Funebrial Fun? A Fond Farewell (2)

Sunday 27th Oct - a P.S.

On arrival at Northampton station, fbb was confident that he would soon and easily be able to catch a bus to The Drapery and there to enjoy his (ultimately failed) KFC three pieces,  fries and a drink "meal".

On inspection, the old boy discovered that Route 8 would whizz past all the shops and dump him in the bus station, not far away but extra to creak after a long train journey. 

So service 9/9A it was. The timetable stated Drapery Bay 22 ...

... which would involve a lesser walk.

Oh foolish one! Oh ignorant one! If only Alan were there to advise!

Evenings and Sundays the service is a 9B, innit, and it doesn't stop in The Drapery. Like the 8 it carries you into the bus station. ...

... where it forms a limited service to the Hospital.

So fbb travelled only one stop from the station and alighted in Gold Street near where Wilco isn't any more ...

... and toddled the short distance to where KFC isn't any more!

After a Mac-sumpuous "meal" (NOT!), it was not too far to the Premier Inn Swan Street.

Gold Street, upper left

The Drapery, top left

Swan Street, bottom right

Readers will, perhaps, forgive fbb a little nostalgia fest in memory of his late friend of 70 years.

To get to the gaffe he needed to walk via Mercers Row ...

... where town buses used to collect their passengers.

Then past the end of Abington Street ...

... where town buses used to collect their passengers.

He walked on via Wood Hill ...

... where town buses used to collect their passengers.

On the way, he noted that the town centre's underground toilets (on Wood Hill; entrance with ironwork arch just visible in front of the phone boxes) ...

... have gone, leaving the phone boxes ..,

... with a wide pavement and no subterranean entrance! 

fbb wonders where you go, now, to go!

Of course the buses went long ago and moved into Greyfriars bus station, now demolished ...

... but they returned to The Drapery when the council planners realised that the new bus station (the old fish market) would be too small.

To what extent has the progressive removal of buses from the town centre contributed to the decline of traditional shopping areas and their replacement by fast food shops and estate agents?

fbb passed The Guildhall (Northampton's Civic HQ of old) ...

... down Guildhall Road past the Museum ...

... and at the next junction, he noted ...

... Angel Street, where, in the basement of the Museum ...

... Alan began his lifelong career as a librarian. The County Library then moved from the cellars to the former CWS cheese warehouse ...

... behind which was the fbb Premier Inn.

The County and the Borough library services merged so Alan moved to the latter in the aforementioned but now bus-less Abington Street.

 

Bus-less you note, but not taxi-less. Seems a bit unfair on bus passengers?

Unfortunately, fbb had forgotten his Premier Inn official head dress as per the latest advert ...

... but he still had a good night's sleep on a "comfy bed" before the funeral on Monday 28th.

But the gaffe was very close to Northampton's other "main" railway station, St Johns Street ...

... the long-closed Midland Railway terminus of the line to Bedford.

Is there anything left?

There may be a chance to have a look on the way to the funeral itself.  Friday  will reveal all!

And soon there will be a truly joyous tribute to Northampton Alan.

 Next Inspection blog : Thursday 14th Nov 

An Inspector Calls (mini-blog)

 

The play by J B Priestley concerns a Police Inspector Goole, who calls on an "unsuspecting" well heeled family as they relax after dinner. It turns out, as the play progresses, (spoiler alert!) that each member of the family has had a part in the crime under investigation. It is good, tense play and very well crafted.

Many readers are old enough to be familiar with the traditional cheery ticket inspector on our railways.

His only equipment was a ticket clipper ...

... which cut a little notch in the cardboard Edmondson ticket that was universal in the good old days!

Different shaped nibbles allowed, in theory, one inspector to identify the work and location of another; but whether these details were ever fully used is not clear.

With the universal use of the "orange stripe" ticket ...

... clippers were replaced by a similar device that printed a code onto the card.

Again, whether anyone could decode the stamp is doubtful.

Nowadays "revenue protection officers" travel threateningly in groups,  often swooping on passengers and charging then penalties or setting prosecution in motion when the ticket has been wrongly issued by the ticket office.

But fbb is more interested in track inspectors.

Back in the day a railway track worker ... 

... would walk his "length" - on busy lines, every day - checking that any loose oak wooden "keys" were hammered ...

...  into the "chairs" that kept the rails firmly held in place. The bullhead rail technology is now replaced except, perhaps, on an occasional rusty siding.

Any serious problem would be phoned back to base at the next signal box.

Nowadays, the work is done by clever trains equipped with even cleverer electronics! 

For the bigger jobs, way back, the area boss would ride in his "Inspection Saloon",  together with his section heads, to plan major new work and review it once it was completed.

Here is a Great Northern Railway Saloon from 1897 ...

... a Bristol and Exeter coach from 1900 ...

... and a very opulent Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway example from 1906. 

The opulence was needed in part as directors of the Railway Company would also use such conveyances to review their investment. Doubtless they were lavishly wined and dined en route!

Probably the most memorable of these vehicles were the 50ft saloons of the London Midland and Scottish Railway dating from the 1930s.

The Southern Railway's "Caroline" is a similar, but more recent vehicle.

But it is the LMS type that now graces fbb's model railway layout in OO gauge.

Remember This Tease?

When fbb first read these words, his brain took him back to the Dandy and Biffo The Bear.

fbb's fave was Desperate Dan!

