Monday Variety

 Family Matters

The fbbs had the privilege of all their family (two sons, a daughter-in-law and two adult grandsons) staying at fbb mansions for the weekend. By Sunday evening there was a certain aura of weariness on the part of the gruesome twosome. Apologies for a somewhat curtailed blog!

SYT/Mainline Snippet

Things got really crazy as the privatised South Yorkshire Transport. Sensibly the company continued to eat up the competition by buying them out. Then the Competition Authorities started twitching because, they said, SYT operated buses over "a major part of the UK".

This was based on occasional routes to Manchester, Gainsborough, Leeds and the Peak District, the majority of which were infrequent and hardly a major economic force at their extremities.

So SYT was "investigated" with a view to requiring them to divest themselves of some of the acquired companies. While the investigation chuntered on at the pace of a geriatrtic snail in a brown paper bag, SYT was forbidden to make any changes - the absorbed companies were to be operated as they ran on the days of the take-over.

Daft.

The above map shows some of the nonsense, compounded by on-going competition from even more new entrants. Here is the Shiregreen Estate which formed part of the catchment area of the school where fbb taught RE until December 1983.

YELLOW is for "Mainline" branded services. These were "big bus" routes running frequently and often the subject of competition. Note the 47/48 Shiregreen Circular.

There was competition, so SYT added an Eager Beaver route (formerly an "M" route), BLUE on the map. The 45 and 46 penetrated estate roads in an attempt to snaffle passengers before they walked to the 47/8 route and, possibly, a ride with a competitor.

These were powerfully branded "Eager Beavers".

Services in RED were operated by "traditional" South Yorkshire Transport liveried buses.

Which leaves routes in GREEN. These were operated by Sheafline e.g. Service 1 ...

... providing a low-cost operation on routes with less potential for profit.

The map did NOT show any competitive services, obviously - so there was much more running around than the few coloured lines showed on the SYT map.

The latest batch of intruders included South Riding ...

... and Sheffield Omnibus ...

... both of which tended to follow existing SYT and Mainline routes; straight competition and nothing innovative.

It was a mess and would remain so throughout the existence of the privatised company. But slowly things would settle down and, by the time First took over, only Yorkshire Terrier (soon Stagecoach) would be left as a major contender.

It was a mess. It was a battle that nobody won, except perhaps the SYT shareholders who did very well out of the First Bus sale; but ultimately Sheffielders had lost their much loved blue and cream buses ...

... and suffered the arrival of Barbie.

Please note; the above is not intended to be an accurate analysis of the later stages of competition, it merely shows that instability was normality!

Signs Of The Times

And one that seems entirely appropriate!

Peterville Quarry Railway At Night

The family enjoyed a chance to see the recently installed lighting throughout most of the layout. The LEDs behind the low relief buildings are not yet properly "set in place" but the pub shines brightly as night time trains are expected at the well-lit platform.

Photo by No 1 son.

London Bus - But Not Red

These three will be operated by Go Ahead London - but doing what?

Roehampton University lies between the A306 and the Roehampton Golf Course ...

... and brands itself at "London's Campus University". The claim is that everything sits together on one site, unlike many of the capital's academic institutions which can be scattered around many diffuse sites.

The three buses shown above are for a contract run by Go Ahead to bring "commuting students" in to the campus.

So not all  London Buses are red!

This One Is REALLY Big

Allure of the Seas is two inches longer than its sister Oasis of the Seas. But the latest ship in the fleet, currently on sea trials, is bigger again.

The Oasis class is a class of Royal Caribbean International cruise ships. The first two ships in the class, Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas, were delivered respectively in 2009 and 2010 by STX Europe Turku Shipyard, Finland. A third Oasis-class vessel, Harmony of the Seas, was delivered in 2016 built by STX France, and a fourth vessel, Symphony of the Seas, was completed in March 2018. As of August 2021, the fifth Oasis-class ship, Wonder of the Seas, is undergoing trials.

