Slam In A Tram!
Back in the day, workmen took over the road and laid the tracks. They did not have modern traffic., health and safety or vociferous opposition to frighten the politicians. Above is Leicester and below is Nottingham.
And any way, trams just ran along the road with ordinary traffic - seemples. Once built, everything ran happily together ...
... well, most of the time.
In Europe, the fashion was for wide main streets, copying the "boulevards" of Paris, so fitting today's trams into a central reservation (possibly widened) was relatively easy.
This is the northern limit of Angers line A.
It is worth noting that tram stops on Line A are "cheap and cheerful".
Where width was less generous, some stops have island platforms.
And when we come to the town of Avrille, now a busy suburb of Angers ...
... something's missing.
No overhead! No disfigurement of this picturesque ex village and no poles to block "le trottoir"! The power is picked up from a third rail.
Listen; howls of protest from the health and safety police!
Yet again we have apoplexy from the health and safety police and lots of black and crinkly ex residents; additionally fried cats and genuine hot dogs.
Of course not.
The third rail is split into short sections. As the front of the tram enters a section it switches ON the power for that section and OFF from the previous. Seemples again.
Some short sections of road have been completely closed to other vehicles ...
... and some quite long sections.
Access is always provided for emergency vehicles and close-by for residents.
But thanks to Streetview's failure to remove old pictures, we can see, in some detail, how the tram was threaded through a difficult area.
Coming in from the top of the map, a grotty strip of back yards ...
... has become a pleasant green tram track, cycleway and footpath.
A wiggly back street in poor condition ...
... is now tram only. 
Likewise here is the same bit of road from the other end.
And, oh dear, there's a river in the way. So build a bridge ...
... just for trams, pedestrians and cycles!
More tomorrow.
Puzzle Picture
What am I riding? And where is it - specifically. The first part should be easy, but the location, not so simple.
How Much?
The Hornby Skaledale non-Nissen Hut, recently purchased by fbb, can be bought direct from Hornby.
Other retailers are about £2 cheaper ...
... and at least one shop was very much cheaper.
Old stock, maybe? To all these must be added rip-off post and packing at between £4 and £5, so the best brand new buy would have set the old man back just under £18.
But the obvious answer is to go to the wonderful EBay ...
More tomorrow.
But fbb has added a new wall and a back door to the original blank corrugated iron rear.
Possible Political Predictions
Whilst Rishi and his chums are reducing inflation and stopping the boats (???) and almost certainly losing the next election, the other lot is telling us how much better they will be.
Of course! Absolutely!
Keir and his chums are going to save the UK's automotive industry, that's car makers in simple language.
But surely, Sir Keir, we want less cars, especially VERY expensive electric ones with environmentally unfriendly batteries, and we want much more cheap public transport.
It's beginning to look as if the consumer is no longer falling for the con of electric cars, with charging prices out on the road matching and even exceeding petrol and d**s*l costs.
The Trouble With Railway Modellers
They cram too many locomotives into their tiny depots ...
... they build too much scenery too close to the tracks ...
... and they run short three coach trains hauled by crack express locos.
Utterly unrealistic. Such scenes would never happen in real life.
fbb has long since given up the fretful approach to "authentic" modelling; but he does try to create a little artificial realism as long as you don't look too closely!
Mr Tubbles Takes A Bath
As those who work as staff for a domestic cat will know, their master/mistress chooses some strange places for their extended nap-of-the-day. Mr Tubbles latest snooze place ...
... was IN the bath at fbb mansions.
Snippet
A picture twittered with no obvious public transport connection. Location not given but it looks a bit Glasgow-like to fbb.
The "bow in the sky" was the conclusion of the Bible story of Noah and the flood, where it was given as a symbol of God's love for mankind and his offer of protection.
It's a pity we expect the first without accepting the conditions of the second!
Shock News For London
Transport for London is renumbering a bus route FROM TODAY. The 607, which runs limited stop between White City and Uxbridge ...
On Saturdays, it runs every ten minutes.
... gets a new identity!
What lies behind this momentous news? The new number may give a clue.
SL8
More in tomorrow's blog.
Next Variety blog : Sumday 16th July
More on London’s Superloop SL8 etc.:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.route-one.net/news/first-tfl-superloop-bus-route-to-start-this-weekend/
The Atlantic Coast Express hauling FOUR coaches is that approaching Corfe Castle from Swanage?
ReplyDeleteI'm sure it is - but their are many accounts of Bulleid Pacifics hauling short trains in the West Country in BR days.
DeleteNew for 2023 - a day trip to the Isle of Wight (West Wight) by public transport, especially Brockenhurst/Lymington or further a field on Morebus X1/X2 from Bournemouth:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.morebus.co.uk/explore-isle-wight-new-forest
Variant of the centre rail/stud contact tram system go back to the earliest days of electric trams. Usually, I think, a magnet under the tram raised a stud to make contact with a pick up, this then fell away after. Of course dirt and grit got in, so sometimes the contact wouldn't raise, bringing the tram to a halt; or, worse, it stayed raised, thereby leaving a dangerous live stud. One presumes that today's systems use a non-mechanical electronic fail-safe system which is more reliable.
ReplyDeleteThe DLR picture shows the top of St Anne's Church, Limehouse, a little to the west of Westferry station.
ReplyDelete