The Dukw that didnt take to water

As its Plymouth History Festival this month I thought I would mention a little bit of transport history that didnt happen:

November 2005

A somerset-based company is launching a new way of sightseeing in Plymouth . Porcellio is to offer visitors tours with a difference aboard its fleet of restored and updated Second World War amphibious vehicles, which can operate on both land and water. The company has secured essential funding through the South West Angel and Investor Network (SWAIN), a pioneering initiative sponsored  by the South West Regional Development Agency.
Private investors have sunk a total of GBP140,000 into Porcellio to pay for the restoration of up to five DUKW amphibious vehicles for use in Plymouth and the construction of further machines for use elsewhere in the world. The DUKWs played a vital part in the Allied invasion of Normandy during the Second World War, and many of the original vehicles were transported to the French coast from Plymouth . The bright yellow vehicles will become a familiar sight in Plymouth when the one-hour tours of the Sound and River Tamar start from next spring.

Western Morning News: Amphibious tours to start in Plymouth

March 2006

Plymouth City Council has granted permission for a company to use World War Two-style vehicles called 'Ducks' from the Guildhall and Teats Hill slipway.Asellus Ltd want initially to run one bright yellow 30-seat Duck taking three tours a day around the city centre, the Barbican and part of the Hoe as well as a half-hour tour from Sutton Harbour.
The Plymouth tours, dubbed Ducks and Drake, will feature a costumed driver and a guide.They should run for eight months and will cost £12 for an adult and £8 for children.Mr Slater said that the company wanted to take advantage of Plymouth's rich naval history. The vehicles will be new but are modelled on the original amphibious DUKWs, which played a vital part in the Allied invasion of Normandy during the Second World War.

June 2006

It seems like ages ago I reported on this blog that a new City Tour operation using DUKWs was due to start in Plymouth. This tour is to use the Teats Hill slipway. Well the BBC reports that the vehicle has been tested in Exmouth and is almost ready for service.
An armoured vehicle originally built during World War II is to become a permanent tourism feature in Devon. The amphibious carrier, known as a Dukw (or Duck), has been converted to take tourists around Plymouth Sound. A modern top has been put on the vehicle's original 1942 chassis after it was to taken to east Devon where it was stripped and rebuilt.
Although American designed, many of the vehicles were assembled in Plymouth, and the homecoming has not been lost on those operating it. Howard Slater of Ducks 'n' Drake said: "They were brought over by the Americans, they were assembled here, and, in fact, the slip road we are going to use is the same slipway the Americans used to launch them in the first place." Click here for the full story on BBC web site which has a few useful links to follow.

August 2006

Thanks to Dave for allowing me to post his photo of the new DUKW that is due to begin a service in Plymouth although it does seem to have slipped behind schedule somewhat as it was originally planned to start after "Easter 2006"! It is noted that the vehicle still does not carry a registration number which may explain the delay?

 

© Dave Godley

I am sure it will be popular once it starts - but its looking more likely for next year now. Shame as we have had one of the best summers for years weather-wise - I am sure business would have been booming!

Well that was the last mention of the DUKWs in Plymouth!

There is no further trace of anything in the local news for the DUKW tours planned for Plymouth. It does seem a real shame that nothing happened.

Cremyll Ferry

© Jeremy Gillies (Flickr Blog this)

Memories of the Cremyll ferry in days gone by will be brought back to life at an event taking place on Saturday.

Entitled Stonehouse Views and Cremyll Quay, the event at St Paul's Church in Durnford Street will include archive footage of the ferry along with historical information, maps and old photographs.

A local historian will lead two walks exploring the waterfront and the Cremyll connection, plans of the proposed developments at Cremyll Quay will be on display and there will be information about what's on offer at Mount Edgcumbe Country Park.



The event is free and open from 10.30am until 4pm.

Councillor Chris Mavin said: "We know that the first record of a ferry between the two areas goes back to 1204. It should be a really interesting event."

A council spokeswoman added: "This event aims to highlight the fact there is more than just the ferry linking Stonehouse, Cremyll and Mount Edgcumbe."

Plymouth Citybus 161 ATK161W

Plymouth Citybus Atlantean 161 operating the Guide Friday open top tour way back in 2002. One of the many things that has changed since then - there are no more open toppers running in Plymouth. This does seem a real shame and a terrific waste. The route around the Hoe really should be done on an opentop bus. Its the only way to see this fine bit of the coast.

(I originally attempted to post this on Sat 18th but I couldnt get it posted until today (21st!)

