tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77127814004334417652024-02-17T08:48:36.012+00:00Public Transport Of The Plymouth AreaPublic Transport Of The Plymouth Area. Here to give you all the up to date news on all types of public transport in the Plymouth Area.Laurence Mayhewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01619217735699476860noreply@blogger.comBlogger879125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7712781400433441765.post-80912529773308838142016-07-11T23:37:00.001+01:002016-07-12T22:30:07.587+01:00Life begins at 22... <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I suppose you're all due an update, really! Life, unsurprisingly has once again changed quite dramatically for me, and I find myself in a better position than I ever really dreamt of. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">To start with, I'll take you briefly through my thought process as I came towards the end of my studies in Huddersfield, and began to consider the scary prospect of starting full time, permanent employment. The natural progression of course, is to apply to join one of the Big 5's graduate schemes, and indeed, that is what many of my counterparts have selected to do. I was to a certain extent being 'head-hunted' for Go-Ahead's scheme, and was in contact with the (yes, this is a real job!) 'Group Talent Manager'. These schemes are in essence set up to nurture potential talent, giving successful applicants exposure to all parts of the industry and its operations, building knowledge from the ground up, and not particularly presuming prior knowledge, but rather looking for someone who they see potential to mold into what they require. For pretty much these exact reasons, this is what put me off, applying for such a scheme. Without meaning to sound big headed, after studying a specialist course for the past 4 years, and having already had plenty of 'early stage' industry exposure, and knowledge, in particular during my 15 months at Plymouth Citybus, I felt that there was nothing particularly to gain from spending time doing something very similar, all over again. The schemes also do not, in a vast majority of cases, come with a guaranteed job at the end of them, and so my conclusion was that the 2 years spent simply duplicating a lot of what I have already done, could be better spent in a 'real' position, either working my way up, or going straight into the type of position I would have been applying for at the end of a graduate scheme. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Whilst my time at Plymouth Citybus had been fantastic, and was very kindly offered the chance to go back, I was somewhat concerned about becoming stuck in a rut. Whilst I was young and geographically fluid, with no ties to specific areas I thought it best to move on from PCB for the time being and try something different, with new experiences. This I felt would expand my knowledge, open me up to new opportunities, and would mean I wouldn't end up being a career Citybus-man like many in the company have become, with quite a number of employees achieving over 40 years of service. I must admit then, that I was being very picky with who I was applying to, because I was still in such a comfortable position, with several good opportunities already open to me. The only job I actually applied to, was for an Assistant Operations Manager position at the Isle of Wight's Southern Vectis. I was shortlisted for final interview, which I attended in late February, but was unfortunately unsuccessful, against a cohort of many more experienced busman, than I! Realising that I was possibly trying to punch above my weight, I looked to apply to managerial positions slightly lower down in the pecking order. Unfortunately, jobs such as the Service Control Manager, Forward Allocator, and so on, are pretty much exclusively the domain of internal applicants, which ruled me out of these to. It was looking therefore like the only option may be to apply to be a driver, and attempt to work my way through the ranks to managerial level. This I was by no means disheartened by, as it meant I had the luxury of being able to carefully consider and choose who I would really like to work for, and ponder the best company available for opportunity and long term career progression. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />To buy myself some time though, I decided I'd try and indulge myself for the summer ahead. Many of you will of course be aware, that my favorite vehicle type has always been the Bristol VR, upon which I first gathered interest in the industry, on trips into Plymouth from home in Cawsand, and on my daily commute to Devonport High School for Boys. Sadly, 2016 marks the very last year they can be used in normal public service, so I thought it was a bit of a 'now or never' opportunity to try and drive one in service, before 'DDA Day' loomed at the end of the year! Luckily of course, we have Riverlink's stalwart fleet of VRs almost on our doorstep, and so I sent a very speculative letter to Bus Divisional Manager, Jim O'Hara, pleading with him to come and let me have a play with his buses. To my delight, I received a swift reply stating that he'd be very willing to take me on for the summer, and after a brief interview, I was set for the summer. What I didn't expect, was what came next! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Following on from the interview, and after a brief panic when it was discovered the insurers weren't 100% willing to let an under 25 year old onto the policy, Jim e-mailed me ahead of my start date with a new prospect on offer. With his intentions to retire at the end of the 2017 season, the company had begun to have feelers out for a potential replacement for him, and after a discussion with the CEO offered me the chance to be trained up over the preceding year to take over his position when the time came. Jim himself admits this was somewhat tongue in cheek, presuming I'd intend to move on swiftly into one of the multi-national operators, and had no real intention of wanting to play with a small independent bus operator. Evidently, he didn't know me very well at that point! Unsurprisingly to many of you, I absolutely jumped at the chance; for me, this was a position I only ever expected to reach towards the end of my career. For me, it has never been about the money, it's always been about my passion for the industry, and wanting to be in a career I'd really enjoy. Working for an operator such as Riverlink (sorry, I really should start calling it The Dartmouth Steam Railway and River Boat Company seeing as I work for them, but it's such a bloomin mouthful; especially when you're answering the phone!) was almost more than I'd ever dreamed of. Being involved with an operation devoted to being interesting! An operation that's there to be fun, offer something unique and evoke memories of bygone eras, to me, is much more exciting than trying to achieve a 2% growth in patronage from a certain suburb of a metropolitan City (although admittedly, that does excite me as well!). And so of course it was with open arms that I welcomed Jim's offer, and over the past month and a half, I genuinely could not be happier that I'd said yes. At the end of a journey that seemed like it had been turning against me, I have somehow managed to end up in what for me, is possibly one of the best jobs in the whole industry. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Working at a smaller independent had always been my long term goal. Having the freedom to really make your own choices moreso than in one of the larger companies, as well as getting much more hands on with all aspects of the operation, rather than being 'restricted' to one certain role or function, was what I had always strived to work towards. To be in that position so early on in my career I feel is a true honour. My time at the company so far has been truly fantastic. The team not only on the buses, but on the boats and trains as well, are utterly brilliant. They're extremely knowledgable, full of energy (at least after a cup of tea, or two!), and have been very welcoming to me indeed, which I was somewhat surprised about considering that I am the youngest in the bus division by some 40 years! For its size, the company is run extremely professionally, and has evidently been finely honed over many years. And of course, I can't omit the fact that against all odds, I have managed to fulfill a lifelong dream of driving a Bristol VR in public service! I feel incredibly privileged to be among the very last people in the country to be driving a Bristol VR in stage carriage service in 2016, and to have been quite possibly, the very last person to ever be 'trained up' to work on a Bristol VR after 50 glorious years. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So an incredible set of events over the past six months has led me to being in a wonderful position, with a lot more fun to come. No doubt then, there will be more to update you on over the coming months. I'm sure I've made many of you very jealous indeed...<br /><br />PHOTOS OF ME DRIVING COURTESY OF DAVID FURZEY, KAMERON ALLAN, AND WILLIAM SPENCER RESPECTIVELY. </span>Laurence Mayhewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01619217735699476860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7712781400433441765.post-16010711576615640782015-03-24T00:52:00.002+00:002015-03-24T00:55:35.151+00:00'Ops' and Sods <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Another 4 months has flown past in what has been an extremely exciting time to be working at Plymouth Citybus! I'm sure all of you will be well aware of the massive expansion in operating territory that has been undertaken, firstly with the take over of the Liskeard operations of Western Greyhound in December (but doesn't it feel like so much longer ago!?), and more recently, the 75 now stretching deep into North Cornwall after the final bow out of the remaining part of the WGL business.