Lovely At Lulworth (2)

Welcome Breezer 30

The X43 to Weymouth was operated  variously by First, Wilts and Dorset and Damory severally or jointly in its relatively short existence until it was replaced by Damory (therefore still a tendered service) route 30.

Nowadays it is promoted as a "Breezer"  and runs between Swanage and Weymouth with a positioning journey from and to Dorchester....

... although, when correspondent Roger travelled last weekend, there was little evidence of branded vehicles. 

The 2021 service 30 therefore looks like this.

So Lulworth Cove has an extra six journeys in addition to First's hourly timetable on X54 and X54.

The 30 (BLUE), however, is joined at Lulworth by "Breezer" 31 (PINK).

The 31 provides a link from various "Holiday Parks" to Bovington Tank Museum, Monkey World and ...

... adds a further seven journeys to Lulworth Cove, as long as you spot the one trip which evaporates on schooldays - always a trap for the unwary traveller!

Breezer 40 and 50

There are FOUR more Breezers to come! Two are all year round routes and represent a branding and promotion of what were once the very "normal" bus services to Swanage. Historically there was a variety of routes from  Poole via Corfe Castle to Swanage numbered 140 etc.

Above, suffering from a busted blind, a Wilts and Dorset VR shows 14! Later renumbering made it 40 and, for a while it had Damory vehicles trundling through the gorgeous Corfe Castle.

An interesting variety of routes into Swanage was ultimately simplified as one and is now settled as "Breezer" 40 (GREEN)  ...

... via Kingston and Langton Matravers. Historic varieties on this service went via Harmans Cross and Worth Matravers. Todays 40 runs every hour, seven days a week.

It usually runs with branded closed top buses.

"Breezer" 50 is also an all-year-round service, but topless in the Summer. Its big claim to fame is that the bus crosses the entrance to Poole Harbour on the celebrated Sandbanks Ferry.

In recent years it has been open top in "the season" ...

... and runs from Bournemouth Station.

"Breezer" 50 (ORANGE) also permits the passenger a passing peer at some of the most expensive real estate outside London. 

The properties along the south facing beach at Sandbanks are owned by people who could probably buy Bournemouth!

The bus runs past the back door of some of these modest holiday cottages!

We will complete the "Breezer" catalogue tomorrow and look more closely at the publicity leaflet. Meanwhile, if we are "en voiture" we can enjoy the queue for the ferry ...

... while the "Breezer" 50 whizzes past for its priority boarding.

Go by bus - it's a lot less fuss.

1959 Kits : 2021 Models

Regular readers of this blog will doubtless remember fbb's interest in Airfix kits for a model railway. Series 2 kits sold at a massive three shillings and were thus deemed too expensive for the lad's limited pocket money.

The engine shed is still available, now produce by Dapol and it makes a jolly good model. But a contributor to the July edition of Railway Modeller (just out) has done a bit of kit bashing. Despite adding stone "plating" and more visible tiles, the result is still visibly a 62 year old model.

Unmistakeable!

In the same edition, a clever modeller has done something, well, clever, with a three bob crane kit.

This time the kit has been assembled as it was designed to be ...

... but realistically dirtied. (Filthied?)

What is impressive is that in the "cabin plus works" section he has installed three electric motors ...

... to rotate the crane, to raise/lower the jib and to raise/lower the hook.

What? No power to trundle the whole caboodle along on its teensie weensie wheels? That would be too much to ask!

Snippet

The sign reads, "Please use the purpose made path provided."

One comment writer opined that the cost of making and installing the sign would have been more than the cost of putting the path where the people wanted to go!

 Next "Breezer" blog : Friday 11th June