A little known use for Southend’s coach fleet was on the Saturday only X2, offering two round trips to Maidstone, which Southend’s management thought would be a good leisure/shopping destination. Loadings suggested otherwise! The service lasted from May 1987 to April 1988; 214, XGS770X, a Leopard repowered with a DAF engine by Southend, stands in Maidstone on the last day of operation, April 2nd, 1988.

Photo taken by Richard Delahoy, Saturday 2 April 1988, Maidstone