Eastern National Omnibus Company

Eastern National Omnibus Company

Company type	Private (1929–1948), Public (1948–1990)
Industry	Bus transport
Predecessor	National Omnibus & Transport Company
Founded	1929
Fate	Merged into FirstBus, operations rebranded as First Essex
Headquarters	England, United Kingdom
Area served	Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Huntingdonshire, south-east England
Parent	British Transport Commission (1948–1963), Transport Holding Company (1963–1969), National Bus Company (1969–1990), Badgerline (1990–1995)

Eastern National was a bus operator serving south-east England, with a primary focus on Essex, from its inception in 1929 until the 1990s.

Early history

The Eastern National Omnibus Company commenced service in 1929 as a collaborative enterprise involving the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER), the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS), and the National Omnibus & Transport Company. The National began in 1909 under the name National Steam Car Company, initially running steam-powered bus routes within London. It ceased London operations in 1919 when it was renamed the National Omnibus & Transport Company. Subsequently, it expanded beyond London by acquiring bus services from the Great Eastern Railway around Chelmsford in 1913, then extended into Bedfordshire and Gloucestershire in 1919, followed by Somerset in 1920, Dorset in 1921, and finally Devon and Cornwall by 1927. The company continued to develop its presence across Essex, Hertfordshire, and Bedfordshire.

During the 1920s, railway companies established feeder bus networks but encountered legal ambiguities regarding their authority to operate such services. The Road Powers Acts of 1928 clarified that railway companies should not maintain controlling stakes in bus enterprises. As a result, LNER, LMS, and National collaborated to form the Eastern National Omnibus Company on 28 February 1929, consolidating their bus operations within Essex, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, and Huntingdonshire.

In 1931, the Tilling Group acquired majority control of the National Omnibus company. From this point forward, Eastern National functioned as a Tilling subsidiary, although the railway companies retained minority shareholdings until 1948.

Nationalisation

Following the nationalisation of railways in 1948, the Tilling Group divested its bus assets to the government, resulting in Eastern National becoming a publicly owned entity under the British Transport Commission. This transition prompted operational restructuring: by 1952, services operating in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, northern Hertfordshire, and Huntingdonshire were transferred to United Counties, while management of Westcliff Motor Services was integrated into Eastern National.

On 1 January 1963, ownership of Eastern National's assets shifted from the British Transport Commission to the state-run Transport Holding Company, before being transferred again on 1 January 1969 to the National Bus Company.

By 1964, Eastern National operated several express routes linking London and Southend-on-Sea with regional centers including Basildon, Colchester, Braintree, as well as various coastal towns. These services extended into adjacent counties and incorporated ferry connections utilizing Red Funnel steamships.

Privatisation

Amidst the privatisation of the National Bus Company, Eastern National was sold through a management buyout. In 1990, ownership passed to Badgerline, which divided operations into Thamesway Buses serving south Essex and Eastern National covering north Essex.

Eastern National subsequently became part of the June 1995 merger between Badgerline and GRT Group, which created FirstBus. The combined entity unified its regional services under the brand First Essex, enhancing coordination of bus operations throughout Essex.

Depots

Eastern National maintained its vehicle fleet through a network of depots located at various sites:

Brentwood (BD)

The Brentwood depot was a modest facility situated near the High Street along North Road. This location has since been redeveloped and is now occupied by a Sainsbury's supermarket.

Braintree (BE)

Located on Fairfield Road in the centre of Braintree, this depot originally served as the base for Hicks Brothers, a bus company absorbed by Eastern National in 1949. A nearby residence still stands as a reminder of the Hicks era.

Basildon (BN)

Opened in 1961, the Basildon depot was positioned on Cherrydown East close to Basildon railway station, replacing the earlier facilities at Bull Road, Vange.

Chelmsford (CF)

Situated on New Writtle Street, the Chelmsford depot also utilized maintenance facilities at the 1930s-era bus station on Duke Street. Additionally, Chelmsford operated an outstation at Great Dunmow (DW).

Clacton (CN)

Since 1988, the Clacton depot has been based at Telford Road within the Gorse Lane industrial estate. This site was previously occupied by Coastal Red, a rival company later integrated into Eastern National. The move replaced the former Castle Road garage near Clacton’s town centre, which has since been converted into residential flats.

An outstation functioned at Walton-on-the-Naze until May 1996, housed in a small garage on Kino Road accommodating four buses. After its demolition in 1998 to make way for bungalows, the enquiry office building was preserved and repurposed as a gift shop.

Before Walton garage, operations were linked to Warners Iron Foundry on Naze Park Road, historically associated with Silver Queen.

Colchester (CR)

Eastern National’s Colchester garage was located on Queen Street, occupying the site of the former Theatre Royal that was destroyed around 1917. Up until 1973, there was a one-bus outstation at West Mersea, acquired from Primrose Bus Service in 1935. This building remains intact and was transformed into part of a leisure centre in 1979; bus services continue to terminate nearby.

A one-bus outstation also existed until 1969 at Victoria Place in Brightlingsea, which had been obtained through Berry & Sons in 1937.

Canvey Island (CY)

The Canvey (CY) depot ceased operations in April 1978 and has since been converted into a transport museum.

Dovercourt / Harwich (DT)

The depot serving Harwich opened in 1974 at Harwich bus station off Main Road, replacing the former Dovercourt facility located on Kingsway, which is now used as a public library.

Halstead (HD)

During the 1970s, Halstead maintained a fleet allocation ranging from seven to eight buses.

Hadleigh (HH)

Located on London Road west of Hadleigh shopping centre, the Hadleigh garage was previously operated by Westcliff-on-Sea Motor Services before coming under Eastern National control in 1955. Following the closure of Southend’s Prittlewell depot in 1992, Hadleigh expanded its operations.

Maldon (MN)

Maldon functioned as a full depot until 1993 before being downgraded to an outstation. Nearby South Woodham Ferrers (SW) also served as an outstation with a single bus allocation during the late 1980s.

Southend (SD)

The original Southend depot on London Road closed in 1987 and was replaced by a Sainsbury's supermarket. Subsequently, operations were relocated to a new facility in Prittlewell.

Silver End (SE)

Silver End depot became part of the company following ENOC's acquisition of Moore Brothers of Kelvedon in 1963. Although it ceased operations in 1965 and underwent renovation, the depot resumed service in 1974. However, it was permanently shut down on 6 August 1988 as a result of budget reductions. Its routes were reassigned to neighboring depots, operating with decreased frequency.

Walthamstow (WW)

Established to facilitate CityBus services in east London, this depot operated with Ponders End (PD) functioning as an outstation.