Dawlish 18th October
And did you spot single line working? Storm Babet, of course, has caused much more disruption.
Save A 507!
What livery should he use?
And where are you going to keep it? It would need quite a large garden shed!
Buses Arrive For Route 505
fbb would like to show you a map of the 505, but as part of the Stagecoach policy of keeping their services secret, this is the closest he can get. Spalding is at the top ...
... and Kings Lynn doesn't get a mention. A timetable, mayhap?
Which should he choose?
There is this one which looks official ...
Or this one?
Which would you choose? Are they the same? Which would you understand. The lower timetable is indexed as 505A by the way.
Perhaps as part of their upgrade, Stagecoach might try to sort out their web site.
Bring Out The Branston
Rails of Sheffield has just announced another of their advertising fake private owner wagons. This time a twosome for Branston pickle is on offer.
PLUS postage, of course..
fbb quite likes a dob of Piccalilli on his healthy-eating pork pie. But he will not be buying the wagons.
A Bridge Too Far Just Right?
Travelling north from Machynlleth you need to cross the Dovey River on a long, low bridge.
It looks innocuous on the map, but it is very low lying.
It is a magnificent but historic bridge.
It floods or is threatened with flood regularly ...
The effect of road closures on public transport (the buses) is enomous. Floods often cause trains to be cancelled as well.
... and the floods can be dangerous.
To add to the fun (?) there is a dip under the railway bridge which also floods.
Lloyds bus depot is nearby, but thankfully above the flood line.
So build a new bridge!
The steelwork is now complete ...
... and a delayed completion is reported locally as Spring 2024.
But a chum who lives that way asks, "That's the river sorted; now what about the railway bridge?"
Good point.
Next Variety blog : Sunday 22nd October
I believe that the new Dyfi viaduct more-or-less follows the course of the old Corris Railway, closed in 1948 after flood waters damaged its own bridge. The present-day reincarnation of the Railway (very well worth a visit, by the way, they're doing a wonderful job) has benefitted from the bridge works as they have received substantial amounts of spoil which are being used in the formation of their "southern extension" from Maespoeth.
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid to say that fbb is making things a little difficult for himself, although I will accept that the Stagecoach website has become poor of late.
ReplyDeleteIf you click on the plain vanilla 505, a quite acceptable pdf comes forth, which is clear and simple to follow. I suspect that most users would look no further.
The 505A and 505B variants are just that, variants that deviate via a school along the route, or operate on a non-standard day.
The "alternative" formats are required to inform journey planners so that an enquiry to (say) Traveline will produce the correct information. They may also be internal numbers that Stagecoach use, possibly because there is some form of financial support involved?
What is needed is some form of human intervention to realise that the A and B variants do not need to be displayed, and to supress them. Thereby hangs the rub, of course . . . everything is automated nowadays, with nobody available to perform a "sense check".