Group Owned Vehicles

111 (EJR 111W)

Leyland Atlantean 111 (EJR 111W) was new to Tyne and Wear PTE in 1981 and later passed to Busways in 1986. It worked first at City Busways from Byker then most of its time at Slatyford on Fastline services. It had brief spells on Magicbus and at Sunderland and ended up at Stagecoach Transit from where it was bought by the Treble-one Group in 2004. It is restored in Newcastle Busways livery, with ownership of it passing to Tyneside Heritage Vehicles in June 2021.

Leyland Atlantean 176 (AVK 176V) started its service in 1980 with Tyne & Wear PTE in Newcastle. It was part of a batch of fifty buses and originally wore the number 176. In 1986, with deregulation, it transitioned to Busways Travel Services, changed its livery, and was renumbered 356. Eventually, it was sold to Weardale Motor Services for school routes. In 2008, it entered preservation with the Tyne & Wear Bus Preservation Group (now Tyneside Heritage Vehicles). In 2019, it was transferred to group ownership and restoration to its post-1986 City Busways appearance in 2022.

Leyland Atlantean 290 (UVK 290T) was new in 1978 to Tyne & Wear PTE and was delivered new for service at South Tyneside's South Shields depot. After the process of deregulation and privatisation of the bus companies in 1986, 290's ownership passed to Busways Travel Services, where it remained at Shields and was painted into the South Shields' yellow and blue variation of the company livery. It later passed to Stagecoach in 1994 with the selling of Busways and was withdrawn from service in 1998.

It was acquired for preservation in 1998 and restored to its Tyne & Wear PTE colours which it wore when new under PTE ownership. 290 has been in preservation since 1998 and is part of our group-owned fleet.

1Scania double-decker 413 (JFT 413X) was acquired by Tyne & Wear PTE in 1982 for evaluation from Scania, along with JFT 414X. Both operated from Slatyford on fastline service and post- deregulation in 1986 fell under Busways Travel Services ownership, where they were repainted in Newcastle Busways colours. Later, both buses were bought by R. Bullock of Cheadle where 413 was re-registered as JIL8211. Still with its sister 414, both were later sold to Black Prince Buses in Leeds, with 413 receiving the registration RND882X.

In 2000, 413 was saved for preservation unlike 414 which was sadly scrapped. After a lengthy restoration, it returned to its original Tyne & Wear PTE livery and now part of our group-owned collection.

Between 1975-1977, the Tyne & Wear PTE purchased 140 Scania Metropolitans, a double-decker model built by Scania and MCW. These buses were mainly allocated to Newcastle, serving Byker and Slatyford depots. Most of them originally had central door-exits, but many were converted to single-door use over time. In 1984, bus 769 was one of the Scanias converted to single-door configuration and one we have in our collection. With the deregulation of bus services and the formation of Busways Travel Services, older Metropolitans were retired, and newer Leyland Atlantean and Fleetline buses took over. Some Metropolitans, including 769, received Busways fleet livery, but 769 was later withdrawn from service and placed into storage in 1986. In August of the same year, it was sent for disposal at PVS Barnsley but was saved from scrap and acquired by Gretton Coaches of Peterborough.

It later changed ownership and made its way back to Tyneside for preservation in November 2001. Despite the common issue of Metropolitan buses suffering from corrosion, 769 remained in public service for 14 years before being officially withdrawn in 2001. It has undergone extensive bodywork removal and refurbishment, particularly on its steel structure. It is part of the group-owned collection and actively working on its restoration.

In 1973, Colchester Corporation Transport welcomed 1812 (OWC720M) into its fleet as number 20, part of a series of fifteen Bristol REs acquired between 1972 and 1973. In the late 1980s, Busways Travel Services, after purchasing seven buses from the batch, including OWC720M, assigned it the number 1812 within their fleet. The bus, adorned in the company's yellow and blue colors, commenced service in South Shields, operating across South Tyneside.

In 1989, Busways expanded its holdings by acquiring Tyne & Wear Omnibus Company. As a result, 1812, among other buses, adopted the Omnibus livery in South Shields. However, this identity was short-lived as most of these vehicles were eventually withdrawn, and services were integrated into the Busways and Blue Bus brands. 1812 persevered, transitioning to the South Shields Busways livery and later transferring to Blue Bus Services until its withdrawal in 1997.

Facing impending scrapping in May 1998, 1812 found a new lease on life when it was sold to North East Bus Breakers of Annfield Plain. Fortunately, it was spared from dismantling and preserved instead. Following a succession of owners who kept it in storage, 1812 is now assured a secure future under the ownership of the Tyneside Heritage Vehicle group, continuing its legacy as a preserved piece of transportation history.

© 2023 Tyneside Heritage Vehicles    Company Number: 09163923