Central Scottish
Encyclopedia
Central Scottish Omnibuses Ltd was a bus operating subsidiary of the Scottish Transport Group
formed in June 1985 from Central SMT Company Ltd, and operated until July 1989 when it was merged with Kelvin Scottish
to form Kelvin Central Buses
.
, bounded by Glasgow
to the west, Airdrie
to the north, Strathaven
to the south and Shotts
to the east.
Central was the largest operator in central Scotland
and was responsible for local and interurban services in the towns of East Kilbride
, Airdrie
, Motherwell, Wishaw
and Hamilton. Depots were also located in these towns.
Central Scottish also provided coaches for Scottish Citylink
work, mainly from Glasgow and central Scotland to other points in Scotland
.
(SMT) Company was originally founded in Edinburgh in 1905, and expanded rapidly. After the First World War, this expansion included the acquisition of bus companies operating in other parts of Scotland. In 1928 SMT was purchased by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
(LMS) and the London and North Eastern Railway
, and became the parent company for railway-owned bus operations in Scotland. Central SMT was a product of this series of acquisitions and mergers.
In 1926 the Glasgow General Omnibus and Motor Services Ltd. was formed. This company, which traded as the 'Glasgow Omnibus Company' (GOC) developed a network of bus services radiating out from Glasgow into Lanarkshire, as well as an isolated group of services along the north bank of the River Clyde to western Dunbartonshire
. In 1930, GOC was purchased by the LMS Railway. In the same year, the LMS. also purchased two further major Lanarkshire bus firms, Stewart and McDonald Ltd. of Carluke, and J. W. & R. Torrance Ltd., of Hamilton. Several smaller firms were subsequently purchased and absorbed by these companies.
In 1932, control of the LMS Railway's bus interests in Scotland was vested in the SMT Group. The three Lanarkshire firms were merged into one new company, named the Central S.M.T. Company Ltd. At the same time, the SMT Group purchased the Lanarkshire Traction Company Ltd., of Motherwell. Lanarkshire Traction, which had originally been a tramway operator, became a subsidiary of Central SMT. The head office of both companies was the former Lanarkshire Traction premises at Traction House, Motherwell. Throughout the 1930s, Central purchased and absorbed numerous smaller companies, notable amongst which were Baillie Brothers Ltd. of Dumbarton and Clydebank Motors Ltd. of Clydebank. These two firms were acquired in 1936, which strengthened the company's position in western Dunbartonshire.
Nationalisation of the railways in 1948 made the state the major shareholder in the SMT group of companies, and the group was itself fully nationalised in 1949. At that time, some of the group's smaller subsidiaries were wound up, including Lanarkshire Traction, which was fully absorbed by Central SMT. By this time, Central was firmly established as the dominant bus operator in Lanarkshire and western Dunbartonshire. This dominant position was furthered by the takeover of John Laurie and Company of Hamilton in 1961. During this period, Central was consistently the most profitable company in the Scottish Bus Group. From the late 1970s, the trading name of the company became 'Central Scottish'.
In preparation for deregulation
of the British
bus industry in 1986, and the eventual break up and privatisation of the group, the Scottish Bus Group restructured its subsidiary companies in 1985. As part of this, Central SMT was renamed Central Scottish Omnibuses Ltd. The Dunbartonshire and north Glasgow operations became part of a new company, Kelvin Scottish Omnibuses Ltd., but Central gained the former Eastern Scottish
operations in the Monklands
area of Lanarkshire.
On deregulation Central, together with fellow SBG subsidiaries Clydeside Scottish
and Kelvin Scottish, launched a revised network of services within the city
of Glasgow in direct competition with the city operator, Strathclyde Buses
. A high profile, high frequency cross city service, together with a number of minibus services were started, though Strathclyde Buses retaliated by extending their own network deep into Lanarkshire. Whereas Strathclyde Buses services into East Kilbride and beyond proved popular at Central's expense, Central's city services failed to gain popularity and often ran empty.
