Saturday Variery

Sheffield Timetable Developments

As a former Sheffield resident, fbb was intrigued ro see that First is actually improving some of its services in the City of Steel.

Here is the current 75!75a timetable ...

... with buses every 15 minutes between Jordanthorpe, City Centre and Shiregreen.

Here is the improved service from 30th August ...

... every 20 minutes between Jordanthorpe, City and Shuregreen and no jiurneys to Chapeltown.

Then we see the whole five journeys of the existing service X6 between Sheffield and Rotherham via the new M1 services.

And the improved X6 ...

... consisting of three return journeys.

This is an interesting definition of of the word "improvements".

Guess How Much?

What is the official selling price in the UK for this motorbike?

Answer at the bottom of the page.

And how much might you pay for this kit, made by Pocher, a company in the Hornby group?

You might like to know that it is one quarter of the size of the real thing. So a bit big for fbb's model railway. 

Again, answer later!

A company, IXO has produced a London Routemaster bus to 1/12 scale.

A snip at about

£1,000

Virgin Ventures Big-Time

Virgin has revealed outline details if the service it intends to run, with paths now agreed with the regulatory authorities.

Under the agreement, VTE OPCO Ltd (trading as Virgin Trains) will have access rights to operate a specified number of services between London and the Channel Tunnel portal.

• London – Paris service group: initially six daily paths in each direction (October 2030 – March 2031), increasing to 10 daily paths (April – September 2031) and then 13 daily paths (October 2031 – December 2040);
• London – Brussels service group: four daily paths (February 2031 – December 2040);
• London – Amsterdam service group: three daily paths (September 2031 – December 2040).

Because of potential limitations on passenger capacity at London St Pancras International station, the rights for the Amsterdam service group are contingent if the total number of outward services from all operators exceeds 42 on a given day.

Shouldn't that read "contingent if ... does NOT exceed 42 per day"?

ORR says an increase in services into St Pancras International will demand more robust operational working, but this ‘relies on sound operational management’, and it does not consider that this should preclude the introduction of Virgin Trains services.

Virgin Trains’ services will only call at London St Pancras International on the HS1 network, and not at Ebbsfleet or Ashford. ORR notes that it cannot insist that an operator provides specific services, but says it will "actively engage’ with any party wishing to provide international services to the intermediate stations".

So there could be more to cone!

Enw Brand Cymreig Newydd

This express service, previously mentioned in this blog, now has a name.

Taith Cymru

which means something like

Welsh Journey

We await a full timetable!

Anyone Want A Train Company?

Deutsche Bahn has had a troubled time in recent years. Once upon a time, the railways in Germany were renowned for efficiency and good time keeping.

But recently things have been "disappointing".

Even the Minister is getting the stick.

And the bosses!

But there has been financial improvement ...

.. but not necessarily operational.

Which is why DB has been disposung pf its "non core activities".

So there's a freight company for sale.

In November 2007, the EWS freight company was bought by German train operator Deutsche Bahn for £309 million. In January 2009, it was branded as DB Schenker.. In March 2016, the company was rebranded as DB Cargo UK.

In October 2016, DB Cargo announced plans to cut 893 jobs in response to a sharp downturn in coal and steel traffic. In the following year, it announced a loss after tax for the financial year of £57 million against a turnover of £325 million. Over the next two years, the company's fleet size was reduced somewhat, mainly through the disposal or sale of older stock. 

The BP Logo Saga [Episode 1]

Dr Beeching's "Liner Train" concept, branded "Freightliner", was presented enthusiastically by Triang Hornby with popular 'toy' wagons which could be hand loaded and unloaded. Deep joy!

Wagons appeared with a variety if demountable containers ...

"just like the real thing". Sadly flbb cannot fund any illustrations or photos that support the one kabelled BP.

fbb had no interest in container wagons as such, until he was surprised by one particular Triang Hornby example.

to be continued

Motorbike Money

The Pocher kit is one quarter of full size. 

The real bike will cost at least £25,000 but be quick. It is a limited edition of 555 vehicles and prices may well rise as rarity overtakes common sense.

Apology : sorry if their are spilling mist aches in the blag. My spool chukka was knot working. She went to bed early feeling very tyred.

 Next Variety blog : Sunday 23rd Aug 

fbb's Summer Adventures 2B

 Honiton to Sidmouth

When Stagecoach bid for the South West Trains franchise, the company ticked all the boxes, one of which was bus/rail integration. With the help of timetable guru Barry Doe, some brand new bus links were inytoduced from stations to towns unserved by rail. Other services were diverted to call at stations. Such was the Stagecoach hourly route from Honiton to Sidmouth and on to Exeter, now numbered 9.

The link still exists but is poorly advertised as the trains from Honiton are now run by First, but the bus is run by Stagecoach.

But there was (and still is!) a problem with the timetable presentation and its effect on journey planners. You can travel FROM Honiton station ...

... but you cannot travel TO Honiton station.

The journey ends at Lace Walk from where, for example, the 1023 arrival, after a break, leaves at 1028 for a station arrival at 1031. 

The fbbs joined their route 9 at Lace Walk after their coffee break ...

... to travel under the railway ...

... and via the station ...

... where the bus manoeuvres itself, skilfully, to serve connecting passengers, right outside the station building.

There were none! 

First's South Western Railway has reduced the service through Honiton to a pathetic every TWO hours. The track, which was "fully repaired" after last year's Summer hot-weather troubles, has gone a bit wobbly again. So maybe the bus was passing in a two hour gap?

