Public Transport Experience

Yes, Minister

2012-02-25T01:36:00.002Z

The Bed of Nails

For Christmas, Mrs fbb gave fbb a full set of DVDs for the "Yes Minister" and "Yes Prime Minister" series of TV comedies.

They present an all-too-true view of the continual battles between Jim Hacker, Minister for Administrative Affairs, and his Permanent Secretary, Sir Humphrey Appleby.

In this particular episode the Cabinet Secretary (John Nettleton) and the Prime Minister's Chief Special Adviser (Nigel Stock, of Holmes' Dr Watson fame) ...

... are seeking to find a suitable candidate to implement the PM's plan for Integrated Transport.

The Cabinet Secretary wants "Lots of activity but no actual achievement," thus the hapless Hacker is manoeuvered into accepting the job of "Transport Supremo". Of course, all the civil servants involved, including Hacker's Sir Humphrey, realise that a better job title would be "Transport Muggins."

When Jim Hacker makes his proud announcement back in his own office, the conversation goes something like this ...

Hacker : I have some good news, Humphrey. The Prime Minster has appointed me as his Transport Supremo.

Humphrey : Indeed, Minister. Now what was the good news?

A meeting is arranged by the manipulative Appleby, attended by the Under Secretaries of the offices that handle the roads, the railways and buses, and the air industries.

Of course they each speak vehemently for the supremacy of their bit of the Department of Transport and equally vehemently of the political pitfalls of failing to develop rail or road or air, as appropriate for their department. Hacker slowly realises that he has, indeed, been asked to lie on a political "Bed of Nails". See "Recently Published Research Shows ..." (read again). It is clear that implementing an Integrated Transport policy is beyond the political will and ability of any minister.

"Omnibus" is, of course, a Latin word meaning "for all". This aphorism from Virgil is in Greek:-

timeo Danaos et dona ferentes

One of the running jokes throughout the series is Jim Hacker's lack of a classical education; he went to the LSE, London School of Economics, and was thus intellectually despised because of the academic snobbery of the senior civil servants. When discussing the appointment of their chosen "Transport Supremo" or, more correctly, "Transport Muggins", the Cabinet Secretary [CS] reminds the Special Adviser [SA] of the phrase:-

CS : "Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes", as they say. But Sir Humphrey would quote it in English, roughly translated as "Beware Greeks bringing gifts"; as Hacker (with a slight sneer) was at the LSE.

SA : (offended) So was I.

CS : Oh, (and with forceful emphasis) I am so sorry.

Tomorrow we shall reveal the dénoument, and, perhaps, see how real life mirrored this highly amusing episode. And the "star" of the non fiction production is none other that "Two Jags" ...

... John Prescott.

Next Blog : due Sunday February 26th

Recently Published Research Shows ...

2012-02-24T01:32:00.008Z

that we have the highest fares in Europe.

At the conclusion of yesterday's blog, warning of the inherent danger of "statistics", fbb promised s further look at this rather boring annual headline. Every January we read of "Commuter Fares Shock" as if it were a surprise, despite the infromation's having been published way back in the previous autumn.

But do UK rail journeys cost more than those in Europe?

Statistically yes.

Statistically no.

It is quite possible, by choosing the right set of figures, to convince a typical London-orientated newspaper reader that all is doom and gloom on the fares front. But, by choosing another batch of prices, the tables can be turned and UK can offer cheaper fares that (almost) anywhere in Europe. Book-ahead fares and special offers can be farcically cheap as fbb has previously blogged.

London to Portmouth Harbour for 45p. Beat that in Paris or Rome! See "Ho Ho Loco : Oh No!" (read again)

And the doom-mongers tend to forget that most of our johnny-foreigner chums across the channel pay higher taxes (direct and indirect) to support these cheap fares. At one stage (fbb does not have recent figures) fares on the Paris Metro covered only 25% of the costs; the rest came from various taxes and levies.

The Evening Standard was similarly appalled by the non-shock shock; which was actually LESS than originally announced; so a more pleasant shock than the original non-shock shock. Shocking!

Not only are the fares impossibly expensive, according to the "Standard", but the railway companies are even allowing trees to fall on the line to make matters worse.

"And with high winds bringing disruption to some lines, including a tree on a line at Bellingham in south-east London, some were late for work despite paying an average of almost six per cent more for the privilege."

Comments added to the Guardian's on-line article were mainly equally vituperative; blaming "fat cat bosses", the rail unions, the government, Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair, Colonel Gadafi etc. etc. Here is a sample:-

But our trains are 10 times slower, so it all evens out in the end.
Simply wrong.

If car users had to pay for the cost of the road system in the same way that rail users did, cars would cost more than houses.
How true : car travel is, and always will be, much more heavily subsidised than rail. Perhaps not as expensive as a house, but ...

Humber Bridge : money well spent?

I'm fed up with post-privatised industries using customers money to deliver "improvements to services". When the improvements are not delivered, the customers don't get their money back and the "regulators" are supine. They bark very loudly but do not seem to have the teeth to do anything.
There is a bit of truth here; not much, but a bit.

every half hour to York : money well spent?

I may be a taxpayer, but I'm not a rail user. Why should I pay for someone else to travel cheap?

Now that is a very important question. Why should he?

Overground : money well spent?

The alternative model is to remove all market forces from the trains altogether and stop using price to regulate usage. This would require re-nationalisation and some sort of quota system to ensure we all don't try to get on the 1920 to Manchester at the same time.

But, kind sir, wasn't nationalisation was a disaster for the railways? Mega incompetence and high destructive price rises. How easily we forget. Now if we could have nationalisation but ring fenced against repeated changes of government ~~whim~~ policy?

One or two comment writers broached the key questions which are ...

Which do we want; substantially higher subsidies and thus cheaper fares (as in most of Europe) or lower taxes and thus lower subsidies? We cannot have both.

Do we really want to hand the railways back to full government control? Or perhaps entirely in private control? Would we really like similar instability to that of the bus industry?

Why should any railway company reduce fares when passenger numbers are increasing every year? Their job (and GB's public has voted in successive governments who have stuck to this) is to make money for their shareholders, NOT to be nice to commuters. If we don't like it, don't vote for them next time!

Power to the People?

Now if a government were to introduce a stable National Transport Policy with structures that were difficult to change, at least for 25 years or so, some of these impossibly fraught questions might be resolved. Would a party offering something imaginative, stable and affordable win enough votes to carry the policy through?

Or is such a project just a political and departmental "Bed of Nails"?

the chief assistant to the assistant chief under-

secretary enjoying his usual post-prandial snooze

at the Department for Transport, Marsham Street

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Tomorrow is fbb's birthday.

A prime number between 1 & 100 with consecutive digits.

Readers can have a guess. Not too tricky!

Family celebrations call the chubby one to Wantage.

Noteworthy Newbury niceties en route!

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Next Blog : due Saturday February 25th

But, Mr Speaker, The Statistics Show ...

2012-02-23T06:39:00.008Z

With thanks to Mark Twain, of "Huckleberry Finn" fame ...

... we have the phrase "There are lies, damned lies and statistics!"

The term was popularised in the United States by Twain (among others), who attributed it to the 19th-century British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881): "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." However, the phrase is not found in any of Disraeli's works and the earliest known appearances were years after his death. Many other possible originators of the phrase have been proposed.

fbb has previously mentioned the Transport for London survey to justify withdrawal of District Line trains to Kensington Olympia, see "Dashed Green, Deleted District?" (read again). Here, TfL surveyed thousands and, surprisingly, the 80+% of those surveyed, presumably who travelled on the crowded Wimbledon branch, wanted more trains and the 15+% who travelled to Kensington Olympia didn't want to lose theirs.

A clear-cut statistical case for making the change for the benefit of the vast majority!!

This lovely little pie chart ...

... was issued by the Association of Train Operating Companies at the time of the January fares hike (how can fares go on a hike?) ...

... to promote the misleading message that, "it ain't our fault, pal, blame Network Rail and/or the government!" Whilst everything that happens on the railways is inevitably coloured by state ~~interference~~ policy, ATOC members must accept at least part of the "blame" as they strive to maintain dividends for their shareholders.

Then there is this, emanating from TfL and quoted in the March edition of "Buses" magazine.

What does it mean?

fbb guesses that there is an average of well over 10 million bus and rail passenger journeys made in London each day. Of these only 0.1% (one in every thousand) contact TfL by phone or interweb for bus times. But what does that actually mean?

Either the majority are so well informed they don't need such detail, OR the buses are so frequent and reliable (?) that folk just go out and wait with a spring in their step and a face radiant with diurnal joy, OR the process of finding out is so convoluted that they don't even try. Whatever the reason, such a minimalist percentage is so small as to be negligible; which means TfL need not bother providing bus timetables at all, statistically! Which, of course, they don't.

But what do the remaining 7.4% of potential travellers ask, if not for bus times? Undergound times? Overgound times? Nationa Rail times? River Bus times? The mind boggles! A picture of the favourite bus? Complaints about late running? Fares enquiries? Colour of driver's socks?

And what does the 750,000 measure? On line, for example, mouse clicks, page views, site visits or enquiring e-mail addresses all give different statistics. The fact is, unsurprisingly, that this little news-bite is completely meaningless.

But it does suggest that the vast sums of money spent on electronic information provision is largely wasted. If it doesn't suggest that, then the reader needs a much more detailed (and independent) analysis of TfL's data to understand what the true implications are.

But fbb has a favourite statistic. It is this:-

The majority of people in Great Britain

have a higher than average

number of legs.

Absolutely true.

Very few people have MORE than TWO legs. A small number of people are disabled and have LESS than two legs. So the average number of legs is (slightly) less than two; and by far the majority have more than that average.

Thoughtful readers of the typical news-bite will, of course, realise that statistics are only quoted if they favour the point of view of the news-bite's instigator.

Like the oft quoted "Rail fares in GB are the most expensive in Europe", which we will look at tomorrow.

P.S. fbb sometimes struggles with percentages; apologies if the decimal points have been wrongly allocated. He's has five attempts (without calculator) since 0645! Such is the deep joy of decyphering statistics.

Next Blog : due Friday February 24th

Bus Rides Bought from Bawtry [3]

2012-02-22T07:01:00.001Z

Extra Journeys Available - or not?

Bawtry's on-line presence is minimalist, with a web site that offers little except:-

Welcome to Bawtry Our Town
In the 12th century Bawtry was the third largest inland port in England. Today Bawtry provides high class shopping during the day and an eclectic social scene in the evenings.

The list of forthcoming activities (in 2009!) is as follows:-

These are Bawtry's major events, refer to the Town Council Newsletter for actual dates and times.
June
Bawtry Action for Recreation and Sports (BARS) Sports Day at the Memorial Sports Ground
December
Late night Christmas shopping, 5pm to 8pm, Thursday 3 December 2009
Carol Service on Market Hill .

The town is on the south eastern tip of South Yorkshire with the border with Nottinghamshire literally at the end of the High Street (called South Parade at that point). It had a station on the East Coast main line ...

... which closed in June 1965. It was a busy staging post on two main trade routes, the Great North Road and what became the A631 from Yorkshire to Lincolnshire. Its bus services are in the hands of Stagecoach, successors to East Midland and run, mainly north and south to Doncaster, Worksop and Retford.

In the late 70s and early 80s there was a newly created link east to Sheffield which did not survive the turbulent post privatisation years.

But we have been looking at cross-border links to the North Nottinghamshire villages of Scaftworth, Everton, Mattersey and Mattersey Thorpe. WHY? Because, at first glance, there isn't much on offer.

But the Stagecoach printed timetable guides us, via the "star" note, to service 27A.

The leaflet is, however, less than helpful in matters of detail. Travel South Yorkshire obediently copies the Stagecoach words without really understanding what they mean.

TSY also copies the Stagecoach mistake as the fourth time should read 1255!

But you will not find four bus trips to Mattersey Thorpe, only two.

The 1055 and 1255 are arrival times back at Bawtry. Nottinghamshire and Stagecoach both provide an on-line timetable, but the latter incorporates the Mattersey journeys into a complicated composite with 27A journeys in the opposite direction to Misson and a schoolday bus, service 129.

It's accurate but very messy. The star refers back to connections for Retford.

Unhelpfully, Nottinghamshire makes no mention of the fact that journeys have to be pre-booked, so tough luck if you arrive at Bawtry from Doncaster at 1000 on the service 99 to change to the 1015 service 27A ...

... and you haven't pre-booked, you could have and long long wait until 1642 if no-one else requires the elusive 27A.

Traveline Yorkshire makes no mention of the service at all, leaving off peak potential travellers to Mattersey Thorpe with a tortuous route via Retford. What fun!

One hour and 36 minutes as opposed to a mere 17 minutes on the 27A. fbb is not 100% certain where the captivating Cooks Cottages can be encountered but he is 100% certain that he would prefer to interchange at the impressive new Retford bus station.

Traveline East Midlands does include the errant journeys ...

... without a clear mention that they have to be pre-booked. The technology also tells the unwary that the Stagecoach bus will be going to Bawtry, which is where you would be waiting to board it. Once again this is because the data has been entered erroneously in the form of a "circular" service, which it isn't. Will the destination screen on the bus be more helpful? "Service" 27A?

service 27A at Mattersey Thorpe

So the traveller has a choice:-

Incomplete and effectively incorrect paper information from TSY

Incomplete and effectively incorrect paper infromation from Stagecoach

Incomplete and confusing on-line information from Stagecoach

Incomplete on-line information from Nottinghamshire

Incomplete information from Traveline Yorkshire

Incomplete information from Traveline East Midlands

Sometimes (no, often), fbb wonders whether "the powers that be" (in this case Nottinghamshire which sponsors service 27A) actually want people to use their services. If they do, then surely this ...