In the face of growing competition, it was announced that Central Scottish would be merged with Kelvin Scottish in an attempt to make the larger company more attractive to potential buyers. However, the planned merger was deeply unpopular with Central's staff, as flexible rostering agreements, fully in place with Kelvin, had not yet been implemented at Central. This resulted in a disastrous strike
in early 1989, and the company's network was paralysed for weeks on end. While Central's buses remained in their depots, Strathclyde Buses and a number of independent operators stepped in and took over much of the company's route network. By summer 1989, the dispute had ended, and in a vain attempt to win back customers, Central embarked on a major rebranding exercise. The Central Scottish trading name and the deep red
and cream
livery
the vehicles wore gave way to a number of new local identities. Vehicles in Airdrie received a dark blue
and grey colour scheme branded as Monklands Bus, East Kilbride vehicles gained a dark green
and cream livery with EK Chieftain fleetnames, leaving vehicles in the remaining depots gaining a more vibrant red and cream livery, branded as Lanarkshire Bus. The Central Scottish identity was buried with the strike action, and the company was renamed Kelvin Central Buses Ltd in preparation for the merger. However, a significant retrenchment of the company's operations followed.
In July 1989, the merger between the two companies was fully enacted, and Central Scottish ceased trading as an independent concern. Kelvin Central Buses was later privatised by sale to its employees, who later sold the firm to Strathclyde Buses, before it in turn was purchased by Firstgroup plc
. The modern successor to Central Scottish and Kelvin Scottish is First Glasgow (No.2) Ltd. However, many of the former Central routes have been surrendered to independent operators. The last remaining former Central garage, Airbles in Motherwell, closed in 2007.
quickly became the preferred supplier for new buses. Although there were also some Albions, new buses purchased in the 1930s mainly comprised Leyland Lion, Tiger and Titan models, including a number of secondhand Titans. During World War 2, when Leylands were not available, the fleet received a rare (for Scotland) Bristol K, as well as the ubiquitous utility Guy Arabs and Daimler CWs.
Between the end of the war and the early 1960s, Central overwhelmingly favoured double deckers. Some pre-war Leyland Tigers were rebodied as such in the late '40s (notably including some 3-axle Tiger TS7T chassis which were rebuilt to 2-axle Titan TD4 specification). New Leyland Titans continued to be bought until 1960, but the first Bristol Lodekkas arrived in 1955 and soon became the preferred choice, the last new examples being delivered in 1967. Other double deckers bought in this period were a solitary AEC Regent in 1946, some Guy Arab IIIs in 1951-52, and Albion Lowlanders in 1962-63. The takeover of Laurie of Hamilton brought an assortment of Leyland Titans (including former London Transport RTLs), and a rebodied Guy Arab, but most notable were a pair of early Leyland Atlanteans. These were the first rear-engined double deckers to operate for the Scottish Bus Group.
Central tried various types, of rear engined double deckers, but found that none were to their satisfaction, and double deckers declined as a proportion of the fleet. The Atlanteans were sold in 1969, and a prototype Bristol VRX, operated from 1966, was returned to the manufacturer when a batch of 20 Bristol VRTs arrived, also in 1969. The VRT was not popular in Scottish Bus Group fleets, and all were sold to the National Bus Company in exchange for late-model Lodekkas in the early '70s. A batch of 35 Daimler Fleetlines was delivered in 1971, but these were exchanged for single deck Leyland Leopards from other SBG companies in 1975. However, Ailsa B55s (30 purchased in 1978-79) and Dennis Dominators (51 in 1978-83) eventually found favour. When Central inherited Scottish Omnibuses' Airdrie operations in 1985, the Fleetlines and Leyland Olympians based there were not wanted by Central and were retained by Eastern Scottish. However, the last double deckers purchased by Central were in fact 10 Leyland Olympians, delivered in 1986.
