Electroliners

A mixed bag of notices over the last week or so. The First South West entries seem to be catch ups going back to last January, presumably a tidy up prior to all their registrations being closed down next year.

The only one in the future is National Express 404 in January !

Licence	Route	Start Point	End Point	Effective	Notes	Operator
PH0004983.645	100	Penzance	Truro College	06-Jan-2025	presumed catch up as happened ages ago!	FIRST SOUTH WEST LIMITED
PH0000135.196	182	Delabole	Bodmin, Callywith College	31-Dec-2025	Cancel - contract loss	PLYMOUTH CITYBUS LTD
PH0004983.636	200 (200A)	St Ives Bus Station	Penzance Bus Station	06-Jan-2025	Monday to FridaySplit registration with /641	FIRST SOUTH WEST LIMITED
PH0004983.641	200	St Ives	Truro College	13-Dec-2024	presumed catch up as happened ages ago!	FIRST SOUTH WEST LIMITED
PH0004983.644	300	Long rock, Mexico Inn	Truro College	06-Jan-2025	presumed catch up as happened ages ago!	FIRST SOUTH WEST LIMITED
PH0005305.104	343	Kennedy Way, Tiverton	Kennedy Way, Tiverton	09-Nov-2025	Variation to route bus stop/stopping places and timetable	DEALTOP LIMITED
PD0000738.359	404 (501)	Totnes, Opp Royal  Seven Stars Hotel, Stop E	Exeter, Bampfylde Street, Stop 34	05-Jan-2026	Cancellation	NATIONAL EXPRESS LIMITED

meanwhile we have a new video released by Plymouth Citybus showing off their new buses.

g

The Flying Visit

Bit of a railway theme this week starting with a couple of lovely shots of The Flying Scotsman from Mark Bailey:

I popped out yesterday evening to capture it heading back, firstly approaching Keyham station at 1859, and then at Cot Hill at 1933.  The lighting conditions were tricky, shooting into a low sun and with lots of shadow.  For the latter shot I've produced a monochrome image to show the head of steam to maximum effect.

© Mark Bailey

Then we round off with another excellent video from SteamClips

"We pick up the action as 60103 tackles Tigley and Rattery Banks in close –up due to the poor visibility. The local farmer has set up a grandstand with a trailer, a lovely gesture for the assembled crowd at this popular spot. On then to even larger crowds gathered at Saltash Station where Network Rail staff are in attendance to keep everyone “safe”. Thoughtfully local control allowed the Plymouth bound service train, which would have blocked the “up” platform, to run ahead of schedule and leave the view clear for everyone, another nice touch! In improving visibility “Scotsman” crosses Brunel’s famous bridge over the Tamar and on in to Cornwall as we film amid an excited throng. However if we are talking: “crowds”, the St Blazey Roundhouse and Turntable was definitely the place to be as all of Cornwall, it seemed, came out to see the much anticipated restored “Grade 2 listed” turntable in action again and what better steam locomotive to inaugurate it than the nation's favourite ? The whole event became a jamboree with cheers, applause, local dignitaries, restoration teams receiving much official acclaim and the second camera remotely controlled on a 10 foot pole recording the only uninterrupted view from the public side of the fence!! I have to admit that 60103 looked absolutely splendid mounted on the newly painted turntable. For the final shots of the day we chose the climb through Bodmin Parkway, taking a chance with the stopping “down” service train and the Glynn valley where the line is rapidly disappearing behind the growing forestry as a strong gusty breeze blows but I think we just about got away with it! "

If you are into steam then do pop along to The SteamClips YouTube channel with lots of excellent videos...

Stunning Dawlish Video

Just a quickie tonight. A very nice video from the new sea wall at Dawlish this morning. from the excellent Dawlish Beach Cams channel

Its nice to see the new wall doing its job well!

First South West Discover Exeter

Another of the new services being introduced by First South West next month is the new Discover Exeter service.

a nice simple hourly timetable

Google Earth Fly-through video:

As with their other services I really do hope that this one takes off and is a success

Plymouth Citybus Explain and apologise

As you will have seen if you read my Social Media posts over the last few weeks Plymouth Citybus have been having issues and loosing quite a few services, especially in the evenings. This last week it has got worse again…

Saturday 20th April:

Service 8 due to depart Royal Parade at 2105 & 2205 unfortunately will not be operated this evening. the next Efford Service 9 will in each case depart 30 minutes later Service 42A due to depart Royal Parade at 17:25 unfortunately will not be operated this evening. the next Tamerton Foliot Service 42A will depart at 18:15. Service 23 due to depart Royal Parade at 1940, 2040, 2140 & 2240 unfortunately will not be operated this evening. the next Mount Gould Service 24 will in each case depart 30 minutes later. Service 43 due to depart Royal Parade at 2030, 2130 & 2230 unfortunately will not be operated this evening. the next Ernesettle Service 43 will in each case depart 30 minutes later. Service 44 due to depart Royal Parade at 2015, 2115 & 2215, unfortunately will not be operated this evening. the next Whitleigh service in each case will be 30 minutes later. Please accept our apologies

It has carried on like for all week. You only have to look at the comments that are left on the various Facebook posts to see how well this has gone down with passengers!

Well this week Citybus have put an explanation and an apology video on their Facebook page.

Most of the comment that have been left on this post are at least sympathetic and understanding - for now anyway. Its nice to see the company explain what has been going on.

Meanwhile Citybus have repeated the exercise with Devon & Cornwall Police by providing a double decker bus for the police to use to catch drivers on their phones…

Going Topless

Plymouth Citybus is expanding its open top operations this year with a new route and new open top buses (well new to Plymouth!)

