Working Days: Ribble

Ribble Motor Services of Preston became the largest bus operator in the North West of England and one of the largest in the country. The red buses operated most services from Carlisle to south Lancashire. The company began in 1918 and ended in 1988 when it was absorbed into the Stagecoach Group. Prior to that several smaller companies had been swallowed by Ribble, these include Scout and Standerwick. Both Scout and Standerwick had pinned themselves to the Blackpool trade and were never on an equal footing with Ribble. The company headquarters were in Frenchwood, Preston and amongst its prestige services was The Gay Hostess route, X1 from Preston to London. This was set up in the late 1960s to exploit the motorways. The cream double-deckers used on the service had a hostess on-board to serve refreshments, they also had toilets and used the then new Atlanteans. This title builds upon the success of 'Working Days: Midland Red' and explores another of the classic ex-BET companies through the reminiscences of those that worked for the company during the period from the early 1950s through to the mid-1970s. Roger Davies provides some brilliant information about the company and an excellent range of illustrations covering both vehicles and ephemera.