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now as things begin to settle down with reliability nice and high, and passenger loadings on the up, the next big shake up is about to begin, with a major uplift in service for Callington and Liskeard, and all sorts of new journey opportunities re-establishing some long lost links for local communities in Cornwall. Of course this hasn't come at the detriment to the core Plymouth operations, with many changes also planned to once again bolster and widen the Plymouth network, including most notably, the new 4/A into Oreston, Hooe and out to Mount Batten, covering about the last part of the city left without a red bus! Yellow Flash is of course also on the horizon, and Saltash will receive a much improved network from April thanks to the Go Cornwall services passing through, and beginning to be integrated more fully into the network. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So to my experiences over the last few months. Well to come right back to when I last wrote in December, I was with the engineers. I must admit that the guys weren't massively optimistic as the Solos started to flood in, having had some questionable experiences with the type in years gone by; but they've been working wonders behind the scenes to really bring them up to scratch, and are now performing very reliably indeed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This has of course come at a price, and having also spent a couple of weeks in the engineering stores, I've now discovered first hand how much it costs to keep these vehicles in top working order, and 'by 'eck is it a substantial sum! Working in the stores was actually incredibly eye opening in this respect, seeing the sheer quantity of parts and materials passing through, with the money disappearing out exponentially. I can assure you that no expense ever seems to be spared in keeping the fleet on the road, which was fantastic to see. A good storesman is evidently key to the efficient working of the whole company though, and Nigel Britton, aided capably by Darren Preston do an absolutely first class job. They're having to juggle a lot of tasks at once, but by keeping the systems efficient and flowing, as well as having a wealth of knowledge themselves to aid the engineers when they're having problems with their task, and guiding them to the parts they will then require, was quite brilliant to admire. </span><br />
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The working relationship between them makes it even more of a successful partnership, with the storemen acting almost as a mentor, passing on the experiences they've had back when they were on the shop floor. Things like this can so easily be overlooked, and in all honesty, I had scarcely ever even thought about these types of functions existing, but I do now have a great insight into the way it all works. The working atmosphere down with the engineers is brilliant, the banter is top class, and whilst they'll often be scathed when things go wrong, as they're the people often easiest to blame, they really do work wonders! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Another division of the company which is also so easy to forget is the job of the cleaning staff. I only spent a few days working with them, but to this day the impression they left with me is still well imprinted. The motivation and pride that the guys and girls have in this sector of the business is an absolute delight to experience, they really genuinely care wholeheartedly about their work, and work immeasurably hard every single night of the week to produce and clean sparkling fleet ready for service the next morning. It is a herculean task to sweep, mop out, remove litter from, and put through the wash all 150+ vehicles each night, on top of deep cleaning every single member of the fleet at least once a month (taking around 4 hours per vehicle!), but yet somehow, they manage it, and do an amazing job each and every day. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Quite frankly some vehicles get left in an absolutely atrocious state each evening, but you'd never know it boarding the vehicle the next morning. It's an understatement to say I was humbled by the team, they genuinely have to be some of the hardest working people in the depot, very self motivated, and extremely content in their work. Like in all sectors of PCB, the work ethic and relationships between the staff is second to none; I was absolutely shattered by the time I'd finished each evening, having been completely unable to keep pace with the experienced staff, yet they were still energetic and willing to do even more. Utterly brilliant, and possibly the most eye opening experience I've had at PCB so far. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Before moving on to my main role over the last few months, I shall come back again briefly to the core business; driving! In this respect, being at driver at PCB is getting better and better, with a wide variety of opportunities. I have been lucky enough to drive a couple of Go Cornwall Bus duties, and I've enjoyed them no end! It's such a different type of driving to what I've been used to, working in the city moving vast numbers of people with lots of traffic to contend with, to the completely opposite end of the scale, driving small buses around providing lifelines to outlying communities, and dealing more with hedges and wildlife than cars! Obviously this isn't where the money is, but this is where it always feels like the bus is providing its core function to the most noticeable degree. The passengers are brilliant, and genuinely appreciate you simply 'turning up'! But from a purely selfish point of view the driving is oh so much more pleasurable, winding and twisting through leafy lanes and single track roads, squeezing between narrow walls and performing the impossible. This, is where you learn to drive! It's been great getting to know the people from WGL, who have been on a steep learning curve since the change of ownership, but again, they're all great people who obviously have a lot of pride in what they do, and provide sterling service to their regulars!<br /><br />We of course did take the 'Chatterbus' out on it's first outing for a while back in January, to get to know our new customers in Cornwall. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Another really eye opening experience, seeing first hand how we can communicate, learn from, and advise the people that we're there to serve. Events like this seem to do wonders for public perception of the company, and it turned out to be a really positive day with many happy satisfied customers, along with new ideas for us to take back to Milehouse and work on. A great tool which I'm surprised more companies haven't also adopted! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, on to the world of Operations! This for me is where it really started to get exciting, there had of course been many many interesting activities since I'd started, but the Operations Suite is where it really starts to get serious for me. The guys in operations really encompass a myriad of different roles, and certainly have a hard act to manage to juggle so many vital positions all into one. They're staff managers, agony aunts, accident investigators, discipline givers, network planners, safety officers, problem solvers, sickness managers, and a whole host of things in between. They're also not afraid to muck in when the need is there, and you will regularly see them either out driving or down in the control room when extra manpower is needed. Brian, Martyn and John have quite honestly been utterly superb at integrating me into the team, and passing down their vast amounts of knowledge to me as the upstart. I've never had the attitude of a 'know it all' straight out of University who's done all the theory and thinks he's capable of it all, but quite honestly I never realised how much I didn't know about what really goes on behind the scenes, and how to be an effective and respected manager. The trio of men have been brilliant role models to me over the last few months, and I cannot thank them enough for the trust they've shown in me, and for the tremendous quantities of advise they've expelled. These words of wisdom really will stay with me forever, when I hopefully one day will fill similar shoes to theirs. I thought I was pretty well educated on the goings on at a bus company, but until you get behind the scenes and see what really goes on, you are in truth seeing but a tiny part of what builds up to create a functioning company. There are so many cogs turning to deliver a great service to the public day in, day out, and in particular, operations is where a lot of these things you'd never even consider, go on. People management is really the key in this department to conclude in a cohesive and effective end result, and without the first rate work these guys do, none of it would happen. They've got huge pressure on their shoulders, but yet again, the division contains a group of highly skilled, motivated, and experienced individuals who have great character and create a really enjoyable working atmosphere. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There have of course been many other adventures not yet mentioned, but no doubt I will get round to writing about these another time, I won't give you too much of an overload right now! Life continues apace, into what is now amazingly my 9th month at the company already, with many more exciting things still to come, and I'm loving every second of it. It's been a hugely rich experience so far, and this looks set to continue as we delve even deeper into the Milehouse offices. </span>Laurence Mayhewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01619217735699476860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7712781400433441765.post-19075437884160736782014-11-23T00:13:00.000+00:002014-11-23T16:49:52.503+00:00Careers and C regs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Oh dear - evidently I'm not able to balance a career and write a blog! Has it really been 3 1/2 months since I drove a bus on my own for the first time up to The Hoe for the WNPG rally!? Well, apparently so! