Centenary Celebration?

100 Years At Gotham ...

... NOT the 'City' where, in the 1960s, Batman (Adam West) and Robin (Burt Ward) ...

... routinely each week saved the city from disaster. The Batman location was "Goth-m", as in ...

... Goth; stroppy, obnoxious, rebellious human animal. 

We are going to Goat-m, as in ...

... Goat, stroppy, obnoxious, rebellious, capriine animal.

True, there isn't much difference in principle, only in pronunciation!

Caprine Gotham lies about halfway between Nottingham and Loughborough.

There it is, just above East Leake with its station on the northern chunk of one of the preserved Great Central Railways.

In 1926 a brand new bus service was started by the South Notts (always abbreviated) bus company running from Gotham into the big city. Soon the service was extended to Loughborough. 

The company's vehicle purchasing policy followed a fairly normal route, beginning with one of these ...

... then something bigger ...

... followed by double deckers.

Modernisation of the fleet was normal company policy.

... culminating in rear engined front entrance buses as standard.

But deregulation brought trouble.

Until then, South Notts had exclusive rights to its core route ...

... via Gotham ...

... to Loughborough ...

... and amicably shared operation to the big overspill housing estate at Clifton.

Buses from Nottingham City ...

... Barton ...

... West Bridgford Council ...

... and our centenarian ...

... all lived in perfect financial and operational harmony on the Clifton routes.

Until Kinchbus attacked ...

... ironically using buses bought from Nottingham City!

Faced with substantial losses, South Notts sold themselves to Nottingham City in 1991.

But the South Notts name was and is retained on the vehicles ...

... and, for the 2026 100th Anniversary, the traditional livery is revived.

The former South Notts route runs as service 1 every 20 mins.

With extra A, B and E variations.

For The Record

in 1998, Kinchbus was bought by Trent. There us a Kinchbus route 9 from Nottingham to Loughborough via the A60 ...

... every 30 min.

Smart vehicles, again!

An Explanation

The building shown on-line, in connection with some very grim crimes in West Bridgford, is Nottingham's Crown Court where the reported cases were heard.

Presumably local readers of The West Bridgford Wire will recognise the judiciary edifice but fbb wouldn't - and he didn't!

 

  Next Bristol blog : Weds 18th March 

Monday Variety

 So We Bought A Viaduct

Well, fbb did for Peterville; and he remembers Mrs fbb's papa, often ready with the Caledonian Quip, as he reacted to his future son-in-law's desire to collect and read bus timetables. Dad Jack announced he was starting a collection of tunnel mouths, not the OO models, but the real ones.

Ridiculous, but probably no more ridiculous than an octogenarian playing with toy trains!

The purchaser in question is a Cornish Heritage railway ...

... running on a very short section of the former Helston branch.

Note the little wiggle between Truthall and Helston. Now compare with a current map.

You can spot the viaduct just above 'Lowertown" 

And here is said viaduct under construction ...

... and complete.

This is wot they have got. Here is a more detailed map.

The aim is to extend to where it says "the end if the line" lower right on the above. Access to Helston itself is now blocked.

The line is quaint but pleasant and you may get a DMU ...

... or a saddle tank ...

... on operating days.

Worth a visit if you are in the area.

They Built A Goods Yard ...

... and they built it near where fbb indulged his brief period as a train spotter.

This is the northern end of Roade cutting on the ex LMS main line out of Euston. It is where the Northampton loop, below the girders at a lower level, branches off.

fbb might have been one of the people seen far right having scrambled (naughtily) down the  big embankment from near the bridge.

The bridge carries the road from the A508 to Blisworth.

The goods yard lies between the two yellow roads (just north of West Lodge), the A508, the M1 and the Northampton rail loop.

It's  quite a big yard but with only a couple of sidings. You would guess that most of the huge quantity of goods would come and go via road, thus adding to the already congested M1 and frustrating humble motorists using the A508.

It was built by SEGRO ...

... effectively a warehouse property developer.

Here is a view looking north.

The dark grey bits are the sites "awaiting development"; the warehouse with the rooftop panels is, surprisingly, yet another Amazon, and the bigger slab is Yusen Logistics.

Yes, it is a huge Japanese conglomerate with a huge Northampton warehouse ...

... and a terrifyingly large HQ in Tokyo ...

... with its own shipping line!

The ships are a bit big to nip up the Grand Union canal as far as Blisworth, the logistics hub of days gone by.

The container part of this mega site (below, looking south) ...

... is operated by a company called "Maritime"!

As its name suggests, it only operates within the UK and it doesn't have any maritime transport. It does have access to a Class 66 or two!

At one time they were Deutsche Bahn locos leased (?) to the blue boys.

You can buy an N gauge version ...

... but not one for 00 or TT120.

Why not?

It's All On Line No 528

fbb is indebted to the 'West Bridgford Wire' news web site (using 'news' in its very loosest meaning).

Clearly the building shown is a dangerous place and best avoided! Surely not a nice part of West Bridgford?

One of these stories took place at the Clifton Leisure Centre, so that must be what is illustrated,

No it isn't.

As far as fbb can tell the website news illustratiin has nothingntpo do with West Bridgford and nothing to do with any of the news items.

Can we believe anything that appears on line!

In a word - NO!!

fbb can recommend an excellent public transport blog with content curated by a lifelong expert in all things model and full size in the world of public transport.

But, sadly, even he occasionally gets things wrong!

Puzzle Picture

You will never guess what it is.

Here is similar.

Answer soon.

  Next Notts Not Unreliable blog : Tues  17 Mar