Southdown Motor Services was a well-known bus and coach operator based in the south of England. The company was formed in 1915 and achieved an outstanding reputation for the quality of the vehicles it operated and the high standards to which they were maintained and presented. This attention to detail led to Southdown’s vehicles becoming highly sought after on the second hand market, particularly with smaller independent bus and coach operators.
Southdown’s vehicles were predominately Leyland in the early days, with Bristol, Daimler and Ford entering the fleet in later years. When Southdown subsequently became part of the National Bus Company, some of its vehicles were transferred to other operators within the group: Daimler Fleetlines went to Crosville and East Kent, Leyland Atlanteans to Beeline and Ribble; Hants & Dorset also took coaches. Some vehicles were converted for used as training buses or even for non-PSV uses such as car transporters.
Life After Southdown: Former Buses in Service Elsewhere takes a look at many of these former Southdown buses and coaches in use with their new owners. It contains over 170 photographs, mainly in colour, spanning a 40-year period. In most cases, the familiar green and cream of Southdown has been replaced by a multitude of different liveries and colour schemes.
The photographs are mainly presented in two-per-page format and all are accompanied by descriptive captions, many telling the story of the vehicle in the days since it left Southdown ownership. 96 pages.