Reliance NWT496D, Kirton Lane, Thorne, 1978
Blue Line was a long established independent bus operator based in Armthorpe, near Doncaster. The proprietor being a Mr R Wilson, who started the business in the early 1920s.
The company operated a number of bus routes mainly serving the towns and rural villages to the East and North East of Doncaster. The service network connected these communities to Doncaster and to Goole. Some of these bus routes had been acquired in the pre war period, when a couple of local bus operators were bought out by Wilson.
In the late 1940s, Wilson bought out another local bus operator, 'Reliance' of Stainforth. Wilson continued to operate the company under the Reliance name, but ultimately the two companies would share the same livery.
Amongst the varied bus fleets of Blue Line & Reliance, Guy Arab motor buses featured heavily from the 1940s into the 1970s. Some of these were bought new and others second hand.
The last Guy's purchased were a number of Roe bodied Guy Arab V's in the 1960s. One of these was NWT496D, pictured above, which operated for Reliance. New in 1966, the vehicle remained in traffic until late 1978 or early 1979, after which it was cannibalised for parts.
In March 1979, the Blue Line and Reliance operations were taken over by South Yorkshire PTE, the main bus operator in South Yorkshire. The last Guy Arab remaining in traffic at that time was Blue Line 891GWT. However, SYPTE had no intension of operating the outdated Guy Arab, so it was immediately withdrawn and quickly disposed of to scrap, along with other withdrawn buses including NWT496D.
Reliance NWT496D, Kirton Lane, Thorne, 1978
Blue Line was a long established independent bus operator based in Armthorpe, near Doncaster. The proprietor being a Mr R Wilson, who started the business in the early 1920s.
The company operated a number of bus routes mainly serving the towns and rural villages to the East and North East of Doncaster. The service network connected these communities to Doncaster and to Goole. Some of these bus routes had been acquired in the pre war period, when a couple of local bus operators were bought out by Wilson.
In the late 1940s, Wilson bought out another local bus operator, 'Reliance' of Stainforth. Wilson continued to operate the company under the Reliance name, but ultimately the two companies would share the same livery.
Amongst the varied bus fleets of Blue Line & Reliance, Guy Arab motor buses featured heavily from the 1940s into the 1970s. Some of these were bought new and others second hand.
The last Guy's purchased were a number of Roe bodied Guy Arab V's in the 1960s. One of these was NWT496D, pictured above, which operated for Reliance. New in 1966, the vehicle remained in traffic until late 1978 or early 1979, after which it was cannibalised for parts.
In March 1979, the Blue Line and Reliance operations were taken over by South Yorkshire PTE, the main bus operator in South Yorkshire. The last Guy Arab remaining in traffic at that time was Blue Line 891GWT. However, SYPTE had no intension of operating the outdated Guy Arab, so it was immediately withdrawn and quickly disposed of to scrap, along with other withdrawn buses including NWT496D.