I wonder if anyone can clarify the dates of when the various GNE eras started

- When were the local brands introduced - Wear Buses, Coastline, Go Ahead Gateshead etc?

- When did they all get rebranded into the red/blue corporate livery as Go Gateshead, Go Northern etc. Was there ever a Go VFM Buses, or had that been discontinued by then?

- When did those names get phased out and combined as Go North East?

- When did the route branding era start?

For the first question, it would have been around 1988/89 from memory.

For the last question, route branding was largely associated with the Peter Huntley era, however there were some attempts at route branding prior to that. Two that immediately spring to mind were 58/59 (Newcastle - Wardley/Heworth) and the B & C branded coaches which operated between Newcastle and Blackhall Mill/Chopwell. The latter occurred around 1992/93 - again from memory.

I want to say modern era branding was 2006

Route 19 was one of the earliest of what is regarded the modern brandings. I believe it was a Nexus scheme with GNE though as part of Project Orpheus (it was the only bit that was built)

See: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sHUbKJWWFg8/S-...rpheus.PNG

Rather ironic that it absolutely failed and the rest of the plans never came as some of them are borderline mental hospital territory. It makes some of the more bizarre suggestions seem sensible on here especially 'super route' 4, 20 and 24.

I had in my mind 1992 for Go Ahead Gateshead, Northern, Wear Buses etc. The big 'Northern' strike nearly finished the company, and I was always under the impression that the different companies were created to stop wholesale company wide strikes again. I'm sure the strike was 1992 but I'd have to consult the history books to check.

I agree with MurdnunoC (3 attempts it took me to type that, kept on coming out as Murdoch!); and VFM might have been replaced by Go Coastline with the advent of the Go... identity.

https://logos.fandom.com/wiki/Go_Wear_Buses
No idea if these dates are 100% accurate, but pretty sure they're close enough. 

I thought the strike was 91 myself. 

The local logos (Penshaw Monument in the case of Wear buses) were placed by the door if I remember correctly. 
Gateshead had the torch, Shields had Marsden Rock etc. Can't remember the other depots such as Chester or Percy Main unfortunately.

Edit. Found some more https://logos.fandom.com/wiki/Go_VFM_Buses
https://logos.fandom.com/wiki/Go_Gateshead
https://logos.fandom.com/wiki/Go_Northern
https://logos.fandom.com/wiki/Go_Coastline

(13 Feb 2022, 9:39 pm)MurdnunoC wrote For the first question, it would have been around 1988/89 from memory.

For the last question, route branding was largely associated with the Peter Huntley era, however there were some attempts at route branding prior to that. Two that immediately spring to mind were 58/59 (Newcastle - Wardley/Heworth) and the B & C branded coaches which operated between Newcastle and Blackhall Mill/Chopwell. The latter occurred around 1992/93 - again from memory.

You've got me thinking now.  I can remember the 58/59 (there's a preserved Metrobus knocking around with that branding if it hasn't been scrapped), simple and effective I thought.  The B&C services were introduced to combat competition iirc.  Out of interest, can anyone remember which depot they operated from?

Other examples that spring to mind before route branding Huntley style, were the Western Gateshead branding on the Nationals for the 607/8/9/12 services; the Route 308 branding on the Leyland Olympians; the 53/54 branding on the Handybus Darts; the 25/6/7/8 Branding on the Lances and the 'The Way Ahead' branding on the Lances for the 124, though I'm sure there were many more.

Go-Ahead Northern mid 80s to Around 1992.

Go-Ahead Group North East (Coastline, VFM, Wear Buses etc) from 1992 to 1997.

Go North East (Original) (Go Coastline, Go VFM Buses, Go Wear Buses, Go Gateshead, Go Northern, Go Highstyle, Go Xpress, Go OK Travel) 1997 - 2006.
Go VFM became Go Coastline, Go Highstyle was sold to Classic Coaches, Go OK Travel were absorbed into various parts with Bishop Auckland becoming Go Northern, Go Xpress was phased out.

Peter Huntley Era (Route Brandings) 2006 - 2011.

Kevin Carr Era (Red Uprise) 2011 - 2018

Martijn Gilbert Era (Roadstripes) 2018 - ?

The Autobus Review book "Northern and its subsidiaries" published in 1995 gives a very good history of Northern General from the 1880s up until the mid 1990s: https://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookD...1089679833&cm_sp=rec-_-pd_hw_i_1-_-bdp&reftag=pd_hw_i_1.