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The reason I have now all of a sudden found the time and energy for an update is largely due to the fact I am no longer a full time driver! Blimey, how those guys and girls find time to have any social life whatsoever, or indeed, achieve anything else outside work is quite beyond me! Not only is the changing of shifts and work patterns so all over the place as to have very little continuity in life (I cannot function properly without regime!), but also simply having enough energy left over from a mentally strenuous day of driving and dealing with passengers evades me. On the generally singular days you do have off, all I've wanted to do it lounge, relax and recuperate ready for more work the next day; the last thing on my mind is going out, socialising, chasing and photographing buses, or indeed even writing about goings on! Obviously, things would get better over time, but certainly for me, it was pretty much all-consuming! Tremendous fun, almost to the point where it was addictive, but very tiring! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There have been many many highlights, a smattering of which have included driving a bus, in service from Plymouth, across the Torpoint Ferry, along Whitsand Bay, and through my home village of Cawsand, something I really never thought I'd get to do in life. Late night fun in a Mercedes Citaro roaming round all sorts of nooks and crannies in Plymouth on 28Bs, 34s and 29s. Thrashing one of our 'tanking' Scanias across Dartmoor to Okehampton. Or even the more simple pleasures of one of our humble old R reg Dennis Darts, surprisingly some of the nicest vehicles in the fleet, on a 4 hour round trip on the 14 from the Plymouth Science Park at Derriford, through everywhere imaginable inbetween there and Langage in Plympton, and back again! Passengers are of course very memorable to, and they really have the power to make the journey even more memorable, both for good and bad reasons, but they really do make the job even more 'worthwhile' from a driver's point of view. From the 'standard' thank you whilst getting off, to the more heartfelt appreciation of good driving or additional help being given, this is what makes you providing that journey for them that bit more fulfilling. I've found it to be a very rewarding job indeed; by no means an easy one, indeed actually, quite the opposite. What seems like a very simple task, driving a large vehicle along a set route picking people up as you go, can in fact throw up a myriad of different challenges and problems that you need to be responsible enough to react to and take appropriate action. There's a lot of pressure on sometimes, but as afore mentioned, fantastic fun, and very rewarding! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For now though it's on to a totally new world, the engineering department! I've only been in there for 5 days so far, but am learning colossal amounts already. Despite of course working to a common cause, engineering takes on totally different challenges, with totally different ways of thinking, with alternative aims and goals to work to. The wealth of knowledge required by each and every person in there is mindboggling, to keep the fleet in good health, and looking presentable. To have the flexibility to react to developing issues, whilst also carrying out the 'day to day' frequent checking of vehicles is really a big juggling act. How anything ever manages to make it out into service after seeing the sheer amount of work and tender loving care that goes into each and every vehicle is quite amazing! It's by absolutely no means a straightforward task to produce some 150 buses for service each day! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now onto other business! As you will be well aware of by now, I loved Torpoint's inherited C-HJN Leyland Olympians from Essex, with their coach seating, Gardner engine, and ECW bodywork. As you will know from a previous post a few months ago, the remaining vehicles were reduced to just one after C413 HJN was finally sent to the scrapheap. Fearing the worst, I attempted to find out the current position of the sole survivor, C412 HJN. Unfortunately, the news was bad. She had recently been declared SORN (off the road), and was now languishing in a yard having been replaced by a higher capacity Olympian, and was due to be scrapped in the near future. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But thanks to the efforts of Martyn Hearson, the man behind Reliance Bus Works, contact was established with the St Michael's Entertainers Dance Troupe, and they offered the vehicle to me at scrap value, a meer £1'500. How could I possibly turn down the opportunity to own the exact vehicle I'd dreamed about owning for so many years. Indeed, in fact, I wrote on this very blog in 2009 after the somewhat premature excitement as C409 HJN was offered for sale into preservation "My sights are now set on C412 HJN". Apparently, I am a man of my word! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So the deal was done, and she was moved into temporary storage with RBW, some work done on her to get her roadworthy, and then put through MOT. Thankfully, all went to plan, and on Saturday 1st November, myself, and a clan of us from the Plymouth City Transport Preservation Group journeyed to Stoke on Trent to collect her for her new life with me back home in the South West. This year has had so many brilliant moments, so many life goals have been achieved, but I think this might well just top them all! Rounding the corner into RBW, seeing her sitting their eagerly awaiting me in the mid-morning sun, 5 years after saying goodbye, and then the reality hitting me that she was now mine, was utterly incredible, I can't even begin to describe the feeling; but it's not one you get often in life! Starting her up for the first time, with the Gardner erupting into life was totally exhilarating, my first opportunity to drive a 'proper' bus, and it was mine! The one I'd fell in love with all those years ago as a school boy commuting on her to the Cremyll Ferry each morning. But now, I was at the wheel! By far and away, the best vehicle I've ever had the pleasure of driving, although I am naturally bias! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The journey back to Plymouth whilst huge fun, was actually thankfully, very uneventful! C412 drove like she'd never been out of use; just started on the button, caused no drama whatsoever an happily cruised along at 55-60mph all the way back to Plymouth, but would happily be pushed higher. In fact we became so confident with her, we dived off the M5 at Exeter and delved into the back roads all the way through to Plymouth, to really put her through her paces. She accepted the challenge with open arms, and got a proper chance to stretch her legs and do what she does best! Unfortunately, Plymouth then came into view, and the journey was at an end, so rather than head straight into Plympton, we continued son through until we ran out of Plymouth at Tamerton Foliot, where we turned round and headed to Colebrook to meet her new depot mates. Other than having developed a sticky throttle, her reliability had been truly remarkable. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As you can see though, this awful tar-based black paint is really not doing her any favours cosmetically. In contrast, mechanically, she seems better than she was whilst with FDC, and the interior, very much thankfully, having been inhabited by many teenage girls for the last 5 years of her life, for hour upon hour at a time, is also in remarkably good condition. Indeed quite frankly, I'd forgotten how sublimely comfortable the DP seating is on those Olympians! The exact details of her proposed restoration haven't yet been decided, but rest assured that she will be out and about in the very near future. </span><br />
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Laurence Mayhewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01619217735699476860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7712781400433441765.post-68312648314274349952014-08-04T19:51:00.004+01:002014-08-04T19:51:46.207+01:00Return to the region! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hello and welcome back once again to PTOTPA, and to hopefully what will now become fairly regular blogging! For those who don't know, I'm now back in the area full time, and commenced employment with Plymouth Citybus around a month ago now. As part of my Transport and Logistics Management degree, we have the option to do an official year out in industry to boost our degree classification, and of course to gain valuable experience in a real job, applying all the theory we've learnt up until now. Richard Stevens has been very kind in taking me on for the year, and the opportunity laid out in front of me sounds truly fantastic! Unlike what other operators had offered me for the year, PCB has in essence given me the 'freedom of the depot' to work in a whole host of departments throughout the year, rather than just being stuck in one position and told to get on with it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Within my first month I have completed the driver training course, and am now a fully qualified driver ready to go out on the road from tomorrow. It's been an extremely exciting first month, finally fulfilling a lifelong dream of driving a bus on the public highway, and already I've gained huge appreciation for what bus drivers do every day, it's certainly not easy! The sheer amount of forward thinking and planning involved in threading a 40ft vehicle through a busy town, or even a quite suburb is quite remarkable; you can't just react to developing situations like you can in a car; every eventuality must be anticipated to avoid any mishaps! It's also of course far more than just the driving, and indeed understandably, the new recruits are made very aware that this is becoming more and more of a customer service industry, not just a tool for movement. So on top of driving, all new driving employees go through extensive customer service training and disability awareness, as well as other essentials for the job such as ticket machine training (absolutely mindboggling!), and of course, route learning! Learning some 30 routes before being let loose in service is no mean feat. Luckily of course I'm at a huge advantage having ridden on a majority of Plymouth's routes more times than I care to think, but for people new to Plymouth, or even native Plymothians, remembering that quantity is certainly a test. Thankfully all new drivers are sent out with a mentor for their first week of driving which is a chance to re-cap quite a few of the routes to hopefully avoid any errors when they're sent out alone. The driver training team I have to say are absolutely excellent at what they do, all very passionate and enthusiastic individuals (practically all of which have come out of the services!) who really identify issues and mould their teaching around individual's needs. After my 'mentor week' this week I go solo in service on Tuesday 12th which happens to co-inside with the British National Firework Championships, and I'm on a late shift! That's certainly going to be a baptism of fire! I'll then be out in service for the next 2-3 months to gain a decent appreciation for the job before moving on into other sectors of the business including operations, commercial, engineering, and schedualling, as well as others on top of that no doubt. An incredibly exciting year ahead! