The Bygone Era is now back online (10/03/13)! While it has been down for essential maintenance which I’ll mention after this, I’ve taken the opportunity to make some other changes. As I promised earlier, the Independent operators now have their own threads, and we also welcome a new thread from the Tees and District Transport Company, with timetables from December 1990 including those operating under the names of CountyBus and Hoppa.

I have also been working on re-uploading the problematic PDF timetable attachments into unique URL links, which will give faster page load times and improved accessibility. The Independent operators and the Stagecoach/Busways threads have now been completed; and work is underway on the Go North East thread, the Tyne and Wear Timetables thread, and the PTE thread. These should be completed shortly in the coming days but are online now as they are in their current form.

The main reason for the section downtime was to add a watermark to all content generously donated by cbma06. After the recent scare we had with our bus photo collection, we both deemed it necessary to prevent against future theft. All timetable scans and a few other miscellaneous items are now copyright to cbma06, and you’ll now find a discreet copyright mark on all material supplied by him. I do apologise for the length of time the section has been down due to this. I only acquired the watermarking software this week, and combined with a poor internet connection and site issues; this has taken a bit longer than I was hoping to complete.

As before, I'll continue trying to locate further items as and when I get the time. Anyway, I'm just over the moon we're back online, so hope you enjoy having a look around!

Updates for tonight (10/03/13) include a Coaster 1/2 timetable from January 2007 operating the Kibblesworth and Wrekenton extensions from Gateshead. There is also a Crusader 27/27A timetable from January 2008 between South Shields and Newcastle. These can be found in the Go North East thread at - http://northeastbuses.co.uk/forum/showth...hp?tid=145

We also have a Northern and United leaflet from December 1975, with timetables for service 130 between Sunderland and Newcastle, 230 between Sunderland and Hartlepool, 244/245 between Horden and Hartlepool, and 246 between Horden and Sunny Blunts. This timetable leaflet can be found in the Go North East thread linked above (listed at 130), and also in the United section of the Arriva thread at - http://northeastbuses.co.uk/forum/showth...hp?tid=255

Thanks

Unfortunately this evening I have come to realise that I cannot access our online archive and can't view the old timetables. Thankfully it has been confirmed that all files are still "there" in our external server - but the issue seems to be with MyBB itself.

This isn't an area of expertise for me and sadly I cannot give any indication as to when they will be back online. I can confirm that they will all return to the site in some form or another.

The PDF timetable attachments are unaffected and can still be viewed. But these are now confined to the Go North East thread and the Tyne and Wear Area Timetables thread only - due to them being phased out.

I'm really sorry for any inconvenience.

I'm pleased to announce that all timetable links appear to be working now! I was starting to think they'd all need their URL's changing...

I have no idea why they weren't working before, or why they have started working now all by themselves

Anyway - just glad to be back online with them. I'm slowly rolling out The Bygone Era to cover operators from around the UK, starting with Stagecoach. Work will start on this from tomorrow; I was hoping to start earlier this evening but I'm too tired now.

Updates this evening (Friday 15 March 2013)

The following timetables have been added to the their respective threads in the Bus Operators section.

• Redby 42 Sunderland - Hollycarrside - Washington (August 1995)
  
• Redby 43 Sunderland - Castletown - Washington (August 1995)
  
• Redby 49 Ryhope - Castletown - Washington (August 1995)
  

• Safari Travel S94 South Hetton - Houghton-le-Spring (August 1991)
  

• Bleanches Coaches 154 Durham - Seaham (September 1991) >> also attached to Go North East thread
  

• HMB 4 Sunderland - Downhill (November 1997)
  

• Bell Bros, Gardiners, Scarlet Band 220 Durham - Sunderland (August 1991)
  
• Bell Bros, Gardiners, Scarlet Band 222 Durham - Sunderland (August 1991)
  
• Gardiners, Scarlet Band 222 Durham - Sunderland (September 1992)
  

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In the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive thread, we now have online bus station plans from across a range of years for Four Lane Ends, Gateshead Metro Interchange, Heworth Metro Interchange, Eldon Square and Haymarket, Houghton-le-Spring Town Centre, Washington Galleries - as well as supplementary versions of the Sunderland Central Bus Station plans and Town Centre maps with more years now available.

