Luxury Coach Hire

Thames Valley Traction Company 

Studio Seven

1960's

66 x 20cm

Unbacked

Good condition

Tracing its roots to a Reading operation started by British Automotive Traction in 1915, what became Thames Valley Traction in 1920 grew to dominate bus services in Berkshire and South Buckinghamshire and became a subsidiary of the Tilling Group. Nationalised in 1948, the coach operator South Midland was absorbed into the business and a lucrative Oxford to London coach service was also inherited from United Counties to boost income. Thames Valley owned very few coaches but did operate two limited stop services from Reading to London and started a dedicated Railair service from Reading Station to Heathrow Airport in 1967 which was a pioneering and highly successful innovation but principally promoted by British Rail.