Trains : They've Got 'Em At Cottam
But not yet!
Cottam?
fbb is rapidly assuming the alter ego of Marvin, The Paranoid Android; but with a brain only slightly smaller than the size of a planet.
[For the utterly befuddled, Marvin is a key character in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"; thoroughly depressed at every turn of the plot.]
fbb did not know where Cottam could be found.
It is a suburb of Preston, Lancashire, and will be getting a brand new railway station now that finance has been agreed. The artist's impression includes crude representations of two class 153 one-car diesel units that will not be serving the station.
Have a read of the promotional blurb available on-line.
Another artist's impression shows two four car units passing at the platforms.
So where is it?
The Preston to Blackpool line crosses east to west at the foot of the Google Earth extract above. Closer inspection shows a track joining two north south roads ...
... and a sketch map supports the aerial view.
The two roads that will provide access are Lea Road ...
... and Sidgreaves Lane.
The official name of the station will be Cottam Parkway.
There are those 153s again!
It is not yet clear which of the five trains that will pass through Cottam Parkway every hour will actually stop there.
fbb would guess TWO of the trains to Blackpool North each hour plus the one all stops service to Blackpool South.
Cottam lies between Preston and Salwick.
Trolley Without A Lid!
In his recent blogs, fbb mentioned the 'unique' Bournemouth open top trolley bus. Indeed, he discovered a picture of three of these beauties in their depot.
More information, please. Needless to say, the interwebnet obliges.
Fleet Details
Originall Built as conventiinal closed top: 1935
Conversion Year: 1958
Base Vehicle: Pre-war Sunbeam MS2 double-deck chassis with Park Royal bodies.
Fleet Numbers: Numbered 200, 201, and 202.
Operation: Used for summer circular tours (Route 39) and scenic coastal routes.
Withdrawal: All three were withdrawn by 1964. Bus No. 202 survives today as the world's only working open-top trolleybus, preserved at the East Anglia Transport Museum.
To be pedantic, they were not 100% open top. As well as essential framework to carry the trolley poles, there was a small lid to keep prying hands away from the high voltage tackle. 
No matter, it never rained in beautiful Bournemouth.
Tee Hee, See A TGV?
Readers may remember the orange livery of the early Trains a Grande Vitesse, a k a the ground breaking T G V units.
Later liveries followed the T G V Atlantique style ...
And here we have the French equivalent of a Ford Transit. It is, ooh la la, zut alors ...
So how come a Master can become a T G V!
Answer; stick a nose extension on your van ..
... and paint it appropriately.
Formidable! (said with an exagygersted and badly-done French accent, of course!)
Even better, add a similar nose, paint it orange and stick a pastiche if that black bit of electrical gubbins on the roof.
Hmmm?
Would that extra sticky-out bit be legal?
Astounding Warnings ...
Astounding Warnings ...
... from expensive studies
And an even better conclusion.
Where would we be without the skill set of the many research projects that so motivate progress in the bus industry?
Who would have thought it: buses need to be reliable if they are to provide a viable service.
Such wisdom!
Let There Be Light
fbb has been adding lights to the new bit of Peterville Castle.
Pretty, innit?
But. in the gloaming the exposed LEDs are too bright - meaning the lighting inside the buildings is hardly visible.
They are strings of LEDs, so you cannot dim some - in fact dimming LEDs in any way is tricky, and quite beyond your less than punctilious modeller.
The promised gnats item will appear in Monday. Like so many things in our crazy transport industry, it got too involved for a "variety" snippet!
Next Variety blog - Sunday 13th Sept
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