s. Although the LS was formally retired by 1992, refurbishment programmes gave survivors an extended lease of life, bringing us the National Greenway, the ultimate development of the Leyland National. Most of the Red Arrow National 2s thus became GLSs, and lasted until 2002.  Matthew Wharmby is an author, photographer and editor specialising in London bus history. His published books include London Transport s Last Buses: Leyland Olympians L 1-263, Routemaster Requiem and Routemaster Retrospective (with Geoff Rixon), London Transport 1970-1984 (with R. C. Riley), The London Titan and The London Metrobus. He has also written many articles for Buses, Bus \u0026amp; Coach Preservation, Classic Bus and London Bus Magazine.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49974522806545,"sku":"GOR011062035","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50422739632401,"sku":"GOR009155410","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1473862272.jpg?v=1751210152"},{"product_id":"london-buses-1970-1980-book-matthew-wharmby-9781473872943","title":"London Buses 1970 - 1980","description":"The 1970s were among London Transport s most troubled years. Prohibited from designing its own buses for the gruelling conditions of the capital, LT was compelled to embark upon mass orders for the broadly standard products of national manufacturers, which for one reason or another proved to be disastrous failures in the capital and were disposed of prematurely at a great loss. Despite a continuing spares shortage combined with industrial action, the old organisation kept going somehow, with the venerable RT and Routemaster families still at the forefront of operations.  At the same time, the green buses of the Country Area were taken over by the National Bus Company as London Country Bus Services. Little by little, and not without problems of their own, the mostly elderly but standard inherited buses gave way to a variety of diverted orders, some successful others far from so, until by the end of the decade we could see a mostly NBC-standard fleet of one-man-operated buses in corporate leaf green.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49974522839313,"sku":"GOR009128676","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50767589769489,"sku":"GOR009687310","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1473872944.jpg?v=1750955608"},{"product_id":"london-bendy-bus-book-matthew-wharmby-9781783831722","title":"London Bendy Bus","description":"Between 2002 and 2006 six of London's bus companies put into service 390 articulated 'bendy' buses on twelve routes for Transport for London. During what turned out to be a foreshortened nine years in service, the Mercedes-Benz Citaro G buses familiar on the continent and worldwide earned an unenviable reputation in London; according to who you read and who you believed, they caught fire at the drop of a hat, they maimed cyclists, they drained revenue from the system due to their susceptibility to fare evasion, they transported already long-suffering passengers in standing crush loads like cattle and they contributed to the extinction of the Routemaster from frontline service. In short, the bus we hated.  This account is an attempt by a long-time detractor of the bendy buses to set the vehicles in their proper context - not quite to rehabilitate them, but to be as fair as is possible towards a mode of transport which felt about as un-British as could be.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50111691718929,"sku":"GOR009752944","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1783831723.jpg?v=1751185007"},{"product_id":"london-bus-routes-one-by-one-book-matthew-wharmby-9781913870881","title":"London bus Routes One by One","description":"Though they seem as immutable and traditional as the city they serve, London's bus routes are always changing. From the regular update of bus types to the competition for TfL contracts by a host of commercial operators in the modern era, the scene in any given year will invariably be substantially different by the next. In this snapshot of 2021, Matthew Wharmby captures routes 1-100 at their current physical extent and with their current operating company. Illustrated with over 180 up-to-date photographs, this unique volume gives an insight into what can be seen on each route every day.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50142344773905,"sku":"GOR012023527","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":50683300512017,"sku":"NGR9781913870881","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53115783053585,"sku":"GOR014750402","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53216336478481,"sku":"GOR011770169","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/191387088X.jpg?v=1751156131"},{"product_id":"london-enviro-400-book-matthew-wharmby-9781473862319","title":"London Enviro 400","description":"Developed by Alexander Dennis in 2005 as an all-encompassing replacement for the Dennis Trident and its two bodies, the Plaxton President and Alexander ALX400, the integral Enviro400, immediately sold in large numbers, not least to London operators, which in the next eight years bought over 1,500 of them. Late in the production run, the hybrid E40H was introduced and also made good headway in London, funded largely by environmental grants. Nearly 300 of these are in service in London.  