skbusstn

A Bus Station closes

Following the closure of the Drummond Road bus station in Skegness in 1976, the premises on Richmond Drive, opened in 1950, became the town's focal point for Lincolnshire Road Car services. A local newspaper (12.04.50) described the opening: "The New arrival and departure 'bus depot at the Skegness Railway station for the use of Butlin's Campers, was opened on Saturday (April 9th). This innovation will be of great benefit for new arrivals leaving the station and thus relieving congestion there, and are under cover all the way to the 'buses which take them to the camp, a similar process being followed for returning holidaymakers." The site on which it stood was owned by British Rail (later Railtrack) and the land was recently sold for redevelopment to include a new supermarket and a bus station alongside platform 7 of the railway station. For a long time the Richmond Drive bus station had fallen into delapidation and, after over 50 years service was closed after the last service departed on July 16th, 2000. The following photographs aim to record its demise and the subsequent redevelopment of the site.

The Old Bus Station

The following two views illustrate (left) the former bus station in Drummond Road in 1974. It was closed two years later when all services were transferred to the Richmond Drive bus station adjoining the railway station. Prior to this, the construction of the new Travel Office in 1978 is illustrated (right).

JULY 16th, The Final Day

The last ever bus to depart from the bus station was on the evening of Sunday, July 16th, 2000, when Leyland Atlantean / Roe 1325 worked the 2230 service to Vicker's Point at Ingoldmells. The following two pictures show it just before departure whilst the last shows the very last ticket to be issued on the very last service to the very last passenger !