... is a more helpful presentation of the options available from Bawtry to Mattersey.

Oh dear, what can the matter be?

When are the buses from Bawtry to Mattersey?

Complications bludgeon and batter me

It's hard to find out what's there.

Next Blog : due Thursday February 23rd

Bus Rides Bought from Bawtry [2]

2012-02-21T03:32:00.001Z

The search for service 27A. (but interrupted?)

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Always at the forefront of modern technology, fbb has submitted

his Company's Annual Return to Companies House on-line.

It's worth doing at £14 rather than £40 BUT what a hassle.

It has involved

1 reminder letter received

5 emails received

1 letter received 'cos fbb forgot a code

the usual battle with debit card "security":-

thus typing in about 130 different codes and characters

in assorted boxes and using about 20 mins of fbb's time

-o-o-o-o-

It makes battling with bus information quite pleasurable. BUT, is it really more efficient and less costly than sending out a copy of the form by post for the Company Secretary to sign and post back? Technology for the sake of it, again.

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Back to the business in hand. But, before we unravel service 27A, let's compare the output of the three providers of timetables for service 27 (from Bawtry to Mattersey and on to Retford). See "Bus Rides Bought from Bawtry [1]" (read again).

The Stagecoach timetable is, like most of their leaflet infromation, very basic; in this case needing three explanatory notes to give the complete picture.

Nottinghamshire's version, only available on-line, is a little better, partly because it offers separate Monday to Friday and Saturday panels; yet a littler worse because the timetable is not correct, probably simply out-of-date.

But the prize for the most helpful set of times must go to Travel South Yorkshire. Yes, dear blog reader, you are not dreaming; you have not dropped into a parallel universe; neither has fbb finally gone completely doolally. So let's hear it again.

The prize for the most helpful set of times must go to Travel South Yorkshire. Unlike Stagecoach it clearly shows times for Everton Village centre; that's High Street ...

... according to TSY (and that is a bus stop "flag" on the telegraph pole!), or Chapel Lane Primary School according to Nottinghamshire. No pole and no flag this time.

And, no, they are not different names for the same place, they are different stops, as shown by the little blue symbols to the left and right of this aerial view.

Why? No idea! TSY also explains the schoolday diversion correctly, whereas Nottinghamshire doesn't. NCC's school times are different and almost certainly wrong, anyway. Stagecoach only reveals the truth in its black blob note. Poor marks, Stagecoach, because If you don't read the note ...

... you might well arrive in Retford 15 minutes late and miss an onward connection. Neither presentation method is much help, however, if you don't know whether it's a schoolday or not.

And that "star" note is our first clue as to the Service 27A from Bawtry to Mattersey. But, hold fast ye bus-lubbers. fbb chose his words carefully when he said (twice) that the TSY timetable was he most helpful set of times.

But look at the list of places ...

Oh dear,oh dear; and again, oh dear.

Everton, King William ...

... is actually SCAFTWORTH, King William.

Mattersey, Breck Lane ...

... is actually Mattersey THORPE, Breck Lane.

Lound, Town St/Station Road ...

... is actually SUTTON-CUM-LOUND, Town St/Station Road.

Hey, that's three locations totally wrong on one timetable; a bit of a TSY record, is it not? Well done!

Never mind, all three are in Nottinghamshire and that is foreign territory "where be dragons".

extract from the famous hand drawn William deScarlette

map of Nottinghamshire, first published in 1197.

Courtesy of The P. Ottie Museum, Retford

But tomorrow (promises, promises) we MUST track down the 27A.

Next Blog : due Wednesday February 22nd

Bus Rides Bought from Bawtry [1]

2012-02-20T02:42:00.006Z

An Old Nottinghamshire Folk Song goes something like this ...

Oh dear, what can the matter be?

When are the buses from Bawtry to Mattersey?

What are the times from Monday to Saturday?

And what will I pay for the fare?

... although some may know other words.

This is Bawtry, located on the south eastern tip of South Yorkshire but with the boundary of Nottinghamshire literally a few hundred yards south of the town centre.

It is from this stop that an exploring fbb would catch a bus to Mattersey. But why?

Border towns give fbb the opportunity to compare information provision from bus operator, South Yorkshire PTE and Nottinghamshire County Council; because, oddly in this electronic bits and bytes world, they all present timetables differently.

So let's, first, take an introductory tour of Stagecoach service 27 between Bawtry and Mattersey Thorpe.

The service appears to be a particularly parlous provision which we will examine in more detail tomorrow. Three peak time trips and nowt else. For now, we sally forth to Scaftworth which, astoundingly still has a bus service, despite being, well, small. It does have the King William pub ...

... a manor and a few cottages. The turn from the Bawtry direction is anonymous, just behind the lorry.

Whereas approaching from the east there is one tiny sign.

It must have been fun, way back, before the hamlet was bypassed, as here in the 1930s map extract.

The bypass is long standing (post WW2?) and has been turned into a whizzo dual carriageway bit of the A631.

fbb would have expected nothing but a layby on the dual carriageway; but buses venture into the village.

We move on to Everton, where most journeys stop on the A631 at the Sun Inn ...

... although daytime journeys running between here and Retford nip up to the village centre, just off to the left, mainly for the convenience of an easy turn. Onward we go to Mattersey itself, where we miss the pretty bit ...

... as we turn right ...

... for the "double run" to Mattersey Thorpe. An initial glance suggests that the peak time journeys on the service 27 timetable are about the lot. But, as Jimmy Cricket would say ...

... there's more.

Take a look at those as yet unexplained notes.

Black Blob : covers schoolday variations

Letter E : is for buses that dive into Everton Village

The Star : refers us to Service 27A "Phon-a-Bus"

And the 27A provides two extra journeys from Bawtry via Everton available by pre-booking via the "phon". So maybe things are a little better than they might first appear at the delightful Mattersey Thorpe.

The village consists of a few "done up" cottages enhanced (?) by a substantial excrescence of dormitory property.

Tomorrow we will see. And, astoundingly, there will be a few words of congratulation for Travel South Yorkshire. But fear not, regular aficionados of TSY and the fat bus bloke, there'll be a laugh or two as well.

We go in search of the elusive service 27A

Next Blog : due Tuesday February 21st

fbb's Dabble with the Big Apple [3]

2012-02-19T06:39:00.001Z

Only One Thing to Do : Swim!

Using the trip planner on New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority web site, see "fbb's Dabble with the Big Apple [2]" (read again) ...

... he has arrived on line R at Whitehall Street subway station ...

... and walked 0.19 of a mile to reach his destination, namely The Statue of Liberty.

But it isn't there. It STILL isn't here on Google Maps ...

... and there's a nice little park where it might have been.

A walk to the waterfront and, gee whizz, the mystery is solved. Somebody has moved the statue to Bedloe's Island nearly two miles away down the Hudson River. Look, there it is!

But a bit more than a 0.19 mile walk from the station. And a worryingly wet walk!

After the surrender of Fort Amsterdam by the Dutch to the British in 1664, the English governor Richard Nicolls granted the little island to Captain Robert Needham. It was sold to Isaac Bedlow on December 23, 1667. In 1732 it was sold for five shillings to New York merchants Adolphe Philipse and Henry Lane. During their ownership, the island was temporarily commandeered by the city of New York to establish a smallpox quarantine station.

In 1746 the island was purchased by Archibald Kennedy who again allowed the island to be used as a smallpox quarantine station, and on February 18, 1758 the Corporation of the City of New York bought the island for £1,000 for continuing use as a "pest house".

On February 15, 1800, the New York State Legislature ceded the island to the federal government, for the construction of a defensive fort to be built there. It was built in the shape of an 11-point star and completed in 1811.

The fort became the base of the Statue of Liberty which was formally opened by President Grover Cleveland in 1886.

Bedloe's Island was officially renamed Liberty Island in 1956.

So, if fbb is not going to swim, then he needs to take a ferry.

Circle Line provides year-round passenger transportation by boat for park visitors to the Statue of Liberty National Monument on Liberty Island and the Ellis Island Immigration Museum on Ellis Island. The ferry service originates from Battery Park, New York City.

And presumably these trips are assumed to be for tourists only and not part of MTA's "normal" services. The only timetable fbb could find on line was for October 2007 ...

... perhaps that's why it's not on the Trip Planner.

In which case, shouldn't the Trip Planner make it clear. How about ...

Battery Park for Liberty Island Ferry

(Pre-Book Only)

At least we now know one thing for certain. The UK is not alone in providing enquirers with duff electronic information. Good Ole' U S of A can be just as daft! We need to thank Frank for some revised lyrics.

Start spreadin' the news, It isn't OK

I can't find my way, you see,
New York, New York

These web sites I use are leading astray

To get to view Liberty,

New York, New York

Tomorrow we return to a location with, perhaps, a little less excitement than new York. We go to Bawtry (in England), once on the old A1 Great North Road and right on the border between South Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire.

Wow, what a view from the great lady's "crown"! Farewell Big Apple with a tantalising picture of the 40 foot latter leading up to the torch (ice cream cone); sadly closed to the public since 1916.

Next Blog : due Monday February 20th

fbb's Dabble with the Big Apple [2]

2012-02-18T02:10:00.001Z

A Virtual Tourist Trip

fbb has been examining public transport in New York, more specifically Manhattan Island. See "fbb's Dabble with the Big Apple [1]" (read again). The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is the "umbrella" organisation for buses and trains. It also offers a simple-to-use on-line journey planner ...

... which, unlike Transport Defunct, doesn't require you to specifiy "station", "address" etc. In New York, You just type in where you want to go. So where does fbb want to go, virtually? How about starting at Central Park Zoo.

This is towards the south eastern corner of the massive Central Park that is, surprise, surprise, is a huge park in the centre of Manhattan. And where shall we go?

To the Statue of Liberty, of course.

Looks pretty simple and even gives the fare. Of course fares, like timetables, are a closely guarded secret in Boris the Blue's London.

What about going by bus?

A perusal of the bus map (here) suggests that route M5 (Whoops, sorry, line M5) would do the trick, delivering fbb to the Whitehall Road Station as shown in the subway schedule. There is a full timetable on line, with journeys arranged horizontally as opposed to the UK vertical style.

The line runs every 10 minutes off-peak but the journey will take an hour rather than 25 minutes underground. It is also further to walk from the Zoo. So the subway it is.

So, down the steps at "5th and 59th" he hurries, virtually, and onto a route R (sorry again, line R) subway going uptown (or is it downtown?) ...

... following the route delivered by the "Trip Planner" ...

... and back into daylight at Whitehall Street. Seemples!

The virtual fbb is all ready to gaze heavenwards at the magnificence of the Statue of Liberty. But of the pretty lady holding her ice cream cone aloft there is no sign. She ain't here! Quick, check you asked the right question ...

... O.K. Buddy, you did it right.

Illusionist David Copperfield once "vanished" the Statue; shown here in couple of fuzzy clips from a U-tube video. In front of a live audience, a curtain is raised in front of the statue, and ...

... moments later lowered and there she was ...

... gone. Perhaps he's been and gone and done it again?

Remember: an innocent fbb has asked the Metrolpolitan Transportation Authority's journey planner for a trip from Central Park Zoo to The Statue of Liberty. He has arrived at Whitehall Street station and walked 0.19 miles to his destination, The Statue of Liberty, and found no "Lady with Ice Cream Cone".

The Statue of Liberty (La Liberté Éclairant le Monde) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886. The statue, a gift to the United States from the people of France, is of a robed female figure representing Libertas, the Roman goddess of freedom, who bears a torch (or vanilla cone) and a tabula ansata (a tablet evoking the law) upon which is inscribed the date of the American Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776. A broken chain lies at her feet. The statue has become an icon of freedom and of the United States.

Really, fbb, it should be hard to miss.

Tomorrow we discover what went wrong.

Those from the USA who read fbb's blog will be screaming at their confuser screens; utterly convinced that fbb is a throughly British idiot. But, remember, fbb has never been to The Big Apple. He is simply interrogating an on-line system which, we are often told, is the best thing since ~~sliced bread~~ ground beef and zippers for your pants.

Next Blog : due Sunday February 19th

fbb's Dabble with the Big Apple [1]

2012-02-17T05:20:00.007Z

NooYoik, Noo Yoik; it's a Helluva Town

Start spreadin' the news, I'm leavin' today
I want to be a part of it,
New York, New York
These vagabond shoes are longing to stray
Right through the very heart of it,

New York, New York

fbb is astounded by the number of blog reads from our cousins "over the pond" ...

... sometimes amounting to 20% of a day's traffic. Obviously some of these are by ghastly accident. Google-Grabbers can easily happen upon some tenuous link and have a confirmatory click; but some folk might actually be interested! (?) Perhaps any regular USA reader might like to own up by posting a comment

fbb has never been to New York (although all three sons have) but this blog-reader interest prompted the old codger to have an on-line look at public transport in that spectacular and challenging City.