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My first solo drive though came yesterday when I was allowed behind the wheel of 'Red Flash' Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 WF63 LYR to take her up to the Hoe for WNPG's annual Plymouth Rally. Another brilliant day, helped very much by good weather! With kind permission of Richard Smith, here I am (that feels strange to say, I'm normally the one behind the camera!) departing the rally to head back to Milehouse. (Top photo with thanks to Kameron Allan)</span>Laurence Mayhewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01619217735699476860noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7712781400433441765.post-4460098809346094282014-05-10T19:46:00.001+01:002014-05-12T19:53:25.749+01:00C-ent to the scrapheap<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As I'm sure you're all already well aware, the Eastern National Leyland Olympians that graced the streets of Torpoint in the latter half of the 2000s are a batch of vehicles I have a large soft spot for, despite them forcing the withdrawal of the last of the Bristol VRs. In fairness, we could have asked for nothing better than the coach seated, Gardner engined beasts that were C409, 412, 413 and 417 HJN. Two of the four managed to escape into another life after withdrawal from Torpoint depot during 2008 and 2009 to join Dance Troupes in Crewe and Manchester, but unfortunately, five years down the line, the living examples have now been reduced to just one. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">C413 HJN was the one that went to Manchester with The Sherenades Dance Troupe, replacing their Ex-East Yorkshire Bristol VR WKH 525X. The livery was never hugely modified from her days with First, with merely some black paint applied to cover up the pink areas of the Barbie livery. She worked with them for the successive 4-5 years after she left First in 2009, but now, after 28 years of constant use, she's finally been sent to the cutter's torch in the infamous town of Barnsley, where so many vehicles go to die. She's certainly lived a varied life though, having been bought new by Eastern National to operate from their Silver End depot on route 53 linking the major towns of Chelmsford and Colchester of which the former has now become a City. She then progressed onto other local routes around various locations within Essex, loved and cherished by the Essex depots she worked at, before then heading for 'retirement' in Cornwall in 2005. She's put in some sterling years of service, with passengers always genuinely impressed by the comfort of her DP seating, even in her latter years. The Gardner 6LXB and ECW bodywork have also of course played a big part in her longevity, and no doubt she has proved to be a very suitable vehicle for the long distance conveying of dancers to competitions across the country. Unfortunately, the bell has been rung for the last time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This of course now leaves C412 HJN as the final Leyland left to have worked at Torpoint, so naturally I reached for the DVLA (surely it should be DVSA by now!?) Vehicle Enquiry tool to see if I could gather anything about her current state. Unfortunately it's not looking too good for her either, with 412 currently declared as SORN. I hope to bring you more news on her as I acquire it, but I'd really like to see her saved for the future. 412 again as I'm sure you know was always my favorite during her time at Torpoint, and now that she is the only survivor, she has become even more important. We shall see what her current owners plans our, and then react from there! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Photo of C413 HJN in Parton's Barnsley Scrapyard comes courtesy of Mark Kirk, with many thanks from me for allowing the sharing of it on PTOTPA. </span>Laurence Mayhewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01619217735699476860noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7712781400433441765.post-83419603941003884262014-02-04T21:29:00.000+00:002014-02-04T21:29:20.444+00:00A - return to the road! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Some very pleasing news to report tonight that A-Line Coaches only coach, classic Van Hool bodied Volvo B10M A182 MNE is to return to the road later this year! The Ex-Smiths Happiways vehicle has been off the road for around 2 years now, since Volvo Olympian M698 HPF took over her duty as the dedicated school bus for the Torpoint School Contract, with the capacity having been increased in the contract. A182 was hence laid up and SORNed, and has been sitting in a rather sorry state in the corner of the depot since her withdrawal. It has now been announced though that she is going to be prepped for a new MOT come May, with a new air compressor on order, and a general tidy up to ensue. This will mean that she will be back in service for her 30th year since she was first registered in March of 1984, although of course, not quite early enough to be able to celebrate her 30th birthday. Will certainly be great to have her back on the road though, as is evident from the photograph above, she really doesn't look her age, and neither does she act it. Very strong and dependable; sounds great to! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Snap on Sunday this week comes to you from glorious Penzance with a couple of increasingly rare types in this day in age. First up are two of First Kernow's surviving Varios (are these the only two now?), S526 RWP and S554 RWP. The Mercedes minibus continues to decline ever further in a majority of the UK, but Cornwall is most definitely the exception, with numbers in use still very high. It's hard to argue that anything is more suitable for the narrow twisting lanes of the county, and with the price of the smallest of Optare Solos still being relatively high it's understandable that many operators are keeping their Mercs going for as long as possible. Come the end of the year though, buses under 7.5tonnes will be required to meet DDA unless they have a suitable wheelchair lift, or are COIFed at 22 seats or under. It is quite possible therefore that some operators may choose to decrease the capacity of their Mercedes on their lightly used routes, so that these can continue to operate. It almost seems the wrong way round when you consider the smallest of buses are having to be withdrawn first under DDA, with the deckers going last (excluding coaches). Although of course the double deckers have a higher initial value, the deckers are far more likely to pay their way, with them most often being used on routes which have high ridership. I know this is somewhat of a generalisation, but the principle stands. The mini/midi buses however are there for the routes of generally low patronage, and therefore profit margins are lower; again, this stands to reason. So the number of years it takes for them to pay for themselves in general is likely to be higher than that of a decker. It therefore seems pretty unfair on these small operators in such places as Cornwall who struggle to turn a profit as it is, to then have to be the first to get rid of what could be seen as perfectly useable and reliable vehicles, before that of the larger companies running deckers, reaping in the cash. Food for thought maybe! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Anyway, talking of deckers, amazingly, the K-LAE duo are STILL at work in Cornwall. A stop gap they appear to no longer be, and K615 and K629 LAE continue to ply their trade throughout the county. Unfortunately I really wasn't expecting to see K615 thrash out of Penzance Bus Station, and hence the shot is fairly poor - but better than nothing I thought! </span>Laurence Mayhewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01619217735699476860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7712781400433441765.post-3632542671325287282014-01-03T22:25:00.002+00:002014-01-03T22:32:26.738+00:00A passenger's perspective on (most) of the new Plymouth services <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">With an afternoon spare earlier this week I decided to pop into Plymouth to sample some of the new offerings within the city, taking advantage of the new 'Skipper' ticket. For those of you that haven't heard about this, there has (at last!) been a new multi-operator ticket introduced for Plymouth, covering all operators including First, PCB, Western Greyhound, Target Travel and Jackett's Coaches; I just wish it had been introduced earlier, could have saved me untold amounts of money over the years! At a reasonable £4 it's a fair amount cheaper than buying the two main operators day tickets, and of course has the added advantage of including the 'deeper' urban routes which may encourage some extra patronage on these. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Anyway on with my short review! I must point out that these are purely observational and are by no means an accurate representation of how the routes are doing as a whole. This is exacerbated by the fact that this was during a period many people were still off work, with possibly slightly more people than normal journeying into the city centre off peak for the January sales, so take these with a pinch of salt! The first route I had a go on was First's 83, with the '12 reg Enviros now the norm on this route in response to Plymouth Citybus' Blue Flash. The service had pretty reasonable loadings considering this was a morning outbound trip, but there was certainly several that decided to hang on for the Blue Flash, and even a few passengers that tried to get on the First service before being told they had a Plymouth Citybus ticket! Undoubtedly these were the people that just got on whatever came along first. First offer double the number of journeys during the day, as well as operating slightly earlier, and substantially later than Plymouth Citybus' Blue Flash, with First's services running either 5 minutes in front or 5 minutes behind (or 10 minutes in front) of PCB's. Heading back I journeyed with PCB and again, loadings were fairly good, they certainly appear to be steadily picking up, and talking to the driver, things are looking encouraging. A couple of my relatives recently traveled on the Blue Flash initially unaware of this new service, but were certainly very impressed with the quality of vehicle, with him describing it to me as "The Pullman buses"! