Sunday Variety

Selling A Bus Service 

Mr Palmer runs a good range of buses in Bedfordshire. The vehicles look smart ...

... and the operation has a good reputation locally. One of its routes uses the Luton Busway.

Here is an extract from their service C which runs approx half hourly.

So Grant has made a promotional video suggesting, with some justification, that hus route C via the busway is faster than a motorbike on the parallel toads.  Here os a map pf the route (split into two for legibility.

From Dunstable

To Luton

Here is said video.

Nice One Cyril Grant!

Selling a bus service; now th kiere's a novel idea. You could print leaflets, put up posters, provide good quality maps and have a well-staffed and friendly travel office in "main traffic hubs". Now there is a good plan for selling your product, viz a bus ride.

Maybe some other companies will take up the idea?

Oh yes; you could have a staffed telephone line as well.

Ukraine's Trains Helped By Spain's

In the early days of the Wat we were all saddened by the pictures of Ukrainians fleeing from the onslaught. The efforts of the railway system to ensure a safe and speedy exit became legendary.

But Ukraine does have a problem with its trains.

Whilst a few cross-border links (mainly for passenger trains) are to the standard gauge of 1.435 meters (4 foot 8.5 inches), the majority of lines are to the Russian gauge of 1.520 metres (five feet in real money). Changing wheel sets at the borders with EU is currently slow and inefficient. Freight trains are needed to be slick especially when carrying wartime needs IN or essential money making exports OUT.

One expensive solution is to build new standard gauge lines.

But another answer is to create gauge changing technology at the borders so trains do not have to stop.

Once in place this will make a huge contribution to Ukraine's;s war effort and its economy in general.

For those unfamiliar with the clever stuff, Many of Spain's Talgo express trains ...

... can change gauge at the border without stopping. 

Here is a visual of how it happens. Effectively, the rails push the wheels along their axles to change their distance apart. A locking mechanism ensures they ONLY change at the special track, not arbitrarily as they whizz aling ay high speed!

Clever folks, these Spanish guys and gals.

Looking Better : More to Come

Remember that oddly shaped piece of white plastic. It was designed to hold the camping bus and the Nissen hut holiday let; a group which crosses a gap between two pieces of tunnel. Both tunnel sections need to be removable, BUT the two "buildings" share a circuit of lights.

Trees are now fixed along the back "wall" of the base whilst the two architectural creations sit om the white base,

Some extra landscaping is still needed plud a few fences to stop hapoy holidaymakers plunging to their death down the chalk cliffs of Peterville.

There are a few gaps to fill and a few wires to hide. But the whole unit lifts off as one lump.

Fluffy Bunnies, Daffodils & Chocolate?

Really?

There is a very tenuous link between the above picture and the "festival" called "Easter", but it is rarely promulgated. In this blog's traditional annual "review" of the real Easter, we may possibly spot that all but forgotten link.

So for a couple of weeks, the fbbs will be sharing the Easter quiz puzzles that will be appearing on their seasonal leaflet.

Here is your starter for ten! (click on the graphic to enlarge)

All you have to do is to complete the missing words. You need a clue? One is a domesticated animal and one a fruit conserve. Easy peasy! Later quizlets might be more tricky!

Explanation tomorrow!

 Next Book Review blog : Monday 18th March 

Bank Holiday Monday Quiz

ALL of these items have appeared in this blog in the last six months.

1

She (? He, It?) was nicknamed "Big Bertha" but on which short stretch of line did she work.

2

Where did these freebies cease to be  relevant?

3

This plane was a failure. What was its full name?

4

In which Swiss City does this part rural new tram  (train?) route operate?

5

Between which two Hampshire communities does this pink ferry sail?

6

What is the T O P S class number of these locos. fbb has two on his model railway!

7

Between which two towns does this new-ish bus route run?

8

Where might you have once ridden this pier train/tram, its disused remnants now being replaced by a walkway?

9

Where can you ride this newly opened and expensive link?

10

Which company produces these models and what is their official "scale" name?

11

On which railway will you soon be able to ride on these new vehicles?

12

In real life what would this wagon (an OO model) have carried?

13

In which London area did this brand prevail - where "R" prefixes are still used today?

14

Now decommissioned, where is this building located?

15

Who operates this driverless bus (with driver) and where?

16

Where will Andy's hire bikes be yellow?

17

What is unusual about this Budapest tourist railway?

18

Where were these iconic 02 class locos lined up, awaiting their fiery fate?