The earliest citation for "big apple" is the 1909 book The Wayfarer in New York, by Edward Martin, writing: "Kansas is apt to see in New York a greedy city. It inclines to think that the big apple gets a disproportionate share of the national sap"

The Big Apple was first popularized as a reference to New York City by John J. Fitz Gerald in a number of New York Morning Telegraph articles in the 1920s in reference to New York horse-racing.

By the late 1920s, New York writers other than Fitz Gerald were starting to use "Big Apple" and were using it outside of a horse-racing context. "The Big Apple" was a popular song and dance in the 1930s.

By the 1960s, "the Big Apple" was known only as an old name for New York. In the early 1970s, however, the New York Convention and Visitors Bureau, under the leadership of its president, Charles Gillett, began promoting "the Big Apple" for the city. It has remained popular since then.

In 1976 the apple was chosen as the "official" fruit of New York State.

Public Transport is in the hands of the ...

... which looks after buses and "subway" (Underground). For those who are as "higgorant" as fbb, pleas note that the "El" (for elevated) ...

... is in Chicago, not Noo Yoik. Confusingly, bits of that system are underground, but still called the "El"! New York once had an "El" but no longer; view a video clip (here).

Again, for the insular Brits, like fbb, who have never jetted over the Atlantic, New York consists of a series of islands and peninsulas. The most populous island is Manhattan with the Hudson River to the west and the East River somewhere else. Most of what naïve observers think of as "New York" is on Manhattan Island, which is, to use a couple of technical terms, "big" and "full"; Yet the Island is only 7.6% of the total land area of New York City!

It has loadsa buses ...

... and a spectacular bus map of which fbb can only show a little bit from the southern tip of the Island.

The full Manhattan Island bus map can be viewed (here).

The subway network is equally vast with an extract from the somewhat confusing map shown below.

Again the full map can be viewed (here). Even a more diagrammatic version looks complicated!

Perhaps things become a little clearer if you understand that the colour indicates a group of routes (e.g. all "yellows" run on one set of rails via Broadway) and the letters (N, Q, R, W) show the pattern of service spreading out from the common section. Imagine trains on the District Line in London showing E for Ealng, R for Richmond and W for Wimbledon and you get the idea.

Line R crosses the iconic Queensborough Bridge ...

... and on the far side, in the borough of Queens (there's a clue in the name of the bridge), the trains exit the tracks below the top deck roadway and breathe fresh air for a brief while.

An aerial view below (via Google Maps, of course) places the picture above at the left hand and of the visible tracks.

it's amazing what you can discover on-line; assuming that fbb's surfing activities have produced a correct result.

So, having researched the network and consulted the maps, the next stage of fbb's virtual visit is to plan a journey, New York-style. A report on that exciting (!) challenge will be published tomorrow.

See ya, buddy!

Next Blog : due Saturday February 18th

Information is Power [2]

2012-02-15T19:38:00.014Z

Cost Saving Computer Systems

Inspired by an article in "Passenger Transport", fbb has been giving a system produced by "ito". See "Information is Power [1]" (read again) and Norfolk County Council's Video (here). As well as NCC, the software package is also used by East Yorkshire Motor Services. EYMS is owned and run by Peter Shipp ...

... not renowned for being publicity shy!

The article reports that EYMS approached "ito" when Humberside Council opted out of roadside publicity and lumbered the company with about 2000 timetable frames to fill. So a sample is shown for a stop on Anlaby Road, this stop in fact.

Not particularly inspiring but opposite Hull Railway Station ...

... better viewed from the inside where the new Paragon Bus Station has been provided, linked to part of this huge terminal building.

Back to Anlaby Road, where EYMS and "ito" have produced a departures poster. It does appear to be reasonably correct, unlike the Norfolk offering examined yesterday. It is too big to blog, but here is what it looks like.

The top section is a simple destination list for each route serving the stop, with a list of departures in time order below; all very neat and tidy, all very impressive, especially if you are leaning at 45 degrees, wacko-Jacko style.

BUT, is it useful?

The route diagrams are all separated by route number, even if, for example, the 35A is a minor variant of the 35. Surely these routes should be grouped together; shown as one service?

Likewise the X55, X56 and X57 offer a common route between Hull and Elloughton, before splitting. Surely they should be shown as one "mini network" on a bus stop diagram?

Then, for the list of departures shown below the route diagrams, everything is mixed up and in time order. Does the passenger really want to plough through all this when he only wants confirmation of the next 153?

There is a way of providing this grouping of services, clearly showing different routes after the split, and minor evening and Sunday variants. It's called a "timetable".

Assuming space is available (and it is at Anlaby Road, on the inside of the shelter), why not post enlarged copies of timetable pages? Together with a map of services, they can be assembled with a pot of glue and a pair of scissors. It is a helpful source of bus stop information. Somebody should try it.

Talking of cost effective solutions, here is an example of information provided in 1964 by "Total 'Your Passenger Information System' Technology", or a "typist".

This is how Mavis did it nearly 50 years ago on her Remington typewriter.

She would simply type departure times on a pre-printed quarto sheet of paper. This was then posted by Frank at the bus stops. The same page was reduced in size for the little timetable book.

O.K., these are only departure lists, not the more useful timetables; but Northampton routes were all typically short so it was never a very long journey. Note, incidentally, that most routes were more frequent on Saturday than on Monday to Friday; and more frequent until late in the evening. And we either went to church or stayed in bed on Sunday mornings.

The same little booklet contained fare tables (in the old money, of course) ...

... and even a rudimentary but easily understood route map.

The sad fact is that, despite huge advances in printing, design and IT, publicity was far better in 1964 than it is in 2012. Name any town where fbb could pick up a booklet today; with fares, timetable and route maps?

O.K., the Corporation's book did not include services run by United Counties to villages-cum-suburbs like Hardingstone and Duston; for those you needed the UC network book priced at one shilling. And rural bus companies rarely published fare tables so it wasn't utterly ideal, but still better than today.

The problem is that we have become "conned" into using computer software because we can, not because we need to. However splendid the "ito" stuff may be, even if it happens to be right, it is not necessarily delivering what the passenger actually needs.

Is it?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

fbb is greatly indebted to his Northampton correspondent,

Alan, for sending him the scans of the NCT timetable book.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Next Blog : due Friday February 17th

Information is Power [1]

2012-02-14T21:51:00.026Z

Knowledge is power. Information is power. The secreting or hoarding of knowledge or information may be an act of tyranny camouflaged as humility.

Thus wrote American feminist activist Robin Morgan, formerly a child film star. We are told that we live in an "information age", privileged to have the benefits of advanced "information technology" systems. A radio presenter was heard to say, "Now we all have smart phones ..."

fbb doesn't, neither does Mrs fbb, neither do Peter and Sue, their chums from church; nor Lawrence, an elder at church, but fbb's little boys (all in their "thirties") do.

We all have smartphones?

fbb does not subscribe to "Passenger Transport" (website here), the fortnightly news and comment periodical for the public transport industry. But occasionally they send out a sample by way of "subtle persuasion". In the most recent issue is an article about bus stop information. In the piece entitled "the Automation of Information", Robert Jack ...

... the editor, extols the virtues of new software from a company called ...

(website here) which claims:-

High quality passenger information is essential to maintain and increase patronage of sustainable transport but producing publicity materials is often a time consuming and inefficient exercise.

We make it painless to publish engaging materials with a comprehensive online solution for sustainable transport information, across all formats; print, web and mobile. An integrated information suite that automatically updates materials, allowing you to publish in a timely manner with an efficient management process.

Use ITO Roadside Information to produce clear, compelling stop-specific information helping to grow passenger numbers, including: maps, timetables, line guides, destination and route finders and QR codes. Our easy to use dashboard and map interface, allows you to see what changes have occurred and publish materials well ahead of time.

Apparently Jeremy Wiggin ...

... of Norfolk County Council is dead chuffed with his new electronic bus stop timetable making toy, and an always interested fbb thought he should "ave a butchers".

The sample computer output display illustrated in "Passenger Transport" is for this bus stop at Caistor St Edmund, a small village south of Norwich.

Before proceeding further, fbb feels fervently that he ought to focus on the fact that the sample display might be just that; a sample to show the impressive nature of the system. Well, he hopes it is, because ...

... the "ito" output calls it Markshall Lane. But the stop is on Stoke Road, not Markshall Lane as is confirmed by fbb's Norfolk street map and the gorgeous Google.

But that's not all. Look at an enlargement of a poor scan from the magazine; and there are a few snags.

Snag 1 : The journey time to Norwich is actually 9 minutes, not 39 as shown. See Anglian's timetable.

Snag 2 : The heading on the panel mentions a service 587R, but Anglian bus don't seem to know what that is.

Snag 3 : 587s and 587Rs appear to run together providing a useful duplicate service for the crowds travelling from Caistor St Edmund ...

... to Poringland, but only 587Rs run back to Norwich.

Snag 4 : Buses to Norwich (northbound) appear to leave from the same stop (Stop A) as buses to Stoke and Poringland which travel southbound. This must involve some very deft and decisive driving.

Snag 5 : The Sunday and Monday to Saturday departures are all mixed up, thus making it all too easy to make a mistake. This is a bludner shared with bus station displays in South Yorkshire. Apparently, according to SYPTE's technical gurus, it avoids confusion for the passengers!

Apart from these minor trivialities, "ito" and Norfolk County Council are doing a really spiffing job.

GIGO?

Tomorrow we look at another success for an "ito" project, namely bus stop displays for the East Yorkshire company. But (please don't get too excited) fbb will reveal a superb low cost bus stop display system dating from 1964 and earlier.

It was called ...

"Total 'Your Passenger Information System' Technology."

Next Blog : due Thursday February 16th

A Lotta Hassle for Little Houghton [3]

2012-02-14T02:12:00.002Z

You Know, Unipart ...

... which fbb thought sold all those ludicrously expensive floggle-toggles to mend a motor car. But, actually, it is a huge group including ...

... which means it collects, delivers and stores stuff for other companies. Now fbb is thrilled to tell our excitable blog readers that Unipart has one of these:-

A Global Fulfilment Centre (spelt wrongly by Unipart : two "l"s not three according to the Oxford English Dictionary : write out your corrections 100 times!), whatever one of those is. And here it is in all its globally fulfilling glory.

Its a big shed and some offices built on land that was once part of Houghton Main Colliery. And it's got a bus service. There are shift pattern journeys on services 35 and 36 ...

... some of which are called 35B by Travel South Yorkshire, but they are exactly the same as 35s which is what Stagecoach calls them. Note also that TSY calls it "Great Houghton Unipart".

And service 33 provides at least an hourly bus seven days a week. Oh, and according to Traveline, the shed is located at Park Spring Road, Little Houghton. This is a new road following disused railway lines and linking Grimethorpe etc. with a whole range of "brown field" regeneration sites.

Here is the Option 2 of possible journey plan between Barnsley and Buttercross Drive. See A Lotta Hassle for Little Houghton [1] (read again).

Maybe not an attractive option with an 18 minute walk. Perhaps worth avoiding like the proverbial plague when you see what that "walk" involves. The warehouse is the large pink block top left.

The bus stop for Unipart is here ...

... with footpaths provided to get you safely into the compound (suitably protected by a high security fence); but leading to nowhere else. You could, of course, dice with death on the pavement-less and bus stop-less road and walk over half a mile south to the Ings Lane bridge ...

... clamber up the bank...

looking back from Ings Lane bridge

to Unipart in the misty distance

... do an SAS style vault over the bridge parapet and/or more high chain link fencing (remember?) ...

... and yomp defiantly down the Middlecliffe Road to No 8 Buttercross Drive Little Houghton.

fbb told you it was farcical. And all because the Lady loves Milk Tray?

No; all because Travel South Yorkshire has an irresistible desire to give everywhere a "district" name, even if it's potty. Then the journey planner, a typically thicko confuser, gives daft results.

And a finally, a technical question.

If Unipart were a suitable alighting point for Little Houghton, which it clearly isn't, then what is wrong with offering fbb a journey on the service 33 at 1140?

Option 6 : service 33, no changes and an 18 minute walk

Total journey time : 45 minutes

Next Blog : due Wednesday February 15th

A Lotta Hassle for Little Houghton [2]

2012-02-13T06:54:00.003Z

Toying with Traveline?

In "A Lotta Hassle for Little Houghton [1]" (read again) fbb examined the four on-line options for a journey from Barnsley to Buttercross Drive in Little Houghton and the old fellow added a fifth option drawn from his encyclopaedic (?) knowledge of the area.

Only joking!

Blog readers were invited to comment on which option they would choose. The response was underwhelming, so fbb will offer some further guidance.

Three of the options (1, 4 and 5) deposited the passenger at "Little Houghton Ings Lane Middlecliffe Road" which is here ...

... with a "two minute" walk to Buttercross Drive. Because Little Houghton is a "dead end", the bus does a "double run" from the main road at Middlecliffe. Would it not be a little easier to get off at the end of Buttercross Drive and NOT ride to the turn round and back again, pretty though the scenery be?

Of course it would!

But Traveline doesn't seem to cope with a lack of bus stop pole on the outward run. The Ings Lane terminal loop is about 500 metres away in the distance. Our destination is just off to the right.

So thanks a bunch, Traveline; an unnecessary walk.

Two options (2 and 4) involved a change at Darfield ...

... at this very stop.

But it isn't at Darfield; certainly not anywhere in Darfield known to Darfielders. The comunity was (and usually is) known as Millhouses, named after the houses at the mill on the River Dearne, no less, as in Dearne Valley. It used to be the location of Darfield railway station, closed in 1963 ...

