Bakerloop? Where? [1]

TfL Made a Video

And Mr Khan features greatly in the associated press releases.

The service has now started and the YouTube channel is overflowing with videos, ranging from full rides along the route, to enthusiastic shorts containing just a few shots of brown-and-white buses. Very few presenters attempt to describe the route and its interchange possibilities with other modes, namely big trains of assorted kinds.

If you don't know London, understanding the scope of these limited stop strangely coloured London buses is something of a challenge. fbb's knowledge of London is not at all bad in the central area, but, hey, Lewisham? There be dragons!

The Route Explored

The diligent internet investigator can find a route map, which fbb has, in a previous blog,  presented in two sections, so for a more detailed explore we start with Waterloo to Burgess Park.

As this is intended to be an extension of the Bakerloo Line we could make an interchange with the bus at Waterloo. Tunnels, escalators and signs from the platforms ...

... may well led us via the main Underground ticket hall to the Waterloo national rail concourse or via alternative burrows; both leading ultimately to the Waterloo Road.

Exit via the "Colonnade" and in view of the old single track railway bridge and its newer higher level foot way to/from Waterloo East and your BL1 stop is opposite. Yes, there is a convenient pedestrian crossing! Set down is opposite when you come back. Easy Peasy.

Things are more complex at Elephant and Castle, because there are two stops, although your alighting places for the return journey are, again, opposite.

Alighting on London Road (Stop E) ...

You need to walk forward from the shelter ...

... and the Bakerloo Line station is easy to spot with its distinctive blood-red tiles.

You may also spot "STATION" in gold lettering to help you in your search. If you are making a connection towards Lewisham, you will, of course, be arising from troglodyte travel and looking for the bus.

You need the Bakerloo exit; do not be lured away to the recently refurbished Northern Line building!

Elephant and Castle has two stops on the BL1 (such profligate luxury), the second halt being suitable for transfer from National Rail (Thameslink and a part service from Bkackfriars.

The BL1 stops are conveniently ...

... placed next to the rail over bridge ...

... but the station entrance/exit is not the most amenable. Just past the bridge is a side turning on the right. It is called Elephant Road. The station entrance is there.

... and its all-pervading luxury is confirmed by the National Rail station plan.

Lavish it isn't.

But, if the BL1 is conceived as an extension to the Bakerloo Line, perhaps there is good directional information from the line's terminal platforms? 

There isn't.

And so to Burgess Park!

The park has been developed piecemeal since WW2 by clearing old sub-srahnd0ard housing and light industry propery. The blue dotted line is the site of part of the disused Grand Surrey Canal, now filled in, leading to the Surrey Docks.

A former footbridge over the canal still stands, and  is known as "The Bridge to Nowhere".

Sadly, it is now "The Bridge for Nobody" as the steps at both ends are sealed off, thus preventing access.

Nowadays, the park has a pleasant lake with a view of The Shard ...

... and a cooling chunk of woodland. 

It has also got one of these ...

... which, as you would immediately recognise, is a former lime kiln. 

But it is all a very pleasant oasis in a heavily built up area ...

... but the BL1 doesn't actually stop outside the park. In fact nothing stops outside the park as such. The stops are outside and opposite a much more important 21st Century "traffic objective" ...

... namely the largest Tesco in south west London.

fbb guesses that more BL1 passengers will be making for Tesco rather than crossing the junction to enjoy Burgess Park; which is a pity; because the Park is much more pleasant and far calmer than the hurried immensity of a big Superstore!

But TfL doesn't usually name their stops after a street trader - even if it is a big one.

Tomorrow, more interchange possibilities and a struggle with Loony Lewisham Loop Locations.

 Next Bakerloop brown blog : Tues 14 Oct 

Autumn Quiz Time

Twentyfour Topics From Recent Blogs

 1 

The only narrow gauge line run by British Railways; from which Welsh coastal town?

 2 

What does the Polish word "PETLA" mean?

 3 

In what year was this tank wagon on sale at 2/6? Was it ... 1938 ...1948 ... 1978?

 4 

Where were these hydraulic rams in operation? Either a place name or a "facility" will do.

 5 

What class of diesel loco was this - now withdrawn.

 6 

Where on "earth" was this bay, serving trains on a popular Western region holiday line?

 7 

Where was this sea front cafe recently opened; built on the site of a tramway terminus?

 8 

Which bus company has recently won contracts to operate the former Stagecoach network in the Amber Valley (Derbyshire)? And it isn't Hulleys!

 9 

Which tram town?

 10 

Which bus company used to run buses in the Amber Valley? The route designation is distinctive.

 11 

A visualisation of the new station for Aberdelgleddau. What is the community's English name?

  12 

This new-start ferry service runs from Lymington to Yarmouth. What is the name of the boat, named after an awakening deep sea "monster" in a John Wyndham novel.

 13 

Where did this bus operate, once a major railway town, before moving to Cornwall? It is painted in a pastiche of that town's former Corporation bus livery.

 14 

Where is this bus station, no longer available to passengers but still used by buses? The town has a "duplicate" in Cambridgeshire..

 15 

This cliff lift, maybe used by Dracula (?), closed in 2022? It has just been announced that it will not re-open and will be filled in.

 16 

First's Lumo trains will soon (?) be running between London Euston and which Scottish town? The town was the site of a famous battle in which William Wallace trounced the English.

 17 

This route, once a London Country (green bus) service, and more recently reduced to hourly and run hy Arriva, has been taken over by which company?