19

What is this bus "system", running 'right round the city" to be called?

20

What was the purpose of this Berlin landmark, no longer in use.

Answers will be published later this week.

 Next West Lothian blog : Tuesday 11th April 

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It Was The Flatbread Wot Done It!

Cleopas and his unnamed companion (presumably his wife, yet another Mary) were trudging miserably back to Emmaus, a town about 7 miles from Jerusalem. As they walked a "bloke" joined them.

They did not recognise him - he was just an ordinary "bloke" on the road.

"You seem very miserable.," the "bloke" said sympathetically.. Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only visitor in Jerusalem who doesn't know the things that have been happening there these last few days?”

“What things?” he asked.

“The things that happened to Jesus of Nazareth,” they answered. “This man was a prophet and was considered by God and by all the people to be powerful in everything he said and did. Our chief priests and rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and he was crucified. And we had hoped that he would be the one who was going to set Israel free! Besides all that, this is now the third day since it happened. Some of the women of our group surprised us; they went at dawn to the tomb, but could not find his body. They came back saying they had seen a vision of angels who told them that he is alive. Some of our group went to the tomb and found it exactly as the women had said, but they did not see him either.”

Then "the bloke" said to them, “How foolish you are, how slow you are to believe everything the prophets said! Was it not necessary for the Messiah to suffer these things and then to enter his glory?” And "the bloke" explained to them what was said about the Messiah in all the Scriptures, beginning with the books of Moses and the writings of all the prophets.

So they invited "the bloke" in for a bevvy and a snack - as you do. And as the honoured guest, they invited "the bloke" to break the bread, a Jewish hospitality custom.

Then their eyes were opened and they recognized "the bloke" who went on his way. They said to each other, “Wasn't it like a fire burning in us when Jesus talked to us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?”

You couldn't, you wouldn't, make it up!

"The Road to Emmaus" narrative is in Luke's Gospel Chapter 24.

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Sunday Variety

Poissons d'Avril - All Fools Day

The Budapest Children's Railway is correct with one minor "Poisson". The train driver is an adult, trained and employed by Hungarian State Railways.

Deutsche Bahn is in a mess, but the sale of Arriva UK is a "Poisson", although the company is available to purchase if you have the money. 

Looks like nobody wants it! 

Unless, under some form of inspiration, fbb is being unusually prophetic.

There is a pier at Wigan out of use on a canal. But, sadly, no ferry. If there were a ferry, you can be sure that Andy Burnham would want to gobble it up.

The Largs town service has been running since the happy days of Western Scottish. But there are no plans for Viking branding. Pity!

The new departure list format is "a thing" but no "high powered" review is planned - YET!

Hot News From The Mafia

Dom Juliano sent "the boys" around "for a little chat" and, yet again, fbb escaped with no injury. It appears that the Middlewich Mafioso Motorbussa will be "taking over" in Macclesfield once the Arriva mob back down later this month.

More details to follow soon.

First Bus Spends More On Electric

Following on from planned full sparks at their one remaining site in Manchester, First are going to build in Portsmouth. Their new depot will be here on the site of a former local newspaper building.

In a weird twist of fate, the new depot will be right next door to the former Southdown garage at Hilsea.

Spot the lovely Portsmouth Corporation trolleybus wires.

Sigh.

The bus depot is now a block of flats ...

... but First Bus still uses the adjacent mini bus station for staff changeovers and to park a few buses.

What goes around comes around = yet again!

First's current depot, at Hoeford (Gosport), was the HQ of the former Provincial bus company.

Before that it was a tram depot. Remember when bus and tram  garages had a proper canteen?

Very cosy at Hoeford in the 1940s.

A Book With Links To fbb

It has a cover price of £14.99 but plenty of on-line sellers have discounted deals. Indeed some are offering a "pre-owned" volume at about £2. Cheap as Chips!

The meat of the book is a collection of "then and now" (or then and later than then) pictures of locations on the Island. For a former resident or a reasonably frequent visitor these are a great delight.

The public transport content is limited in the bulk of the book, but there is a good selection of pages of snaps at the rear. 

There is plenty of explanatory text throughout.

Here are just a few samples - and apologies for the poor quality. The day was dull and the reflection were intrusive. But if you want better, you can buy the book!

Here, for example, are three shots of Cowes "Pontoon" once the main entry point to the Island from Southampton via Red Funnel, but now only the High Speed terminal.

