Wednesday Gallery

 Weekend Sunshine

... on the Go Ahead BlueStar New Forest Tours, snapped here in the pictuesque traffic jam that is Lyndhurst.

Go Ahead North East have been running their heritage Routmasters over the weekend, here ...

... on service B1 to Beamish.

Meanwhile in Newcastle the Toon (that's Toon = Town, not Toon = Tune) Tour has been popular ...

... so much so that an extra vehicle was scheduled.

This, as bus spotters will spot, is an open top routemaster.

Back in Devon, the Exmoor Tour (Minehead to Lynmouth) ...

... was up and running with some glorious views.

A Twitterer expressed disappointment at the arrival of this single decker.

The timetable does include some closed top journeys ...

... being two trips between Doniford, Dunster and Minehead. Was the errant single decker actually going to Lynmouth or was it advertising a change in Minehead (see timetable)?

The open top journeys all the way would be fun!

Were the leaflets available for the holiday weekend?

The single decker has an interesting history. It was a Reading Buses branded vehicle ...

... later appearing in Reading's generic black and white garb. In which guise it went west ...

... to Cornwall before being poshed up and branded for Buses of Somerset's route 21 from Taunton to Burnham.

In the "Exmoor Coaster" single deck shot, you can just see the "21" in green on the side!

Perhaps not so encouraging is this lightly loaded X52 on its way from Bridport to Weymouth.

Surely, printed publicity for these tourist services should have been flooding the area (libraries, TiCs, camp and caravan sites, hotels, souvenir shops etc, etc.) from the beginning of May.

And it wasn't, certainly not from First Bus companies in this neck of the woods.

And Talking Of First's Daftness ...

... here is a First Glasgow bus on route 2 to Faifley. It has an advert on its rear end.

It says, "Don't travel by bus - buy a car!"

Crackpot - again.

Should fbb Have Collected LWBs?

The old man's collection of every type of cylindrical tank wagon produced in OO gauge since 1937 is, of course, world famous (???). The old man has wondered - in passing - whether there is another weirdness of wagons to wonder at?

Here is a wagon as it has appeared recently in Hornby stock as part of their Coca Cola range.

£15? Your diligent author has not been able to find a picture of the prototype for this box van; notable for the fact that its body is shorter than its chassis.

Hornby label it LWB - Long Wheel Base.

Cheaper versions are available on-line (usually at £10) branded for the real company ...

Sheaf Materials Handling Ltd is a Sheffield company that sells and services fork lift trucks - but has never owned a railway wagon in its life! The model is in the "Railroad" range which includes sonewhat less details models at slightly cheaper prices.

But the variety of liveries on thiS innocuous LWB truck is astounding. How about food and drink products?

And there may be more.

Then there are "promotion and celebration" liveries including more fork lift trucks!

And there may be more!

But just announced is four of the fab four - four wagons based on LP sleeves released by a certain Liverpool popular music group of some notoriety.

Wot? No "Abbey Road! pedestrian crossing? Shame!

It is amazing what manufacturers will do to extract money from the wallets if dedicated enthusiasts!

Of all the above, only the Palethorpes sausage van ever existed in reality and it was a six-wheeler, not four!

In the transient world of railway models, Hornby once produced a "correct" six wheeler.

Whatever Happened To ...

... fbb's bodge of a low relief Bachmann barber's shop to make a new cafe at Peterville Quarry station?

It is still a work in progress, largely hindered by Mrs fbb's indisposition (a nasty attack of sciatica) and thus fbb's promotion to catering duties. The latter have been largely successful, including Sunday Roast with all the trimmings (well, most of the trimmings) and four vats of home-made soup of somewhat ill-defined construction but pronounced delicious by the boss!

Blogging time is thus a bit restricted.

That may be why the old man forgot to "press the button" yesterday and the blog did not appear until 1000. Thanks to David from Sheffield for the tactful "blog missing" message!

