NORTHERN: 110 Years Young

It was on this day, one hundred and ten years ago on the Twenty-Ninth of November in Nineteen Hundred and thirteen, that after the Gateshead and District Tramways sought and were denied permission from parliament to extend their existing tramway, proceeded to set up a motorbus operation which resulted in the birth of the Northern General Transport Company. Its routes at the time were as follows:

• Chester-Le-Street and Durham

• Dunston, Swalwell and Scotswood

• Pity me and Finchdale Priory

• Sacriston, Chester-Le-Street and Fencehouses

• Chester-Le-Street and Craghead

• Chester-Le-Street and Pelton Fell

• Heworth and Washington

• Chester-Le-Street and Waldridge

• Heworth, Hebburn on Tyne and Jarrow

Soon after its inception, Northern built their first depot at Picktree Lane, just outside of Chester-Le-Street before expanding its operations and opening depots in Stanley and North Shields in 1914.

1921 saw the building of their purpose-built central works and head offices at 117 Queen Street, which to this day remains the operational heartland of Northern’s successor; Go North East.

Further openings of Northern depots continued in 1924 when Sunderland Park Lane was opened, followed by Consett (Leadgate Road) in 1925 and Murton in 1926 with South Shields opening in 1929.
Today, Northern is known by a different name; Go North East, the name came about due to the breakup of the state-owned National Bus Company, when Chris Moyes OBE DL, Trevor Shears and Martin Ballinger bought Northern in 1987 and renamed the company Go Ahead Northern.

The history of Northern lives on with numerous buses preserved by individuals each one a tribute to its era. Northern National Restoration Group have six ex Norther/Go North East vehicles which have operated for various subsidiaries over the years.

4710 – FTN 710W

Ran from 1981 to 2006 and was new to Northern and based at Philadelphia before joining the training school at Gateshead, Sunderland Road.

4898 – V988 ETN

Ran from 1999 to 2017 and was new to Go-Northern and based at Stanley depot

5217 – NK54 NVN

Ran from 2005 to 2019 and was new to Go Wear Buses and based at Deptford Depot

4681 – UPT 681V

Ran from 1980 to 2006 and was new to Northern and based at Philadelphia before joining the training school at Gateshead, Sunderland Road.

4855 – R855 PRG

Ran from 1998 to 2015 and was new to Go-Northern and based at Chester-le-Street.

3814 – S814 FVK

Ran from 1998 to 2015 and was new to Go-Coastline based out of Percy Main Depot