Is It A Bus : Is Ir A Car? Is It A Train (3)

In Case You Haven't Heard

Both the withdrawal of the one-day travelcard-plus-rail ...

... and total ticket office closures ...

... have been rescinded.

Sense at last!

If You Want Rail Buses Or Railcars ...

... then the County Donegal Railway Joint Committee system would have been the place for you.

It's the bit of the island of Ireland, top left in the north, that isn't part  Northern Ireland.

The County Donegal Railways Joint Committee operated an extensive 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge railway system serving County Donegal, Ireland, from 1906 until 1960. The committee was incorporated by an Act of Parliament in 1906, which authorised the joint purchase of the then Donegal Railway Company by the Great Northern Railway of Ireland and the Midland Railway Northern Counties Committee.

On 1 May 1906, the Joint Committee was set up. The lines inherited by the Joint Committee totalled 106 miles and were:

Finn Valley Railway (FVR) from Strabane to Stranorlar

West Donegal Railway line from Stranorlar to Donegal

The Donegal Railway Company lines between Stranorlar and Glenties, Donegal Town to Killybegs, Strabane to Derry, and Donegal Town to Ballyshannon

The Joint Committee opened the Strabane and Letterkenny Railway on 1 January 1909, bringing the total mileage to 121 miles (195 km). By 1912 the company owned the following assets:

Locomotives and rolling stock: 21 locomotives; 56 passenger vehicles; 304 goods vehicles

Head offices and locomotive works at Stranorlar

The Strabane to Derry line was completely owned by the Midland Railway Northern Counties Committee, although it was operated by the CDRJC.

It was the conversion from steam ...

... to diesel that brought the main era of rail buses and/or railcars to the characterful narrow gauge line. Sadly this quaint system closed in 1960 well before fbb was alert enough to even know of irs existence!

But if you want rail buses, small (above) a bit less small (below) ...

... and large (enough) ...

... you would have found them there.

Fortunately, a small stretch of the line has now reopened as a heritage railway where you can still experience something of the delights of this much loved railway.

There are several videos on YouTube of which one is available below. As a bit of a challenge to our  readers (and a BIG challenge to fbb!!) the commentary is, quite rightly, in Irish Gaelic.

Never mind, we can enjoy the views.

You might even he able to find Fintown on the map of the railway.

There it is, upper centre, on a stretch of line marked "closed". Its passenger service expired in 1946.

Surely it would be a joyous experience if you could visit!

Park Royal Rail Bus Part 2

If fbb really coveted a model of this beautiful BR vehicle, he could buy one manufactured by Danish company, Heljan.

On-line prices seem to run from about £90 (used) up to £200 (brand new OUCH). The model is long out of production hence "rarity" prices.

Such an outlay would not sit well with the Domestic Authorities, especially as we are entering the high winter fuel price season!

The second-hand ex Airfix kit model offered by Hattons had been cleverly motorised by plonking the body on a Hornby Pacer chassis - not actually correct but passable to the average viewer.

What attracted fbb was the price. ONY nine quid! Frankly, by today's horrendous price standards, even on second hand stuff, this was farcically cheap. 

You can find tank engines with missing funnels, missing couplings and erratic running for over £40! Indeed Hattons were offering a similar motorised rail bus for £44, but it looked like it retained the correct chassis.

So fbb sent off his £9 plus £4 postage and awaited arrival.

If it was that awful, fbb could throw it in the bin without crying for too long.

Upon unpacking, it looked a bit tatty; some of the windows were stained by glue ...

... mirroring a modelling ability well represented in fbb's skill set. Three of the four "nominal" buffers were missing ...

... and the roof was dark green - it should be dark grey.

So fbb put it on the track and, boy, it was erratic. The Hornby Pacer chassis is renowned for poor running as it only has electrical pick-ups on one of the two axles - not good enough. This one needed "the hand of god" to get it going as it repeatedly gave up the ghost for no obvious reason.

fbb's repair tools are (a) hammer and (b) WD40. A liberal squirt of the latter, then back on the track where it now ran as sweetly as any of fbb's stock. It did sound like an electric motor fixed to an empty plastic box, largely because it IS an electric motor fixed to an empty plastic box.

But what a beauty - a tatty beauty - but a beauty none the less. And for nine quid.

fbb fitted a rough copy of the buffers ...

... and painted them black so you wouldn't know they were wrong. You probably wouldn't know they were there!

And the roof is now dark grey (yes, it should be matt and not shiny) ...

... and there is now a hint of the yellow roller bearing axle boxes as fitted to the real thing, but not to the Pacer.

Now, will the body come off so fbb can fit lighting and extra plastic people? It may be possible to muffle the "hollow plastic box" sound.

For the time being fbb will leave well alone and rejoice in his really cheap acquisition.

It has only taken 50 years since he first bought his long-lost and never-built Airfix kit!

Donegal - A P.S

Here is a video (4 min) of a model recreation of Donegal station. And it all works perfectly - an experience unlikely at Peterville Quarry Railway c/o 2nd floor, fbb mansions..

