TheGreat Western Railway road motor services operated from 1903 to 1933 by theGreat Western Railway, both as a feeder to their train services, and as a cheaper alternative to building new railways in rural areas. They were the first successful bus services operated by a British railway company.
Faced with an estimate of £85,000 to build alight railway to serve the area south ofHelston in Cornwall, theGreat Western Railway (GWR) decided to test the market with bus services on the route. They learnt that theLynton and Barnstaple Railway had been forced by local officialdom to cease using the two buses on their pioneering connection toIlfracombe and so the GWR bought them to operate aHelston service. The service proved so popular and profitable that further routes were soon established atPenzance andSlough.
By the end of 1904, 36 buses were in operation, 10 more than were in service inLondon. When the Great Western Railway (Road Transport) Act was passed in 1928 the GWR had the largest railway bus fleet. ThisAct regularised the railway's operation of road services and also paved the way for them to be transferred out of the railway's control to bus companies, although the railway was to be a shareholder in these companies and there would still be an effort to co-ordinate to road and rail services.
The first vehicles were 16 hp Milnes-Daimler single-deck buses. They were soon supplemented by 20 hp, and later, 30 hp vehicles from the same company. Smaller numbers of vehicles were also supplied byDennis,Dürkopp,Straker-Squire, andWolseley, as well as a few Clarkson 20 hpsteam buses. Later buses were obtained fromAEC,Chevrolet,Daimler,Guy,Leyland,Maudslay,Thornycroft, and a few from Burford,Clement-Talbot,Crossley,Ford, Gilford, Graham Dodge,International,Lancia,Morris, Overland BMT andVauxhall.
Buses for busier routes were double-deck, while some had luggage compartments for carrying mail bags. For tourist excursions, vehicles – known as "Jersey Cars" – were open, with seats arranged in tiers so that passengers sitting at the back could see over the heads of those in front. More familiar coach types were introduced later and were used on excursions and long-distance "Land Cruises".
Routes inDevon andCornwall were transferred to the newWestern National Omnibus Company on 1 January 1929, which was half-owned by the Great Western Railway and half by theNational Omnibus and Transport Company. Equivalent services are now operatedFirst South West (in Cornwall) andStagecoach Devon. In 1929 the railway also took 30% of the shares in theDevon General Omnibus and Touring Company, while theSouthern Railway took 20%. At the same time, Western National routes aroundBovey Tracey andMoretonhampstead were transferred to Devon General which has since become Stagecoach Devon.
The first service ran fromHelston toThe Lizard, connecting with trains atHelston railway station. The service commenced on 17 August 1903, a trial run having been made two days earlier. The service was operated by the railway until the formation of Western National. Other services were operated toMullion,Ruan Minor, andPorthleven. AFalmouth toPenzance service via Helston was run from 11 July 1921.
A service from Penzance toMarazion had been introduced on 31 October 1903 and ran until 6 August 1916, running beyond Penzance toNewlyn for the first few months. Another service was introduced on 16 May 1904 toSt Just which was often extended toPendeen andLands End. In 1922 services were introduced from Penzance throughSt Buryan to Lands End and various villages in the area. Two years later a short-lived service ran toSt Ives. In 1925 new services were added from Helston toRedruth,Gweek,St Keverne,Manaccan.
Bus services today at Penzance continue to use a bus station adjacent toPenzance railway station.
A service fromPlymouth toModbury was introduced later in 1904, with several local services from Modbury toAveton Gifford,Yealmpton,Bigbury-on-Sea, andIvybridge. They also ran throughKingsbridge toSalcombe andDartmouth. Further routes from Kingsbridge ran toTotnes,Newton Abbot,Thurlestone andHope Cove.
A Plymouth toRoborough route ran from 12 September 1904 until 6 August 1916. Buses were kept underneath theviaduct upon whichPlymouth Millbay railway station was built.
A service was introduced along the sea front, linkingPaignton withTorquay on 11 July 1904. Another route was established from Paignton toTotnes on 20 April 1905, as well a short-lived one toBrixham, and seasonal tours.
The bus station at Paignton is still oppositePaignton railway station.
