Scottish Citylink

Friday 8 September 1989 – Eastern Scottish XCL564 (B564 LSC) was seen in Emmanuel Street, Cambridge prior to moving round the corner for loading at Drummer Street coach station. The driver had gone for breakfast before working the joint Scottish Citylink/National Express service 377 to Edinburgh. It is a Duple Caribbean 2 bodied Leyland Tiger based at Dalkeith garage. (Ref: 100-04)

Friday 8 September 1989 – Eastern Scottish XCL564 (B564 LSC) was seen at Drummer Street coach station in Cambridge ready to leave on the joint Scottish Citylink/National Express service 377 to Edinburgh. It is a Duple Caribbean 2 bodied Leyland Tiger based at Dalkeith garage. (Ref: 100-10)

Saturday 2 September 1989 – Eastern Scottish XCL565 (B565 LSC) was seen arriving at Drummer Street coach station in Cambridge ready to load and work the joint Scottish Citylink/National Express service 377 to Edinburgh. It is a Duple Caribbean 2 bodied Leyland Tiger based at Dalkeith garage. (Ref: 98-18)

Friday 8 September 1989 (approx 0755) - National Express and Scottish Citylink (and their predecessors) had a working relationship that spanned around 60 years but those arrangements came to an end during October 1989 when open competition then began. One of their joint services was service 377 from Cambridge to Edinburgh worked by Cambus on behalf of National Express and Eastern Scottish Omnibuses on behalf of Scottish Citylink. These two snapshots were taken at Cambridge just before the Eastern Scottish coach departed at 0800 for the Scottish capital where it was due to arrive at 1910. The driver, Driver Coutts I believe, mentioned that he had worked for SMT/Eastern Scottish for over 20 years. Based at Dalkeith garage about six miles south east of Edinburgh his duties involved all types of driving work covering local bus services and Scottish Citylink coaching. The latter included driving day and night Edinburgh-London services together with services to Inverness etc. Yesterday he drove south from Edinburgh and today returned home - two 11 hour duties, about 350 miles each way. On the left he checks a passenger's ticket and on the right has a final chat with the National Express inspector before leaving. The coach was XCL564 (B564 LSC), a Duple Caribbean bodied Leyland Tiger new in 1985.

Saturday 2 September 1989 – Eastern Scottish XCL565 (B565 LSC) was seen at Drummer Street coach station in Cambridge ready to leave on the joint Scottish Citylink/National Express service 377 to Edinburgh. It is a Duple Caribbean 2 bodied Leyland Tiger based at Dalkeith garage. Cambus Limited was the contractor that provided the National Express liveried coach for service 377 and that would be working the southbound service today. (Ref: 99-2A)

Saturday 2 September 1989 – Eastern Scottish XCL565 (B565 LSC) was seen at Drummer Street coach station in Cambridge ready to leave on the joint Scottish Citylink/National Express service 377 to Edinburgh. It is a Duple Caribbean 2 bodied Leyland Tiger based at Dalkeith garage. The fleet number, shown above the registration number, is made up of X (to indicate a toilet equipped coach), C (Citylink livery) and L (for Leyland) The G is the Dalkeith garage code. (Ref: 98-20/1)

Saturday 10 September 1988 – Eastern Scottish D193 ESC had suffered a rear axle problem whilst working the 2100 Scottish Citylink overnight London to Edinburgh service 933 and had been left at Ferrybridge Service Area in Yorkshire awaiting repair or collection. Service 933 was the slower route service travelling via Cambridge, the A1 Great North Road, Penrith, Carlisle and Selkirk reaching Edinburgh at 0830. The destination screen on the MCW Metroliner reads ‘Edinburgh via Borders’. The fleetnumber has as many characters as the registration number, XCMM193. (Ref: 74-11)

Tuesday 24 September 1991 (approx. 2000) – Seen on the fuelling bay in the Victoria Coach Station Arrivals Garage is Rapson’s Coaches ESK 930, a Plaxton Paramount 3500 bodied Volvo B10M which had been new as C110 DWR to Wallace Arnold Tours in 1986. It had worked the 0730 Inverness-London Scottish Citylink day south service 907 (due London 1930). (Ref: 152-10).

Tuesday 24 September 1991 (approx. 2000) – Seen parked on Elizabeth Street Bridge close to Victoria Coach Station in London (which is the building in the background), C568 MGB is a Van Hool Astral bodied Volvo B10MT oerated by Bruce’s Coaches of Airdrie, Scotland. It had previously worked the Scottish Citylink day south service 901 from Kilmarnock (0730) and Glasgow (0900) which had arrived in London around 1725 and was poised to work one of the overnight runs back to Scotland in a few hours time. (Ref: 152-08)

Sunday 29 July 1990 – Seen at Luton Airport. On the left is G471 OGG, a Duple 425 integral coach, operated by Gold Circle of Airdrie, Scotland bound for Glasgow when working Scottish Citylink service 946. On the right are two Plaxton Paramount 3200 bodied Volvo B10M coaches operated by Cambridge Coach Services on their Cambridge-Luton Airport-Heathrow Airport-Gatwick Airport service 78. Nearest the camera is E362 NEG working the 1245 trip from Gatwick to Cambridge and behind that is E367 NEG working the 1345 trip from Cambridge to Gatwick. (Ref 122-01)

