Two Bridges To Cross (1)

Travel North From Oban ...

... you will cross two significant inlets. The southern stretch, Loch Etive, is traversed by the Connel Bridge.

In the north we have the Ballachulish Bridge.

Both replaced ferries but at very different times in history. 

The Connel Bridge is the older of the two.

The bridge was built by Arrol's Bridge and Roof Company to carry the Ballachulish branch line of the Callander and Oban Railway, which opened on 20 August 1903. Nearly 2,600 long tons (2,640 t; 2,910 short tons) of steel were used in its construction and it cost almost £43,000 to build. When complete it had a longer span than any other railway bridge in Britain except the Forth Bridge.

But it was a railway bridge, and beside it was a rather primitive ferry ...

Aug 1797 Leaving Dunstaffage, we crossed the narrow mouth of Loch Etive by what is called the Connel ferry. The tide rushes through this channel with such rapidity, that it sometimes forms a cascade of six feet know as The Falls of Lora. 

The boat is launched from one side of the river, and entrusted to the torrent which carries it with great rapidity down the stream, the men all the while tugging at the oars, till at last it reaches the opposite side a considerable way lower down. Notwithstanding the perilous nature of the stream itself, the uncertainty of the old crazy boat they use, frequently thronged with passengers and terrified horses, who betray great uneasiness in passing I heard of no instance in which an accident had been fatal to any one.

Really?

Here is a map, showing the ferry route ...

... and we see the approach road from the south.

Here we have a map showing the single track railway ...

... and zoom in a bit, we can make out the ferry on its Western flank.

Access to the North Connel ferry slip is via the old main road replaced by the new A828 that now uses the track bed of the railway. We can enjoy the old road ...

... but Google Maps runs out of steam before running into Loch Etive!

But others have photographed the slipway itself!

Whilst on the southern side of the inlet, opposite the Osprey Hotel ...

... is just a vestige of the former south shore slip.

But once the railway bridge was open, the ever resourceful Caledonian Railway saw a way of making a bit of money.

They ran a rail/road bus from Connel Ferry station on the south side to North Connel. The vehicle was, effectively, a motor bus with rail wheels.

It pulled a little trailer for luggage and parcels delivery and ran a few journeys along the north side of the water to Bonawe.

The ride will have been VERY bumpy!

A 'proper' ferry ran from Taynuilt to Bonawe ...

.. in later years with turntable deck for vehicles, later improved to carry coaches and single deck buses. 

The ferry closed at the same time as the railway that crossed Connel Bridge.

But back in 1914, the Caldonian Railway had an even better idea for making money. Instead of running the road/rail bus, the company would slew the track over to one side of the bridge deck and squeeze in a narrow one lane road.

Cars when not permitted if a train needed to cross!

It was all controlled by gates at both ends and a phone link between signalman and gate keepers.

A teenage fbb remembers crossing in West of Scotland drizzle (i.e. a downpour) with father at the wheel. Surely the Caledonian Railway and its BR successors made far more money from tolls than it did from trains!

When the railway closed, better access roads were built ...

... tolls were removed and a proper road and footpath were added to the bridge deck.

The carriageway was still not wide enough for two way traffic.

Traffic lights now control the bridge ...

... and yes, in the peak holiday season there are still delays.

Tomorrow we travel further north as part of a Saturday Variety blog which will also include answers to the first 10 teasers from the Bank Holiday quiz.

 Next Variety blog : Sat 5 Sept 

Bournemouth's Beleaguered Buses (2)

Then & Now : 2022 and 2026

The above is the Yellow Bus map (for want of a better word) that accompanied the self destructive network change under Transdev or RATP ownership. It is not clear which branch of the French government actually invented the scheme. This was the scheme using helpful (?) prefix letters rather than simple route numbers.

The map is of poor quality and its rule was short-lived; quickly replaced with a "back to normal" scheme. To avoid hurting his own brain and those of his readers, your considerate blogger will concentrate on the main services.

So we have (anti clockwise from right to left):-

P routes : Bournemouth to Christchurch and beyond.

R routes : Poole Bournemouth (two routes to ...) Hospital

B routes : four variants one of which goes to Bearwood

V routes : Bournemouth (two routes to ...)  Kinson

U Routes : A mixture of everything via University

This has involved a certain amount if guesswork! Apologies if fbb is getting it wrong - but his tolerant readers will get the rough idea.

Next we see the routes that MoreBus took over very promptly after Yellow Buses failed! That gives us some idea of the normality that replaced potty peculiar prefixes.

Again we move from right to left, anti clockwise.

Buses via Christchurch, still coded purple, are now 1, 1A and 1B.

Obviously, Morebus will leave Poole to Bournemouth to its frequent m1 and m2 routes, which serve the Hospital and Somerford respectively. So the two former R routes are now 2 and 4 from Bournemouth only

MoreBus also stepped in to the one-time V routes to Kinson as 5 and 5A.

The GoAhead company had won the tenders for the University services before Yellow Bus failed ...

... so the takeover only involved route 6 and 6A. 

Some routes, like 18, had escaped the prefix policy and More absorbed a few more of the subsidiary services after the above map was distributed on-line.

