Maidstone and District retained it's striped NBc Invictaway coach livery after the break-up and I rather liked it. One thing for an enthusiast that was annoying though was the number of mystery vehicles carrying 'cherished registrations' like Duple bodied Tiger 2191 seen here in London. Actually it started life with Southdown as B815 JPN.
That looks like an Eastern National decker just sneaking into the right-hand side of the photo. I guess it must have been on the 400/402 London - Essex services, a set of routes which like Invictaway are now only history.
ReplyDeleteI do wish I'd taken photos in the late 1980s, the constant changes depressed me and I lost interest in the industry but looking back I wish I'd persevered with the hobby at least until the big three finally swallowed everything up.
Ross you are right it is an Eastern National ECW bodied Olympian coach. My period was the Sixties so it was the Seventies that I hated and I welcomed the easing of the 'NBC Lockdown' as member companies were allowed to innovate try to be themselves again making them more attractive prior to being sold off. The period that followed was truly fascinating with so much to see but of course as time went on after buying everything up the big groups stamped their brand and now we see exactly the same bus in Chester and Chesterfield. It has eased slightly as the big groups have given back the bits they don't want to support but no it will never be the same again and even if it did there would be no variety of buses to enjoy either. Well fortunately I got about the country and took lots of photos and now I can keep busy sharing them with everyone.
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