Terminal Decline

The Cattedown walkabout continues

The railway crossing at the entrance to Cattedown Oil Terminal site. The tracks across the road are still in situ, but even without the vans parking acros the tracks the big rocks tell you that no trains pass this way now. If you look to the right you can see where the tracks have been lifted, and even the pile of tracks still sitting there, no doubt waiting to be carted off somewhere. It used to look like this... The other side of the van you cn get a clearer view of the track that remains Just dont expect the lights to ever flash again...

Further Reading Omnibuses: All that glisters... PTOTPA: Derrick returns to Target Uncle Terry: Double Glazed Transport Illustrated: Bristol Running Day First on Twitter / Facebook 30 March 1309: PLYMOUTH/EAST CORNWALL: New Service 76 timetable (Plymouth - Saltash - Callington - Launceston) from Monday 13th April 16:28 PLYMPTON: Emergency closure of Moorland Rd again from 1830 tonight. ugo 12 will be diverted via Hilcrest Dr/Glenn Rd Citybus on Twitter / Facebook 30 March 14:45 Devonport Hill the OUTBOUND stop at Richmond Walk will be out of use until Friday this week There is no space for a temporary bus stop. 14:50 Wednesday 31st March for 2 days the OUTBOUND stop at Cumberland Gardens will be out of use A temp stop will be placed after the roundabout

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• Cattedown gets a little less interesting (plymothiantransit.com)
• Quayside Railways (plymothiantransit.com)

First Swap Shop

First Enviro's arrive in Plymouth

©Nick Rice Thanks to Nick for bringing the first photos of the 'new' Enviro 200's that are coming from Glasgow in a straight swap for Volvo B7RLE/ Wrights. 44915 YX09AHA is seen sitting at The Ride.

Further Reading Omnibuses: Dilly dally PTOTPA: Snap on Sunday Uncle Terry: Un-cooperative Omnibuses: 7+1 modern classics Uncle Terry: Leaf it Terry Leon Daniels: Temsa Preview TGP Public: Fremington Quay In the news First on Twitter / Facebook 29 March DEVON & CORNWALL: Eggxstra Family Savings this Easter: Save up to 70%! Buy from your First driver, Travel Shop or HERE 15:29 PLYMPTON: Emergency closure of Moorland Rd from 1830 tonight. ugobus serv 12 will be diverted via Hilcrest Dr/Glenn Rd 17:33 TORPOINT & PLYMOUTH: Fare changes on service 81/81A/81C from Sunday 4th April 2010 Citybus on Twitter / Facebook 29 March 15:42 There is an emergency closure of Moorland Road Plympton from 1830 tonight for resurfacing work Diversion details - Facebook or 0845 077 2223

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• Ugo back to Glasgow (plymothiantransit.com)

Ugo back to Glasgow

First swap more buses

Message from FDCs Marc Reddy this week… In order to improve the fleet further in Plymouth we are exchanging some of our older B7RLE's in Plymouth with some 09 plate Enviro 200's from Glasgow As it stands currently vehicles going to Glasgow are: 69954 69955 (probably typo but I am not sure which ones they mean!) 69076 69077 69078 69079 69080 And the Enviro's coming to Plymouth are: 44914 44915 44916 ©Jonathan890 (Via Flickr Blogthis) 44917 44918 44919 44920 Obviously things can change, but we should be exchanging vehicles in the coming weeks, so if you wish to get a picture of any B7's listed above you need to be quick ! These will now be the newest buses used on Plymouth services so I am sure will be welcome. Although I personally prefer the Volvos I can see that the smaller Environs are perhaps better suited for some of the Ugobus network. The larger Volvos capacity seems rarely needed on the services that I use at least, although I have seen pretty good loads on the Plympton service at least.

Cattedown gets a little less interesting

The Cattedown Level Crossing

Continuing the walk through Cattedown we reach the old level crossing. At first glance all seems well... Sadly it all goes downhill fast when we stand on the crossing and look right towards the oil terminal Compare this with the view from a few years ago The view looking left back towards Laira is just a depressing With a comment left earlier that even the scrap yard has been looking to relocate to larger premises I guess its only a matter of time before the whole branch line gets lifted and another bit of transport history disappears for ever.

Further Reading Transport of delight: How to drive a train (class 378) WHOTT Friends - NARTM Omnibuses: meets Gavin Booth PTOTPA: Driver CPC In the news Mutley Plain Works - may finish early! First on Twitter / Facebook 26 March 12:16 We're pleased to be operating the Dartmouth Park & Ride service from Sunday 28th March. For more information and a timetable please click here Citybus on Twitter / Facebook 26 March 10:41 Rob Harris: on behalf of all the drivers who were working late last night sorry for any inconvience due to late buses or not turning up in the crownhill derriford areas . it was a total night mare for us too . delays out of derriford all evening due to road works and traffic managment and then to top it all a collision on top of... crownhill fly over that closed the road for some time preventing use from servicing crownhill village we as drivers and city bus do our best to run our services for you but it just goes out of our hands some times 20:56 Don't forget about the clocks going FORWARD Sat night/Sun morning !!!!!! 21:44 Delays expected Crownhill by The Tamar P/H in bound due to R.T.C. 22:21 RTC at Crownhill has been cleared up, traffic running freely again.