But the chubby one can dream!

 Daventry P.S. blog : Thursday 2nd November 

Sunday Variety

CHURCH LINK - HARVEST  

Service starts 1030

Today's "Car Park" service is moved inside.
The fbbs will be attending. It is not possible
to set up an on-screen link before they depart.
A link can be obtained, however,
via the Church YouTube channel
(here) and clicking on the panel for today's date.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

A Sad Personal Farewell

fbb is sorry to report that Giles Fearnley's mum passed away on Thursday last after an extended period of illness. She celebrated her 99th Birthday in August and was a great friend of fbb and later his Mrs. Your author's fondest memory is of the superb meat pies supplied to eke out fbb's pre-marital hunger pangs - and the genuine and warm friendship over many years. Here is Helen with grandson Archie at Babbacombe six years ago.

A fine lady who lived a good and long life, but who will still be missed; the end of an era indeed.

A Sad Transport Farewell

Blog readers may not be familiar with Kerrs Miniature Railway, Arbroath. It has provided rides alongside the main line since 1935, all those years in the hands of the same family.

Running parallel to the "big" railway adds to the excitement.

The news breaks that this delight, the oldest miniature railway in Scotland, will close finally at the end of this season. There are hopes that the trains and track can be moved elsewhere, but apparently it is curtains shed doors for this little line.

The reports do not say whether the intriguing Stagecoach single decker will still ply for trade (thankfully NOT in the new livery) ...

... or whether the fire engine will continue to respond to imaginary conflagrations!

In these days of rapid change, fbb presumes you can still get an Arbroath Smokie in Arbroath?

They look awful and taste delicious.

The Arbroath Smokie is said to have originated in the small fishing village of Auchmithie, three miles northeast of Arbroath. Local legend has it a store caught fire one night, destroying barrels of haddock preserved in salt. The following morning, the people found some of the barrels had caught fire, cooking the haddock inside. Inspection revealed the haddock to be quite tasty. It is much more likely the villagers were of Scandinavian descent, as the 'Smokie making' process is similar to smoking methods which are still employed in areas of Scandinavia.

But please, please don't call them "kippers"!!

How Many Colours?

 SAND         lower bodyside

 CREAM        upper bodyside

 LIGHT GREEN  bodyside swirl

 YELLOW       bodyside swirl

 CYAN         rear end

 PALE CYAN    flag

 MID BLUE     fleet name

 WHITE        other lettering

 RED          dot on "i" of Yorkshire

              and tiny wedge which might be pink?

That's a total of NINE (even ten?) colours used to Create Desire, as they say in Battersea. Does the desire increase with the number of colours - or decrease?

Did this "create desire" way back then?

New Buses For Slough - Not Quite!

The first of the former Southampton Euro 6 Volvo B7RLEs have gone into the paint shop and will come out the other side in a brand new livery for Slough service 4.

Five of the Volvos will receive this livery with another five to be repainted into the current Slough service 7 livery and they will complement the existing Volvo Hybrids.

Here is the 4 livery ...

... and, for those like fbb who cannot remember what First runs in Slough (not much these days), here is an extract from the current timetable.

The 4 zips boringly down the A4 from Maidenhead to Heathrow Central.

The 4 used to look like this:-

Bus Eireann Wields The Axe

We recognised last week that action was being taken to "improve" bus services in Dublin where the word "improve" in bus management speak means "cutbacks". Once outside of Dublin, the nationalised bus service is called "Bus Eireann" under the overall management of CIE which also runs the trains.

CIE has been losing money for a good while, so this announcement should not cause any surprise.

The article explains things a bit more:-

Expressway, Bus Éireann’s premium coach service, provides direct and regular services on over 22 routes throughout Ireland. It is the only coach service to present a connected network to passengers across the Island of Ireland, making it the quickest way to reach an unrivalled number of destinations. Our modern fleet of comfortable coaches offers a cost-effective alternative to the hassle and stress of accessing increasingly restricted car parking and busy town centres. 

Our 28 new vehicles feature power sockets, charging points, and ISOFIX attachment points, allowing your children to travel in safety and you to travel with ease of mind. A majority of routes provide hourly services for timely travel to wherever you need to go. And, our routes let you travel to major airports around the country in luxury with our extra comfort leather seats, while you stay connected with on-board Wi-Fi. 

More cuts on the way for the Republic's "National Express"?

Now There's a Thought (From Stonehenge)

 Next Variety blog : Monday 5th October 

Wading Through (5) And Other Stuff

If it ever happens (there are at least three more consultation phases and the present plan is already Mark 2) the re-jig of bus routes in Dublin will be substantial and will "improve services" by removing many through buses into the centre of the city and replacing them with "local" links. In yesterday's blog we have already seen the negative impact of the cunning plan for the service 66 group of routes serving passengers in the Leixlip area.

Not good for the public, but, presumably good for reducing costs?

Today we take a quick look at the 25s. The 25 itself only runs hourly ...

