If, like No 3 son and his chum, you arrive at Stein Säckingen station, you will need to find your way across the Rhein. A signpost opposite the station entrance suggest it will take about 30 minutes.
The walk will take along the southern bank of the river, passing the modern bridge ...
... or, more correctly, under it on a pleasant footpath. This will bring you to one of the real treats of Bad Säckingen, the Holzbrücke ...
It looks like there was some traffic light system (above the 2T sign?) which might well have prevented an unfortunate coming together and lengthy reversal! The picture below is of a modern re-run of the olden days, executed as part of an Historic Vehicle rally.
And so to the shopping centre and that minibus.
The logo on the side is that of the town itself ...
... together with a wire and a two-pin plug. Various slogans were beyond fbb's "O" level German ...
... but, thanks to the ever-helpful Google Translate, it says "Eco Electricity is my Motivation". Maybe a clue?
Fortunately, there is a web site.
This reveals a local community energy company ...
... selling ...
... what you would expect. So the bus is powered by electricity, we assume; and another assumption is that it is a staff bus for employees of the company.
One last logo on the side might help.
So who, or what, is Reiseburo Zimmermann of Bad Säckingen? A hirer of big cranes?
An HGV operator?
Probably not; but the logo type face matches this one ...
... the name of a tour and coach operator.
You might suppose that Zimmermann are operating a small bus in works livery for the energy supplier. But a further perusal and the energy company's web site reveals something more interesting than a simple staff courtesy vehicle.
Our Citybus, "comfortable and barrier free mobile in Bad Säckingen", suggests a "proper" bus service of some sort.
Buses in the town would appear to be part of the "Sudbaden Bus" network.
Their network map is somewhat basic, but does cover normal services in our Rhineside town ...
... but nowhere does it mention any "independent" service in the town.
Tomorrow we take a closer look at the minibus service, thanks to some extra pictures collected by No 3 son.
Tomorrow we take a closer look at the minibus service, thanks to some extra pictures collected by No 3 son.
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Sound Advice!
In a follow-up to fbb's notes on the James May documentary about the difficulties of the Hornby Railway company (read again), those who watched will have seen mention of a goods wagon with sound.
An unassuming model of a common or garden ventilated van ...
... shown under development. The van is fitted with a sound chip and loudspeaker, hence the rather scary picture in their catalogue!
By using some clever you can push a button and out of the van will be heard a choice from this list of "appropriate" sounds for a model railway layout.
The success of Hornby's TTS decoder has given enthusiasts the chance to experience a value for money soundtrack on their layouts, with the sounds of diesel and steam locomotives adding an extra layer of atmosphere.
To further enhance this atmosphere, Hornby's engineers have considered how other sounds contribute to 'setting the scene'. Stand on any busy station, or observe the workings of a bustling freight depot and it is soon obvious that there are a whole range of sounds, from the grind and squeal of wagon wheels, the application of brakes, and the 'clank' of couplings, to the movement of passengers, station announcements, a 'hubbub' of conversation and carriage doors closing.
The equipping of a wagon with TTS sound means that it can be placed stationary within the layout, to give a richer depth of sound, or can be included anonymously within a rake of wagons, its soundtrack blending with the sounds of other TTS locomotives.
In the programme we heard of the difficulties in creating a realistic "cat" sound - because what cats actually "say" is, apparently, not what people expect. But there is not cat in the list above.
The van is reviewed in the current (published this week) edition of the Railway Modeller. The model costs £40 which is actually not too pricey for a "sound" model.
But the review reveals that it actually comes with FIVE "suites" of sound. Here is the full list.
You do need to have the DCC control system installed on your layout, however. fbb doesn't, so will miss out on flange squeal, an occasional owl and an air spanner!
An unassuming model of a common or garden ventilated van ...
To further enhance this atmosphere, Hornby's engineers have considered how other sounds contribute to 'setting the scene'. Stand on any busy station, or observe the workings of a bustling freight depot and it is soon obvious that there are a whole range of sounds, from the grind and squeal of wagon wheels, the application of brakes, and the 'clank' of couplings, to the movement of passengers, station announcements, a 'hubbub' of conversation and carriage doors closing.
The equipping of a wagon with TTS sound means that it can be placed stationary within the layout, to give a richer depth of sound, or can be included anonymously within a rake of wagons, its soundtrack blending with the sounds of other TTS locomotives.
In the programme we heard of the difficulties in creating a realistic "cat" sound - because what cats actually "say" is, apparently, not what people expect. But there is not cat in the list above.
The van is reviewed in the current (published this week) edition of the Railway Modeller. The model costs £40 which is actually not too pricey for a "sound" model.
But the review reveals that it actually comes with FIVE "suites" of sound. Here is the full list.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Next Bad Säckingen blog : Wednesday 13th March
To "de-Google" FBB's translation, a suitably sloganistic (if there is such a word) version would be "I'm powered by green electricity". "Öko" is used as a prefix for anything environmentally friendly.
ReplyDelete"Barriere-Frei" is the common term for what we would call easy access, low floor, disabled friendly.