But this is Biffa the bin lorry company and Oxford Diecast has been promoting a new edition of the vehicle in question.

But if you want one for your model railway layout ...

... you are too late!

Although, about a week ago, Rails of Sheffield was announcing it as a new model AND discounted! Maybe Rails has bought the whole Oxford stock to sell on?

Also recently,  Hornby, owners of Oxford Diecast, announced its sale to a company that nobody has ever heard of.

Now let us unravel this. The former owners of Oxford Diecast, LCD Enterprises, who sold out to Hornby, included one Lyndon Charles Davies. 

The directors of EKD enterprises, the new owners, include ...

... a certain Lyndon Charles Davies and Eloise Kate Davies. So it's back with the family!

fbb is sure it makes sense to somebody.

More from "The Inspector" later.

 Next Funebral Fun blog : Weds 13th Nov 

Funebrial Fun? A Fond Farewell (1)

 

Funerals always offer the "congregation" a bit of a challenge. Northampton correspondent Alan's involved sadness, memories and "saying goodbye". He and fbb had been chums for almost 70 years!

But would it really be goodbye - God be with you - would it be "a dieu", "a l'enfer" or even "au revoir" - in either location?

But your usually respectful attendee at such events couldn't avoid a wry smile at the unusually named Clarabut and Plumbe; and he did wonder why Bedford undertakers should be undertaking for Northampton Alan.

More on the events of Monday 28th Oct will manifest itself in a later posting.

But first the old bloke had to get there on Sunday 27th. As his helicopter was away for its MOT, a quick nip on Monday morn was not practicable.

Church finished at approx 1015 on Sunday, so South Western Railway ...

... London Underground ...

... and London Northwestern Railway ...

... offered a suitable journey plan.

And that is exactly what fbb did.

The train to Waterloo was well loaded as fbb observed yet another example of the delighs of modern technology.

It is SO easy to pay by phone!

Only it wasn't. A combination of the passenger's  phone and the guards TWO phones failed to deliver a satisfactory transaction.

Heyho. Back to sheets of crushed wood pulp and a Bic pen ...

... and the deal was reliably done.

The Underground was scary. It must be a good few years since you blogger crossed London thus and without thebhelp and encouragement of Mrs fbb! 

A lengthy stagger, two escalators down and a staircase ditto at Waterloo ...

... then a staircase up, a lengthy corridor stagger ..

...  and two escalators up at Euston. 

But fbb was expecting to appear here on the main concourse ...

... but instead he found himself rising to ground level in some sort of shed and appearing outside in the driving rain. Well it wasn't driving but it might have been.

Confused.com!

By the time the old codger got to Euston, he was beginning to cope with scary escalators!

Then there was fbb's over-full four coach train.

The timetable ...

... and the live on-line "journey progress" diagram ...

... Showed stops at

Leighton Buzzard

Bletchley

Milton Keynes

Wolveron

Northampton

and on to Birmingham.

But the indicators and announcements at Euston showed the first stop as Milton Keynes. The on-train non-human announcer and indicator ...

... both revealed that the first stop would be Milton Keynes. 

Whatever happened to Leighton Buzzard and Bletchley?

The train stopped at both but the exchange of any passengers was far from obvious.

Weird!

The timetable, you will note, said it was an eight coach train, very much needed, but it was but four!

After leaving Wolverton, a real voice blasted from the speakers. Apparently, there would be a "unit swap" at Northampton. 

Upon arrival at platform 2, all onward passengers towards Birmingham were told to transfer to the train on platform 3 which was indeed an eight coach formation.

It would have been nicer if someone had opened the doors!

Meanwhile, the indicators  on platform 2 showed the terminated, locked and barred train as ...

... the 1609 to Birmingham. Whilst on platform 3 where stood the actual 1609 for Birmingham ...

... the clever system showed the next Brum departure at 1640!

Presumably the only person working for Notwork Rail's Euston lines on a Sunday was not trained in the skills of changing the pre-ordained route setting.

Isn't technology wonderful?

An fbb suggestion ...

... plus, of course, some of this.

It is a tried and tested reliable technology - as long as you don't run out of chalk.

But the big disappointment of the day was with fbb's chosen early evening meal plans ...

... c/o Colonel Harlan Sanders as shown above, extracted from web information. But, despite it's being all on line, no such gustatory emporium exists.

The alternative, a German kebab shop, was not to the old man's taste.

It was a descent to the big "M" for a very thin double cheeseburger 'n' fries ....

... a very poor alternative.

And yet more technological nonsense. Apparently fbb couldn't  have "tea" with his "meal" (don't snigger too much!). So to satisfy his liquidity needs, the till receipt shows "1 Med Coke"...

... but tea was supplied. £1.27 is not a bad price for a much-needed  cuppa.

More on   Wednesday .

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to a  blog near you

Northampton Alan,  good friend of nearly 70 years, died recently. Several blogs this week will commemorate his demise by focussing on the Public Transport interest in his life told via fbb's funebral experience. Imo

Tues 12 Nov

(mini) Inspectors

Weds 13 Nov

(maxi) Northampton Then And Now

Thurs 14 Nov

(mini) Inspector USA

Fri 15 Nov

(midlin) Funeral Transport 1

Sat 16 Nov

(mini)  Funeral Transport 2

Sun 17 Nov

(mini) Recce at Ridgmont

e & o e

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 Next Inspectors' blog : Tues 12th Nov