Updates from the last few days (w/b 18 March 2013)

In the Stagecoach and Busways thread, we now have online information given to employees at City Busways, as well as Faretables for City & Newcastle Busways routes from 26 October 1986.

In the Go North East thread, we have a Northern timetable from July 1978 for services 151/152 between Sunderland and Thornley or Easington Lane, and 192/193/194 between Newcastle and Murton, Thornley or Easington Lane.

Copied into both the Arriva and United thread and the Go North East thread, there is a leaflet for service changes taking place on 31 August 1980, affecting X3, 220 and 724, as well as X1, 722 and 723. Timetables are enclosed in the leaflet.

Faretables from December 1975 have been added to the Hartlepool Transport thread - look how cheap the fares were! Faretables from July 1981 have also been added to the new Darlington Transport thread.

In our new Newcastle Corporation Transport thread, we have September 1948 faretables for the local tram and trolly bus routes across Newcastle.

Huge thanks to our member cbma06 for these contributions. They're much appreciated!

An excellent contribution has been added this afternoon courtesy of cbma06.

In the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive thread, we have bus stop plans effective from 26 October 1986 for the following locations:

Byker
Chichester
Four Lane Ends
Gateshead
Haymarket and Eldon Square
Heworth
Jarrow
Marlborough Crescent and Central Station
Newcastle
North Shields
Park Lane (Sunderland)
Regent Centre
South Shields
Sunderland
Wallsend

Updates from this evening (24 March 2013) -

A Scarlet Band timetable from March 2005 for their Saturday-only service X25 between Darlington, Ferryhill, and MetroCentre is now online.

In the Stagecoach and Busways thread, we have 14 Calender Cards from between 1991 and 1994 courtesy of cbma06. Also in this thread are March 2003 timetables for the MetroCentre IKEA Shuttle and X23 between Central Station and Newburn; a Newcastle Bus Guide from September 2003, a Newcastle NightRider leaflet from June 2005, and a QuayLink timetable from January 2006.

A Teesside Bus Guide from April 2003 is now online, as well as a notice for Teesside changes from March 2004.

An update from this evening, 27 March 2013, courtesy from cbma06 -

In the Go North East thread, we have a 2001 timetable for service X97 between Seaburn, Heworth and Newcastle (including secured service 558 during evenings/Sundays). There is also a March 2002 timetable for service X98 between Southwick, Heworth and Newcastle.

A January 2001 timetable can be found for new services 37/37A, which link South Shields, Sunderland and Seaham. In 2000, Go North East extended City Circular services 135/136 to Hollycarrside to replace the circular services 134/138 - though this was very much short-lived; a timetable for this new extension is now online.

We welcome a new thread for St George Travel, and a 1999 timetable can be found for services 179/181 between Concord, Washington Galleries and Chester-le-Street.

In the Durham County Council thread, we have the following bus station and area maps which are correct until October 1986 -

• Bishop Auckland Bus Station
  
• Chester-le-Street
  
• Consett Bus Station
  
• Darlington Bus Station
  
• Durham Bus Station
  
• Murton
  
• Peterlee
  
• Seaham
  
• Seaham Bus Station
  
• Stanley Bus Station
  

Thanks

Updates from this evening, 28 March 2013, courtesy of cbma06

In the Stagecoach / Busways thread, timetable leaflets for the following Sunderland Busways services have been added -

• 2 Farringdon - Sunderland (July 1991)
  
• 2,4,12,104 Downhill - Sunderland - Farringdon - Doxford Park (October 1992)
  
• 3 Gilley Law - Sunderland (May 1989)
  
• 4 Downhill - Sunderland - Farringdon (July 1989)
  
• 5 Hylton Red House Estate - Sunderland (March 1989)
  
• 6 Witherwack - Sunderland (December 1994)
  
• 7 Witherwack - Sunderland (December 1988)
  

The following timetable leaflets have been added to the Go North East thread -

• 33,533 Metro Taxis Heworth - Boldon (February 1991)
  
• 68A,68B,68C Metro Taxis Felling Square (October 1990)
  
• 137,158 Sunderland - Ryhope - Seaham (September 1988)
  
• 179,180 Concord - Chester-le-Street (December 1990)
  
• X7,X8 Stanley or Pelton - Washington (July 1990)
  
• NEW SERVICE X94 Easington Lane - Newcastle (December 1980)
  

In the TWPTE thread, an information leaflet for drivers using the new C.A.V Automatic Drive system can be found, as well as a February 1978 leaflet giving guidance on the introduction of a new bus-lane on North Bridge Street, Sunderland.

