A-Z Of National Bus Company Subsidiaries: Eastern Counties

[@adamlee3772]

Very interesting video again thanks. Love how you go back to how the companies started.

[@JakeSCOC]

@@adamlee3772 Thanks Lee

[@TimothyWorel-f8j]

6:49. The VR fell into a hole. Police, Company Officials and the Health and Safety Executive were charged with looking into it.

[@markcf83]

Too funny not to laugh..🤣😂

[@JakeSCOC]

@@TimothyWorel-f8j 😂😂😂

[@craigsibley8161]

Another nice episode of the NBC A-Z series 👍👍👍 Looking forward to the SBG ... In about 2028

[@JakeSCOC]

@@craigsibley8161 Thanks Craig. Hopefully be before that. Maybe summer 2027...

[@craigsibley8161]

@JakeSCOC 👍😆

[@garrymartin6474]

Another holiday favourite , many happy childhood memories riding their buses.

[@JakeSCOC]

@@garrymartin6474 Glad you liked it Garry and it brought back happy memories.

[@crazyleyland5106]

A few more details about Eastern Counties. They were well known for having buses with "Service" on the blind. Either the vehicles didn't have suitable destinations, or drivers didn't wind the blind to find the destination. The company also had a policy of, if a bus got collision damage that went through a panel, they would patch it rather than replace it. (I don't know if 4:45 most other NBC companies did this, but Eastern National didn't normally). This would later set a precedent with large stingy companies, encouraging their "maintenance" staff to be idle and do this rather than replace a panel. To me, scruffy buses encourage the belief of those who wonder about getting out of their car, that buses are a transport of last resort. Nb the management buyout red was a little deeper than NBC red, I don't know how it compared with Tilling. After the GRT takeover, a number of buses were painted in an inverse version of the livery, cream with red and orange markings.

[@JakeSCOC]

@@crazyleyland5106 Thanks for that. Yes a patched up bus isn't a good advert for the company or the skills of its driving staff. We all have prangs occasionally but as long as they're repaired properly.

[@smogmonster1876]

Oooh. Anglia TV. It must be time for Sale of the Century. Very appropriate too. Although if permanent I’ll miss TVS even tho the best was Tyne Tees. 😂 Seriously, great video Jake. Another thoroughly enjoyable well researched video. Happy new year.

[@markcf83]

Live from Norwich, it's the Quiz of the Week.

[@JakeSCOC]

@@smogmonster1876 Thank you. My original plan was to have the regional TV themes for each operating area....

[@smogmonster1876]

@@JakeSCOCHmm. That would’ve been a good idea Might (just might) get to hear Tyne Tees twice then (once for Northern General and once for United Automobile Services. Thanks again Jake for a very interesting video. Bye for now.

[@JakeSCOC]

@smogmonster1876 Bye for now 👋🏻

[@raymondhunt6109]

I started my bus driving career at Eastern Counties in'71 at Saffron Walden outstation after passing my test at Cambridge. Loved driving the Bristol MW's we were usually allocated as we only had a 30 ft lock up garage for 2 buses. We often got LH's they were faster but lethel in the wet. We had an RE or VR on one trip on a Saturday which was a novelty for us I grew to love driving RE 's. Went on work for Reading Transport,Alder Valley and West Yorkshire Road Car

[@JakeSCOC]

@@raymondhunt6109 Nice memories there Ray. Thanks for commenting.

[@briankay4713]

Your treating me this month Jake ....first the 2 part Ailsa ....which was very good ....and now my childhood bus company as i grew up around Cambridge....many a happy day as a bus mad youngster riding around Cambridge, Norwich, Peterborough on Bristols finest REs, LHs, VRs and of course my favourite the wonderful Lodekkas....Eastern Counties had Lodekkas long after most NBC companies got rid of theirs ....and Norwich had a wonderfully large fleet .... Memories

[@JakeSCOC]

@@briankay4713 Glad you're enjoying them Brian.

[@a11csc]

another fine episode Jake.also proving vr's were bombproof

[@JakeSCOC]

@@a11csc Thank you. Yes it's amazing how it survived it's plunge

[@SIMONWINTER-m6d]

@@JakeSCOC Unfortunately didn't survive the scrapman.

[@JakeSCOC]

@SIMONWINTER-m6d That's the sad bit. I felt sorry for it to be honest. Which is probably why I have so many vehicles....

[@AdamSidey]

​@JakeSCOC how many do you own

[@crazyleyland5106]

I'm looking forward to the Eastern National one. My local company.

