What Green Belt?
It would seem, from observation over many years, that the idea of a "Green Belt" round a city serves two main purposes. It seems to work like this. If the authorities want to block developers' plans, they cry loud and long "Green Belt!" But if those planners want to encourage development, grow the economy, provide social housing and blah blah blah, legislation is brought in to allow development of "selected green belt land".
But fbb's "green belt" is quite different. Here it is for the north arc of London..jpg)
The map shows the routes operated by London Transport's "Country" buses that were panted green rather than red. The network was extensive, but, unlike the red buses which retained local authority control, the green 'uns were handed ever to the National Bus Company and subsequently privatised.
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And so to Sheffield?
One visit that fbb undertook when in that greet city of Steel (once, but no longer of so much steel!) fbb visited Rails of Sheffield.
He did make a massive purchase. On a shelf in the geinuine cheapo second hand room were lots of model buses at £3.50 each. So, for example, a Q class double decker on eBay is on offer at £19.50.
Admittedly, fbb's purchase was without box or display plastic thingy - but still good value and a saving of £16. Mts fbb opined that her chubby hubby could have saved the other £3 buy not buying it at all!
The model "Q" class is on bus route 310A ...
... part of a complex of routes referred to in a blog from way back in 2012. The full sized vehicle is real enough but with a mystery. There is a picture of the actual bus, AYV 616, available on line ...
... but in red bus livery! Currently, the 52 only runs to Willesden but ran to Mill Hill until 1993 ....jpg)
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... including a period extended to Borehamwood.
Wherever it went, it was undoubtedly very red.
London Country experts will be able to fathom this out, but fbb is happy with his cheap model of an unusual London Bus ...
... which must have been very chilly in winter! No doors!
Here is the 310 route shown on the Country Bus map (above) running from Hertford via Ware and Hoddesdon ....jpg)
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... all the way to Enfield.
From being a "Country" route ...
... it was transferred to central ....jpg)
... and ultimately privatised with Arriva, where it still rests.
Currently it runs every 15 minutes Monday to Friday (20 Saturdays, 30 Sundays), with no diversions or route oddities, from Hertford via Hoddesdon to Waltham Cross..jpg)
And here is today's map of the 310; from Hertford south to Hoddesdon ....jpg)
... and from Hoddesdon to Waltham Cross..jpg)
So the 310 has been cut back to the nominal boundary of the red bus area but is still essentially the same as on the ancient Country Bus Map.
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Which set fbb thinking.
What has changed and what is still the same?
This comparison should be easy to do in the Hertfordshire area as the county's "Intalink" service still provides excellent on-line maps.
So next week, subject to any notable news elsewhere, fbb will have an explore and try to answer the following question.
Are today's bus services better or worse than in their London Country days?
There are two more new models to review and these will slot into the Weekend Variety blogs.
One feature of the Country Bus map has intrigued fbb..jpg)
Using black and red print, the designers have contrived to give some indication of the quality of each service. Unfortunately the actual map is a JPG graphics object that will not enlarge (much!) so the consequences of the above coding cannot be clearly seen. But you can, at least, get the idea..jpg)
Also note the triangle indicating that there are onward connection from Hitchin using, in this case, Eastern National services.
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Eyeball Check-Up
Whatever sort of Macular decay fbb may be suffering, it is clear that it would never get better. The possibility was that the eyeball injections might hold back any further degeneration.
Yesterday's check-up revealed no further deterioration sice the investigation six months ago.
Yippee!
Praise God!
Todays's blog was a relatively easy-going piece to allow for recovery from the eyeball intrusion of bright lights and stinging eye drops! The eye drops distort vision for several hours after being dropped
So fbb has not driven or operated machinery. Sadly the 100 ton steam hammer in the back yard has remained silent all day!
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Next Variety blog : Saturday 20th July
But of course buses didn't have doors - and I think that heaters only came in with the RMs. Certainly the front entrance RFs didn't have them originally.
ReplyDeleteQ3 and its sister double deck Q2 entered LT service as red buses at Chalk Farm garage in 1934, but were the cause of passenger confusion at bus stops normally served by rear entrance buses, unexpectedly turning up with an entrance at the front. In 1937 they were painted green and transferred to the Country area to operate from Hertford garage.
ReplyDeleteMemories from a baby boomer from Brum.
ReplyDeleteMidland Red's early postwar single-deckers didn't have outside doors, but did have a door between the cab area and the saloon. They were never closed in service, though I do recall one being shut on a school trip, which would have been private hire. The first buses to have folding doors were the DP S13's, introduced in 1952. The 1955 S14's were to a completely new design, which did have doors.
Postwar double-deckers were rear entrance, so not as draughty.
I can't remember the situation with pre-war single-deckers, though I rode on plenty in the 1950's. The 1930's FEDDs had sliding doors, though these may have been retro-fitted post-war.
The red 310a (as pictured) was not a replacement for the green 310, but a bit of post-1986 competition for it. I think there was a 310b to Harlow for a time, too.
ReplyDelete