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"1878 saw the opening of the first horse tramway in the Tyne and Wear area. One hundred years later in 1978 we are on the verge of Metro introduction"

To celebrate, the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive operated a Centenary service 44 between Newcastle and Gosforth Park through the summer of 1978. Two buses were used - a blue Leyland PD2 built in 1948, and a yellow AEC Regent built in 1950. A timetable leaflet for Centenary service 44 can be found in the TWPTE thread.

A largely Wearside area update from this evening, 2 April 2013, courtesy of cbma06 -

The following timetable leaflets have been added to the Stagecoach / Busways thread -

Sunderland Busways

• 7,107 Downhill - Witherwack - Sunderland - Grangetown (February 1991)
  
• 10,10A,11 Grangetown - Sunderland - Pennywell (June 1995)
  
• 12,13 Sunderland - Doxford Park (July 1993)
  
• 13,14 Helmsdale Road - Sunderland - Docks (August 1988)
  
• 15,16,115,116 Hylton Red House - Sunderland - Hastings Hill (February 1991)
  
• 15,16,21 Sunderland - Grindon - Hastings Hill or Pennywell or Thorney Close (July 1994)
  
• 23,24,25 Thorney Close - Sunderland - Dene Estate or Seaburn Camp or South Bents (August 1994)
  
• 25 Sunderland - South Bents (October 1989)
  
• 26 Sunderland - Seaburn Camp (February 1991)
  
• X12,X13 Sunderland - Doxford Park (October 1992)
  

Stagecoach Busways

• 17 Doxford Park - Sunderland (November 1998)
  
• 17 Sunderland - Royal Hospital (October 1999)
  
• 21 South Bents - Sunderland - Thorney Close (October 1999)
  
• 20,20A,20B Pennywell or South Hylton - Sunderland (August 1990)
  

Favourite

• 8,9 South Hylton - Sunderland (July 1995)
  
• 21,22 Hartlepool - Easington Lane or Durham (September 1990)
  
• 31 Doxford Park - Sunderland (August 1994)
  
• 33 Thornley - Fence Houses - MetroCentre (October 1991)
  
• 47,47A New Brancepeth - Ushaw Moor Estate (March 1991)
  
• 144,145,149 Seaham - New Seaham Circular or Murton (September 1990)
  
• 149 Seaham - Murton (August 1992)
  
• 155 Murton Town Service (August 1991)
  
• 169 South Hetton - Low Moorsley (April 1990)
  
• 169,534 South Hetton - Low Moorsley or Houghton-le-Spring (June 1993)
  

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In the Tyne and Wear Omnibus Company thread, the following timetable leaflets have been added -

• 17 Seaburn - Sunderland (August 1993)
  
• 21 Thorney Close - Sunderland (April 1991)
  
• 25 South Bents - Sunderland - Thorney Close (May 1990)
  

omg yes we have a 21 timetable, ive being looking for this service for ages, it was one of my local buses, y did it ever get withdrawn?

I didn't think it ran at a bus every 15 mins, more every 30 mins, it had good links to, the bus was always full and it was a mini link =D

omg yes we have a 21 timetable, ive being looking for this service for ages, it was one of my local buses, y did it ever get withdrawn?

