Notable Newsworthy Nibbles (2)

A Centenary Challenge

A tease from Blackburn introduces Transdev's contribution to this year's major 100th Birthday. 1919 marked the origin of Ribble Motor Services.

Ribble Motor Services commenced operating in 1919, and grew to be the largest operator in the region, with a territory stretching from Carlisle in Cumberland to southern Lancashire.

In 1961, the Scout Motor Services business was purchased, and absorbed into Ribble in 1968.

The W.C.Standerwick coaching business had been purchased in 1932 but was kept as a separate subsidiary of Ribble .

Ribble operated Cherry Red and Ivory liveried vehicles throughout its BET Group ownership eventually succumbing to National Bus floppy red.

There will be a whole range of "Knees-ups" throughout the year and, of course, heritage liveries. This one has been unveiled at Transdev, hence the tease at the top of this post.

Note the homage to Stagecoach's ownership of some of the ex Ribble empire as one of the pictures between the decks. Transdev (Blackburn etc.) has produced a jolly leaflet ...

... and a brand new Ribble book is due out in a few weeks. Watch out for it.

Modelling Skills

Most readers will realise that fbb struggles with his small outdoor model railway. Sometimes pictures pop up on line which make the old man cringe even more than usual. How about this:-

It is a FOUR-WAY point, presumably hand made with great skill and accuracy. You can buy 3-way points in OO, exemplified by Peco and in use on fbb's aforementioned model train in the rain.

Railway modellers use them far more than the real big railway does because they save space. fbb thinks that a three way point is less reliable that two "normal" points. But a FOUR WAY version? 

Wow.

On the subject of saving space, fbb was intrigued by this "interesting" layout - totally lacking in realism but full of crazy fun.

The uploader of the picture did not say whether this was a permanent "happening" in his garden or was it, perhaps, just cobbled together for the photo and a fun afternoon.

Neither is there any record of how many expensive models fell to a plastic-crunching death after an unexpected derailment. It could be a very expensive "toy"!

Metrobus Might Make It.

News in a South Gloucestershire local freebie paper suggests that a frustrating missing link in Bristol's Metrobus network is, possibly, made complete and useful.

In the early stages of planning, there were a wide range of options under discussion for the Parkway area; home you may remember to that well known "gentleman of the road" Harry Stoke.

The options were many.

The final plans clearly showed a pink line from main road to the station.

Bus watchers expected this link to be part of the First Bus M1 service, a quick zip along Hunts Ground Road ...

... which even has the unfinished posh bus stops in place. But Metrobus to Parkway simply faded from everybody's consciousness.

There are, currently, a few obstructions as you get nearer to the station ...

... but they would be easy to remove. Generally most observers thought that the problem would be the sharp corners round the multi storey car park. First there is a sharp right ...

... followed by a blind sharp left.

A shiny Metrobus would have to pull out into an oncoming vehicle, and altercations would seem inevitable.

But we are now told that the problem is with the station forecourt ...

... currently designed to accept buses from the west only (to the right of the picture above) and not from the wiggly Hunts Ground Road.

It is hard to see why that cannot also be sorted and even harder to understand why it will cost a whopping £600k. But they appear top have found the cash in an old biscuit tin at council HQ and it could actually happen soon.

Of course there is still another more intractable snag.

Buses will NOT be diverted from the M1 but Parkway will be a separate route, cross country, from Emersons Green current terminus of the M3.

So who is going to take the risk to operate any bus from largely empty fields to the busy station?

Of course, development is planned - and usage will grow IN TIME (may grow?) but who foots the bill until it does.

Don't hold your breath for a Metrobus service at Bristol Parkway!

Tomorrow we go in search of Park and Ride.

 Next Lyme Regis blog : Monday 15th April 

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Some weird things are recorded by the Gospel writers in the last week of Jesus' life; and Luke kicks off a good time before that last week started. Translations vary but Luke Chapter 9 verse 51 says, of Jesus ...

And it came to pass, when the time had come that He should be received up, He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem.

Or, perhaps better for the modern reader:-

He was determined to go to Jerusalem.

Surely he new the risk he was taking. But his destiny was pre-programmed.

Then there was Palm Sunday as celebrated in many churches today, (words from Mark's Gospel).

We may be used to the narrative, so we forget (if we ever knew!) how utterly provocative Jesus' visual attack on the moribund temple-based religion of the day was.

This was no "Gentle Jesus Meek and Mild" ...

This was a man with a huge message which threatened the very heart of Jewish religion.

There would be trouble ahead ...

... and "the last and fiercest strife" starts, in earnest, tomorrow!

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