Model fleet focus: United Counties

The United Counties Omnibus Company is one of those fleets that although significant in terms of size and area covered doesn't have the same cult following as certain others, such as Southdown or London Transport for instance. UCOC is one of the main themes of my collection and is an operator of great personal interest for three reasons: my home town of Buckingham is served by the company's successors, my father was brought up in Northampton, where the head office was located, and my maternal grandmother spent a short period as a conductress at Stony Stratford garage. Over the years I have collected all known factory releases by the diecast manufacturers, plus a handful of code 3 repaints and kit builds that will feature in a future article, so this piece provides a hopefully definitive guide to what is available. There have been a dozen 1/76 OO models to date, mostly by Exclusive First Editions and in Corgi's Original Omnibus Company range, plus one in N gauge. With one exception they should be fairly easy to obtain and don't command premium prices like some of the cult fleets.

A potted history 

The United Counties Omnibus & Road Transport Company, as it was originally known, was formed in 1921 to take over the operations of the Wellingborough Motor Omnibus Company, founded in 1913. The company's headquarters were initially in Irthlingborough but moved to Northampton in the 1930s, and the Irthlingborough garage was used by Eastern Coach Works for body construction during the Second World War. Leylands were initially preferred and wore a blue, white and red colour scheme, but takeover by the Tilling group saw a change to the group's standard Bristol/ECW combination and green and cream livery.

In 1952, the entire western area of the Eastern National Omnibus Company was transferred to United Counties, doubling the company's size and giving it a substantial presence throughout Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire plus parts of Cambs, Herts and Lincs. The Tilling group was absorbed by the National Bus Company in 1968 and UCOC operations continued largely unchanged until deregulation and privatisation. It was deemed one of those companies that were too large to be sold as a single entity and was split into three with effect from January 1st 1986. UCOC retained the garages in Northamptonshire and at Bedford and Huntingdon, with Luton, Aylesbury and Hitchin passing to the new Luton & District Transport and the Milton Keynes garage at Winterhill, which had replaced Stony Stratford only a few years previously, becoming Milton Keynes City Bus. Both of the latter firms now form part of Arriva the Shires & Essex.

What remained of UCOC was purchased by Stagecoach, becoming one of this then-small group's first English subsidiaries, and after a few years the corporate stripes replaced the green stripy livery adopted at privatisation. In 1996, Stagecoach took over Cambus Holdings, which included the Milton Keynes City Bus operation formed from UCOC a decade earlier, but the Monopolies & Mergers Commission ordered that both Milton Keynes and UCOC's Huntingdon operation had to be sold. Both were purchased by the Status Group, but after a series of further sales within ten years Huntingdon was back in Stagecoach ownership, while Milton Keynes ended up with Arriva.

Increasing regionalisation saw the creation of Stagecoach East and greater integration between UCOC and the neighbouring fleets of Cambus and Viscount in Cambridgeshire and Midland Red (South) in Warwickshire and Oxfordshire. Having been managed from Cambridge for some time, Bedford garage was formally transferred to the Cambus licence in March 2013, and UCOC's existence as an operating company came to a complete end not long after its centenary when the remaining Northants operations at Northampton, Kettering and Corby were absorbed into Midland Red (South) from October 2014. For now the company still exists and holds a licence but no longer operates any vehicles or services, a sad end to a once-proud fleet.    
 

The models

All known code 1 factory diecast models of UCOC vehicles are listed here in order of release date.

704 (WLT 908), AEC Routemaster/Park Royal
EFE 15615, released April 1995

To combat fierce competition in Bedford and Corby, as with several other Stagecoach companies United Counties introduced a fleet of ex-London Routemasters in 1988. Although intended only as a short-term measure, most of Bedford's lasted until 1993 and several were retained for years afterwards as a strategic reserve. 704 was sold to Southend Transport for spares in 1991 but its registration lived on, being carried by several other vehicles over the years. The oldest UCOC diecast, this dates from the time when EFE strangely omitted numberplates from the detail of their models, but I have added these features to my example.

641 (DBD 982), Bristol K/ECW
OOC 40701, released April 1996

The oldest UCOC bus to have been modelled, 641 was a standard lowbridge K-type; unfortunately I don't have the dates it was in service as it predates my PSV Circle fleet history that only covers the years 1953 to 1980. It is highly likely that my grandmother worked on this very vehicle as it was based at Stony Stratford when she was there in the early fifties, but the model represents it when allocated to Bedford. The Bristol K was one of the first OOC castings with which the range was launched in 1994, and apparently scales out at 7ft 9in wide, half way between the 7ft 6in KS and 8ft KSW, so it is neither one thing nor the other.