5 new subsidiaries were created in Jan 1991:
The Northern General Transport Co. Ltd. - Chester-le-Street, Consett & Stanley
The Tyneside Omnibus Co Ltd. (trading as South Tyne Buses) – South Shields
The Tynemouth & District Omnibus Co. (trading as Coastline Buses) – Percy Main & Wallsend
The Sunderland & District Omnibus Co. (trading as Wear Buses) – Sunderland, Philadelphia & Washington
The Gateshead & District Omnibus Co. (trading as Go-Ahead Gateshead) – Gateshead & Winlaton

During 1992 the new brands were introduced but Tyneside Omnibus Co Ltd. rebranded their ops as VFM rather than South Tyne Buses, and Northern General Transport Co. Ltd. rebranded their ops as Northern.

How did the Metro Taxis brand fit in in that 1990s period? I believe it ran out of Percy Main depot?

(20 Feb 2022, 10:58 pm)Wybus wrote How did the Metro Taxis brand fit in in that 1990s period? I believe it ran out of Percy Main depot?

Go Ahead dabbled in pubs and taxis in the early 90s. Metro Taxis was a taxi company they owned which became a low cost bus operator - I recall them running a minibus on an M10 Newcastle to Ryton and AN68/ECW on the 17 between North Shields Ferry and Whitley Bay.

(21 Feb 2022, 9:56 pm)busmanT wrote Go Ahead dabbled in pubs and taxis in the early 90s. Metro Taxis was a taxi company they owned which became a low cost bus operator - I recall them running a minibus on an M10 Newcastle to Ryton and AN68/ECW on the 17 between North Shields Ferry and Whitley Bay.

I think the M10 initially started as competition to Derwent's CC1 which had been extended from Ryton into Newcastle via Blaydon and Scotswood Road. Once the CC1 had been curtailed back to Blaydon (operating as a circular service with the CC2), the M10 was rerouted between Blaydon and Ryton via Black Lane and Stargate. It lasted for, perhaps, a year or so in that guise, before the Blaydon and Ryton section was eventually replaced by the M23 in later years.

(21 Feb 2022, 9:56 pm)busmanT wrote Go Ahead dabbled in pubs and taxis in the early 90s. Metro Taxis was a taxi company they owned which became a low cost bus operator - I recall them running a minibus on an M10 Newcastle to Ryton and AN68/ECW on the 17 between North Shields Ferry and Whitley Bay.

They ran a 33 using old coaches between boldon Asda and heworth supplementing the vfm 533.

They also did the 'Care Bus' services using converted Mk1 Nationals, IIRC.

Another question - during the first part of the route branding era, so around 2006-2010, was there actually a ‘current’ corporate /standard livery for GNE, i.e one that buses were actively still being repainted into or was it just a case of the previous red/blue livery sticking around on non repainted buses.

I’m talking before they introduced the overall red ‘Northern’ livery for spare buses

X66 Supershuttle was branded from the early 90s with the Optare Deltas and then the later DAFs - I have in my mind that the Leyland Nationals were in X66 livery too but they may not have been - I couldn't find a pic of one.

I guess there was also Superliner in the early 90s and Expresslink in the late 80s (you could argue they are the 'parents' of what is now X-Lines)

As they are technically owned by Go Ahead - the Low Fell Coaches 'Cross Tyne' service pre-dated most of GNE's efforts

(15 Mar 2022, 11:29 am)Ambassador wrote X66 Supershuttle was branded from the early 90s with the Optare Deltas and then the later DAFs - I have in my mind that the Leyland Nationals were in X66 livery too but they may not have been - I couldn't find a pic of one.

I guess there was also Superliner in the early 90s and Expresslink in the late 80s (you could argue they are the 'parents' of what is now X-Lines)

As they are technically owned by Go Ahead - the Low Fell Coaches 'Cross Tyne' service pre-dated most of GNE's efforts

I’m sure the x66 supershuttle livery was first on the leyland nationals


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(15 Mar 2022, 11:29 am)Ambassador wrote X66 Supershuttle was branded from the early 90s with the Optare Deltas and then the later DAFs - I have in my mind that the Leyland Nationals were in X66 livery too but they may not have been - I couldn't find a pic of one.

I guess there was also Superliner in the early 90s and Expresslink in the late 80s (you could argue they are the 'parents' of what is now X-Lines)

As they are technically owned by Go Ahead - the Low Fell Coaches 'Cross Tyne' service pre-dated most of GNE's efforts

The Nationals before the DAFs were indeed in the X66 Supershuttle livery.  Very smart it was as well.  They also repainted the skirt green and used them as Garden Festival Shuttles for the duration of that.  Sticking with the Metrocentre, there was also the MetroCentre Minis.

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(14 Mar 2022, 11:21 pm)Wybus wrote Another question - during the first part of the route branding era, so around 2006-2010, was there actually a ‘current’ corporate /standard livery for GNE, i.e one that buses were actively still being repainted into or was it just a case of the previous red/blue livery sticking around on non repainted buses.

