EATM End Of Season Gala 2014

For the first time this year I was able to get out of my village on a Sunday and so off to Lowestoft for the annual End Of Season Gala at the East Anglia Transport Museum. That's the good news. The bad news is the camera on my new phone decided to pick this day to lose all itrs sharpness so my apologies for the poor quality pictures - I am currently having a monumental struggle with EE to get something sorted.

So after parking up at Lowestoft Station I waited to see what would come round the corner to take me to the museum. I wasn't disappointed when EATM's own Bristol Lodekka FL6G (formerly B) 557 BNG pulled into the station.

Bristol Lodekka FL6G 557 BNG at Lowestoft Station

I couldn't help thinking as we made our way to the museum that this 52 year old vehicle gave a decidedly better ride quality than most new deckers do. The seats were more comfortable, not a rattle to be heard and it was quieter all round.

So we got to the museum and I was immediately greeted by Sam and Kieran from Norwich Buses. Nice to meet you at long last, Kieran and I look forward to many chats in the future. I also spied Des Speed on traffic duty and went up to have a word with him, while noting E400 33423 had pulled up operating the Park and Ride service. Never one to miss an opportunity to take a pic of this magnificent vehicle I did so, then finally, after ten and a half months of blogging, got my first chat with Chris Speed, Business Manager of First Eastern Counties, who was driving the aforementioned mobile work of art! This was good news. Chris now knows I don't come equipped with horns and pointed ears, and I now know Chris is a really likeable, friendly guy who I look forward immensely to getting to know better even if his art appreciation is a little lacking! I spent a really productive and pleasant hour chatting to Chris while doing a couple of circuits on the P&R, discovered some revelations about his opinions on certain things which I'm not going to reproduce here, and no matter what happened for the rest of the day knew that my journey had been worth it. Good to meet you at long last, Chris.

I know, I know, but she just won't look the same in X1 colours. Note the destination screen which did scroll to say "museum" too!

I then met a gentleman who quite simply is a God in the bus world. Syd Eade has encouraged me from the word go with this blog, and is always prepared to supply pics and words of support when asked and finally we got to meet. He was with his simply amazing Leyland PD2, co-owned by Daniel Peart and Richard Alger, and my only regret of the day is that I didn't get to ride on it as other things took up my time. Syd, we are planning a drink at some point in the near future and I can't wait. Darn it that bus looks good inside and out! Syd kindly sent me a pic of their baby operating a dusk journey which looks better than anything I took on the day so it gives me pleasure to publish it here. Those were the days, Syd!

Syd's Leyland PD2 PBJ 2F looking great with lights on

 Another trip round Lowestoft was called for, this time on London Country RT3125. Beautifully restored I would happily ride on these any day, and judging by the looks we got from those who saw us pass by I'm not the only one. Funniest moment of the day was when two ladies made a dash for a bus stop thinking we were in service - shows not all passengers take notice of what colour the bus is!

RT3125 KXW 234 about to load up. Just wow!

I then spent the afternoon in the company of Roy from East Norfolk Bus Blog, who took delight in revealing the recent page views for bhis blog. Roy, I'm not jealous in the slightest, but it is a goal to aspire to! Also with us for a spot of lunch was Colin White, joint editor of  Eastern Transport Collection Society. A pleasure to meet you, Colin. You can learn so much from people like Colin, who have dedicated their lives to public transport, and the younger enthusiasts would do well to get to know the likes of Colin, who can impart much knowledge, tips and wisdom.

After looking round the museum with Roy, including a long chat with the owner of the newly painted Eastern Counties Leyland National featured in Sunday's News Round Up, where we were joined by Chris Speed which sparked a discussion on how all 4 Eastern Counties liveried buses (the National, Greenway, Bristol and VA479) could meet up for a one off photoshoot, it was time to end what had been a very worthwhile and productive day. I was hoping to go back to Lowestoft on Syd's PD2, but that was swapped for a Midland Red dual purpose Leyland Leopard,which brough back more memories than you can shake a stick at. I used to travel on these machines regularly as a boy going home from school courtesy of Maidstone & District, and very nearly bought one myself 20 odd years ago. That fell through but the ride on this old girl was just brilliant. Unfortunanetly my camera had just about given up the ghost when I took the pic, which is so annoying.

