Time To Flip The Switch (1)

 We Shall Remember Them

The video below is the full 25 minute Remembrance Sunday Church service that was "lost" from  last Sunday. Today, as Remembrance Day, seems a good day to find it!

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

It May Be A Silly Name, But ...

... the electrocuting of Voltra is now revealed as happening to Go Ahead's routes 53 and 54.

The 53 goes the other way round.

Currently it has a very clever brand name, the "Saltwell Park". For those who are continually challenged by the subtle inventiveness of the Go Ahead people going ahead with clever ideas, this name comes from the fact the both routes serve ...

... wait for it ...

... Saltwell Park.

Saltwell Park is a Victorian park in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England. Opened in 1876, the park was designed by Edward Kemp and incorporates the mansion and associated grounds of the Saltwellgate estate owner, William Wailes, who sold his estate to Gateshead Council for £35,000.

The park was expanded in 1920 when the council purchased the adjacent gardens to the Saltwell Grove estate and added these to the park. This extended the park's total size to 55 acres (22 hectares in the new money).

Towards the end of the 20th century, the park had fallen into disrepair, but between 1999 and 2005, it was subject to a £9.6 million restoration project, funded collaboratively by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Gateshead Council and is now host to around 2 million visitors per year.

Ot has a boating lake ...

... with swans, real and plastic. There is a band stand ...

... and amazing maze ...

... and lots of pretty flowers in season.

It also had a splendid piece of "public artwork" ...

... which reminds us all of the famous Tyne Bridge. Fortunately ...

... the real bridge goes all the way across. fbb said had because the council have removed it from Saltwell Park and installed it in a new location in the shadow of the real thing ...

... much to the chagrin of the Gateshead locals!

But the buses do not really serve the Park alone, they serve the whole area ...

... passing along the northern edge of the park as a Newcastle to Gateshead "local" route.

And the area has shown itself on the destination blind for many a long year ...

... with bowler hatted personages (probably tram company personel) and a superb uniform for the driver. Later, bigger trams also went there ...

... as did Gateshead and District buses even showing today's route number(s).

But it is the modern era that has seen the most vehicle and livery variety round the roads of Saltwell Park.

As we shall see tomorrow.

Also for tomorrow, fbb is going to attempt to draw a proper route map for the 53/54 - yet again flying in the face of omnibological ridicule if (when?) he gets it wrong! Brave man!

And The £10 Tank Wagon Arrived 

It looks in very good condition for a model dating from about 1962 (Yikes, that's getting close to 60 years old) ; there is nothing missing and all the lettering is undamaged. It comes box-less, which would irk the purist collectors; but you can buy repro boxes which irk the purist even more!

They cost £3 each!

Boxlessness does not irk fbb but high prices do.

£20 for the privilege of a box is, yet again, taking the collecting obsession one step too far.

Snake Map Challenge

An enjoyable cartographic challenge which kept fbb busy yesterday morning. It was good to get the map drawing brain cells powered up - even if it doesn't get used, it was fun to do. More in due course.

 More Swip Flitching blog : Thursday 12th November