National Express Services at Skegness in 2000 Below are details of some of the many vehicles which visited Skegness working National Express services. As is illustrated, vehicles come from far and wide with duplicates running at peak demand times. The observations were made at the Coach Park on Richmond Drive, a short distance from the railway and bus stations and well worth a visit for anyone interested in coaches. As well as National Express, on Saturdays several other operators run express services such as Glowbelle (West Bromwich) , Skills (Nottingham & Sheffield), Yorks (Northampton), Gordon's (Rotherham), to name but a few. The following page may take a few minutes to load due to the large number of images. |
| THE NATIONAL EXPRESS
E-GROUP An unofficial Group for anyone interested in the operations of National Express where you may share observations, photos, news, etc. |
National Express Services Summer Saturdays 2000 SKEGNESS Richmond Drive Coach Park
NOTES Service 449 operated daily 22/05 - 24/09 Services 661, 662, 663 & 664 also operated Monday & Friday from 28/04 - 24/07 and 08/09 - 25/09 Service 660 also operated Monday & Friday 18/02 - 14/04 and 28/04 - 24/07 and 08/09 - 30/10 |
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| The coastal express
services to Butlin's are operated on Mondays to Fridays during the off peaks season and on Saturdays during the peak season. On Friday, June 30th, Yardley Travel (of Birmingham) K707 RNR is seen on the 661 run to Birmingham. |
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| Duplicates are often
operated and a variety of operators are employed. Chase Coaches (of Chasetown) PSU 942 operated a duplicate to the Yardley vehicle on the 661 illustrated in the previous photograph. |
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| On the same day, Wisdom
(of Leeds) DAZ 5465 is seen on the 660. The Company's vehicles wear the mott0 "Per aspera ad astra" (aspire to the stars). |
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| TM Travel (of Old
Tapton) are regular visitors on the National Express runs. 1294 RU is seen on June 30th spending its layover at Skegness before working a duplicate 660 to Sheffield. |
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| Vehicles on the coastal
runs in National Express livery are less frequently seen. Go Northern's JCN 822 is seen on the 663 run on June 30th. |
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| Again on June 30th, is
Don Smith's (of Murton, Co. Durham) HIL 5837, which operated a duplicate 660 direct to Leeds. |
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| One local operator
which sees much National Express work is Grayscroft of Mablethorpe. Their XBZ 1675 is seen on June 30th before woirking a duplicate 660 direct to Bradford. |
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| Cosgroves (of Preston)
D765 XFR, seen on June 30th whilst on the 664 run. |
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| Duplicates often bring
a few surprises in terms of operators. One example on June 30th was Jacksons (of Blackpool) N3 JCC which worked a duplicate 662 run. |
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| Go Northern's S979 ABR
with "Go by Coach" logo is seen on July 17th on the 663 run. |
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| Black & White of
Scunthorpe are infrequent visitors to Skegness on National Express runs. On July 17th their Setra BLZ 5449 is seen on a 660 relief working. |
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| Rowell Bova R987 PFT working a duplicate 663 run on July 29th |
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| Aa unusual visitor was
First Wessex P183 NAK in National Expres livery with advertisements for MacDonalds which, on July 29th, worked a duplicate 661. |
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| Yardley
Travel's K707 RNR, a regular on the Birmingham run is seen on the 661 on July 29th |
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| Abbott's of Leeming ALZ 6247 operating the 682 on July 29th |
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| Zak's M665 WCK on the 681 run on July 29th |
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| Viscount
S459 BCE regularly appears on the 449 Mablethorpe to London and is illustrated working the service on July 29th. |
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| Coachleasing
of Osgathorpe, Leics. F963 GUB is seen working the 660 on July 29th. |
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| On
August 5th, J713 FVF is seen on the 660. The vehicle is
actually part of the T.M. Travel fleet. |
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| Chiltern
Queen of Woodcote (Reading) departs for Mablethorpe on the 449 run on August 12th. |
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| De Courcey (Coventry) PSU 606 departs on August 12th on the 681 |
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| B & G Coachs (Chesterfield) after arrival on August 12th on the 662 |
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| Jones
(of Caernarfon) M59 WEB on a duplicate 664 to Manchester on August 12th. |
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| Bennett's TXI 8757 works the 662 on August 12th. |
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| First Wessex R814 HWS returns to Birmingham on the 681 |
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| Viscount
S460 BCE and Grayscroft TJI 1677 await departure to London Victoria on August 19th. |
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| A
somewhat older vehicle on the 681 was TM Travel's YPD
130Y on August 19th before departing north for the final leg of the journey to Mablethorpe. |
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| Jones of
Caernarfon DAY 1T is seen operating a relief 664 to Manchester on August 19th. |
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| Abbott's
(of Blackpool) K617 SBV is seen on August 19th before working a relief 662 direct to Liverpool. |
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| With
little to identify its owner, Yardley Travel's N863 WVP
returns to Birmingham on the 661 on August 19th. |
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| Go
Northern's K3 VOY made regular appearances on the 663 and
is seen on August 19th departing for Newcastle. |
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| D Way
Travel (of Bunghay) after operating a relief 049 London
to Skegness run on August 26th. |
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| TM
Travel VIB 7471 awaits departure on the 682 service on Saturday, August 26th. |
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| MSU 596Y
of Norton's Private Hire, Norton Canes, Staffs., arrives with a duplicate 681 on August 26th. |
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| Two of
Chase Coaches vehicles on August 26th. On the left in PSU 977 on the 662 and next to it, PSU 942 on the 661. |
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| Another
regular on the Skegness runs was Bennett's J918 LEM which is seen on August 26th on the 680 service. |
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| Viscount's R456 FCE working the London bound 449 on September 2nd. |
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| On
September 2nd, Stanley Gath/Glenway of Dewsbury is seen
on a 660 relief run. |
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| The
Welsh origins of this coach are immediately obvious by
the lettering ! Llew Jones (of Rhywgwladol) JIL 5293, operated a relief on the service 680 on September 2nd. Some of the lettering on the side of the coach is illustrated below:
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| Phillips
(of Kidderminster) R680 MWP óperated a relief to the 681
on September 2nd. |
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| Hardings
(of Liverpool) M397 ACK working a duplicate 664 on September 2nd. |
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| A
colourful Dunn Line (of Nottingham) 422 AKN departs on a duplicate service 662 on September 2nd. |
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| An
unusual visitor on September 2nd on the Mablethorpe bound
449 was N582 GBW which had legeal lettering for both Chiltern Queens (of Reading) and Rapsons (of Inverness) as illustrated below:
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| Wisdom
Travel's OHE 279X was the oldest vehicle used on the Skegness National Express runs and is seen on September 9th on the 660 run. |
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| Coaches
actually in National Express livery are in the minority
and a wide variety of liveries can be seen on the many operators doing the seasonal runs. On September 9th, Leons (of Stafford) H912 JVR is seen on the 681 service. |
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| Silverdale
of Nottingham K590 ABV is seen on Spetmebr 9th on the 662 route. |
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| Finally,
on September 9th, Go Northern's K2 VOY is followed by Abbott's (of Leeming) ALZ 6245, both departing north on service 663. |
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