Mercedes 709D and 811D midibuses, Reeve Burgess bodywork

This page created 6th April 2004, updated 19th December 2005 by Ian Smith. Best on 800*600.

County Bus

901, 912-915, 918/9.

County Bus had been formed at the split of the old London Country North-East in January 1989. It found itself in an intensely competitive environment, and working from three very separate centres: Hertford, Harlow and Grays. Their lease on the Hertford garage was surrendered when Sampsons at Hoddesdon - with an industrial estate garage -was taken over in 1989, and many of the Hertford operations moved there.

County Townlink MB Things began to look up for the company in October, when they won some Essex County Council contracts, including the 505. This route, from Harlow to Walthamstow, had been operated by West's, with dedicated Metroriders. Now County needed some modern vehicles for the contract. Sovereign were buying a batch of Mercedes-Benz 709Ds with Beaver bodies, and County tapped into this, adding two to the end of the order, and persuading Sovereign to release two others. The four (914/5 and 918/9) went new to Harlow, and donned County's cream with dark green with Townlink logos. But County needed more than that for 1990. They persuaded Sovereign to release 901, 912 and 913 in February 1990, for use at Harlow. Five of the batch (901, 912-915) went to Grays at the end of September 1990 to fill a gap on the newly one routes 256 (Harold Hill - Hornchurch) and 346 (Upminster Stn - Upminster Park Estate). This was short term, and in January 1991 County's midibus supply had eased enough to allow these five to go to Sovereign, along with the first four of the next batch (920-923).

MB920-932.

County Thameside MB County placed another order for thirteen more 709Ds for February 1990, for operations at Grays. There they wore the Thameside logos on the basic green and cream. 920-923 went off to Sovereign in January 1991. 924-926 settled in for a longish spell at Grays. 927-932 headed north with contract changes in August 1992, 927-930 going to Hoddesdon and the other two to Harlow.

MB933-938.

Another half-dozen 709Ds, now with bodies with a Plaxton name on them, appeared in November 1991 for more Harlow work.

MB939, 990.

Two more were acquired along the way. 990 was acquired from Biss Brothers in July 1994, and 939 was bought new in 1997.

Arriva East Herts & Essex.

County Bus was eventually subsumed by the Arriva empire, and the surviving MBs found themselves doing much the same duties as before, but in Arriva East Herts & Essex. A couple had spells with Arriva Southend. Disposal was mainly in 1999 and 2000, after relatively brief but hard-working lives.

MD601-612.

County MD Larger 811Ds were bought in November 1991. This dozen were needed for a London tender: the W15 (Hackney Central Stn - Walthamstow Central - Cogan Avenue Estate). For this they were based at County's new base at Edmonton. They stayed with the route, and the garage. The advent of Arriva saw the whole lot - route, vehicles and garage - reorganised into Arriva London North.

Arriva London North MD They gradually donned Arriva red and cream scoop livery. The buses survived until the middle of 2000 when low-floor Darts took over, and were then sold off to Autosort in Liverpool.

Bus Stop Beaver index E. National histories photo refs Sovereign