As the last four years have progressed, the "Saviour of Bournemouth Buses" has integrated the former municipal routes into a cohesive network. This has involved replacing duplicated route numbers and removing some areas of complication.

So we can now look at the Bournemouth network today.

Keen observers can still see the main constituents of the old Yellow Bus system, but there have been many detailed changes.

Here is the anti-capitalist survey today.

In essence, the group if services via Christchurch is very similar ...

... but with notable extensions. At one stage, a few years ago, Burton was served by one of the original "m" branded "more" routes, m2.

The Hospital now has routes 12 and 22 ...

... supplemented by the frequent m1.

The former 15 minute headway on the 5 and 5A is now concentrated entirely on the 5 which now runs at a doubled headway of every 15 minutes.

Other services, like the 14, fill the gaps.

The 6 is largely unchanged but no longer red.

The muted blue still runs to Wimborne.

There are, if course, numerous "lesser" routes in Bournemouth, some serving new areas of housing.

Despite nostalgic regrets, it does appear that the demise of Yellow Bus has brought stability from MoreBus and, in many places, a better service.

fbb is minded to take a more detailed look at the m1 and m2 and their history and development, but the project depends very much on what information us still out there. fbb's memory is a bit fuzzy, certainly on the detail.

He does remember, however that there were more "more" branded routes from Poole than just the m1 and m2. So what happened to them?

The 1, 1A, 1B and 1C network also warrants a closer look. 

Maybe not this week, however, as the old bloke is wrestling with his failed tiny computer ...

... and thus some equally failed backups!

Hey ho, such are the joys of modern technology!

 Next Beautiful bridges blog : Fri 4 Sept 

Bournemouth's Beleaguered Buses (1)

 And Things Were Going So Well

And fbb has not taken to drink - yet! But the theme of our quiz and meeting is 'Grapes, Wine and Vineyards in the Bible', with preparation going very well for the meeting on Monday afternoon. But yesterday the new Raspberry Pi graphics computer would not start.

The old Raspberry Pi started up fine and dandy; at least it did when fbb found the correct cables. But the back up "thumbnail" stick of fbb's Monday afternoon's work would not work. fbb may have to redo three hours work - possible but very frustrating!

Technical help has been requested from No 3 son.

Getting ready for the fellowship meeting is, of course, urgent, SO, blogging time may be curtailed.

Bournemouth; The Story So Far

Remembering the two staircase Walsall bus ...

... fbb was surprised to see that the idea was tried in Bournemouth with boarding at the rear and exit at the front. Quite what the benefits were in practice is unclear, but whatever the intentions, it didn't work!

Successor to Bournemouth Corporation Transport, rebranded as Yellow Buses, collapsed with huge unmanageable debts four years ago.

But that was the end of a sad and sorry saga. In 2005, the privatised company was sold to Transdev, an arm of the corporate octopus that is the French government.

And please don't ask fbb to explain Tranasdev!

In 2006, Tranasdev decided to reorganise, well, everything.

Traditional routes and route numbers were thrown in the bin. ensuring that Bournemouth folk, like most municipal bus users, were pretty much totally dissatisfied.

But worse was to come.

In an unfathomable bit of French government financial necromancy, Yellow Buses found itself owned by RATP, a k a Paris City Transport.

And, obviously, that presaged another reorganisation. This was about as popular as The Black Death.

For no apparent reason, routes gained prefix letters based on geographical areas. So buses to Christchurch gained a prefix 'P', obviously, for Christchurch Priory.

Obviously!

One of the simpler changes was that route 1 became P1. In fact that was probably the only simple change. 

The bus livery was changed as well, naturally.

These changes reputedly resulted in a significant loss of passenger revenue. So much so that the whole network was re-reorganised and put back to "normal".

At vast expense.

But worse financial deterioration was caused by the decision to compete with GoAhead's MoreBus (formerly Wilts and Dorset, former formerly Hants and Dorset) on their very busy trunk route between Bournemouth and Poole.

The incumbent threw more resources at the service, matched by Yellow Bus until both were losing money by the bus load. 

But GoAhead was big enough to stand the extra costs.

Yellow Bus wasn't

R A T P got out quickly by selling to a management team, reputedly for 1p. This still left accumulated debts to be "serviced". 

The logo ...

... becomes plain and simple ...

... "Yellow Buses".

Inevitably the cash ran out.

To be fair, the final network remained well presented ...

... the excellent enquiry office remained open ...

... and things looked fine on the surface.

But years of damage had been done, the inevitable collapse soon came with More Bus waiting in the wings to take over. 

Buses and drivers were drafted in from other parts of the GoAhead empire thus disruption was short lived.

Tomorrow, Raspberry Pi problems permitting, fbb will look at Bournemouth today to see how much is left of the former Yellow Bus network.

STOP PRESS

Technical assistance suggests that the Miniature SD Card may have become dislodged due to general chaos in Peterville model railway involving moving the computer systems repeatedly and/or excessively. 

Miniature SD Card? fbb has no idea!

P.S. More Freightliner tank wagon is postponed due to computer excitement.

P.P.S. The Miniarure Sd card is fine ...

... so the new Raspberry Pi is busted.

A re think is necessary, maybe a re start and a re do is re alistically the only re source re quired. Re ally!

 Next Bournemouth blog : Thurs 3 Sept