Tinner Service, Thinner Service!
25 years ago, First Western National operated an hourly service 18 between Penzance and Truro; also a two hourly 14 between St Ives and Truro.
There were, of course, other services over sections of the two routes.
Roll on a few years and First are advertising a very attractive trunk timetable of 14s and 18s providing at least a fifteen minute frequency over the common section of route.
It was a long common section with the western end split shown in the map below.
Next we see the route between Hayle and Redruth ...
... and finally between Redruth and Truro.
Then, in a massive move over to route branding, we had the 18 renumbered as T1 ...
... with the 14 becoming, imaginatively, the T2.
The T2 above is just leaving the now abandoned clifftop Malakoff bus station at St Ives.
The livery included a stylised map ...
... and a jolly tinner complete with lethal weapon!
The T1/T2 timetable was delightfully simple...
... and fbb has been trying to excavate from his 'leedle grey cells' whether, at one stage, the T1 and T2 were both every 20 in the peak summer, every 10 on the common section. But if they were, your aged expositor can find no tangible evidence thereof.
But First Bus are not renowned for tinetabular stability. The company almost always specialised in its expertise at confusing the passengers.
So enter route T3!
The core from Truro to Penzance and St Ibes remains, but extensions northwards require an extra route number (T3) for the St Ives leg.
At this stage only the T2/T3 served Loggans.
Whatever the motivation for the extensions to Newquay or Snozzle (who knows the minds of First's route planners) the service soon reverted to the good old T1/T2 that we had all grown to love.
The map on the buses was not updated for the new extension!
The most recent development, now perhaps to be viewed as somewhat prophetic ...
... blrought a competitive GoAhead 20 minute frequency route 41 to cream business from the hard working tinner. Except that route branding was abandoned and the tinner was appearing anywheere and everywher.
Everything now serves Loggans but the T2/T3 have further wiggles via Gwithian.
From February 15th, Go Ahead dons the tinner's hard hat and clutches his weapon! Actually it doesn't - Go Ahead becomes Go Backwards again and reverts to routes 14 and 18.
Route branding - what's that? We are all GoCorwall Bus now!
But that is not the company's only leap into the past.
Through journeys to Penzance and St Ives become hourly - more like 25 years ago.
The above is not a genuine picture. It is, indeed at Penzance bus station but with infrastructure that is later than a flat fronted VR! From the look of the elderly male clientele, it is an enthusiasts tout!
And another bit of prophetic publicity.
Tomorrow we go to Falmouth.
Next GoAhead blog : Friday 23rd Jan
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