(11 Apr 2015, 1:45 pm)MurdnunoC wrote I have a gap in my collection between January 1987 and half-way through 1989.
I'm guessing the 'Big Orange' brand would have commenced and ceased operations during the interim period. As the timetable shows, services 60 and 61 operate between Gateshead and Metrocentre only. GAN have no competing services when that timetable was printed. I'm also guessing that competing services were introduced by GAN when Easyway decided to extend towards Felling Square.
By 1989, there are no traces of either Easyway or Big Orange services. The 92 still runs but the service has passed into the hands of Tyne and Wear Omnibus which means North Eastern had probably bit the bullet by that point. The M31 and M32 had also been introduced by then.
I've got a couple of 'The Big Orange' branded leaflets - they were indeed around in the period you mentioned, certainly between April 1988 & March 1989. It seems Consett local services 746/747/748 as well as Consett-Newcastle 745 fell under the brand.