Sunday Variety

Velvet? Lumo?

Although the buses were purple and pink, the original PR called the operation "Black" Velvet but "black" was never actually used. The company, under the leadership of Phil Stockley. operated buses in the Eastleigh area.

It was a smart and well-run operation which ultimately did not make enough money to survive. Tough for Phil, who moved on to other things including, for a while, writing a column in Buses magazine.

Now a new "Velvet" has appeared with absolutely no connection to Phil or his pink buses. For this Velvet we need to go to France.

The word "Velvet" does not exist in French, where the translation is "Velours". But, undaunted, this new company is using an English name for its optimistic project.

Currently the only pictures are of the front half of a locomotive - there are no signs yet of the rear half or any carriages.

Make of that what you will!

The new-start company is, if nothing else, ambitious!

fbb is a bit woolly on understanding how much 1.5 billion Euros will buy, but he suspects not enough for all those potential services.

Has the company yet got the permission of the various arms of the French government that, effectively controls almost all public transport in the country? Whilst the EU is keen on opening up rail markets in Europe, La Belle France is not!

Maybe the front half of a loco wrapped in dark gren and pink is all that will ever appear.

The set-up and aspirations seem similar to Lumo ...

... which, looking at recent disappointment, isn't loom-o-ing as large as it had hoped.

In the UK, open access is currently NOT the flavour of the month with the embryo Great British Railways and some recent applications have been turned down flat, notably Virgin on the West Coast main line and a resurrected Wrexham and Shropshire ditto.

The argument is that extra trains on the main line will depress reluibiloty. But wasn't High Speed 2 designed, in part, to release capacity for "innovative new operators"?

Of course it was, but things change in politics where transport policy and transport ministers are but a fleeting will'o'the wisp to be batted about at random.

Who remembers the cartoon character beautifully voiced by Kenneth Williams?

Irrelevant, of course, but sweet!

Back To Wybourn : Episode 3

For reasons that are unclear to fbb, the interwebnet is absolutely littered with pictures of buses to Wybourn. Indeed, the range is a microcosm of bus types operated over many years in Sheffield. 

fbb is less interested in rolling stock and more interested in why buses go where they go. But this blog and tomorrow's will give the bus watchers much delight as they remember their favourite (and non favourite) steeds of old.

Note that the bus turning into the estate has its traditional three blue stripes and one very fine red one below the bottom stripe; but the service 46 has just one broad band round bottom deck windows and similar up top.

This style was used, for a while, for Roe bodies buses ...

... but, eventually, stripes won the day! The bottom stripe was thinner than "normal" to match the body side moulding ...

One Sheffield oddity which appeared from time to time on the 56 was an ECW bodied Leyland.

At the time the ECW bodywork was only paired with the Bristol chassis. Sheffield's unusual pairing was for a good reason which fbb cannot remember!

Eventually the 56 succumbed to front entrance double deck buses as did almost everywhere else in the city.

The occasional Swift put in an appearance but these long vehicles would have struggled a bit on Wybourn estate corners which were quite tight for the Swift's length.

If you home was at Wybourn, you would certainly experience plenty of variety on the humble 56.

More on vehicle history tomorrow.

Three Milk Tankers?

fbb was aghast to see an advert for a Wrenn milk tank wagon a few days ago, aghast because of the price and aghaster because he did not know that Wrenn produced a 6 wheel milk tank wagon. There appeared to be several adverts on line for these vehicles - one advertised a wagon for £20 which seemed a better deal ...

... and the other was priced 42 US dollars, which seemed a bit much. The photos looked remarkably similar!

So fbb sent off his payment expecting only one wagon to arrive - but ...

... he got all three. The low price might be caused by the badly faded paint on two if the tankers, but one was OK.

Good value, or  one of these?

[a "poke" is scottish patois for a "bag"]

In the end it is called "the market" and, if you are daft enough to buy the wrong thing it is your own fault. EBay purchases usually allow "returns" but fbb did want to keep one, at least

fbb will use the two damaged tankers to create a diesel refuelling point for Peterville Quarry Railway. The better blue tank will join his collection.

Talking Of The Market

EFE has, in the past, produced a model of an RML bus (That is RouteMaster Long). Originally you could have a red RML ...

... or a green Country Bus RML ...

... both priced at about £25. Expensive for a "toy" but not a bad model.

But things have changed. EFE is now part of Bachmann, the model railway guys, and the RML has been (re)introduced with much hype. Are they a new tooling or just a reissue of the old.

Three versions are on offer.

One that found its way to Southend Corporation Transport ...

... joins another in bog standard Routemaster guise.

This third version is from of one of London Transport's half hearted attempts at route branding. It shows a black on yellow panel for route 15 ...

... with black on yellow blinds for the 15A. It has a yellow cant rail stripe - not cream or white - but also displays a second stripe above the top deck windows. Note the non discounted price!!

Did this top stripe adornment ever exist? The Ian Armstrong London Bus Routes web site has a picture showing the 15/15A combo but no roofline band.

Has EFE got it wrong? Was the extra stripe a one-off, and, if so, why is there no picture of the offending extra stripe anywhere on line.

Any answers to:-

fbb@xephos.com

Thanks!

 Next Variety Plus blog : Mon 7 July