Plus A Celebration Report
A star gift from No 1 son is illustrated above. Whether fbb will be able to manage its complexity is open for debate. The accompanying card was also very appropriate.
A little artwork from the Dean of Distance Learning at the University of Arts (London) offered another salient comment on the birthdays boy's obsession!
The likeness is truly remarkable!
Now fbb is considering whether the highly detailed Lego bus model might be adapted in some way for use on the Peterville Quarry layout - possibly as a childrens' indoor play area.
Watch this space blog!
Chum Giles sent a fine card emblazoned with a real bus.
Easy to identify, herewith a picture of roughly the same location c/o Gurgle.
On the right is the former LNER opulent office block; behind the York West Yorkshire bus is a section of the city walls of York and in the distance ...
... on the far aide of he river, is York Minster.
And Back To The Hope Valley
Mr Ableman's report postulated interchange "hubs" at all three key Hope Valley stations, Bamford, Hope and Edale.
fbb is uneasy about this. Does a 272 from Sheffield to Castleton connect with trains at Bamford AND Hope?
It can't!
Does the proposed 63/64 Castleton to Edale circular...
... connect at Edale and NOT Hope. And if buses connect at Edale, which direction will be the connecting time.
A bus would need to arrive in time for the xx32 departure to Sheffield ...
... and wait long enough to gather arrivals from Manchester. For comfort, the bus would have to sit at Edale for about 8 minutes.
But then there is a Connection from Sheffield and to Manchester.
Time for Manchester is xx47 so the bus would need to arrive at, say xx43; then wait for arrivals until xx51.
To cope with both trains a wait at Edale of at least 23 minutes would be needed; impractical and hopelessly inconvenient for any through bus passengers not wanting anything ferroequinological. The only realistic schedule at Edale would be a 63/64 shuttle approx every 30 mins.
Nobody would countenance the level of funding that would require.
Unfortunately, the report does not provide sample bus timetables.
There is one example showing possible journeys from Manchester to Bradwell using an interchange at Hope station.
Here is the situation as the report was prepared.
And here is how it would be if the report were implemented.
Joy of interchange joy; trains in both directions are there at almost the same minutes past each hour.
This makes interchange much easier; half the hassle in fact.
Because no actual timetables are published fbb cannot be certain how the much improved scenario is worked out. There would be 272s every two hours as now plus hourly 173s.
The report does not say whether buses would run down the lane to the station, or, as now ...
... at the end of the lane. To allow for walking and that footbridge ...
... and crossing the main road, buses would need to drop off at least 7 minutes before the train and pick up 7 minutes after. And how would that work for timings in both directions.
Here At Last Is Hope For Hope
Look again at those timetable extracts.
There is another possible bonus to be had. Here is the bus station at Castleton.
So 272 buses approaching from the east would call at Hope BEFORE the trains arrived depositing passengers for the Manchester AND Sheffield departures. The bus would nip 5 min to Castleton, do a smart U-turn, set down and pick up Castleton customers then ...
... tada ...
... take a smart nip back to Hope station to collect arrivals.
That would be splendid for passengers to Hathersage, Bradwell, Great Hucklow, Eyam, Stony Middleton and even Baslow. But what about passengers to and from Castleton itself, we hear you cry?
The 63/64 shuttle to Edale could be timed to take folk from Castleton to the departing trains and to collect Castleton passengers upon arrival.
Seemples.
But you might need bigger buses.
Variation of the 63/64, 173 and 272 cycles could be made to balance demand with capacity.
Then all you have to do is build a proper staffed station at Hope (with lifts and toilets) and a high quality bus terminal ...
... and you would have a superb and workable Hope Valley hub.
You might even call it a mini-Switzerland.
Not sure about the swans, though!
It would be interesting to see a full set of worked-through timetables. Such a skill is way beyond fbb's pay grade and mental acuity!
Would the Peak Park planning people promote the proposal? They ought to, because it is all about increasing bus and train usage and reducing car cloggage of the carefully conserved countryside.
The environmental cost of a proper hub ought to be a small price to pay for the benefits to accrue.
Anyone want to volunteer?
Friday's blog was unplanned as today's was put to bed on Wednesday late evening. Today fbb has his six-monthly eyeball examination (no stabbing these days) plus the funeral of a church chum and attender at the fbb's fellowship meetings. So Friday's blog uncertain!!
Next unplanned blog : Friday 27 Feb
More comments, as promised.
ReplyDeleteRoute 62 is relatively new, having been introduced following an HVCA survey of residents. The west end of the valley is in High Peak District and there were lots of requests for a service to facilities in Chapel and Buxton. I can't see it being taken off again soon.
Most of the proposed changes to bus services are simply increases in frequency, except for the 63/64, which seems to be mainly aimed at visitors and I would expect to be initially summer only.
In Swiss-style, the plan is that only short journeys are made by bus, with longer ones by rail. There have been plans to create a major hub at Hope, where there is room for a park and ride site, cycle hire etc - but nothing has happened. Edale would only be used for connections from Manchester. That leaves Bamford, where trains nearly cross, so timetabling would be easy, and it doesn't involve a detour for buses. Obviously, access needs improving. In all three cases, if connections are quick, you don't need a lot of facilities at the station.
Fbb doesn't mention ticketing, which is a vital part of the scheme, assuming Swiss-style integration. It's currently possible to travel to/from the Hope Valley, using all operator bus/rail Wayfarer tickets, from anywhere in Derbyshire, including via Sheffield, or anywhere in Greater Manchester. A glaring omission is the lack of an all-operator ticket to/from anywhere in South Yorkshire beyond central Sheffield, only a First Day, restricted to 272 in the valley. How soon this can be rectified is probably tied up with progress on franchising in South Yorkshire.
The Hope Valley has always been in a peculiar position, being in the far north of Derbyshire but looking to either Manchester or Sheffield. It's now in the new East Midlands Mayoral Authority (EMCCA). Responsibility for buses in Derbyshire transferred to EMCCA at the begining of February. The Mayor has met her counterparts in Greater Manchester and South Yorkshire to discuss improving access to the Peak Park.
The Vice-Chair of EMCCA's transport committee, who represents Glossop, sat in on last week's Zoom call. HVCA representatives were to meet the Mayor a couple of days later, but I've not heard yet what was said.
Obviously, the scheme would need public funding, but not a vast amount compared to some others.