Sunday 25th September 2022 Weekend rail travel is booming. Fortunately for the rail industry the post pandemic reduction in five day week commuting has been offset by huge growth in leisure travel especially at weekends. In my experience trains at the weekends are now the busiest of the week. I recall Sir Peter Hendy opining... Continue Reading →
Saturday 24th September 2022 An annual ride on the wonderful West Highland Line is a personal must in my book so having missed a full blown Glasgow to Mallaig journey during the pandemic (I managed one trip as far as Tyndrum) it was good to be back on board on Monday last week. It was... Continue Reading →
Thursday 22nd September 2022 First comes surprise news last night TfL’s Transport Commissioner Andy Byford is quitting after just two years in the job. It’s somewhat ironic his mantra since arriving at TfL’s top job in June 2020 has been the need for long term funding and stability for the organisation yet he’s turned out... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 20th September 2022 Last Thursday was a sad day for Lewes, the county town of East Sussex. The town’s centrally located bus station closed its non existence gates after 68 years of service. Southdown first opened the bus station in March 1954 with the adjacent garage building coming on stream a few months later.... Continue Reading →
Saturday 17th September 2022 It's got the original and best busway you'll find anywhere in Britain. Indeed it's said Runcorn has "the world's first bus rapid transit system". Yet you hardly ever hear it getting a mention these days. Conceived as part of the Runcorn New Town Masterplan in 1955, the 14 mile exclusive road... Continue Reading →
Thursday 15th September 2022 I'm dedicating today's blog to a quite remarkable man I had the privilege to work alongside for over a decade in the early 2000s. Roger Bamber sadly died on Sunday in Brighton’s Royal Sussex County Hospital aged 78. He was the most amazing photographer; one of the most creative perfectionists of... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 13th September 2022 Many thanks to Cartographer-in-Chief Ray Stenning for this superb map. Last Friday saw the "LCBS 50th Anniversary Tour Group (and assorted other adventures)" reunite for some nostalgic bus riding around south west London with the whacky idea (thanks Andrew) of retracing London Transport’s small trolleybus network centred on Kingston which was... Continue Reading →
Saturday 10th September 2022 Another pot pourri of observational miscellany from recent travels. Models Firstly a shout out to Brian Jackson for his well earned retirement as proprietor of Morris Models, the fabulous model shop he's run in Lancing, West Sussex since taking over the business in 2004. Brian has decided it’s time to retire... Continue Reading →
Thursday 8th September 2022 A shorter blog than usual this morning; appropriately about a shortened 4 car Underground train. London Transport Museum has a beautifully restored four car Underground train dating back to 1938 in its Acton based collection which occasionally runs on bookable special trips on the network. The train which was restored in... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 6th September 2022 Spoiler alert: this is it. The island of Barra at the southern end of the Outer Hebrides is famous for its unique beach airport runway where planes are dependent on coastal tides to land and take off but those who like their transport trivia also know the island is famed for... Continue Reading →
Sunday 4th September 2022 The South Downs National Park is blessed with some excellent frequent bus routes criss crossing its extensive area as well as Southern and SWR run railway lines. They make for helpful connections at the start and finish of walks, including the popular South Downs Way. Routes that come immediately to mind... Continue Reading →
Saturday 3rd September 2022 I know; it’s not a mid size town in its own right; not even a small size town come to that. More just a crossroads in Flintshire’s sprawling Deeside conurbation but ‘beggars can’t be choosers’ when it comes to awkward letters in my fortnightly A-to-Z visiting odyssey. The town gained its... Continue Reading →
Thursday 1st September 2022 I left you at the end of Tuesday's blog enjoying a wander around Launceston preparing to take a ride on Cornwall’s other about-to-be-withdrawn-from-this-weekend bus route - the three journeys a day (Monday to Friday) route 235 from Launceston south to Callington. Spoiler alert: I don’t really know if it’s “Britain’s narrowest... Continue Reading →
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