Maidstone & District – MINOR DAMAGE

An insight into the much-loved bus company in its post-war golden years, 1946 - 1970

authors: David Toy & Ray Stenning
hardback 240mm x 285mm, 208 pages
ISBN 978 0 9565740 5 3

Please note that this listing is for slightly damaged copies of the book, which we are selling at a reduced price. During the binding process, a few drops of glue were spilled across the top edge of some copies, resulting in a few pages being stuck together. When separating the pages, this has resulted in ink being lifted off in a few spots, as illustrated in the accompanying sample photographs. In most cases, this only affects one or two pages; books are otherwise intact. If you place an order for one of these books, returns will only be accepted if the book is damaged in transit.

This book by David Toy and Ray Stenning delves into the character, style and substance of this much-loved bus company through its post-war golden years until it became part of the National Bus Company. Maidstone & District's dark green and cream buses could be seen everywhere from Gravesend to Rye and from Faversham to Eastbourne and Brighton and its coaches further afield on express services, excursions and holiday tours.

We set the scene by telling how it all started, then go on to explore the towns and villages it served and go into a lot of their stories. We show how the fleet developed over the years, looking at specifics like the development of single-deck buses with the spread of one-man operation, and how the company embraced the new rear-engined double deckers of the 1960s. There are lots of asides and diversions to give you a thoroughly engaging experience of this famous bus company. And to add spice, there are more than 300 superb photographs, maps, timetable extracts and period advertisements.