I'm over the moon too! I actually vaguely remember this service. No idea why it was withdrawn - might have had something to do with the new service 5 which started in 1999, which kind of has a similar route. But the 21 was better for serving more of Thorney Close I reckon

yeh i think it was, it served round the estate, not just the main road, like the 23 does now.

i used to love getting this bus, maybe just because it was a mini link or cause i was a kid

yeh i think it was, it served round the estate, not just the main road, like the 23 does now.

i used to love getting this bus, maybe just because it was a mini link or cause i was a kid

Service 21 was withdrawn to poor usage (Thats what Busways said at the time) even though before it was withdrawn the 21's used to run together following eachover, used to see them together in Grindon. Eventually all the mini routes got axed as Busways wanted to streamline there bus services, didnt help much when the council put all those speed bumps in the roads where the 21 served in Thorney Close, when i lived at the Greenway Nookside and i didnt have my network ticketing pass, i used to get the 21 between Grindon Mill and Central Bus Station rather than the 15 as the 15 cost 66p between Grindon Mill and Town but the 21 only cost 50p from Grindon Mill and town. When the 17 was withdrawn Sunderland-Seaburn Camp, there put a new 17 Sunderland-Chester Road-Hospital-Hylton Road-Sunderland. Then when George Bell Travel started up a 125 bus service Town-Chester Road-Springwell Road-Plains Farm Estate-Gilley Law-Farringdon-Doxford Park Morrisons, Busways put on a service 17 same route, then eventually 17 was taken off and replaced by the revised service 25, the revised service 25 operated between Springwell road and Gilley Law via Thorney Close and not Plains Farm Estate and then later in life became service 5. I wonder if this service would of been put on and still be going if George Bell Travel didnt put on that service 125. alot of if's and but's.

A follow-on from yesterday's update, courtesy of cbma06 -

The following timetable leaflets have been added to the Stagecoach / Busways thread -

Sunderland

Sunderland Busways

• 15,16 Sunderland - Hastings Hill (July 1993)
  

Stagecoach Busways

• 8,8A,9,9A,20,20A Sunderland - South Hylton or Pennywell (December 1998) >> Interesting article relating to these services - http://www.sunderlandecho.com/news/local...-1-1075872
  
  
• 10,10A,10B,11 Grangetown - Sunderland - Pennywell (October 1995)
  
• 18,19 Grindon - Whitburn (October 1999)
  

South Shields

South Shields Busways

• 3,4,5 South Shields - Biddick Hall (January 1995)
  
• 18,18A South Shields - Brockley Whins (November 1994)
  

Economic

• E1,E2,E3 South Shields - Sunderland (February 1992)
  
• E1,E2,E3 South Shields - Sunderland (January 1995)
  

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In the TWPTE thread, July 1983 and May 1984 maps of local routes around Sunderland have been added.

Until the time comes when we're able to increase our server capacity to upload a further 6000+ files, I'm planning on some changes.

In the server, I've unearthed the complete set of timetables from the Go North East thread and the Tyne and Wear Timetables thread, so I can get to work on replacing the last remaining attachments with these URL links instead. This should give the threads a much simpler look.

Threads are currently set up where all the information for each operator is in the first post. While it's nice to keep it all together; in the case of the Go North East thread, I think it can be quite difficult to scroll down to what you want. I'm contemplating splitting the top post into multiple posts with hyperlinks at the top of the thread, which would direct visitors immediately further down the page to where they want to be. I think this would be especially useful in the Go North East thread and the Stagecoach thread.

For the Bygone Era to evolve, I think we need to be offering more than timetables. I want to return to having photos within each thread - and I'm already getting in contact with some Flickr members to see if we can link in appropriate sets and/or having images hosted with their expressed permission. Following a suggestion, I'm very keen to include a company history on each company and I hope that this would be of interest to some visitors. As well as a generic company history, I can see merit in the idea of providing a brief background on each service listed, i.e. "what the service was replaced by, is it still running today? If so what route does it now take?" If this becomes too crowded, could we offer an insight into specific groups of services in towns/cities instead?

In the Go North East, Stagecoach and Redby threads, I've trialled having a logo image at the top of the post to improve the overall look and feel of the thread. I'm quite happy with how these look and I'll be rolling these out to the other threads in due course.

These changes will be gradually on-going over the next few weeks and will also involve some re-organising of content within some threads to improve navigation and appearance. Unlike the overhaul currently undergoing in the Local Bus Scene area of North East Buses which will be unveiled once complete, changes here will be made on an on-going basis. I don't envisage this work causing any disruption to content here within The Bygone Era.