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I then headed for Torpoint; a corridor I've grown to know very well over the years. Right from the off I was surprised that Plymouth Citybus were risking this route, as there are most definitely extra operational challenges with operating across to Torpoint, along with the very loyal passengers that First have been carrying for many years. PCB was met with quite a frosty reception from Torpoint from the off, as the introduction of the 32 timed in with one of the three ferries being away for refit - reducing capacity substantially during this period. This meant that often, two First services would end up on the same ferry because the ferry can't sustain the normal timetable with 2 ferries, and with a 3rd bus chucked in as well in bright red, people were quick to criticise them, particularly seeing as all three would still be receiving priority boarding. Quite obviously, there isn't the demand to fill 3 double deckers, with some 265 seats on offer, and hence the public seeing 3 deckers with low load factors travelling together was understandably frustrating. On the few trips I have now done, several months into the 32's operation, loadings are still very poor. On a number I have been the only person aboard the vehicle for most of the journey, although inbound morning journeys do collect a number of passengers whilst going through Stoke; an area no longer served by First. As afore mentioned, Torpoint's residents are a loyal bunch, with them having built up strong relationships with the drivers at Torpoint over many years. Having their own local depot, with only around 20 drivers allocated to service has meant the drivers have got to know their passengers well, with many of them having worked out of the depot for a substantial amount of time. This has meant that they haven't wanted to let them down when it matters, and indeed, very few appear to have made the switch. I'd presume Plymouth Citybus are now holding out until the tender for the Torpoint stage carriage and school work comes up for renewal in the very near future, where they may be able to get a decent foothold from which to build on, but for now, First certainly appear to be ruling the roost. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Purple 6 was the next route I sampled, aboard one of the shoddily branded Ex-Tavylinx Volvo B6BLEs. Loadings seemed fairly good, but as has been commented, they need to be good to even have a chance of breaking even. Running at £1 per person means the load factor has to be high for them to even start to make a profit, and although there were around 15 other people joining me on both the inbound and outbound journeys, these loadings would need to be consistent on every trip. It's a brave effort, and it certainly hasn't been a total flop, but neither has it completely decimated the competition like First were quite possibly hoping. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The surprise of the day was actually service 3A though, the new extension of the 3 through West Park, Honicknowle and Peverell. I boarded on a mid afternoon trip at around 1530-1600 expecting loadings to be very light at that time of the day, on a route I presumed would have been quiet anyway, but I was pleasantly surprised by the numbers using the service. Few boarded through West Park, but once into Honicknowle fairly substantial numbers boarded the service, many of which were paying cash fares, with actually very very few being OAPs. By the time we'd gone through Peverell the Dart was carrying a good load of around 25 passengers which I certainly thought was very good for the time of day and direction of travel. This may have been an anomaly as I have only done one trip on the 3A, but if other journeys are carrying in the same vein as this one, then First appear to have made a really good decision pulling out of Barne Barton; an area which had really dried up for them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Some photos come, courtesy of Kameron Allan at <a href="http://www.swtransportnews.blogspot.com/">www.swtransportnews.blogspot.com</a>, with many thanks from me. </span>Laurence Mayhewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01619217735699476860noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7712781400433441765.post-40479299005954183412013-12-29T23:59:00.001+00:002013-12-30T01:06:06.307+00:00Snap on Sunday<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A couple of Snap on Sunday's this week, depicting something interesting but unfortunately of fairly poor quality, and another, quite mundane, but pleasing to the eye! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Firstly, the interesting, with the rare occasion of a Volvo Olympian nonetheless operating on the PR2 on Friday afternoon. As Plymothian Transit reported recently, there has been widespread displeasure with First after moving the '12 plate Enviro 400s off the Park and Ride services, and onto the Tavistock routes, leading to a variety of older Dennis Tridents replacing them on the Park and Rides. It was interesting to hear of the Council's reaction to this, but later did seem very ironic that they themselves appeared to be making the 'commercial' decision of introducing parking charges to the Park and Ride sites. A gesture of spite towards FDC? Who knows; but since this story was published I've heard no more of it, so perhaps they came to their sense before it was too late! Anyway back to the bus, and P568 EFL had the honour of appearing likely due to the severe congestion experienced on Exeter Street on Friday afternoon, with her coming in to try and restore a frequent service. That, or perhaps an Ex-London Trident failed; also a likely explanation! Unfortunately a poor point and grab shot with no time to set the camera up properly for the photo; it certainly took me by surprise, but thought I better at least get a record shot! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now onto the better quality shot, and to a subject I actually very rarely include in the blog. The photo here depicts Plym II as she plods her way across the Tamar on the 1300 departure from Devonport to Torpoint in the low winter sun; the dockyard buildings providing a satisfying backdrop. </span>Laurence Mayhewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01619217735699476860noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7712781400433441765.post-44832276757917942762013-12-24T00:42:00.000+00:002013-12-24T01:22:12.756+00:00Multiple Mercs! <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hello and welcome back once again to PTOTPA whilst I'm back in the South West for the Christmas period. Unfortunately (and unusually for us students!) the Christmas break has started very late, with myself only managing to get back to the region just in time for the festivities; late on December 21st. Thank god I did manage to get all the travelling done on the Saturday though, as no doubt I would have come across far more problems if I'd left it any later! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A quick update then; University continues apace, with this year already being far, far more intense that my first year. Weekends seem to nearly purely now be filled with endless hours spent in the library with my head buried in books, or my fingers blurring away on a keyboard to keep up with the pressures of University life. Even in my final week before Christmas I'd handed in a 6'000 word report for the Managerial and Enterprise Skills module, along with another 17 pages of Logistics Planning Techniques and Applications (in essence, using many complicated algorithms and computer software to come up with logistics solutions). Other activities have included coming up with a 50 page tender response to a 'fake' manufacturer of personal care products, with us having to come up with a total logistics solution. This included everything from working out every single route for every single delivery the company needed to make, working out fuel, tax, depreciation, maintenance costs, right through to coming up with health and safety policies, KPIs, and even lorry liveries (any resemblance to a well known bus operator's livery is purely a coincidence; along with the company name ;-) ). It's certainly very interesting, but my days is it all time consuming and hence bus spotting is unfortunately being cut to a minimum. Thankfully we're having a small reprieve over the Christmas holidays from work, so the camera is ready and primed to get out and capture all the exciting stuff I've missed in the area over the past few months! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So to kick us off, a photo of a sight which is becoming increasingly rare as DDA looms ever closer. In just over a year's time, a scene like this will be just a memory; a trio of A-Line Coaches Mercedes minibuses lined up for battle! Reliable and dependable workhorses soon to be lost from the bus industry. Somewhat oddly, two of these are Ex-First vehicles, and the other, Ex-Plymouth Citybus; an unlikely group of stablemates! </span></div>
