Weekend Sunshine
... on the Go Ahead BlueStar New Forest Tours, snapped here in the pictuesque traffic jam that is Lyndhurst.
Go Ahead North East have been running their heritage Routmasters over the weekend, here ...
... on service B1 to Beamish.
Meanwhile in Newcastle the Toon (that's Toon = Town, not Toon = Tune) Tour has been popular ...
... so much so that an extra vehicle was scheduled.
This, as bus spotters will spot, is an open top routemaster.
Back in Devon, the Exmoor Tour (Minehead to Lynmouth) ...
... was up and running with some glorious views.
A Twitterer expressed disappointment at the arrival of this single decker.
The timetable does include some closed top journeys ...
... being two trips between Doniford, Dunster and Minehead. Was the errant single decker actually going to Lynmouth or was it advertising a change in Minehead (see timetable)?
The open top journeys all the way would be fun!
Were the leaflets available for the holiday weekend?
The single decker has an interesting history. It was a Reading Buses branded vehicle ...
... later appearing in Reading's generic black and white garb. In which guise it went west ...
... to Cornwall before being poshed up and branded for Buses of Somerset's route 21 from Taunton to Burnham.
In the "Exmoor Coaster" single deck shot, you can just see the "21" in green on the side!
Perhaps not so encouraging is this lightly loaded X52 on its way from Bridport to Weymouth.
Surely, printed publicity for these tourist services should have been flooding the area (libraries, TiCs, camp and caravan sites, hotels, souvenir shops etc, etc.) from the beginning of May.
And it wasn't, certainly not from First Bus companies in this neck of the woods.
And Talking Of First's Daftness ...
... here is a First Glasgow bus on route 2 to Faifley. It has an advert on its rear end.
It says, "Don't travel by bus - buy a car!"
Crackpot - again.
Should fbb Have Collected LWBs?
The old man's collection of every type of cylindrical tank wagon produced in OO gauge since 1937 is, of course, world famous (???). The old man has wondered - in passing - whether there is another weirdness of wagons to wonder at?
Here is a wagon as it has appeared recently in Hornby stock as part of their Coca Cola range.
£15? Your diligent author has not been able to find a picture of the prototype for this box van; notable for the fact that its body is shorter than its chassis.
Cheaper versions are available on-line (usually at £10) branded for the real company ...
Sheaf Materials Handling Ltd is a Sheffield company that sells and services fork lift trucks - but has never owned a railway wagon in its life! The model is in the "Railroad" range which includes sonewhat less details models at slightly cheaper prices.
But the variety of liveries on thiS innocuous LWB truck is astounding. How about food and drink products?
And there may be more.
Hornby label it LWB - Long Wheel Base.
Then there are "promotion and celebration" liveries including more fork lift trucks!
And there may be more!
But just announced is four of the fab four - four wagons based on LP sleeves released by a certain Liverpool popular music group of some notoriety.
Wot? No "Abbey Road! pedestrian crossing? Shame!
It is amazing what manufacturers will do to extract money from the wallets if dedicated enthusiasts!
Of all the above, only the Palethorpes sausage van ever existed in reality and it was a six-wheeler, not four!
In the transient world of railway models, Hornby once produced a "correct" six wheeler.
Whatever Happened To ...
... fbb's bodge of a low relief Bachmann barber's shop to make a new cafe at Peterville Quarry station?
Whatever Happened To ...
It is still a work in progress, largely hindered by Mrs fbb's indisposition (a nasty attack of sciatica) and thus fbb's promotion to catering duties. The latter have been largely successful, including Sunday Roast with all the trimmings (well, most of the trimmings) and four vats of home-made soup of somewhat ill-defined construction but pronounced delicious by the boss!
Blogging time is thus a bit restricted.
That may be why the old man forgot to "press the button" yesterday and the blog did not appear until 1000. Thanks to David from Sheffield for the tactful "blog missing" message!
Mrs fbb is much improved and beginning to resume her onerous duties.
To fbb's great relief!
Next Fares Farce blog : Thursday 3rd June
I'm afraid you have your Ly's mixed up, the New Forest Tours photo's are in Lymington High Street, not Lyndhurst. As a point of pedantry, the New Forest Tours are not the sole responsibility of Blue Star, despite popular assumption. They operate one tour and Morebus operate the other two, all under the umbrella of Go-South Coast.
ReplyDeleteOnly one open-top is running on the First Exmoor Coaster after one failed early on only the second day in service so half the journeys are only a closed single deck in addition to the booked single deck Watchet feeder. Not good.
ReplyDeleteYour photo of the two Exmoor open-tops includes the failed one as two shouldn't be in Lynmouth at the same time. Note the Lizard open-top is also still using closed-up buses on all services now in third week of operation.
ReplyDeleteAt least half First Exmoor Coaster's were still open-top as advertised then unlike Stagecoach South West in a busy hot & sunny Exmouth I visited Sunday afternoon with both its workings on open-top route 95 inexplicably just closed-tops!!!!
ReplyDeletePerhaps your Stagecoach experience is following example found on First Lizard so called open topper route where all buses are oddly closed deck vehicles?
DeleteFirst open toppers are imminent on the Lizard apparently
DeleteGlad to hear it, not before time. Such a lovely route.
DeleteAlas no sign of any publicity or timetables in Lulworth Cove for the X52 / X54 Jurassic Coasters nor Purbeck Breezers 30 / 31 this bank holiday weekend. Plenty of buses (too many?) but not many passengers . ..
ReplyDeleteAlas no sign of any publicity or timetables in Lulworth Cove for the X52 / X54 Jurassic Coasters nor Purbeck Breezers 30 / 31 this bank holiday weekend. Plenty of buses (too many?) but not many passengers . ..
ReplyDeleteAlas no sign of any publicity or timetables in Lulworth Cove for the X52 / X54 Jurassic Coasters nor Purbeck Breezers 30 / 31 this bank holiday weekend. Plenty of buses (too many?) but not many passengers . ..
ReplyDeleteAlas no sign of any publicity or timetables in Lulworth Cove for the X52 / X54 Jurassic Coasters nor Purbeck Breezers 30 / 31 this bank holiday weekend. Plenty of buses (too many?) but not many passengers . ..
ReplyDeleteBreezer timetables were on buses & in Lulworth info office Sunday & many Breezer buses (not First) were very busy with a dupe even operated & spares positioned at Lulworth.
ReplyDelete