I hope these changes will be positive for The Bygone Era. I believe they're necessary to grow the section and improve the offer for visitors. If you have any suggestions or any other changes you'd like to suggest, drop them in a reply below or PM me! I'm really keen to hear your thoughts

We are in the process of re-publishing our individual timetable scans into PDF booklets. Not only are these easier to read, they take up significantly less room on the server than the part 1, part 2, part 3... etc... scans we currently have; so much in fact that I'm confident we will be able to upload most if not all of our recent contribution of over 6000 individual files. This will keep us going for the time being until a more permanent solution for increasing the capacity of the server can be made.

Regular updates will commence in due course. In the meantime, we have a May 1949 guide to British Rail trains from Durham, Newcastle and Sunderland now online here.

New updates to the Arriva / United thread include full United timetable booklets for the following areas:

• Bishop Auckland (1986)
  
• Bishop Auckland (1987)
  
• Cramlington (1974)
  
• Durham (1987)
  
• Darlington (1986)
  
• Hartlepool (1986)
  
• Hartlepool (1987)
  
• Loftus (1986)
  
• Redcar (1986)
  
• South Middlesbrough (1986)
  
• Stockton, Billingham & North Middlesbrough (1986)
  
• Whitby (1986)
  

There is also a full TMS guide to services across Teesside from October 1993.

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In the Stagecoach / Busways thread, a collection of leaflets for services M39, M40 and M41 have been compiled into one easy-to-read PDF. These services linked Sunderland City Centre and some of its suburbs direct to the MetroCentre.

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The PDF booklets above have been stitched together from individual scans. Although they take up less room on the server than each image individually, the PDF's are still rather large files and it may take a short while for each one to load.

On the topic of the server, there is a lot more new material to come from United, the Busways divisions, and Northern. Northern enthusiasts in particular will be in for a treat. Gems include full colour timetable booklets from Coastline at the time of the introduction of low-floor buses to 325/326, timetable booklets for Wear Buses, OK Travel, Go-Ahead Gateshead, Go-Ahead Northern, and VFM; all in addition to a large number of miscellaneous items such as faretables as well as individual service timetables from the old to the more familiar. The upload of a Northern timetable booklet from 1947 is imminent.

Updates will be posted regularly when new material is published.

was gonna ask if anyone had timetables for the M39/M40 =D

For those waiting in anticipation for an update, I'd like to tell you all that updates are still happening - they're just mainly behind the scenes things like renaming the items on the server, re-uploading etc. I'm sure Brandon will make a few posts and do some updates shortly.

I've held off posting an update until I've been in a position to get the new Northern thread up-and-running without having large gaps in the different posts. I'm pleased to say that this is now complete.

The main bulk of Northern material is now online but there is still a rather lot left to sort and get online so we'll not be short of posting updates for a good while yet. This will include more individual timetables, promotional material, and older Northern timetable booklets.

The main job I've undertaken just recently has been cataloguing the main timetable booklets in the different posts with the services they contain. Services are listed in the order they appear in the PDF file. Many other items have been added, but these are too numerous to list now, so feel free to browse.

All further updates to the Northern thread will be individually noted in this thread as before. Regarding the other operators in the Bygone Era, I'm looking to give a "Northern style" makeover to the Busways and United threads, so that each of the sections in those respective threads are given individual posts. In addition, more material is on the way for these threads too. To de-clutter the Bygone Era, I'm keen on merging the remaining operators into a single thread, with a separate post for each operator.

I do apologise for the time it's taken to sort everything out. As Daniel says, there's been a lot of behind-the-scenes work and liaising to get this right and we're looking forward to bringing a whole lot more coming soon!

An update from the Independents

We welcome a new thread for Welcome Passenger Transport and several Newcastle area timetables have been added.

In the HMB thread, an April 1997 timetable has been added for the goldline / silverline circular service linking Chapel House, Newcastle City Centre and Wallsend.

The OK Travel thread now features three new timetable collections which greatly expands the offering. The first of these consists of a series of timetables from April 1985. The second is a publication of "OK - The Book", which lists OK services across the North East from April 1990. Area maps and a complete fleet list and allocation is contained within. The final collection contains 28 separate timetable leaflets for OK services operating between 1991 and 1994. This PDF is particularly large and may take some time to open.

Together; Welcome, HMB and OK Travel are the first threads to be revamped into a "Northern" style layout. This will be rolled out to all other operators soon.

