Before we nail the niceties of Waverley, there is one more ingredient to add. This was Parkway Wholesale Market (fruit veg and other fresh food) which replaced a very cramped site in the city centre.
It consisted of a large square Square with traders' premises round the edge. To get "the lads" to and from, Sheffield Transport provided a works service 121, almost the last route numbered consecutively. (The last was 122 to Norfolk Park).
The market was not altogether popular as it lacked the camaraderie and traders' interaction of the old site. So, when development called, it moved to a smaller site nearby (upper right) ...
... and the whole area grew into a major trading estate.
One of the purposes of the prestigious (?) route A1, designed to be the first of many "super" bus routes for the Sheffield area, was to provide a "proper" service to the Parkway Industrial area.
Thus it was that Veolia buses ran happily empty for most of the day via Parkway, the embryo Waverley industry, the former airport site and so on to Rotherham.
At this stage there were no houses!
But all was to change with the introduction of First's route 72.
The market was not altogether popular as it lacked the camaraderie and traders' interaction of the old site. So, when development called, it moved to a smaller site nearby (upper right) ...
One of the purposes of the prestigious (?) route A1, designed to be the first of many "super" bus routes for the Sheffield area, was to provide a "proper" service to the Parkway Industrial area.
But all was to change with the introduction of First's route 72.
It's first task was to replace the A1 via Parkway ...
... then run via rapidly developing Waverley "village".
The 72 then continued northbound as part of the former local service between Rotherham and Brinsworth. For the record (and despite the map) it never did run via Waverley village as the developers were very keen to build and sell houses, but far less keen to surface the roads which made them unsuitable for buses. Buses ran via the full length of High Field Spring (including the grey bit) between Orgreave and Morrisons.
So much for having buses in place as people moved in to their fine new mansions!
Buses ran every 30 minutes except evenings and Sundays when the route became 72a hourly but via Treeton.
The 72 (PINK) still runs via Parkway; but it appears to be joined by a 73 (dashed BROWN), a 74 and 74a (GREEN) via City Road. Four route numbers replace one?
It gets worse when we look at the Waverley and Brinsworth part of the map.
The 72 (PINK) ran via Waverley as before, but then operated via the Business Park, the former airport ...
... via a "bus gate" on Wood Lane.
It then ran past the former access to Tinsley Marshalling Yard ...
... and onwards, not to Rotherham but to Meadowhall but via a different route through Brinsworth.
The 74 and 74a (GREEN) approach on "normal" (and slow) city roads via Handsworth, running jointly every 30 minutes.
One bus an hour (74) ran via Waverley, the other ran fast via The Parkway to Morrisons and Catcliffe continuing to Rotherham via Howarth Road.
The reason for the 74a via the Parkway between Handsworth and Catcliffe is historic; because for a while in the recent past the 40 went that way. Don't ask!
The bus from Rotherham to Treeton was now the 73 (BROWN) ...
... which ran half hourly Monday to Saturday and hourly in the evenings and on Sundays; but, wait for it; it was then extended to Sheffield via the 74/74a route which does not run. (hence the dotted brown line!)
The net result of this was, as you might expect, much confusion for passengers AND a significant cut in the frequency of buses between Rotherham and Brinsworth.
The 72 ran via Waverley Monday to Saturday daytime
The 73 ran via Waverley evenings, Sundays and some early morning runs
The 74 ran via Waverley Monday to Saturday daytime
The 72 did not follow the previous 72 OR the traditional 32
The 73 was the old 32 but to Treeton rather than the loop at Catcliffe
The 74/74a ran through Brinsworth via the old 33 route.
And all this, hardly a tick of the Bundy Clock after the (old) 72 replaced the A1.
All together with the chorus:-
So much for having buses in place as people moved in to their fine new mansions!
For the keen bus watcher the map below shows the "traditional" bus routes to Brinsworth, Catcliffe and Treeton (the latter off the map, bottom right).
With only minor changes, these date back to Rotherham Corporation Transport days.
But, cleverly, the new 72 was the old 32, so Brinsworth and Catcliffe folk only had a part change of number to cope with.
But that comparative simplicity was not to last - oh no siree!
To avoid brain implosion, fbb will jump forward to the Waverley network up to and including Saturday 2nd March.
It gets worse when we look at the Waverley and Brinsworth part of the map.
The bus from Rotherham to Treeton was now the 73 (BROWN) ...
The net result of this was, as you might expect, much confusion for passengers AND a significant cut in the frequency of buses between Rotherham and Brinsworth.
The 72 ran via Waverley Monday to Saturday daytime
The 73 ran via Waverley evenings, Sundays and some early morning runs
The 74 ran via Waverley Monday to Saturday daytime
The 72 did not follow the previous 72 OR the traditional 32
The 73 was the old 32 but to Treeton rather than the loop at Catcliffe
The 74/74a ran through Brinsworth via the old 33 route.
And all this, hardly a tick of the Bundy Clock after the (old) 72 replaced the A1.
All together with the chorus:-
How do you solve a problem like at Wave'ly?
How do you catch a cloud and pin it down?
How do you find a route that will serve Wave'ly?
A flibbertijibbet! A will-o'-the wisp! A clown!
But please don't worry if you have lost the plot - or even the will to live ever travel by bus again - it all changed again last Sunday 3rd March.
If readers are still reading (and who could blame them for going down the pub to drown their omnibological sorrows) we will reveal all - and the glorious continuing reign of befuddlement - in tomorrow's blog. So grab a good night's sleep and join us on the morrow for Waverley Mark 4.
Next Waverley blog : Friday 8th March
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