Bus UK Central SMT ( Scottish Motor Traction SMT) Pre 1985

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About Bus UK Central SMT ( Scottish Motor Traction SMT) Pre 1985

A little bit of history.

From its head office in Traction House, Motherwell, Central Scottish had an operating area covering the whole of Lanarkshire, bounded by Glasgow to the west, Airdrie to the north, Strathaven to the south and Shotts to the east.

Central was the largest operator in central Scotland and was responsible for local and interurban services in the towns of East Kilbride, Airdrie, Motherwell, Wishaw and Hamilton. Depots were also located in these towns.

Central Scottish also provided coaches for Scottish Citylink work, mainly from Glasgow and central Scotland to other points in Scotland.
History

The Scottish Motor Traction (SMT) Company was originally founded in Edinburgh in 1905, and expanded rapidly. After the First World War, this expansion included the acquisition of bus companies operating in other parts of Scotland. In 1928 SMT was purchased by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) and the London and North Eastern Railway, and became the parent company for railway-owned bus operations in Scotland. Central SMT was a product of this series of acquisitions and mergers.

In 1926 the Glasgow General Omnibus and Motor Services Ltd. was formed. This company, which traded as the 'Glasgow Omnibus Company' (GOC) developed a network of bus services radiating out from Glasgow into Lanarkshire, as well as an isolated group of services along the north bank of the River Clyde to western Dunbartonshire. In 1930, GOC was purchased by the LMS Railway. In the same year, the LMS. also purchased two further major Lanarkshire bus firms, Stewart and McDonald Ltd. of Carluke, and J. W. & R. Torrance Ltd., of Hamilton. Several smaller firms were subsequently purchased and absorbed by these companies.

In 1932, control of the LMS Railway's bus interests in Scotland was vested in the SMT Group. The three Lanarkshire firms were merged into one new company, named the Central S.M.T. Company Ltd. At the same time, the SMT Group purchased the Lanarkshire Traction Company Ltd., of Motherwell. Lanarkshire Traction, which had originally been a tramway operator, became a subsidiary of Central SMT. The head office of both companies was the former Lanarkshire Traction premises at Traction House, Motherwell. Throughout the 1930s, Central purchased and absorbed numerous smaller companies, notable amongst which were Baillie Brothers Ltd. of Dumbarton and Clydebank Motors Ltd. of Clydebank. These two firms were acquired in 1936, which strengthened the company's position in western Dunbartonshire.

Nationalisation of the railways in 1948 made the state the major shareholder in the SMT group of companies, and the group was itself fully nationalised in 1949. At that time, some of the group's smaller subsidiaries were wound up, including Lanarkshire Traction, which was fully absorbed by Central SMT. By this time, Central was firmly established as the dominant bus operator in Lanarkshire and western Dunbartonshire. This dominant position was furthered by the takeover of John Laurie and Company of Hamilton in 1961. During this period, Central was consistently the most profitable company in the Scottish Bus Group. From the late 1970s, the trading name of the company became 'Central Scottish'.

In preparation for deregulation of the British bus industry in 1986, and the eventual break up and privatisation of the group, the Scottish Bus Group restructured its subsidiary companies in 1985. As part of this, Central SMT was renamed Central Scottish Omnibuses Ltd. The Dunbartonshire and north Glasgow operations became part of a new company, Kelvin Scottish Omnibuses Ltd., but Central gained the former Eastern Scottish operations in the Monklands area of Lanarkshire.

On deregulation Central, together with fellow SBG subsidiaries Clydeside Scottish and Kelvin Scottish, launched a revised network of services within the city of Glasgow in direct competition with the city operator, Strathclyde Buses. A high profile, high frequency cross city service, together with a number of minibus services were started, though Strathclyde Buses retaliated by extending their own network deep into Lanarkshire. Whereas Strathclyde Buses services into East Kilbride and beyond proved popular at Central's expense, Central's city services failed to gain popularity and often ran empty.

In the face of growing competition, it was announced that Central Scottish would be merged with Kelvin Scottish in an attempt to make the larger company more attractive to potential buyers. However, the planned merger was deeply unpopular with Central's staff, as flexible rostering agreements, fully in place with Kelvin, had not yet been implemented at Central. This resulted in a disastrous strike in early 1989, and the company's network was paralysed for weeks on end. While Central's buses remained in their depots, Strathclyde Buses and a number of independent operators stepped in and took over much of the company's route network. By summer 1989, the dispute had ended, and in a vain attempt to win back customers, Central embarked on a major rebranding exercise. The Central Scottish trading name and the deep red and cream livery the vehicles wore gave way to a number of new local identities. Vehicles in Airdrie received a dark blue and grey colour scheme branded as Monklands Bus, East Kilbride vehicles gained a dark green and cream livery with EK Chieftain fleetnames, leaving vehicles in the remaining depots gaining a more vibrant red and cream livery, branded as Lanarkshire Bus. The Central Scottish identity was buried with the strike action, and the company was renamed Kelvin Central Buses Ltd in preparation for the merger. However, a significant retrenchment of the company's operations followed.

In July 1989, the merger between the two companies was fully enacted, and Central Scottish ceased trading as an independent concern. Kelvin Central Buses was later privatised by sale to its employees, who later sold the firm to Strathclyde Buses, before it in turn was purchased by Firstgroup plc. The modern successor to Central Scottish and Kelvin Scottish is First Glasgow (No.2) Ltd. However, many of the former Central routes have been surrendered to independent operators. The last remaining former Central garage, Airbles in Motherwell, closed in 2007.
Central SMT and Central Scottish operated from the following depots:

Airbles depot, Motherwell (opened 1962, closed by First Glasgow 2007 when replaced by a new facility in Blantyre);
Burnbank depot, Hamilton (closed 1962, replaced by Airbles
Carluke depot (closed in 1976)
Clarkston depot, Airdrie (ex Scottish Omnibuses in 1985, closed by First Glasgow);
Clydesdale depot, Hamilton (closed 1988)
East Kilbride (original small depot replaced by a new depot in 1956, once SBG's most profitable depot, but closed by Kelvin Central Buses in 1989);
Gavinburn depot, Old Kilpatrick (opened 1936 to replace various small outstations, passed to Kelvin Scottish 1985, closed by First Glasgow)
Harthill depot (closed in 1962 as part of a minor re-organisation of services between Central SMT and Scottish Omnibuses);
Muirkirk depot (a small outstation of Carluke, closed in the 1970s)
Traction House, Motherwell (replaced as depot by neighbouring Airbles in 1962, but retained as head office and central works. Closed by Kelvin Central Buses);
Wishaw (closed by Kelvin Central Buses 1989)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Central SMT Enthusiasts website www.centralsmt.co.uk/