Regular readers will remember the escalators and footbridge that were added to the old Central Bus Station in Sheffield. These led up to a shopping gallery (seen here looking away from the centre) ...
... and ever upwards via a second escalator to car park and "nite spots". The gallery was an effort-free route from buses to town but, despite the picture above, was not well used. Thus the shops deteriorated and the route was even less well used. With the total rebuild of the bus station the whole caboodle was removed.
By pure co-incidence, Sheffield corespondent Roy was explaining all this to a much younger bus enthusiast a few weeks ago. The aim was to spot where the footbridge was!
The bus, in its Buses Farce Sheffield promotional livery, is standing almost exactly where the service 71 (Prince of Wales Road Circular) is standing in the top piccy above.
Note the metal railings and the gap in the concrete wall; this is where the footbridge sat. Note also the discontinuity in the next gallery up.
This is where the next flight of escalators led up to the car park. Access "up there" is now by steps.
The shops are long gone ...
... with access to gallery level and parking being by a replacement staircase. Whether the decline in bus station usage did for the shops or whether the decline in the shops reduced footfall via the escalators is not easy to decide.
The trouble is that those irritants called "people" do not always do what the planners want them to - clever schemes can so easily fail.
The trouble is that those irritants called "people" do not always do what the planners want them to - clever schemes can so easily fail.
Tanks Follow-Up
fbb replaced the missing (?) ladders on his Texaco tank wagon ...
... although they should have been curved and not straight. (See previous blog - here).
The thot plickens! A recent advert for a pack of three second-hand Monobloc tank wagons by Hornby appeared from Hattons of Widnes ...
... complete with ladders. But an advert in Hornby's on-line catalogue also offered a pack of three ...
... definitely ladder-less!
The answer might be that the three from Hornby are from the Railroad range that is cheaper than the headline range; and its models often lack the detail of the top price models - detailing which may well include ladders!
Ribble 100 Follow-Up
Thanks to Roy, yet again, for snaps of the three double decks sporting heritage Ribble livery as part of the companies' response to the centenary of this much loved pre-Stagecoach company. They were photographed at the Stagecoach depot in Morecambe.
The liveries are:-
Stagecoach ready-for-the-sell-off.
Arriva from just before the National Bus Company
Arriva National Bus Company (NBC) plus Merseytravel logo
Stagecoach NBC dual purpose "coach" stripes.
And a reminder of Transdev's commemorative bus ...
... not so much a livery as a reminder of all things Ribble!
Daddy, What's a Trafficator?
trafficator
[ˈtrafɪkeɪtə]
NOUN : BRITISH
an obsolete kind of signalling device on the side of a motor vehicle, having the form of a small illuminated pointer which could be extended to indicate a change of direction.
A created word, derived from "traffic" and "indicator" i.e. a device giving an indication to other traffic of which way the driver might be turning.
Did they always flash?
fbb's dad's first car (a post war Austin seven convertible) had them and, as usual, they pinged up out of a slot in the bodywork.
Sometimes they didn't go back down and had to be propelled back into their hole by a driver's or passenger's hand.
But here are a couple of heritage Potteries buses, snapped by Alan in Kidsgrove.
The rear of the two was equipped with trafficators and used them ...
... instead of being "updated" with the modern front and rear amber lights.
Does fbb remember correctly; but were the indicator flashing lights on the front of his dad's KRP 996 Ford Consul (in Dorchester grey) white rather than amber - in the same lens as sidelights?
A Much Appreciated Gift
Readers may remember that fbb inadvertently crushed an ancient Triang model building.
A strong wind blew it off his layout and under the front off-side wheel of the fbb limo - with the obvious crunchy consequences.
But chum and former colleague Peter offered to donate his stored but much loved R62 ...
... and his waiting room comes complete with the chimney stack (they almost always fall off and get lost) and the Triang advert on the end wall. Because of this, your author has decided NOT to repaint it in the Peterville Quarry Railway colours (white and blue) but to keep it in its as-bought plastic glory.
It will be re-located as a staff rest-room adjacent to the carriage shed ...
... but fbb will add "glass" and, eventually, an internal light for when "the lads" work an evening shift.
It is good to have a bit of model railway history back on the layout; the red plastic versions date from 1955/1956. Later products were made of a terra-cotta coloured plastic.
For their age they are remarkably good models.
And Finally!
fbb saw this on line and thought it was worth passing on - without comment!
fbb replaced the missing (?) ladders on his Texaco tank wagon ...
The thot plickens! A recent advert for a pack of three second-hand Monobloc tank wagons by Hornby appeared from Hattons of Widnes ...
The answer might be that the three from Hornby are from the Railroad range that is cheaper than the headline range; and its models often lack the detail of the top price models - detailing which may well include ladders!
Ribble 100 Follow-Up
Thanks to Roy, yet again, for snaps of the three double decks sporting heritage Ribble livery as part of the companies' response to the centenary of this much loved pre-Stagecoach company. They were photographed at the Stagecoach depot in Morecambe.
The liveries are:-
Stagecoach ready-for-the-sell-off.
Daddy, What's a Trafficator?
trafficator
[ˈtrafɪkeɪtə]
NOUN : BRITISH
an obsolete kind of signalling device on the side of a motor vehicle, having the form of a small illuminated pointer which could be extended to indicate a change of direction.
A created word, derived from "traffic" and "indicator" i.e. a device giving an indication to other traffic of which way the driver might be turning.
fbb's dad's first car (a post war Austin seven convertible) had them and, as usual, they pinged up out of a slot in the bodywork.
But here are a couple of heritage Potteries buses, snapped by Alan in Kidsgrove.
A Much Appreciated Gift
Readers may remember that fbb inadvertently crushed an ancient Triang model building.
But chum and former colleague Peter offered to donate his stored but much loved R62 ...
It will be re-located as a staff rest-room adjacent to the carriage shed ...
It is good to have a bit of model railway history back on the layout; the red plastic versions date from 1955/1956. Later products were made of a terra-cotta coloured plastic.
For their age they are remarkably good models.
And Finally!
fbb saw this on line and thought it was worth passing on - without comment!
Next "X-files" blog : Tuesday 28th May
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