My thanks to EATM for putting on such a great event, and to everyone I met during the day, those I already knew and the people I met for a first time it was a pleasure to see you all, and here's to ShowBus in a couple of weeks.

Midland Red Leyland Leopard GOH 357N at Lowestoft Staion

GA Delays 8/9/14

1/9/14

Points failure at Witham leads to multiple cancellations and delays, including buses bteween Witham/Braintree and Marks Tey/Sudbury

2/9/14

Signal failure at Stratford means morning peak chaotic. These were the cancellations listed as of 0830 with only the 0624 ex Norwich being a train fault so presumably the 1810 ex London will be caped too yet again.

06:24 Norwich to London Liverpool Street due 08:23

08:06 London Liverpool Street to Ipswich due 09:26

08:13 London Liverpool Street to Southend Victoria due 09:14

08:17 London Liverpool Street to Clacton-On-Sea due 09:45

08:20 London Liverpool Street to Shenfield due 09:03

08:30 Chelmsford to London Liverpool Street due 09:11

08:36 London Liverpool Street to Colchester Town due 09:49

09:14 Colchester to Colchester Town due 09:21

10:00 Walton-On-The-Naze to Colchester due 10:52

10:00 Colchester Town to Colchester due 10:07 

Delays mid PM at Chelmsford due to another signal fault 

Track circuit failure at Manea causing delays between Ely and Ipswich

1810 LON - NOR not caped but Class 321 operated

3/9/14

Signal fault at Stowmarket causing delays of 10 mins on main line and cancellations on Bury line

09:35 Colchester Town to London Liverpool Street due 10:43 (due to train fault)

10:00 Ipswich to Peterborough due 11:39

10:44 Cambridge to Ipswich due 12:02

11:50 Peterborough to Ipswich due 13:28 

0920 Ipswich - Cambridge terminated at Stowmarket

PM services severely disrupted due to person hit by train at Forest Gate. Many cancellations and delays of over an hour.

4/9/14

Safety inspection of track between Maryland - Forest Gate means slow runing and 10min delays

1330 Nor - Liv St terminated at Ipswich due to train fault. 1600 return journey caped.

A bus became wedged under a bridgeat Battlebridge closing the Wickford - Soiuthminster branch for several hours

2028 Felixstowe - Ips cancelled due to level crossing barrier probs

5/9/14

1900 Lon - Nor forced to shunt out and back into Ipswich due to a signal fault

1930 Nor - Lon delayed at Stowmarket due to train fault on Class 321's (dragging brakes)

6/9/14

Trespass incident at Wood St means services to and via Chingford delayed, diverted and cancelled for several hours

7/9/14

Signal fault at Witham delays trains by up to 20 mins

Acle bridge has weight restriction placed on it meaning no loco hauled services through Acle to Great Yarnouth for up to 6 weeks

Observers will note that once again the huge majority of delays were the responsibility of Network Rail, although not even they can control bus decapitations or suicides.

Weekly News Round Up 7/9/14

First of all apologies for the lack of posts this week. I had a life for once!! Actually I don't mean that but I did have company down here all the way from Scotland and so my time was dedicated to that, although that didn't stop me dragging her on a gas bus (very impressed, more with the driver than the bus it has to be said) or keeping up to date with what's been going on so here goes.

First

Returning to Ipswich this week were B7tl 32490 and B7rle 66987. No pics yet but hopefully later this week when I get down there. Ex Colchester 66985 has now gone to Rotherham. Scania 65630 has gone to Colchester, and B7rle's 69532/3 have also gone to Essex as reported last week, although 69532 was seen on a Chelmsford route Friday so not quite sure where they have ended up.

The X1 is still full of surprises. Last week it was Olympians, although after chatting to a VIP today at the East Anglia Transport Museum Gala I will be staggered if we ever see another Olympian on the X1 again. This week I was in the right place at the right time to see former X1 Gemini 37572. Having just transferred to Lowestoft from Yarmouth she was back on a Yarmouth route, although as I now understand it there ARE some Lowestoft workings on the route as some of the E400's are based there. Anyway as Lowie Geminis aren't booked to work the route it was still worth noting.

Ex Yarmouth Volvo B9 Gemini 37571 back on the X1 on Friday

Speaking of Ex Yarmouth deckers I saw another one yesterday in Wickham Market - this time Volvo B7tl ALX400 30888. Although still technically on loan to Ipswich it is unusual to see her on anything else but the 66, so it must have made a change for her to have a jaunt out in the country. Bring your own seat cushions though!