Relatively few single deckers were purchased in the 1940s and '50s. There were Leyland Tigers and Guy Arab IIIs in the late '40s/early '50s, followed by some Guy Arab UFs. The first Leyland Leopards first arrived in 1961, but a milestone was the delivery of the first batch of Leopard PSU3 models in 1964. With 53 seats, a standee Leopard had almost as many seats as an early-postwar double decker, and they quickly became the standard Central SMT bus. By 1983 some 400 Leopards had been purchased new, as well as a number of secondhand examples from within the SBG. After the Leopards, Central standardised on the Leyland Tiger, with 83 buses delivered between 1982 and 1987. There were also 45 Leyland Nationals in 1978-81 and 15 Dennis Dorchesters in 1983-84. Additional Leyland Nationals and some Seddon Pennine VIIs were inherited with Airdrie depot.
A small dedicated coach fleet was maintained intermittently. Between 1955 until 1978 Bedfords with Duple coachwork were bought (along with 5 Albion Vikings in 1966, which were quickly transferred to Highland Omnibuses). The last Bedfords were sold in the early '80s, and for a time there were no coaches. However, in 1984 a secondhand Leyland Tiger coach and a former Western SMT Seddon Pennine VII which had been fitted with a wheelchair lift arrived, and 5 of the Dennis Dorchesters delivered that year were to coach specification. A second Leyland Tiger coach was inherited from Scottish Omnibuses' Airdrie fleet, and some of the Airdrie Seddons also had coach bodywork. Two Volvo B10Ms were acquired from Newton of Dingwall in 1985, and 10 new Tigers coaches were bought in 1986-87.
A few minibuses were operated from the early 1970s onwards. These were successively Bedford VAS, Ford A-series and Leyland Cubs. In 1986-87, a fleet of 31 Dodge S56 were purchased for competitive services in the south of Glasgow.
Even within the Scottish Bus Group, Central had a reputation for conservatism in its vehicle specifications. Examples of this included:
Scottish Bus Group
The Scottish Bus Group was a state-owned Scottish holding company that included a number of bus operators covering the whole of Scotland. The group was formed in 1961 as Scottish Omnibuses Group Ltd, to take control of the British Transport Commission's bus operating subsidiaries in Scotland...
formed in June 1985 from Central SMT Company Ltd, and operated until July 1989 when it was merged with Kelvin Scottish
Kelvin Scottish
Kelvin Scottish Omnibuses Ltd was a bus operating subsidiary of the Scottish Transport Group based in Bishopbriggs, Strathclyde, Scotland. It was formed in March 1985 from parts of Walter Alexander & Sons Ltd and Central SMT, initially with six depots and a varied fleet of 381 vehicles.The company...
to form Kelvin Central Buses
Kelvin Central Buses
Kelvin Central Buses Ltd was a bus operating subsidiary of the Scottish Bus Group formed in July 1989 from the merger of Kelvin Scottish and Central Scottish in preparation for privatisation, and operated until July 1998 when it became First Glasgow Ltd....
.
Operation
From its head office in Traction House, Motherwell, Central Scottish had an operating area covering the whole of LanarkshireLanarkshire
Lanarkshire or the County of Lanark ) is a Lieutenancy area, registration county and former local government county in the central Lowlands of Scotland...
, bounded by Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
to the west, Airdrie
Airdrie, North Lanarkshire
Airdrie is a town within North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It lies on a plateau roughly 400 ft above sea level, and is approximately 12 miles east of Glasgow city centre. Airdrie forms part of a conurbation with its neighbour Coatbridge, in the former district known as the Monklands. As of 2006,...
to the north, Strathaven
Strathaven
Strathaven is a historic market town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The town was granted a Royal Charter in 1450, making the Town of Strathaven a burgh of barony. The town's principal industry was primarily weaving in the 19th and early 20th centuries, however this declined when faced by...
to the south and Shotts
Shotts
Shotts is a small rural town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located almost halfway between Glasgow and Edinburgh . As of the 2001 census, the population was 8,235...
to the east.
Central was the largest operator in central Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and was responsible for local and interurban services in the towns of East Kilbride
East Kilbride
East Kilbride is a large suburban town in the South Lanarkshire council area, in the West Central Lowlands of Scotland. Designated as Scotland's first new town in 1947, it forms part of the Greater Glasgow conurbation...
