London Country Bus Services

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

London Country Bus Services Ltd was set up in 1968, when London Transport's (LT) green buses were transferred to the National Bus Company (NBC), at the same time London Transport's red buses passed from the London Transport Board to the Greater London Council. LCBS's territory was likened to the shape of a Polo mint, circling London. LCBS also got responsibility for the Green Line cross-London express coaches. It was NBC's biggest subsidiary.

It started life with 1,267 buses and coaches. The fleet was ancient, it mainly contained elderly RT-class AEC Regent double-deckers and RF-class AEC Regal single-deckers. 484 RTs and 413 RFs were owned in all, with eight Daimler Fleetlines, three Leyland Atlanteans, 209 AEC Routemasters, 14 AEC Reliances, and 109 AEC Merlins making up the picture. By far, the two eldest classes outnumbered the others. Something had to be done.

NBC quickly ordered 90 Leyland Atlanteans, they were delivered in 1972. In 1970-71 London Transport's last Country order, for 138 AEC Swifts, was delivered. The Atlantean soon became LCBS's standard bus, by 1980 there were 293. Most were bodied by Park Royal, but the last few were built by Roe, but to the same design. Also delivered in 1972 were 30 Metro-Cammell-bodied Atlanteans from a Midland Red order. The first 90 Atlanteans were the first LCBS, but the first NBC-ordered buses in the fleet were 11 Leyland-engined, Godstone-based Daimler Fleetlines diverted from Western Welsh.

The only other LCBS double-decker in the 1970s was the Bristol VRT, fifteen rare highbridge Eastern Coach Works-bodied examples were allocated to Grays in 1977 but were quickly moved.

On the single-deck front, there were the 413 afformentioned RFs, some were refurbished in the 1960s, with twin headlights, curved windscreens, new side mouldings and new, improved interiors. These were mainly ones allocated to Green Line, where the improvements would be welcome on the long services.

There were 14 Willowbrook-bodied AEC Reliances at Hertford, that had been bought by LT in 1965. They were still there in 1975, on bus work, which was rather idiosyncratic when 20-year old RFs were still on Green Line work. Green Line was largely operated by Routemaster coaches and RFs. NBC ordered 90 AEC Reliances with 45-seat Park Royal bodies. They were put into service in Green Line two-tone green, but were quickly repainted in NBC local coach livery (NBC green lower half, white upper half).

For the orbital 725 (Windsor - Gravesend) Green Line service, 15 AEC Swift buses with Alexander W-type bodies were purchased, but were soon demoted to Gravesend local serices.

In 1972, NBC and British Leyland's joint project, the Leyland National, became the standard in most NBC fleets, not least LCBS, which took over 500 and ammassed the world's largest fleet of the type. They mainly replaced RFs, RTs and Routemasters. In some areas small, light vehicles were needed - indeed this was the reason for the retention of many of the RFs - and in these areas NBC brought in its smaller standard, the Bristol LH, the first delivered in 1973 and more batches bought until 1977.

Throughout the 1980s NBC had large numbers of Leyland Olympians delivered, from 1982 until 1984, they had Roe bodies, but from 1985 they had ECW bodies to the same style as the Roe ones. There were 75 in total.

The writing was on the wall for the National Bus Company. It was to be divided up and sold off in penny packets, in order to fulfill Margaret Thatcher and Transport Minister Nicholas Ridley's dream of 'sweet shop' bus services, with many little bus company owners. Even London Country was deemed to be too large to be snapped up by enterprising individuals, so it was divided into four from September 1985.

The four parts were particularly unimaginitively named London Country North West, London Country North East, London Country South East and London Country South West. The central workshops where sold as Gatwick engineering.