Welcome to London Historical Research Group (LHRG)

We have pleasure in drawing readers' attention to the Eastern & Southern Branch visit by heritage vehicle on October 20th to Go-Coach (Swanley) and Safeguard (Guildford).

We are sorry that recent Bulletins have been delayed, arising from personal circumstances within the editorial team, but all are now up to date on the website and Bulletin 229 (June 2024) is being posted to subscribers. 

The London Historical Research Group is devoted to research into the operation of buses, trolleybuses and trams in London, and is affiliated to the Omnibus Society. It was formed in 1963 with the purpose of co-ordinating the research projects of members and to provide a means of exchanging information on the history of road passenger transport services in the London Transport area*. It holds quarterly meetings in London and produces publications for sale, in addition to a quarterly Bulletin for its members. Meetings feature a talk on a relevant topic and range over a broad spectrum, as do the contents of the Bulletin.

Membership is via the Omnibus Society (join here).  New members are always welcome.  LHRG contact details are shown to the right.

Our major ongoing research project is Motor Omnibus Routes in London (MORiL), a detailed day-by-day chronology of London bus route introductions and changes, from the first introduction of motor buses in 1899 up to 1934. This history has been published in A4 format in eleven volumes in respect of the LGOC 'Combine' routes; work continues on the independent operators. 

In July 2014, a new long-term project group on London horse bus operations was formed.  This group will bring together the available information on all aspects of horse buses in London, from both primary and secondary sources, with a view to producing a series of publications. Volunteers wishing to participate in the project are invited to contact the secretary of the project, Peter Osborn, via peter@Red-RF.com. 

Other publications are produced as and when members’ research projects have produced appropriate material.  Details of the Group's publications are given on the LHRG Publications page; amendment sheets may be downloaded from the Amendments page (regularly updated) - all MORiL amendments are consolidated by volume and are available there.  A number of older publications are now out of print; in some cases, PDF versions are available to download from the Publications page.

As a benefit to Omnibus Society members, we have scanned and made available to download early editions of the LHRG Bulletin and the Omnibus Magazine (OM) - you need to be logged in for these links to activate.  

A selection of other research resources are given here.  Other sections of the site are:

Meetings calendar

Bulletin indexes (to Volume 7 only at present)

Bulletin Questions & Answers

LHRG Convenors

* the London Transport area is treated for the purposes of LHRG as the former Central and Country Areas up to deregulation in 1986, and the Greater London area thereafter.  Post-1986 services in the area outside Greater London are covered by PHRG.