David Slater (Spoddendale)'s photos with the keyword: Lincolnshire Road Car Company

The cover of the advance copy of the Summer 1972 Associated Motorways timetable. The final issue would feature a cover of higher grade paper colour printed. The cover of my very care worn copy is now almost detached. Associated Motorways would also produce formal licensing/administration documents (back then spirit duplicated on foolscap paper) which included the name of the company operating the different services and I noted this information within my copy of the timetable. The list in question is also included on this site.

The Yelloway ‘Devonian’ service originally travelled via Gloucester and Bristol. At Gloucester connections to Red and White’s services were offered and at Bristol to those of Greyhound Motors. From Saturday 22 August 1936 the Yelloway service was diverted to serve Cheltenham and thus connect with the Associated Motorways hub. This leaflet was issued showing the timetables of the connecting services then available. The map on the cover was from earlier years and did not actually show the route of the Yelloway service which was summer only operating four days a week (plus the overnight service southbound on Friday nights from Rochdale). So this leaflet for the new arrangements was only current for six weeks until the last weekend in September.

The Associated Motorways timetable book cover (left is the rear cover and right is the front cover) for the Summer of 1949. So that no one member company would derive benefit from the publicity the consortium used orange, green and black as its house colours. Details of the Yelloway service from Lancashire, whilst contained in the timetable itself since 1936 wasn’t shown on the front cover map.

The Associated Motorways timetable book cover (left is the rear cover and right is the front cover) for the Summer of 1954. The route map on the front cover has been significantly expanded since that of the 1949 issue and includes the Ribble, Western SMT and Scottish Omnibuses services into Scotland from the North of England and those of the Yorkshire Services pool into Yorkshire from Birmingham. So that no one member company would derive benefit from the publicity the consortium used orange, green and black as its house colours.

These pages were from the Associated Motorways Summer 1954 timetable book and show the timings for the Gloucester-Cheltenham-London service. A point of curiosity I find is that the summer only quicker direct Swansea to London day service is included in this timetable. As far as I am aware I don’t think that service picked up from High Wycombe onwards toward London. The service is also shown in the Swansea to Cheltenham timetable and yet the direct Swansea to London night service which was operated all the year round isn’t shown thus in either nor indeed any other timetable, only in the two timetables either side of Cheltenham. (See next slide for the Swansea to Cheltenham timetable).

These pages were from the Associated Motorways Summer 1954 timetable book and show the timings for the Swansea to Cheltenham service. The summer only quicker direct Swansea to London day service is also included in this timetable and also in that for the Cheltenham to London timetable. Strangely the direct Swansea to London night service which was operated all the year round isn’t shown in either nor indeed any other timetable, only in the two timetables either side of Cheltenham. (See previous slide for the Cheltenham to London service timetable).

The Associated Motorways timetable book cover (left is the rear cover and right is the front cover) for the Winter period 1954/1955 was similar to that used in Summer of 1954 although this copy was not colour printed. I am not sure if this was an advance copy style or whether it was an economical final copy. Certainly in later years I don’t recall there being an advance copy issue for winter as there was for summer.

A typical timetable layout from an Associated Motorways timetable book. Each page featured a particular service usually on adjacent pages, each direction having a page of its own. In addition to the times for the particular service there was abridged content of key destinations available by connecting at Cheltenham. This example from the summer 1972 issue covers the Great Yarmouth to Cheltenham service worked by Eastern Counties. During the winter months this service was reduced to a single service in each direction between Norwich and Cheltenham forming part of the 1430 hub.

This is a photocopy of what was the lead sheet of an almost full set of formal licensing/administration documents produced by Associated Motorways for the Summer 1972 - back then these were spirit duplicated on foolscap paper. The sheet contains a list of all the services upon which I wrote the initials of the operating company alongside the service number. As far as I know the service numbers were never carried on the coaches but were prominent in the timetables. There were certain intentional omissions from the document set. The only real missing details are service D19 (Worcester-London) (perhaps Midland Red?) and service K41 (Oxford-Portsmouth), I couldn’t find reference to the latter in the timetable and I often wondered if it was the former South Midland holiday service placed under Associated Motorways by NBC. Of the others, Yelloway handled the licensing/administration/operation of joint services G31, H51, H60, J42, K31 and K46. Ribble likewise for joint service H33. I can’t say exactly which of the Yorkshire based operators provided the administration of service H32 (the ‘South West Clipper’ pool) – I have been told it was Yorkshire Traction. Service H31 was jointly operated with Northern General and United and would presumably have been administered by them.

