August 2026

As well as official documents and publications, the items in the Trust’s archive include material produced by those with an interest in the operation of bus and coach services in the Thames Valley and Great Western area, such as photographs and research notes.

This drawing is one of a series of pen and ink illustrations created between 1939 and 1949 by an enthusiast called Bob Crawley, who lived at the time in Tilehurst, Reading, and most of them show aspects of the work of Thames Valley – including premises, vehicles, and even a scrap yard where time-expired buses were to be found. This example is dated February 1946, and is looking eastwards along the Kings Road towards stone archway leading into Cemetery Junction. This used to be the terminus for the horse drawn trams – where conductors would announce the stop as “Marble Arch, change here for the underground”.

To the left, a Reading trolleybus is heading along London Road to the turning loop at the Liverpool Road terminus, just within the borough boundary. On the right a single deck bus is leaving The Colonnade. This was originally the garage and terminus for Thackray’s Way’s coach service between Reading and London, which was taken over by Thames Valley in 1936. It became the coach stop for other long-distance coach services, and later housed the body repair works for Thames Valley. Thames Valley also owned the row of shops on the London Road frontage, where they had an enquiry office. (the row of shops still exists, but the former coach station and works site has been developed for housing).

The single deck bus heading into Reading town centre is a Tilling Stevens B9A petrol engined one, on which the body sits higher than on modern buses, with several steps to climb to enter. It had seats inside for 35 passengers, and had been new in 1927, and was nearing the end of its time in service with Thames Valley.

The scene is still quite recognisable today, although there are no trolleybuses and the traffic lights are not controlled by a police officer in the cabin in the middle of the picture. However, the bus - fleet number 152 (MO9324) - survives, being part of the Thames Valley and Great Western Omnibus Trust’s collection.

TVT/PLC/DWG/011
Archive Item of the Month, August 2026