Salvete Newcastle : Valete Aberdeen

The Western National Omnibus Company was founded in 1929 as a joint venture between the Great Western Railway (GWR) and the National Omnibus & Transport Company. 

The National company had originated in 1909 as the National Steam Car Company, started to run steam bus services in London. 

The London services ceased in 1919, when the company was renamed National Omnibus & Transport Company.

So the gravestone marking the demise of First Bus in Cornwall rightly marks then end of a continuous chain of bus operation in the county lasting just under a century.

fbb is not at all sure that the bus travelling public will miss First as they contemplate the company's recent decline into almost a "we don't care" aura of the past year or so.

So how fitting of author Keith Shayshutt to commission a stone mason to gravely engrave a grave stone and erect it in a typical Cornish setting!

Perhaps not? You can do so much deep fakery with modern technology; but such is Keith's knowledge and enthusiasm for one of the better known bus operations way out west, that you could actually believe he might have done!

So this latest but slimmer volume is something of a tear shedding farewell combining a bit of history, a record of First's last gasp and some glorious and memorable pictures.

The end is aptly summarised in a picture of GoAhead on route 41, a former First Bus number later supplanted by route branding and a special livery.

Until First's failure the 41 was U1.

Keith's book includes a historical summary, some detail on depots and, of notable interest to fbb, an overview of the challenges that First faced as competitors contrived to covet the incumbents business.

There is a fascinating series of maps illustrating the tentacles of poison ivy that clawed at the profitable (and sometimes unprofitable) workings of First Bus.

Here are just four of the maps.

1 : Early Supremacy challenged by Truronian

2 : Western Greyhound begins

3 : Troutman bought by First. Greyhound Expands

4 : Greyhound collapse, First dominates

fbb accepts that these extracts are not easy to follow, but hopes his readers will grasp something if the detail in the book. There are fifteen such maps to enjoy!

Arguably, the biggest blow to First first place in the county was engineered by the county itself! Cornwall really wanted to run all the buses themselves but franchising was not yet legal.

So the totality of tendered work was retendered en bloc, rather than in smaller parcels. That left First with its commercial routes and GoAhead with everything else.

At the same time the county expanded its tendered services dramatically.

First,s response was to expand its commercial work equally dramatically and go for every college contract that was on offer. The commercial work was in the form of open top and specifically tourist routes, sometimes in competition with GoAhead's tenders, sometimes by expanding its existing ccommercial services..

Keith lists these service developments.

Open tops in Newquay and Falmouth were not very successful; the Dartmoor Explorer was weak and quickly reduced, with the Exeter tour being ine mega failure. As Keith reports, the Day Tripper network was also a failure.

The book also lists the approx 130 college journeys operated by First.

But GoAhead was soon into that game, winning college contracts and competing with First's commercial routes.

Probably the biggest blow to First's credibility was the big boss decision to cancel all summer open top routes, always the jewel in the crown of a Cornish holiday.

Keith includes timetables for First's final network flourish.

Although not part of Keith's self-appointed remit, maybe he should have commented that most of GoAhead's replacement commercial services offered  frequency reduction compared with First.

So Cornwall residents are worse off without First.

Good innit.

As usual, Keith's fond farewell is a heady mix of detail and delight and the £19.50 cover price is a small amount to spend to share in the wake!

fbb's favourite short chapter us headed ...

... and takes us io Mousehole harbour ...

... no longer served.

Daft decision!

Also featured is Fowey Safe Harbour Hotel terminus.

fbb has been there and he has no idea how you could possibly turn an FLF in the cramped space available!

Maybe Western Nationally had FLFs that could bend in the middle.

fbb is very glad he was never a WN driver.

The net result of the county's politics, First's dubious management decisions and GoAhead's alleged cheap quote to win the Go Cornwall contract ...

... may well soon lead to Keith's next book; with an fbb title suggestion!

Tomorrow we go to Norfolk.