Sunday Variety on Tuesday

University Upgrade Uplift

There must be a huge number of bus managers and transport bloggers who are perennially excited by something. Sam Turner (of Sam's Trains fame) is one such. But now he is joined by Robert Williams of Reading buses.

His latest new bus route is upping his heart rate noiceably.

fbb thinks (so possibly unreliably!) that,  previously, service 21 (CLARET), which runs via the University, had gained extra short-workings to the hallowed halls of academe during term time. 

Now Mr Williams has made them a separate branded route.

"White Knight" is the name of the Uni Campus but fbb does not know why.

Unfortunately the on-line presentation is currently, poor. There is no proper map, just one of these ...

... which is about as much use as a chocolate teapot. The only timetable looks like this ....

... where you have to specify date and day to get the table. A chocolate coffee pot?

There is no PDF of the complete service.

Disappointing!

Puzzle Picture Answer No 1

Wigan Corporation c/o GoAhead. Here is a real one for comparison purposes.

Puzzle Picture No 2

Of course the star of the image is Ivor The Engine.

This was the product of Oliver Postgate (Noggin the Nog and Captain Pugwash) and Peter Firmin.

The other visible characters in the above picture are Edwin Jones (a k a Jones The Steam - Ivor's driver), Dai Station and Evans the Song (choirmaster). Not appearing, but probably residing in the boiler, would be Idris the Dragon.

But what is of notable interest is that an OO gauge model of Ivor and some rolling stock is being produced for Rapido Trains.

To enhance the nostalgia, cut-out figures like the originals are also included with the sets. fbb would have preferred proper 3D versions.

Talking of 3D, Rapido has been showing 3D printed mock-ups which look delightful!

fbb has fallen in love with Ivor ...

... but the loco and two goods wagons ...

... are priced at £200.

That does deserve a loud and resounding "OUCH"!!

Here is a bit about the background to the series.

And there is more!

Perhaps fbb could save up his weekly pocket money and get one for Christmas? Or for his upcoming 80th Birthday in early 2025.

A Big Technological Surprise

So no surprise there, then.

Liverpool Launches Lovely Livery

Again!

Mega Metro Merseyside Mayor Steve Rotheram is pictured with current Transport Minister the Lovely Louise in front of the "launch".

There has already been a launch of the proposed "Glider" bus network.

... also "wrapped" in Metro yellow.

Manchester Heritage Livery

from Stagecoach

To fbb the orange is a bit too red, despite the fact that it was always a deeper orange than the original SELNEC ...

... and maybe even deeper that SELNEC'S succesor brand, GMPTE.

And In Manchester Today?

So no surprise there, then.

Watching Paint Dry

fbb was intrigued by this item ...

... and decided to investigate further.

Now watch again and count the number of locomotives!

 9 Days to Go 

 Next Austria blog : Weds 25th September 

Let's Make A Train (2)

 What Does "Make" Mean"?

In the 1870s, The Pullman Car Company of the USA sent kits of parts to the Midland Railway for assembly at the Litchirch Lane Carriage Works. Effectively, the Railway was gluing together a giant Airfix kit, although not plastic!

But the ebullient Gregg Wallace fronted an episode of "Inside The Factory" first broadcast in 2022 and repeated a few days ago.

Mr Wallace "shot to fame" (as they say) presenting a programme called "Veg Talk" on BBC Radio 4. His origins were humble, as a porter and then a salesman at Covent Garden Market but he grew his own fruit and veg business dramatically and then moved into the Restaurant trade

Once upon a time, documentaries on the BBC were well researched, informative and occasionally intellectually challenging.

"Inside the Factory" is none of these. The series verges on the banal, intellectually at Primary School level. Some of the information is revealing and interesting, but the presentation is hardly "highbrow" and rarely even "middlebrow".

"And the wheels fit on the bolster?", mused Gregg with wide eyed amazement. "Wow, I never knew that!". Although Gregg's (mis)understanding was confirmed by the supervisor interviewed, that conclusion is wrong.

The wheels fit on the bogie ...

... and the bogie attaches to the bolster ...

... pivoting on that big peg in the middle.

The "Train" programme begins with the arrival of a very long lorry load.

We were NOT told whence came this vehicle, but a sign on the back ...

... reads "Convoi Exceptioinel" which is the European standard for warning following drivers of a "Long Vehicle". So it is reasonable to assume that these loads did NOT come from the UK!