Laurence Mayhewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01619217735699476860noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7712781400433441765.post-968172455915209382013-09-24T19:26:00.000+01:002013-09-24T19:27:56.704+01:00Coaches through Cornwall <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Cornwall has recently seen an influx of Ex- First Rail Air coaches from Reading, introduced to the region for college work for the longer routes, in particular the Callington route. Cornwall currently seems to be suffering vehicle wise, with native coaches quite regularly appearing on stage carriage work, surprisingly most often on prime route 14/18 from Truro through to Camborne and Penzance/St Ives. Indeed, YV03 UBB appeared out in service on the X18 on the day I visited, with no blind visible at all, not even a paper destination, and also with no ticket machine fitted. It seemed possible therefore that this was only a temporary cover, but it did precede to work the service all day, taking no fares whatsoever! I later found WSV 408 out on the 18, although unfortunately a photo wasn't able to be grasped! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The use of these two coaches was even more surprising when I later found Volvo B7RLE MX56 AEN on the 27 from Truro to St Austell and Par! In fairness to First, this is the first time I've ever seen one of the B7s off route in the 6 years I've been spotting down there! Usually the depots are very good at indeed allocating them onto the correct route. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A video of WSV 408 operating in servicecan be found below: <iframe width="400" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/GSxIAwUHIm4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></span>Laurence Mayhewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01619217735699476860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7712781400433441765.post-25812247505540169852013-09-22T13:06:00.000+01:002013-09-22T13:06:06.716+01:00Snap on Sunday <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Unfortunately my time in the South West has come to an end for now, although a couple of extra posts are in the pipeline for the next week, and no doubt odd bits of news may crop up from time to time as they did before. It's a shame I'm going to be missing out on so many interesting developments over the coming month within Plymouth and the surrounding area, I very much look forward to Christmas when I can come and see it all in the flesh. No doubt Graham Richardson's capable hands over at Plymothian Transit will keep you well updated as things progress. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For now I shall leave you with one of my favorite spots in the region; that of St Ives Malakoff, with one of the stalwart Volvo B10M Citybus' still hard at work on the glorious 300 service. Well worth a trip if you get a chance before the end of the month, before these are put away for the winter once more! </span>Laurence Mayhewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01619217735699476860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7712781400433441765.post-24177288850176074982013-09-15T21:21:00.001+01:002013-09-15T21:21:23.874+01:00Snap on Sunday <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Tuesday produced the unusual event of a Western Greyhound vehicle winding its way through Torpoint, a scene that has become a rarity since April of 2012 when the Torpoint to Liskeard route passed to A-Line Coaches. Vario WK02 SUN is seen here working what I thought would have been a 572 which is the usual Vario route from Plymouth, although appears to be blinded up for a 593 to Plymouth, despite heading the opposite direction into Cornwall. WGL were diverted through Torpoint due to an RTA on the A38, forcing all of the Tamar Bridge traffic to go across the Torpoint Ferry instead, and hence as can be seen from the photo, the queues were huge, eventually leading right out of Torpoint. </span>Laurence Mayhewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01619217735699476860noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7712781400433441765.post-53945732826226582802013-09-11T22:16:00.000+01:002013-09-11T22:16:11.196+01:00President for the Peninsula <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Torpoint Depot has recently gained a new addition to the ranks of vehicles that are able to operate across the ferry, this being the first Plaxton President Dennis Trident to be converted for use, LR02 LYP. My belief had always been that the fuel tank was mounted too low on the Presidents for them to be able to negotiate the ferry ramp, but evidently this isn't the case, or at least, it has been found this is no issue. We would usually expect to find the front/rear cut away to give added ground clearance, but this hasn't been the case with 33172 which has only had the suspension modified to include a ferry lift. It seemed an interesting choice to me though that the first President to be modified is the one in the new livery, with possible overtones that this may be for added capacity come the time Plymouth Citybus introduce their services to Torpoint. I can only speculate of course, as we still wait for First's official announcement on their game plan. From what I hear though, extra Presidents will, or already have been fitted with ferry lifts, so expect to see them become more common on the Torpoint routes in the near future. The drivers certainly seem impressed with LYP's performance, although I have to admit, these are far from my favorite buses on offer. </span>Laurence Mayhewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01619217735699476860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7712781400433441765.post-52190322210054159472013-09-08T22:01:00.001+01:002013-09-08T22:03:01.232+01:00Snap on Sunday <span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This week's SoS is a few more photos taken up at the idyllic bus photography spot in Barne Barton. I've been worried that the recent development works in the area would mean that the great backdrop from this corner in Barne Barton would disappear forever, but thankfully, the gap in the houses is still sufficient to be able to get some really good photos. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>Laurence Mayhewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01619217735699476860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7712781400433441765.post-3006831223070558232013-09-07T00:08:00.000+01:002013-09-07T00:08:00.160+01:00Red Flash looking flashy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Monday marked the start of Plymouth Citybus' new network of premium routes with the introduction of 4 ADL E40Ds to the established 21/A linking Plympton in the East with Barne Barton in the West. The vehicles certainly look very smart indeed in the new 'Red Flash' branding, with the simple yet stylish livery creating a very good impression. Unfortunately as several photographers seemed to have found out already, including myself, the darker red bands are very difficult to photograph clearly, but in the flesh, compliment the design very nicely indeed. The trend of ever decreasing fleet number size continues though, with the rear one actually being quite difficult to find unless you know where to look for it! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The E40Ds are certainly very pleasing vehicles to ride on, even from an enthusiast's point of view. Usually I'm not a huge fan of the Enviro, particularly the more recent incarnations but these are surprisingly pleasing to the ear which I certainly wasn't expecting. The somewhat jerky gearbox previously found in the Enviro has also been modified, and the changes are now far smoother. The interior itself though I found to be really quite dark, even on the upper deck, largely due to the grey rood and side panels, as well as the grey of the leather seating which in all honesty I didn't find particularly inviting. The layout though is certainly very nice, with plenty more seating than what is currently found on the Ex-London Volvo B7TLs, as well as much more space set aside for pushchairs. This is a feature we seem to be seeing increasingly in the modern bus, as parents continue to discover the benefits of not having to unpack and fold down the pushchairs to fit into the car. It seems slightly ironic though that the people occupying all this extra space don't actually pay! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My one criticism of the 'Red Flash' is actually the red itself. My thinking would be that considering people in the areas the 21/A covers are already used to red buses from Plymouth Citybus, they aren't standing out as much as they could, or indeed should do considering the sheer amount of investment put in to these high spec brand new vehicles. Should red have in fact been reserved for one of the new routes where the impact would be fully felt, freeing up another colour for the 21/A, for example blue, which would stand out from the crowd, and hopefully attract the attention of non-users to the fact that the local companies has just invested many hundreds of thousands of pounds, and that they'd like to have a go. Most non-bus users I would doubt will really take a huge amount of notice of the branding "It's just another red bus". On the other hand though, are PCB keeping it red in this area for familiarity, so the people don't end up letting the vehicles go by thinking that they're being operated by another company. Although we all too often see passengers completely ignore the colour, route number and destination of a bus they put their hand out for, undoubtedly some of the more savvy users may be wary of a strangely coloured bus heading towards them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The next four operating on 'Blue Flash' service 12 will shortly commence service on the new route to Tavistock. </span>Laurence Mayhewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01619217735699476860noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7712781400433441765.post-40720175668749614302013-09-06T22:59:00.001+01:002013-09-06T22:59:16.741+01:00Patched up PUI <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Following on from the Snap on Sunday last week, the bus featured, PUI 6627 was unfortunately broken into whilst parked at it's overnight location one evening a couple of weeks ago. The handbrake was subsequently let off by the offender, and the bus careered down the hill and somewhat thankfully hit a tree rather than rolling into the road. This caused severe damage to various front body panels and the blind box, but luckily this was mostly cosmetic damage. Replacement body parts were sourced from one of Target Travel's withdrawn T reg Varios, and although in a somewhat sorry state, she is now back on the road. During this period no spare buses were available, so it was a case of make do and mend as quickly as possible to make sure service was maintained. A sterling effort by all involved, particularly under the circumstances. </span><br />
