Sunday Variety

Church Link
Service starts 1030

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

Swallow Follow-Up

Where did the swallow fly off to? Great credit goes to today's LNER for this carriage door label on a significant train from Edinburgh on Friday, last.

And here (via Twitter) is the actual train travelling north "near York". The setting is at what used to be the fabulous railway-themed Sidings restaurant, all located in railway carriages, including overnight accommodation.

A accompanying tweet fills out the story.

After a brief and downgraded period as an Italian nosh house ...

... The Sidings appears to have regained its ferroequinological glory.

Would Mrs fbb tolerate a return visit?

If it were any closer to the East Coast Main Line, it would be on the tracks!

Coach Follow-Up

Yep, the stand-in coaches for GoAhead's X9/X10 from Newcastle to Middlesbrough ...

... are indeed National Express hand-me-downs. fbb cannot quite decipher the registration number on the above, but the vehicle below is from the same batch.

Scooters Used To Be For Kids, But ...

Alan writes:-

Both here in Northampton and in Milton Keynes ...

... there are now  scooters.

Naturally there is an app, but alas no picture of quotable Councillor Smithers in helmet and hi-vis whizzing down Bridge Street on a scooter. (But see below - fbb!) Note that at Northampton railway station the scooters ...

... are parked in the space formerly occupied by Northampton’s version of the Boris bike.

All of these now seem to be missing.

Is there any evidence that the scooters will be more successful than the bikes?

A 12-month electric scooter trial to encourage a new mode of transport that reduces the town’s carbon footprint began in Northampton today (September 3).

Voi, the company that operates the e-scooters, had team members in Market Square along with representatives from Northamptonshire County Council, to launch the new initiative, which members of the public can now take full advantage of.

To start the trial, 300 e-scooters, which are paid for by the minute via an app, have been dotted around the town at places such as the train station, bus station and the university campus, in a bid to encourage taxi or car users to jump on a scooter instead; and, of course to further discourage bus usage.

“You have to have at least a provisional driving licence to ride one, as they are not a toy. They need to be driven on the road so users need to know the rules of the road. Users have to put all their details into the app and then the QR code is scanned on the scooter, which is then ready to go.”

And a correction from Alan. A later picture of Councillor Smithers (right) ready to scoot, but in Fetter Street, not Bridge Street.

Not a bad guess Alan, Fetter Street is one along from Bridge Street ...

... and, surprise surprise, just outside the posh new Council offices. So the good Councillor probably did not scoot anywhere!

Learning The Trade

Glad to see that Roger French, a relative newcomer to this blogging lark, is learning the delights of "tease" headlines.

Miss Marple? fbb's favourite Marple will always be the late great Joan Hickson ...

... and least favourite, Angela Lansbury.

Of course, Roger is a-blogging about the half-witted and unnecessary withdrawal of the hourly trains on the line between Manchester and Rose Hill, Marple. (Rose Hill, surely a suitable name for a suspect in one of Agatha Crusty's stories?).

Above: a train at the lavishly appointed Rose Hill station.

The attitude of the nationalised Northern Trains is redolent of that of Marie Antoinette. When told the people "had no bread", i.e. were starving, she is reputed to have replied "let them eat cake."

Faced with the ire of Rose Hill line commuters with no service at their stations, Northern simply suggests, "Let them walk to another station!"

And Last But, By No Means Least ...
A picture popped into the fbb in-box of a really delightful leaflet.

The 11 is still there today and is now one of the few really genuine circular services in the country. Most routes that get the name "circular" are usually lollipop in shape.

A full circuit can take up to three hours to complete, with the service carrying 50,000 passengers each day. There are 266 bus stops on the route. The route serves 233 schools, colleges or universities, 69 leisure and community facilities, 40 pubs, 19 retail centres, six hospitals, and one prison. It also links some 15 commercial centres, and passes Cadbury's in Bournville, one of the world's largest chocolate factories.

The illustration is the cover of a booklet describing the route through Birmingham's "Charming Suburbs". Whether present day Brummies would describe all of the route 11 as "charming" is doubtful - but much of it was charming in the late 20s when the booklet was produced.

How many of today's UK bus routes are promoted as a "good ride" in themselves rather than for commuters or shoppers are as a means to get to some place of interest?