[@JakeSCOC]

@@crazyleyland5106 Next one up 👍🏻

[@SIMONWINTER-m6d]

Hi jake, from I was 5 to 6 years old 1962/1963 my family and I lived at 113 Hills Road in Cambridge opposite the Eastern Counties bus garage which jutted into the Cambridge botanical gardens.You might think that this made be want to become a bus driver but it merely confirmed it for prior to moving to Cambridge we had lived near Cricklewood Broadway in London and I used to watch the trolleybuses from our living room window.I remember, just before we moved,the trolleybuses being replaced by Routemasters that passed by much faster than the trolleybuses. Also driver training buses would pass by and I remember some of them having a roofbox (originally for the route number) at both ends of the bus.Getting back to the Eastern Counties garage in Cambridge I remember that not only Eastern Counties garaged their buses there but also Eastern National and United Counties. I learned later that there was a connection between all three companies. Three Eastern Counties routes (if I remember correctly) passed our house,or to be correct my Grandmother's house,the 105,the 106 and the 113.Also a Premier Travel route operated by splendid looking blue Leylands passed the house as well.There were two types of older Bristols,one high bridge and one low bridge with the "four together " seats upstairs and of course the Bristol Lodekka. There were also some Bristol single decker around too.Just South of the bus garage is a railway bridge, which if you look to the left you can see Cambridge Station and when I was five if you looked to the right from the bridge you could see(now long gone) a turntable for locomotives. Incidentally my Uncle was the chief engineer on the rebuilt bridge and I remember him showing me pictures of the old bridge rusting badly. So maybe seeing all these buses when I was child inspired me to work for more than 49 years on London's buses.Who am I kidding,it definitely inspired me !! Keep up the good work,I love this channel.

[@JakeSCOC]

@@SIMONWINTER-m6d Hi Simon. Those are amazing memories to have. I think you made a wise move not to become a bus driver. It's one thing looking at it as an enthusiast but working in it is totally different. Thanks for commenting and sharing your memories.

[@SIMONWINTER-m6d]

@@JakeSCOC But I did !! I worked on the buses for more than 49 years !!

[@petermartin7350]

We moved to Cambridge in 1945 and I was fascinated by the folding destination indicators as shown on the bus at 3:25. I never saw anything like this anywhere else: was it unique to Eastern Counties?

[@JakeSCOC]

@@petermartin7350 The tin Bibles. Yes I think it was unique to them.

[@marksinthehouse1968]

“And now from Norwich ,it’s the quiz of the week “,the photo of brand new Olympians for LT reminded me ,the bloke topping up the antifreeze/water one morning I got a blow back covered in anti freeze my white shirt became blue I smelt like I had been on a binge I had to go home and my wife said you been on the (Oliver twist) 😂, Great posting Jake Mark 😊😊

[@JakeSCOC]

@@marksinthehouse1968 Thanks Mark. Yes that blow back is never good. Also you get quiet comments from the passenger's saying they can smell alcohol....

[@marksinthehouse1968]

@@JakeSCOCyou have the TVS ident tune what about southern hehe ,remember out of town 😂blimey Jack Hargreaves’s or HOW I met Fred Dinage when I was dispatching on 9 at CLJ nice man I said to him the voice of the south he laughed 😊

[@JakeSCOC]

@marksinthehouse1968 Fred is an absolute legend. I grew up in the era of Number 73 filmed at Maidstone and Gillingham. Remember that?

[@marksinthehouse1968]

@@JakeSCOC Maidstone was built when TVS won the 1982 franchise round northam Southampton is now gone ,when I was at southwest trains we had a new depot built nearby ,even LWTs impressive south bank studios are being pulled down mmm

[@JakeSCOC]

@marksinthehouse1968 And they call it progress Mark.

[@russellbenton2987]

Fascinating . I never realised United , which I knew from Whitby , Scarborough , Redcar but based in Darlington , originated in East Anglia !

[@JakeSCOC]

@@russellbenton2987 Thanks Russell. It was a huge company at one point.

[@bt542000]

@@JakeSCOC united had all the east coast areas of norfolk up to the scottish borders and across the pennines and all of lancs coast areas, lancs became ribble and cumberland motors, midlands area became east midlands and like you said norfolk became eastern counties and ECW started life as uniteds inhouse bus builder

[@JakeSCOC]

@bt542000 Fascinating stuff.

[@PaddyWV]

Pleased that I spent time in Norwich before the old liveries were swept away. Including a trip to Lowestoft on Bristol! Things didn't look too great ten years ago with a lot of the buses rather scruffy - especially on the Norwich - Yarmouth route, but I expect it takes it out of them!

[@JakeSCOC]

@@PaddyWV I expect it's quite a busy run.

In Scotland we called first bus “worst bus”

[@JakeSCOC]

Love it!

[@davidflett2723]

Poor old Eastern Counties imploded after the takeover by Worst Group and declined to town services in major towns and very little else.

[@JakeSCOC]

@@davidflett2723 Unfortunately it's the same with many major multi national groups.

