Back in time: Laira 1965

©Curly42
A few D.M.U.s are stabled (or stored) at Plymouth Laira depot,whilst in the background is a class 22 loco with a Sunday engineers train,complete with steam crane.
Superb shot - thanks to Curly for allowing me to share it here.

---

Related Links

• Curly42 photostream Flickr
• Laira 1977 Plymothian Transit April 2010
• Laira 1984 Plymothian Transit September 2009
• Laira 1975 Plymothian Transit August 2009

Elsewhere on the net

• For those who clearly remember what was happening 40 years ago—cuts, cuts and more cuts—a growing number of people within the industry are likening current times with the early- and mid-1970s. There’s a certain nervous abroad at the moment. Omnibuses
• Numbers Game Public Transport Experience
• “Optare Rumours” is a consistent search term bring people to the Omnibuses Blog, currently 85th in the year to date Omnibuses
• Back to school on our FBW Alpenwagen Busworld Photography
• After 122 days service 18 came to an end with the 2234 departure from Lytham Square on Saturday 30 January Fylde Bus Blog
• Photographed this morning in Southsea, here First Hants & Dorset's 69382 (HY09AOU) basks in the sunshine surrounded by palm trees. You wouldn't know its January! Southern England Bus Scene

Sunday Best: Laira Scrap line

©Edgeworths2000: Centurion 50040 Laira Scrap Line
For more great shots visit his bygone Railways set here

---

PTOTPA: What we all feared? Rumours of more Citybus swaps?
Uncle Terry: 143 Mini crop circle?
Omnibuses: Shorts or less even?
A Transport of delight: Arriva cross fingers First class fares
Busworld Photography: National Express Bova Wallace Arnold Bovas on NX
TGP Dads Daily: Flags go out

Baby train set

Just a photo I took on Friday which I thought I would share today.
Laira Depot unidentified HST set

---

Uncle Terry

109: Ball Boy

Terry Partridge

You have been warned!

Omnibuses

Yet More on the new bus for London

PTOTPA

Saturday Sightings

Highton-Ridley

Photoshop Contrast Tutorial: I've learnt something anyway!

29 May 2010

10:29 CITYBUS Just a reminder that we will be operating a Sunday Service this Bank holiday Monday
15:52 CITYBUS We are currently experiencing severe delays in and around the City Centre due traffic congestion, we are try to keep our services on time.

Site for sore eyes

Over ten years and still it looks like this

This is the sad sight of the old Western National bus depot at Laira. It is hard to believe that it was 10 years ago when the old depot was closed. way back in 1999 there were plans for the site: Plymouth City Council is considering plans from Salmon Harvester Properties to transform the former First Western National bus depot into six retail units totalling 69,000 sq ft. 15-Jul-1999 The site looks a mess and causes other problems too: HOW much longer will Plymouth City Council allow the old Western National bus depot site at Laira Bridge to remain in such a disgraceful condition? In my opinion it has been an eyesore for more than 10 years, and recently once again became a haven for travellers who abandoned rubbish, gas cylinders and other residues of their illegal three-month occupation.1st May 2010 A reminder of what the site looked like back in the early 1980's... Cyber Heritage collection

Uncle Terry 096 Don't look down Uncle Terry Omnibuses London Red Elephant A Transport of Delight Welcome about turn: Good news from ATOC PTOTPA Saturday Sightings: a few nice train photos Busworld Photography Bere Regis & District Elsewhere in the News Boris Johnsons new bus for London - design with video 17 May 2010 10:59 FIRST PLYMOUTH TICKET SALE NOW ON!!! Want unlimited bus travel from as little as £1.01 a day? Click here for details & to buy 16:38 CITYBUS Due to Rtc on Pike Rd,diversions for 8 and 9, 8 along to Laira R,bout and back through Laira Narrows, serv 9 around Severn Place, then back 17:40 CITYBUS Due to Rtc on Pike Rd,diversions for 8 and 9, 8 along to Laira R,bout and back through Laira Narrows, serv 9 around Severn Place, then back

Sunday Best: Laira 1977

Laira Depot 1977

A wonderful shot taken of Laira Depot in January 1977 by Loose_grip_99 ©Loose_Grip_99 Visit his Flickr site here for more great shots like this The ex-Great Western Railway locomotive depot had been rebuilt as a modern diesel depot in the 1960s. This view was from the A374, Embankment Road, outside the boundary fence and shows Class 50 50017 &, Class 47 47116 diesels in the yard. Originally D417, later named Royal Oak, 50017 has fortunately survived and is preserved close by at the Plym Valley Railway.

Further Reading Omnibuses: From Hants to Dorset TGP: Premier Tonight First on Twitter / Facebook Citybus on Twitter / Facebook 17 April 21:33 Due to major RTC @ Lipson Rd/Greenbank Rd service 24 diverted inbound via Hill Pk Cres & North Hill 23 outbound via North Hill & G'bank Rd 22:01 service 23 & 24 back to normal working. Sorry for any inconvenience caused.

Flickr Sunday Best: Laira 1984

"This is one photo which is well worth viewing at full size” Stapleton Road Flickr Omnibuses2.0 Rings a bellio? Setting off before passengers have found their seats is not an indication of a rude or intolerant driver,

©Stapleton Road Plymouth 8th July 1984 37207+185 leave Laira depot in preparation to top and tail the Devonshire Dart Railtour along the Gunnislake branch. 37207 has the Cornish Railways logos and the Cornish Lizard on the side. Its been a while since I last featured a rail photo on Sunday Best, but I think its well worth waiting for! This is one photo which is well worth viewing at full size, so click the image above to go to Stapleton Roads page and click the All Sizes button. Then explore his other photos! He does have a few photos taken in Plymouth...