Which routes would be worth promoting in their own right?

 fbb's Ghastly Mistake blog : Monday 7th Sept 

Saturday Variety

Intercity Electrics - A Lotta Bottle?

Remember Inter City 225, the brand that, in 1989, brought class 91 electric trains to the East Coast main line. 

The 225 was for kilometres per hour (140mph) which never happened because British Railways, doubtless under the dead hand of the Treasury, bottled it and went for cheap overhead wires which would only permit 125mph. And whatever happened to the swallow? 

And who remembers milk bottles with adverts on them?

There will be plenty of the younger set around who don't even remember glass milk bottles, and certainly not the original pre-foil card cap type.

But a twitterer has posted a couple of pictures of the advertising bottle, promoting ...

... the InterCity "Electrics" to Leeds.

The wires were completed to Leeds in 1988 when fbb was nobbut a lad of 43!

X9 and X10 reprise.

A few weeks back fbb was reporting that his chum Peter was cconfused(dot)com and somewhat impoverished by the poor publicity for fares and tickets between Middlesbrough and Newcastle. Keen blog readers can remind themselves (here).

fbb doesn't know whether Peter's fares confusion still applies, but he does know that today (this very day, no less) thee X9 and X10 are being upgraded.

X-lines X9
X-lines X10
From Saturday 5 September, the services will be operated by luxury coaches. There'll also be some permanent changes to stopping arrangements in Newcastle and Peterlee from the same date. The services will terminate at the bus stop opposite St Andrew’s Church, near The Gate, rather than serving Eldon Square Bus Station.

Eldon Square bus station is glued onto a shopping centre of the same name, now itself rebranded as intu Eldon Square.

The new stop, with absolutely no facilities, appears to be on Newgate Street, layby on the left ...

... and a poor welcome to the great home of a certain "Brown" beer. But in another way, this "upgrade" isn't quite what it seems - certainly not at first.

The new "Inter-Deck" coaches ...

No, fbb wasn't sure either; but they have wide doors for wheelchair access and a low floor chunk inside the door then a staircase up to the main seating.

... won't be ready in time (GoAhead must be learning from the rail industry) so, for the time being, you will have what look suspiciously like National Express cast-offs adorned by a few sheets of sticky-backed plastic.

Might it not have been a good idea to delay the "launch" until the vessels were ready to slide gracefully down the slipway of GoAhead's P R machine.

Talking of which the company has been quick to point out that it has its first '70 plate (new registration numbers) on the road on the first day - viz 1st September.

The claim is that it was the first '70 plate "on the road" for any UK bus - unless anybody knows better.

Talking Of New Liveries
Courtney Coaches (now part of Reading Buses) have unveiled a new livery for their Wokingham network.

Formerly attired in boring Courtney generic brown and white ...

... Wokinghamians (if there is such a descriptor) will be able to enjoy a vivid orange.

What Is The Roof Made Of?
The trouble is that most pictures of water towers are taken from ground rather than drone level. So, even if the tank has a roof - and many don't - its hard to see its construction. fbb's Airfix/Dapol based model has a roof, but it just has moulded lines in the plastic.

They would represent very large sheets of something - but what?

fbb was not happy, so glued on some ribbed plastic sheet bought a few weeks ago for something - but what something the old man has forgotten. It seemed a good idea at the time.

Still the problem remains; sheets of what? Maybe the old codger should have chopped up his ribbed plastic into 32mm by 16mm pieces and glued them all on separately and overlapping as a representation of corrugated iron/asbestos/polycarbonate depending on date of installation.

There again ...

... the folks at Peterville Quarry Railway might well have splashed out on posh modern corrugated stuff.

fbb's tank still needs the corrugated construction equivalent of ridge tiles.

Notice something different? The original frail rail around the access hatch on the roof ...

... got itself busted whilst resting on the fbb workbench a k a dining table. O.K. Mr Clumsy set something on top of it; but it was always at risk in an exposed position on the model.

Replaced by something more substantial ...

... bits of landing banister from the unwanted interior of a no-longer-available R273. Waste not want not.

Deep Joy c/o Oxford Scientists
Maybe?

A Twitterer replies:-

Maybe not!

 More Variety blog : Sunday 6th September 

It's All Happening ...

Despite these "unprecedented times" positive things are happening on our National Rail network AND positive thinking is being thunked by various groups of influence.