[@highpath4776]

@@JakeSCOC Excluding any latter use of minibuses, ECOC had a set of decline in mostly its rural services for many years post NBC. Aside from gaining Waveney Borough Council routes (Lowestoft) its operating area didnt change much - and indeed excluding Great Yarmouth and Ipswich didnt really have municipal "competition" - one could argue in many bus companies something like Norwich would have been a local authortity area. When doing a seven years monthly set of time series stats for NBC companies (I suppose, if time had allowed, I should have looked at some PTE stats) , we struggled to find "Typical" bus companies as many had lost chunks of business between 1973 and 1980 , I cannot remember which companies we chose in the end but ECOC was one of them. Typing in employment/unemployment stats , retail price index estimates of car ownership, stage passenger journeys (we didnt really have mileage so we agreegated daily.monthly stage revenue ( I dont think ECOC had much, if any, contract work )) we basically proved the old managers rule of thumb (for many bus companies) for every 10percent real increase in fares a 3percent loss in passenger numbers (and revenue) would occur, showing attrition fairly evenly accross the board. I took into account at the bank holidays in the month (actually the 4weekly return - which of course moved around the calendar - which effectively was much the same as working days in the month . ECOC patronage didnt dip as much as the bank holiday tourist traffice held up well presumably in North Norfolk and the Lowestoft sands areas. I seem to recall from Buses magazine that there was a Postbus operation in part of Norfolk, this may have replaced a ECOC service about 1974 ?

[@crazyleyland5106]

I wish they'd renationalise buses. NBC weren't always brilliant, but a darn sight better than they are now.

[@JakeSCOC]

@crazyleyland5106 unfortunately nowadays, companies are run for the shareholders not the customers. The £2 , and now £3 fare cap shows that subsidised services work and attract bums on seats.

[@crazyleyland5106]

@JakeSCOC I think that the business model of buses should be changed back to providing a public service rather than just a money making machine. Mrs. Thatcher brought in the present day situation over 30 years ago. She hated public transport, but particularly buses.

[@cazharris5581]

Probably a stupid question but why are buses made in two halves, chassis by one company and then bodywork by another?

[@JakeSCOC]

@@cazharris5581 It's a good question. I believe it goes back to the days when chassis could have lorry bodies built on them or bus bodies built on them. The chassis was built differently to the bodywork being built out of metal. The early bus, coach and goods vehicle bodywork was built out of wood and employed different skills.

[@kevanhubbard9673]

I,sadly,never got Eastern Counties under the belt when it was a NBC sub company.I lived in Hunstanton for a bit in 1988 or 89 and use to get their buses from Kings Lynn to Hunstanton and v.v..At that time the impersonal souless Sir ,mustn't forget the ancient title in our modern society!,Muir Lockhead....First:Transforming Travel logo hadn't come along.

[@JakeSCOC]

@@kevanhubbard9673 Wouldn't it be good to have a time machine so we could dash back and experience the NBC in all it's 'glory'?

[@RichardDavey-q5c]

There is not a t in Ipswich

[@JakeSCOC]

@@RichardDavey-q5c Sorry it's my Isle of Wight pronunciation!

[@lucythemoggy1970]

better intro music jake, tho could do with being turned down a bit as when it comes out it is quite loud. just some constructive feedback mate.

[@JakeSCOC]

@@lucythemoggy1970 Thanks. This is the music from Anglia Television . I'll turn it down a tad. My amplifier goes up to 11...

[@lucythemoggy1970]

@@JakeSCOC your a star. look forward to more nbc stuff. have u done western national yet?

[@JakeSCOC]

@lucythemoggy1970 Thanks. No not yet. I'm working through them alphabetically so that's going to be a long way down the list I'm afraid.

[@lucythemoggy1970]

@@JakeSCOC thats cool, summat to look forward to lol

[@SIMONWINTER-m6d]

@@lucythemoggy1970 That loud music is for the benefit of Jake's American viewers in case they are living the American dream.It's to wake them up !!

[@OEMAX10]

With many publications on the history of ECOC together with my forthcoming book on ECOC vehicles. It would be advantage to “fact check” before quoting disinformation! Looking forward to your take on ENOC!

[@JakeSCOC]

@@OEMAX10 What did I get wrong?

[@SIMONWINTER-m6d]

@@JakeSCOC Apparently you'll have to buy his book to find out !!

[@JakeSCOC]

@@SIMONWINTER-m6d 😂😂😂

[@SIMONWINTER-m6d]

@@IN_THIS_DAY_AND_AGE He'd still have your money. You didn't think it through !!

[@SIMONWINTER-m6d]

@@IN_THIS_DAY_AND_AGE So do you already suspect the book may be incorrect and are not prepared to buy it just in case it is or of course you could buy and fact check it !!