... and remembered today in the name of the pub ...

... and some bridge abutments.

So Darfield station was at Millhouses and not Darfield, which should not come as a surprise. It gets worse. Google Maps and its associated Streetview facility (much used by fbb's blogs) has at least one bus stop icon in Millhouses labelled ...

... which claims it is at Middlecliffe. It most indubitably isn't. See it all on this map extract.

But does it matter? It very well might matter muchly. If the unwary Traveline traveller were on a Stagecoach 218 ...

... and asked to be "put down" at Darfield, he would not be at the right stop for his connection to Little Houghton and doom and disaster would be the likely result.

So, thanks another bunch, Traveline and/or Transport defunct for further potential confusion. It was so much easier when you could ring up the Yorkshire Traction enquiry office at Barnsley bus station and speak to the man who knew.

Tomorrow, we examine further the farcical Option 2 which deposits the innocent traveller at Park Spring Road, Little Houghton. If it wasn't so silly, it would be almost funny.

Next Blog : due Tuesday February 14th

A Lotta Hassle for Little Houghton [1]

2012-02-12T01:31:00.000Z

Jolly Puzzles with Journey Planners - Again!

fbb wanted to get to a house in Buttercross Drive, Little Houghton (near Barnsley).

At the end of the road which runs past this little cul-de-sac used to be Houghton Main Colliery, part of the vast Barnsley and Dearne Valley Coalfield.

Like its associated pit, Grimesthorpe, this colliery closed in 1993 and nothing recognisable remains apart from this sign at the former entrance to the site.

Just opposite the ex pithead winding wheel is this bus stop ...

... called "Little Houghton Ings Lane Middecliffe Lane." Readers should try to remember this location. Nice chainlink fence?

Just to complete the picture, here is an aerial view of Little Houghton. Buttercross Drive is marked with a Google Maps letter "A", and the former entrance to the pit, plus bus stop and winding wheel are at the obvious layby cum turning loop on the left.

So now all we have to do is to interrogate either Traveline or Transport Defunct. fbb has used the former as the answers take up less space, but, please be assured, they do both give the similar answers.

Which begs the question, why are we taxpayers shelling out our millions for two bits of expensive electronic gubbins? Answers, please to Justine Greening, who is Minister of Transport for this week.

We are travelling from Barnsley Centre to Buttercross Drive and we may choose the actual address from a list which includes ...

... addresses in Doncaster, Rotherham and, unbelievably, Kilmarnock.

fbb is sure that many people wanting to get to Buttercross Drive will be happy to go to a retail park in Ayrshire as a viable alternative. Confidence is beginning to evaporate like the dew in the early morning sun. Very poetic by not very practicable.

fbb chooses No. 8 for obvious reasons.

Traveline offers the prospective bus passenger four main options each hour, as recorded below. Our journey is scheduled to leave Barnsley Interchange any time around 11.00 am on a Friday if our readers want to double-check. P. Dantik and Ken Traveline-Dorset are dead certs!

Option 1 : 1055 service 219 and an 8 minute connection at Middlecliffe for service 67 and a short walk:-

Total journey time : 39 minutes

Option 2 : 1110 service 218 and a 6 minute change at Darfield for service 33 and an 18 minute walk

Total journey time : 50 minutes

Option 3 : 1125 service 219, no change and a 16 minute walk

Total journey time : 39 minutes

Option 4 : 1140 service 218, 17 minute change at Darfield and a short walk.

Total journey time : 43 minutes.

And an Option 5 that Traveline does not give you; but with too big a panel to print out so fbb summarises thus:-

1105 Barnsley service 67

no changes

1222 Little Houghton

and a short walk

Total journey time : 1 hour and 17 minutes. You're right, it is a long way round but it is all on the one bus.

You can also tell your friends that you enjoyed sitting on the bus just as it was going to jump. They will be both impressed and bewildered.

Back to the task in hand.

Assuming that you have the choice of all five options; which journey would you take? You will need to set the "risk" of tight connection times against possible long walks. It might be pouring with rain! You might prefer one through journey but taking much longer.

fbb invites comments and will follow up with further debate from Monday.

Next Blog : due Monday February 13th

Selected Snippets : Excluded Epithets!

2012-02-11T03:50:00.004Z

"An epithet is decorative insofar as it is neither essential to the immediate context nor modelled especially for it."

So it's a posh word for interesting extra bits!

"Grimey" is Grimethorpe [1 of a series] (read again)

Grimethorpe Colliery Band is now sponsored by RJB Mining. The Band was formed in 1917, as a leisure activity for the workmen at the colliery. It was initially financed by the colliery, a sister company, and a welfare fund set up by the miners themselves. The musicians, most of whom worked at the colliery full-time, perfected their skills through competition. From 1932 to 1945 the band entered 42 such competitions, winning 19 and never coming lower than fifth! It was in 1972, under their new conductor that national and international fame developed.

Sadly, at the last count, only one of the bandsmen lived in Grimethorpe.

Here, however, a snap showing the filming of "Brassed Off" in the village itself.

The film was almost a biography of Grimethorpe, describing the battle to save the Band as the Colliery fell into decline.

DVR at Grimethorpe [2 of a series] : (read again)

The interwebnet produces some delightful gems; and this is one of them.

Gertrude Richardson was signalman at Grimethorpe North until the box closed in 1966. The details of her railway career are told on a splendid little site (here). fbb is hopeful that a blog reader might be able to tell him exactly where the box was located.

Barnsley to Grimethorpe [3 of a series] (read again)

The once famous Upper Sheffield Road depot, originally for Barnsley's trams, then for Traccy's buses and finally for Stageocach, is no more. It has been demolished and new housing is appearing where once beautiful buses were brushed and brightened-up before beginning their busy day's service.

When the Google Streetview noddy car trundled past, only the fuel tanks were left standing.

fbb wrote "railways in the Barnsley area are complicated". This 1940s map shows something of the spaghetti of lines to the east of Barnsley stations.

The A628 Pontefract Road, and the route to Grimesthorpe, runs from lower left to top right. Hoyle Mill (map centre) was the base of the "Ideal" bus company which, at one time, operated between Barnsley and Pontefract, running service 46, now similar Stagecoach 246. More pictures of "Ideal" buses (here)

The Oaks Viaduct (map centre) was particularly spectacular and carried trains to Cudworth. It was demolished in the 1960s

Traccy to Grimesthorpe [4 of a series] (read again)

In a comment to this blog, Ken Traveline-Dorset confirmed the details of the West Riding services from Grimethorpe to Wakefield and suggested that fbb might add a timetable. So, specially for Ken, here is an extract:-

Also "on line", fbb spotted this picture of this splendidly preserved 1913 Barnsley District Electric Traction Company bus. Note that it is going to Grimethorpe.

Was this the earliest bus route to the village? The Company eventually became Yorkshire Traction.

Stagecoach to Grimethorpe [5 of a series] (read again)

fbb is indepted to members of the South Yorkshire Transport forum for kindly supplying both the picture of the Atlantean going to "White City" in the original blog and a couple of shots of privatised Yorkshire Traction vehicles. This bus is also going to "White City" at Grimethorpe ...

... on the route now operated by Red Line.

A correction: fbb had assumed that Red Line's 37 and 38, introduced in response to Stagecoach's withdrawal from these routes, were "tendered" by SYPTE. Apparently they are fully commercial with no supporting PTE cash. Unlike most local authorities, SYPTE does not inform passengers which journeys are financially supported. In his defence, old chubby-chops states that they do look like tendered routes.

"Hi I'm Sean, I started the company in Barnsley, 2008 with 2 buses when I took on 37 service after Stagecoach withdrew it." From the Red Line web site (here).

According to an "anonymous" comment on yesterday's blog, all of Red Line's services are commercial. Thanks, anonymous aka P Dantik!

Of course the "Grimey" White City is not to be confused with a more celebrated namesake in London. Once home of the "Flip-Flap" at the Franco-British Exhibition in 1908 ...

... and now sporting its somewhat more modern Underground Station on the Central Line, and the BBC Television Centre.

Thought? Perhaps the White City estate at Grimethorpe was named after the Exhibition, famed for its bright pristine white exhibition halls? Might brighten the day for a grimy Grimey miner?

And finally another "Oh dear, not again" moment from Travel South Yorkshire. The departure screens at Barnsley's posh interchage show this information for Red Line's service 37 to Windmill Avenue, Grimethorpe (formerly known as "Red City").

It claims that the 37 runs to Brierley. IT DOESN'T and never has done! So for the lads at TSY, and ever willing to help them improve their geographical knowledge; or even help them get some geographical knowledge, here is an extract from fbb's amended version of the Stagecoach network map.

Brierley is "Church Street" at the top of the map, about half a mile away from the Windmill Avenue terminus.

Oh dear, not again!

Next Blog : due Sunday February 12th

Stagecoach to Grimethorpe [5 of a series]

2012-02-09T09:06:00.019Z

The consequences of Colliery Closure

Grimethorpe Pit and its linked neighbours closed in 1993 with a loss of about 6,000 jobs.

This was despite the bitter miners' strikes, led by the indefatigable King Arthur Scargill.

Even the eponymous pub (and once the time point for the buses) ...

has gone the way of many.

where once "The Grimethorpe" was

But, much of the less acceptable housing in the centre of the village ...

... has gone and new homes built on the site of old.

And much has happened to Grimey's bus service; now in the capable hands of Stagecoach who bought out the Traction group in 2005. fbb has "tinkered" with the current Stagecoach map to add in services now operated by Redline under tender to SYPTE.

Redline's routes ...

... are shown as, you guessed it, red lines! There's clever cartography for you. Stagecoach now serves only the White City estate (Nancy Crescent) although the traditional name is no longer used. Michael's estate only gained its service in recent times.

The former 211 route through to Doncaster is now the 36, but only running to South Elmsall.

The 245 has become the 35 ...

... with the 246 and 247 losing their 200s and everything being operated via Grimethorpe. Notice from the map that nothing now runs via the main A628 between Shafton and Brierley.

This process was promoted in 2006 ...

... when the process of "Grimethorpisation" provided an increased frequency.

So, despite losing its pit, Grimey has gained a much improved service. Even in 2012, after Stagecoach had abandoned some of the estate routes, the following is available:-

33 every hour

35 every 30 minutes

36 every hour

37 every hour (Redline)

38 every hour (Redline)

46 every hour

47 every hour

That is EIGHT buses an hour, or twice the frequency of 1981. Who says bus services have deteriorated? In Grimethorpe they haven't.

Just in case blog reader P. Dantik writes in, fbb must point out that the Redline services only operate between school times from about 1000 to 1500.

Thus Windmill Hill Avenue (Red City terminus of old) ...

... has a much worse service into the estate than in the past. And any poor soul who wanted a quick nip between Shafton Two Gates and Brierley, previously a direct 3 minute run along the A628, now has to sit for 12 minutes and enjoy a tour of gorgeous Grimethorpe! And, presumably, pay more for the privilege.

Tomorrow (Saturday) fbb will add some Grimethorpe snippets that, in order to keep blogs to a readable length, had to be expurgated from the five postings.

A blog on the fascinating (?) , but as yet unexplained, service 33 will follow in due course.

Next Blog : due Saturday February 11th

Traccy to Grimethorpe [4 of a series]

2012-02-09T03:27:00.005Z

Where there's Muck there's Brass

It is 1981 and we are travelling to Grimethorpe by bus. Our bus company is Yorkshire Traction ...

but not, sadly, travelling on one of these!

... part of the British Electric Traction group and operators of most of the bus services in and around Barnsley. We will be following the A629 Pontefract Road as far as Shafton Two Gates ...

... where we turn right for "Grimey". Why "Two Gates"? fbb's guess is that there were, in ancient times, two turnpike toll gates at the crossroads where now stands a pub and a bus garage; and not much else.

In support of his guess, the now bypassed bit of Engine Lane (the right hand turn to Grimethorpe, now a cul-de-sac) has been renamed Tollgate Close.

Back in 1981 we might be privileged to ride on a rear engined double decker ...

possibly pre PTE route renumbering : mid 70s?

... but the village of our destination would have shown little change for 60 years or so.

1980s life was much the same as it always had been ...

this 1926 family butcher's was still trading in 1986

... still with plenty of local shops and a good dose of community life. But the pit, employer of nearly half the male population, was still in full swing.

There were four buses an hour but not evenly spread. The 340 ran to "Red City", the strangely evocative name for housing estates on the Brierley Road.

The 341 served "White City" and late 1920s development, seen here in the mid 50's, but little changed by 1981.

Was it called "White" City after the once white upper storey plasterwork on the houses? Note (in the 50s) the paucity of parked motor cars because, for most "Grimey" residents, it was a walk "t t pit" or a bus to Barnsley.

For the really adventurous, there was the 211 ...

N.B. West Yorkshire PTE branding below windscreen

... which ran all the way to Doncaster! What excitement!

To complete the picture, here is an extract from the South Yorkshire PTE bus map for Barnsley and Doncaster, also dated 1981.

For completeness, fbb records that the 122 and 123 were services operated by West Riding from Wakefield. Despite the obvious terminus of the 123, this particular route ran approximately every two hours Monday to Saturday daytime.

Blog readers may also like to note the services between Barnsley, Upton and Pontefract; routes 245, 246 (extract below) and 247 which used the main A628.

The successors to these routes appear at Grimethorpe itself in 2012.

