The preservation of our transport heritage is something that the British excel at. The Buses magazine Museum & Rally Guide 2020-21 lists forty museums in the United Kingdom plus one in the Republic of Ireland with collections of buses (and sometimes trams or trolleybuses) amongst their exhibits. The rally calendar section lists hundreds of events taking part every year.

This has all developed since the 1950s. Prior to this a few far-sighted companies such as The London General Omnibus Company (later London Transport) had put aside some old vehicles but they were not on regular display. Private preservation started in the 1950s and the first clubs for preservationists were established such as the Historic Commercial Vehicle Club in 1958.

A few early events were held, but the first regular event was the HCVC (now HCVS) London to Brighton Run which began in 1962 and has continued ever since. Museum sites were established in the 1960s – The Museum of British Transport opened in stages between 1961 and 1963 and would lead eventually to the London Transport Museum. The East Anglian Transport Museum at Carlton Colville and the Sandtoft Transport Centre both opened in the 1960s. But it would be the 1970s when the rallies and ‘Open Days’ we know today really began to take off.

This book looks back at the formative years to 1980 when the seeds of the preservation and rally movement of today were being sown.

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction
• Timeline of Key Events
• Museum of British Transport: 1961–1973
• Still in Service: 1971–2
• Imperial War Museum:1970
• Southampton University: 1971
• HCVC London to Brighton Run: 2 May 1971
• HCVC London to Brighton Run: 7 May 1972
• Preserved London Buses Back in Use: 1972
• HCVC London to Brighton Run: 1973
• London Transport Collection, Syon Park: 1973
• Southsea Rally: 10 June 1973
• Weymouth Rally: 1 July 1973
• Bus of Yesteryear Rally, Clapham Common: 15–16 September 1973
• HCVC London to Brighton Run: 5 May 1974
• Leicester Open Day: 28 July 1974
• HCVC London to Brighton Run: 4 May 1975
• Southsea Rally: 8 June 1975
• Showbus Rally – Uxbridge: 28–9 June 1975
• Rushmoor Arena Rally: 20 July 1975
• Preservation Sites and Vehicles in the Mid 1970s
• HCVC London to Brighton Run: 2 May 1976
• London Transport Collection, Syon Park: 16 May 1976
• Southend Rally: 6 June 1976
• Southsea Rally: 13 June 1976
• Showbus Rally – Uxbridge: 26–27 June 1976
• National Tramway Museum, Crich: 28 August 1976
• Victoria and Albert Museum: 1976
• Cobham Bus Museum: 3 April 1977
• HCVC London to Brighton Run: 1 May 1977
• Southend Rally: 5 June 1977
• Southsea Rally: 12 June 1977
• Showbus Rally – Uxbridge: 25–26 June 1977
• Bournemouth Open Day: 24 July 1977
• Bristol Rally: 21 August 1977
• Newcastle: Summer 1977
• Cobham Bus Museum: 2 April 1978
• HCVC London to Brighton Run: 7 May 1978
• Enfield Pageant of Motoring: 28–29 May 1978
• Southend Rally: 4 June 1978
• Southsea Rally: 11 June 1978
• Showbus Rally – Uxbridge: 24–25 June 1978
• Weymouth Rally: 2 July 1978
• Lancaster Rally: 16 July 1978
• London Bus Rally, Brockwell Park: 22–23 July 1978
• Newcastle: July 1978
• Sandtoft Gathering: 30 July 1978
• Bristol Rally: 20 August 1978
• National Tramway Museum, Crich: 26–28 August 1978
• London Transport Collection, Syon Park: 17 September 1978
• Preservation Sites and Vehicles in the Late 1970s 100 %
• HCVC London to Brighton Run: 6 May 1979
• Southampton Rally: 6–7 May 1979
• West Bromwich Rally: 13 May 1979
• Southend Rally: 3 June 1979
• Southsea Rally: 10 June 1979
• Showbus Rally – Uxbridge: 23–24 June 1979
• Weymouth Rally: 1 July 1979
• London Bus Rally, Brockwell Park: 21–22 July 1979
• Bristol Rally: 19 August 1979
• 150 Years of London Buses: 1979
• Cobham Bus Museum: 13 April 1980
• HCVC London to Brighton Run: 4 May 1980
• East Anglia Transport Museum, Carlton Colville: 15 July 1980
• Lincolnshire Vintage Vehicle Society
• London Transport Museum, Covent Garden: 1980
• Postscript
• Bibliography