Royal Blue Days

One of the great names of the British bus and coach industry was Royal Blue, whose vehicles were a familiar sight on the express routes between London and the West Country. For many years, Royal Blue was the name adopted by the Southern National and Western National companies for their express services, but the origins of the name date back to the late nineteenth century when a horse-drawn coach service operated from Bournemouth. The Royal Blue operation grew under the ownership of the Elliott family until it was acquired by the two subsidiaries of the Tilling Group. As part of this group, the company ultimately ended up integrated into the National Bus Company and its individual identity was lost with the creation of NBC’s long-distance coaching arm, National Express.

This book examines the day-to-day operations of the company and how it interlinked with the other operators in the areas that it served, and in particular covers the operator’s express operations in the period up until the mid-1960s.