Services fromRedruth started on 29 July 1907 with a route toFalmouth. A network was established over the coming years that reached toPortreath,Illogan,St Day,Carharrack,St Keverne, and Helston.
Thecorrugated iron railway bus garage still stands behindRedruth railway station, although no longer used for its original purpose.
The first services fromSt Austell were that toSt Columb Road viaSt Dennis on 3 August 1908 and toBugle andBodmin the following month. Other routes were added toCharlestown,Pentewan (3 August 1908),Newquay (29 May 1910),Truro (1911),Trenarren (1 August 1911),St Blazey,Treviscoe (2 October 1911),Par (1 October 1920),Tywardreath andFowey, alsoPortscatho (9 October 1923),Mevagissey (17 December 1923),Gorran Haven,Roche (9 July 1928).
The bus station at St Austell is still situated outsideSt Austell railway station in what used to be the railway goods yard.
A service ran fromSaltash railway station toCallington from 1 June 1904 to test the market for a proposedlight railway, but continued as a bus service until 30 September 1911.
Moretonhampstead railway station was a focal point for tours onDartmoor, and a regular service toChagford ran from 9 April 1906 until 31 December 1928. Other routes in the area ran fromBovey railway station toNewton Abbot and tourist spots such asWidecombe-in-the-Moor andHaytor.
One of the railway's earliest routes was that fromSlough railway station toBeaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, opened on 1 March 1904. Routes toWindsor followed on 18 July 1904 and toBurnham Beeches on 1 May 1908, extended toTaplow in 1927.
Services fromStroud railway station were introduced on 9 January 1905 to link withsteam rail motor services in the area. Routes linkedStroud withCheltenham. The Stroud area services were transferred to Western National in 1929. There were also services from Cheltenham toBishops Cleeve andWinchcombe, later transferred toBristol Tramways. In 1927 some new routes were started fromPershore. In the following year a long cross-country route from Cheltenham toOxford was started to connect Cheltenham to the London trains at Oxford, more direct than the all-rail route to London. The service was transferred to Bristol Tramways in 1932.
Somesteam buses were tried atHighbridge railway station to work aBurnham-on-Sea toCheddar service during 1905. The following year a number of services were tried that radiated fromBridgwater, but all had been withdrawn by the end of 1911.
Services were run inWeston-super-Mare along the sea front to the Old Pier and Sand Point, and up the hill to Worlebury. Commencing on 8 July 1928, they continued under GWR operation until 19 July 1931 when they were transferred, along with some routes inPortishead, toBristol Tramways, which is nowFirst West of England.
A route fromWolverhampton toBridgnorth was operated for a short while from 7 November 1904 using steam buses, and was restarted the following year with motor buses.Stourbridge was linked withBromsgrove, a town on theMidland Railway, on 13 February 1905.
In the Weymouth area, services started in 1905 jointly with theLondon and South Western Railway. These, the last services operated by the railway, were transferred to theSouthern National company on 1 January 1934.
Other routes could be found atBanbury,Frome,Hungerford,Maidenhead,Marlborough,Newbury,Swindon, andWantage.
Routes were transferred to various local companies, with the railway taking a shareholding to allow it to exert an influence over the bus services, although routes were often transferred over a period of several months following the signing of the agreements on the dates given. Companies involved were the Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Company (Midland Red – 1 January 1930),City of Oxford Motor Services (28 February 1930),Thames Valley Traction (1 January 1931), although some of those at Slough went toLondon General Country Services on 10 April 1932. Routes around Swindon were transferred toBristol Tramways.
Services started fromWrexham on 11 October 1904. Routes radiated from many stations, includingAberavon,Abergavenny,Aberystwyth,Brecon,Cardigan,Carmarthen,Corwen,Neath,Newcastle Emlyn,New Quay,Oswestry, andSt David's.
Services in south and westWales transferred to the newWestern Welsh Omnibus Company on 1 August 1929, which was half-owned by the railway. Services in the north became "Western Transport" from 3 November 1930, which wasamalgamated with theLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway-backedCrosville Motor Services on 1 May 1933. This is nowArriva Buses Wales.
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