These IKEA-style "flat packs" of aluminium panels would form the floor pan of the carriage. But first we have to enjoy watching the welding machine doing its stuff.

Once welded, the floor was shot blasted using a terrifying nozzle viewed excitedly by Gregg but without shot! 

Scaree!

This would clean the surface and provide a good "key" for the next stage. Then it was spray painted by hand. Indeed all the body panels were hand sprayed.

The welded floor was then spun upside down, again much to the "Wow" factor from our endearing presenter.

Once upside down ("So the seats are all underneath? Wow!")

Erm, No, Gregg. The seats haven't been fitted yet. If they had, they would have been crushed when the floor panel was turned over!

Here the "bolster" ...

... and lots of other stuff is fitted (but no wheels, Gregg!) and the floor is turned right way up. 

Along comes the roof panel, "assembled in the same way as the floor". The roof is suspended in a jig.

Now the sides have to be fixed.

These are swung into place alongside the roof-gap-floot jig ...

As we watch this side panel swinging, note that the panels are not solid; they are hollow with zigzag aluminium strengthening which makes them much stronger than the old steel panels and, importantly, they weigh only a third of the "traditional" metal construction.

Here is a view of the original delivery, end on.

All the panels are like this.

Nothing was said about how these panels were actually made, which confirms that they were NOT made at Litchurch Lane!

The sides are bolted to roof and floor ...

... using 28 (in the case of this shorter panel) "Huck" bolts. "Huck" is a brand name like Hoover, Google and Sellotape. The generic term would be "self locking bolts".

No, fbb had no idea either - but he has watched a video.

And "swage"?

Swaging is a metal-forming technique in which the metal of one part is deformed to fit around another part by either pressing or hammering, or by forcing the material through a die.

Yep, that matches the Huck Bolt idea. The "nut" (called a "collar") is pushed onto the threaded bolt in such a way that the metal of the collar is forced tight into the screw thread making a permanent immovable seal.

According to the Alstom man on the telly programme, these devices are stronger than a weld, stronger than a rivet and even stronger than Seccotine.

(OK, fbb made that last bit up)

So floor ...

... roof ...

... and sides ... 

... make up a very strong tube of aluminium which is, effectively, the equivalent of the steel chassis of the traditional railway coach.

As yet, no mention of coach ends?

So far, have we come across anything that is actually made in the UK?

More possibilities tomorrow!

 Next Make a Train blog : Weds 4th Sept 

Sunday Variety

The Answer's A Lemon

 The Big Lemon , initially competing with Brighton and Hove Buses, later carved out for itself a business with wider environmental and community aims. Its areas of operation expanded to Bristol and the surrounding area.

 Today  the company starts another innovative bus service right in the centre of Bristol City. It runs from The Dings (names are strange things) into the city centre - although, perversely, "The Dings" is not mentioned on the timetable panel as such.

The timetable on Lemon's web site is, perhaps, a little clearer than the over complex presentation c/o Traveline.

The route runs seven days a week with just the first journey out not operating at weekends. It serves areas to the east of the city centre which lack a convenient and direct bus into town.

It wiggles, as does everything omnibological in Bristol, through the city centre ...

... terminating just past the former Tramway Centre on the banks of the harbour.

Generally the publicity is good, but badly let down by a poor computer generated route map.

The concept of the 61 has been well received.

 A spokesman  explained a bit more.

And the article, but not the timetable, gives the route in more detail.

So please Big Lemon, give us a proper map showing stops and road names clearly! 

 Surely you want folk to use your bus? 

Jubilation For Jess

We all know Jess, don't we?

Postman Pat

Postman Pat

Postman Pat and his black and white cat

Early in the morning

Just as day is dawning

He picks up all the postbags in his van

Postman Pat

Postman Pat

Postman Pat and his black and white cat

All the birds are singing

And the day is just beginning

Pat feels he's a really happy man

But this blog will ignore Pat's Jess and introduce its readers to this late feline Jess.

The report explains all, with one huge mistake.

Jess was not a resident of Andover Station, Jess was a cat; and therefore in full charge of Andover station!

Jess now stands safeguard at the two ticket windows making sure that passengers behave themselves.

A good and noble way of remembering such a much loved character!