A sixth unnamed ship has also been ordered by the company. The first two ships in the class, Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas, are slightly exceeded in size by the third ship, Harmony of the Seas, while Symphony of the Seas is the world's largest cruise ship. Wonder of the Seas, due to be completed in 2022, is planned to be larger than Symphony of the Seas. As of early 2019, all ships of the class rank as the world's largest passenger ships.

The mind boggles!

Normal Service Will Be Resumed Tomorrow

 Next Underground blog : Tuesday 28th September 

Sunday Variety

Puzzle Picture 1

Which Station? More in a forthcoming blog.

Puzzle Picture 2

What is the SPECIFIC link between this bus and Newcastle United football team. More in a forthcoming blog.

An Offer You Can('t) Refuse

We all love a retail park - so we are told - and the above is the fantastic Rushden Lakes, at Rushden. (It is in Northamptonshire). 

When it opened, everybody and the cat started running buses there to take the crowds of happy shoppers on their weekly retail therapy. They all fizzled out (buses not shoppers!) as most dedicated spenders found it more convenient to go by car.

UNOwho in fetching fuchsia, is bucking the trend with this new Saturday only offering for the University of Northampton.

Why students and staff would want to pay £5/£8 to go all the way to Rushden to buy things they could purchase in Northampton is not at all clear, but such is the lure of a retail park.

But Rushden Lakes has come up with a spiffing wheeze to endorse its "green" credentials. It is very exciting.

Bet you can't wait!

Bewiched is not the TV series (Bewitched with a "t") but a retail coffee emporium ...

... whilst Magazine Heaven is a retail coffee emporium which also sells magazines.

And you would guess that Jamaica Blue ...

... might, possibly, be a coffee emporium which sells coffee.

Sadly the deal only applied to yesterday and fbb has received no reports as to the size of the crowds alighting from the Stagecoach buses and rushing to claim their free bevvy.

Service 50 runs hourly from Bedford ...

... to the delightful Northants town of Horse Market; whilst on Saturdays, a busy shopping day, The X46 from another small town called North Gate ...

... is REDUCED from hourly to every two hours - as is its bosom pall, the X47.

Good, innit?

It is called building back better.

fbb thinks that the free coffee may not be the greatest promotion success that Rushden Lakes hoped for. Maybe the crowd control was not really necessary!

Building Back Better At A Bus Station!

With push button help screens? Sanitising footwash at each stand -

- it's a puddle! Plus superb passenger information.

Bright and cheery ambience.

Hmmm.

Welcome to Aylesbury!

Building Back Better in Bucks?

Almost all of the remaining UK's "underground" bus stations are tatty, grim and unattractive. Meanwhile, in Europe ...

... at Palma.

And it is utterly underground!

Only "town" buses stop on street level.

Country buses, trams and trains are buried under the park.

Pretty Public Transport Pictures

Delaine At Dawn

Dawlish At Dusk

Sections of the new sea wall, now complete with lights and benches.

Guess Who?

... designed the "Mainline" livery for the privatised South Yorkshire Transport?

Hard to believe it, but it was ...

He must have been still in short trousers?

 Next Variety blog : Monday 27th September 

Saturday Variety

SYT Snippet (1)

Most bus watchers are familiar with South Yorkshire PTE experiment with trolleybuses ...

... indeed the experimental vehicle still exists at Sandtoft Museum. It ran on a short section of "overhead" at Doncaster bus depot. The idea was not pursued.

But fbb had never heard of experiments with guided buses. A short section of guide rails was installed round the back of Rotherham depot - a very short section.

A bus was fitted with guide wheels and it was allowed to trundle along. Again the idea was still-born!