 18 

A British Railways carriage with unusual seating. It has been recently restored. What was/is it used for?

 19 

Which company has recently ousted GoAhead to provide branded services for this Sixth Form College in Bodmin?

 20 

Which privately owned Scottish bus company is intending to build a new depot right in the heart of First Glasgow's territory?

 21 

Which actress gave her name to this preserved Metropolitan Railway electric locomotive?

 22 

What is the aristocratic link between this Scarborough based operator and a former National Bus Company sell-off unit based in Peterborough?

 23 

This former bus station will soon be a bus station again. In which Somerset town?

 24 

What technological achievement is taking place here. It has a numeric link with the anniversary of the passenger railway in the UK.

If you can answer all 24 correctly

you may consider yourself as:-

Being a public transport genius

Having a prodigious memory of fbb blogs

Cheating

Being just a first class saddo!

Answers later in the week.

 Next loopy brown blog - Monday 13 Oct 

Saturday Variety

Someone's Noticed!

The attack of GoAhead, holders of the contract for ALL the non-commercial (tendered) bus routes in the county, on First Bus non-tendered (commercial) routes as duly reported in these blogs, has come to the notice of an aggrieved Cornwall Council. That is the hard-done-by Council that has increased fares four times in less that two years.

The hurt tone of Cornwall Council is off the record because, as a non operator of buses, the local politicians cannot be seen to be taking sides. The arrangement between Council, GoAhead and First was meant to be mutually beneficial.

GoAhead has probably bid low and thus won a big College contract from First, so there is an opportunity to use buses, idle during the main part of the day, to make a bob or two at the expense of First Bus!

In any case, First gives the impression that they have given up!

Meanwhile, First Bus have won a massive contract (?) from Great Western Railway, possibly funded by Notwork Rail! Remember that new footbridge at St Erth c/w lifts.  Although most on-line pictures show a measure of incompleteness ...

... the bridge is now open. How grateful we all are to Notwork Rail for making this facility all super and smashing for those with mobility difficulties and for those using the new south side car park.

But there was (and maybe still is) a bit of a snag. You would think a huge organisation like Notwork Rail would have people who did their site research diligently and effectively. However, as the footbridge build neared completion, it became obvious that there would not be enough electric in the wires to power the lifts.

Whoops.

Putting in a new wire would involve excavation of the main Axxx that passes the station. The work is in abeyance.

So the new super foot bridge, higher and with many more steps than the good old fashioned one it has replaced ...

... was (and still is?) steps only - sans lifts.

To replace the lifts, First had provided a specially liveried bus ...

W

... which will shuttle creaky and luggage encumbered folk from one side of the station to the other. As required and on demand.

That will be costing somebody a pretty penny or more!

Did You Know That Stations Run Trains?

Well they do in Bristol. The article refers to the upcoming service from Portishead via Temple Meads to Henbury.

It has been due to open soon for about ten years, so don't hold your breath. Currently the fancy money is betting on 2028 if you are thinking of catching a train. But as South Gloucestershire has only just approved the plans for Henbury station, delays (that would be even mote delays!) might still occur.

Make Your own List ... 

... of all the companies that are intending to operate passenger train services via the Channel Tunnel. Is Virgin still on the list? 

After sending a train (hauled by an electric loco as sytems are not compatible) Deutsche Bahn have gone very quiet.

But here is the latest young pretender.

Maybe extra platforms will be needed at St Pancras? A double deck Cunnel station in Barlow's train shed?

And Now The Big Question

Was fbb conned?

Astute blog readers will remember fbb's recent appeal for a buff Esso liveried Hornby Dublo tank wagon. 

In response to the fbb appeal there was a deafening silence on the ether!

fbb was careful not to quote recent on-line prices. There was one held together with gunk.

.. which suggested that the model might be broken and badly put back together. Other prices were increasingly scary. £40? It might have been pre-war but it appears to have lost its couplings which would confirm or refute the date.

?? £50 to £70 pre-auction estimate

... £72 ...

... and, frighteningly, £110!  Yikes!

So surely there must be some catch with THREE "rare" tank wagons at about £12 each?

 "Rare" appeared to be correct. These three wer first produced from 1938 and sold with Peco couplings post WW2. The designs were changed under post war production with ...

... the green one losing its 'hand' logo and the red one gaining the distinctive Esso oval. The buff version (with Esso in big and blue) was dropped from the range which is why it is the most "rare". None of the three bought by fbb has pre-war couplings which would have brought with them horrendous prices.

But when fbb opened the parcel, all three looked like very genuine models. BUT ...

They looked more "tired" than the on-line advert showed them. The red Royal Daylight tanker was decidedly tatty. The green was OK for its age and the buff was in remarkably good condition.

So did the seller con fbb? All he did, fbb thinks, was to tinker with the photo settings and make the colours brighter than they really were. fbb did likewise.

The tarnish on the red and green tanks is hard to remove without removing the printing from the metal. fbb will experiment in the "Repair Shop" mode but has little hopes of success.

The red one might find its way into the East Devon waste collection system, but the green and the buff will join the official collection, both being "cops" (as we used to say when trainspotting).

Unusually for fbb, he appears to have got a bargain!

Tomorrow, fbb is planning an end of summer early autumn quiz based on recent blogs. Answers will follow later in the week because ... 

... on Monday and Tuesday, your aged blogger asks, "Is BL1 a Brilliant Lewisham Bus Line or simply Baker Loopy? 

 Next Variety Quiz blog : Sun 12th Oct