Hi,
Alder Valley was my local bus company in the 1980s. I've found a Flickr group with historical photos of Alder Valley services from the 1970s-90s and have a few questions; as it was my local bus company I'm curious about a few things.
- Firstly did Alder Valley in the 1980s ever operate 'low number' routes from 1-99? The 200-299 range was used by the Alton, Hindhead and Guildford depots; 400-499 was used for Aldershot services; 100-199 appeared (this wasn't my area) to be used by services in the Newbury-Reading-Bracknell area, with numbers increasing as you go further east; while 300-399 appeared to be used in the High Wycombe-Maidenhead-Henley area. Were 1-99 ever used in the 80s? I get the impression that NBC companies favoured three-digit routes but curious as to whether Alder Valley (specifically the 1980s pre-deregulation) ever used the low numbers below 100.
I am aware that post-1986, low numbers were used extensively in the Guildford and Aldershot areas, resurrecting old route numbers, but I am thinking more of before that.
- Secondly the photos reveal some routes which had disappeared by 1984 but were in existence in 1978. For example, the 251 to Petworth, from, I would guess, Guildford (the photo shows a '251 Petworth' bus at Chiddingfold). How long did that last? How frequent was it? I presume that some 271 journeys (the 271 was also extant at that time) were numbered 251 and extended beyond Chiddingfold, giving places like Northchapel a regular bus service, something it hasn't had since pre-1984.
- Another photo shows the 211 (Haslemere to Woolmer Hill) passing the pub at Hammer Vale, not part of its route by 1984. Did the 211 extend further west originally? This photo was from 1980, I think.
- Did Alder Valley and Badgerline/Bristol Omnibus ever meet? I'm asking that as Badgerline later on became my local company, in the mid 1990s. I'm guessing it's possible they may have met at Marlborough (maybe Alder Valley ran a Newbury-Marlborough and Badgerline/Bristol a Bath-Marlborough? Certainly by 1993 the latter, if it ever existed, was gone).
Thanks.
Alder Valley was my local bus company in the 1980s. I've found a Flickr group with historical photos of Alder Valley services from the 1970s-90s and have a few questions; as it was my local bus company I'm curious about a few things.
- Firstly did Alder Valley in the 1980s ever operate 'low number' routes from 1-99? The 200-299 range was used by the Alton, Hindhead and Guildford depots; 400-499 was used for Aldershot services; 100-199 appeared (this wasn't my area) to be used by services in the Newbury-Reading-Bracknell area, with numbers increasing as you go further east; while 300-399 appeared to be used in the High Wycombe-Maidenhead-Henley area. Were 1-99 ever used in the 80s? I get the impression that NBC companies favoured three-digit routes but curious as to whether Alder Valley (specifically the 1980s pre-deregulation) ever used the low numbers below 100.
I am aware that post-1986, low numbers were used extensively in the Guildford and Aldershot areas, resurrecting old route numbers, but I am thinking more of before that.
- Secondly the photos reveal some routes which had disappeared by 1984 but were in existence in 1978. For example, the 251 to Petworth, from, I would guess, Guildford (the photo shows a '251 Petworth' bus at Chiddingfold). How long did that last? How frequent was it? I presume that some 271 journeys (the 271 was also extant at that time) were numbered 251 and extended beyond Chiddingfold, giving places like Northchapel a regular bus service, something it hasn't had since pre-1984.
- Another photo shows the 211 (Haslemere to Woolmer Hill) passing the pub at Hammer Vale, not part of its route by 1984. Did the 211 extend further west originally? This photo was from 1980, I think.
- Did Alder Valley and Badgerline/Bristol Omnibus ever meet? I'm asking that as Badgerline later on became my local company, in the mid 1990s. I'm guessing it's possible they may have met at Marlborough (maybe Alder Valley ran a Newbury-Marlborough and Badgerline/Bristol a Bath-Marlborough? Certainly by 1993 the latter, if it ever existed, was gone).
Thanks.
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