604 (ARP 604X), Leyland Olympian/ECW
OOC 43009, released August 1998

Twenty early Olympians were received in 1981, some diverted from other NBC fleets in lieu of VRs that had been delivered but transferred unused to Eastern Counties. 612-620 went to Luton & District and 603 was written off in 1990, but the rest survived long enough to be included in Stagecoach's 2003 national renumbering, some having been rebuilt with VR front panels. Corgi's infamously crude early Olympian casting depicts 604 in early 1990s condition when working from Bedford. I have the individual release but this model was also available in a two-piece set (45003, released slightly earlier in April) with the East Kent Van Hool coach 42719. These had added figures of a driver and several passengers; unfortunately they are not properly seated but standing figures amputated at the knees and don't look at all realistic, another nail in the coffin of this disappointing model.

878 (XNV 878S), Bristol VRT/ECW
EFE 20423, released April 2000

As befits an NBC (ex Tilling) fleet, the VR was UCOC's standard double-decker, over 200 being bought new between 1969 and 1981 and later joined by second-hand purchases. 878 was an unremarkable example from the 1978 delivery and is depicted in post-1992 condition operating from Bedford in Stagecoach stripes with advertising for the Coachlinks network; it was sold for scrap in 1998. The silver-on-black front numberplate on the model appears to be an error as all photos I have found of the real bus show a reflective one as expected.

712 (KBD 712D), Bristol Lodekka FS/ECW
OOC OM40805, released October 2002

Lodekka deliveries throughout the sixties were split between FS rear-loaders and forward-entrance FLFs, large numbers of both types being operated. Crew operation ceased in 1981 with the withdrawal of the last FS-types from Luton. Although the rest of the KBD-D vehicles were retained as either tree loppers or training vehicles, 712 went straight into preservation at just 15 years old; it has now been preserved for more than twice as long as it was in service and is still owned by the same group and a familiar sight on the show scene. Sadly this model is let down by Corgi's poor attempt to represent the cream window rubbers by printing them onto the glazing instead of the frames.

19953 (JAH 553D), Bristol Lodekka FLF/ECW
EFE 13916, released April 2005

Cambus Holdings famously retained two of the Lodekkas inherited from Eastern Counties at formation as heritage vehicles. Both were transferred to United Counties at Northampton in 2002 and received the Queen's Golden Jubilee version of the latest Stagecoach livery, but were subsequently repainted in standard colours and became familiar sights at local events. They remain active with Stagecoach but open-top 19952 is back with Cambus and 19953 was transferred to Stagecoach Midlands with the final demise of UCOC in 2014.

252 (ABD 252B), Bristol RELH/ECW
EFE 32207, released July 2010

As a contributor to the Associated Motorways co-operative, UCOC had a substantial network of long-distance coach services in the 1960s, none of which now remain. The first 36-foot coaches to join the fleet were ten of these RELHs in 1964, of which 252 is depicted on the Northampton-Leicester-Nottingham MX5 route; these wore several different liveries but the model shows that adopted shortly after delivery when the cream waistband was extended upward around the windows. Both 252 and its sister 253 survive in preservation, the former having been preserved since withdrawal in 1981 but passed through several owners in that time.

113 (ODL 51), Bedford SB/Duple Vega
EFE 18715, released April 2011

Hardly a typical UCOC vehicle and an odd choice to model, only two of these distinctly non-standard coaches were ever operated; they were purchased when over ten years old from Southern Vectis in late 1967 and served only for a year before sale. They were apparently intended for use on a rail replacement service from Bedford to Cambridge but in practice were mostly used on tour work to free up Bristol MWs for the former duty. This model may be reworked from unsold stock of 18704, the Southern Vectis version released back in 1995, which would provide an explanation for this unusual choice of subject.

525 (SBD 525R), Leyland National
Bachmann/Graham Farish (N gauge) 379-576, released December 2011

Although EFE have had a Leyland National casting in their range for more than twenty years it has surprisingly never yet appeared in UCOC livery. There is this much smaller version though, which I believe to be the only UCOC model not in 1/76 scale. Depicted in post-privatisation green but without stripes, 525 was one of countless standard long Nationals delivered throughout the 1970s; it lasted until 1991 and was subsequently purchased for preservation but eventually scrapped due to its poor condition. Unfortunately for railway modellers, these models are close to American N gauge (1/160 scale) and noticeably small when placed with 1/144 scale British N vehicles.

