Skye Calling : The Skye Transport Company : Portree : John Menzies & Co. Ltd. : Glasgow : nd [1939] : timetables

A substantial guide book issued by the Skye Transport Company of Portree on the Isle of that name in Scotland and that advertises their motor bus services and island tours. It is bolstered by text by a "Mr. Mackinnon" who is referred to in the Foreword by T. Ratcliffe Barnett.

 

As well as photographs there are adverts for local concerns and services. The guide was produced by the Glasgow based John Menzies company who, as well as being major newsagents, were publishers of various guides and handbooks for a variety of clients. The guide is not dated but I have seen it referred to as being issued in 1939; a tourist season that was, of course, to be cut short. This double page shows the Weekdays bus services on the island, including the railway conenctions from Inverness to Kyle, and the five tours the company operated. This includes a picture of one of the bus fleet, No. 15., registered ST 8165, and demonstrating that vehicle size on the island was restricted. The company's office and garage in Wentworth Street, Portree, also acted as a commercial garage and petrol station.

 

The Skye Transport Company had its origins in 1927 and by 1930 the company was a subsidiary of the Inverness based Highland Transport Company who withdrew from Skye in 1935 selling the concern back to the original owners. They sold the concern to the Scottish Cooperative Wholesale Society in 1946 (who also owned Smith's of Barrhead at the time) but business became increasingly scarce; in 1958 they announced they were withdrawing and after some discussion with the Traffic Commissioners the business and bus fleet passed to MacBraynes.

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