The inside story of an enduring building

摘要

This book does exactly what the title suggests. It tells the story of the garage - the building and the fixtures and fittings it contained - that has served Preston Corporation, Preston Bus, Stagecoach and now Rotala-owned Preston Bus since it opened as a tram depot in 1904. Mike Rhodes suggests it is now the oldest former tram depot in the UK still largely intact and in use as a public transport base. It is generously illustrated in colour and black and white, and is full of highly detailed information about the building. This includes the girders and strusses used in its construction, the location and number of roller shutter doors, the capacity of some of its fuel tanks, the diameter and direction of pipeline attached thereto, the dimensions of walls, concrete flooring and inspection pits, and some unexpected items discovered in what used to be a boiler room. There are descriptions of the repair work - some quite ambitious - undertaken on vehicles that have crossed its threshold, and of other operators' vehicles it has accommodated, some for painting or repair, others en route between factory and distant final customer.