Daft Detection Disturbance
On Tuesday night the above device started bleeping; just a tearful bleep every minute. A bleep of that sort from a smoke detector can be one of three things.
The flattery can be bat; the sensor can be impeded by dust, dead flies etc, OR, the dainty device can simply be suffering, like fbb, from old age for which there is no cure.
So on Wednesday your agile old blogger (?) changed the battery on the first floor landing.
But on Friday it began bleeping again with no pause for breath.
So on Saturday the mystified old man nipped up to the second floor, home of the model railway, for a screwdriver with which to gain access to the still bleeping unit. As he arrived at the door on high he heard a more strident bleeping than before.
fbb mansions is well protected from smoke but fbb had forgotten that there was a detector on the second (top) landing. It was there that the bleeps were bleeping. So, replacing the battery on the first floor was unlikely to have much effect.
Surprisingly, replacing the battery on the top floor stopped the bleeping.
Back To Thamesmead
There has been comment on line that Mr Khan's Superloop routes are just as susceptible to traffic ensnarlement as their all stops counterparts. The only way to test this would be to travel regularly on the withdrawn 472 then make the same journey on the SL11, also regularly.
Fortunately a YouTube video exists of the full journey from Abbey Wood to North Greenwich in (yawn) real (yawn) time (yawn).
fbb managed to sustain his excitement from station terminus to Belmarsh Prison.
The first thing of note was that not all buses were correctly branded for Superloop, as with the bus in the rear at the Abbey Wood wind tunnel.
The videoer (videoist?) has set the scene well with a stunning shot of the bus stop flag ...
... of the panel timetable ...
... there being no real time electronic display at the station stop. [Caveat : unless screens had been installed more recently?].
But here is a thing. The bus stop departure list showed 15 stops, as did the on-line information c/o TfL.
But the advance warning poster at the terminus ...
... offered 17 stops. 
Which is right?
Dunno. fbb's enthusiasm dissipated quickly as it always does when faced with the very poor quality of TfL information.
But off we go to the first stop after the viaduct.
... where SL3 and SL11 were both shown on the flag in white on red. The shelter was adorned with the multi-coloured Superloop roundel.
As were the stops on the loop. Good house point!
But, as the bus approached Thamesmead centre, a cyclists overtook the bus (!), held up by a non Loopy bus at a Loop stop, and then monopolised the bus lane. 
He is entitled to do that, but it makes a nonsense of the vision of Limited Stop buses speeding their passengers swiftly to their limited stop.
The video was obviously shot soon after the service started, possibly on Saturday 24th, but, from the lack of traffic, more likely on Sunday 25th.
There were quite long delays at stops, presumably as the driver explained what an SL11 was and declining some whose destination stop is now no longer served.
If only potential passengers had a timetablemleaflet with a good map, delays like this could be reduced!
Thus it was that as our steed approached the Belmarsh stop ...
... and what should be loading in front ...
... but the previous SL11; (again it was another ordinary bus!). At the most frequent service pattern, which this probably wasn't, they should have been SIX minutes apart.
At an obviously quiet time, this does not bode well for service "regulation".
There have been comments elsewhere that the Suoerloop routes may be nominally "Express" bit they are often far from speedy. The adjective "unreliable" is occasionally used.
Instead of developing a PR Mayoral Boosting vanity brand, you have to wonder whether these expensive new services are worth the cost.
Why not just pour the resources into more frequent and sustainably reliable all-stops services with more hands-on regulation?
Bring back Blakey!
Class 897
Some articles suggest that these are the first new trains for Great British Railways.
Not exactly.
All artist's impressions show the new trains in LNER livery. fbb does not know whether the 897s were ordered by the still-private LNER or since entering pre-nationalisation DaFT take-over.
But their distinctive (?) design is very much LNER.
Here is part of the "Ian Visits" blog.
They look so different from all the other 800 trains.
They will be tri-mode (diesel, electric and battery) and will supplement the current fleet on the East Coast main line.
Delivery is proposed for 2028 but will, as usual, run late.
They are to be called "Serenza" which, as is entirely obvious, is an italianised version of the word "serene".
Of course it is!
Also obvious is that thousands of passengers will now be keen to travel just because if the trains' silly name.
Windows 2026?
But not a new computer technology. fbb is working on his new castle for Peterville.
Readers will remember that fbb us making up a pre-cut ore-printed card model by adapting a Metcalf castle gateway kit. The catalogue illustration shows just arched holes for the windows.
The actual kit has an extra layer to be glued behind the printed stone walls.
But there us a third layer to add behind. This is a representation of a more intricate detailed stonework "tracery".
Added to this a plastic glass with a printed frame.
Time consuming but delightful.
The disadvantage is that a great wodge of window ...
... precludes any possibility of even a mildly realistic interior. But with small windows, who cares?
Doors tomorrow, plus ...
... tomorrow we go to Glasgow.
Next Metro blog : Tuesday 10th Feb
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