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Laurence Mayhewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01619217735699476860noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7712781400433441765.post-5211186636671013422013-09-01T22:29:00.003+01:002013-09-01T22:29:44.395+01:00Snap on Sunday <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This week's Snap on Sunday comes from South East Cornwall on A-Line Coaches service 80, on which there are many lovely scenic photo opportunities available. This particular one is taken right at the top of Lower Anderton Road just before the junction to turn to Cremyll, with the backdrop of Insworke and Foss Quay. The relaxed atmosphere of the route is embodied in this instance by the driver pausing on his break to feed the horses which belong to the farm by which L813 SAE (PUI 6627) is parked. Nothing like a good rural Cornish bus route for harking back to old times! </span><br />
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Laurence Mayhewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01619217735699476860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7712781400433441765.post-54264505742247327602013-08-27T01:11:00.000+01:002013-08-27T01:26:15.198+01:00Going for Gold! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Stagecoach now seem to be well prepared for the launch of their new Gold services, linking the English Riviera with Plymouth and Dartmouth. With many thanks to Nathan Bentham I can bring you these exclusive photos of 3 of the 9 Scania N230UDs that are currently in Plaxton's holding yard in Leyland awaiting registration onto '63' plate, and then delivery. The fleet numbers are believed to be 15924 through to 15932. As we now expect from Stagecoach Gold the vehicles look very impressive indeed, and are certainly a huge step up from First's flimsy seated Ex-Bath Park and Ride Tridents. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The timetable is certainly an interesting read though, with service timings not necessarily what I was expecting to see. I have to admit to thinking that Stagecoach would opt for a classic tactic, timing their services 5-10 minutes ahead of the competing First routes in order to cream off the passengers, using the tactic of getting people on the first bus that turns up, but no! Instead, Stagecoach have been very sensible with their service timings, slotting the service right in between the X80 and X81 between Torquay and Totnes, the busiest part of the corridor, and then 15 minutes ahead of each from Plymouth and Dartmouth respectively. This seems interesting. Although this will be the ideal situation for Concessionary Pass users, offering a more frequent service to them, I would doubt this would attract normal fare paying passengers. Certainly on trips I've done on the routes, a high proportion of the users do use Concessionary passes, but still, running 5 minutes ahead will still mean they get more of them, rather than hoping that they will be sitting around a fair amount of time before the normal offering leaves. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Stagecoach's Gold certainly appears to offer a more usable service though, with services starting earlier, and finishing later in the locations that I would presume matter most, in what I'd presume would be the directions that would potentially see the largest demand. Indeed from Plymouth, Stagecoach run 2 1/2 hours later into the evening than First do - a huge leap. But of course, this is vice versa on the Torquay end, where Stagecoach's last service departs 2hours 45 minutes earlier than First's final service. Of course I haven't got any figures infront of me, and this is purely speculative, but I would guess there is a bigger shift in the morning towards Plymouth, and hence, a larger move outbound from Plymouth in the evening, and hence the opposite would be seen further up the route. Then again, Totnes passengers I would presume generally head West to Paignton and Torquay rather than to Plymouth and Dartmouth, so both companies likely have their own advantages. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Another interesting thing to discover was that Stagecoach have added in an extra stop on Royal Parade, departing from the already busy A11 outside Poundland. With 12 minutes layover, this could be interesting, even if they do wait time in the now reduced amount of space available outside the Theatre Royal. Although there is of course added convenience with a stop on Royal Parade, it will be 8 minutes before passengers actually depart the City Centre, as Stagecoach will also drop down to serve Bretonside before heading off towards the A38. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Very interesting times ahead on the route though, and I look forward to seeing how passengers will react to Stagecoach's very impressive new routes. </span>Laurence Mayhewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01619217735699476860noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7712781400433441765.post-25892537860067495532013-08-25T22:29:00.000+01:002013-08-25T22:29:01.955+01:00Snap on Sunday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's not often I actually seem to post about the local rail scene in and around the Plymouth area, but what better way to make a return to it than with this glorious locomotive. This is the stunning looking Class 50, 50017, better known as Royal Oak, meandering her way along the Plym Valley Railway yesterday afternoon in all her Network South East glory. 50017 spent a fair amount of time down in the South West during her working life, so it's lovely to see her working hard in the region once more. The Class 50 is a type I have a great admiration for; there's just something about that little face, and of course, the biblical sound of the 2'700 horsepower English Electric 16 CSVT. Absolute credit to all who've been involved in her restoration. </span>Laurence Mayhewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01619217735699476860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7712781400433441765.post-62552757229767897882013-08-23T01:04:00.002+01:002018-02-08T23:26:01.668+00:00GOD-dard: A small tribute to a great man<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It is with deep regret that I report on the passing away of a man I held in the highest regard. Jim Goddard of A-Line Coaches, and indeed, Jim's Taxis prior to this, unfortunately passed away on Wednesday, just a matter of hours after completing his final duty on Service 80 the evening before. As I'm sure many of you realise, with the regular postings on the company over the years, A-Line held a special place in my heart, and indeed, that's all down to the wonderful man behind it all. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I've got some quite early memories of Jim, soon after starting school at Fourlanesend Primary. The school being right at the top of a steep hill meant that on wet days, the walk wasn't particularly inviting, and even on a good day, the steepness wasn't kind to 5 year old legs, so more than often, Mum and I would hop aboard 'Jim's Bus' and journey to Fourlanesend. The way he looked after us on there was quite unforgettable and indeed, completely selfless. Not only would he get out of the bus and help us cross the road, not only would he let all the kids have a toot on the horn as they got off, but every Easter and Christmas he would always buy chocolate for all the regular kids. What a fantastic impression he gave of the industry. It's the small things you remember, such as on the old 270, where there was always extra time built into the timetable at St John to allow him to park up, pop into his house for a cup of tea and to read the post, before then continuing on to Trago Mills again with many happy regulars aboard. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Jim on many occasions would also act as a bit of a mentor for me as soon as I began taking an interest in buses. Although not an enthusiast himself, he was always very accommodating of my strange hobby. He was never one to hide things from anyone, and over the years I've learned a lot from the constant feed of information about the goings on behind the scenes of a small independent bus company. Undoubtedly many would try to keep a lot of the things I got told under wraps, but Jim always thought it was best for me to learn what went on, and indeed, it was this that began to inspire me to take up the path I am now taking in life. Transport Management wasn't actually necessarily the thing I was looking to do, and we used to talk about my prospects regularly. It was Jim who planted the seeds in this respect, moving me around from my original thoughts of going into engineering, to what I'm doing now, and without any shadow of a doubt, without his supervision, I may well have ended up making the wrong decision in the long run. Again, there aren't many bus drivers who are so enriching to your life in such a deep and personal way, and I owe a huge amount to Jim in this respect. Even the day to day things, he was always there as a shoulder to lean on, offering proper, realistic advise that really helped. