The 'Colours of' Series by Capital Transport

Capital Transport have been a well-recognised publisher of quality books on railways and road transport since 1975 when what is believed to have been their first publication: 'Trolleybus' by Ken Blacker was released.

In addition to covering a wide range of transport subjects between 1975 and the mid-1990s, during this period they regularly published Bus Handbooks listing the full fleets of operators throughout the United Kingdom in the form of paperbacks using high quality gloss paper.

These were eventually taken over by British Bus Publishing, who continue to release them on a regular basis today, with the larger groups published annually. All photographic illustrations these days are in colour.

Outside their regular fleetbooks, possibly one of Capital Transport's most interesting and impressive series on bus, coach and tram operations, is their nine-volume 'Colours of' series which was compiled by various authors between 2009 and 2017. 

The vast majority of the full-colour images featured in these books were taken by enthusiasts in the late 1950s and the 1960s. The number included and the overall quality is impressive throughout, especially considering the lower availability of quality cameras and colour film to the average enthusiast back in those days.

The added interest for me in this series are the various environments in which the vehicles are depicted. These include the fashions of the day so well demonstrated by the pedestrians often seen in the peripheries of the image, the structures and street furniture of the era and of course the privately owned motor bikes and cars that often surround the main subject of the picture (the bus, coach or tram).

If you are a vintage bus, coach or tram enthusiast, I would highly recommend adding this series to your transport library,

The following lists the operators featured in each volume, the titles of which are presented alphabetically:

GREATER MANCHESTER (2009)

Manchester

Mayne

Salford

Stockport

North Western

Stalybridge, Hyde, Mossley & Dukinfield

Ashton-under-Lyme

Oldham

Rochdale

Bury

Ramsbottom

Bolton

Lancashire United

South Lancashire Transport

Leigh

Wigan

SCOTTISH CITIES (2016)

Glasgow

Edinburgh

Aberdeen

Dundee

The Companies

The Independents

SOUTH YORKSHIRE (2017)

Municipals:

Sheffield

Doncaster

Rotherham

The Companies:

Yorkshire Traction

Mexborough & Swinton

The Independents:

Barnsley

Doncaster

Sheffield and Rotherham

The Incomers:

Trent

Chesterfield

North Western

East Midland

Lincolnshire

West Rising

THE MERSEYSIDE AREA (2013)

Liverpool

Birkenhead

Wallasey

St Helens

Southport

Chester

Warrington

Widnes

Crosville

Ribble

THE SOUTH DOWNS (2010)

Southdown

Portsmouth Corporation

Brighton Hove & District

Brighton Corporation

Eastbourne Corporation

THE WEST MIDLANDS (2009)

Midland Red

Birmingham City Transport

West Bromwich Corporation

Walsall Corporation

Wolverhampton Corporation

Harper Brothers

Stratford Blue

Don Everall

WEST YORKSHIRE (2013)

Bradford

County Motors

Halifax

Hanson

Hebble

Huddersfield

Ledgard

Leeds

Todmorden

West Riding (including Bullock & Sons)

West Yorkshire

Yorkshire Woollen

The Independents

YESTERDAY'S TRAMS (2012)

Manchester

Dublin

Blackburn

Giant's Causeway

Leicester

Rotherham

Southampton

Cardiff

Newcastle

Bradford

Gateshead

Stockport

London

Birmingham

Belfast

Sunderland

Llandudno & Colwyn Bay

Dundee

Edinburgh

Liverpool

Fintona

Aberdeen

Hill & Howth

Leeds

Swansea & Mumbles

Sheffield

Grimsby & Immingham

Glasgow

Blackpool

YESTERDAY'S TROLLEYBUSES (2014)

Bournemouth

Portsmouth

Brighton

Maidstone

Hastings

London

Reading

Cardiff

Llanelly

Pontypridd

Southend

Ipswich

Grimsby-Cleethorpes

Birmingham

Walsall

Wolverhampton

Nottingham

Notts & Derby

Derby

St Helens

South Lancashire Transport

Bolton

Manchester

Ashton-under-Lyme

Huddersfield

Bradford

Rotherham

Mexborough & Swinton

Doncaster

Kingston Upon Hull

Darlington

Tees-side

Hartlepool & West Hartlepool

Newcastle upon Tyne

South Shields

Glasgow

Belfast

The next section is a moving gallery of all the front covers of the nine volumes in the 'Colours of' series, complete with publishing details.

To view the contents of each book in greater detail, it is possible to purchase the majority of these volumes second hand on line for around £15 on average. The boards, paper, image and information quality is second to none so they are well-worth the investment if you are a bus & tram historian or enthusiast!