Tomorrow we look at today's services to a revitalised and rejuvenated Grimethope. The twentyfirst century has brought some interesting developments.

Next Blog : due Friday February 10th

Barnsley to Grimethorpe [3 of a series]

2012-02-08T03:19:00.000Z

The best thing about Barnsley ...

... is the road out to Sheffield (where, incidentally, the main Yorkshire Traction garage was located).

Not really, just a jest, honest!

Barnsley, ancestral home of Charlie Williams, Michael Parkinson, Dickie Bird, Arthur Scargill, C J de Mooi and Harry Worth (actually from Pilley, not Barnsley), epitomises all that is Northern; even better, all that is South Yorkshire.

There's the iconic pie and pea dinner.

fbb failed to find a proper picture of this culinary delight. The pie had indeterminate contents, nominally "meat", with dayglo green pea sludge poured over it. Forget "nouvelle cuisine"!! The whole gastronomic sensation was served in a white pot bowl and eaten with a spoon, all washed down with a pint of Barnsley Best Bitter. The brave added a generous dash if vinegar (to the pies and peas, not the beer)! It was the standard 1960s lunch eaten after a visit "t t stooers" ...

... the Barnsley British Co-op; or on an expedition to the excellent (open and under cover) Barnsley markets.

At the main crossroads in the pre-pedestrianised, pre-bypassed centre, your bus would be beckoned through by P.C. Bill Harber, often resplendent in a white smock but always sporting his huge ginger handlebar moustache.

P. C. Harber was awarded the MBE for his services to the town of Barnsley, and well he deserved it. The traffic would have seized up completely without him.

After your shopping trip, it was back to the bus station for the journey home.

This view, looking roughly south, shows the main "island platform" squeezed in between Barnsley Exchange station on the left, and Barnsley Court House station (closed in 1960) from which the picture was taken.

Railway routes in and through Barnsley are immensely complicated and well beyond blogging brevity. The map below may assist in confusing our readers.

Pink lines were Great Central Railway (Exchange); Green lines, Midland (Court House) and Blue, Lancashire and Yorkshire (Exchange).

Barnsley Exchange is now simply Barnsley Station ...

... trendily (?) rebuilt...

... and recently linked to a very un-Barnsley new "Interchange" all glass, escalators and posh; with little sheep pens for waiting passengers.

Eee, it weren't lark that when fbb were a lad.

But we step back to 1981, to the old bus station and prepare to take a virtual journey to Grimey.Why 1981? Because that's the date on fbb's earliest remaining Barnsley area timetable book.

Next Blog : due Thursday February 9th

DVR at Grimethorpe [2 of a series]

2012-02-07T00:44:00.000Z

DVR?
Digital video recorder
Discrete valuation ring
Distance-vector routing
Direct volume rendering

DVR, in this case, refers to the Dearne Valley Railway Company's line which served a station at Grimethorpe, near Barnsley. It is not to be confused with the modern "Dearne Valley Line" which provides a spartan local service to Sheffield and York, giving Pontefract Baghill its two-trains-a-day service.

Our DVR ran from nowhere in particular near Wakefield to a series of junctions south of Doncaster station.

The line was incorporated by an Act of 6 August 1897, but progress was slow and the line did not open throughout to goods traffic until 1909 and to passenger traffic between Wakefield Kirkgate and Edlington. The line amounted to 21 miles. There was an extensive coal traffic, serving a number of important collieries along the line. The railway was worked by the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway. On 1 January 1922 the London & North Western Railway absorbed both the Lancashire & Yorkshire and Dearne Valley Railways, which then became part of the LMS on 1 January 1923. Passenger service was withdrawn on 10 September 1951.

Passenger services were never frequent and the line's stations were mostly designated "Halts", so its main business was to serve a whole list of Collieries along the valley. Running south these were:-

Brierley

Grimesthorpe

Houghton Main
Goldthorpe

Denaby Main

Cadeby

Clearly King Coal was the main (the only?) source of revenue for this line.

Brierley pit was some distance from the line ...

... and linked by its own little "ginny" train ...

... with its former track still in use today as farm access and footpath. Nothing is left of the interchange sidings, however, except for a few workers' cottages just off Hodroyd Lane at Shafton.

Just south of the sidings, located in open country and to the west of Engine Lane, is the site of Grimethorpe Halt. One parapet of the road bridge remains.

It was a good half mile from Grimesthorpe High Street and significantly further from the main housing estates. The station was never busy, as most people who needed to travel wanted to get to Barnsley and not Wakefield. The line closed to freight progressively from 1966, but a connection to the Brierley Colliery interchange sidings remained in use for another 30 years.

fbb has been unable to locate any recognisable pictures of the station or trains on the line, but the interwebnet offers ...

... "a coal train travelling north near Grimethorpe". Other sources suggest that the passenger service (closed in 1951) was originally operated by a Lancashire and Yorkshire rail motor like this ...

... which would be more than adequate for the crowds of passengers!

Conisbrough viaduct across the River Don, further south east, near Doncaster, is the most interesting feature of this little-known route.

It consists of 21 arches, 14 on the western or Cadeby bank of the river, and 7 on the eastern or Conisbrough bank which are connected by an iron girder bridge. The total length of the viaduct is 528 yards, or a quarter of a mile and 88 yards. A feature of the work was the overhead travelling cradle which was used for carrying men and materials to and fro across the river. It was technically called a ‘Blondin’ and was an American invention which was first used in England in connection with the erection of Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames. The Cable on which the Blondin operated was 1,875 feet in length and was fastened to two 80 feet high steel masts, positioned beyond the ends of the viaduct.

a "blondin", but not at Conisbrough

The viaduct arches were built of red brick, faced with a double course of Staffordshire pressed blue brick. In total about 15 million bricks were used in the viaduct’s construction and a quantity of these were pressed by local brick firms at Barnsley, Mexborough and Rotherham.

It is now a most impressive public footpath and cycleway link between the villages of Cadeby and Edlington.

A more eclectic piece of trivia, however, concerns the manager of the Dearne Valley Railway ...

... Sebastian Willam Meyer [lived from 1856 to 1946]. As well as a railway manager, Seb penned a hymn or two, one of which is quoted here.

Education might be better if more of today's schools were built on such a secure moral foundation.

Suitably spiritually inspired, we return to Grimethorpe. Going there by train never was a realistic option, so tomorrow we start our virtual exploration of bus travel to Grimey.

It all begins at beautiful Barnsley (?).

the exit from Barnsley bus station.

Exchange railway station in the background.

bridge at Court House railway station : c1960

P.S. Grand Central's trains from Kings Cross to Bradford traverse the bit of line between Crofton Junctions and Wakefield Kirkgate (see map above).

Next Blog : due Wednesday February 8th

"Grimey" is Grimethorpe [1 of a series]

2012-02-06T02:14:00.001Z

What The Dickens is fbb Talking About?

It was a town of red brick, or of brick that would have been red if the smoke and ashes had allowed it; but as matters stood, it was a town of unnatural red and black like the painted face of a savage. It was a town of machinery and tall chimneys, out of which interminable serpents of smoke trailed themselves for ever and ever, and never got uncoiled. It had a black canal in it, and vast piles of buildings full of windows where there was a rattling and a trembling all day long,

and where the pistons of the steam-engine worked monotonously up and down, like the head of an elephant in a state of melancholy madness. It contained several large streets all very like one another, and many small streets still more like one another, inhabited by people equally like one another, who all went in and out at the same hours, with the same sound upon the same pavements, to do the same work, and to whom every day was the same as yesterday and to-morrow, and every year the counterpart of the last and the next.

It is the 200th Anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens. The description above is from "Hard Times" and describes Coketown, the fictional home of much of the story.

It could be a description of any town with one heavy industry at its heart. Once upon a time it could have described Grimethorpe, near Barnsley.

And those who imagine the name as particularly appropriate might like to be informed that the locality draws its supposedly soiled sobriquet from an ancient Briton called "Grim" who owned a little farming village, a Thorp no less. Even ancient British Grim would be astounded at what his little Thorp had become in the twentieth century.

Grimethorpe was its colliery.

The 1981 census recorded 44% of Grimethorpe workers as miners. The two adjacent pits in the village were called 'Grimethorpe' and 'Ferrymoor'. The latter merged with 'Riddings' in 1967, which in turn merged with 'South Kirkby' in 1985. Grimethorpe colliery was one of the deepest pits in Britain and, following similar mergers with 'Houghton Main' and 'Dearne Valley', employed 6,000 men at the time of the closure in May 1993. During mid-October of the UK Miners' Strike (1984-1985), there was a series of riots in Grimethorpe and local residents complained that the policing was too heavy-handed. Relations between the community and the police remained very cold for the next decade.

There was also a pit at Brierley, a village to the North.

Most (many?) blog readers will have heard of the world-famous Grimethorpe Colliery Band ...

Brassed Off is a 1996 British film written and directed by Mark Herman. The film is about the troubles faced by a colliery brass band, following the closure of their pit. The soundtrack for the film was provided by the Grimethorpe Colliery Band, and the plot is based on Grimethorpe's own struggles against pit closures. It is generally very positively received for its role in promoting brass bands and their music. Parts of the film make reference to the huge increase in suicides that resulted from the end of the coal industry in Britain, and the struggle to retain hope in the circumstances.

The film stars the late Pete Postlethwaite, Tara Fitzgerald and Ewan McGregor. The film was well received as a comedy, and by some as a political statement about the state of traditional coal mining communities in Britain.

The film was particularly well received in former mining communities, who felt it accurately reflected the suffering they faced because of the decline of their industry during the years of the Thatcher and Major Conservative governments. It is set during the latter period, when Michael Heseltine presided over a huge programme of pit closures, as President of the Board of Trade.

Today, in 2012, you would never know that there was ever a pit at Grimethorpe.

Where stood the massive winding gear and pit power station now lie acres of bland low-employment warehousing ...

... and modern "residential units" with small windows.

Casual readers and enthusiasts alike may ask, perhaps with a hint of sadness, about the depressing decline of public transport in the wake of pit closures etc. They may be surprised ...

... because it's got an "interchange". O.K., its only four bus shelters and a myterious blue totem pole thingey, but South Yorkshire PTE thinks it's an "interchange", their euphemism for a bus station.

So tomorrow we remember Grimethorpe's minimalist rail service.

And it's "Grimey" for Grimethorpe, by the way; not "Grimy" for, well, grimy! And don't confuse it with GrimeSthorpe, now an industrial suburb of Sheffield; ...

... some would say, equally appropriately named.

Next Blog : due Tuesday February 7th

The ftr is Uncertain

2012-02-05T06:02:00.000Z

York, Leeds, Swansea? What next?

Route One is a weekly on-line magazine (read here), mainly aimed at the engineering and vehicles side of bus and coach operation. The mag is clearly supported financially by the plethora of adverts for new and second-hand vehicles. So, if you fancy starting a bus service, this is a good pace to look for your first purchase!

The edition for Friday 3rd February headlines First's stunning (?) new livery ...

... no, not that stunning new livery, but the slightly less monochrome effort.

The magazine (web-a-zine?) also outlines First's Fearnley-led futuristic forecasts for the company's next few years.

fbb is certain that his own personal Christian Journey for Life offers a better deal even than First's, but noble and pseudo-spiritual sentiments have to be a feature of corporate mission statements, these days; even if they are somewhat vapid!

But elsewhere in Route One, another change in the ftr of bus services is heralded ...

... not another First network abandonment, but the end of the Wright Streetcar "ftr" service between Acomb and York University. In a company statement, Dave Alexander,

boss of First's Sheffield, Leeds, York and Manchester operations, says:-

Following a comprehensive review of passenger growth prospects, First has identified an opportunity to launch the ftr elsewhere in its Northern Region. As a result the ftr vehicles will be withdrawn from York for a full refurbishment programme ahead of being introduced into service elsewhere.

So it's nothing to do with the fact that it never really worked, and York City didn't like it after all, and many of the promised bus priority measures never materialised? Nothing to do with that at all! And nothing to do with the fact that it was expensive to run with on-board ticketing staff?

The 30 "customer care assistants" [they used to be called "conductors" when fbb were nobbut a lad] are to lose their jobs. Low floor double deck buses will replace the ftr vehicles.

This move should come as no surprise to readers of this blog. The chubby one was decidedly underwhelmed by his first First trip on ftr York and the "whelming" continued to be very much "under" on subsequent visits. See "The ftr's Bright, the ftr's Purple [1]" (read again) and "The ftr's Bright, the ftr's Purple [2]" (read again).

York's ftr dies; what about Leeds ftr, also part of First's Northern Region? Will ftr fade finally there as well? And Swansea? No comment yet, but ...

And where will they be re-deployed? Again, no specific announcement as yet; but presumably on a high profile frequent urban route somewhere, hopefully with wide ftr-favourable roads and good bus priorities. Blog readers are invited to speculate.

Lets hope they get a distinctive livery; perhaps a change from purple?

Perhaps not!

And, talking of First's livery, fbb wonders what delights they will display to deliver their dynamic transport contract for the Olympics. We can't wait!

A final flippant thought; will "customer care assitants" give five rings for a full Olympic bus? [Groan]

Next Blog : due Monday February 6th

Lemniscate or Obfuscate

2012-02-04T08:32:00.002Z

Lemniscate? See note [1]

----------------------------------------------------------------

If you are used to reading fbb's blog early in the day, today

you would have had to wait until 0830. fbb lives at the end

of a very thin internet wire and his broadband is often

narrow. Sometimes it stops altogether. Apologies!

