Sunday Variety (mini blog)

The Price of Money

Back in 1955, a not too chubby fbb was really keen to get a model railway. But the prices were daunting. A well wagon was nearly six shillings! This was beyond the boy's pocket money budget levels. No model railway materialized. 

And Hornby Dublo was even more expensive..

If we inflate the 1955 price to 2025 (i.e. 70 years!) we might hope that a well wagon would cost us a few new pence under a fiver! In fact the Bachmann well wagon ...

... is obtainable with a retailer's discount at just over £25! That is about five times the rate of inflation. Some may argue that the 2025 model is vastly superior in detail (it is), more accurate a copy (it is) and has to come all the way from China (it does but it doesn't need to!).

But wealthy old men seem prepared to pay the price (even fbb pays up grumpily for his tank wagons!) so that is the market!

And yes, the Triang well wagon did appear in orange ...

... or green ...

... or blue ...

... or even the prototypical grey!

All versions carried the same running number! fbb's was grey!

Market Economics

But today's models do play some tricks on you. Here is an extract from Rails of Sheffield's recent "bargain" promotion.

Call that a bargain?

Yet here is Oliver Billeid's experimental electric loco, known affectionately as a Bulleid Booster.

It has two six-wheel bogies and is a big lump! But look at Rail's' bargain price for the OO model.

That is half the price of the very diddy diesel shunter above!

Obviously the grey Bulleid has not been a popular model so Rails (and other retailers) think they may be stuck with them. fbb guesses that Rails will be losing money on the bargain Booster but still making money on the shunter.

Market Failure?

It was MP Nicholas Ridley below ...

  .... not to be confused with the celebrated Bishop of London (1500 to 1555) below ...

... who guided the 1985 Transport Act through parliament to create the privatised and commercialised bus industry which has been so successful ...

... in reducing bus usage across the UK.

But will the franchising craze be any better?

So far we only have Manchester to set the trend. Apart from lots of yellow buses, there has been no network change and the costs have been eye-watering. Maybe this Louise (NOT the Sheffield MP and ex transport minister) expresses a valid concern.

Meanwhile, the CPT ...

.... (Confederation of Passenger Transport) ...

... has expressed "concern" about the frenchising proposals for Glasgow as promoted by the SPT (Strathclyde Partnership for Transport). The detail of the CPT's anxiety is a bit too technical for a mini-blog, but they say, in very simple terms, it ain't gonna work and it's gonna cost a fortune.

Big Numbers : Big Price?

And we all want to be like London, don't we? Well the proponents of franchising seem to think that they want to be like London.

Our readers may not be familiar with the way budgets are presented but the numbers below are revealing. This is Transport for London's submission of a budget for the financial year 2025 to 2026.

At the bottom right are the sums required from business rates and and council tax in millions of pounds.

Yikes!

Mancunians, DO enjoy your Bee Network while it lasts and try not to fret about what happens when the present batch of Government grants run out!

Towards Net Zero

Above is the picture of the conflagration at the west London substation, an event which shut down Heathrow airport for rather too long for comfort! The above snippet comes from yet another article warning of the parlous state of the National Grid.

Net Zero might yet mean Net Zero electricity for anybody when the fuses blow!

We have been warned.

It Takes The Biscuit!

Occasionally, Mrs fbb brings home a treat from the general shopping trips. With his cup of tea, your aged blogger has just enjoyed a choccy biccy!

It was delicious. 

There were eight biscuits in the packet. Each biscuit cost approx 21 pence!

In real money that is four shillings and three pence!

Four bob for a biccy!

And that's inflation!

Maybe tank wagons are not SO expensive after all?

Tomorrow we mix Shakespeare and Trams.

 Next : Pardon, It's Arden blog : Mon 16 June