(24 Feb 2014, 7:20 pm)andreos1 wrote I blame Thatcher!
If she hadn't shut down the pits - the populations of East Durham (and those working in the area), would still be using the services that went to each and every one of the colliery villages in the area.
Not just the pits - the heavy industry on Tyneside, too . . .
I remember when Scotswood Road was lined with buses at end-of-shift time at Vickers Armstrongs (where I did my apprentice training).
Likewise for the shipyards along the Tyne - the workers didn't have cars so relied on the buses.