Vectensian Variety (2)

Thanks to a slick breakfast serving, the fbbs were on a ferry one hour earlier than planned, so, after a brief examination of the inside of the fbb eyelids, it became feasible to complete the collection of bits and pieces from the little Island.

Here is Brian Dicks posing proudly with his two slim volumes of which "Civility" opens today's blog.

The Isle of Wight was well known in years gone by for the vast range of coach tours offered to holiday makers. In addition to the very traditional "round the Island", at least five companies also provided other day tours, afternoon tours and evening tours.

So wide-ranging were the offers that you could probably fill your whole week's holiday with coach tours without  hesitation, deviation or repetition. But Vanner's coach was something very  different.

Vanner's coaches were horse drawn and, effectively, were the Island's early bus services.

When Audrey Russell, a relative within the Vanner family, passed away in 2014 she bequeathed her estate of Stenbury Manor ...

... to English Heritage. Part of that estate was a Vanner's coach, named Civility. English heritage recognised that such a beauty should be part of the Bus Museum stock so donated it in the autumn of 2016.

It was not in the best of conditions ...

... but all the bits were there, plus all the harness and drawgear. One big job was to restore the wheels; one removed on delivery as being too weak to do its job. So some clever fellows mended feloes and spokes, replacing weak and damaged parts. This cost about £1000 per wheel. OUCH.

Restoration is not cheap, but the wheels are now strong and professionally restored. A panel on the museum display shows how many individuals and groups have been involved in the project over all.

And Civility now looks magnificent.

She was generally hauled by four horses, such power needed to cope, for example, with the hilly route to Ventnor - but the museum people decided two would suffice for display.

So they bought two plastic nags ...

... which stand, bemused, slightly apart from the coach. So why do different, less sleek nags stand at the head of Civility today?

Unfortunately bus enthusiasts do not always make equine experts. The plastic horses are ponies (that's small horses to you and me), too small to haul a Vanner's coach. "With the harness on, they looked ridiculous," reported a museum official. In trot George and Mildred, fine white chargers in papier maché, recycled from a past appearance in Newport Carnival.

In true public transport tradition, a respray into a more acceptable livery produced the ideal motive power for the coach.

Bodywork has been treated for woodworm, repainted and sign-written and really looks the part. The inside has been newly holstered up ...

... and is now properly plush and pleasingly posh.

Well done all concerned. fbb is not sure whether there are any plans to hitch up four live horses and take the museum trustees on a "victory" ride round Ryde. The Isle of Wight used to offer a horse-drawn hearse service ...

... so the skills may still be available!

Again, Bryan's book give much more detail and is available from the Museum for a modest £4.50.

fbb nearly opened this blog and "put his foot in it"! He was about to write that he had seen no current Southern Vectis bus timetables on display at the Museum.

But they were there as photographed yesterday morning by our Isle of Wight man-in-the-right-place.

To be fair to fbb (why, pray?) they are in the entrance vestibule and he was too excited to see what was on show within - but, frankly, the front cover design meant that they were not standing out amongst the crowd of "other" leaflets.

Their obviousness is not obvious.

Long gone are the days when bus services were increased for the summer season (as were fares as well!). Apart from the summer "tours", whereupon your old crocks pass is NOT valid (of which more later), the main changes are the inevitable "minor timing adjustments to improve reliability". (Yawn!)

fbb does wonder why the note is repeated for each service. Surely a list of all those services that have "minor changes", "small amends", "timing changes", "small changes" and "some changes" would be adequate. The subtlety of the different levels of "minority" have by-passed fbb and may well be lost in the minds of an average Vectensian.

The book also seems to have had an attack of the dreaded graphic designer. fbb is not sure whether this helps or hinders.

Ventnor is mentioned SIX times on this page (once off-shot upper right). Do we need a ducky little bus and an arrow? On a more practical note, the 6 is infrequent whilst the 3 runs every half an hour to Ventnor seven days a week. There is no mention of Victorian Ventor anywhere on the 3 tables.

And what about Victoria's beach?

Shouldn't the page at least warn customers that "Queen Victoria's Beach" is actually part of Osborne House?

And a minor map niggle ...

... The Isle of Wight Distillery is in the wrong place. Maybe the cartographer had been sampling its products?

But one big beef is this.

But they're not, are they? The four services below are run by buses, Southern Vectis buses, no less; but, according to a local source, they are not bus services.

They are "tours", thus your OAP pass is not valid and you have to pay.

fbb has searched the booklet and cannot find anywhere where this is made clear.

And finally. Why is the Ventnor town service 31 ("not operated by Southern Vectis") included but the useful local services in Yarmouth and Freshwater (FYT Bus, also not operated by SV) are not acknowledged in any way?

Despite these caveats the actual timetables (which is what the book is for) are clear, well indexed and accompanied by an excellent set of maps.

And the booklet is FREE.

Other bus operators take note!

 At last! The Tease-title blog : Saturday 8th June