Vintage colours make a comeback as First Glasgow helps to mark 125 years of public transport in the city.
They say that a truly classic look never really goes out of fashion, and that’s the case in 2019 as First Glasgow marks the 125th anniversary of public transport in the city by bringing a bit of nostalgia to the company’s bus fleet. The roots of First Glasgow’s present day operation can be traced all the way back to 1894, when the Glasgow Corporation Tramway was introduced that year on 1 July. Glasgow’s public transport operations have had a colourful history over the years, with trams, trolleybuses and the motor buses that have continuously served the streets of the city sporting a number of eye-catching liveries along the way.
To mark ‘Glasgow 125’, First Glasgow is celebrating its heritage by turning back the clock and bringing back three classic liveries as follows:
1960s – Glasgow Corporation livery
1970s – Greater Glasgow PTE livery (GGPTE)
1980s – Strathclyde’s Buses livery
Three double decker buses will be given an external makeover befitting of celebrating Glasgow’s transport history and legacy.
A number of events to mark ‘Glasgow 125’ will be taking place across the city, the biggest of which will take place on 7 July through the Glasgow Vintage Vehicle Trust. An Open Sunday event will be hosted at their bus museum in Bridgeton, which houses over 100 examples of buses from yesteryear in various stages of restoration, many of which proudly served the city streets.
First Glasgow will be lending support to this event by providing vehicles in heritage colours alongside preserved vehicles to operate a shuttle service between the bus museum and the city centre. The shuttle bus will then extend beyond the city centre to their Caledonia Depot, where they will have further examples of vintage vehicles on display that will tell the story of the Glasgow bus from the days of ‘The Corpy’ all the way through to First Glasgow, via Greater Glasgow PTE and Strathclyde’s Buses.
A further display of their brand new and colourful route branded fleet will also be on show as First Glasgow continues to write the next chapter in the evolution of delivering the city’s transport solutions. An internal vehicle tour will also operate within the depot to give everyone the chance to see the largest bus depot in the UK up close.
Andrew Jarvis, Managing Director for First Glasgow said: “We are delighted to be working with the dedicated team of volunteers at the Glasgow Vintage Vehicle Trust to help celebrate our history. Our modern double deckers will sport the colours of yesteryear but brought up to date to suit the lines of the vehicles. We hope people of all ages enjoy seeing them out and about around Glasgow.”
Steven Booth, Trustee and Chairman of the Glasgow Vintage Vehicle Trust said: “The Trust is delighted to be working in conjunction with First Glasgow to celebrate the last 125 years of our transport heritage. We believe this event will let people see the development of bus travel in the city. Our contribution will be a display of historic vehicles and artefacts at Bridgeton Bus Garage. In addition, we will also provide the public with an opportunity to travel on vintage buses as part of the free service being jointly provided with First.
These vehicles have been lovingly restored by their owners and are doing what they were designed to do – provide public transport in style. We are also very pleased to be working closely with First Glasgow on this event and look forward to building and strengthening this relationship into the future.