... to Dodsboro (apparently without the "ugh") which is beyond Lucan and south of the M4.

Photographic evidence suggests that the 25 turns via this narrow road (Tandy's Lane) ...

... and re-appears at a picturesque shrine before setting off back to Dublin suitably strengthened spiritually!

The statue was erected by the people of Dodsboro (a k a Dodsborough) in the Marian year of 1954. (say Mary-an NOT Marry-an).

A Marian year is a designation given by the Roman Catholic Church to calendar years in which Mary the mother of Jesus is to be particularly reverenced and celebrated. Marian years do not follow a set pattern. They may be declared by a bishop for his diocese, or a national conference of bishops for a country. In Church history, only two international Marian years have been pronounced, by Pope Pius XII in 1954, and Pope John Paul II in 1987.

But, despite its holiness (?) service 25 is not the mainstay of the 25 group of routes.

The 25a runs every 30 minutes ...

... to "Lucan Church"; but does not serve the centre of the town.

It wiggles around some housing estates thwen, despite what the timetable and map might say, it turns at the roundabout and grazes peacefully outside Lucan Community College.

There is a churh further on, beyond the roundabout ...

... but it seems small to be called after the community - it looks more like a branch office to serve newer housing.

To go with the 25a is the 25b, also running every 30 minutes.

It also tours the estates but with a variation, then toddles off to Adamstown Railway Station.

There are a few buses numbered 25d which run at peak times only, also to the station ...

... but fbb will conveniently ignore those in favour of the bigger picture.

The reshaping plan rebrands these routes as C1 and C2.

The former 25a becomes the C1, but instead of running north to the College, it nips straight south and along to the station. Meanwhile, the 25b becomes the C2 but takes a more circuitous route to the terminus. Streetview shows this area as a blasted heath of emptiness ...

... but, by the time this scheme reaches fruition, ut will no doubt be full of "development" which has already started!

With the overall plan comes a frequency chart for the C "spine".

This shows a 30 minute headway on each of the four routes with extra on the C1/C2 at peak times. Incidentally, the 4 x 30 min frequency is shown as operating seven days a week.

Observant readers will also note that the C "spine", like all the others, will run cross city.

C1/C2 run to turning loop at Sandymount, circling St John's Church ...

... and here is a current service 47 obediently terminating!

The C3/C4 frequency turns short at Ringsend ...

... although fbb, sans route map, could not work out exactly where.

It will be interesting to watch the bus scene in Dublin as each "spine" is re-jigged.

If it ever happens!

It would be good to hear from a Dubliner or two with their reaction but fbb's concern still stands. Where these wholesale reorganisations have been attempted in the past, they have been less than successsful. fbb remembers in his old age, a smaller scheme instigated by Sheffield Transport to save five buses on a group of routes. Within a few months of implementing the scheme all those five buses were back on the road filling gaps which the planners had decided could be left unfilled.

No saving at all!

fbb's Friday Achievement.

Readers will remember that the old man has been, over the last twelve months or so, amassing a collection of tank wagons, beginning with very early Trix totally tinplate from the early 1950s ...

... and following the development of model railways through to some of today's remarkable products as here, the latest from Oxford Rail.

He was intrigued by this "new" model from Hornby.

After investigating prices on-line from £15.50 to £21.99, fbb whizzed off an order which appeared promptly from the Cheltenham Model shop. For a recent entry into the Hornby catalogue, the model seemed "basic", even crude.

What is more, it had large "tension-lock" couplings which suggested that it wasn't a new model at all, but a very old model. fbb had seen that bar, linking the two axle-guards, somewhere before.

Yesterday, the old man tidied and catalogued all 36 (plus 3 duplicates) members of his tank wagon collection - so far! This box caught fbb's eye.

Taking the tank tentatively out of the box ...

... it was immediately obvious that Hornby's "new" model was first produced by Airfix (later branded Great Model Railways) long, long ago.

But when?

From 1975 to 1981 Airfix also manufactured a line of ready-to-run models of British railway stock in OO gauge. Their details and accuracy were an improvement on rival products from other British manufacturers such as Hornby. The brand label was changed to Great Model Railways (GMR) in 1979, although the Airfix name was still included. However, Airfix left the model railway business in 1981.

So fbb's latest newly produced acqisition was first made between 1979 and 1981, let's say, for ease of arithmetic calculation, 1980. Hornby's "new" is 40 years old!

fbb's Airfix/GMR model cost £2.99 when it was first sold. That would be £13 in 2020 which is not too far from the £15.50 fbb paid, but a long way from the maximum £21.99 he could have shelled out had not been an emptor with a bit of caveatting!

But This Is New

East Yorkshire (a GoAhead group company) has just revealed the latest in its family of new liveries. (click to enlarge the pic).

Very swirly - very "different".

Back in fbb's youth, it used to be said that using more than three colours in a livery was over the top and quite unnecessary. How many colors can you count on the coach above.

To tweak our declining memory, here are the other four from the family.

 Next Variety blog : Sunday 4th October