- Transport Holding Company
The Transport Holding Company (THC) was a British Government owned company created by the
Transport Act 1962 to administer a range of state-owned transport, travel and engineering companies that were previously managed by theBritish Transport Commission (BTC); it came into existence on1 January ,1963 .Assets
The THC's assets were very varied, reflecting its role as the manager of those investments that did not fit elsewhere in the post-1962 structure of nationalised transport. There were essentially six areas of activity:
* bus companies, some part-owned with the
British Electric Traction Group, later acquired by the THC,
* bus manufacturing companies (Bristol Commercial Vehicles andEastern Coach Works )
* road haulage companies, e.g.British Road Services (BRS) andPickfords
* shipping lines, e.g. the BTC's shares inAssociated Humber Lines and theAtlantic Steam Navigation Company
* travel agents (Thomas Cook and Son , to whichLunn Poly was later added)
* miscellaneous (the BTC's shares in thePenarth Dock Engineering Company )Its demise
With the coming into effect of the
Transport Act 1968 on1 January ,1969 , the THC's road transport and shipping interests passed to the National Bus Company, theNational Freight Corporation and theScottish Transport Group . Its remaining assets were privatised and the company dissolved in the early 1970s.Subsidiary companies
Bus companies - England and Wales
The following companies passed to the THC in
1963 :
*Brighton Hove and District Omnibus Company
*Bristol Omnibus Company
*Crosville Motor Services
*Cumberland Motor Services
*Durham District Services
*Eastern Counties Omnibus Company
*Eastern National Omnibus Company
*Hants & Dorset Motor Services
*Lincolnshire Road Car
*Mansfield District Traction
*Midland General Omnibus Company
*Notts & Derby
*Red and White Services Limited
*Southern National Omnibus Company
*Southern Vectis
*South Midland
*Thames Valley Traction
*Tilling's Transport (THC) Limited
*United Automobile
*United Counties Omnibus Company
*United Welsh Services Limited
*West Yorkshire Road Car
*Western National Omnibus Company
*Wilts and Dorset Motor ServicesThe THC also had a shareholding in the following coach companies (the remaining shares were owned by
British Electric Traction ):
*Black and White Motorways
*Samuelson Transport
*A Timpson and Sons In October
1967 the THC purchased one of the largest remaining independent bus operators:
*West Riding Automobile Company and its 50% subsidiary:
**County Motors (Lepton) Limited anchor|BET buscosIn March
1968 , as theTransport Act 1968 was passing through parliament,British Electric Traction decided to sell its bus operations to the THC:
*Aldershot and District Traction
*Devon General Omnibus and Touring Company and its subsidiary:
**Grey Cars of Torquay
*East Kent Road Car Company
*East Midland Motor Services
*East Yorkshire Motor Services
*Greenslade's Tours
*Hebble Motor Services
*Maidstone & District
*Mexborough and Swinton Traction
*Midland Red and its subsidiary:
**Stratford Blue
*Neath and Cardiff Luxury Coaches
*North Western Road Car
*Northern General Transport and its subsidiaries:
**Gateshead and District Omnibus Company
**Sunderland District Omnibus Company
**Tynemouth and District Transport
**Tyneside Omnibus company
**Wakefield's Motors Limited
*City of Oxford Motor Services
*Potteries Motor Traction
*Rhondda Transport Company
*Ribble Motor Services and its subsidiary:
**Standerwick
*Sheffield United Tours
*South Wales Transport
*Southdown Motor Services
*Trent Motor Traction
*Western Welsh Omnibus Company
*Thomas Bros (Port Talbot) Limited
*Yorkshire Traction
*Yorkshire Woollen District Transport THC already had a minority shareholding in many of the BET companies through shares purchased by the mainline railway companies in
1929 -1930 , which had passed to the state on the nationalisation ofBritish Railways . The acquisition of the BET companies led to the THC gaining 100% of Black and White, County Motors, Samuelson's and Timpson'sBus companies - Scotland
The Scottish companies were known as the
Scottish Bus Group :
*Central SMT
*Highland Omnibuses
*Scottish Motor Traction
*Walter Alexander and Sons (Fife) Limited
*Walter Alexander and Sons (Midland) Limited
*Walter Alexander and Sons (Northern) Limited
*Western SMT Chairmen
* Sir Philip Warter
* Sir Reginald Wilson
* Lewis Whyte
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