THE SHOWBUS WELSH BUS IMAGE GALLERY
National Welsh
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| National Welsh was a doomed outfit from the day the National Bus Company created it from bits of Western Welsh, Red & White and Rhondda. Bought by its management company on privatisation it was soon in financial difficulty over-competing against the former municipal operators in the Rhondda valleys whilst suffering fierce competition in the valleys from smaller independent operators. They tried to buy up the competition and the pieces of collapsing ex-municipals and over extended themselves. To help balance the books they sold the eastern division to Western Travel, based in Gloucestershire, who renamed their acquisition Red & White and this later became part of Stagecoach when Western Travel was taken over by Souter's expanding operation. The remains finally collapsed with a consortium involving Julian Peddle, Western Travel, British Bus and First running services under the Rhondda Buses banner. This rump eventually was swallowed by Stagecoach South Wales. |
 Red & White Dodge S56/Alexander 278 (E278BRG), ex Northern General, is seen alongside a National Welsh MCW MetroRider, 2114 (F114YWO), in Merthyr Tydfil Bus Station in the afternmath of the collapse of the erstwhile Merthyr Corporation bus operation. The MetroRider had been new to Inter Valley Link, the successor to Rhymney Valley District Council. |
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 Looking in a sorry state, this pair of East Lancs bodied Dodge S56 minibuses were new to Taff-Ely Transport as 38 & 39 with matching D-NDW registrations. The former municipal operation was one of the first casulaities of deregulation. It lost a large number of school and contract services at the outset and suffered competition from local minibuses. The operational fleet was slimmed down to only twenty, mostly minibuses including this pair, but the company was in a dire financial situation. National Welsh moved in, competing heavily and the company collapsed and to the winner the spoils. For a while services operated under the 'Taff-Ely Bustler' fleetname in a bue livery, but, as can be seen with 38 and 39, they were renumbered 344 and 345 and gained National Welsh 'Bustler' yellow minibus livery. Though the buses look expired here they went on to serve with Julian Peddle's Pacer fleet in the Midlands.
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 An earlier minibus generation in NBC days was the ECW bodied Bristol LHS. This LHS6L, 1398 (KWO569X), new as MD8115, is operating on the Village Bus service network in Bridgend.
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 Unlike MD8115, MD1393 (GTX760W) has dual purpose and was delivered in NBC DP livery. Later it was painted in this blue and yellow scheme for the Skyliner service around the Penlocks in Treharris. It virtually retained the livery on sale to PMT who used it on the Cloppenhall Clipper service. They later painted it white in coach livery for their Paramount coaching brand. Joining the LHS in the depot is a yellow driver training Lodekka and Plaxton Paramount bodied Leyland Tiger UC1200 (SDW917Y).
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