© Local Transport History Library 2014-
Site Information
The Local Transport History Library publishes these illustrated PDF booklets to a standard format of 7x5 inches, which makes them easier to read on a PC or tablet screen without annoying scrolling. If you are viewing on a mobile phone we recommend you rotate your phone to the horizontal for best results. The booklets should automatically resize to your device. You will need to have the Adobe Reader installed.
The Adobe DC Reader for Windows, Mac Os, iPhone/iPad, Android phones and tablets can be downloaded HERE.
About the Library
The original source for this website was Peter Gould's 'Local Transport Histories'. Peter had been interested in transport history for a long time and began collecting information about various transport undertakings that he had a particular interest in, initially for his own use. As the collection of notes began to grow he decided that they may be of interest to other historians and enthusiasts in general and so began developing a website. In 1999 he established his own website which he ran for 13 years under the title 'Local Transport Histories'.
In 2012, having retired from the bus industry, he was joined by a few of his former colleagues, who had also reached retirement age and were looking for something to occupy a few hours. Together they came up with the idea of modernising the website into an illustrated library in book form, that could be freely accessed at any time – and so the Local Transport History Library was born. The PDF format was chosen for simplicity and in 2014 the project started.
A new domain name was chosen and preparations made for the transfer of Peter's histories
into illustrated PDF format. At the same time Peter's old domain name was relinquished
as the histories were slowly transcribed and re-
In November 2014 the first few PDF booklets were added to the library and the LTHL opened. Over the next few years the library grew to over 200 booklets as the project continued.
From there the LTHL has evolved into an online community of bus enthusiasts, bus
historians and many other interested parties; it is not a society or organisation
that has members, everyone is welcome to take part in the project. With the onset
of Covid-
The cost of running the LTHL (which is around £500 p.a.) is met by a few individuals who subsidise the project and no profit is made on the website, although donations from other parties are often received, for which the LTHL is grateful, and various items are sold to boost funds.
It came as a surprise, however, when we discovered that one individual had taken
it upon himself to post Peter's old website back onto the Internet, without his permission,
using Peter's old domain name! The site is, unfortunately, out of date and much of
the information contained on there has been updated and is now included on the LTHL
site. Amendments have been made to the original pages, which have probably been recovered
from a copy on the 'Wayback Machine', giving the impression the site is still being
maintained (e.g. the site is dated 2021, whereas the original website was 1999-