Sunday Variety

 Spot The Difference

Cross Country Trains (an Arriva Company) runs a fleet of the above, mostly on services between Cardiff Birmingham then Nottingham and Stansted Airport via Leicester. Increasingly, instead of being dark maroon, they will be outshopped in white and red.

Here are the two together.

Internally they have brighter moquette ...

... replacing the overall dull.

Then you now have all that you need for your "devices", either as part of the tables where fitted ...

... or between the seats in the seat backs for the "airline" style seat arrangements.

The press release tells us that the paintwork on the outside uses a very hard wearing formula which will be easier to keep clean.

Grand Central Expands?

We have already heard that the company (Arriva again) intends to run trains from Cleethorpes (LIGHT GREEN) with one five car unit joining a similar train from Bradford at Doncaster.

The DARK BLUE is very different. Trains would run from Newcastle to Birmingham (in competition with Cross Country - Arriva competing with itself?) and on to Reading. Here units will reverse and continue via Gatport Airwick to Brighton.

Four trains a day are promised in each direction..

At the same time, Grand Central has had its operator's licence extended until 2038.

On the strength of this, the company has ordered shiny NEW trains.

Yes, YAWN, they are the same as everybody else's shiny new trains, built by Hitachi in the UK. They will run on the core GC routes (presumably plus Cleethorpes) under the electric string on the East Coast Main Line. As they veer from the main to Bradford, Sunderland and Cleethorpes. The veering will use battery power.

It is not yet clear what will operate the Newcastle to Brighton trains - if they happen.

Surely the Adelantes ...

...will be a bit long in the tooth by the time the Newcastle Brighton trains start.

Strange Activity At South Anston

ADL, (formerly Alexander Dennis) have a depot at South Anston east of Sheffield. An aerial view shows lots of buses parked up.

In reality the big shed is a parts distribution depot and service centre, not where buses are built.

Despite that, local depot watchers have been shocked to see what is parked there at the moment. There seem to be far more "visitors" parked, and stationary for a long time, than might be awaiting a "service".

Would brand new buses be there for s service?

The article also has reports of new buses for other operators being lined up waiting for, what?

Local rumours suggest that many of these buses are waiting for parts to finish them off, OR, more worrying, waiting for repair because they don't work properly.

Anybody know for certain?

Windows 2025

Work has started (very tentatively) on the new skylight for the Peterville carriage shed.

First comes new glazing, held whilst glue sets by fbb own set of clothes pegs; bought by Mrs fbb so she did not lose hers or have hers covered with glue and/or paint.

fbb bought his laser cut card window frames without really knowing how they might fit but trial and error (yet another Bill Bodge and Fred Fudge modelling principal) suggests that a pair of windows will match the roof trusses.

So windows duly glued in pairs.

Hopefully you cannot spot the one Mr Tubbles tried to eat.

More work is to be continued after the fbb's monthly Fellowship Meetings today and tomorrow.

Talking Of Which

The theme is "Disciples or Apostles, what they did next". So can you identify the fourteen Apostles (and yes, you did think there were only 12) and a small selection of other disciples.

You can enlarge the graphics which replace the usual PDF for technical reasons. (Technically, fbb lost the PDFs!)

Shock Horror : New Bus For Seaton

Even fbb did not know about this stunning development. But Wendy (a friend from Nit and Knatter) told Mrs fbb who queried this development with her chubby hubby.

The only information she had was that it started on Sunday 20th April and ran from Axminster to Seaton and Beer.

But that is route 885 operated by Axe Valley Travel

Wendy also knew that the new service was operated by Stagecoach.

fbb could find no obvious publicity for this on Stagecoach's web site so turned hesitantly to Traveline. And there it was, operating Monday to Friday ...

... and Sunday ...

... but, oddly, NOT on a Saturday. The timings on Mon to Fri closely match Axe Valley's times.

Surely nasty big Stagecoach would not be competing with nice local Axe Valley?

In the end the Devon Bus web site provided the answer - but it was well hidden in a list of changes.

379 Axminster – Seaton / - Beer (Stagecoach)

New Sunday and Public Holiday service funded by Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership, operating until 26 October 2025 providing connections with rail services at Axminster. 

So Traveline is WRONG (big surprise there) as it only runs on Sundays. fbb guesses that the last Sunday buses on this route were in Western National days!

It is sponsored by the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership and called "Rail Link".

But why, oh why, is it numbered 379 when it follows exactly the same route as AVT 885.

Whilst it is a noble initiative to provide a Sunday service, where is the publicity? 

Unfortunately, fbb is too tied up with his meetings both today and Bank Holiday Monday to go out and investigate, but maybe will take a ride next Sunday and report back.

He does not expect heavy loadings.

Tomorrow we hear from an 85 year old "brother"

 Next Journey Planning blog : Mon 5 May