Royal Blue Days

One of the great names of the British bus and coach industry was Royal Blue, whose vehicles were a familiar sight on the express routes between London and the West Country. For many years, Royal Blue was the name adopted by the Southern National and Western National companies for their express services, but the origins of the name date back to the late 19th century when a horse drawn coach service linked Bournemouth with the Southampton and Dorchester Railway.The Royal Blue operation grew under the ownership of the Elliott family until it was acquired by the two subsidiaries of the Tilling Group. As part of this group, the company ultimately ended up integrated into the National Bus Company and its individual identity was lost with the creation of NBC's long-distance coaching arm, National Express. This book was originally published in hardback in 2008 by one of Britain's foremost transport publishers and is now available for the first time in paperback.