----------------------------------------------------------------

To Infinity and Beyond ...

Readers may remember two very popular fbb blogs. See "Are They Having a Laugh" (read again) and "Are They Having a Laugh Still Sniggering" (read again). They concerned the timetable first posted at Barncliffe Road, Sheffield, for jointly marketed Optio Orange service 120 way back in July 2011.

It showed a 10 minute frequency the short distance to Fulwood but only evening...

... and Sunday journeys to Sheffield Centre and beyond.

This fbb diagram shows the usual pattern of service shared between First and Stagecoach.

Fulwood is about three quarters of a mile towards the city from the terminus.

So, apparently, according Travel South Yorkshire [TSY], there wasn't much of a useful service on Monday to Saturday daytimes; unless, of course, you wanted to get to and from the flesh-pots of Fulwood. Not to put too fine a point on it, the information was completely, totally, utterly and ridiculously wrong in every possible way. And that's putting it mildly!

There were very few complaints (if any) as most Sheffielders have long since learned to treat anything emanating from TSY Towers with "polite suspicion", preferring to ask a local yokel, "Ey oop lad, wenz next boos t t stooers?" [see note 2]

But chum John complained with vehemence. John used to work for TSY in the timetable department, so he should know. Apologies were duly dispatched over the ether and a replacement panel was posted. It was still wrong, but much less wrong than the one shown above.

But within a few weeks, in early September 2011, the nearly right timetable was taken down and ...

... another copy of the wrong random rubbish was published.

Again, after a week or so and another protest from John, this wrong timetable was taken down and replaced with the "more nearly right" version.

And all remained well until last weekend, specifically 29th January. The 120 timetable has changed again. Not much, just by a few minutes here and there; City to Barncliffe Road journeys still every 8 mins Monday to Friday daytime, every 10 mins Saturday and Sunday daytime and every 15 mins later in the evening.

So guess what appeared at Barncliffe Road this time?

You guessed it; the completely, totally, utterly and ridiculously wrong in every possible way version. Sadly, fbb has not been sent the actual current version; but John reports that it differs only in minor detail from the drivel previously delivered to the worthy but deceived residents of Upper Fulwood.

fbb thought the problem was with TSY's very expensive software system. It's officially called "Data Adjustment For Timetables" but is better known by its four letter acronym.

But here fbb owes TSY a profound apology. These panels are actually produced as part of a much more interesting project called "Timetable Writers' Extremely Reasonably Priced System".

Simeon Apethorpe of SYPTE, Professor Guy Grillo from Sheffield University Anthropology Department and Jim Pansy, head keeper at Chester Zoo, have been working to use monkeys to produce timetable material for Sheffield.

Monkeys?

It has been said that if you gave a typewriter (that's what people used before confusers became "de rigueur") to each of a large enough flock of monkeys and left them for a long enough period of time (approaching infinity), they would eventually type the complete works of Shakespeare.

TSY reckons that a timetable for service 120 is easier for our simean cousins than the outpourings of Bill the Bard. So, given time, cheap timetable production could be arranged. For just a few bags of peanuts and a little patience, costs could be dramatically reduced.

But, as we see above, it ain't working yet.

Still, give the project time. Strengthen the focus group. Prepare a contingency plan. Employ a couple more managers. Refer any problems to the monitoring committee and maybe one day ...

... they'll get it right!

Blog Brother is watching you - very carefully
--------------------------------------------------------------

Note [1] : Lemniscate : is the usual term for the "eight-on-its-side" symbol that means "infinity". It comes from a Latin word meaning "with ribbons".

Note [2] : "Ey oop lad, wenz nex boos t t stooers?" translates very roughly as:-

Excuse me kind sir,

can you inform me of the departure time

of the next available omnibus

to convey me to the

Co-operative shopping facilities?

--------------------------------------------------------------

Next Blog : due Sunday February 5th

A Wee Hurl to West Hayling - a Postcript

2012-02-03T02:26:00.002Z

Completing the picture.

A Wee Hurl to West Hayling [1] (read again)

A rather nice picture of an open top bus speeding (?) along Ferry Road having connected with the ferry from Portsmouth.

A Wee Hurl to West Hayling [3] (read again)

fbb commented that Langstone Bridge (the railway version) was hardly ever opened, if at all. But deep in the bowels of the interwebnet is this splendid shot of the bridge open and a tall masted vessel passing through.

A Wee Hurl to West Hayling [4] (read again)

A comment writer remembered his childhood holiday and being required to get off the bus and walk, reboarding at the other side. A serendipitous visit (on Wednesday 1st Feb, no less!) to a friend here on the Island elicited a gander at a very old video, entitled "Southdown Buses in the 50s" which had some fuzzy clips of the crossing.

First,the warning notice in the bus....

Then, just a glipmse of the alpha males of the mid 50s alighting and setting off following the bus across the "weak bridge" ...

... a pointless exercise as passengers and bus crossed together, so the weight was unchanged in total! The bus is showing service 47, Hayling via Manor Road, the equivalent of fbb's trip from Havant as far as Beachlands. Note the as yet unopened new bridge in the background. Even the "official" re-boarding point was "officially" labelled!

And another well-buried interwebnet picture takes us back to the very early days of the bridge in the 1920s with a shot of the very first toll gate.

A memory of less busy times when motoring was a pleasure and the prerogative of the more wealthy citizenry!

And a reminder of the weakness of the weak bridge, especially in its latter days. fbb is not an engineer, but rather thinks that these timbers should be fixed to something and the whole gubbins should be upright!

And finally, a very rare shot indeed showing the bridge open for a passing steamer!

The caption "on-line" suggests that this is the railway bridge but notes "the signalbox has gone", which it hadn't. So fbb is pretty sure it's the road bridge; note the more pedestrian protective posts and railings compared with the open rail bridge above. Unless anyone "out there" knows better?

A Wee Hurl to West Hayling [5] (read again)

Early visitors to Hayling Island?

A very early map extract. Langston is spelt without its "e", just like the branch line station. The wadeway is the only link; no road bridge, no railway. This map dates from the early 1800s.

Was the wadeway roman or mediaeval? Half a mile of so south of the end of the causeway is a field where a bit of good archaeology lies buried. It is the remains of a roman shrine, seen here re-imagined.

Here are the excavations in the 70s.

But buried below the temple there are signs of an earlier pre-roman ancient British shrine. The site is at North Hayling and a couple of miles further south, hidden in the trees, is Tourner Bury, an iron age fort.

It was Hastings that once sold itself as "Famous with visitors since 1066". Hayling can beat that by well over 1000 years.

Next Blog : due Saturday Febuary 4th

A Wee Hurl to West Hayling [5]

2012-02-02T07:22:00.011Z

Blogger (or more likely, fbb) seemed to get in a mess yesterday. An amendment to "A Wee Hurl to West Hayling [4]" had vanished into the ether by evening. It was a photo of a preserved Dennis Falcon that was lighweight enough to cross the original Langstone Bridge. Those who missed the little bit of omnibological nostaligia may wish to return to yesterday's blog (here).

---------------------------------------------------------

Back to today's offering ...

Beachlands and Back.

The Beachlands area of Hayling Island seafront has been a tourist destination for many years. Originally a holiday spot for the well off who wished to enjoy the medicinal benefits of sea water and fresh air. Beachlands even boasted a seawater bathhouse during the 1820s, constructed shortly after the island was made more accessible by the opening of the new bridge.

Hayling Island was discovered by the masses in the 1930's, when the popularity of the motor car made travelling here more convenient. As the Island grew in popularity as a holiday destination, the attractions of safe sandy beaches and good sunshine records were joined by frequent traveling country fairs held at Beachlands. When the site was bought by Billy Butlin in 1924, these traveling fairs started to become permanent attractions and the forerunner to the modern fairground that sits on the same site today.

One of the biggest attractions of this early fairground was Monkey Island.

Set amid a small boating lake, this sland was a rocky outcrop inhabited by live monkeys.

Buses have always had their own little pull-in adjacent to the main entrance.

In some ways, not a lot has changed in 2012.

As well as being a place of fun, Beachlands has also served a more serious role. Taken over by the Royal Navy in 1939, Beachlands served as a barracks for the armed forces for the duration of WWII.

In addition to fairground-type entertainment (?), Beachlands is one terminus of the recently reborn Hayling Island narrow gauge railway which was in operation (but lightly loaded!!) on the day of fbb's January visit.

Anyway; onwards and upwards on our service 30.

From Beachlands, just off the map, bottom left, we are off via Eastoke to Sandy Point, the south eastern extremity of the Island ...

... where the bus doubles back to Eastoke and on to Mengham. Here the "time point" was, for countless generations (?) named after a very ancient pub, called "The Rose in June" ...

... rebuilt in Victoria times and now boarded up and closed down.

On Elm Grove, the nearest that Hayling Island comes to having a shopping centre, we pass the former Southdown depot ...

... now "recycled" as a shop and garden centre, and return via Langstone Bridge to Havant bus station.

And, when they get it right, the vehicles are branded "The Bridge" ...

... and when they don't get it right, "The Bridge" runs all the way to Cosham on service 23 as seen here at "The Compound" in the snow. Such is both the joy and the jeopardy of labelling your vehicles for a specific route.

And, as is the way with modern marketing, every brand needs a rebrand to keep the graphics designers in gainful employment. Does any one know whether all this "stuff" actually gets more bums on seats?

Does a better bolder bluer "Bridge" badge beckon bonus bods onto the bus?

A few more eclectic "observations" on Hayling Island will follow soon.

Next Blog : due Friday Febuary 3rd

A Wee Hurl to West Hayling [4]

2012-02-01T16:54:00.003Z

Until 1824, the only link to the northern part of Hayling Island was by boat or by the so-called "Wadeway", a track accessibly only at low tide.

Debate is heated about the age of the wadeway, but it is most likely to be mediaeval. Recent excavation has shown that the clever causeway constructors created wider sections where horse drawn vehicles could pass or overtake. Probably without appropriate signage, though!

Intriguingly it is now shown on modern OS maps as a bridle path (dashed red line) ...

... despite the fact that the route is dangerous and almost impassable, unless you fancy a swim!

The Wadeway is a raised trackway which was used at low tide to cross from Langstone Village to Hayling Island. It was once the most important route for people to get to the island before the bridge was built. Much of the Wadeway is still visible today at low tide. It is now known that it is Medieval in date, probably being built in the mid 14th century. The Wadeway runs in a roughly north to south direction. It is now divided into three different segments after being severed by dredging for the abortive Chichester to London Canal project in the early 1820s.

The Island led a very quiet existence until the mid 1930s, when the first stirrings emerged and it became popular as a seaside resort, with a holiday camp. However, it suffered from a weak road bridge and Southdown purchased two Dennis half-cab Falcons in 1939 ...

former Southdown Falcon No 81, as used on Hayling

... running to and from the island.

The wooden bridge was built on piles of African Oak and other timbers and had a 40ft swing section in the centre to allow for vessels to pass beneath. The 1824 bridge was described, in its time, as “One of the finest structure of the kind in the Kingdom”.

However, although the buses themselves were light enough to traverse the bridge, they were only allowed to do so if the vehicle was empty, thus, passengers had to alight and proceed across the bridge on foot, re-joining the bus the other side!

They performed this task alone, until the two Bedfords were bought in 1948 with standard 27-seat Duple coach bodies and numbered 70 and 71 (JCD 370 and 371). Like the Dennis Falcons, they were acquired for the Hayling Island services because they were lightweight vehicles. However, being coaches, unlike the Falcons, their duties also included regular runs to London.

Depending on the type of vehicle used, only some of the passengers had to walk; it is not recorded how the "judgment of Solomon" was delivered and therefore whom was chosen. At one stage a specially "stripped down" bus provided a cross-bridge shuttle.

A new bridge, without restriction, was opened in 1956.

Back in the good old Southdown days, buses ran though from Portsmouth all the way round to Hayling ...

... but fbb's recent trip was on today's Stagecoach service 30 ...

... starting at Havant bus station.

The route proceeds over the bridge, via assorted Holiday Camps at Mill Rythe and Manor Road Newtown (the latter seen from above, here) ...

... then via the site of the former railway station where the goodshed is nowa theatre ...

... before arriving at the rather tired looking Beachlands amusement park.

Beachlands in 1955 looked in somewhat better condition.

The route is a large circular (more accurately a "lollipop"), so the bus now continues to Sandy Point at the eastern end of Hayling Island and we will complete our journey tomorrow. Meanwhile, here is the route travelled so far at Hayling Island proper.

The railway station was, surprisingly, on Station Road; a little to the left of "West Town" on the map above. For fbb's blogs on the Hayling Island branch line, see "A Wee Hurl to West Hayling [2]" (here) and "A Wee Hurl to West Hayling [3]" (here).

Next Blog : due Thursday February 2nd

Let us Now Praise Famous Buses!

2012-01-31T00:55:00.001Z

with thanks to the 123 preservation group : web site (here)

In the 1960s, Chesterfield corporation built a splendid new bus depot at Stonegravels. It was huge.

A youthful fbb was privileged to join the Sheffield branch of the Institute of Transport for an official visit. All the fleet could be parked undercover with space to spare. The facilities for staff were magnificent and even included a bar, which could be used on days off and after a turn of duty!