Scotrail's Spreading Schemes

As usual the folks north of the border are well ahead of the game. Their main line aim is shown on this map.

Electric string to Inverness and Aberdeen, and via Dumfries to Carlisle. Add to this a wires up plan for the remaining Glasgow suburban limes to East Kilbride and Maryhill and you will only be left with a few diesel hauled bits "ripe for the new technologies".

There is even talk of electrifying the Borders line from Edinburgh to Tweedbank and extending the wires from Ayr to Girvan.

Neither fbb, nor (more to the point, as a wee lassie from Glagow) Mrs fbb are great fans of Scotland's current political regime ...

... but somebody somewhere knows what's best for the northern nation's railways.

Scotland has led the field in electrification for some years and put England and Wales to shame. Surely Kettering to Sheffield should be a top priority plus Plymouth/Exeter to Doncaster. Unfortunately we have got all these shiny new bi-modes to use as an excuse for not spending the money.

But there is a growing feeling that electrification should not be as ludicrously over priced and over engineered as the Great Western! If a political option is to "spend ourselves out of recession", then rail projects should be right at the top of the agenda.

Stevenage Station Strategy

Lines north from Kings Cross include the Piccadilly Line of the Underground (BLUE), services via the "Thameslink" tunnels (PURPLE) and all stops suburban trains to Moorgate (MUD BROWN). 

Most folk can cope with trains via Stevenage on the "East Coast" main line, but may be baffled by Watton-at-Stone. 'Tis a village in Hertfordshire with an intriguing name. Watton probably signifies a river ford and Stone comes (again probably) from the little known Roman Road of Stone Street that crosses (crossed) the River Beane in Watton High Street.

A look at the map shows that the railway line continues to Stevenage.

The line approaches Stevenage via a burrowing junction ...

... but the trains from the "Hertford Loop" (via Watton-at-Stone), running every 20 minutes in happier times, were getting in the way of all the other stuff that was stopping or passing through Stevenage's four platforms.

So build a platform 5 on the western edge where that strip of greenery is. While it was a-building, trains terminated at Watton-at-Stone with a bus link. The through service has now been restored.

The shiny new Platform 5 is now open, seen here looking back towards the south.

.Not only has it opened but there was a lavish opening ceremony.

Too much excitement!

Happy Horden Happening

Again, some readers may not be 100% certain where Horden is.

Effectively it is a suburb of Peterlee, a new town not served by train as such, but near the line between Middlesbrough, Sunderland and Newcastle upon Tyne.

The new Horden has a modest hourly service ...

... running all the way from Middlesbrough's suburbs, through Newcastle to the massive Metrocentre shopping paradise. The leaflet diagram is very, sort of, diagrammatic but the timetable is simple.

The station is basic ...

... yet to reveal itself in all its glory on Google Streetview.

The station is served by IndiGo 209/210 circulars (both ways round) ...

... and Roger French (who has been there of course) explains.

Soon you are whisked into the delights of central Peterlee ...

... where you can enjoy the richness (?) of the bus station ...

... before taking in the retail experience at all the same shops you can visit anywhere else in the country.

And There's Much More To Come
Florence and Cicelia Revealed in All Their Finery
Tunneling for HS2 starts soon in the Chilterns and the tunneling machines have been introduced to an eager world.

Soon there will be a real hole here as HS2 begins its northbound burrow, first under the M25, and then below the Chiltern hills.

Werrington Dive Under

This project allows trains towards Cambridge to dive under the main line. It should improve capacity by removing delays where trains currently have to cross the main lines "at grade".

fbb thinks that the video will work, and the text can be read if you click the far right hand icon to enlarge to full screen.

It is impressive stuff.

Dawlish Development

Phase 2 of the sea wall rebuild will also include a new platform on th seaward side of the station. The current platform and fences are made of wood, and can suffer nasties when the wind blows and the waves roll over the present sea wall.

The station also gets a new footbridge with lifts.

And Then There's Crossrail
Errm, no comment.

None of the above represent new news, but it is encouraging to see that work is being done despite "these unprecedented times"; the railway is being improved; good things are happening.

All we need now is a new and sensible fares structure. Hey Ho, back to "normality".

 Next Variety blog : Saturday 5th September