Sunday, 3 March 2019

Weekend Collection (B)

You Have To Wonder Why!
fbb happened to spot this in reduced length on Twitter but it would not download, so (here) is a link to the YouTube site. The video lasts for 13 minutes and there is a snag - it is all in German with no subtitle translation! You may here "lok" for "locomotive" and the number "ein hundert acht und sextig" (168).

The rest is self explanatory!

Signs Of  The Times
This white-on-brown direction sign has appeared in sunny Seaton just along the road from fbb mansions.
You would have to admit that arriving at the seaside and not being able to find the sea would be a bit of a downer.

So we must all be grateful to East Devon District Council for their aplomb and consideration in helping out tourists and residents alike.

In case you cannot read or maybe are less than familiar with the English language, fbb can reveal the location of this helpful piece of a street furniture.
And in case you wondered, the sea is that wet blue stuff just beyond the wall, about 30 metres past the sign.

737 Becomes X76
Occasionally, very occasionally, fbb has been known to offer mild criticism of Travel South Yorkshire for their poor publicity, badly designed timetables and that awful "tube style" networks map. But just occasionally, very occasionally, the lads and lasses from the lavish PTE bunker do get it right.
Several days BEFORE (yes, BEFORE) today's timetable changes new network maps have appeared and are freely available for free. So excited was Sheffield correspondent Roy that he immediately posted two to your equally excited author.

Not only do they appear to be tight (well, almost right) but they have advance news of a change happening IN ONE MONTH'S TIME.
Back in 2017, there was much excitement when Stagecoach announced a new service between Sheffield and Doncaster Airport, developed on the former RAF Finningley site.
Buses were schedules to serve the airport at major flight arrival and departure times. Our friends for Eastern Europe tend to arrive and depart in the early evening and so , after a few tweaks, the 737 timetable reflected this potential demand.
From 6th April this is, according to information received, being replaced with service X6 which will run hourly. Like its predecessor, the new route will run fast from Sheffield via the M18 but, according to the new maps, will divert to serve the growing employment areas at Waverley just off the Parkway A630.
And there's lots more "stuff" there since the Google aerial view cameras were in operation. Likewise there is loads of "stuff" just off the M18 at Doncaster, passed, presumably, by the X6 on the way to the airport.
Local bus watchers reckon that some "section 106" money (or similar) will be helping to oil the piggy bank for this interesting service development.

fbb has requested a timetable from Stagecoach, but none had appeared as of 1930 yesterday.

There has been no comment yet from First who serve the Sheffield sites exclusively and run buses at shift times to some of the Doncaster warehousing.
Indeed. First has just "improved" its services to the Waverley Industry (Sheffield) - of which more in a later blog.

Lizy-sur-Ourcq
Think east of Paris and roughly twice as far from the centre as Disneyland.
Transilien (Paris outer suburban network) ...
... route P serves this delightfully named station still resplendent with its traditional station buildings. There are five "P" lines in this mini network and you might expect one of these ...
... for your "commute". Vut, currently ...
... NOT for the 1805 from Gare de L'Est.
Loco hauled trains are now a rarity in France (as they are in the UK) and a loco on a suburban train is special. Enjoy while it lasts.
Thanks to Sheffield pal, Dave the lorry driver. He has not been driving his lorry for some time due to a long period of ill-health, hospitalisation and recovery. He is very much on the mend now and likes to keep in touch with things French, as well as being a reader of this blog.

Confused dot Com?
Financial reports from companies can be a bit of a mystery. fbb was "taught" how to read a company end of year brochure whilst "doing" economics at Northampton Grammar School. Despite what the old man has retained - not much - the following two items from one of the on-line rags serve to mystify even more.

No doubt some blog readers will understand.
fbb's best guess is this:-

GoAhead business is less profitable than it was (down 25.8%) and First is taking in more money from most of its divisions (good) but is hardly doing brilliantly.+

Video 125
Eons ago, fbb bought a Video from these folk, so he regularly receives adverts and offers. This one looked particularly attractive.
It takes you for a cab ride plus informative commentary mostly in "real time". It does actually say "Manchester" but fbb pressed his screenshot button at an inopportune moment.
One thing you realise very early on is that a "tilting train" does tilt!
It is certainly more obvious looking out of the front window that the limited sensation you get whilst ensconced in the passenger seats.

the Video costs £25 on DVD and £20 for a download.

Maybe a belated self-awarded Birthday Present.

STOP PRESS : For Sheffield Bus Geeks
At about 0845 this morning, picture of the very first EVER bus via Abbey Lane between Parkhead and Beauchief.
It is mostly woodland with a few VERY posh gaffs hidden away at the top end.; but they will get no benefit as the bus does not stop on this bit of road! Thanks Roy for the snap taken at Beauchief traffic lights.

Tomorrow fbb goes for a walk - but virtually.

 Next Great Central blog : Monday 4th March 

Saturday, 2 March 2019

Weekend Collection (A)

Sorry, Folks, fbb Forgot!
In the run-down on what GoAhead is buying from First in Manchester, fbb forgot the 149. also operated from the Queens Road depot. It would appear that the route once ran into central Manchester ...
... but now is one of several serving the North Manchester Hospital.
It makes its way across via Moston ...
... and you may presume that it is not one of Oldham depot's routes for historic reasons - a Mancunian expert may be able to help. The route runs every half an hour and from the PDF timetable notes ...
... you can assume that it hasn't changed much.