I’m talking before they introduced the overall red ‘Northern’ livery for spare buses

Not sure if there was an official strategy, as it were, but from memory it seemed like they painted bus by route/brand out of the red/blue/yellow livery into whatever the new brand was.  Spare vehicles were painted white, with most gaining overall adverts for GNE tickets, fares etc.

'Northern' was brought in a bit later as a residual brand for vehicles on services that didn't receive 'proper' brands.

(15 Mar 2022, 12:38 pm)Chris 1 wrote The Nationals before the DAFs were indeed in the X66 Supershuttle livery.  Very smart it was as well.  They also repainted the skirt green and used them as Garden Festival Shuttles for the duration of that.  Sticking with the Metrocentre, there was also the MetroCentre Minis.

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Not sure if there was an official strategy, as it were, but from memory it seemed like they painted bus by route/brand out of the red/blue/yellow livery into whatever the new brand was.  Spare vehicles were painted white, with most gaining overall adverts for GNE tickets, fares etc.

'Northern' was brought in a bit later as a residual brand for vehicles on services that didn't receive 'proper' brands. 

Think they blamed the credit crunch for companies not buying adverts on the white spares. Plus white not looking very good when the roads were mucky.
Pretty sure both reasons were used when the red Northern branding appeared.

Then said that nobody knew who Northern were...

(20 Feb 2022, 10:58 pm)Wybus wrote How did the Metro Taxis brand fit in in that 1990s period? I believe it ran out of Percy Main depot?

I think (but I could be totally wrong nonetheless) that the bus side of Metro Taxis could have been between 1992 and 1995 when the low cost / PTE subsidised services they ran seemed to pass over to OK Travel post takeover. I believe they had the once a day X16 north of the Tyne which did the Metro Taxis - Ok Travel - Go Gateshead transition before being discontinued. Not sure if it was Percy Main or out of Wallsend depot pre closure

The taxi side lasted a lot longer based out of Worswick St Bus Station IIRC

(20 Feb 2022, 10:23 am)IRHardy wrote The Autobus Review book "Northern and its subsidiaries" published in 1995 gives a very good history of Northern General from the 1880s up until the mid 1990s:  https://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookD...1089679833&cm_sp=rec-_-pd_hw_i_1-_-bdp&reftag=pd_hw_i_1.

5 new subsidiaries were created in Jan 1991:
The Northern General Transport Co. Ltd. - Chester-le-Street, Consett & Stanley
The Tyneside Omnibus Co Ltd. (trading as South Tyne Buses) – South Shields
The Tynemouth & District Omnibus Co. (trading as Coastline Buses) – Percy Main & Wallsend
The Sunderland & District Omnibus Co. (trading as Wear Buses) – Sunderland, Philadelphia & Washington
The Gateshead & District Omnibus Co. (trading as Go-Ahead Gateshead) – Gateshead & Winlaton

During 1992 the new brands were introduced but Tyneside Omnibus Co Ltd. rebranded their ops as VFM rather than South Tyne Buses, and Northern General Transport Co. Ltd. rebranded their ops as Northern.

Didn't a couple of these "jump the gun" or have an extended transition. I remember as a lad that some of the North Tyne double decks had "Coastline Service" (not in the Coastline font we got to know) emblazoned in vinyl on the upper park of the top deck window. Also a few of the fleet did gain the temporary South Tyne Buses name before the transition fully to VFM https://live.staticflickr.com/5144/56536...b808_b.jpg (picture not mine)

So I'm assuming this livery was very short-lived and replaced by all-over white pretty quickly. Was a particular reason for that, as it seems to be a base for the branded liveries at the time (much like now), so would make sense to be the 'spare' livery?
https://www.flickr.com/photos/emdjt42/38...otostream/

I believe the time taken and subsequent cost to repaint buses in this livery ruled it out. On the likes of the Geminis on the 724 it looked stunning. As a general rule of thumb, all the brands at the time were based on one overall colour and then vinyls added on top.

I believe the original Go North East livery lasted between 1997 - 2012 as several Go North East buses where still about in that livery in the Autumn of 2012 especially around Chester Le Street.

As for branding it’s always been there ( Wear Express was first used in the 1990s for the original X5 between Hartlepool - Newcastle) along with Superliner ( for the original X1 between Middlesbrough- Newcastle).
The Go Wear buses , Northern, Xpress Coastline names started to go in 2006 to be replaced by Go North East as the official name for them all. I think Tyne Tess express was one of the first as early as 2004 although then just branded as X10 with Fab 56 and Angel 21 both starting the branding in 2006 the likes of Fast Cats then coming in over the following years. Northern came back in 2012 with the all over red to replace what was left of the original livery’s and like said the all over white. This was the case till 2016 when the new livery was introduced with a slight change in 2019.