475 (JBD 993), Bristol LS/ECW
EFE 16324A, released July 2012

The least known and hardest to find of all UCOC models, this was never a general release and was commissioned and sold exclusively by the London Transport Museum. It commemorates the retirement of the A-stock trains from the Metropolitan Line and is depicted on route 359 to Amersham, jointly operated with London Transport and the southernmost point reached by UCOC buses. The real 475 was new in 1954 as a dual-door bus and converted to single-door as modelled after a couple of years; it was withdrawn in 1972 and briefly served as a driver trainer before scrapping. Do not confuse this model with the common non-suffixed 16324, an older general release that (ironically given the saga of 38124 detailed below) is in Durham District livery; why EFE chose to reuse this number with a suffix instead of allocating a completely new one is unclear.

155 (155 BRP), Bristol MW/ECW
B-T Models B206A, released August 2015

UCOC operated the MW in bus, coach and dual-purpose forms and 155 was part of the 1962 batch delivered with DP seats but subsequently rebuilt as buses. It is depicted in the livery in which it was new working an express service to London, although the model is not strictly accurate as it has bus seats, which weren't fitted until much later. As with most of the batch it was withdrawn and scrapped in 1978. Early B-T MWs were a scale six inches too tall but both UCOC versions are based on the corrected moulding and look much better for it.

150 (150 BRP), Bristol MW/ECW
B-T Models B206B, released August 2015

B-T Models generally release their bus models in simultaneous A and B versions, but unlike Corgi who only vary the destination, these represent two different vehicles from the same fleet. The UCOC B version depicts another of the same batch in the livery that was applied from overhaul in 1969 with the cream extended onto the roof, and is on route 365 to Princes Risborough. Unlike 155, this one did see further service after sale, being recorded as ending up on a sugar plantation in Sudan!

756 (UBD 756H), Bristol VRT/ECW
EFE 38124, released November 2015

This wasn't actually intended to be a UCOC model at all, having been announced in Durham District livery. It was then discovered that EFE's reference image was a photoshopped representation of a bus that never existed, so a hasty redesign saw it become United Counties 754 (TBD 754G) on route 265 to Peterborough. It then underwent a further change of identity and was finally released as 756 on route 128 to Cambridge. The real 756 was later transferred from Bedford to Luton and went to Luton & District in the 1986 split, being donated to the local fire station for rescue training three years later.


This article covers what I believe to be all diecast UCOC models ever released to date, which provide a fairly representative selection of this operator's fleet, although there are still some significant omissions. Most notably, no models have ever been done in National Bus Company leaf green, and EFE's Leyland National and Bristol VR would both be ideal to represent this overlooked era. The mainstay of the single-deck fleet prior to the National was the Bristol RELL, operated in large numbers and featured in the EFE range since 1998 but never in UCOC livery. There has never been a Tilling green FLF either (although I have a code 3 modified from another livery) and one of these would make a nice companion to Corgi's contemporary FS.

Looking ahead to the Stagecoach era, there are several further types that could be represented. Although the Plaxton Premieres delivered new were all of the low-height Interurban type, a batch of high-floor ex National Express coaches as modelled by Corgi were used on the X5 (Oxford-Cambridge) service for some years during the 2000s. Optare Solos (also Corgi) have appeared in many different liveries, including standard Stagecoach swoops, green County Connect, orange Corby Star and the Blue Solos in Bedford, and Corby Star colours also featured on a small batch of Scania OmniDekkas of the type modelled by Britbus.

Stagecoach standard types such as the Dennis Trident with ALX400 or President bodies and the Enviro200 and 400 could have been produced by the now-defunct Creative Master Northcord, who never released any UCOC models, and both EFE and Corgi have castings of low-floor Pointer Darts as used in large numbers, especially in Bedford. EFE's Olympian is a much better model and a UCOC version of this (either in Stagecoach stripes or post-privatisation green) would be a welcome improvement over Corgi's dismal effort. Hopefully the future will bring more models as this is a large and significant fleet but has been quite poorly served by the model manufacturers in comparison with others, with just a dozen releases over a 20 year period.

Acknowledgements:

This article was produced with reference to the comprehensive model lists available at the Model Bus Zone website. Information on the company and details of individual vehicles are taken from three principal sources: the booklet produced to celebrate the company's 75th birthday in 1988, the PSV Circle's fleet history 2PE5 (United Counties Part 2, 1953 to 1980), and the Busview software produced by Busdata Computing Services.