, Airdrie
Airdrie, North Lanarkshire
Airdrie is a town within North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It lies on a plateau roughly 400 ft above sea level, and is approximately 12 miles east of Glasgow city centre. Airdrie forms part of a conurbation with its neighbour Coatbridge, in the former district known as the Monklands. As of 2006,...
, Motherwell, Wishaw
Wishaw
Wishaw is a large town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is on the edge of the Clyde Valley, 15 miles south-east of Glasgow....
and Hamilton. Depots were also located in these towns.
Central Scottish also provided coaches for Scottish Citylink
Scottish Citylink
Scottish Citylink Coaches Ltd is a long distance express coach operator in Scotland and the Republic of Ireland . The company was formed as a subsidiary of Scottish Transport Group in June 1985...
work, mainly from Glasgow and central Scotland to other points in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
History
The Scottish Motor TractionScottish Motor Traction
Scottish Motor Traction was founded in Edinburgh in 1905. It operated buses in much of central Scotland. Aside from its traditional bus operations, it operated an air taxi service with a De Havilland Fox Moth between July 18 and October 31, 1932 and for many years owned Dryburgh Abbey Hotel...
(SMT) Company was originally founded in Edinburgh in 1905, and expanded rapidly. After the First World War, this expansion included the acquisition of bus companies operating in other parts of Scotland. In 1928 SMT was purchased by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
London, Midland and Scottish Railway
The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...
(LMS) and the London and North Eastern Railway
London and North Eastern Railway
The London and North Eastern Railway was the second-largest of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain...
, and became the parent company for railway-owned bus operations in Scotland. Central SMT was a product of this series of acquisitions and mergers.
In 1926 the Glasgow General Omnibus and Motor Services Ltd. was formed. This company, which traded as the 'Glasgow Omnibus Company' (GOC) developed a network of bus services radiating out from Glasgow into Lanarkshire, as well as an isolated group of services along the north bank of the River Clyde to western Dunbartonshire
Dunbartonshire
Dunbartonshire or the County of Dumbarton is a lieutenancy area and registration county in the west central Lowlands of Scotland lying to the north of the River Clyde. Until 1975 it was a county used as a primary unit of local government with its county town and administrative centre at the town...
. In 1930, GOC was purchased by the LMS Railway. In the same year, the LMS. also purchased two further major Lanarkshire bus firms, Stewart and McDonald Ltd. of Carluke, and J. W. & R. Torrance Ltd., of Hamilton. Several smaller firms were subsequently purchased and absorbed by these companies.
In 1932, control of the LMS Railway's bus interests in Scotland was vested in the SMT Group. The three Lanarkshire firms were merged into one new company, named the Central S.M.T. Company Ltd. At the same time, the SMT Group purchased the Lanarkshire Traction Company Ltd., of Motherwell. Lanarkshire Traction, which had originally been a tramway operator, became a subsidiary of Central SMT. The head office of both companies was the former Lanarkshire Traction premises at Traction House, Motherwell. Throughout the 1930s, Central purchased and absorbed numerous smaller companies, notable amongst which were Baillie Brothers Ltd. of Dumbarton and Clydebank Motors Ltd. of Clydebank. These two firms were acquired in 1936, which strengthened the company's position in western Dunbartonshire.
Nationalisation of the railways in 1948 made the state the major shareholder in the SMT group of companies, and the group was itself fully nationalised in 1949. At that time, some of the group's smaller subsidiaries were wound up, including Lanarkshire Traction, which was fully absorbed by Central SMT. By this time, Central was firmly established as the dominant bus operator in Lanarkshire and western Dunbartonshire. This dominant position was furthered by the takeover of John Laurie and Company of Hamilton in 1961. During this period, Central was consistently the most profitable company in the Scottish Bus Group. From the late 1970s, the trading name of the company became 'Central Scottish'.
