How's Your World Geography?
fbb's is pretty poor, he has to admit. But he would recognise the above as Africa; with South Africa at the south but that is the easy bit.
He has heard of Dar Es Salaam, Mombasa and Nairobi (top right) and., despite renamings to confuse the old folk, he recognises quite a lot of the Country names.
The French "assistant" at Northampton Grammar School was Jaques Adande and he hailed from Lesotho and Eswartini used to be Swaziland.
But ask him to fill them in on a blank outline map and he would fail abysmally.
This article looks at Tanzania and Burundi (above map upper right).
We will be aiming to join Uvinza in Tanzania (above bottom right) ...
... via the town of Musongati (nearer the border - thin black line) ...
... to Gitega, both in Burundi (green map top centre). 
The plan, recently announced, is to link these communities with a brand new standard gauge railway line.
Tanzania and Burundi have officially commenced the construction of a $2.15bn cross-border standard gauge railway that will connect Uvinza in western Tanzania to Musongati in eastern Burundi. The line will be used for passenger services and frieght transport.
Tanzanian Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa laid the foundation stone for the 240km railway, which is set to be the first of its kind in the region and marks a step towards enhancing East African trade and connectivity.
The project will feature a fully electrified 1,435mm international standard gauge line and is expected to be completed by 2030.
How is High Speed 2 going, Heidi?
Revolutionary Arriva Livery
This is for the X4, a service that we met at Whitby a few blogs back. Meanwhile ...
Retrograde Bristol Livery
Bristol used to be a fine example of how to use Route Branding to encourage passenger use and passenger recognition.
But the main operator, First Bus, has decided that such useful PR assets are no longer useful and has begun the process of a adopting very boring national branding.
Except in Bristol!
To fbb's jaded eyes, it is a rather weak green colour ...
... occasionally enlivened (?) by a route number.
Disappointing!
A Branch Off A Branch?
Many readers will know the heritage line from Bodmin Road (Great Western main line) to Bodmin General and a short distance beyond (BROWN on the above map.). The line from Boscarne Junction to Wenford Bridge (RED) is high in the minds of the nostalgia brokers.
Was it not home, at one time, to the 2-4-0 Beattie well tank locos?
Apologies if fbb is suffering from a bit of senility here.
One of the most photographed and recognised places on this freight only branch is the diminutive community of Hellandbridge.
The former track is the green and orange blobbed path and cycleway on the map above. But at Hellandbridge the line squeezed between two proprieties with barely a lump of coal width to spare on each side.
A then and now comparison is also significant.
And the bit of rail that crosses the road is still there. 
... as is an unofficial road sign for the level crossing!
What re-awakened your elderly blogger to this delightful location was an article about making a model of part of the line. Here is the model ...
... and here (again!) in reality also with a typical tank loco.
Then we have loco-less view from a similar angle.
Well worth a visit; and, for those with far more energy than fbb, well worth a toddle along the former line.
Loco For A Failed Arsonist
Now available as a (very tiny) model, the fireless loco was filled with steam generated at its depot. So replenished, it could work in environments where fire and sparks might prove inflammatory! The non chimney-less, coal-less and water tank-less little beauty is on offer in many liveries.
This one, painted up for the G Fawkes company is in a rich chocolate brown colour.
fbb wonders if that livery is real?
Of course it isn't! But railway modellers will doubtless be happy to spend liadsa money for the novelty. fbb will strongly resist that £119 temptation!
Messing Around With Models
There is a bit of a trend, possibly encouraged by the vast cost of new model railway stuff, of making unusual models from the very usual. This is an old Hornby Dublo SD6 Midland brake van
fbb bought one when it came out. It was, he thinks, five shilling and sixpence - a small fortune back in the day! This is what one modeller has made.
There is a bit of a trend, possibly encouraged by the vast cost of new model railway stuff, of making unusual models from the very usual. This is an old Hornby Dublo SD6 Midland brake van
Unrealistic, pointless design and quite bonkers, but fun none the less.
And what might you do with a very ancient (late 1950s) Triang water tower.
Answer! Repaint it, maybe fit a lid, possibly add different windows and make it look something better (?) than the original, perhaps using Hornby Dublo colours.
Then there is a venerable Hornby Dublo D1 footbridge.
Look what you can do with several of these!
Bonkers but fun!
Which brings fbb to his recently acquired plank ...
... seen resting against a boundary fence to the rear of fbb mansions.
More plank news in due course.
Tomorrow we go to an airport.
Next Essex blog : Monday 25 Aug
That Bristol 73 was one of the old plethora of route branded routes, and was a different green to WESTbus green.
ReplyDeleteThe green currently appearing in Bristol is the livery of the West of England Combined Authority (WECA). First has agreed that all its new electric buses, which will take over virtually all City routes in the next two years, will be in this livery as the Authority was the lead bidder for the investment and an Enhanced Partnership operates in the area. Older buses will also be repainted gradually into the new livery.
ReplyDeleteBranding works fine when buses are allocated strictly to the routes for which they are branded, but First in Bristol seems to have abandoned this totally. The current situation is a hotch-potch of colour schemes, none of which particularly shout "Bristol" - apart from never knowing what colour your bus will be until it turns up, which is currently a VERY Bristol experience!