London General Omnibus Company

A preserved London General liveried bus

The London General Omnibus Company or LGOC, was the principal bus operator in London between 1855 and 1933. It was also, for a short period between 1909 and 1912, a motor bus manufacturer.

Overview

The London General Omnibus Company was founded in 1855 to amalgamate and regulate the many independent horse-drawn omnibus services then operating in London. Originally an Anglo-French enterprise, also known as the Compagnie Generale des Omnibus de Londres, the LGOC soon became the largest omnibus operator in London. It bought out hundreds of independently-owned buses and established a consistent level of service for its fleet. Within a year, the LGOC controlled 600 of London's 810 omnibuses.^[1]

LGOC began using motor omnibuses in 1902, and the last LGOC horse-drawn bus ran on 25 October 1911. In 1908 the LGOC bought the Road Car Company, the Vanguard Company, and its other main rivals, thereby gaining a virtual monopoly in London.^[2]

In 1912, the Underground Group, which owned most of the London Underground, bought the LGOC. In 1933, the LGOC, along with the rest of the Underground Group, became part of the new London Passenger Transport Board. The name London General fell into disuse, and London Transport instead became synonymous with the red London bus.^[3][4]

Manufacturing

LGOC began producing motor omnibuses for its own use in 1909 at works established in premises inherited from Vanguard at Blackhorse Lane, Walthamstow, London. The first model built was the LGOC X-type, which was designed by Frank Searle, LGOC's chief engineer. The X-type was followed by the LGOC B-type, from the same designer.^[3][5]

After the Underground Group's acquisition of the LGOC in 1912, the bus manufacturing elements of the LGOC were split out to create the Associated Equipment Company (AEC).

Rebirth of the name

In the privatisation of London bus services in the 1980s, London Transport created a series of shadow bus operating companies with names of geographic or historic significance, and one of these was christened London General in honour of the LGOC. The new London General was initially privatised by management buy-out, and acquired by the Go-Ahead Group in 1996.

Gallery

• 

  LGOC B-type

• 

  Contemporary London General bus

See also

• Buses in London

References

1. ^ "From omnibus to ecobus, 1829-1850". London Transport Museum. Archived from the original on June 9, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070609023652/http://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/learning/online_resources/ecobus_omnibus/pg/1829.htm. Retrieved July 3, 2007. 
2. ^ "From omnibus to ecobus, 1901-1913, 3rd page". London Transport Museum. Archived from the original on June 30, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070630201231/http://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/learning/online_resources/ecobus_omnibus/pg/1901b.htm#54a. Retrieved July 3, 2007. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "From omnibus to ecobus, 1919-1938, 4th page". London Transport Museum. Archived from the original on June 9, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070609063308/http://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/learning/online_resources/ecobus_omnibus/pg/1919b.htm. Retrieved July 3, 2007. 
4. ^ "From omnibus to ecobus, 1919-1938, 3rd page". London Transport Museum. Archived from the original on June 8, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070608234748/http://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/learning/online_resources/ecobus_omnibus/pg/1919aa.htm. Retrieved July 3, 2007. 
5. ^ Thackray, Brian (2004). AEC Vehicles: Origins to 1929. Venture Publications Ltd. ISBN 1-898432-44-9