Saturday Variety

Yet More Electrics To Pollute The Planet

OK, fbb does bore on a bit; but we do need to remind ourselves that, currently, electric vehicles continue to cause pollution at power station level and it costs and arm and part of a leg to recycle batteries - when they aren't bursting into flames, that is.

First Bus ais bringing a load to Leeds.

And National Express aid trialling a battery electric  coach as well.

The blurb makes them sound magnificent.

And their magnificence will initially be used between Stansted and Stratford, London; hardly a good test of battery charge longevity. The A9 timetable is every 30 minutes with a 40 minute running time.

And More Technology

Of course it will NOT be driverless - all such vehicles must, legally, carry a driver; and it it's anything like the Didcot service, the driver will have to "intervene" in difficult traffic situations when the technology cannot cope.

Thankfully the technology of a human brain is always the best! Even if fbb's is fading slowly but surely with the advancement of years!

Give A Train A Silly Name ...

As in Limo, Pendolino, Aventris, Adelante and now .... tada ...

..., it's Spanish for "ready".

So it is just what you would expect on a train service in France.

Already S N C F have ...

... where "oui" means "yes" but combined the name reads "we go" which is, as you may recognise, English for, erm, "we go"!!

But it gets dafter. The company behind "ilisto" is called "Kevin Speed" which does not sound particularly French. Speed is, obviously, English, but Kevin?

Kevin (with an acute accent on the "e") was a very popular name in France in the 1990s. It has faded from popularity as quickly as it appeared. Depending on what you read and wear, the name has unfortunate connotations in La Belle France.

"Kevin" equals "saddo" in fbb speak. Negatively a "Kevin" in France is regarded as a sort of badly dressed, car-tinkering, socially maladroit (look it up!) person. Other sources suggest that "Kevin" is the archetypical ordinary 30 year old "bloke". Maybe he is a bit of both.

The company has a whole family of its target customer base.

And further ...

If the French is "trop difficile" the Kevin Speed web site can be viewed in English - but it is not such fin!

So what is Kev planning. Frequent high speed trains will run from Paris to Lille ...

... from Paris to Strasbourg ...

... and from Paris to Lyon ...

... in direct competition with SNCF.

There is a senior team of four ...

And the promises are impressive.

Note that fares start at 3 euro per 100km but Kevin doesn't tell us where they finish!

And don't expect to buy a ticket at your local station!

Will it ever happen?

Only time will, tell.

Back At Ground Level

Above is fbb's latest piece of model railway scenery with a Mrs fbb clothes peg still in temporary use!

But what is it?

Here's a clue:-

All will be revealed in a few days. Exciting, eh?

And Some Weird Prices 

Back in the day you would expect to pay more for a BIG wagon that you would for a small one.

The BIG wagon would cost twice as much as the small one.

But look at this advert; two wagons side by side.

The small wagon is just £1.45 cheaper than the big long yellow wagon.

Is someone having a laugh; a costly laugh?

 Next Variety blog : Sunday 10th March 

Off To University (5)

Ecgbald's Town** : A Bit Posh ...

... and largely under the control of the Calthorpe family who gave the land for the University. The family did not permit industrial development on their land, so it became a haven for the wealthier strata of Birmingham Society.

** Today we call it Edgbaston.

Trams, transport for the "lower orders" did not penetrate Edgbaston or Harborne leaving an empty "wedge" south west of the city centre.

The focus of bus services today is more for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital site rather than the University both of which are, of course, served by frequent trains on the cross-city line.

Todays "main line" bus routes are the X21 and X22 and those numbers sent a slight twitch via fbb's occasionally sluggish brain neurones. 

When brother-no-longer-in-law (divorced from fbb's late sister) lived in Brum, fbb visited on several occasions and was utterly intrigued by one destination blind display.

It goes with  STANKS  in Leeds and ...

... in Loughborough and is the delightful ...

... in Birmingham.

And here is a bus so adorned.

So, the question is whether today's X21 and X22 have any affinity with the original 21 and 22. The answer is yes ...

... and no! 

Back in 1959, the 21 served Weoley Castle estate and the 22 ran to Selly Oak but was extended to the estate occasionally, presumably at peak times. 

But, unlike today's X21 and X22 via the West Gate and University station, the 21 ran via Bristol Road (map below, lower right) and the 22 via Harborne Road (top left).

That structure remained for a long time. Here is a much more modern 21 at Harborne.

The pub is the Plough, a notable local hostelry. 

We do see buses diverted via the Q E Hospital in 1997 ...

... and there are two more estate names, viz Merritts Brook and Bartley Green, cosy names for new development.

You will have gathered that fbb struggles with the history of buses via the West Gate! But by 2016 we have routes similar to today's X21 and X22 but numbered 98 and 99!

They didn't go to Weoley Castle ...

... but neither did the 20 and 21.

Confusing innit! 

And in the recesses of fbb's mind the 98 used to serve Chelmsley Wood, i.e. due east of the city centre and nowhere near the Uni.

The 98 was a minibus!

Only a year later at the University, things had changed again.

The 98 had lost its 99 and was joined by an X54. For a while "X" routes were a bit of a craze and they have been revived in recent times hence X21/23.

You have to feel sorry for the poor students coping with frequent route number changes and the terrifying statue of Michael Faraday. 

It was also confusing for the residents of Weoley Castle!

Then came the big rejig of many routes south of the city centre. The University West Gate acquired main routes X20, X21 and X22, although the X20 faded quickly.

And in a "back to the future" move they also became main services to the Weoley Castle area.

Well, sort of - The X22 just grazes the north of the estate whereas the X21 serves the central shopping area ...

... that's the big roundabout called Castle Square, which is, indeed, BIG.

This is a slightly older map of buses to Weoley Castle including the X21 and X22 ...

... but that was then! Now it is somewhat different again.

The X21 is extended from Shenley Fields so that both routes now run to Bartley Green passing yet another University. 

They terminate next to a modern church and at a mini bus station ...

... where they are joined by an 18, a 23 and an 002.

You are right! fbb has chosen to ignore he other services that run to or via Q E Hospital next to University station ...

... because his brain hurts.

But at least we now all understand the X21 and the X22 as an alternative to the Cross City line and serving the new University station.

Or do we? Both posh Platinum routes are branded for the Q E Hospital and the University ...

... but they do NOT serve the nice little Hospital bus station!

From the X21/22, you have to nip across the lawns from the station stop as illustrated below or in aerial view a bit more below.

While you are sprinting between the two ...

... there may be time to enjoy a visit to Metchley Roman Fort.

It looks a tiny bit more interesting when the grass is cut.

Well, no it doesn't! Back in 1890 they only supposed it was a Roman Fort.

From new station; via a steam bridge, an ugly statue and confusing bus services to a Roman fort, such is the astounding richness of an fbb blog.

Or perhaps not!

For the record, here is a current X21/22 timetable extract. (click on the graphic to enlarge)

Look! The X22 goes to California.

 Next Variety blog : Saturday 10th February