A Vision For The Future (1)

Get A Life. fbb!

Today, fbb publishes his 5000th blog for which achievement he either needs sympathy or some kind of therapy! It all started one day in March 2010 with 10 page reads, a number which fbb found unbelievably amazing with no start-up publicity. Currently, despite Google's occasional and illogical statistical stupidity, page reads average out at about 1000 per day.

So, a few ramblings on the theme of visions for the future.

Great (?) British Railways

Surely we all remember the Grant and Michael comedy sketch. Maybe we cannot remember what it was about, or the subtle details of the jokes (?), but here is a reminder.

Very meaningful. It is good that the nation's railways are in such good hands as these. Except that they aren't. For Grant Shapps read Louise Haigh - until someone else gets the "milk monitor" job.

But we do now have hundreds of staff and millions of pounds of expenditure creating Great British Railways.

A few minor queries.

Wasn't the 1923 grouping of the many railway companies into the "big four" meant to achieve all this?

Wasn't nationalisation from 1st January 1948 meant to achieve all this?

Wasn't the Modernisation Plan (and its subsequent "reviews") of the 1950s meant to achieve all this?

Wasn't Richard Beeching's draconian reshaping plan meant to achieve all this?

Wasn't Sectorisation (InterCity, Regional Railways, Network SouthEast) meant to achieve all this?

Wasn't privatisation meant to achieve all this?

Will Great British Railways fare any better?

 NO! 

Certainly not while Government feels it needs to get involved in the detail! 

Wasn't there once a plan for a UK high speed rail network to boost the economy and reduce carbon emissions by taking loads of freight and cars off the roads?

Whatever happened to that idea?

Maybe Buses Are The Vision?

Just occasionally there comes along a video which inspires, educates and encourages its viewers with policies which are genuinely transformational and fully focused on public transport's role in serving the public.

And this isn't one of them!

On Saturday last Roger French referred to a new PR wonder and provided a link so we could all feel proud of the changes that MD Janette Bell was bringing to First Bus. Or maybe Roger thought it was several tedious minutes of corporate twaddle. He didn't say - well not in actual words 

fbb tried to create a link so that all his readers could experience the richness and originality of Janette's plans. Sadly the old bloke couldn't ackle the technology. Bear in mind, as well, that the video is for First Bus staff only, not aimed at passengers who will probably laugh even louder than the staff.

The "show" consists of a very carefully scripted informal chat between the Boss ...

... and one of her underlings, who just happens to be a employee director of First Bus.

Note that the two contenders are all clutching their carefully prepared informal scrips ...

... referred to frequently by the well rehearsed participants.

Just checking she's got it right!

After a few pleasantries, we cut to a "vox pop" from First staff explaining how the "transformation" of the company is already under way.

He is obviously an ordinary bloke as he is clutching a mug of something! 

And there are electric buses in Leeds.

There is the important and PR-compulsory cr0op of "diverse" employees, equally enthisiastic about "it" ...

... though as yet we are not at all clear as to what "it" may be. 

And there are electric buses in Leeds.

Or maybe it's the new staff coffee machines? 

More jolly chat ...

... and there are electric buses in Leeds but with the addition of statistics.

Isn't First Bus wonderful; saving the planet single handed?

But now to the nitty gritty.

And here comes the new brand!

Steps back in amazement. That will surely draw in zillions of new passengers.

We are told that it will be rolled out over the next few years as buses are scheduled for a repaint. So probably no one will actually notice it and, by the time it is completely rolled out, someone at First will have a brand new transformational vision!

But finally, First's staff, almost bursting with excitement and anticipation, will get to experience this new vision.

fbb will take each audacious plan point in turn.

For each heading, fbb wll replicate the headline extracted from the video. So, what's new in the vexatious field or reliability? Readers will be shocked by these policy revelations ...

... and may wish to enlarge each headline to take it all in; it is so innovative. By the way, it should read, "There are enough people ... etc."

It's good to know that Janette is not planning a more dangerous bus service!

Of course, this is for staff. Maybe the new vision will also extend to the pssengers? 

Nah! Very unlikely.