30888 posing at Wickham Market on the 64 to Saxmundham

Last week it was reported that 5 Olympians were coming down from Bolton to supplement the Bernard Matthews Contract fleet. I got all excited over that. Well apparently that may not be happening as no one knows about it where it matters - ie management! Watch this space and if I hear anything else I'll let you know. Also I need to make a correction and apology. A couple of weeks ago I was adamant that ex Lowestoft SLF Dart 43489 was going to Braintree and rubbished suggestions it was going to Clacton. I'm delighted to tell you I was completely wrong and it went to Clacton, so my apologies to those I doubted. Still think it will end up at Braintree though.........

Elsewhere

Very little to report this week. Anglian's Rackheath depot closed and the route 53 transferred to Konect, with what we were led to believe were all the Optare Versas too. However two of them appear to have remained, AU11 EPE/F and have been seen on the 87 this week. One of them was doing the P&R at the Transport museum this afternoon with First's iconic 33423 the other. Incidentally I didn't think the poll regarding the repaint of 33423 would be nearly as close as it was, so clearly a 3 line whip went out at First getting people to vote! That's my theory and I'm sticking to it!

Borderbus have announced a new 146 timetable from November. No details have been confirmed but the clever money is on new afternoon journeys currently missing on schooldays as the route has been more successful than expected. That can only be good positive news for the local bus industry as a whole and shows that an original route, albeit covering parts of existing routes, can be more successful than just carbon copying competitor's routes.

Greater Anglia have been victims of yet another horrendous week for Network Rail, although even NR can't be blamed for suicides and bus decapitations. More on that tomorrow.

Blog News

It is a big week on SB&TP so keep checking in. Tomorrow will have the weekly Greater Anglian report, Tuesday the report from the Gala day I attended today at EATM, and Wednesday I have an audience with the boss of one of the region's top operators. All will be revealed on Wednesday but I have a feeling it's going to be a good one.

Wot More Eastern Counties?

Typical isn't it! You wait ages for a bus to be painted into Eastern Counties Post Office red and then two come along in a month. A few weeks ago you'll remember I got all excited about a Leyland National that appeared outside my window having her bottom cleaned at Whincops yard. She looked like this..........

LS274 having seen better days

Today at EATM I didn't recognise her until her owner recognised me and pointed out what I was looking at! What a transformation! She looks amazing, and it is all the work of a couple of blokes who like buses, and to be honest you can't tell the difference between that and the paint job VA479 got at Rotherham. LS274 is hopefully going to ShowBus - mechanical issues permitting, and it would be great to see it together with VA479. Respect guys, you can be really proud of yourselves. Sorry the pic isn't as top quality as it should be. Hope my camera hasn;t given up afetr 3 weeks!

Just Wow! What a transformation to LS274.

 

Greater Anglia Delays 1/9/14

It's actually a bit unfair to call them GA delays as to my knowledge not a single major delay has been down to GA this week. The overunning engineering works have been rightly well documented, and some credit must go to Notwork Rail for holding their hands up and saying it had nothing to do with GA despite an idiot MP saying GA should lose its franchise over it.

Apart from that the signals at Ipswich have been causing problems all week, freight trains have been dropping like flies, blocking lines at Chelmsford, Ingatestone and Stratford. A bridge was struck by a road vehicle at Needhan Market, the swing bridge at Oulton Broad got stuck open on Saturday, crippling the East Suffolk Line, and yesterday signals failed vat Great Yarmouth causing major delays. Sadly there have also been two fatalities, at Romford and Gidea Park which cause no end of delays.

I doubt anyone reading this blog is as breathtakingly ignorant of Railway operations as Douglas Carswell MP but I think it's worth outlining the general rule of thumb for who is responsible for delays on the Railway. Basically if it moves it's down to the operating company, so the trains themselves and passengers while on the train. If it doesn't move it's down to Network Rail (except swing bridges and level crossing barriers which move but are clearly infrastructure).