One "wag" on the tour asked if the Corporation had designs on taking over the East Midland bus company. "No comment" was the politically sensitive reply; although, at the time, there were no such plans. But thirty years later that takeover went the other way. Stagecoach bought "Spire", privatised successors to Chesterfield Corporation.

It was in these premises that a remarkable piece of bus rebuilding took place.

Vehicle Withdrawn - 123

1973 Daimler Fleetline (NNU 123M)
11th September, 1981.

This premature withdrawal was the result of the bus sustaining severe fire-damage on 9th September 1981.

As part of schedule trials involving linking the duties of a bus working one of the new Alfreton School contract services and route 200 Clay Cross to Sheffield Limited Stop, this bus operated Service 366 (Stonebroom School - Mortimer Wilson School, Alfreton). It then worked light to Clay Cross to operate the 0910 service 200 journey.

At 0950, whilst en route to Sheffield, the bus halted at Low Edges ...

... and a bus change was requested by the driver as there was a smell of fumes in the saloon. A replacement bus was brought from the depot and mechanic Malcolm Hartshorn returned to Chesterfield in 123, preferring the old A61 road through Dronfield to the by-pass. However, as the bus passed through the centre of Dronfield smoke and fumes suddenly poured from the lower saloon. Mr. Hartshorn drove on through the narrow main road until he reached a lay-by on Chesterfield Road, Dronfield.

Flames spread rapidly from the rear of the lower saloon and despite a speedy appearance by the Dronfield Fire Service, the bus was gutted.

After being returned to the depot, the shell of 123 was examined by fire, police and forensic scientists. These investigations continued until the end of the following day.

Vehicle Reinstated - 123
1973 Daimler Fleetline (NNU 123M)
15th July, 1983

A complete rebuilding of its bodywork was undertaken in the Sonegravels depot.

From May to July 1983 the final stages of the rebuilding work progressed rapidly, with the overhauling of its engine and finishing of the interior of the bus. It was fitted with power-assisted steering and received several minor modifications compared with the other buses of its batch. A minor external difference being a small vent in the nearside of the front panel beneath the windscreen. This is for the driver's cab heating system.

The final stages of its return to service were as follows :-
Rebuilding completed - early July, 1983
Repainting - 4th to 11th July, 1983
Road Testing - 12th July, 1983
M.O.T. Test - 13th July, 1983
Re-licensed - 14th July, 1983
In Service - 15th July 1983

Its first working on return to service being service 200 at 1420 (Chesterfield to Clay Cross, Limited Stop). Note the changed timetable!

It has also received a small plaque near the stairs in the lower saloon. This reads 'BUS 123 Rebuilt Chesterfield Transport Workshops After Fire Damage July 1983.'

Finally, the bus was withdrawn on 31st July 1996; last day of service on 29th July 1996. Its last run was the 1758 route 81 from Hillstown to Chesterfield.

Later "privatised" Spire Livery

The celebrity vehicle was purchased by the 123 Group direct from Stagecoach East Midland had who acquired 123 with the business of Chesterfield Transport Ltd.(trading as "Spire") in July 1995.

And this beauty is the repainted, restored and refurbished bus 123.

Let us now praise famous buses
and the builders that begat them.
The roads hath wrought great glory by them

through their great power from the beginning.

With apologies to the Apocryphal Bible book of Ecclesiasticus : see also "Let us Now Praise Famous Men" (read again).

Next Blog : due Wednesday February 1st

tomorrow we return to Hayling Island

Getting Liverish about Livery

2012-01-30T07:13:00.000Z

"Liverish"
peevish, bad tempered
(Shorter Oxford English Dictionary)

FirstGroup’s UK bus division had launched ‘Better Journeys for Life’, a new brand promise which sets out the group’s aims and plans, which will involve working more closely with all stakeholders including customers, staff and external partners. One of the first visible signs will be a new ‘refreshed’ livery which is being rolled out on First bus fleet across the UK (excluding London) in the next few weeks. This is the first stage in the company’s fleet modernization programme which gains momentum in 2012/13.

The new livery will have a standard template, however, there will be flexibility for local teams to customize certain areas of the vehicle’s exterior to prominently show town and city names or route specific identities ; fitting in with the group’s desire to provide local services for local communities.

the bland leading the bland?

wishy-washy and wejected (thankfully!)

New vehicles coming into the fleet in 2012/13 will feature not only the new livery but a range of internal changes, including redesigned interiors and leather seats.

The new livery has, it must be said, gone down like the proverbial lead balloon on the blogosphere. Typical are the comments that were attracted by the "Omnibuses" blogs a couple of days ago. (read here and here)

Badgerline based in Bristol was merged with Grampian ex Aberdeen Corporation to form First Bus. The yellow and green badger was distinctive and fresh; it would still look good today, even if the name was (and is) meaningless!

But the later all-green badger was poor by comparison.

Harsh economics (and a lack of varnish!) may prevent a return to the care and cleanliness of, say, Southdown in its heyday ...

... but, surely, a livery should enhance the image of the company and the vehicle and suggest to the customer that quality and reliability are pre-eminent. First vehicles become "tired" in appearance far too quickly and it is largely the lack of colour that creates this impression.

In this respect, at least, the revised, refreshed and roundly ridiculed new offering offers little improvement. Maybe try again, using colour?

Any colour as long as it isn't white!

"Livery"
a distinctive colour scheme on a vehicle indicating its owner
(Shorter Oxford English Dictionary)
There's a clue there, somewhere.

liver and onions : nicer than First's new liver(y)

Next Blog : due Tuesday January 31st

A Wee Hurl to West Hayling [3]

2012-01-29T00:39:00.005Z

A Bit of Bother with the Bridge

See also "A Wee Hurl to West Hayling [2]" (read again)

The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway had intended to save some of the costs of expensive land purchase and build their line to Hayling on an embankment in the tidal mudflats of Langstone (Langston?) Harbour.

The map above shows the proposed and soggy route! But the flow of water washed away the trackbed, so a conventional route by land was eventually constructed. The bridge from Langstone to North Hayling was built of timber and with lightweight use in mind.

This view looking north also illustrates a further problem. The grandiose plans for a canal via Chichester and Arundel all the way to London eventually collapsed leaving a waterway for ships of up to 100 tons into the centre of Chichester itself. The railway was required to provide an opening span for the proposed traffic.

The box behind the train above controlled this swing span. It was opened rarely, if at all, and required the operator to walk out along the bridge. Only the bases for the timberwork remain today, plus a more substantial chunk of foundation for the swing section.

But one lovely "dinosaur" still remains and was clearly visible when fbb journeyed that way earlier in January 2012. The signal post protecting the swing bridge still stands on the southern bank 49 years after the line closed!

Southbound trains then arrived at the lavish North Hayling Station ...

... which, as its name suggests, served the community of Stoke. North Hayling is off over fields to the east with no direct link to its eponymous station.

The site is now a car park for those using the former line as a path or cycleway. There is also access to the beach and mudflats for bird-watchers.

The line continued south through open country until the terminus at Hayling was reached.

As one might expect from its "shoestring" construction, the station was some way from any potential beach facilities and somewhat further from the main Island appurtenances at Mengham.

From the very early days, the bridge restricted the line to small tank engines; becoming the preserve of Brighton "Terriers" for most of the line's life. The service was never very frequent as this extract from the 1923 ABC timetable guide indicates. All trains involved a first change at Havant and possibly a further change depending on which London terminus was the required destination..

Nothing remains of the station at Hayling ...

... or the impressive housing nearby. But the good shed still stands, seen here in use ...

... here being rebuilt ...

... and now, much extended, as the HQ of Hayling's thriving Theatre group.

It was inevitable that, with the financial pressures on the railways in the 60s, the potential cost of maintaining the bridge, and the inevitable short-termism of the politics of the day, the line would close in 1963. There was an abortive attempt to re-open the branch as a private venture and to this end, a withdrawn Blackpool tram lay forlorn in Havant goods yard for a while.

The project never took off, and former Blackpool Tram No. 11 now resides at the East Anglia Transport Museum at Carlton Colville, near Lowestoft.

Sigh! What might have been ...

So today, travel to Hayling Island is by bus ...

Hayling blogs will continue later next week

Next Blog : due Monday January 30th

A Wee Hurl to West Hayling [2]

2012-01-28T07:19:00.001Z

The Railway Arrives ...

The line was opened by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) for goods on January 19, 1865, and for passengers on July 16, 1867. The delay was because the inspectors found rotting sleepers on sections of the line and demanded rectification before passengers could be carried.

The line itself was mainly used during the summer months as people from the South Coast would travel down to the beach on Hayling Island. The coaches would often be overflowing during these months; they would be virtually empty, however, during the winter, which would become a problem.

The LBSCR quickly ran into difficulty during the construction of the railway, as they had attempted to save on the cost of buying land on Hayling Island for the line by constructing an embankment on the mud flats in the sheltered waters of Langstone Harbour. This was an ambitious plan, which also involved the construction of wet and dry docks at Sinah Lake.

In the end, the line became a simple branch with no appendages.

The "Norfolk Lodge" pub, named after landowner the Duke of Norfolk, way renamed "The Ferryboat Inn" in the 1950s; the proposed docks would have been a development of the inlet to the right of the hostelry.

fbb remembers, as a teenager, travelling through Havant on his way to holidays on the Island, and there, in the bay platform, would be this little train ready to depart for Hayling.

Also there would be a line of clean, shiny green and cream Southdown buses. The young lad knew he was on holiday then!

The branch train would leave the platform and immediately negotiate New Lane level crossing ...

... where today the entrance to the rail replacement footpath is guarded by crossing gates now fixed in a semi-open position.

The line and the path run under East Street ...

... where are rather poor quality video clip captures a branch train.

The line then curves round towards the first stop at Langston, ...

... the station omitting the terminal "e" of the little village it served.

The present-day footpath and cycleway ends at the main road (to restart south of the Langstone Bridge); but the properties behind the station show the location clearly ...

... with the track passing to the left of the white weatherboarded cottage glimpsed through the trees behind the platform fence in the old photo.. Managing the level crossing required bravery and skill as the gatemen attempted to find a gap in the busy holiday road traffic.

Tomorrow, we shall complete our journey on this quaint little line as we, and our train, cross the 1000 yard Langstone Bridge ...

... the highlight and ultimately the downfall of this much-loved little branch

Next Blog : due Sunday January 29th

A Wee Hurl** to West Hayling [1]

2012-01-27T06:36:00.006Z

The Hayling Ferry

fbb has resided on the Isle of Wight since 1984 but, confession time again, had never visited a neighbouring sea surrounded locality, namely Hayling Island. So, it was a week or so ago that, with Mrs fbb off for as trip to London, the chubby one paid his first ever visit.

There were three (now only two) means of public transport to the Island; possibly the oldest being the Hayling ferry that runs from Ferry Point near the Ferry Boat Inn on Hayling Island to Eastney Beach, Portsmouth, across the mouth of Langstone Harbour.

The rights to run a ferry belonged to the Lord of the Manor of Hayling Island, the Dukes of Norfolk, to whom the land had passed on the dissolution of the monasteries. Rowing boats were used until 1901 when the the ferry rights were bought by the Hayling Island Steam Ferry Company, who constructed pontoons, made up the road on the Hayling side, and acquired a small steamer. The service was soon abandoned due to the unsuitability of the steamer. The pontoons survived, and eventually a motor boat service was operated by G.O.Spraggs and his sons Cecil, George and Jack. Post-war boats were the 'Sinah',

'Folkestone Belle' and 'Tarpon'.

In 1961 Portsmouth City Council took the ferry over.

By the late 1970s they ran the 'Iris' of 1968, which carried 55 passengers. She was joined by the 'Irene' of 1976. Portsmouth City Council operated the ferry until April 1981, when it closed, no other operator having been found.

The pontoons were in poor condition by this time, and the Eastney pontoon was removed (and is believed to be in use near Warsash). However Hampshire County Council soon found a company who would take over the service, with subsidy for unprofitable periods.

Dutfield and Edwards started the new service, initially using the 'Hayling Enterprise' and running onto the beach at Portsmouth until a new pontoon was built (the Hayling pontoon has also been replaced).

The current boat is the 'Pride of Hayling'. The service runs 360 days a year, with a break over Christmas/New Year, and carries commuters and school children, plus tourists in summer.

But using this route to get from Portsmouth to the main settlements on Hayling Island (and vice-versa) presents a snag. First Bus, successors to Portsmouth Corporation run the hourly service 15 to the pontoon at Eastney.

The Hayling side offers the Ferryboat Inn ...

... and a lovely turning circle and bus shelter ...

... but no buses! Once upon a time you could take a lovely summer ride from the ferry to Sandy Point by open top bus.

Winter services to the ferry were decidedly sparse. In the late 70s and early 80s there were frequent changes to Southdown timetables and services; the open top route gradually faded and disappeared. Now there is nothing to take you from the pontoon to the built-up areas of Hayling.

Morning "peak", then hourly; winter ferry times.

A brisk mile-and-a-quarter walk takes you to the end of Staunton Avenue South Hayling to pick up a Stagecoach Bus on route 30 ...

... at the stop here, on the right. Once you're safely seated on the Stagecoach steed, the journey to Mengham (the "capital" on Hayling Island) is still circuitous, involving a ride via the aforementioned Sandy Point at the far eastern end of the Island before doubling back to the main street.

Sandy Point is about a mile further west, to the bottom right of the map above.