(11 Aug 2022, 12:29 pm)col87 wrote I believe the original Go North East livery lasted between 1997 - 2012 as several Go North East buses where still about in that livery in the Autumn of 2012 especially around Chester Le Street. 

As for branding it’s always been there ( Wear Express was first used in the 1990s for the original X5 between Hartlepool - Newcastle) along with Superliner ( for the original X1 between Middlesbrough- Newcastle).
The Go Wear buses , Northern, Xpress Coastline names started to go in 2006 to be replaced by Go North East as the official name for them all.  I think Tyne Tess express was one of the first as early as 2004 although then just branded as X10 with  Fab 56 and Angel 21 both starting the branding in 2006 the likes of Fast Cats then coming in over the following years. Northern came back in 2012 with the all over red to replace what was left of the original livery’s and like said the all over white.  This was the case till 2016 when the new livery was introduced with a slight change in 2019.

Didn't the Coaster/Drifter start in 2005 aswell.

(11 Aug 2022, 12:46 pm)Unber43 wrote Didn't the Coaster/Drifter start in 2005 aswell.

Both 2007, as was Angel (the route was branded as The Twenty One on corporate base colours prior to that).  It was the core Sunderland and Washington routes that started the technicolour branding, in July 2006.

(11 Aug 2022, 11:27 pm)stagecoachbusdepot wrote Both 2007, as was Angel (the route was branded as The Twenty One on corporate base colours prior to that).  It was the core Sunderland and Washington routes that started the technicolour branding, in July 2006.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/stagecoach...Si-cbPpQ5/ This was from 2005, however Coaster was 2007.

Tho I did find an SPD which as Sub Branding for the 150 (60 before it was renumbered) https://www.flickr.com/photos/stagecoach...Vu-2nf2zkC

It was later repainted into Doxford Clipper (something I did find out that 39A went via Durham Road if anyone has a map of that it would be appreciated I would be intrested in the route it went), then Venture then East Durham

(11 Aug 2022, 11:51 pm)Unber43 wrote https://www.flickr.com/photos/stagecoach...Si-cbPpQ5/ This was from 2005, however Coaster was 2007.

Tho I did find an SPD which as Sub Branding for the 150 (60 before it was renumbered) https://www.flickr.com/photos/stagecoach...Vu-2nf2zkC

It was later repainted into Doxford Clipper (something I did find out that 39A went via Durham Road if anyone has a map of that it would be appreciated I would be intrested in the route it went), then Venture then East Durham

No it wasn't - Drifter was introduced in 2007.
See here for photo of the same vehicle, still in corporate livery, in 2006... https://www.flickr.com/photos/andyburbid...YSi-7s6VDG

Re 150, several routes had that form of sub branding applied to fleet livery (as well as various other forms of sub branding over the years).  2006 was when the step change was made from sub branding to full on multicolour designs.

(11 Aug 2022, 11:51 pm)Unber43 wrote https://www.flickr.com/photos/stagecoach...Si-cbPpQ5/ This was from 2005, however Coaster was 2007.

Tho I did find an SPD which as Sub Branding for the 150 (60 before it was renumbered) https://www.flickr.com/photos/stagecoach...Vu-2nf2zkC

It was later repainted into Doxford Clipper (something I did find out that 39A went via Durham Road if anyone has a map of that it would be appreciated I would be intrested in the route it went), then Venture then East Durham

Doxford clipper 29/29a/39/39a sequence took over the 135/136/139/140, while the 26/26a/36/36a sequence took over the 126/160/163

The 139/140 circular service was original put on in replace of pte old x14 route between Doxford park moor side to Sunderland via Durham road and replaced service 101 between Sunderland and Grangetown via toward road and extended from Grangetown to Doxford park.


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(15 Mar 2022, 11:29 am)Ambassador wrote X66 Supershuttle was branded from the early 90s with the Optare Deltas and then the later DAFs - I have in my mind that the Leyland Nationals were in X66 livery too but they may not have been - I couldn't find a pic of one.

I guess there was also Superliner in the early 90s and Expresslink in the late 80s (you could argue they are the 'parents' of what is now X-Lines)

As they are technically owned by Go Ahead - the Low Fell Coaches 'Cross Tyne' service pre-dated most of GNE's efforts

Nah, X66 Supershuttle goes back to the Leyland National days, as the first buses to go on the X66 were Nationals, back then it was just the 66

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(12 Aug 2022, 6:38 am)cbma06 wrote Doxford clipper 29/29a/39/39a sequence took over the 135/136/139/140, while the 26/26a/36/36a sequence took over the 126/160/163

The 139/140 circular service was original put on in replace of pte old x14 route between Doxford park moor side to Sunderland via Durham road and replaced service 101 between Sunderland and Grangetown via toward road and extended from Grangetown to Doxford park.


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https://www.flickr.com/photos/kjs251/500...d6-2njXVGh