Secrets Of The London Underground (?)

Tim And Siddy Would Approve!

fbb gave his readers one clue at the close of yesterday's blog - a place which installed the first one of these in the UK.

You can see what it is without the people.

Yes, Harrods moving walkway.

And this man ...

... wrote a piece of music prompted by a thoroughfare ...

... although he wrote for orchestra not brass band!

Then this woman ...

... was a presenter on a long-running radio programme that used the above tune as its signature.

And a final clue!

The tune is the Knightsbridge March by Eric Coates. It was the signature tune of radio's "In Town Tonight" where Nan Winton was one of a long stream of presenters. Nan was the first woman to read the news on British TV.

This was the site of the first Knightsbridge Underground station ...

... and it later had offices built on its top!

But today, it looks like this!

We can see a fairly recent picture of its former rear entrance ...

... but today it looks like this.

This man would be aghast at the loss of his signature ox-blood glazed tiles. Siddy would be distraught!

Leslie Green designed the rear entrance and the main station building which isn't there any more.

Below is a more modern entrance ...

... which isn't there any more!

To add to the confusion, the main entrance to Knightsbridge station is not in Knightsbridge but is on Brompton Road.

This, however, is Brompton Road underground station ...

... which is on Brompton Road - more correctly "was". It closed in 1934. The above was a side entrance in Cottage Place; the building still stands.

The front entrance faced onto Brompton Road itself ...

... with the cupola of "the Oratory" in the background.

Meanwhile this station (note the sign for Knightsbridge) ...

... isn't Knightsbridge station at all - it is Hyde Park Corner.

Confused.com?

Rest assured, fbb will begin the process of sorting it all out in  Wednesday's  blog. There will be maps and diagrams to help us.

Meanwhile : Internet Trading!

fbb was running out of PVA glue,  so ordered another bottle from the South American rain forest as usual. Large vats of PVA glue are not a big seller on the streets of Seaton.

But alas the order was cancelled by email at about 1100 yesterday morning.

At 1230 the glue arrived.

The big question is whether fbb will be charged for a delivery of cancelled glue!

To Commemorate VE Day?
The self-seed poppies have appeared again this year on the curtilage of fbb mansions. Not quire as rich a picture as Flanders Field, but a timely reminder none the less.

 Next 379 blog : Tuesday 13 May 

Sunday Variety

The Puzzle Picture

It's honesty time! 

fbb had never heard of this particular piece of traffic management infrastructure. At first he thought we were in Bristol! But this is Birmingham. Sometimes called The Digbeth Flyover but more usually The Camp Hill Flyover, it was, to confuse is all, just round the corner from Bordesley Station!

It was built in 1968 in just 30 hours from prefabricated steel sections built off-site then delivered and assembled Meccano-style with large spanners!

It was one-way southbound and took traffic for the A34 over the junction with the A45.

Here is a view looking back towards the climb up, showing a Midland Red bus about to ascend!

Here, from an old amateur film, are the original black on yellow signage.

As this next picture shows, this temporary structure lasted 28 years!

So where was it? 

This is the junction today ...

... very different in traffic significance from 1968. Here is the view south today.

The old A45 Coventry Road comes in from the left. It is unrecognisable! Ditto the view north.

The three storey building appears in two shots from roughly the same location ...

... so we are in the right location. Just noticed, it also appears in the original "Puzzle Picture".

And fbb never knew the flyover was there and was never taken to see it! Sad snivelling!

Pixie Pictures

This little hut was the engine shed at "Cranbrook" Quarry; but fbb could find no trace of such a quarry even using the sainted Wikipedia. Indeed, Wikipedia claims allegiance to AI which, as we all know, stands for Artificial Insanity!

Here is what AI says about the quarry.

Note how the utterly stupid AI confuses Cranbrook Quarry Caves with Beer Quarry Caves. Potty! But that is what you get with AI!

Anyway, in that hut is a narrow gauge steam locomotive.

fbb met the loco post quarry, named Pixie ...

... in the garden of Cadeby Vicarage, home of the late Rev Teddy Boston.

His short stretch of line was nobly called the Cadeby Light Railway, tackling the 100 yards of track in the vicarage garden!

After the Rev's journey to heavenly eternity, Pixie found his/her/its was to the Richmond Light Railway.

This Richmond is not in Greater London; it is not in North Yorkshire; it is at Headcorn in Kent. The railway opened in 2015 and is privately owned. Occasionally, open days are held a sample of which is illustrated below.

A French/Italian Challenge

Trans Alpin is/was a notable express passenger service between France and Italy via, surprise, The Alps.

The above "Rolling Highway" was one of several trains that crossed borders in the mountainous area of Europe.

Rolling Highway trains carried articulated lorries or their trailers over lines where the road route was slow or challenging. With the boring of exciting "base" tunnels for rail, you would have thought that such services would become more attractive.

But this one ...

... is coming to an end. It appears that complex regulations are making the service impractical.

Linguists amongst our readers may be able to read more about the current service ...

... in Italian! 

And there's more!

fbb made a compete Pigs Ear of Mr Gregor's "O" level Italian course at Northampton Grammar School and chickened out after one term.

Windows 2025 - Part 4

They don't look too bad!

But there is still the problem of "Mind The Gap!" Eagle eyed readers will note that the space between windows and the refettled upper roof structure it is still varied in width. More bodging will be needed.

But first, these flat laser printed widow frames will need some "shape".

Verticals are added to match the roof trusses below plus a border top and bottom.

And the gap is partially filled with plastic strip. It should be possible to "trompe l'oeil" by directing observers eyeballs to the magnificent line of windows rather that the bodged slightly curved ridge.

Maybe?

Next we go to Harrods!

P.S. Thomas, The Pilot

And how do we know that this usn't the later broadcast version of the same story? If you look carefully, you will see that Thomas does NOT have his distinctive front lamp in the pilot, but does in the remake. No lamp ... 

... lamp!

The pilot episode has just been released - a recent discovery "remastered".

 Next Knightsbridge blog : Mon 12 May