The West Yorkshire
Information Service was founded in 1951 to facilitate the collection and
distribution of information relating to the vehicles and activities of
the West Yorkshire Road Car Company Ltd. This was one of the very first
local enthusiasts' organisations formed for the sole purpose of studying
a single bus company. Good relations were established with the company
at the outset, thus making possible the provision of a comprehensive monthly
news bulletin giving particulars of all stock changes and transfers, together
with operating notes, news of sold vehicles, service changes and other
information.
The West Yorkshire
Road Car Company Ltd itself was based in Harrogate. It started life in
1906 as the Harrogate Road Car Company Ltd, being renamed the Harrogate
& District Road Car Company Ltd in 1924. As a result of the acquisition
of a number of other operators it was further renamed the West Yorkshire
Road Car Company Ltd in late 1927 and from then until 1990 provided bus
and coach services over a wide area of Yorkshire. It had main depots at
Bradford, Harrogate, Keighley, Leeds and York, together with a number of
sub-depots, and for much of its existence operated over 400 buses.
The privatisation
of the National Bus Company in the late 1980s resulted in many changes
taking place to the West Yorkshire company, the principal effect of which
was that it was broken up into smaller companies and the West Yorkshire
name disappeared. The West Yorkshire Information Service continues to cover
those companies that are now operating the former West Yorkshire services
- these being Harrogate and District Travel, Keighley and District Travel,
First in York and Yorkshire Coastliner - and celebrated its Golden Jubilee
in 2001.
A meeting is held in Harrogate
each year at which Mr Giles Fearnley, formerly Chief Executive of Blazefield
Holdings, gives an update of recent and forthcoming developments within
the Group.
The newsletter is
published quarterly, in January, April, July and October in illustrated
A5 format. As well as giving comprehensive coverage of present day operations,
it keeps track of the fate of former West Yorkshire vehicles and
includes archive information about former West Yorkshire operations. Click
here
for details of how to subscribe.
Over the years the
Service has published a number of books; because of their limited print
run most are now out of stock but copies of the latest book are still available
- NOW AT A SPECIAL PRICE. Click here
for details.
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