The National Bus Company came into being in 1969. A few years later NBC created National Travel which led to the countrywide coach network that later became National Express. The services of the Associated Motorways consortium became part of the network. The Winter 1972/1973 timetable featured the NBC logo but still retained the prominent Associated Motorways name.

The National Bus Company came into being in 1969. A few years later NBC created National Travel which led to the countrywide coach network that later became National Express. The services of the Associated Motorways consortium became part of that network. The Summer 1973 timetable saw a significant image change with the National branding being more prominent with the Associated Motorways name taking a lesser role. I think this issue would have been the last one published under the auspices of Associated Motorways at Cheltenham as National Travel produced a countrywide coach guide for the following Winter 1973/1974 period.

Saturday 26 September 2015 (1354) – Lodge’s Coaches FY52 PMV had just arrived in Great Dunmow on the 1300 service 17 from Chelmsford. It is an East Lancs bodied MAN 14.220 new to Lincolnshire Road Car in November 2002.

Saturday 26 September 2015 (1354) – Lodge’s Coaches FY52 PMV arriving in Great Dunmow on the 1300 service 17 from Chelmsford. It is an East Lancs bodied MAN 14.220 new to Lincolnshire Road Car in November 2002.

Saturday 29 August 2015 (1508) – Retford bus station. Nearest the camera is a Baines of Rampton (Gem Mini Travel) mini-coach with service number 195 and ‘Retford’ displayed – probably in place to work the 1555 service 195 to Beckingham. Other vehicles are Stagecoach (Lincolnshire Road Car Company) Plaxton Pointer bodied Dennis Darts.

Saturday 29 August 2015 (1504) – Stagecoach East Midlands (Lincolnshire Road Car Company) 18040 (MX53 FME) is a Transbus built Plaxton President bodied Dennis Trident new to Greater Manchester South in September 2003 which was seen in Retford bus station. The services in the Bassetlaw area of Nottinghamshire saw a relaunch in late June 2015 marketed as the ‘Bassetlaw Belles’. Each bus has a character name based on a 1950s local occupation. 18040 is ‘Betty the Bawtry Belle’, a Royal Air Force worker.

Saturday 29 August 2015 (1504) – Stagecoach East Midlands (Lincolnshire Road Car Company) 18040 (MX53 FME) is a Transbus built Plaxton President bodied Dennis Trident new to Greater Manchester South in September 2003 which was seen in Retford bus station. The services in the Bassetlaw area of Nottinghamshire saw a relaunch in late June 2015 marketed as the ‘Bassetlaw Belles’. Each bus has a character name based on a 1950s local occupation. 18040 is ‘Betty the Bawtry Belle’, a Royal Air Force worker.

Saturday 29 August 2015 (1504) – In June 2015 Stagecoach East Midlands rebranded its services in the Bassetlaw area of Nottinghamshire as the ‘Bassetlaw Belles’. Each bus has a character name based on a 1950s local occupation. 18040 (MX53 FME) is ‘Betty the Bawtry Belle’, a Royal Air Force worker. 18040, operated by Stagecoach (Lincolnshire Road Car Company) is a Transbus built Plaxton President bodied Dennis Trident new to Greater Manchester South in September 2003 which was seen in Retford bus station.

Saturday 29 August 2015 (1506) – In June 2015 Stagecoach East Midlands rebranded its services in the Bassetlaw area of Nottinghamshire as the ‘Bassetlaw Belles’. Each bus has a character name based on a 1950s local occupation. 35130 (YN56 HAO) is ‘Rebecca the Beckingham Belle’. 35130, operated by Stagecoach (Lincolnshire Road Car Company), is a Plaxton Pointer style bodied Alexander Dennis Dart new to Grimsby Cleethorpes in September 2006 which was seen in Retford bus station.