In preparation for deregulation
Deregulation
Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or...
of the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
bus industry in 1986, and the eventual break up and privatisation of the group, the Scottish Bus Group restructured its subsidiary companies in 1985. As part of this, Central SMT was renamed Central Scottish Omnibuses Ltd. The Dunbartonshire and north Glasgow operations became part of a new company, Kelvin Scottish Omnibuses Ltd., but Central gained the former Eastern Scottish
Eastern Scottish
Eastern Scottish, of Edinburgh, Scotland, was a bus and coach operator and a subsidiary of the Scottish Bus Group . Eastern Scottish Omnibuses Ltd. was formed in June 1985 from the main part of Scottish Omnibuses Ltd., which had itself traded as 'Eastern Scottish' since the 1960s...
operations in the Monklands
Monklands
Monklands may refer to:*Monklands was formerly a local government district in the Strathclyde region of Scotland*Monklands Hospital in the area...
area of Lanarkshire.
On deregulation Central, together with fellow SBG subsidiaries Clydeside Scottish
Clydeside Scottish
Clydeside Scottish Omnibuses Ltd, in Scotland, was a bus operating subsidiary of the Scottish Transport Group formed in June 1985 from Western SMT Company Ltd...
and Kelvin Scottish, launched a revised network of services within the city
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
of Glasgow in direct competition with the city operator, Strathclyde Buses
Strathclyde Buses
Strathclyde Buses was a bus operating company in Glasgow and west-central Scotland. It commenced operations in October 1986. Prior to 1986, the council-owned buses had belonged to Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive , and therefore were owned by Strathclyde Regional Council...
. A high profile, high frequency cross city service, together with a number of minibus services were started, though Strathclyde Buses retaliated by extending their own network deep into Lanarkshire. Whereas Strathclyde Buses services into East Kilbride and beyond proved popular at Central's expense, Central's city services failed to gain popularity and often ran empty.
In the face of growing competition, it was announced that Central Scottish would be merged with Kelvin Scottish in an attempt to make the larger company more attractive to potential buyers. However, the planned merger was deeply unpopular with Central's staff, as flexible rostering agreements, fully in place with Kelvin, had not yet been implemented at Central. This resulted in a disastrous strike
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
in early 1989, and the company's network was paralysed for weeks on end. While Central's buses remained in their depots, Strathclyde Buses and a number of independent operators stepped in and took over much of the company's route network. By summer 1989, the dispute had ended, and in a vain attempt to win back customers, Central embarked on a major rebranding exercise. The Central Scottish trading name and the deep red
Red
Red is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 630–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared , and cannot be seen by the naked eye...
and cream
Cream (colour)
Cream is the colour of the cream produced by cattle grazing on natural pasture with plants rich in yellow carotenoid pigments, some of which are incorporated into the cream, to give a yellow tone to white. Cream is the pastel colour of yellow, much like as pink is to red. Cream is used as a skin...
livery
Livery
A livery is a uniform, insignia or symbol adorning, in a non-military context, a person, an object or a vehicle that denotes a relationship between the wearer of the livery and an individual or corporate body. Often, elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or corporate body feature in...
the vehicles wore gave way to a number of new local identities. Vehicles in Airdrie received a dark blue
Blue
Blue is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440–490 nm. It is considered one of the additive primary colours. On the HSV Colour Wheel, the complement of blue is yellow; that is, a colour corresponding to an equal...
and grey colour scheme branded as Monklands Bus, East Kilbride vehicles gained a dark green
Green
Green is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520–570 nanometres. In the subtractive color system, it is not a primary color, but is created out of a mixture of yellow and blue, or yellow and cyan; it is considered...
and cream livery with EK Chieftain fleetnames, leaving vehicles in the remaining depots gaining a more vibrant red and cream livery, branded as Lanarkshire Bus. The Central Scottish identity was buried with the strike action, and the company was renamed Kelvin Central Buses Ltd in preparation for the merger. However, a significant retrenchment of the company's operations followed.
In July 1989, the merger between the two companies was fully enacted, and Central Scottish ceased trading as an independent concern. Kelvin Central Buses was later privatised by sale to its employees, who later sold the firm to Strathclyde Buses, before it in turn was purchased by Firstgroup plc
FirstGroup plc
FirstGroup plc is a public transport company, registered in Scotland at its headquarters in Aberdeen, operating in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Canada and the United States...
