One of the most in-depth books I’ve come across about vintage buses and coaches. A very handy reference guide that is just the right size to fit in your back denim pocket.

Bus & Coach Recognition (Veteran & Vintage) 1989 by G B Wise

Photograph of my personal copy of the book.

This is certainly a handy small book to take with you when visiting vintage bus museums. It has 160 pages, 187 black & white photographs and in-depth information of each make and model from ADC (Associated Daimler Co. Ltd) to the Vulcan.

The layout of the book is uniform throughout. For each vehicle the build date, bodywork type, engine and wheelbase lengths are given. Typical bodywork makes are listed and in the very useful Recognition Features section, descriptions in great detail are given for the radiator types, the badges and the bodywork differences between each bodywork manufacturer, along with other differences between new and old versions of the buses.

The General Remarks section gives you the history of the manufacturers and the production start and end dates of each bus.

In the Appendix there are 25 photographs of radiator fronts, very handy for quick vintage bus recognition.

The long history of these fine vintage buses is laid out in a factual manner and a lot of work has gone into collating all the specifcations of each vehicle. This book is a very handy companion and in itself, makes an interesting read.

I’m pleased I managed to get a copy of this book from eBay. I thoroughly recommend that you seek out your own copy - it’s well worth it.