SCOTLAND
The Ayrshire Bus Owners’ A1 Service cooperative survived for nearly 70 years from December 1925 until Stagecoach acquired the business in January 1995, with the highfrequency route between Kilmarnock and Ardrossan its principal service. Its members were permitted to operate double-deckers from 1947 and were required to stop using single-deck buses from 1960 until 1976.
Although its fleet colours were blue, cream and maroon, their application varied and the livery covered many different types of vehicles bought new and secondhand. The vehicle that
Ken Cameron photographed at the Ardrossan terminus was one of two 1940 Leyland Titan TD7s with lowbridge 53-seat Leyland bodywork acquired ex-Ribble in 1956 by William Stewart of Saltcoats. RN 8980 had been 2305 in the Ribble fleet and was kept for two years before being withdrawn in November 1958. Behind it is one of 25 ex-London Transport RT-class AEC Regent IIIs with Cravens bodies that A1 members bought when these seven-year-old vehicles became available in 1956. The Stewart family remained A1 members until 1994.
Jamieson, Cullivoe, Yell C41F-seated Van Hool TX11 Alicron CL15 LTL was acquired in August, having previous…
