Invictaway
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Invictaway was an express commuter coach service from Kent to London in the 1980s and 1990s, and was also a holding company for the emerging Arriva group. As a legal entity of the Maidstone & District bus company, after the cessation of the Invictaway coach services, the Invictaway company legal lettering persisted as a holding company for the Arriva subsidiaries in Kent, and some London operations. This company was based in the Armstrong Road M&D depot in Maidstone. This ceased in 1997 when the operations were reconstituted as Arriva London and Arriva Southern Counties.
The Invictaway brand was introduced in the early 1980's for the M&D Maidstone and Medway to London routes numbered in the 9XX range, and the Gatwick service 900, along with a black livery[1]. The Invictaway liveries all included the White horse of Kent, as a visual link to the county of Kent, the operating area of the services.
The black livery was applied to Leyland Leopards[2] and Leyland Atlantean double deckers[3]. A 919 coach route between London and Tenterden using dual purpose Layland Leopards had existed since 1979, although this was not branded Invictaway[1].
The Invictaway branding was applied to the exterior and interior of vehicles[4].
The Invictaway livery's base colour was changed to a green based livery, based on the National Bus Company's coach livery, and the Invictaway names were reduced in size[5]. Later, with the privatisation of the NBC, the Invictaway livery was retained, with the NBC chevrons removed[6].
In 1992 the green livery was simplified, with the introduction of some double deck coaches, long wheelbase Leyland Olympians with ECW bodywork, with distinctive sloped top front windows[7]. The forward stripes were removed, and the M&D logo sloped along the leading edge[8]. While the coaches wore Invictaway livery, as part of the M&D fleet, they could occasionaly be seen on other local services when the need arised, and were also used on tours further afield. Some of the last coaches to wear the M&D Invictaway livery were a batch of J registered Plaxton 321 bodied Leyland Tigers[9].
In the summer of 1995, the Invictaway services were rebranded into the Geen Line network. The Kent version of the Green Line livery initially retained a reference to the Invictaway operation with the inclusion of the white horse. This was applied to two Plaxton Paramount 3500 bodied coaches[10] As an Arriva group sister company, this was also applied to some Kentish Bus coaches for Gravesend Green Line services[11], and an M&D Duple Laser bodied Leyland Tiger[12].
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b Southbus.co.uk Maidstone and District istory page
- ^ Image of a black Invictaway Leyland Leopard
- ^ Image of a black Invictaway Leyland Atlantean
- ^ Invictaway interior branding on an ECW coach
- ^ A Leyland Leopard PSU3B/4R with Duple Dominant II Express body in Invictaway NBC green livery
- ^ Image of post BNC Invictaway livery
- ^ Image gallery of the Invictaway ECW Olympians
- ^ Simplified Invictaway livery on a Duple Caribbean bodied Leyland Tiger
- ^ Image gallery of Invictaway Plaxton 321 bodied Leyland Tigers
- ^ Image Gallery of the Maidstone Green Line Volvo B10m's
- ^ Kent branded Green Line coaches
- ^ Duple Laser bodied Kent Green Line coach