There's a novelty!

Another stunning vision - friendly staff!

It brings a lump to your eye and a tear to your throat!

Far be it for fbb to criticise, but can you really make your buses better every day? Hmmm? Maybe if you are starting off from a very low base line, you could improve every day for quite a long tome.

Ah, there's the problem. you haven't been reflecting and learning in the past, and you haven't had processes (whatever that means) for the future. 

Maybe you are really thinking of giving every driver a set toolkit ...

... so they can do the job and mend their own bus!

Sorry, Ms Bell, this is corporate twaddle and will be seen as such by your front line staff. You are talking about doing things that a bus company should always be doing and should always have been doing.

It just isn't new in any way!

But at least one critical management question is answered by The Boss. "Yes," she promises, "there will be a vote this time on the new uniforms." It even appears on screen!

So that's all right then.

Maybe fbb is being picky (surely not?) but isn't this screen somewhat ungrammatical - actually illiterate?

A nation (singular) should have singular verbs, i.e. loves and uses. The "nation" is impersonal, so it should be "which" ... etc.

Alternatively, First Bus is for "people who love and use the bus." That would be better. The bus isn't big enough to get the whole nation on board without overloading.

Oooh, yes! fbb nearly forgot.

... there are electric buses in Leeds.

Tomorr0ow, a renewed and revised vision for this blog! Plus another autonomous bus "launch" that isn't.

 Next Getting Old blog : Friday 4th Oct 

Ashley Hill : Ashley Down (3)

An Explore Before ...

Frankly, there was little to see of Ashley Hill station once the site had been cleared post the 1964 closure. Above is a general shot before the Filton Bank route reverted to four tracks.

Fortunately, Google Streetview and/or Google Earth sites have not been well updated to record the building of the new Ashley Down station which opened last Saturday 28th Sepember. So we can explore on-line, if not on the ground.

At the bottom of the hill, Station Road veers sharp right to a dead end (with the fence, remember?). Here the ever probing eye of the Google satellite shows a pathway leading direct to the logo for the new station.

It doesn't!

The path leads to a tunnel under the tracks, but before plunging into the dark and dismal depths, you have a choice of a right hand or left hand turn. 

This is the junction with the nobly named Concorde Way, not yet labelled when the Google noddy car nodded past.

It is a series of linked footpaths and side roads which leads, eventually, to the development on Filton Airfield, the one-time home of Concorde. The start of the route is at the top of Hopetoun Road, itself accessed by the graffiti tunnel on Mina Road "visited" by fbb yesterday.

Part of Concorde Way runs alongside the new Ashley Down station ...

... just as the pathway ran alongside the old Ashley Hill Station.

It has been upgraded with dire warnings about mowing down passengers entering and leaving the new station.

The station entrance/exit is next to the pathway under the tunnel but now much more spectacular.

Quite a motorway style junction!

The hi-vis suits are actually at the gate to the station.

The good news for troglodyte rail explorers is that the tunnel still remains, seen below from the non-station side.

Access from the east is via Station Lane ...

... which is not the most inviting approach to the new station.

The route was signposted even before the station arrived ...

... with a wider aerial view showing all sorts of pathways and tracks in the area.

Whether at least one of these led up to an eastern entrance to the old station before the Filton route went four track, is not certain - wll not to fbb, anyay.

And The New Station

Like most of these new-built "halts" (because that is how the real GWR would have named them) ...

... there is nothing much there except a very expensive accessible footbridge costing millions.

Would it not have been better to use the existing foot tunnel, well refurbished, and provide good quality ramps? It would have saved a lot of cash and might have made it possible to have a proper shelter or two on the platforms (see below).

There are several videos on-line of the first train, but fbb will refrain from showing any of them. They are mostly made by over excitable rail enthusiasts (aren't they all?).

But the crowds at Ashley Down station were massive ...

... some of whom actually travelled all the way (just one stop) to Filton Abbey Wood ...

... which really exposed the farce of this reopening. One day, somewhere over the rainbow, this station will be part of a half hourly service between Bristol and Henbury. 