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The way he always looked out for people was another trait that was always so endearing. Again from the little things such as his constant waving to people around the Rame Peninsula from the wheel of the bus. When people wave at the vehicle, despite whoever may be driving, really, they're waving at Jim. New drivers have always commented how everyone's always waving at them, and they have no idea who they are! Goes to show how well known and loved he was among what is quite a tight-knit community. He'd look out for you in other ways though. When I first started at Devonport High, LFJ 847W failed on us at Insworke. Jim was soon there though with Iveco J234 KDL to cover the journey, and as he loaded everyone on, he told all First's passengers not to worry about paying him "I just want to make sure you get to your ferry". Not a journey he had to do, not a thing he had to oblige to, taking no fares, but again, just one of an endless stream of selfless things he did to keep the community moving. During snowy periods he was unable to move the bus out of St John, as the roads were never gritted, so rather than give up the service for the day, he'd park the bus up on the main road a good mile away up a very steep hill, and walk there at around half 5 in the morning, to make sure his service was maintained, whilst First in some cases wouldn't run to the villages at all on these days. His commitment to the community was just fantastic. Leading on from this, he used to run the local Youth Club in his very limited spare time; always an integral part of the community, even though it made his life more difficult, the people always came first. As posted above, another classic example of him stepping in at the last minute was recently at the Torpoint School's Leavers Prom, where the group's original transport failed them, so Jim stepped in and provided M698 HPF as their transport with a difference to make their evening that bit more special. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">He was always very hands on in the running of the business as well, if there was a problem with your bus, he was the one on hand, he'd instantly drop what he was doing and head down to, very often, fix it at the roadside. His knowledge of raw mechanics was boundless, but it was also the way he came up with such simple solutions to problems, that few other people would even think of, that was so brilliant. You could always tell when a bus had been 'Jimified' to coin a term I've used previously for a repair this is just so obviously, only a thing that he would do. His whole thought process was truly unique, such a clever, thinker, if that makes any sort of sense. I did once ask him, why A-Line Coaches was named A-Line Coaches, and his answer was the perfect embodiment of his type of thinking. "Well, I named it A-Line so that it would appear as the first entry in the Yellow Pages, so that I would usually be the first person they contacted". Just a totally straightforward piece of logical thinking. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">After their working lives were up, the buses would often find a good home, not always one that would be expected either. The two Ex-Southern Vectis Ivecos were donated to a local charity to transport people to beach cleaning sessions. The R reg Iveco has now been sold on to be converted into a camper van, and as you know, R178 NPN the Volvo B6 has now been passed on into preservation. I'm sure Allan will testify that Jim helped him a fair amount during this stage once he knew his plans for it, with him helping prepare for the move and so on. Again time and effort put into something that didn't directly benefit him, but meant a lot to others. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I could go on for far longer, I have so many great memories of being with him over the years, as do many others around the Rame Peninsula. It's come as a great shock to many people, particularly because it was so unexpected, he was always so fit and well. If there was ever a man who deserved his retirement, it was Jim, and indeed he did have plans to semi-retire come early September when he intended to let his licence go and not complete the CPC training. But as was so typical of Jim, he decided that this life wasn't for him, he wouldn't know what to do with his time, and hence he did complete his CPC training ready for more years at the helm of A-Line Coaches. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">My little tribute to in all honesty, one of the greatest men I ever had the privileged to know. His advise given to me over the last 10+ years will undoubtedly stay with me forever. He has been a true inspiration to me, and I intend to honour this as I progress through life. Without his guidance, who knows where I might be now. Rest in peace Mr Goddard, one of life's true gentleman's gentleman. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>Laurence Mayhewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01619217735699476860noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7712781400433441765.post-508364597522939282013-08-19T22:05:00.000+01:002013-08-19T22:06:43.989+01:00Progression in preservation <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Volvo B6LE R178 NPN, or as she is more commonly referred to as now, HM 2053, has continued her progression in preservation with new owner Allan Wagner, having recently been moved to a more permanent storage site in Plymouth. The bus had previously been stored in Millbrook after being removed from A-Line Coaches' depot after the sale to Allan. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After issues with the original recovery company that was selected to transport the bus to her new home, well respected Field Services were taken on to transport her to Plymouth, using stalwart Mercedes wrecker P778 FOD and a draw bar to complete the journey. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Through the Facebook page, there has been a growing community of Hong Kong based enthusiasts becoming interested in the preservation of the bus, with many excited by the plans to restore her into her original Hong Kong spec. The B6 was certainly a vehicle Hong Kong took a liking to, referring to them as the "Smiley buses", thanks to the Alexander body's curved front panel. R178 NPN is a somewhat unusually capable example of the type despite some overheating issues, and appears to have been appreciated through the generations thanks to her notably loud engine and gearbox compared to what you'd expect from the sluggish B6 you will more commonly come across. It is hoped that R178 will soon be out on the preservation scene, with plans currently in place to have her running during 2014. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To follow the continued escapades of the bus, please take a look at the Facebook page for the bus which is can be found at; </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/HM2053?fref=ts">https://www.facebook.com/HM2053?fref=ts</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Photos come courtesy of Allan Wagner, many thanks! </span></div>
Laurence Mayhewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01619217735699476860noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7712781400433441765.post-50654582709448479132013-08-18T21:09:00.001+01:002013-08-18T21:09:39.565+01:00Snap on Sunday <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Yesterday marked the 110th anniversary of the very first Great Western Railway motor bus service, running between Helston and The Lizard. To mark the momentous occasion, Colin Billington brought down his immaculately restored Guy FBB from Fifield. This was joined by First Kernow's Ex-Truronian Dennis Dart, TT03 TRU, which has just been painted into the GWR chocolate brown and cream livery specially for the event. Bristol VR VDV 141S was also present, wearing her version of the GWR livery as well within which she is currently preserved. The trio really did look the part traveling together through the Cornish countryside, and hence I decided to travel in the vehicle following behind, this being sister VR, VDV 137S. I was able to take advantage of her relatively rare hopper windows (seeing as it was raining fairly heavily) to take photos of the trio on their way between Helston and The Lizard, an example of which is seen above. A really slick and well organised event, and a very pleasurable day out, despite the atrocious weather Cornwall put on for us! Many thanks to all involved. </span><br />
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Laurence Mayhewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01619217735699476860noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7712781400433441765.post-11740676399487638292013-08-15T23:20:00.001+01:002013-08-15T23:20:32.503+01:00An RM on RP<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">With Royal Parade a hive of activity after the annual National Firework Championships in the City, it was surprising to find South Devon Railway operated Routemaster ALD 872B out earning her keep on a private hire trip. It's been quite a few years since an active Routemaster has been seen working within Plymouth, with the last (if I'm not mistaken) being First Devon and Cornwall's use of Cummins engined examples. Quite a delight to see among the sea of deckers flooding Royal Parade at 11pm, always a delight! Somewhat strange though in the fact that PCB's Volvo B10Ms no longer make up the ranks on these evenings anymore; once a common feature on these services purely down to the fact there were no other deckers available within PCB at the time. My apologies for the quality of photography, I didn't have time to set the camera up correctly to photograph in these conditions, and I needed to board the bus behind to get me home, I certainly didn't want to be at the back of the queue with the possibility of being turned away due to capacity. Thankfully though 32761 did manage to swallow up all its passengers for Torpoint and beyond! </span><br />
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Laurence Mayhewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01619217735699476860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7712781400433441765.post-74409979746407826552013-08-11T22:34:00.000+01:002013-08-11T22:34:59.026+01:00Snap on Sunday <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For this week's SoS I revert again to Olympians within Plymouth, with a nice little 'photoshoot' session done with K803 ORL earlier this week. The weather has again been perfect for photography, so a chance was grabbed to photograph 34003 thoroughly while on layover in Torpoint, as well as at various strategic points along the way, with many thanks to the driver for helping achieve the perfect shots! Note also the photo of the interior, which still appears very fresh and well looked after, while of course being very comfortable - far better than a leather seat could ever be in my opinion! </span><br />
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Laurence Mayhewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01619217735699476860noreply@blogger.com0