Weekend (finishes today!) Variety - 5

Sutton Coldfield Trains Today

The above is the only on-line picture of a steam train about to depart from Sutton Coldfield for Birmingham New Street. It is clearly a local train, possibly hauled by a 2-6-2 tank locomotive hauling suburban coaches.

Diesel trains are better represented ...

... in various liveries including the totally impractical white with rail blue stripe!

The decision to create and then electrify the "Cross City" line in Birmingham was a bold and beautiful decision. The Sutton Coldfield line got a spectacular upgrade ...

... from its rather uninspiring frequencies. And it was provided with shiny new electric trains ...

... even if older cast-offs held the fort in the early days.

South of the city centre, the line to Longbridge and Redditch had declined to almost nothing with just a couple of peak time peak direction diesels going all the way.

Historically, beyond Redditch, trains ran to Evesham but these disappeared quite early in recent history.

But the upgraded line, with electric string, ran from Lichfield City to Longbridge. Later extensions ran to Lichfield Trent Valley in the north, to Redditch in the south and, most recently, to Bromsgrove.

Soon, Birmingham train travellers were blessed with a train every ten minutes on the core service between Four Oaks and Longbridge.

In this pre-Bromsgrove schedule, the oddity is a stop at University on the hourly service from New Street to Hereford. 

Even industrialised Duddeston had a train every 30 minutes!

Sadly the service was cut back to a core of every 15 min, seen here in the opposite direction, to Lichfield.

The publicity is corporate West Midlands Railway in brown ...

...  with a geographical map available on-line

It is interesting (well it is to fbb!) to look at the current National Rail table which is never available in print.

Because the NRT tables are more comprehensive (and thus often less comprehensible) we have a record of every stopping train along the Cross City route.

Note  A  refers to the half hourly service from Walsall to New Street continuing to Wolverhampton. Note  B  is the service to Hereford as before, whilst note  F  is the hourly CrossCountry DMU service to Cardiff.

So the reduction to a core of every 15 minutes is disappointing but Aston gets an extra two trains, University ditto, and Duddeston gets four trains an hour. 

There is real housing for real people nearby ...

... in addition to the industry.

And who could resist the delights of "Dixy Chicken" just across the road from the station.

fbb must remember to pop in and tuck in when he has a spare hour in Brum!

Eat you heart out Colonel Sanders!

Superloop 12?

More about route SL12 proposals

Route SL12 would run between Rainham, Ferry Lane and Gants Hill via Romford. The proposed route would improve access to growing industry and business districts located in the south of Havering by enhancing north-south links. The proposed route would provide areas not linked by the rail network with access to the Central line and the existing Superloop network in Redbridge.

So that's it, then?

There is a bit of a problem with the SL12. The above map confirms the TfL minimalist press release. But most "official" maps on-line say something a little different.

They show the GREEN SL12 (centre right) as continuing beyond Gants Hill to Leytonstone.

Sorry about the fuzziness! But, at least, the overall Superloop 2 map does say "subject to change".

Using the top map version (SL12 to Gants Hill only) we can only speculate on the detail of the route, courtesy of Mike Harris' London bus map.

So far, the original non-looping Superloops have followed existing bus routes. Above there is a 165 from Rainham to Elm Park and Romford.

The 165 does not run direct to Romford but the 252 would be quicker. But the 252 does not reach Rainham.

From Romford, if the maps are to be believed ...

... Eastern Avenue would seem to be a good choice for an "Express" bus and it sort of fits the very rudimentary diagram. The current route 66 goes thataway.

fbb will defer on the extension to Leytonstone as the most recent information postulates a terminus at Gants Hill.

Here, our proposed SL12 meets up with the current SL2 to North Woolwich ...

... or Walthamstow Central.

And there is a 66 ...

... which might, in some way, become partially obliterated by the SL12.

Exciting, isn't it?

That Model!

After consulting with his 21st Century Culture Team, fbb has now been educated in the skills of youff patois. 

I C Y M I stands for In Case You Missed It.

The "It" in question was a further announcements about the "Ivor the Engine" working OO models soon to be released.

We do not yet have prices ...

... but fbb expects them to be very "OUCH" and that the models will sell out very quickly!

======================

PLEASE NOTE!

The fbb's complex schedule continues this coming weekend. The old crocks join two sons and one daughter-in-law for a joint birthday "do".

The fbb's are 80 and No 1 son is 50 within the space of 30 days.

An "Airbnb" beckons for the weekend (Fri, Sat & Sun nights).

Will the advertised WiFi be any good?

  Next Manchester redux blog : Thu 6 Feb