Timetable Book - A Profuse Apology

Yesterday, fbb wrote that the last booklet appeared in 1985. This was drivel!  He heard from correspondent John, who as successor to Sophie Mitchell, Miss Bus Guide for Sheffield Transport, was in charge of producing them. The last timetable books were issued in 1989 when a change of staff and a change of policy led eventually to the familiar PTE leaflets.

fbb's defence is that he was otherwise engaged on the Isle of Wight with little time for bus research!

Thanks to John we can admire the cover of the March 1989 timetable book ...

... and also thanks to John, a short paragraph explaining its production.

They had moved on a bit from the John Bull Printing Outfit!

Red All Over : TPO, No!

fbb could find no photographic evidence that Royal Mail railway vehicles, including the Travelling Post Office carriages, ever appeared with red roofs. Some vehicles are pictured with partly red ends, but the red is usually so mucky it is hardly recognisable. The majority are painted black.

So fbb opted for a grey roof and black ends, making the models less toy-like. But, as for the marks on the offside of the staff rest vehicle ...

... Plan "A" was a failure. fbb will report more when (or if) Plan "B" happens. For the time bing, the far side of the coach will remain invisible to any human viewers of the models at Peterville Quarry Station.

Should Peterville instal a mailbag pick-up thingey?

Spots Before The Eyes (1)

Some while back, fbb reported that his telly, produced by L G (Life's Good, telly's rubbish) had developed some bright white spots. Reference to the interwebnet revealed that lenses had fallen off the LEDs in the backlight (whatever that means) and that this was a common fault with LG tellies because they used weak glue.

fbb exchanges much correspondent with the Customer Services people at LG who refused to acknowledge that there was a problem but did generously offer to effect a repair for half price. But fbb would have to pay the full price of ...

£399

... first and then claim the refund. fbb though that even £200 for gluing some little bits of plastic back on was a bit steep. Fortunately there was a video on YouTube explaining how to "Do It Yourself". fbb was too ...

... to try it himself but No 3 son was around for a happy family get together and he agreed to give it a go. He was not all that encouraging. "We can try it, dad," he opined, "Then when we put it back together and it doesn't work, you can buy a new one!"

Basically it was simple (!!!???). You take the back off and remove the speakers ...

... the black bits at the bottom. Then you undo several thousand screws and the screen comes off the front. The screen is the bit where the picture appears. Behind the screen are layers of translucent plastic which diffuse the light ...

... and behind that are the backlight LEDs.

There is a grid of LEDs, each with a clear-as-crystal placcy lens attached. Only some of the lenses were not attached! They had fallen orf!

So take the loose lenses and ...

... glue then back on to the LED mountings ...

... and plug in then switch on.

IT WORKS!

And we only have ten screws left over! 

But nothing rattles, and viewing of ghastly programmes can proceed as required. Cost:- Possibly about 10p for glue of which 1p was actually used plus about one hour of No 3 son's time. Not only did No 3 son provide his time free of charge, but fbb's management skills ("Hold that, dad, AND DON'T LET IT MOVE!!) were also available gratis.

Spots Before The Eyes (2)

Have you heard of a Kraken? Yes it is a Nordic sea monster starring in a well known science fiction novel by John Wyndham.

It is also a popular (?) brand of rum!

A while back, the company had a massive advertising campaign in London. It involved four Borismasters being adorned with lizard like "Krakens", covering quite a lot of the see-out panels this that you could not really see out of from.

They look AWFUL!

One twitterer said that "the children would love them." Give them nightmares, more like - even fbb was a bit scared; but not so scared as he would have been at seeing more Sea Monsters adorning the corridors and passages of Angel Underground station.

And now, unbelievably, they are appearing on First buses in Bristol.

There's one in blue as well!

They look AWFUL!

Surely there will be more grave-spinning from Fearnley and Freeman? Sorry - they aren't in their graves, YET, but this might well despatch them thither!

Did You Know ...

... that John Wyndham (1903 to 1969) was actually called John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris - a bit long to fit on the spine of a book.

Neither did fbb!

 Next Variety blog : Sunday 26th September