A lack of heritage

It seems that the popular 'heritage' services that run as part of the Dartmoor Sunday Rover scheme will not be running this year. The services themselves will run - but not with heritage buses. I am sure the VR and the FLF will be seen out and about on the streets of Plymouth occasionally on promotional work, but its sad that they wont be seen in regular service this year.

Where is the bus

This is the bus stop at the bottom of Keswick Crescent. It was taken at 11:07. I should not have been there at 11:07. The bus I am waiting for was due at 10:55. It actually came at 11:12. When there is only one bus an hour this is a long wait. It was a good job my plans were flexible. I was planning on taking advantage of Devon County Councils excellent network of Dartmoor services but at least one option was lost due to arriving in town so late. There was of course a Sunday Service today. Naturally yesterday was also a Sunday service. My young son and I caught buses yesterday - both on the 50A - both running nearly 15 mins late. It didnt help in that none of the bus stops around this part of the city have the 'realtime' displays. When (if) we get this then maybe it will help numb the pain of relying on the buses on a Sunday. We actually caught another 50A home from town this afternoon. It was due to leave at 16:05. At 16:05 the service dissappeared off the realtime display altogether and we feared the worst. It did arrive at 16:10 only 5 mins late. I can cope with that! It arrived at Keswick Crescent nearly 15 mins late. It was difficult to see where that extra 10 mins was lost as there were no real holdups anywhere. I can only assume that its a timetable issue in that the buses dont have enough time to cover the route?

Below is a picture of Plymouth Citybus serving the Plymouth Seafront. Well, I wish there was a bus in this picture. But there was no service to this area today. Sunday Service - which means no service. It was a pleasant day. A good day for a wander around the ever popular Barbican and Plymouth Hoe. It was actually really busy. I do find it amazing that there is no service down here on a Sunday.Plymouth proclaims to be proud of its maritime history. Just dont try to explore it on a Sunday or a Bank Holiday. Or if you do - bring your car.

Is there another City which seems to actively discourage tourism like Plymouth? There were plenty of coaches bringing tourists in to the Barbican today. Most of them would have had the pleasure of a visit to Bretonside Bus Station. Nice.

I did mention the excellent Dartmoor network built up by Devon County Council. The Sunday Rover ticket now covers the whole Stagecoach Devon network, quite a few smaller operators, and most of First Devon & Cornwall services in Devon. This now gives more people of Devon full access to the Moors on Sundays than ever before. Apart from the people of Plymouth - unless you are lucky enough to live on a First route then you dont have full access - unless you pay Citybus to take you to somewhere where you can access the network. I was going to mention that the Dartmoor network must be great for pensioners with their free travel. Then I remembered that Plymouth Pensioners are not allowed to leave the City anyway. They are only allowed to visit places in Plymouth. Still - at least they can catch a bus to Plymouth Hoe or the excellent Barbican - unless its a Sunday obviously.

Duck

© Dave Godley
Thanks to Dave for allowing me to post his photo of the new DUKW that is due to begin a service in Plymouth although it does seem to have slipped behind schedule somewhat as it was originally planned to start after "Easter 2006"! It is noted that the vehicle still does not carry a registration number which may explain the delay?

I am sure it will be popular once it starts - but its looking more likely for next year now. Shames as we have had one of the best summers for years weaterwise - I am sure business would have been booming!

Open Toppers - why not?

Sadly this is yet another year without open top buses plying their trade around Plymouth seafront. It seems strange that this is the case, especially this year they would have done really well. In fact even the normal bus service around the seafront has been diminshed considerably. Plymouth has never really known what to do with its assets when it comes to tourism. The fact that it took so long to tidy up the magnificent Hoe swimming pool is a case in point.
This last weekend though did see open top buses running around the seafront and they were extremely popular with many extra journies being added to the scheduled trips by overwhelming demand. YSO231T came all the way up from Penzance for the weekend.

The Ducks are coming...

It seems like ages ago I reported on this blog that a new City Tour operation using DUKWs was due to start in Plymouth. This tour is to use the Teats Hill slipway. Well the BBC reports that the vehicle has been tested in Exmouth and is almost ready for service.
An armoured vehicle originally built during World War II is to become a permanent tourism feature in Devon. The amphibious carrier, known as a Dukw (or Duck), has been converted to take tourists around Plymouth Sound. A modern top has been put on the vehicle's original 1942 chassis after it was to taken to east Devon where it was stripped and rebuilt.
Although American designed, many of the vehicles were assembled in Plymouth, and the homecoming has not been lost on those operating it. Howard Slater of Ducks 'n' Drake said: "They were brought over by the Americans, they were assembled here, and, in fact, the slip road we are going to use is the same slipway the Americans used to launch them in the first place." Click here for the full story on BBC web site which has a few useful links to follow.