Variety And Fifty, Eh?

Dateline Monday 23 June

Having waved goodbye to Mrs fbb, the old bloke was wending his way back to Sheffield c/o an electric single decker on route 50A. He was confused, but on the way back to base was able to begin to unravel the complexities and inadequacies of various timetables (of which more later!).

After the complications of the Whittingtons (Old, New, Moor but not Dick!), his 50A operated via Marsh Lane.

Situated in the north-east corner of Derbyshire, Marsh Lane lies close to the boundary with South Yorkshire and is easily accessible from Junction 30 of the M1. From Marsh Lane it is only a 20 minute drive to either Sheffield, Chesterfield or Worksop. The Sheffield Supertram is also only a 10 minute drive from Marsh Lane offering the possibility to park and ride into the metropolis.

And the buses?

Just a 15 minute drive from Marsh Lane will take you to the Rother Valley Country Park which provides easy walking around the lakes and water sport facilities, whilst across the valley at Ridgeway is a Craft Centre and Tessa Bramley’s Old Vicarage Restaurant. Ince Piece Wood which lies to the north-east of Marsh Lane contains the strangely named track known as Lady Ida’s Drive, whilst to the east of Marsh Lane is the Trans Pennine Trail which runs north/south and follows the Chesterfield Canal

And the buses?

For a small community where old properties give the village its historical character ...

... where its corner shop (very much on the corner!) is no more ...

... and where the chapel is now a community centre, there are plenty of buses.

In addition to the hourly 50A. south to Chesterfield and north to Sheffield, T M Travel's 252 runs half hourly to Sheffield and eastbound to Crystal Peaks shipping centre; and there are five journeys from Stagecoach 15 west to Dronfield and its shops.

The 50A continues past Marsh Lane's attractive War Memorial ...

... then via a new housing development based around Ravencar Road.

Meanwhile service 50 drops into an earlier Eckington expansion (1930s council housing, but refurbished) ...

... before sharing a stand with the 50A at Eckington's lavish bus station!

Marsh Lane has one more delight for collectors of bus infrastructure. For journeys to Chesterfield, passengers get the privilege of a locally constructed bus shelter.

Back in Eckington, we have a former market town ...

... once dominated by agriculture but later eclipsed by small scale coal mining. Not too far from the centre of the village is an example of its industrial heritage, an example that is seldom seen ...

... the Seldom Seen Engine House! And, yes, that is its name

Dating from between 1855 and 1875, this Scheduled Ancient Monument, is an unusually large and rare form of engine house. It's the last remaining building from the Plumbley Collieries and provides valuable evidence of the layout and operation of a 19th century coal mine.

Why is it called Seldom Seen? One suggestion is that because it lies hidden in the bottom of the valley it was ‘Seldom Seen’. Another suggestion is that it was believed to be haunted, but the ghost was seldom seen.

Both 50 and 50A now run direct into Sheffield via the former A 616 ...

... or do they?

Right on the edge of the current Derbyshire county-wide route map, we espy the 50 doing a little wiggle via Windmill Greenway ...

... on the fringes of Mosborough "new town", a Sheffield overspill and re-housing development.

But the Travel South Yorkshire map shows both 50 and 50A using the direct link with no wiggle. fbb was on a  50A, so unable to check.

Windmill Greenway does not feature on any printed timetable for the 50/50A; but we now know how reliable such information really is!

So who is right? fbb guesses that Derbyshire is wrong and their map people haven't updated to show a recent change in the route of service 50.

But who knows?

Colour Matters

The weirdness of the model railway "market" never ceases to amaze fbb. 

Once upon a time, the original Hornby Dublo (all metal, indestructible and three rail) produced a tinplate, three door freight wagon.

It had a cast chassis and tinplate body but was hopelessly unrealistic by today's modelling standards. But should you yearn for such a model, it can be bought today.

So when Dublo went two rail and offered metal chassis and plastic bodies, the same wagon became known as a "fruit van".

The model was vastly superior, although still well below modern production standards. You can get one of these better vans more cheaply (by a long way) than the older version.

Bargain!

When Hornby went bust, its moulds were taken over by Wrenn and that company produced a whole series of largely unrealistic models. Mostly they were given private owner style decoration, even if such a wagon never actually existed.

Yes, you did read correctly! And there's one in pale blue as well!

Why not buy a £14 van and paint it orange or pale blue? But it wouldn't be a true example of the model as supplied by Wrenn, would it?

What is more terrifying for fbb is that Rails is also offering a Wrenn milk tanker (six wheels) for s similar price.

And fbb hasn't got a Wrenn milk tank wagon in his collection. Fortunately there are cheaper versions.

A lot cheaper!

Puzzle Picture

Where might this bus be going or, maybe, from where has it arrived?

Give-away lettering has been removed!

Answer tomorrow.

Good Bus Information ...

... at Sheffield Interchange.

There are no departure screens at individual stands, just a few dotted here and there. fbb was waiting for a bus (there's  original for you!) on platforms D and E ...

... and tried to read this,

With bright sunlight at the windows, it was very difficult, possibly leading to a "crick in the neck" as it is very high in the roof. 

Some electronic tweaking was not very helpful.

Good human eyes could manage, just, but slightly disadvantaged human eyes stood no chance.

Surely, in this day and age, each stand should have it's own departure screen?

 Next Variety Blog : Sunday 29 June