Mrs fbb is much improved and beginning to resume her onerous duties.

To fbb's great relief!

 Next Fares Farce blog : Thursday 3rd June 

Tuesday Variety

She Should Talk To Grant?

That's Alice! By some typical interwebnet weirdness, she has sent a note to Mrs fbb.

Now what exactly do you mean, Alice?

Aha! Alice has heard of Transport for Cornwall; but does she realise that its wondrous new network is doing exactly what she wants? There are loads of empty red buses running on routes long since abandoned by the "commercial sector". Coming soon is a reduced fares scheme paid for by people, most of whom do NOT live in Cornwall (a k a Taxpayers).

Does she understand that an "Oyster Card" (ordinary Bank Card is easier) does not improve public transport at all but it does make it easier to pay; and much easier for the fares to rise without anyone noticing.

But the big question for Alice is this, "Are you happy to see a substantial increase in your personal tax bill to pay for it? There is no "them" to pay the bills, only "us"!!

The chief transport officer for the county responded unhelpfully as did HMG ...

Perhaps Alice need to chat to Baroness Vere (Minster of Buses this week) who thinks Public Transport in Cornwall is tip-top OR, maybe, to Grant Shapps who is going to "join up" all the buses to offer frequent schedules so that "no one will need a timetable; you just turn up and go!"

The crowds will soon be flocking from New Mill if the Baroness Minister, The Minister Minister and Alice have their way.

A bus stop sign and a timetable might be a start!

Perhaps Transport for Cornwall have planted same since Google gurgled past?

Mr Tubbles has the right idea.

He is giving the matter some thought.

Reading Riding For Free

Banksy Mural?

Apparently it is Oscar Wilde ...

... escaping from Reading Gaol with the typewriter he nicked from the Governor's office. Is it a good likeness? It is, of course, painted on the wall of Her Majesty's free hotel in the town. 

But it is all for Charity ...

... and a chocolate peanut (or two?) to boss Robert Williams ...

... and his gang for coming up with an innovative way to replace their annual open day, also for charity.

The Coastline At Skipton & Ilkley

One of the oddities of today's illogical world of public transport is the way the tendering system works. fbb remembers that, in the very early days of bus deregulation, East Midland buses won a tender in Essex, somewhat distant from HQ in Chesterfield.

East Midland never admitted that it was a mistake, neither did they claim an opportunity for expansion. It didn't last.

But the snap above was twittered together with enthusiasm for the picturesque qualities of route 784.

It is operated by Coastliner ...

... every hour with a positioning journey from and to Otley.

The lake is Chelker Reservoir but ...

... lakes don't usually have a coast.

The Otley journeys suggest an explanation. It is near the depot set up by Transdev to run the Flyer services A1, A2 and A3 to Leeds/Bradford Airport.

Coastline is based in Malton which is not very near to Ilkley or Skipton. There is no mention of the 784 on the Coastline web site - understandable because it is irrelevant.

The 784 has its origins in First Bus X84 ...

... with the occasional extensions from Otley to Skipton being unhooked and renumbered 784.

First pulled out of the 784 and Transdev stepped in ...

... as sort-of reported by Route One magazine.

Transdev took over former First West Yorkshire service 784 between Skipton, Ilkley and Otley from Monday 5 October. It is operated as part of The Keighley Bus Company’s network from Transdev’s recently opened base in Idle, Bradford.

Se we need to look for the timetable on the Keighley Bus Company web site ...

... where it is listed as above.

On Sundays, the link is provided by the 873, the 884, and not forgetting the 884.

fbb would bet (if he were a betting man) a bag of toffees and a shiny penny that Coastliner had nothing to do with the 784, except adding their name on the registrations.

Maybe fbb should ring up Coastliner and ask for times of their 784 bus route?

And, Talking Of Politics ...

It might not be safe on the streets of Cornwall as the Kernow Klan shape up to the TfC Toughies.

 Next Publicity Policy blog : Wednesday 2nd June