Do Not Eat Too Many Do Nuts?
A while back, in yet another mixed bag of blogging, fbb referred to a family favourite foodstuff. (read again) Thus when No 2 grandson visited at half term, a trip to Sidmouth for nuts of do (dough?) was an absolute necessity.
But, shock horror, the emporium of sugary bliss had changed hands and has had a refit!
The signs suggested a wider range of unhealthy snacks from the bijou premises. There was also a change of name ...
... possibly pronounced Doughnut Terry Eh. Eh?

And were the tasty rings still as tasty?

The emporium was resolutely closed and remained so for the whole of half term.

Toby Takes To The Tracks
News for lovers of the oeuvre of The Rev Wilbert Awdry is that Model Rail magazine has produced (or, more correctly, has had produced) a model of the Wisbech and Upwey tram engine now operating on the Island of Sodor.
You can have one for a modest (!) £127.50 ...
... and you will get a very high level of accuracy. Or you can shell out less than half this wedge ...+
... and, like fbb, buy a Bachmann import. fbb's was £40 pre owned. But there is one problem with the Model Rail version.

Where are Toby's face and moving eyes?

Sheffield Timetable Changes Snippet
Sunday marks another sludge of revisions to timetables (of which more next week). Most are simply tinkering with the times of individual journeys "to improve reliability" but a few are of more interest.

For countless generations the main bus service between Sheffield and Bakewell has run direct along the busy Abbeydale Road, the A621.
But from tomorrow it is diverted away from the built-up sections of that thoroughfare. It will run via the tree-lined delights of Psalter Lane ...
... via Ecclesall of lavish shelter fame ...
... and on via the full length of Abbey Lane, a road never before served by bus - although it probably won't stop!
The new route is show diagrammatically in the GoTimetable App.
Sadly, as this blog was written at 1600 yesterday, there was not a dicky bird about this dramatic change on the T M travel web site.
The PDF file is dated October 2018 and the map ...
... will indubitably be wrong in a few hours.

You are forced to wonder how many hoping to excurse to Bakewell from tomorrow onwards will wait rather a long time at e.g. the Edgedale Road stop.
Picture from the lat days of Abbeydale Road operation from Roy in Sheffield.

Travel South Yorkshire (TSY) is on the on-line ball with its service change leaflet ...
 ... as, of course is GoTimetable!
Less happy is the TSY map ...
... which shows 218s going both ways out of the city. Clever blog readers and/or timetable experts will be able to fathom why TSY chooses to be so confusing.

Or look again at the GoTimetable map.
-----------------------------------------------------------
STOP PRESS
T M Travel's timetable changes have appeared on their web site this morning. In the case of the 218, the link leads to the TSY timetable page.
-----------------------------------------------------------
More assorted bits tomorrow.

 Next "Collection" blog - Sunday 3rd March 

Friday, 1 March 2019

GoAhead North West (Part 2) ...

Readers may wish to enlarge some of the maps in this blog as they do not fit adequately within the framework prescribed by "Blogger". A simple mouse click will do the trick.

GoAhead will inherit three routes running west from central Manchester.
The 67 and 100 (PINK) both run via Pendleton Salford Shopping Centre (as visited by the 95 yesterday) ...
... whence they both wiggle along to Eccles.
First's map does not admit to the existence of Manchester's Metrolink tram system, but the 67 and 100 stop outbound on Regent Street ...
... and inbound (wrong side of the road) at a more substantial set of shelters; ...
... the whole lot, plus tram, being loosely called "Eccles Interchange". The 100 calls into the intu Trafford Centre whilst the 67 ignores that delightful retail experience.
67s terminsate at Cadishead and some 100s run on all the way to Warrington. 
Monday to Friday frequencies are as follows.

 67 - every 15 minutes
100 - every 15 to Trafford Centre plus extensions.
Also running along the Eccles New Road beside the Metrolink ...
... is First's 33 (MID BLUE) running every 30 minutes via Eccles to Worsley. It terminates at the attractive Worsley Court House.
Worsley Court House is a conference and weddings venue in Worsley, Greater Manchester, England. Built in 1849 for Francis Egerton, 1st Earl of Ellesmere as the local manor court, it was later used as a magistrates' court. In 1966 it was granted Grade II listed status.

Whilst on the original map (at the top of this blog), take note of route 52 (PURPLE) which finds its way from the Trafford Centre to North Manchester General Hospital and then trundles south east (ish) to Failsworth.

The timetable explains better than trying to glue together bits of First's maps.
Also equally circuitous is the 53 (KHAKI). This originates from our old friend the Salford shopping centre at Pendleton and runs via Salford Quays (home of "The Lowry").
This whole area used to be the docks at the Salford end of the Manchester Ship Canal, from where a VERY youthful fbb took a boat ...
... trip along the canal as far as the Barton swing aqueduct.
Yes, a bit of the canal c/w water swings, more correctly used to swing, to allow big ships to pass through.
The 53 then links (indirectly) the Royal Infirmary and the North Manchester hospitals ...
... every 30 minutes.

That leaves the former Metroshuttle. 
The three free routes ...
... have since been rejigged. There are now just two routes (definitely click to enlarge) ...
... rebranded as "free bus" in a fetching yellow livery.
As the service is a Transport for Greater Manchester contract, we should not expect any changes, except perhaps a modest "brought to you by GoAhead" sticker.

 Next weekend collection : Saturday 2nd March