The best way to compare it is say you have hired a coach. If the road you want to go down is closed is that the fault of the coach company? Of course not, and there are many reasons a road can be closed - roadworks, RTA, unsafe building, someone threatening to jump off a bridge, adverse weather etc. However if the coach breaks down, or the driver doesn't turn up then it's clearly down to the coach company. Well the same applies on the railway. Greater Anglia pay Network Rail to use the tracks. If a train is delayed or cancelled due to reasons down to NR then compensation is paid to GA. If a train fails then the operating company pay a fine. The same applies if the delay is passenger related for whatever reason. There are teams of people whose job it is to work out the cost of delays, and I have seen a 3 min initial delay in SE London snowball into over 1200 mins of knock on delays to other services. Every second does really count!

There is one grey area though - if a passenger sadly dies on a train it is the Operating Company's responsibility and the delay(s) will be down to them. If  passenger gets off the train and jumps under it when leaving the station it is down to Network Rail as the passenger is technically trespassing on the Railway, and Railway security is Network Rail's responsibility.

So, Douglas Carswell and others - next time your train is delayed remember that just as you can't drive a car down a road that isn't open, neither can Greater Anglia operate a train down a track that's closed. Let's hope for a better week this week.

Weekly News Round Up 31/8/14

It has been a funny old week. Normally I save most things for the Sunday round up but most things that have occured this week I have deemed so important I have posted about them on the day, so not too much to report in this round up. However this gives me the opportunity to include things I have been meaning to over the last couple of weeks and forgotten.

Service Changes

Tomorrow being 1st September means the biggest annual service alterations of the year. But to be honest apart from a few timetable tinkerings there isn't too much of real consequence to report. The main changes come over at Anglian and Konect, with the transfer of the 53 to Konect from Anglian, together with the Optare Versas used on the route, and the closure of Rackheath depot. The 57 Town Service to Bishopsgate has been withdrawn, however Sanders have stepped in with a new 157 service. The 86 is being extended to JPH and linking up with the 60 to give a link to Beccles, and a few journeys on the 88 have been altered, including the 1600 from Norwich to Halesworth which I have caught for the last time. The 1555 departure to Bungay, which took a lot of school passengers, and went round the villages has been withdrawn, so those passengers will now cram onto the 1600, which will no longer go the direct route to Halesworth but round everywhere possible increasing journey time by 15 mins, and decreasing comfort by a considerable amount. That smacks of profit over passenger convenience and comfort, though Lord knows why that still surprises and disappoints me.

In Ipswich the 66 will no longer serve Halifax. I believe that is only a temporary move and may be (only my guesswork) because due to the refurb programme Ipswich are short of deckers so need to free a couple up which terminating the 66 at the Station again will do. First take over what was Ipswich Buses service 192 to Adastral Park in Martlesham with the route renamed X66 and H66. That really is about it, except the Sudbury Busway is now open. Yup first time I've heard of it too. Perhaps my friends at Beestons can help me with that one and let me know where and how long it is!

Class 68 at Lowestoft

It has been another heinous week on the railways (more tomorrow) of which absolutely none of it has been Greater Anglia's fault, despite an idiot MP saying they should lose their franchise over it. He obviously realised what an ass he had made of himself and tried to cover it up by defecting to UKIP two days later.

Anyway I digress. On Wednesday one of the new Class 68 locos went on a couple of training runs to Yarmouth and Lowestoft. Unfortuantely my X2was running too lare and I missed it by 3 mins, but Tim Miller was there and took the following pics and video of this extremely eyecatching new locomotive. Thanks, Tim for the time and trouble to send these in.

68009 sitting at Lowestoft

A rather smart looking cab

New Enviro 400

Been meaning to post this for a couple of weeks now. Alexander Dennis have launched the new E400, and my word it looks smart. Let's hope this one doesn't start rattling 5 mins after leaving the factory, but a friend who has driven it tells me there wasn't a rattle on her and she was a dream to drive. Hope for the future then! Can't wait to find one to try out.

The new E400. Mmmmm nice!!

And Finally

I was at Market |Gates on Thursday with Cameron from Yarmouth Bus Page and a convoy of buses approached that called out for capturing for posterity. Well not so much the first bus but the next two without a doubt. Ignore the cry of anguish from someone halfway through! Have a great week everyone.

Oh - while I think of it there had been speculation that withdrawn Olympian 34112 might be making a return. While Cameron and I were round the back of Caister Rd on Thursday we could see 34112 looking rather isolated and forlorn. When I remarked that I thought she was coming back on the road we heard a snort from the other side of the wall - "that's not going back on the road"!! Not worth holding our breath it seems!