Friday Fleet Focus

Plymouth Community Homes

Its been a while since the last 'Fleet Focus' so here we go with a new fleet that can be seen in Plymouth. Plymouth Community Homes. PCH was formed to take over the council housing from Plymouth City Council and inherited their fleet of vans. They have since started to replace their fleet with quite a selection of new vans and also have been busy putting the older vans into their new livery which is certainly a big improvement on the bland city council livery. One of the vans taken over from the council fleet There seem to be quite a few of these smart little VW Transports vans around. For larger vans they have seem to favour Mercedes with this Sprinter noted recently. None of the more recent fleet members carry local registrations so I assume that they are supplied under contract hire from some national concern but have yet to get close enough to inspect one properly. I do know that the fleet is serviced by Plymouth Citybus' Car and Commercial division who won the contract to look after the 156 vehicle fleet back in January 2010

Further Reading Leon Daniels: How is your reception TGP: Pebbly Clovelly TGP: Bristol Greyhound Transport of Delight: The longest ride - from Plymouth Omnibuses: Helping them help us PTOTPA: A Line In the news When is a green bus not a green bus? First on Twitter / Facebook 24 March 11:22 Calling iPhone users we've found a great new MyBus app giving bus stop times for every stop in the UK, check it out 20:24 Will be down to 2 Torpoint ferries in morning due to breakdown. They hope to have 3 back by 0900 but delays to services 81/81A/81C expected 25 March 07:59 Back to 3 Torpoint Ferries so any extra queues affecting services 81/81A/81C should be gone soon Citybus on Twitter / Facebook

Reaching for the skies

Devon & Cornwall show off their new aerial ladder appliances

Plymouth Hoe staged the dramatic backdrop for the launch of six new Aerial Ladder Platforms (ALPs), five for Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service and the sixth for Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service. This is the first joint regional procurement project of its kind between the two Services at an investment of 2.2 million. An official handing over of the keys took place and Cllr Bernard Hughes, Chairman of the Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Authority, said: “This represents a significant investment in our vehicle fleet and will ensure that our fire fighters have the latest specialist equipment to fight fires at height.” The new ALPs are replacing existing appliances which are approaching the end of their life-cycle and due to go on the run in July, after training has taken place. Training is required in various areas, and will be rolled out through March, April and May. The driver training lasts for one day, the operator instructor training for five days and will include instructors from all of the five stations who are due to receive the vehicles. Manufactured by VEMA in Finland, the appliances were then delivered to John Dennis Coachbuilders (JDC) in Guildford for fitting and stowage, who also made alterations that were requested by the Service for end-user and health and safety improvements The hydraulic platforms will allow firefighters to work from a height of 34 metres, which is six metres higher than the current aerial appliances. Benefits of the appliances: • Rear wheel steer better manoeuvrability • Rear wheel steer improved tyre wear • Boom reach 6 meters further reach current Bronto • Self levelling system • Latest technology including dial up diagnostics, this allows engineers to find faults quickly from a remote location • Standard appliance through both services allow cooperation for training documentation and degradation The five appliances for Devon and Somerset will be located at • Crownhill • Yeovil • Taunton • Exeter Danes Castle • Torquay • The Cornwall appliance will be located at Newquay. The vehicles were purchased as part of the Firebuy national framework contract. Devon and Somerset Fire Press Release Thanks to Dave Boulter I am able to bring you photos of the launch event on Plymouth Hoe. As he puts it himself: To say the photography was 'challenging' is the understatement of the year. Conditions were horrendous with heavy, swirling continuous heavy rain and a somewhat low cloud base! Any half-decent print is a miracle! ©Dave Boulter From left to right: WA59FUF, WA59FUB, WA59FUG, WK59BPZ, WA59FUE, WA59FUD. I think you can spot the Cornish one! ©Dave Boulter

Quayside Railways

Continuing the walk into Cattedown

The next set of photos from my walk into Cattedown a couple of weeks ago. It is nice to see these signs being placed along the route letting people know little snippets of transport history. At least the track is still in place here. There is still the occasional train serving the scrap yard which is just around the corner on the left Sadly I have to wonder just how long the trains will still serve the scrap yard. If you subscribe to this blog in a reader you may have seen a new post last night about a 50p fare offer for Plymouth. It was in fact an old story from last year which mysteriously arrived in my reader again this year so I thought it was new news! It was only when I added it to my calendar I realised that the days didn't match up!

Further Reading Omnibuses: Bus speeds Omnibuses: MSPTE Omnibuses: Underwired TGP Public: Museum of Delights TGP Public: On the banks of Ribble PTOTPA: Ex Mayflower Trident PTOTPA: 40002 in the fog (nice pic) Uncle Terry: Take a deep sniff Leon Daniels: Free bus travel for rail passengers (Trial) In the news Wolmers on Byers v Adonis First on Twitter / Facebook 22 March 07:10 PLYMOUTH: Mutley Plain gasworks lane closure starts today. Most buses okay except the 81C which is being diverted 10:01 Looking for your 2010 Summer holiday? Truronian have some great holidays across the UK & Europe from Brighton to Italy 23 March 09:04 The A38 slip road at Ivybridge is currently closed to all traffic and disrupting services 180 & X80 in serving Ivybridge. Further information is being sought from the Police and updates will follow as soon as we have them. We apologise for any inconvenience caused due to circumstances beyond our control. 09:13 There's been a 3 car accident on True Road, Totnes which is blocking the road & causing delays to service X80/X81. Updates to follow ASAP 10:54 The A38 Ivybridge slip road closure was the result of a car breaking down on slip road and the workmen not being able to remove the cones/barriers from the overnight works,. This has now been cleared. Thanks for your patience. Citybus on Twitter / Facebook 23 March 14:02 Services 44,44A unable to service Taunton Ave due to traffic congestion, will update when clear 14:26 Taunton Ave now clear, all services back to normal routes