East Anglian buses : 1970 to 1995

Robert Appleton’s superb images stretch back to 1970, featuring the buses of the Eastern Counties Omnibus Company Ltd and the Eastern National Omnibus Company Ltd.

Both were Tilling companies that had become part of the National Bus Company. Eastern Counties had an extensive network of services radiating from Ipswich in Suffolk, supported by a number of outstations.

Eastern National did not have the same need for outstations, but there were small depots such as Harwich in the north-east corner of Essex.

The National Bus Company years saw the gradual elimination of crew operation and the development of new express services – Eastline by Eastern Counties and Highwayman by Eastern National. Eastern Counties was split up in 1984 with the Cambridgeshire operations passing to Cambus, and the coaching operations to Ambassador Travel.

After deregulation and privatisation, Eastern Counties became part of GRT Bus Group, and Eastern National became part of the Badgerline Group.

In 1995 the GRT Bus Group and Badgerline merged to form First Bus, bringing Eastern Counties and Eastern National back in to common ownership. With a stunning collection of images, nearly all previously unpublished, East Anglian Buses shows all of these changes, as well as the municipal operations in Colchester, Ipswich and Great Yarmouth, as well as several independents that ran stage carriage/local bus services.