Suspicious Suppression At Scarborough

The sea front services at Scarborough were once a scene of cut throat completion and aggro between operators.  Incumbent East Yorkshire (a k a Scarborough and District) tried, unsuccessfully to oust the intruders, But more and more buses joined the fray with "barkers" at the main stops cajoling the threatened public to take a ride.

Sanity returned with a strict Council brokered agreement on timetables and the amount of time allowed for loading at the busy stops.

Currently there are three "at it".

East Yorkshire has the best presentation and the newest fleet ...

... with dogged competitor Suncruiser offering an "interesting" mix of older OT conversions.

Viscount Travel is a recent contender with its "heritage" vehicles.

Their publicity shows a VR, now classed as vintage, but fbb can find no picture of the vehicle in reality. 

This bus does appear, however.

fbb, showing his needle sharp memory and acute observational skills (snigger snigger) immediately recognised the bus.

It was, of course, the open topper run for just one season by Hulleys of Baslow ...

... before Stagecoach killed off any chance of Hulleys success with its much expanded Peak Sightseer services. 

Is an ex London Trident a "vintage" bus?

It was an open topper with London United!

But on Scarborough seafront, tension has returned. Here is one of the bus stops with three separate timetable frames attached, one for each open top operator.

But Ben Gilligan the Boss of East Yorkshire is far from happy. One of his competitors ...

... yes it's Suncruiser, has slapped a poster over the top of the Beachcomber poster and route map.

A dastardly deed indeed!

Shock horror in Scarborough!

Let Us Now Praise Famous Men ...

... one that readers may never have heard of.

There is just a small possibility that he is not known to any of fbb's transport enthusiast readers. But here is a brief biography.

The only translation necessary for the full and intellectual understanding of the above paragraph is to explain "gandy dancer". Gandy was a manufacturer of large agricultural tools ...

... including those in use on the railroad in the days before mechanisation.

The "dancer" refers to the songs and rhythmic body movements used by the mainly black workforce as they sought to cope with the back breaking work of keeping the track level and aligned.

A short video explains.

They would probably be called "platelayers" in the UK.

Anyway E S Dellinger left the railway and became a writer, initially of a magazine and later of the novella genre of short stories all linked to the one character, OR of single story slim paperbacks.

If the cover illustrations are anything to go by, the present publisher's nickname of "Pulp Fiction" could not be more appropriate.

The covers offer a vicarious joy in themselves. Here is just a sample.

Or maybe you would like this one.

You just have to wonder what dark deeds Kiamichi Bill gets up to as a Switcher on the Railroad.

Sadly, It Was The Wrong Size

Although it fitted the hole in the top of the cistern, the screw thread thingy on which a contraption screwed to fix it to the lid, was too small and you can't by a new screwed thingy on its own. Not only that, but the white ribbed plunger that activates the flush valve is also too small, so when it activates, it falls out. 

Useless.

So back to fbb's cobbled repair.

A generous application of abrasive liquid kitchen  cleaner and much manipulation of the plunger eased the embarrassing stickability and prevented the continuous flush problem. Nasty and bad for the water bills!

It now doesn't  stick, mostly!

A good soaking a WD40, followed by a luxurious libation of vegetable cooking oil and ...

Tada!

It seems to be working correctly.

Thus fbb adds plumbing bodging to his many few practical skills.

Talking Of Scarborough ...

How's this for a "one stop shop"!

And Talking Of Spending Money ...

This is a controller for your model railway.

Yes, you did read it right! Just under £600 to make your toy trains go.

fbb winced at the huge price of his first and only controller ...

... bought ten years ago. He shelled out a whole £45 of his precious pennies on this essential electrical equipment. Now it would cost you £53 and, no doubt more as inflation inflates.

But it does the job.

============================

Today and tomorrow the fbbs host their monthly Fellowship meetings c/w delicious afternoon tea. This month Mrs fbb is serving coconut and raspberry tarts.

fbb has taken on his duties as taste tester VERY seriously - well someone has to do it - and pronounces them super yummy; even though, normally, he is not at all keen on coconut!

The Biblical content of the meetings is a look at the Miracles of Mark's Gospel Chapters 4 and 5, aiming to understand how the God of Big Miracle an do similar (sometimes a bit less spectacular), miracles for each of us ...

... IF we trust His complete reliability!

To reduce pressure, Monday's and Tuesday's blogs will be a two-parter based on a recent television programme, but expanded and enhanced.

============================

 Next Big Train blog : Monday 2nd September