I preferred when it was the company names like
Go Northern
Go Coastline
Go Wear Buses
Go OK Travel
Go Xpress
Go Gateshead.
Shame they ditched for pointless brands like magic roundabout and fab 56.

(16 Jul 2026, 4:51 pm)col87 wrote I preferred when it was the company names like
Go Northern
Go Coastline
Go Wear Buses
Go OK Travel
Go Xpress 
Go Gateshead.
Shame they ditched for pointless brands like magic roundabout and fab 56.

And I'm pretty sure they had to pay to have the rights to use the Magic Roundabout stuff on that brand

(16 Jul 2026, 4:50 pm)Retro Nero wrote Old South Tyneside services 1970s/80s from bus stations in Newcastle.
Worswick Street Bus Station, X2, 520,521,522,524 to South Shields, 523 to Luke's Lane, 525, 526, 527 to Marsden, 528 to Seaburn.
Marlborough Crescent (now stands the Centre for Life) 529 to South Shields 
Eldon Square 533 to South Shields 
Ridley Place (Side of City Hall/Baths) for a short while was the 533 to South Shields.

Don't think 532 ever went from Eldon Square, after Woswick Street closed down, it departed from Market Street Police Station whilst the 527 oddly terminated at Central Station.

(16 Jul 2026, 7:02 pm)Rapidsnap wrote Don't think 532 ever went from Eldon Square, after Woswick Street closed down, it departed from Market Street Police Station whilst the 527 oddly terminated at Central Station.

527 later replaced the old 529 after deregulation in 86. The 527 in the early 80s from worswick st.ran to Marsden via Hebburn, Jarrow, Tyne Dock ,West Way, and  Temple Park Rd through the Nook to Horsley Hill.

(15 Jul 2026, 7:28 pm)Rapidsnap wrote Sacriston actually used to be the main destination for the 551 with evennig and sunday runs curtailed to Chester Le Street. When I was younger I used to always wonder where Sacriston was whenever I saw the 551 on my trips to South Shields. Needless to say, the first visit to Sacriston was very disappointing.

Sacriston just doesnt feel like it would be a Main Destination from South Shields. When I first saw on flickr when browsing through old photos I did think it was an odd trip extension. Same vibes as the 1 when it randomly terminated at Wrekenton

Long before the 551 went to Sacriston, it was the 531 South Shields to Esh Whinning via Sacriston and 532 South Shields to Cornsay Colliery .

Found another bus guide from 2005
There was the
31/31A/31C
32/32A/32C
41/42 (not to be confused with the Arriva services and later the GNE 41 in Wallsend and 42 in Sunderland)
43/43A/44/44A/44B
45/45A/46/46A
47/47A/47B
56/56A
57/557
58/58A
64/65
95/95A/96/96A
322
638/639
648/649
X85
X90
X94
The W services in Washington
Theres a load more but can't remember them all and i've packed it away now

(18 Jul 2026, 2:59 pm)V514DFT wrote Found another bus guide from 2005
There was the
31/31A/31C
32/32A/32C
41/42 (not to be confused with the Arriva services and later the GNE 41 in Wallsend and 42 in Sunderland)
43/43A/44/44A/44B
45/45A/46/46A
47/47A/47B
56/56A
57/557
58/58A
64/65
95/95A/96/96A
322
638/639
648/649
X85
X90
X94
The W services in Washington
Theres a load more but can't remember them all and i've packed it away now

A few links to timetables included in the list above

31/31A Newcastle to Winlaton
32 Newcastle - Winlaton
41 Newcastle - Winlaton
42 Newcastle - Winlaton
645 Newcastle - Sunniside
648 Wardley - Winlaton
649 Wardley - Winlaton

(18 Jul 2026, 2:59 pm)V514DFT wrote Found another bus guide from 2005
There was the
31/31A/31C
32/32A/32C
41/42 (not to be confused with the Arriva services and later the GNE 41 in Wallsend and 42 in Sunderland)
43/43A/44/44A/44B
45/45A/46/46A
47/47A/47B
56/56A
57/557
58/58A
64/65
95/95A/96/96A
322
638/639
648/649
X85
X90
X94
The W services in Washington
Theres a load more but can't remember them all and i've packed it away now

When a lot of the "A" routes were a more intresting way

56A through the Galleries and the 46A through Leadgate and Medomsley before rejoining the main RedKite corridor well at that time just the Consett-Newcastle corridor with B10BLEs running on it.