24/07/2024
This 176-page A4 glossy book, weighing almost 1kg and including almost 150 never-before-seen colour photographs, mostly from the collection of Les Sims, chronologically covers the trials and tribulations and the highs and lows that the Grimsby-Cleethorpes Joint Transport Committee faced from its introduction of GCT in 1957.
The story continues from October 1986, when GCT became an arms-length company run by the borough councils of Grimsby and Cleethorpes. So successful was the company’s transformation in the aftermath of deregulation that GCT became one of the most profitable municipals and was acquired by Stagecoach in 1993, along with GCT’s managing director Les Warneford.
The book additionally looks at the main changes made to the GCT vehicles and services in the years following its sale to Stagecoach, as well as a brief history of the towns’ operators and road transport types, to set the scene.
Appendices showcase timelines for driver-training vehicles, when each service was converted to OMO, a look at all the vehicles to have worn Peter Sheffield private registrations, a detailed look at all the different liveries and dates when each was applied to every bus and a section looking at the development of the bus network, with brand new cartography showcasing the network in 1957 and again in 1993.
Over 40 pages are devoted to a complete fleet list, showing every motor bus, trolleybus, demonstrator/loan and ancillary vehicle known to have operated with GCT, along with detailed histories for each.
Forword by Les Warneford, GCT’s MD, who rose to become the MD of Stagecoach UK Bus from 2000 until his retirement in 2013.
Costing just £25, the book is available to purchase post-free at
The GCT story has finally been told. This 176-page A4 glossy book looks at the operation of Grimsby-Cleethorpes Transport from its formation in 1957 to its sale to Stagecoach in 1993. Significant appendices show all bus routes, all liveries and repaint dates, a complete list of motorbuses, trolleybu...
