(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.
(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?
(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.
(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.
(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
(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
(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
(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.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.
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.
(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?
(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.
(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.Didn't the Coaster/Drifter start in 2005 aswell.
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, 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.
(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
(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
(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
(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 126/160/163https://www.flickr.com/photos/kjs251/500...d6-2njXVGh
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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