Northern Counties Motor & Engineering Company

Preserved Lancashire United Transport Northern Counties bodied Daimler Fleetline
Founded	1919
Founder	Henry Lewis
Defunct	2005
Successor	Alexander Dennis
Headquarters	Wigan
Products	Bus and coach bodywork

The Northern Counties Motor & Engineering Company^[1] was a maker of bus and coach bodies.

Northern Counties Motor & Engineering Company was founded in Wigan in 1919 by Henry Lewis. The Lewis family remained owners of the company until it was bought out over seventy years later.

In May 1991, Northern Counties went in administration.^[2] It survived the administration and it carried on making bus and coach bodies.

In May 1995, Northern Counties was bought for £10 million by the Henlys Group,^[3] owner of Plaxton.

In 1999, Northern Counties name was replaced with the Plaxton name, the Northern Counties plant in Wigan still carried on making bus and coach bodies for Plaxton.

In 2000, Henlys and Mayflower Corporation (owners of Alexander and Dennis) joined together, The joint venture was known as TransBus International, and buses used the TransBus name.^[4]

On 31 March 2004, TransBus International went into administration.^[5]

On 21 May 2004, TransBus International was bought by a merchant banker named Noble Grossart, and businessmen David Murray and Brian Souter.^[6] the Transbus International name was replaced with Alexander Dennis.

On 26 January 2005, the Northern Counties plant in Wigan was closed after it finished making the Plaxton President bodies.^[7]

• Palatine (double-decker)
• Paladin (single-decker)
• Prestige (low-floor single-decker)
• President (low-floor double-decker)

• 
  Potteries Motor Traction Foden NC with Northern Counties bodywork
• 
  Keighley & District Leyland Olympian with Northern Counties Palatine bodywork
• 
  Stagecoach in Newcastle Volvo B10M with Paladin bodywork in May 2009
• 
  Arriva North West Volvo Olympian with Northern Counties Palatine II bodywork in February 2013

• Ogden, Eric; (1976). Northern Counties of Wigan. The Transport Publishing Company. ISBN 0-903839-10-5.
• Booth, Gavin (1983). The British Bus Today and Tomorrow. Ian Allan Ltd. ISBN 0-7110-1296-2
• Townsin, Alan (1985). The British Bus Story - The 'Sixties - Turbulent Times. The Transport Publishing Company. ISBN 0-86317-118-4

• Media related to Northern Counties Motor & Engineering Company at Wikimedia Commons
• A very useful listing of all bodies built from 1956 to 2005
• Detailed history of the development of the SELNEC standard