More Going Ahead ...

 ... In Slough (Part 1)

Carousel Buses has always had a reputation for smart liveries, tidy branding and a logo that more than hinted at its London Country predecessor.

The independent Carousel was bought by GoAhead, but, as usual with that group, the original identity and style has been retained. There is not a hint of the national branding by Stagecoach and First in the corporate minds of GoAhead!

Thankfully!

As fbb was meandering casually through the wondrous world of the interwebnet he spotted this:-

Two things struck the old bloke with immediate effect. Firstly. that seems a very odd route number which has little or no affinity for any other Carousel route number and, secondly, surely somebody already runs buses between Slough and Uxbridge.

Here is a map for those whose knowledge of the greater Greater London area is even worse than fbb's.

The original 458 stuck to the LIGHT BROWN B470 and was later diverted via Iver Heath and the RED A4007 as revealed below.

The furthest that fbb can go back, lacking a Dr Who time travelling contrivance, is to a London Transport Country (green) bus route map.

The fbb screenshot is a bit over-enlarged, but with a squint and a peer you can make out ...

.. that a 457, 457A and a 458 ran between Slough and Uxbridge. fbb has even found a timetable to support his investigations.

The old 458 ran every 30 minutes cross-town from Cippenham, then on from Slough via Langley, Shreding Green, Iver and Iver Heath to Uxbridge. The old map shows the 457s as via Iver Heath not 458s, so doubtless some rationalisation had occurred between map and timetable extract.

And here is a bus doing it!

By the time privatisation had settled down post 1986, the route has been numbered 58 and is in the hands of BeeLine, The Berks Bucks Bus company, formerly Thames Valley and not to be confused with some upstart in Manchester!

Bee Line was bought by First Bus; and below we see an early example of First's dedication to route branding ...

... with an Airport 74, 75 and 76 branded bus on its way from Uxbridge to Cippenham and going nowhere near any airport.

Soon First's Barbie Livery became ubiquitous ...

... later followed by the even more wishy washy son of (or maybe daughter of) Barbie.

There were some early examples of route branding on Barbie vehicles ...

... followed by some generic "Berkshire" scheme.

A masssive PR exercise on the routes between Slough and Heathrow ...

... accompanied new vehicles as the "7" brand. 

In a rush of blood to the head some town services were awarded colour coding.

... but this degerated into a resurrection of the Bee Line name.

And, in typical First Bus fashion, we see a Bee Line bus operating in Glasgow!

As yet, there are no pictures on-line of First's appalling corporate livery!

Thankfully!

So it would appear that Carousels nostalgically numbered 458 is offering strong competition with First's former 58, now numbered ...

... as First Bus route 3.

Carousel's 458 appears to follow the same route.

Or do they?

More tomorrow.

Puzzle Picture

This is the crude but effective way Glasgow "Subway" trains were once removed from the circling tracks for maintenance and to adjust the frequency.

On London's Waterloo and City Underground line, there is an underground depot at Waterloo. 

But to get replacement trains into the system or remove them for heavy maintenance, a crane has to be hired.

More on the Glasgow Underground depot later in the week.

 Next Going Ahead blog : Tues 6 Jan 

Sunday Variety

The Search Begins

fbb, you may choose to remember, has expanded the scope of his world famous (?) tank wagon collection by adding examples of yellow Shell tank wagons from other furrin parts. The above is a Pre WW2 model by Trix and versions are available on line. They are not drastically expensive, but the post and packing can almost double the cost.

That is a bit too much for fbb's relatively shallow OAP pocket!

If any of our readers, UK or world wide, ever spots one, please get in touch via fbb@xephos.com

Italian Invasion Imminent?

Every one imaginable wants to run trains through the Channel Tunnel. Deutsche Bahn began the trend by parking one of their trains at St Pancras ...

... c/w a fake destination sign!

Tricky Dickie wants to join the fun; and now ...

... Italians State Railways are on the Chunnel trail ...

... sometime next year???

All operators have the problem of getting trains that are compatible with the huge variety of systems in use across Europe. That's what caused Deutsche Bahn to retreat.

No Surprise Here!

The idea of a National Grid is that electric can be whizzed all over the country to bolster supply when there is heavy demand. This tends to be a failure as the UK is a small country. So when it's cold in Glasgow, it is likely to be cold in Seaton. Getting a system that is snappy enough to do the switching quickly and for short periods is technically tricky and expensive to install.

So fbb, cynic that he is, is waiting for Power Cuts when the juice sucking AI data warehouses come on stream to confuse us all with Artificial  Incompetence.

So when the old bloke saw this headline ...

... he leapt nearly a quarter of an inch off his armchair and whooped in delight - silently so as not to disturb the cat.

Then he read the article. It's in Nigeria.

But, any time now!

STOP PRESS

Too late to re-arrange the page, fbb has just realised that he posted this item last week. As it is somewhat prophetic, maybe his readers would do to wonder when the same headline will apply to the UK. It won't be long!

Sense At Last!

For the last few years Local Authorities have been introducing "Demand Responsive" bus services financed, not by fare paying passengers, but by you and me, the hard-pressed and un-asked tax payer.

It appears that the huge level of subsidy to cover the huge level of costs to run these fo a very small number of passengers is now being recognised as a waste of money.

Yes, that IS a surprise!

Another Surprise

The often ignorant writers of these news snippets can imagine some terrestrial anomalies in promoting their dotty ideas.

The point is that the longest daytime train of old no longer runs ...

... leaving the Sleeper to Inverness to replace it with a substantially inferior journey length, But the author of the piece knows something that fbb doesn't

Is the train fitted with extremely powerful on-board floodlights to illumine the scenery? If not the view os something like this ...