Valid to May 2015, this book finishes by introducing the MMC, the all-new development of the Enviro400 unveiled in 2014 and exemplified in London so far by two batches for Abellio and Metroline.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50772174766353,"sku":"GOR008747083","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":51080658944273,"sku":"NGR9781473862319","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1473862310.jpg?v=1751339095"},{"product_id":"london-volvo-b9tl-and-b5lh-book-matthew-wharmby-9781526749635","title":"The London Volvo B9TL and B5LH","description":"After the successful six-year production run of its B7TL low-floor double-decker had been curtailed in London by increasing noise problems, Volvo developed a leaner and quieter update which it dubbed the B9TL, and orders resumed in strength. As diesel-engined buses gradually gave way to battery-hybrid technology at the end of the first decade of the 21st century, Volvo unveiled the B5LH hybrid to immediate acclaim and even healthier London sales. With most Transport for London-contracted bus companies operating Volvo B9TLs and\/or B5LHs, bodied by Wrightbus, Alexander Dennis or MCV, this book offers a comprehensive account of the first ten years of one of London's newest double-deck bus types, whose career will span the rest of the 2010s and into the next decade.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50807427105041,"sku":"GOR011008685","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1526749637.jpg?v=1750718379"},{"product_id":"london-buses-review-of-1998-book-matthew-wharmby-9781802829433","title":"London Buses: Review of 1998","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51386282344721,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":51386283819281,"sku":"NGR9781802829433","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1802829431.jpg?v=1751280662"},{"product_id":"last-years-of-the-london-metrobus-book-matthew-wharmby-9781526749673","title":"Last Years of the London Metrobus","description":"Mainstay of London Buses Ltd's fleet into the 1990s, London's MCW Metrobus fleet of M class remained almost completely intact by the time of privatisation in the autumn of 1994. In the hands of seven new companies thereafter, there followed multiple new liveries and new identities, but it wasn't until the end of the decade, when this account takes up their story, that withdrawals commenced in the face of new low-floor double-deck buses. Even then, the venerable M class remained a solid option for second-hand purchases, allowing examples to remain into service past their twentieth birthdays.  Between 1998 and 2004 the M fleets of Arriva London North and South, First Capital and Centrewest, London General, London United, Metroline and Metroline London Northern and a host of smaller London contractors dwindled until the last examples, lingering on school routes for Leaside Travel, signed off at the beginning of 2006.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51467433902353,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51467434754321,"sku":"GOR012427240","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/152674967X.jpg?v=1751435164"},{"product_id":"last-years-of-the-london-titan-book-matthew-wharmby-9781526749710","title":"Last Years of the London Titan","description":"Already depleted by withdrawals in the London Buses Ltd era, the Leyland Titan fleet of T class was divided upon privatisation between three new companies; London Central, Stagecoach East London and Stagecoach Selkent. Together with a host of smaller companies operating second-hand acquisitions, the Titans' declining years between 1998 and 2003 are explored in this pictorial account that encompasses both standard day-to-day routes, emergency deployments and rail replacement services. Only small numbers remained to usher out the type altogether at the end of 2005, when step-entrance double-deckers as a whole were banished from the capital.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51552280805649,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51552280936721,"sku":"GOR012427242","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53269515108625,"sku":"GOR014847842","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53411045966097,"sku":"GOR011061863","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1526749718.jpg?v=1751117498"},{"product_id":"metroline-book-matthew-wharmby-9781802829440","title":"Metroline","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51628690473233,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":51628690735377,"sku":"NGR9781802829440","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52250526220561,"sku":"GOR014501156","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/180282944X.jpg?v=1751431586"},{"product_id":"london-buses-review-of-2023-book-matthew-wharmby-9781802829181","title":"London Buses Review of 2023","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51632322248977,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":51632322674961,"sku":"NGR9781802829181","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52460033966353,"sku":"GOR014529522","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1802829180.jpg?v=1750767264"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/de-ch\/collections\/autor-buecher-von-matthew-wharmby.oembed?page=2","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}