. The modern successor to Central Scottish and Kelvin Scottish is First Glasgow (No.2) Ltd. However, many of the former Central routes have been surrendered to independent operators. The last remaining former Central garage, Airbles in Motherwell, closed in 2007.
Depots and Works
Central SMT and Central Scottish operated from the following depots:- Airbles depot, MotherwellMotherwellMotherwell is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, south east of Glasgow. The name "Moderwelt" appears on a map of Lanarkshire made by Timothy Pont some time between 1583 and 1611 and printed in the Netherlands in around 1652, although the settlement was probably little more...
(opened 1962, closed by First Glasgow 2007 when replaced by a new facility in Blantyre); - BurnbankBurnbank-Location & governance:Burnbank, previously an independent settlement, then part of Hamilton Burgh and then Hamilton District is now a district of Hamilton within the South Lanarkshire Unitary Council...
depot, HamiltonHamilton, South LanarkshireHamilton is a town in South Lanarkshire, in the west-central Lowlands of Scotland. It serves as the main administrative centre of the South Lanarkshire council area. It is the fifth-biggest town in Scotland after Paisley, East Kilbride, Livingston and Cumbernauld...
(closed 1962, replaced by Airbles) - CarlukeCarlukeThe town of Carluke lies in the heart of the Lanarkshire countryside in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, 5.4 miles northwest of Lanark and 4 miles southeast of Wishaw....
depot (closed in 1976) - Clarkston depot, Airdrie (ex Scottish Omnibuses in 1985, closed by First Glasgow);
- Clydesdale depot, HamiltonHamilton, South LanarkshireHamilton is a town in South Lanarkshire, in the west-central Lowlands of Scotland. It serves as the main administrative centre of the South Lanarkshire council area. It is the fifth-biggest town in Scotland after Paisley, East Kilbride, Livingston and Cumbernauld...
(closed April 1988) - East KilbrideEast KilbrideEast Kilbride is a large suburban town in the South Lanarkshire council area, in the West Central Lowlands of Scotland. Designated as Scotland's first new town in 1947, it forms part of the Greater Glasgow conurbation...
(original small depot replaced by a new depot in 1956, once SBG's most profitable depot, but closed by Kelvin Central Buses in December 1990); - Gavinburn depot, Old Kilpatrick (opened 1936 to replace various small outstations, passed to Kelvin Scottish 1985, closed by Kelvin Central Buses May 1996)
- Harthill depot (closed in 1962 as part of a minor re-organisation of services between Central SMT and Scottish Omnibuses);
- Muirkirk depot (a small outstation of Carluke, closed in the 1970s)
- Traction House, MotherwellMotherwellMotherwell is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, south east of Glasgow. The name "Moderwelt" appears on a map of Lanarkshire made by Timothy Pont some time between 1583 and 1611 and printed in the Netherlands in around 1652, although the settlement was probably little more...
(replaced as depot by neighbouring Airbles in 1962, but retained as head office and central works. Closed by Kelvin Central Buses); - WishawWishawWishaw is a large town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is on the edge of the Clyde Valley, 15 miles south-east of Glasgow....
(closed by Kelvin Central Buses December 1990)
The Fleet
At its formation in 1932, Central SMT inherited a varied collection of vehicles. However, Leyland Motors LtdLeyland Motors Ltd
Leyland Motors Limited was a British vehicle manufacturer of lorries, buses and trolleybuses. It gave its name to the British Leyland Motor Corporation formed when it merged with British Motor Holdings, later to become British Leyland after being nationalised...
quickly became the preferred supplier for new buses. Although there were also some Albions, new buses purchased in the 1930s mainly comprised Leyland Lion, Tiger and Titan models, including a number of secondhand Titans. During World War 2, when Leylands were not available, the fleet received a rare (for Scotland) Bristol K, as well as the ubiquitous utility Guy Arabs and Daimler CWs.
