(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)