Tuesday 11 June 1996 – Owens of Newhouse, Lanarkshire XKW 870, a Caetano Algarve bodied Volvo B10M, seen parked at Digbeth Coach Station in Birmingham. Possibly new to Keenan Coaches (of Coalhall near Ayr I believe) in August 1985 registered C136GSD. The window label reads ‘336 Birmingham’. Service 336 runs from Edinburgh (departing 2130) via Birmingham (0630-0700) through to Penzance (arriving 1550). I suppose therefore that this had been a duplicate which would spend the day here before returning to Scotland this evening. (Ref: 316-6A)

Tuesday 24 September 1991 - Bruce's Coaches of Airdrie C650 KDS seen in the shadows of St. Pancras Station, London having worked the day south service of the 'alternative' Scottish Citylink service from Glasgow etc. Bruce's had operated a Scotland-London service prior to entering an operating partnership with Scottish Citylink whereupon the service offered a cheaper alternative to the mainstream Scottish Citylink services into London and which terminated at Pancras Road rather that Victoria Coach Station. The Caetano Algarve bodied Volvo B10M was new to Park's of Hamilton in March 1986. Despite only being five years old but looked somewhat older.

Not one of my photographs but I include it because I have always liked it and I pay homage to it. A Canadian friend of many years sent it to me but I know he didn't take the photograph himself. The coach is a Plaxton Paramount 3500 bodied Volvo B10M operated by Shaw Hadwin of Carnforth. F885 YJX was photographed in the evening sunshine in a leafy part of Lancaster Road, Preston as it headed for Manchester on Scottish Citylink service 257. Along with MacPherson Coaches of Donisthorpe I believe these were the only two English companies that worked Scottish Citylink contracts.

Thursday 18 July 1991 (approx 0655) – MacPherson Coaches of Donisthorpe was a Scottish Citylink contractor for a few years. E346 EVH, a Van Hool Acron bodied DAF SB3000 which had been new to Fishwicks of Leyland in February 1988, is seen here at Drummer Street coach station in Cambridge about to set forth on the 0700 service 236 to Aberdeen where it was due to arrive at 2105 – a distance of around 550 miles. The legal name and address of MacPhersons can be seen. (Ref: 144-30)

Thursday 18 July 1991 (approx 0655) – MacPherson Coaches of Donisthorpe was a Scottish Citylink contractor for a few years. E346 EVH, a Van Hool Acron bodied DAF SB3000 which had been new to Fishwicks of Leyland in February 1988, is seen here at loading at Drummer Street coach station in Cambridge about to set forth on the 0700 service 236 to Aberdeen where it was due to arrive at 2105 – a distance of around 550 miles. The coach had previously sported an earlier version of the Scottish Citylink livery but here it carries what was now the later revamped style although the windscreen lettering harks back to the earlier branding. Service 236 commenced on Monday 29 April 1991 operating from Cambridge to Aberdeen via Corby, the East Midlands, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Carlisle, Glasgow, Stirling, Perth and Dundee. Window bills show a number of the places served. Named ‘Daniel James’ which I believe was the name of the owners Grandson. (Ref: 144-28)

Thursday 18 July 1991 (approx 0655) – MacPherson Coaches of Donisthorpe was a Scottish Citylink contractor for a few years. E346 EVH, a Van Hool Acron bodied DAF SB3000 which had been new to Fishwicks of Leyland in February 1988, is seen here at Drummer Street coach station in Cambridge about to set forth on the 0700 service 236 to Aberdeen where it was due to arrive at 2105 – a distance of around 550 miles. Despite being an English based company the name MacPherson is very appropriate for a service running to Scotland. (Ref: 144-27)

Thursday 18 July 1991 (approx 0655) – MacPherson Coaches of Donisthorpe was a Scottish Citylink contractor for a few years. E346 EVH, a Van Hool Acron bodied DAF SB3000 which had been new to Fishwicks of Leyland in February 1988, is seen here at loading at Drummer Street coach station in Cambridge about to set forth on the 0700 service 236 to Aberdeen where it was due to arrive at 2105 – a distance of around 550 miles. The coach had previously sported an earlier version of the Scottish Citylink livery but here it carries what was now the later revamped style although the windscreen lettering harks back to the earlier branding. Service 236 commenced on Monday 29 April 1991 operating from Cambridge to Aberdeen via Corby, the East Midlands, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Carlisle, Glasgow, Stirling, Perth and Dundee. Window bills show a number of the places served. Named ‘Daniel James’ which I believe was the name of the owners Grandson. (Ref: 144-29)

Thursday 5 September 1991 (approx 0655) – A somewhat unbelievably peaceful scene at Drummer Street coach station, Cambridge! MacPherson Coaches of Donisthorpe was a Scottish Citylink contractor for a few years. D555 CJF, a Plaxton Paramount 3500 bodied Volvo B10M new in March 1987 is about to set forth on the 0700 service 236 to Aberdeen where it was due to arrive at 2105 – a distance of around 550 miles. Service 236 commenced on Monday 29 April 1991 operating from Cambridge to Aberdeen via Corby, the East Midlands, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Carlisle, Glasgow, Stirling, Perth and Dundee. There were no passengers boarding at Cambridge today. (Ref: 147-15)