... from the Playschool-style square window far left in the above cabin p[picture.

It's night time, innit? It's dark, innit? You cannot see much of the spectacular views innit?

fbb has sleepered from London to inverness but that was later in the year. If you wake up early there is some great scenery as you get much further north. But, at this time of year ...

... you will not see much, innit?

But you could take a daytime train from London Kings Cross to Inverness, same distance but achieved in a much quicker time and with views (some even spectacular) all the way!

Daytime is generally a lot cheaper!

fbb recommends LNER class 800 bi-mode Azuma stock, seen here at Inverness ...

... and below, en route.

Amazingly, ou do get better view during the daytime!

And it is NOT 500 miles but 581 miles! (That's nearly 600).

What a privilege it is to have the accuracy of Internet news items!

Yet Another MP ...

... reckons his mission is to "improve the buses".

All the best mate. 

You do realise, Mr Fox, that almost all your buses are run as a business and you have no control or authority over them at all. Neither does the Council unless it wants to take them over and run them itself It is called "The Economics of the Market"!

Coming To A Nearby Railway

More to follow in due course!

And A Puzzle Picture?

What is happening here; and where else in the UK is a similar activity necessary?

Answer tomorrow.

 Next Thames Valley blog : Monday 5th Jan 

Lugg Hole : Lugg Valley : Lugg Minster (3)

Problem Solved - Or Is It?

Yeomans has been around for ages running buses and tours ...

... with a tour brochure offered on-line today.

Yeomans has the same squiggles on its publicity and the same livery on its vehicles ...

... but once trading at Yeomans Canyon. 

Herefordshire bus experts would know about the Canyon name but fbb cannot find out its history. 

Like Lugg valley there was a stripey version of the paint scheme ...

... now supplanted by those squiggles!

But you would have to be very naive indeed not to realise that Lugg Valley and Yeomans are under the same management structure; as confirmed by yesterdays list of directorships held by Mr Nigel -

- whatever he actually looks like!

fbb can confirm that every one of those delightfully colour coded bus routes formerly operated by Lugg Valley ...

... is now operated by a totally separate and unconnected company called, erm ...

... Yeomans!

And there is no change in any of the timetables. The only change is that the buses will (eventually?) have Yeomans on the side and not Lugg Valley!

Concerns have been raised that a bus company is continuing to run services in Herefordshire while a linked firm is to be banned over safety concerns.

But, legally, the two firms are, indeed completely separate entities and are treated as such by the Law, by the VOSA and by the Traffic Commissioners.

Yeomans Travel operates about 40 public services, including school-only runs in the county.

The Hereford firm has the same sole director as Lugg Valley Travel, which was told it could not put on services for four years following an inquiry into the safety of its fleet.

A Yeomans spokesman said the sanctions were "nothing to do with this company".

Which is, technically true, although it does seem daft!

The VOSA inquiry told director Nigel Yeomans he would be banned from holding an operators licence from December 31.

It seems that the ban only applies to Lugg Valley - but even if it were a universal ban, a new "O" Licence holder could take over at Yeomans with no change to its expanded operation.

Jago Frost, from local pressure group Rail & Bus for Herefordshire, said: "The Lugg Valley situation definitely raises concerns as to the owner's attitude to safety, and it would be fair to say that we are alarmed."

To sanction Yeomans, the VOSA would have to find faults there and as yet there has been no spot inspection. Many bus watches think there should be, but legally it would have to be separate and start from a clean sheet of paper.

Meanwhile, it has emerged Yeomans Travel no longer operates the National Express bus service between Hereford and London.

A National Express spokesperson said the decision was made after the public inquiry.

So National Express regard the two as one!

They added: "The safety of our customers, employees and the public is our number one priority. Following a public inquiry, we have suspended Yeomans from operating our services and the 445 service between Hereford and London will be covered by our other partner operators."

What about the council that subsidies some of the transferred routes?

A Herefordshire Council spokesman said the authority undertook "due diligence" checks, including checks on safety standards compliance.

He said: "Our priority is to maintain continuity of services while ensuring public safety, and we will continue to monitor the situation closely and liaise with Yeomans and the relevant authorities."

But the fact remains ...

At the VOSA, a spokesperson said Lugg Valley Travel (NOT Yeomans - fbb) was investigated because that was the specific operator of the bus which caught fire.

Yeoman's is not our problem, guv, says the County!

A spokesman for the Traffic Commissioner's office said it acted upon submissions from the relevant bodies, adding: "Any investigations into Yeomans Travel would be separate."

So there we have it, or possibly we don't.

In one sense there is nothing for fbb to investigate. But it would be fair to suggest that the whole situation is less than satisfactory.  If the maintenance at Lugg Valley was "the worst the Traffic Commissioner had ever seen" you would think that a check at Yeomans depot would be a sensible precaution.

It's the same depot!

ugg Valley Travel Ltd, The Travel Centre,

Old School Lane, Hereford, HR1 1EX

And Yeomans?

Yeomans Canyon Tours Ltd, The Travel Centre,

Old School Lane, Hereford, HR1 1EX

Here is the Old School Lane depot ...

... with an aerial view.

Nice looking depot; with that tidy looking building, the company ought to get it right.

At least the bus passengers of Herefordshire still have their buses!

P.S. The depot is clearly near a railway and a map shows Old School Lane as north of the city's railway station.

Before the "crisis" you would generally see Lugg Valley buses at Leominster ...

... and Yeomans at Hereford.

 Next Variety blog : Sunday 4th Jan