 

Related Posts:

Plymothian Transit: Gunnislake on Flickr

Plymothian Transit: Flickr Sunday Best: Laira
Plymothian Transit: First Chinook
Plymothian Transit: Flickr Sunday Best: Laira

Flickr Sunday Best: Laira

©Loose Grip 99
”

OK, it's underexposed, the lighting posts are in the way and don't zoom in too closely................ but it is unmistakably a Class 52 Western! The drifting diesel fumes against the sunlight give it a bit of romance. Grabbed through the window of a passing Peak hauled train from Plymouth to Birmingham. You take what you can get.”

This is just one of nearly 3000 brilliant black and white photos by Loose Grip 99 from all across the country. Visit his Flickr Stream HERE.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Sorry for the lack of updates over the last few days. I lost a close and well loved cousin during the week which was a real shock to us all. Blogging didn't seem that important for a while!

New Blog on the Block

© budgie/ Rich B

TV3) VDV782 Plymouth garage 26-8-80

The "TV" numbering series was applied to most (though not all) of Western National's dedicated driver training vehicles. Here we see TV3, a Bristol LD6G / ECW at the company's Plymouth depot in August 1980. In its revenue earning life this bus had carried fleet number 1948. It has received a yellow waistband as opposed to the all-over yellow usually applied to trainers brought in from other operators

Posted here because its a great photo - and to point out that he has a new blog which some of you may be interested in: Buses in the South West

Its early days - but its already got plenty there to keep me coming back!

Recovery from this situation...It's not going to happen!

© Claire Pendrous (Flickr blog this)

Western National AEC 'Matador' recovery vehicle RV1 lies in an derelict condition at Western National's Plymouth garage on 18th September 1982

Such a great photo I had to post it here!

Click here for more of her excellent photos

Laira Depot

Laira Railway Depot as seen in Google Earth

The depot is one of the company's busiest, with 259 staff cleaning, servicing and maintaining the firm's fleet of High Speed Trains.The Laira depot is one of seven operated by First Great Western including the Landore depot at Swansea, St Philip's Marsh at Bristol, Reading, Exeter, the Long Rock Depot at Penzance and the Old Oak Common Depot in London.Plymouth is one of First Great Western's specialist depots. As well as cleaning trains overnight, it also undertakes maintenance work for the First Great Western fleet and Virgin Voyager trains.

In the middle of the site, behind the large sheds, is a large pond. The pond, which is linked to the nearby River Plym, used to be overgrown but was first cleared of foliage by depot workers in the 1970s.A few years later, the company decided to make the pond part of a nature reserve and a team of staff was given the task of clearing the pond of rubbish and overgrown vegetation on a regular basis.A group of between eight and 10 workers now maintains the pond, which has managed to attract fish including mullet back into its waters.First Great Western's Laira depot manager Neil Reed said: "We work closely with Network Rail and our Environment Agency partners. The pond is now really well-established. Canadian geese come down every year to have their chicks; there are kingfishers and herons, too.

Adverts from the past

From the Peter Horrex Collection - used with permission.

A great photo of a bus that for once I cant remember at all! 1131 XDV601S in a very bright and colourful advert for Plymouth Pavillions.
Its so bright I am really amazed that I dont recall seeing it!

Laira Depot Before and after

I have been spending some time looking at mapping and satellite imagery of Plymouth available on line to see how I can make best use of it for Plymothian Transit.
Today I had a quick look at MSN Live and came across this image for Plymouth, Laira which still shows the old bus depot!
While it is great to get a nice before and after shot of the same location it is a bit of a poor showing from MSN!

Google Maps and Google Earth

I mentioned a few days ago that Google have updated the views of Plymouth on Google Earth with much clearer hi res images than before. Well they have now migrated through to Google maps too!

So today we have a few images taken from Google Earth which show the two main bus garages in Plymouth...
Milehouse, home of Plymouth Citybus is seen above.

Below we see First Devon and Cornwalls The Ride.


This next image is from just up the road and is the spare parking area that FDC are / were using. It does seem odd that the few buses there are spread out across the site! note the yellow and purple buses to the left of the parking area. I am guessing that these were ex Thamesway Mercedes Varios

Christmas Park & Ride

Nick Rice posted the following on the Yahoo south west bus group tonight:

"First services from the George Junction will operate on the following days of December -
Thurs 15th - 15:15 to 21:35 (6 buses per hour till 18:00 then 4 buses per hour)
Sat 17th - 09:35 to 18:05 (6 buses per hour)
Sunday 18th - 10:10 to 17:00 (4 buses per hour)
Thurs 22nd - As per the 15th
Sat 24th - As per the 17th
There will also be additional services from Milehouse P&R and Coypool both of course operated by Citybus.
Flat fares from £1.10 return (all 3 sites) but Thursday evening it will be 80p return."

6 buses per hour will see more than just the Routemasters in service so it will be interesting to see what actually happens.

Another bit of news tonight reported on this is Exeter web site is that planning permission has been granted for the new bus museum at Westpoint. This is of interest because it is planned to use part of the old Laira Bus Depot from Plymouth which was dismantled when Western National moved out. It remains to be seen if this does actually happen - but lets hope so.