McGills (Barrhead)

[Buzby]

Sorry if there’s a better sub-forum for this but I can only see a McGills East Scotland (not west!).

I came across an on 35mm fading colour slide of a a red McGills bus (not to be confused with SMT Western which covered trips to Neilson along Barrhead streets). My query is can anyone recall when McGills abandoned red as their livery colour? It was red up until 1964 which is the time of my photo - but of course is different now.

 

[KGGXXXY]

Sorry if there’s a better sub-forum for this but I can only see a McGills East Scotland (not west!).

I came across an on 35mm fading colour slide of a a red McGills bus (not to be confused with SMT Western which covered trips to Neilson along Barrhead streets). My query is can anyone recall when McGills abandoned red as their livery colour? It was red up until 1964 which is the time of my photo - but of course is different now.

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McGill's_Bus_Services

Prehistory and early years (1933-2004)​

The name "McGill's Bus Services" first came into use in 1933. This company was based in Barrhead and was owned by the McGill family. It expanded significantly during the years leading up to bus deregulation, but in July 1997, sold out to the major operator in the area, Clydeside 2000, in the face of significant competition from independent minibus operators. McGill's initially retained its identity, but was later rebranded as Arriva Scotland West. Another company, Greenock based Ashton Coaches (trading as GMS), was also acquired by Clydeside in the same month.

In July 2001, Arriva decided to withdraw from its Inverclyde operations, which were loss-making and was facing significant competition from independent operators. Its Greenock depot was sold to former GMS owner Alex Kean and the Easdale family with each owning 50%. Arriva had retained a separate operating licence for McGill's, and this was used as the basis for the sale.[3] The McGill's Bus Services name was revived by the new company and a new livery of blue, white, and gold was introduced. The fleet initially consisted of 33 Mercedes-Benz minibuses hired from Arriva; services were operated from a large depot on the Easdale Industrial Estate.

 

[GusB]

As this is a query about the "old" McGill's, it's better to keep it separate from the current McGill's discussion.