Bewildered By Bristol Buses (5)

We Need Some Geographical Help

On the map above (published 1890), the "Ch" (centre left) is at Fishponds; the railway with its tunnel is The Midland, now closed. We also have a couple of villages, namely Staple Hill and Downend.

Here are some trams at Staple Hill ...

.. and, slightly more recently, the road junction at Downend.

Now move on to 1960 (ish) and there is more of Bristol ...

... but the splatter is more fill-in than dramatic expansion. Note the hamlet of Lyde Green top right and the huge extent of Mangotsfield! And lower right we have the triangular junction with Mangotsfield station. The "Ch" is still at Fishponds (lower left).

For the train buffs, we spy a passenger working at Mangotsfield station.

Is that a GW Hymek with green Southern coaches? Sacrilege!

There is no M4, bo M32 and no eastern relief road, now the A4174.

Move on to  recent map.

Our friend Keynsham is bottom right. Let's zoom in.

The main junctions at Fishponds is off the map, bottom left. Lyde Green is no longer a hamlet, but splurges between the A4174 and the M4 centre and upper right. While you are there, note also Emersons Green.

Sadly, fbb's detailed knowledge of the history of Bristol's bus routes is a bit thin, but on-line photographic evidence and a bit of fbb's memory, suggests that, pre-privatisation, the main bus routes to this segment of the city were 48 ...

... and 49 ...

... and they still are, sort of!

They retained those numbers after First's onslaught on to the former Bristol Omnibus Company; 48 ...

... and 49. Seemples.

Both buses show a terminus at Emersons Green.  The picture below may show post deregulation competition on the 49 ...

... or it nay not! A more knowledgeable reader may explain!

When fbb visited a while back, buses stopped at the back door of the Sainsburys store.

But fbb was there to ride the shiny new Metro Bus bus, the m3.

This, too, serves Emersons Green approaching from UWE Frenchay and travelling via Lyde Green.

But it is not the same Emersons Green as the 48 and 49. Whilst they take you to an obvious Sainsbury's, the M3 lurks on Emersons Way ...

... with just a hint of orange on the canopy over Sainsburys petrol pumps well hidden by an arboreal barrier!

Of course, being "new", super-smashing and trendy, the M3 has its trendy information thingeys ...

... whilst the 48 and 49, which carry far more passengers to Sainsburys than the M3, have ...

... nothing special.

But we do know (honest we do) that buses from Bristol and Fishponds still run to Sainsburys ...

... but they do not show route numbers 48 and 49! Shock horror!

Oh, fbb, you are such a tease; it is not that different today!

 Next 48 and 49 blog : Thurs 26 March 

Bewildered By Bristol Buses (4)

Thus blog has been curtailed due to a very busy domestic day! Church prayer meeting; preparation for our April leaflet for our Fellowship groups.

Beware : the above has NOT been checked for spooling misteaks.

The quiz questions will also feature in fbb's  much anticipated (?) Easter "Daily Thought" blog appendages.

Then there was making a huge pot of tomato and vegetable soup followed by preparing and cooking a complex evening meal. [Jacket spud, grated cheese, cold roast chicken, baked beans and adequate butter!]

Mrs fbb unpacked the mini choc icee on a stick as pud!

First's Forties At Fishponds Part 1

There is a pond at Fishponds. There used to be three, the remains of a quarry. One was dveloped as a Lido which was hugely popular.

It closed in the 1960s ...

... and it is now Ridgway Pond.

Fishponds had trams ...

... and a railway station.

This was on the Midland Railway route into the city, a line that was closed in the 1960s. Trains now travel via Bristol Parway station and Filton Bank.

This map extract may help.

One delight is the footpath and cycleway that now replaces the trains, with Staple Hill tunnel fully fettled and illuminated.

Although Fishponds is now a busy suburb and shopping area, there are many okder buildings still very much extant, here us the Cross Hands pub way back then ...

... and still a sentinel at the road junction today!

The Cross Hands is now called The All Inn and looks awful like this:-

No 1 son, wife and No 1 grandson lived for a while at Fishponds, often visited by the fbbs.

The main city bus services via Fishponds are numbered from 46 to 49 and are fiendishly complicated.

So here is fbb's version of "fastest finger first".

As Jeremy Clarkson might say ...

... put these bus pictures in the correct order, starting with the earliest.

Routes 48, 48A and 49

City Line 49

Route 48x

Barbie 47

A Mystery 49

Yes, fbb does know that there should be four for fastest finger First Bus, but ....

fbb will try to sort things out in tomorrow's  blog!

Yikes!

But there is one (former) First Bus that is different but easy to understand.

The above is the best that can be found. It's sister vehicle used to look like this.

The 'Fishponds' bus now has a different purposr.

It is a mobile art gallery.

More bus stuff tomorrow including a full and frank feast of First's Fishponds forties - fantastic!

  Next Bewildered blog : Weds 25 March 

Bewildered By Bristol Buses (3)

Full Of Eastern Promise

Thankfully, and unlike the offerings elsewhere in the UK, First in Bristol has always been very good with maps.

The network map for all the 'citylines east' is a little confusing, as here with the present routes ...

... because, in order to preserve the brand identity, 41, 42 and 43 are coloured maroon, whilst 44 and 45 are coloured, erm, maroon - only a slightly darker shade. Colouring the 17 maroon is also not helpful as both it and the 19 do not run to the city centre.

But, since fbb did his earlier researches, there is now a network map for the April 5th changes.

We already know, from our Keynsham konsiderations, that the 42 has been extended from its Bath Road Cherry Gardens terminus to Keynsham and on to the former Bath Bus Depot at Burnett Business Park.

But do not be deceived, eager enquirer, the 43 has travelled all the way west to the city centre and back east to Keynsham The revised 17 also goes there!

But things are made MUCH easier as First has presented its on-line users with separate maps of the different sets of services to the east.

The current 41 ...

.... is extended from Kingswood ...

... to Warmley.

But then it used to go there long ago.

Indeed in early First Bus days it ran to Cherry Gardens (see later).

Recently, the 41 has run cross-city to Avonmouth ...

... like it used to, way back.

We know about the new 42 ...

... but the new 43 is pulled out of Cherry Gardens and now runs to North Common.

Here, then, is the current 44 and 45.

And the new 44 and 45. 

Spot the difference?

There isn't any. 

The routes, at least, are unchanged on the city lines that go east..

Sigh!

Would it were that easy.

Currently, the 44 and 45 run between suburbs and City. But from April 5th, that will all change.

Currently the 43 (which will run cross city to Keynsham, replacing the 349 - pay attention all omnibological slackers!) runs via Brislington to Imperial Park.

Yes, it's  one of them!

Then we need to know that from 5th April, the 73 is withdrawn, except for a few occasional journeys.

The 43 to Imperial Park and the 73 to Hengrove are replaced by running the 44 and 45 cross city.

Of course, what the bus passengers of Bristol want is a good stable, easy to understand network!

Hmmm? 

  Next Bristol blog : Tues 24 March