Not Fine Gate Line?
When Sealink (now Wightlink) withdrew its lovely chuggy boats from the Portsmouth to Ryde passenger ferry service, they were replaced with a pair of Catamarans ...
... later repainted in a garish and somewhat inappropriate livery.
The next twosome of boats maintained the livery ...
... with the current vessels returning to a more nautical style.
Initially the boats ran every twenty minutes but the annoying task of getting passengers on and off seemed to impede the frequency! It was soon reduced to every 30!
During the current Winter timetable there are huge gaps in an hourly service and summer offers a poor hourly headway greeting half hourly "fast" trains from London and meeting half hourly trains on the Island (when they are actually in working order).
Over recent years, and as the service has become poorer, huge sums of money have been spent on facilities at Ryde Pier Head and even hugerer sums on stopping Portsmouth Harbour terminal from falling into the sea.
The latest wheeze is to spend half a million quid on installing "automatic" barrier gates, as here at Portsmouth ...
... and here at Ryde.
Now we all know that they will be slower than a man with a ticket punch; they they will be difficult to use and confusing for occasional visitors, and that they will fail about once a week.
That is normal for automatic gates!
But what seems crackpot with this scheme is that (a) they will scan paper tickets and phones, so much slower than gates on the railways. But, even worse, (b) they will NOT accept "normal" railway tickets ....jpeg)
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... which will have to be scanned, cancelled, inspected by a man at the gate line.
Such is progress!
Burgeoning Brightline
Readers may well remember fbb articles about the new railway operator running along the coast of Florida on the eastern seaboard for the USA.,
The route is shown on the above sketch map in Brightline yellow and is thus very difficult to see ...
.... but no matter! The trains are swift and slick running on relaid freight and passenger routes and blessed with brand new stations.
So now the comany is trekking to the west, pardner. Yee-hah!
Services will use part of a massive infrastructire of new high speed track ...
... so it will be a "proper" high speed line.
Brightline West has just ordered (technically "expressed an interest" prior to confirming the deal) their brand new trains for the service ...
... and they look "cool". Buncher is the boss, by the way.
Now that would be a good idea for the UK, wouldn't it?How about a Hgh Speed line from London to Birmingham, then splitting to continue to Manchester or Sheffield and Leeds.
They will be manufactured by Siemens.
Maybe just a bit too much "hype"?
Someone ought to get it planned!
Quiz Part 2
Again, ten questions about topics which have already featured in this blog over the past four months.
1. A bus station now rebuilt
The red colour matches that of the real thing ... sort of. Where is it?
2. An empty railway station
Where might you be going if you used it - maybe some time ago. The station is called "International".
3. Trendy livery delivery
Which company has started a new (for them!) network in North Yorkshire.
4. Set for the new Dr Who series?
Not really. But what does the building control?
5. A Southern Region Coach with Label?
Originally the bodysides looked like this!
What generic name was used to promote the new vehicles?
6. fbb's expected new toy
But in which country was "Lobitos" fuel mined?
7. V L R ?
Where is this vehicle being tested? And, question 2, where might such vehicles be operated IF someone opens a piggy bank to pay for them and their track.
8. A Fine Tilth?
This substance was carried by canal across the West Midlands. But what was it used or? What was the end product from the rail-served factory?
9. Wot No Funnel?
What was used to re-charge this "stored energy" loco? - the full sized version not theodel as illustrated here.
9. Corrie Star To Political Star?
Who is she, and where does she exercise her political "power"?
10. Two Modes Side by Side
But can you name the station? It shares its name with a College of the University of London.
One is third rail electric, the other uses overhead power.
If not, an appropriate general location will be better than no answer!
Answers later in the week.
Next Variety and Quiz blog : Tuesday 7th May
It's a shame that "Southsea" wasn't preserved - although ship preservation isn't easy (just look at "Ryde"). I never travelled on her, but did so on both her sisters.
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