Not surpisingly the number of passenger has declined in recent years; the loading consisting mainly of cyclists and car-borne commuters from the Hayling side; supplemented by energetic tourists in the opposite direction in the summer. Perhaps the various parties should look again at relaunching the "through" service; it could be much quicker than plodding pedestrianly by public transport via Havant. The ferry owners appear to have only one boat, so mechanical failure can lead to cancellations. Windy weather is also unwelcome!

But it is still a particularly pleasant experience in summer sun!

The next public transport arrival on Hayling Island was the train.

Meanwhile, a thought for a Hayling and Portsea Island expert. Was it ever possible to travel by open top bus from the centre of Portsmouth to the Hayling Ferry, as here ...

... then by boat for transfer to the Hayling open topper on the other side? That would have been something very special!

** "A wee hurl", a phrase as used by Scottish Mrs fbb. It means "a short trip"; "an outing" but with connotations of a certain amount of speed!

Next Blog : due Saturday January 28th

Getting You the Giggles

2012-01-26T03:05:00.001Z

Not Quite What was Intended!

Travel South Yorkshire [TSY] is proud to be sponsoring the first Doncaster Comedy Festival. To celebrate, we are offering three lucky winners the chance to get their hands on a pair of festival passes by simply entering the free prize draw at travelsouthyorkshire.com/comedy.

"Getting you the Giggles" is the strapline of this particular on-line promotion. fbb can hardly wait! In the meantime, TSY is pretty good at its own comedic stand-up material.

Changes due at the end of this month provide a few titters as usual.

For example, TSY's computer people have trouble with their numeracy. For most of us "5" comes between "4" and "6"; but for TSY it comes ...

...between "49" and "51". Why let convention get in the way of explaining things correctly to your customers? Giggle.

Then there's a recent roadside timetable for the service to Balby.

Every 11/10 minutes in the morning followed by every 4 mins in the afternoon. Really? Giggle giggle.

Then mysterious journeys at Charnock catch the eye. It may not be a new giggle; but giggle it is all the same!

Charnock is an estate at Gleadless on the south eastern edge of the Sheffield. It is served by route 51, running every 10 minutes Monday to Saturday daytime. Back in 1959 it only had a bus every hour on the "back way" service 99 to Chesterfield via Ford, delving deeper into the estate in 1966.

But, in compensation for a limited frequency, you often got a nice comfy motorway coach instead of an "ordinary" bus! In 1971, the 99 reverted to its "main road route" (Now service 252 via Ford to Crystal Peaks) and Charnock got its own 20 minutes frequency 64.

When shiny trams arrived at Herdings, the 51 was duly diverted to Charnock, where it still terminates today. This map extract from Transport Defunct shows the route and the stops on the terminating "loop".

The buses wait for their departure time at Stoneley Crescent; this is the actual stop ...

... and as you would expect, all buses are shown there in the timetable.

But you are well and truly "stuffed" if you try waiting at Charnock Dale Road, here, on the right near the shops ...

... because most buses simply don't call there. Check the timetable above!

Good for a giggle, unless you've just missed the 1034.

Of course it's a nonsense, but TSY likes sponsoring giggles.

But, lest you should think that all is hilarious at TSY towers, fbb can report that "the lads" have actually got something right - at last. Service 4 from Rotherham, referred to in yesterday's blog (read again), is currently a guffaw rather than a giggle.

See those early morning Stagecoach journeys [SSY]? They follow a completely different route from from the First [FST] trips, don't they? And they are equally different in the evening and all day on Sundays, as well.

Giggle giggle. NO! They actually follow exactly the same route, despite a completely different set of "timing points".

But, the lads have done some pretty clever working out; someone may actually have travelled on a No. 4 bus. No, that's just a silly idea. But somehow, for the new timetable starting on Monday 30th January, both routes are the now shown in exactly the same way.

One giggle less. Shame.

But there are plenty more sniggers, giggles and head scratching moments as TSY wrestles with its off-beat explanations of timetable changes.

a 63 at Bentley (or is it a 66?)

Wouldn't it have been more helpful to simply say that the 63 is renumbered 66?

Because that's what's happening.

And finally, when is/was the 265 timetable change?

Haven't a clue. Giggle, giggle.

Blog Brother is Still Watching You

Next Blog : due Friday January 27th

The Stagecoach Sinister Silverwood Service? [3]

2012-01-25T06:37:00.000Z

A mystery bus route?

In "The Stagecoach Sinister Silverwood Service? [1]" (read again) fbb referred to the Rotherham trolleybus (later diesel bus) route to Silverwood Colliery. In 1985, for example, there was a bus to the colliery every 20 minutes Monday to Friday daytimes supplemented by a selection of shift change journeys seven days a week.

Beyond the colliery, Hollings Lane leads to Moor Lane crossroads, with a left turn for the village of Ravenfield, straight on for Braithwell and right for Bramley.

As new housing developed in the 1960s, Rotherham Corporation provided services 22 and 24 (later 122 and 124 as here in 1985) ...

... to serve the growing population of the area.

With the colliery closure, recent service developments have taken buses away from Hollings Lane. A nice little turning circle was built near to where it says Ravenfield Grange on the above map, officially designated Ravenfield Common Cedar Drive ...

... which is now served by First's hourly route 3 via Bramley and Flanderwell ...

... and First's hourly service 4 via Dalton, Sunnyside and Flanderwell.

Silverwood Colliery was on the pale blue (apparently unserved) road above the "S" of Silverwood. Here's a 3 (or a 4?) caught by Google Maps on Flanderwell Road, returning from Cedar Drive to Rotherham.

But, lookee here fine blog reader, there is a bus service to Hollings Lane, no less. It terminates at Silverwood Cottages, the first block of housing past the emptiness of the former colliery site ...

... it's on the service 4 map; and there's the bus stop on the left. It's even on departure displays at Rotherham bus station.

So, next, we take a look at the timetable which will might show us the frequent First [FST] fours to the Cottages' terrace terminus.

Oh dear, no buses. But wait; Stagecoach [SSY] operates the evening and Sunday service, tendered by South Yorkshire PTE. Perhaps, out of the goodness of their combined hearts, they provide a subsidised service to the secluded citizens of Silverwood?

It's not looking very promising; the above is the hourly Sunday service.

But what is this? The very last journey of the day, seven days a week, runs from Rotherham via Dalton and Flanderwell to Cedar Drive; then doubles back to Silverwood Cottages!

There it is, arriving at 2328. For the record, there are no journeys from The Cottages.

When fbb is next visiting Sheffield he fully intends to join this bus and observe the crowds alighting at the stop pictured above. Perhaps there is a secret gambling den in the cellar of Number 15? Perhaps the computer that runs Travel South Yorkshire's information systems is deep in a "hardened" bunker with the entrance disguised as a disused outside "privvy"? Who knows?

Of course, there is a bus service along Hollings Lane. How silly of fbb to think there wasn't. It's available on Traveline but NOT on the Travel South Yorkshire site. Here are the key stops in the Silverwood area:-

"Ravenfield Common, HOLLINGS LANE, Silver Wood" is Traveline's version of the stop name.

So what is this service, ably supplemented by a late evening tendered trip on route 4. Where are the residents of Silverwood Cottages going during the day, and how often?

It's a 668 school bus, run by MASS travel, for "students" attending Rotherham's Roman Catholic Secondary School. So Grab your beads, put on your chasuble, plonk a biretta on your head and off you go.

So the key question remains. What happens at Silverwood Cottages every night at 2328? And, when it's finished happening, how do those who take part get home?

a speakeasy - raided at Silverwood?

Next Blog : due Thursday January 26th
Mrs fbb's birthday! Don't forget the card, fbb!

The Stagecoach Sinister Silverwood Service? [2]

2012-01-24T08:36:00.001Z

Very different passenger transport

And a tragic loss of life.

Many of our blog readers will never have visited a deep coal mine. It is an impressive yet terrifying experience. Many (many!) years ago fbb was privileged to visit Harworth colliery near Doncaster.

The coal face was a long way down (there's a clue in the "deep" descriptor) at 2782 feet (or 848 metres in the new money) and the working coal face can be a long way from the bottom of the shaft. So you travel by train. At Silverwood, the first stage of this journey was by rope hauled train ...

... because of steep gradients. Then diesel hauled trucks took over. Other systems used battery power or even overhead electric cable like a tram.

fbb's ride at Harworth was an experience not to miss but not to be repeated. The sides of the "road" seemed perilously close and the ceiling frighteningly low. The track was not quite up to Network Rail's Inter City Standard!

Incidentally, the spookiest part of fbb's visit was when the guide turned off all the lights, and asked everyone to turn off their helmet lamps. Total darkness is very rare in most people's lives and, literally, you could not see your hand in front of your face.

fbb at the coal face at Harworth - only joking!

Back st Silverwood, and very much "no joke" ...

Thursday 3rd February 1966.

The shift started as normal as forty Miners boarded the Paddy Train (known as the "passenger" train). The journey to the work area was mainly a downhill run. Shortly after the passenger train departed a second train (known as the Mail train), which carried equipment, followed. The Mail train suddenly went out of control picking up speed, until it caught up with the train in front smashing into the rear end. Nine men died instantly, one man survived a further three days in hospital, and 30 miners were injured.

Rotherham's former Mayor (twice) and MP was Stan Crowther.

He was an great folk music enthusiast and, although not directly involved in Silverwood Pit, he was sufficiently challenged by the 1966 disaster that he composed this very moving song:-

At Silverwood one Thursday morning, half a mile below the ground,

Forty miners rode the paddy, on the day shift they were bound,

When a diesel locomotive, rushing up beyond control,

Crashed into that crowded paddy, and it took a dreadful toll.

Men who live with danger daily do not cry for fear or pain,

Calmly did the injured lie there, waiting till assistance came.

To that scene of devastation came a nurse, an angel fair,

Bringing to those stricken men a women's kind and tender care.

Gently did their comrades lift them and to safety quickly bore,

But nine brave men died in the wreckage, one lived on for three days more.

Danger lurks in every coal mine. Ever since man first began,

Taking coal from earths deep bowels earth has wreaked revenge on man.

Ten more deaths to swell the total, ten more names upon the roll,

Ten more names to be remembered when we count the cost of coal,

Miners bodies maimed and broken, orphaned children, widowed wives,

The price England pays for coal is measured in her miners lives.

The accident was one and a half miles from the bottom of the shaft!

Another contributor reminds readers ...

One of the heroes on the day was Sister Adshead, who was part of the rescue team. The following day all the national papers carried her picture on their front pages. One caption I remember seeing was "The Angel with the dirty face", of course she must have been down the pit before to minister medical aid, but this was an incident where people saw her as an heroine, most of the country must have been very surprised that a Woman would actually go down a pit.

Further comment is superfluous.

Silverwood - The End

Back to our core mystery tomorrow ...

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

For those less than familiar with the workings of a deep mine, fbb has dipped into a most excellent web site chronicling the near 100 years history of Silverwood colliery. It is well worth a visit (here)

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

Next Blog : due Wednesday January 25th

The Stagecoach Sinister Silverwood Service? [1]

2012-01-23T02:49:00.005Z

So where and what is Silverwood?

A colliery, originally called Dalton Main, was sunk in open country at Silver Wood, near Rotherham, in 1901.

The owning company, later taken over by John Brown's, also operated the Roundwood pit near Rawmarsh; the two being linked by part of a private railway system.

Silverwood Colliery platform was a wooden railway platform built for John Brown's Private Railway in order to operate "Paddy" trains from Roundwood Colliery to Silverwood Colliery to bring their workers to the new coal mine.

Roundwood Collery top left : Silverwood, bottom right

The trains were operated by a rake of seven former Mersey Railway coaches hauled by a vacuum brake fitted locomotive, regularly assisted by an additional locomotive on the front for extra power. These lasted until the 1930s when, either the workers at Silverwood had moved to new housing in Thrybergh, or were in a position to use the new "pit buses" operated by private companies and later by Rotherham Corporation. The platform was removed shortly after the last train left.

A second Silverwood Colliery platform was a specially constructed railway platform built with only one passenger in mind, H. M. The Queen, when she visited the colliery on 31 July 1975. The royal party stayed overnight on the Royal Train in Silverwood Colliery Sidings before the colliery visit the following day when the platform was used for its only time. The Royal Train was hauled by Class 47 locomotive No.47172.

Eventually, Rotherham Corporation had provided a trolleybus service (known locally as "trackless") to the colliery, a branch off the service 37 to Thrybergh.

Thrybergh trolleybus terminus

In 1965, student fbb inadvertently rode the very last "trackless" to Silverwood at Saturday lunchtime.

Much to the annoyance of enthusiasts, later "shift change" trips to the colliery were run by motorbus; the whole 37 route (Kinberworth, Rotherham, Thrybergh) changing to diesel power the following day. fbb also rode the very last Rotherham trolleybus in service, ever, later that night as it swished its way to Kimberworth.

A comparison with todays' picture of the same location shows that nothing remains; mining having ceased in 1994.

Remaining coal reserves were extracted via Maltby Colliery but coal washing etc. continued on the site until early 2000s. The area was completely cleared by 2006.

Only the overgrown trackbed of the erstwhile colliery branch line can be glimpsed from Hollings Lane.

It will not surprise our loyal blog readers that Silverwood no longer echoes to the sound of Public Transport.

Or does it? Therein lies a bit of a mystery ...

Next Blog : due Tuesday January 24th