For those looking for the Tyne & Wear Timetables and Area Maps threads, I've merged these with the existing Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive thread - which keeps all TWPTE / Nexus material in one place.

This is Brandon here with the latest update. Several changes have occurred to The Bygone Era in the last week. The section now moves to its own dedicated area on the Forum home page which improves access.

Recent additions to the Northern thread include timetables for the following routes:

179 Washington – Chester-le-Street (September 1976)
771,772 Consett – Newcastle (September 1976)
705,706,717 Stanley / Quaking Houses – Newcastle (March 1978)
701,702,703,704 Newcastle – Stanley – Chester-le-Street (May 1978)
151,152,192,194,194 Sunderland / Newcastle – Murton / Thornley / Easington Lane (July 1978)
X16 Washington – Durham (April 1976)

We've also launched a dedicated thread for the Tyne and Wear Metro system together with British Rail services. A fantastic addition thanks to AdamY has been a complete 1982/1983 guide to services in the West Northumberland area. This can be found in the Northumberland County Council thread.

I’m taking this opportunity to announce my departure from North East Buses. This existing account of mine has now been re-branded as a "NEB Admin Team" account so all existing posts in the Bygone Era won't need to be re-posted. Tonight I'm relinquishing my access to this account, but Liam and Daniel will both have joint access.

I've been with NEB from nearly the beginning and it's been one hell of a great journey; but one that is now time for me to end. It's for personal reasons why I'm leaving, but it's been approaching for quite some time now. I thank the one and only gtomlinson for credit to this whole sections conception. Nearly a year ago, he asked if anyone had a copy of a timetable for service X72 which once operated from Bishop Auckland to Newcastle. From that point onwards, I've been committed to developing an extensive library of Bygone timetables and bus material from years gone by. Had it not been for you, this would never have existed. So I thank you, and I've thoroughly enjoyed delivering this

At this point, I'd also like to extend my huge gratitude for the material that cbma06 has supplied to NEB over the last several months, which significantly expanded our offering to enthusiasts. It's been my complete and utter pleasure to being able to work with you to deliver this. May I also express how great it's been to work alongside Liam and Daniel in the day-to-day running of the site. An absolutely tremendous amount of hard work has been put in by them to make this site what it is today, and that's not to mention the hours they each put in to bring the Fleet Lists from conception to fruition. Exceptional people.

The future looks bright for the Bygone Era. With the recent expression of interest from dextrovert to digitise his own PTE collection, the section can look forward to hosting some all brand new material which I'm sure will interest enthusiasts across all ages. With regards to the site in general; all I feel for NEB now is respect. The site has been through many ups and downs and one controversy after the next. From sunshine days to the threats of closing down. But that's what sets NEB apart from the rest. Speaking for myself, I wouldn't have had it any other way I feel absolutely privileged to have been a part of this community and I wish it every success for many years to come.

There's some really amazing members here, and brilliant budding photographers in the making. Some members are here today from pre-NEB back when Go North East had a discussion group on their Facebook page, where some lively discussion and debate could always be found. I don't feel Adam gets enough credit for his Adam's Transport Drawn on Paint Facebook page; fabulous drawings on there. And Michael; I think you're one of the most enthusiastic members on here! You really helped NEB in the early days by keeping threads going, and you're still an amazing asset today. I hope you're here to stay

I wish everyone the very best.

Peace.

Brandon

Thank you very much for everything Brandon.

Good luck in all you do in the future

As I said by text yesterday evening (when it would have been too much effort to reply to this thread )- quite the emotional farewell, Brandon!

Your dedication to the Bygone Era is - and has been since it was first founded - outstanding. I have never met someone in my life that is so exceptionally dedicated to one particular thing of interest, and I'm sure most of North East Buses' members could say the same thing. It is because of just that why the Bygone Era has a staggeringly high amount of content which has already been uploaded, with thousands of more documents to come still. If I look at just one thread in the Bygone Era, I can find something which interests me - that is just marvellous.

I often look at you as "the admin of the past" as you are so dedicated to growing the Bygone Era. I look at Liam as "the admin of the future" because he is dedicated to producing the various features we all come up with to give me ("the admin of the present") a job - monitoring/contributing towards all of the features we have about events today. Quite the grand trio, if I do say so myself!