The estate was developed from the 1960s ...

... but the second railway crossing reveals a narrower, older road.

But you can observe the single track en route to Exeter.

The railway is crossed again back on the main road to Sidmouth, but you cannot see the track from the road ...

... on either side, both with added footway bridges. ...

... and fbb was not quick enough on the camera button, hence Streetview views.

The next stop serves Tesco, just round the corner.

We now leave the urban sprawl of Honiton ...

... and our service 9 (ORANGE line, above) speeds up the hill to run into open country with "The Pig" off to the west.

Which pig?

It is a posh (VERY posh!) restaurant!

The Hare and Hounds pub at the next crossroads provides excellent nosh and is cheaper than The Pig. The fbbs have indulged.

From here, there are splendid views for miles, looking into the Sid Valley ...

... with the current scorched earth experience mitigated by several fields of maize which, after a grim grass growing summer, will be an autumn treat for the coos.

There is Sand in the left, but every time the fbb's have passed by, Sand is closed.

Sand is not visible from the narrow road that passes the entrance!

Sand is, however, available on parts of the beach at Sidmouth - at low tide.

Weak jokes, but glorious beach - at low tide!

We reach Sidbury, a village that starts off a line of four communities taking their name from the valley's watercourse.

Next we reach Sidford the crossroads on the A3058 to Exeter ...

... where we have met the pub on the corner, on our way to Otterton.

Lunch (pensioners' special) was taken at the White Horse chippy in Sidmouth ...

... before a standard 9A back to fbb mansions.

And the fourth Sid is Sid which lies on a back road between Sidford and Sidmouth.

O.K. It now appears as 'Fortescue' on the map, but when it had an Abbey, it was definitely "Sid"!

A splendid "Adventure", so where next?

Whilst waiting, what is fbb up to here?

It's complicated!

 Next Variety blog : Saturday 22nd Aug 

fbb's Summer Adventures 2A

 NEx West Midlands Sale

Clearly, there is more to this than meets the eye or than appears in official press releases. fbb has sought a deeper explanation from a leading bus industry 'player' (retired) who is on holiday with family. A reply is awaited eagerly when a further blog post may well appear.

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

To Honiton And Back

Stagecoach X30 is a fairly new route that runs from Seaton to Exeter via a very different route from the long-standing 9A. fbb rode all the way and immediately all the way back soon after the service started. Are you not amazed at this man's dedication to his craft?

Between Seaton and Honiton the route is the same as service 20 to Taunton, formerly with Stagecoach but now with GoAhead's Dartline company. And yes, fbb has ridden the whole route and blogged about it.

See map below for the relevant chunk of the X30.!

As well as offering a different selection of destinations in greater Exeter, the X30 provides a realistic link between Colyford, Colyton, Seaton Junction, Shute and Exeter. fbb was looking forward to extolling the delights of Seaton Junction and Shute to Mrs fbb. She was, perhaps, less enthusiastic about the extolling but would enjoy the ride and the views.

Top deck front seats were already taken so photography was less than ideal. 

All was very normal until the approach to Colyton, where the X30 nipped round a small estate, approach Colyton Square from the wrong direction ...

... picked up passengers on the wrong side of the road ...

... and set off sharp left and back towards Seaton! 

We were on a mega diversion such that fbb and Mrs would never see the delights of Seaton Junction or Shute, let alone experience the extolling. The green line shows where we actually went, well away from the X30 labels!.

The X30, becoming less 'X' all the tine, crossed the tramway at Colyford ...

... ran via Musbury ...

... and turned on to the Axminster by-pass!

The electronics waited, to no avail, for the next stop at Colyton Station Road!

Kilmington was passed non-stop ...

... until the registered route was rejoined west of Shute.

And of course there is more to those communities than petrol stations and former petrol stations, but the more picturesque parts of the villages are set back, off the main roads. 

The search for Colyton Station Road continued fruitlessly.

The next village, Wilmington, IS picturesque and does not boast a filling station.

At last the electronics worked out where we were, and offered a stop at the quaint White Hart.

The countryside hereabouts is gently rural but sadly an exemplar of the south west's brown and less than pleasant land.

But Seaton had rain yesterday morning, but barely enough to wet the needful agricultural whistle.

There was one more garage in the middle of nowhere ...

... before the former toll office ...

... welcomed us to Honiton ...

... where the fbbs alighted just outside the job centre. Interestingly most of the on-board passengers were going all the way to Exeter, about two dozen souls, which suggests that this innovative route is generating new business.

There is also a 44A from Honiton to Exeter which might explain why no one boarded at the job centre.

The fbb's had just over 30 min to enjoy Honiton. They repaired to the historically named Lace Walk to look for a coffee. 

Coffee was now the order of the hour in what was once ...

... and was now much busier than it ever was when it sold shoes!

And just outside was the fbb's next bus stop.

It was great to see up-to-date information of the stop closure ...

... three weeks ago!

The X30 was a good ride, but disappointing as it missed out some of the interesting bits, namely Seaton Junction'b station ...

... and Shute.

Sadly Shute Barton (The Big House) cannot be seen from the road, but its modest understated front gate can be glimpsed from the passing bus. The village of Shute is a delight ...

... but it would be five hours to wait for the next X30 to Honiton - if it wasn't diverted!

But a journey from Honiton to Sidmouth approaches.

 Next Summer Adventure blog : Fri 21 Aug