Historic Tartan Army bus from 1998 World Cup set to return to Scottish roads

The historic Tartan Army bus from the 1998 World Cup in France is set to return to the road.

The famous bus, decked out in tartan paint, and sponsored by the Daily Record, served as a headquarters for Scotland fans as it followed the national team to Paris, Bordeaux and Saint-Etienne.

In scenes repeated this year in Germany, tens of thousands of Scottish fans descended on France to support the team and the Tartan Army bus was a popular sight as they journeyed between cities.

Pictures showed thousands of Scotland fans congregating around the bus in St Etienne, as they made their way to the Stade Geoffroy Guichard for the Morocco game.

The specially fitted Stagecoach bus has since spent the last 26 years in storage, until volunteers at the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum enquired about taking ownership of the vehicle with a view to returning it to the road.

The transport museum at Lathalmond, near Dunfermline, has a collection of 160 buses and offers customers the opportunity to come along for rides on some of their vehicles.

Stagecoach were more than happy to agree and have now transferred ownership to the Bus Museum and work will soon commence on its return to service.

It will keep its famous tartan paintwork and will become a common sight on the roads around West Fife and beyond.

David Heathcote, Chairman of the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum, said: "The Tartan Army bus will be a fantastic addition to our own collection. Everyone loves an open top bus so we’re busy planning to get it back on the road for our visitors to enjoy. We are very grateful for Stagecoach’s assistance with this project.”

Douglas Robertson, Managing Director Stagecoach East Scotland, added: “It is great for us to support the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum and their activities to commemorate the last century of Scotland’s buses. There couldn’t be a better time to donate the Tartan Army bus to the museum and we can’t wait to see it back on the road again.”

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