Next is a nice shot of a ferry at Lymington, back when boats tied up at the station platform - and, indeed, when there was a proper station. Today interchanging rail passengers are rare beasts.

There are some highly nostalgic coaches from the days when everybody took a Round the Island tour and dozens of vehicles would congregate at Blackgang like flies round a pot of jam.

There is a nice memory of Newport's bus station which, in the summer, was always busy with tourists not really knowing where they were going, all helped on their way by cheery inspectors. 

Inspectors? What are they?

One of the railway pictures brings a tear to fbb's;s throat and a lump to his eye. Here is a line of the ubiquitous Isle of Wight tank engines (class O2) awaiting its fate at Newport after closure of most of the system.

There are two direct connections with fbb. Bus 628 was, for a while, owned by fbb's Westbrook Travel company ...

... and there's a map!

It started as a map on the bi-annual timetable booklet and fbb took it over, improved an updated it. After the old man's redundancy and reversion to teaching, "the lads" at Nelson Road took it back home and used it for a few more years. If was always in full colour, often on the back cover of the booklet.

One picture fbb has never seen before is of the depot and offices at Ventnor. 

The depot came with the business of Nash's Coaches.

In 1962 the depot was rebuilt and a far less attractive frontage was still there when Streetview and fbb last visited. fbb has no memory of its older self.

For those who have a love and memories of the Island, a cheapo copy of this book is well worth the small amount you would have to pay for it - but NOT recommended at £14.99.

fbb's copy was a gift from a friend still resident at East Cowes.

Something A Little Different

Advertised by Hornby yesterday!

Daft But A Genuine Product?

The above company is producing a model the iconic Titfield Thunderbolt train.

The company is offering a lavish "pack" at a modest £400.

The Titfield Thunderbolt Deluxe Pack

Limited edition with certificate of authenticity

Containing:

Thunderbolt, aka Liverpool & Manchester Railway 0-4-2 Lion (DCC Sound Fitted)

No. W68740, GWR Diagram AA20 ‘Toad’ brake van

‘Dan’s House’, aka GWR ‘Loriot Y’ No. 41989 with fictitious Victorian coach body

Commemorative booklet

Special Presentation box

Rapido Trains UK is delighted to reveal a range of models inspired by The Titfield Thunderbolt that will be available in time to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the film’s release in 2023. These will be the most accurate The Titfield Thunderbolt models ever produced and are being developed with full co-operation of STUDIOCANAL, which owns the rights to this seminal railway film.

Rails of Sheffield are discounting the "pack" to £350 (e & o e) - so a real bargain! The models are not yet available.

Meanwhile Hornby were due to produce their version; but have cancelled it!

Whilst Rapido's "set' is a model of something that did exist, albeit for a fictional film, their latest offerings never did.

Pearce and Crump were the operators of the local Titfield bus service which sought to profit from the line's closure. Its staff's attempts to thwart the reopening provides much of the narrative for the film. Rapido is also producing the bus from the film.

Only £45!

PLEASE NOTE

The next blog - more on Sadiq Khan's loopy Superloop idea, will be split into two chunks - one tomorrow and one on Tuesday - to allow time for our duplicate (today and tomorrow) monthly Fellowship meetings. (With lavish afternoon tea; egg'n'cress sandwiches, ham sandwiches, game chips, lemon drizzle cake and apple and cinnamon scones; the latter created by Mrs fbb, our resident head Patisserie Chef!). SUPER YUMMY.

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Before Power Point we used to call them "Visual Aids", a means of showing a class, a group of students or a church congregation what was gong on using pictures as well as words. After the "vision of Divinity" on the mountain, Palm Sunday said something special about Jesus.

Yes, he was super-human (above and beyond everyday humanity) but his coming was, in many ways, different.

He entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey. - a visual aid of a conqueror coming to conquer with peace.

Many people wanted their Messiah to be an anti-Roman freedom fighter, literally. But the Divine Yeshua ben Yusuf would not be like that.

Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches in the field and spread them on the road. The people who were in front and those who followed behind began to shout, “Praise God! God bless him who comes in the name of the Lord! God bless the coming kingdom of King David, our father! Praise be to God!”

Over five centuries previously a Prophet called Zechariah wrote these words.

Crazy coincidence ... or God's plan!

As they used to say back in the psychedelic sixties ...

But Yeshua (Jesus) was no wimp! 

He was good at the Crazy visual aids and a really crazy one was soon to come.

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 Next Superloop blog : Monday 3rd April