But until then these trains are a very nominal hourly shuttle between Filton and Temple Meads.

It's called Strategic Planning!

As far as "facilities" are concerned, the station has display screens, one of which was showing this for much of the opening day:-

It reads "No services from this platform."

It has a timetable poster ...

... but no staff, no toilets, no maps and no information for, say, connecting trains at Filton.

`

Maybe you might be honest and strive to buy a ticket?

Fair enough, but the machine does not take cash, so really great for those without bank cards, on line bank acounts or apps for crypto currency!

It is called Customer Service!

However, the residents of Ashley Down have gained one bonus from the opening of their station. The Concorde Way path has re-opened (at last) after four years of closure and a very inconvenient set of diversions.

Closed bits are in RED, the lengthy diversion via some busy roads ...

... shown in BLUE.

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 1 Day to Go 

 Next Future Vision blog : Thurs 3rd Oct 

Ashley Hill : Ashley Down (2)

 Let The Train Take The Strain

The map above shows the current state of play for trains in the Bristol area. The BLUE lines currently carry passngers, the RED lines still have track in place and in use.

The line through Yate (upper right) was part of the Midland Railway and originally ran via Mangotsfield, Staple Hill and Fishponds into The St Phillips terminus. 

St Phillips in terminal decline -1 962

There was a link across to Montpelier (shown as "2" on the map above) which carries freight to/from Avonmouth docks. St Phillips was closed with services transferred to Temple Meads; then the route from Yate southbound was closed with all trains from Birmingham diverted via Bristol Parkway and the Filton Bank.

Filton Bank, the hill up from Temple Meads to Filton, has a tale to tell.

Originally, in the very early days of Ashley Hill station, the "bank" was double track, subsequently widened to a four track route.

The track off to the right is the now singled route to Montpellier, Avonmouth and Severn Beach.

In 1984 the main line was reduced to a two track route ...

... then in 2018 it was back to a four track layout.

It is called "strategic planning": or maybe short termism?

The junction was called Narroways.

Either way, Ashley Hill station was on the westerly two tracks, usually defined as the "slow" lines. The above OS extract shows the link line from Montpelier (upper left) crossing over the Filton Bank tracks and joining the Midland lines at Mangotsfield where the station had already closed as (not) shown above.

Below is the junction near Montpelier.

... with a train approaching from Mangotsfield. Both diverging routes were double track back then with the right hand lines, as we look eastwards, curving round to Narroways Junction and on to Temple Meads.

The Junction waa provided with a brand new signal box ...

... which opened a couple of years before the line to Mangotsfield was closed completely.

It is called "strategic planning": Again!

Just to confuse us all, this junction was called Ashley Hill Junction although it had no connection whatsoever with Ashley Hill Station on the Filton Bank line.

Confused.com?

Here is an annotated map.

It shows the main locations referred to in the blog (so fat?). Just spotted a typo - should be "ManGotsfield'!

The line between Ashley Hill Junction and Mangotsfield is long gone, but Google Earth reveals some of the route ...

... and the site of the bridge over the Filton Bank line.

Mona Road, which probably predated the railway, passes under Ashley Hill Junction ...

... and continues the theme of "community adornment" as seen at Montpelier station. Here we proceed north ...

...through the tunnel ...

... and look back southbound.

Some people have the audacity to call it "art"!

We return to Ashley Hill Station for a couple of (undated) old pictures. Here a typical GWR train at the up platform (to Temple Meads) ...

... and much the same again - but with a different set of coaches.

In this case, please note the footpath running alongside the western edge of the line. This will feature in tomorrow's blog. There seems to be a surprising number of trainspotters - might this have been the very first train from the station. The public footpath looks new or refurbished even though it is outside of the station boundary.

Interestingly, there are no pictures on-line of Ashley Hill station in BR (steam or possible early diesel) days. The closure in 1964 went almost announced.

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13 more alphabetical fruits, but only 12 to answer as fbb took pity on his "congregation" and gave the a freebie for "X". It is a type of water melon with yellow flesh. So there!

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 2 Days to Go 

 Next Ashley Down blog : Weds 2nd Oct