Monday Variety

Farewell First's Failure 1

Readers may remember that fbb revealed First's decision to cut and run from its hugely speculative 95a and 95b to Swallownest, Beighton and Crystal Peaks. The service ended on Saturday and Sheffield correspondent David sent fbb pictures of the last three journeys as they arrived at the outer terminus.

In some ways these shots are symptomatic of First's very disappointing attitude to its business generally. Here is the antepenulimate single decker ...

... in First's new, very boring, one-size fits all livery.

The penultimate journey was in the previous corporate standard ...

... looking as uninspiring as it always did. 

The final visitor from Walkley was this.

This was the superb "Sheffield" livery adopted as standard for the City until "the management" changed its corporate mind - yet again - and banished route branding and local liveries to the waste bin of history.

Farewell First's Failure 2
In 1959, the Woodseats to Wadsley Bridge tram route was converted to motorbus and a fleet of Atlanteans was acquired for the job. These were the first such in the city and are seen below lined up at Herries (?) depot all dressed for the 53.

Here are a couple of 42s on the steep Derbyshire Lane on the routes to the south of the city.

In the north, the routes were extended beyond the Wadsley Bridge tram terminus with the 53 serving the edge of the massive Parson Cros estate whilst the 42 ran to a new development at Fox Hill.

For whatever reason, the estate terminus progressively lost a twenty minute route 42 until, in recent times it enjoyed a service 86 every forty minutes ...

... (awful! - it used to be half hourly).

Small buses often sufficed.

There were three infrequent oddities that also served the area.

Then, back in September 2024 came another First Bus rush of blood to the service development head.

A very long standing loop serving Shiregreen (centre right) was un-looped and one half maeandered off to pastures new. The 75 went indirectly to Chapeltown whilst the new 75a ran indirectly to Fox Hill.

Quite who would want to travel from Fox Hill a very long way round to Firth Park is unclear. The route also served Buchanan Road on the Parson Cross estate ...

... a long road never ever served by bus since Sheffield Corporation's very first bus route in 1913!

Needless to say, this loopy development ended last Saturday as well.

It was really good to use a Leeds City livery on the new route, just to confuse the passengers!

But for both developments  (75a, 95a, 95b) there was :-

NO printed publicity

NO printed route map

NO timetable clarity from First

NO house-to-house leaflet delivery in the new area

NO clear posters at major interchanges

But it was ALL ON LINE.

The trouble with "on line" is that it is not a timetable book or leaflet in the hand. Mrs Miggins of Buchanan Road would not be thinking "I wonder if First have started an exciting new bus past my front door?" "Does it go to Firth Park?"

To discover it on line, she would have to know it was there first. Presumably very few people did know, and even fewer cared.

Crackpot management is not helped by a total lack of bus branding and multiple and mysterious liveries - just very poor all round.

So low passenger numbers led to withdrawal after only eight months.

It is worth noting that, even when the 75a ran, the 86 was the ONLY sensible bus to and from Sheffield city centre.

The Skill Of Journalists - Again!

Sounds really impressive; but where in the Transport for Wales area will such a stupedous service operate?

Of course it's drivel. The hack has read "Cardiff Metro" and jumped to conclusions.

The hack has read that the new network will be 105 miles in total by combining all the existing local routes in the city.

The hack has picked up that trains will run every five minutes between Queen Street and Central stations.

The hack has then, out of total ignorance, invented the headline.

The Skill Of Journalists - Again!

When the early railway engineers decided to conquer Chat Moss bog between Manchester and Liverpool, they dumped tons and tons of branches and bracken into the goo which offered a base for running the relatively low weight trains of the day. You could say that the track floated on a bed of straw on top of the squidge.

So where is this floating trains line?

The article is about Ryde Pier and the fact that, after some extensive engineering work, the pier tracks have been re-opened.

Sometimes at a very high tide, part of the track can be inundated, but fbb can assure all readers of this particular article that Ryde Pier has never floated!

Have you noticed that a huge number of these on-line articles report on the incredible? Certainly if Ryde Pier were to float that would be incredible as it is made of a whole heap of cast iron.

Unless the laws of physics have changed recently, iron does not float.

They Used To Be Two Bob

When fbb was nobbut a lad, Airfix aircraft kits were pocket money toys. They were cheap enough to allow a kid to assemble a significant collection and not have to wait for Aunt Flo's annual Birthday offering. 

But like so many former kid's toys, they have now become the prerogative of well-off old men.

fbb spotted this one recently.

It is to a scale of 1:35 - which would be "1" gauge in railway modelling terms, so quite big. It is the HQ "caravan" for Bernard Law, Lord Montogomery ...

... from his North Africa Campaign.

The kit will cost you £58 ...

... but you will need another £13 for Monty and his staff. Then there's the full set of paints ...

... at £11 plus unspecified glue and "sundries" - like brushes, paint thinners and dry cleaning when you spill it all down your best clobber.

Well, fbb would,  for sure!

The model is accurate and exquisite if assembled well (so another fbb failure, then) with a total spend of £92.