I am still dedicated to my wish of wanting to host timetables from "the big three" from when they start, until they end - following them through every service change, timetable format change and (hopefully) vehicle upgrade throughout the process. This will help in discussion and debate on the "Local Bus Scene" sub-forums, in various topics of conversation which often has a mention of the past. In your absence, I hope to make a start on this. It will obviously be a side project, working alongside my main projects (the maintenance of fleet news/fleet lists). I really do hope to keep in touch with you via text so that we can occasionally discuss the Bygone Era, and we'll hopefully be able to upload some content from before this millennium in addition to the above that I have proposed! I guess I can merge one or two of the aforementioned administrative roles, eh? :p

The Bygone Era's future is bright, and indeed this is the case for North East Buses in general too. With several "fresh faces" on the site's moderation panel, we hope that the every day running of the forum will not be affected massively in your absence (of course you are irreplaceable, so it will be affected a little! ). With every new moderator or administrator to the team has come an abundance of new ideas and things to improve the current site, and I'm sure we'll be acting on those from aureolin and tyresmoke soon. I am delighted to be a part of this community - we are extraordinarily different compared to the rest. We have 223 registered members on this forum, and in any other community, there would be major personality clashes and frequent arguments would occur. That just doesn't happen here on North East Buses; we have a friendly atmosphere with the occasional disagreement and debate, and this should be expected of all communities really. I really wouldn't have it any other way, and I feel privileged to be a part of the community (nevermind administration team) too.
Today will (I best say hope instead - we all know what I'm like :p) mark the commencement of our Fleet News section. Another milestone will be crossed, and hopefully this will encourage more people to join our community and add another personality to the mix. A nav-bar link will be provided later in the day when the first report has been completed. The archive is not yet complete, but hopefully won't be too long after the first report has been completed that it will be done. We're going for a unique approach to all of these new features, delivering a completely new user experience. Anyone ready for one of my beasty update threads later today, requesting feedback? You all know one of those is inevitable!

Each and every person registered on this site is unique in their own way too. From the site's moderation/administration team to the members itself, it is a pleasure to be in a community with you all. To me, it is like a massive family. As cheesy as it sounds, it really is. Okay, maybe we're a "different" sort of family - I highly doubt most families have active debates about Fencehouses, shareholders and Quality Contracts, ey?! Jokes aside - everyone is so enthusiastic and every single person contributes (no matter how irregularly). I really do love NEB, and I see no dark clouds for the future - it can only get better from here.

Brandon, with regards to your departure: I really do hope it is only temporary, as much as I think it will be. Whether registered as "Brandon", "Fred", "Joe" or "Gertroot", as long as we have you back in one form or another, we'll all be happy. In the mean time, I wish you all the best in everything you do in the future - and best of luck to you with regards to having to get the Metro to work from next month as opposed to the 17

I've just seen your post and one thing, I was gutted. You've been a fantastic member of the forum (and I am sure you will continue to after you recover after whatever happened). I've always enjoyed your contribution to the Bygrone Era, especially looking at old routes from North Tyneside and seeing how much they've changed! Your contributions to other
parts of the forum has been great too!

Anyway, I wish you all the best for the future, and I hope you will be back soon!

I thank the one and only gtomlinson for credit to this whole sections conception.

Well I'd like to thank my dog, the wasps nest that was in my loft last week and Mr Jack Daniels for giving me the idea and conception. In many ways I feel I am the most important member of this entire forum and that it would collapse without me. I consider myself the gel that binds the comb-over, the 4th wheel of a Robin Reliant and the 9th side of a Hexagon.

(-: (-;


On a serious note, farewell Brandon and thank you for creating a rather unique archive of material that will serve many people in the future.

Hope to see you back

GT (De Facto Administrator - NEB Buses)
(CEO NEB Buses)
(Head of Alcohol Consumption NEB Forum)

Don't whether you's would be interested but there is a person on eBay selling various timetables from the 70's/80's and 90's in the North East

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/jamieb3137/m.h...1325764498&pt=UK_Collectables_Bus_CoachCollectables_SM&hash=item3a842ed392&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562

Purely from an arty point of view I love that Metrocentre Super Shuttle one