Between the end of the war and the early 1960s, Central overwhelmingly favoured double deckers. Some pre-war Leyland Tigers were rebodied as such in the late '40s (notably including some 3-axle Tiger TS7T chassis which were rebuilt to 2-axle Titan TD4 specification). New Leyland Titans continued to be bought until 1960, but the first Bristol Lodekkas arrived in 1955 and soon became the preferred choice, the last new examples being delivered in 1967. Other double deckers bought in this period were a solitary AEC Regent in 1946, some Guy Arab IIIs in 1951-52, and Albion Lowlanders in 1962-63. The takeover of Laurie of Hamilton brought an assortment of Leyland Titans (including former London Transport RTLs), and a rebodied Guy Arab, but most notable were a pair of early Leyland Atlanteans. These were the first rear-engined double deckers to operate for the Scottish Bus Group.
Central tried various types, of rear engined double deckers, but found that none were to their satisfaction, and double deckers declined as a proportion of the fleet. The Atlanteans were sold in 1969, and a prototype Bristol VRX, operated from 1966, was returned to the manufacturer when a batch of 20 Bristol VRTs arrived, also in 1969. The VRT was not popular in Scottish Bus Group fleets, and all were sold to the National Bus Company in exchange for late-model Lodekkas in the early '70s. A batch of 35 Daimler Fleetlines was delivered in 1971, but these were exchanged for single deck Leyland Leopards from other SBG companies in 1975. However, Ailsa B55s (30 purchased in 1978-79) and Dennis Dominators (51 in 1978-83) eventually found favour. When Central inherited Scottish Omnibuses' Airdrie operations in 1985, the Fleetlines and Leyland Olympians based there were not wanted by Central and were retained by Eastern Scottish. However, the last double deckers purchased by Central were in fact 10 Leyland Olympians, delivered in 1986.
Relatively few single deckers were purchased in the 1940s and '50s. There were Leyland Tigers and Guy Arab IIIs in the late '40s/early '50s, followed by some Guy Arab UFs. The first Leyland Leopards first arrived in 1961, but a milestone was the delivery of the first batch of Leopard PSU3 models in 1964. With 53 seats, a standee Leopard had almost as many seats as an early-postwar double decker, and they quickly became the standard Central SMT bus. By 1983 some 400 Leopards had been purchased new, as well as a number of secondhand examples from within the SBG. After the Leopards, Central standardised on the Leyland Tiger, with 83 buses delivered between 1982 and 1987. There were also 45 Leyland Nationals in 1978-81 and 15 Dennis Dorchesters in 1983-84. Additional Leyland Nationals and some Seddon Pennine VIIs were inherited with Airdrie depot.
A small dedicated coach fleet was maintained intermittently. Between 1955 until 1978 Bedfords with Duple coachwork were bought (along with 5 Albion Vikings in 1966, which were quickly transferred to Highland Omnibuses). The last Bedfords were sold in the early '80s, and for a time there were no coaches. However, in 1984 a secondhand Leyland Tiger coach and a former Western SMT Seddon Pennine VII which had been fitted with a wheelchair lift arrived, and 5 of the Dennis Dorchesters delivered that year were to coach specification. A second Leyland Tiger coach was inherited from Scottish Omnibuses' Airdrie fleet, and some of the Airdrie Seddons also had coach bodywork. Two Volvo B10Ms were acquired from Newton of Dingwall in 1985, and 10 new Tigers coaches were bought in 1986-87.
A few minibuses were operated from the early 1970s onwards. These were successively Bedford VAS, Ford A-series and Leyland Cubs. In 1986-87, a fleet of 31 Dodge S56 were purchased for competitive services in the south of Glasgow.
Even within the Scottish Bus Group, Central had a reputation for conservatism in its vehicle specifications. Examples of this included:
- the specification of cutaway rear entrances on some of the underfloor-engined Guy Arab UFs, when front or central entrances were far more common for such buses;
- the continued purchase of PD1 model Leyland Titans after most other operators had switched to the more advanced PD2, and later of PD2 models when other SBG subsidiaries had gone over to the larger PD3 model;
- the early disposal of successive models of rear-engined double-deckers in the 1960s and '70s;
- continuing to specify manual synchromesh gearboxes on its Leyland Leopards until 1979, by which time automatic gearboxes were the norm across most of the UK bus industry.