And maybe you will want a diorama in which to display it ...

Perhaps railway modelling is not so expensive after all.

National Express Not Excelling

Even fbb's weak knowledge of business finance can see that the line on the graph is going down the pan. Apparently investors don't think much of the sell-off of the group's North American School Bus business.

Selling the business cheaply smacks of financial desperation and undermines business confidence.

So maybe fbb will not add the Group to his non-extensive (non-existent!) investment portfolio.

And there is the ever expanding FlixBus to worry about!

The demountable tank item is postponed until tomorrow.

P.S. Ribble Bus - yesterday fbb wrote about a Bristol VR rebuilt for Carters as an odd looking single deck. He had not found a picture of the Ribble original, registered CBV 9S.

But correspondent David has!

Thanks muchly.

 Next Freight Technology blog : Tues 29 April 

Sunday Variety

Here We Go Again

The fbbs moved to the Isle of Wight in January 1984 and very soon it became apparent that there was much dissatisfaction with the various ferry operators. The main gripe was that crossing the Solent was the most expensive ferry journey in the UK. 

It wasn't! Some of the Scottish ferries were more expensive, mile for mile, and they were run by the Government, deftly hiding behind the CalMac company.

So every few years MPs or local Councillors announce (often at local election time) that they are going to do something about the appalling ferry service to and from the Island.

The game has been played out roughly every five years. And nothing has changed  yet!

Recently there has been a high level round table meeting around round tables with the two Island MPs and the Minister for Boats, Mike Kane (peeping in left on the header photo).

Meanwhile, outside, the locals were, yet again, revolting!

Each of the ferry operators submitted a press-bite, so here is the Wisdom from Wightlink ...

... The Reaction from Red Funnel ...

amd the Homily from Hovertravel.

A special prize is to be awarded by the three MPs to any reader who can provide a list of what the three spokespersons actually suggested by way of improvement to their decaying service.

But there is Good News for Red Funnel. After months of unreliability, short notice cancellations and general incompetence the company has won an award.

Feefo Trusted Service? Trusted to mess up peoples' journeys?

Unbelievable!

Unusual Buses From fbb

Yes, folks it was really manufactured. The company made 11 in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The recipients are duly recorded below.

Nos 1 to 10 were conventionally powered (for their day) with an engine at the front ...

No 11 had a different wheel configuration with an engine at the back that pushed.

One or two illustrations appear on line of a three segment vehicle ...

... but fbb guesses (nay, hopes) they were never let loose on any public roads!

The Neoplan venture is not to be confused with a UK company based in Newport South Wales ...

... which creates hyper-luxury vehicles for transporting wealthy Pop Groups.

Their specification is a bit better than a clapped out Dormobile or two.

Maybe fbb and Mrs should charter one for their next UK holiday?

Looks Familiar?

But not familiar!

It is preserved and appears regularly at rallies. Does a side view help?

It began life as a "normal" Bristol VR with Ribble, and looked something like this.

fbb could not find a picture of the actual vehicle which was registered CBV 9S. 

It then moved to Guide Friday as is pictured below, looking a bit sad, but branded for their Cotswold Tour ...

... where it lost its roof.

Carters had a lid added thus creating the vehicle as existing now; it was re-registered at some stage.

Hopeless Hydrogen Happenings!

Essen and Mulheim

Don't Buy A Hydrogen Car In Austria!

Snippets

Not really anything to do with Public Transport, but in their own way they brought a smile to fbb's face.

The first is the headstone from the grave of that great comedian Roy Hudd.

Roy was a walking encyclopaedia on everything to do with the Music Halls which makes his poster-style stone so so appropriate.

And what a privilege it is to have such excellent planners and safety offices at work in our Local Authorities. To prevent exuberant cyclists from going too fast and mowing down little old ladies ...

... you put chicanes across the pathway cycle route.

Did the planners overlook somethng?

Mr Tubbles Killed It!

The fbbs' previous employer, Jacko by name, was won't to sun himself ON Peterville village when the model railway was outside in the rear appurtenances of fbb mansions.

This tended not to be the best treatment for fbb's carefully modelled church and pub. At 4mm to the foot, Jacko as slightly over scale for the models!

Mr Tubbles has shown little interest in the relocated model railway with just an occasional wander on the baseboard to check the accuracy of fbb's modelling.

But last week he was greatly distressed by one of the new skylight windows due to be installed in the carriage shed.

There it was lying on the fbb carpet having escaped from its packet.

Mt Tubbles was on the job and quickly dealt with the threat to his safety and security.

He killed it!

Cats and model railways are not ideal bedfellows, theoretically and literally!

Isn't Technology Wonderful?

fbb went to the small bakery shop in Seaton yesterday. He bought a loaf, some rolls and a couple of cakes, all baked on the premises. He paid by "tap and go".

When he got home he found the cardholder receipt in the bag.

All those numbers for a bag of buns etc.

Has the world gone mad?

Tomorrow, we meet one of these.

 Next Variety blog : Monday 28th April