They have posted this video which shows the work in progress on one of the London Enviros along with a plea to local businesses to help join in the promotion of the city. Can anyone confirm the fleet number of the bus involved?

Last years bus stayed out in service until well into late autumn

® did by graham 30 September 2018

Meanwhile Stagecoach have two Enviro s at The Ride waiting on conversion work to open top

Vehicles recorded are E400's 19571 WA59 FWT; ex - Wirral & Cheshire and 15665 WA10 GHG both apparent victims of collisions with low bridges

It remains to be seen where they plan to use these, but there is clearly a resurgence in open top operations in Devon & Cornwall over the last year which seems to continue into this year.

Coming up in 2019

Cant think of a better way to start the new year on Plymothian Transit than by sharing this video from the Thames Valley & Great Western Omnibus Trust who have been re4psonsible for so many great events over the years. I personally have never made it the the Penzance run by the Kingsbridge run is a real favourite.

TV&GWOT is pleased to announce a full programme of running days and events for you to enjoy in 2019.  Make a note in your diary to join us for:

Penzance on 21 April

Didcot on 2 June

Royal Blue Run on 21-23 June

Tavistock on 14 July

Kingsbridge on 21 September

Reading Corporation motor bus service centenary – date tbc

Find out more on our Events pages and return for updates through the year

There in a Flash!

I have been experimenting with different ways to view bus routes using Google Earth and have finally produced a video which I think does give a good impression of a route, in this case, my local bus - the Plymouth Citybus 50, Yellow Flash.
We start at Derriford and go on an extremely fast trip around the city (172mph!) arriving back at Derriford 6 minutes later…
I think I might just slow it down a bit next time but otherwise I am happy with it so far. If it does not work directly on the blog you might get a better view of the video here on You Tube where you can get a better larger view.

The route itself falls from 450 feet above sea level just above Derriford Hospital to a mere 10 feet above sea level on The Embankment, with a few fairly steep climbs along the way as can be seen in this route profile which is another handy tool on GE.

All in all I think the advances that Google have made in the 3D rendering of their Earth maps has made these 3d views a lot better than they used to be, and more importantly a lot easier / faster to to produce than ever before. Hopefully more of these will follow in due course

Plymouth Friary 1974

Came across this nice little slide show on You Tube…

 

Opened on 1st July 1891 as the LSWR terminus in Plymouth, the station closed to passengers on 15th September 1958, before being demolished in 1976. We see the remnants of this former LSWR / SR terminus on 26th July 1974.

Classic Traction You Tube

London to Plymouth, quite fast

I was doing one of my regular YouTube searches when I came across this great little video. Well I say little, its actually just over twenty minutes and is the window view of a Paddington to Plymouth train, for the whole journey - but speeded up 10 times. A fair bit of it is just a blur but there are some easily recognisable sections including the main stations along the route and of course the Sea Wall at Dawlish.

 

Video uploaded to YouTube by Paul Philpott.

Also you may want to check out another of his videos: a great high speed open top bus tour of Budapest

Plymouth 1964

Just looking around in YouTube this weekend and came across this little gem showing clips from Plymouth in 1964

A few nice Leyland Titans, very early Atlanteans and even a little bit of the Torpoint Ferry and Bretonside Coach station feature in this short video.

Enjoy!

Video uploaded by slhkernow

Cattewater Branch Line

I was actually looking for something else when I came across this little gem of a video:

A little trip to down the Cattewater branch in 150927 on a Branch Line Society / Locomotive & Carriage Institution charter train. First passenger train down the branch in 14 years. With thanks to Network Rail and First Great Western

Video by Kev Adlam on You Tube

The last train to run all the way onto the Cattedown oil depot as captured on camera by Matthew Carey back on the 16th May 2008:

One's Train is Wrapped

A Great Western Railway Class 43 High Speed Train power car entered traffic on June 11 carrying a special wrap to mark HM The Queen’s 90^th birthday.
The work was carried out at GWR’s Laira depot in Plymouth. It carries images of the flying flags of the Royal Standard and the Union.

Colin Page, Depot Manager of Laira said: “We are really pleased and honoured that one of our locomotives will be part of the Queen’s birthday celebrations. The guys at the depot have done a fantastic job of preparing the locomotive and the results speak for themselves. It looks fantastic.”

- See more at: http://www.railmagazine.com/news/network/2016/06/13/gwr-celebrates-hm-the-queen-s-birthday-with-special-wrap-on-high-speed-train#sthash.sQf99eyj.dpuf

Tre Pol & Pen in Plymouth

I have to share these few videos of a train arriving at Plymouth Friary a few days ago.

Video by Classic Traction (Click through for more of their videos on their You Tube page)

On 12th March 2016 the 'Tre Pol & Pen' charter ran from London Euston to the South West and covered three West Country branch lines: the freight only Carne Point and Friary branches and Dartmoor Railway to Okehampton & Meldon Quarry. Here we see the tour headed by DBS Class 66s 66177 & 66109 as they arrive at Plymouth Friary, just short of the former Southern Region terminus, where until 1958, through passenger trains ran to London Waterloo via Okehampton ,Exeter & Salisbury.

Another video taken by P16 Trains from the same day:

And yet another this time by Train Clips HD:

Lovely...

Just a nice little video from Plymouth Citybus and Heart FM ...

Silent Night…

A little festive fun...

A nice little festive treat from Germany to head up a catch up of all the other transport blogs which have not taken a Christmas break...

You may have missed...

• Focus Transport: Hornby points towards Blazefield : New German Route for megabus.com
• Public Transport Experience: Balloch Branch; the first Bit [1] : Balloch Branch; the first Bit [2] : Christmas Presents? - Isle of Wight and Edinburgh : Christmas Presents - Northampton and Sheffield and the Isle of Wight : Christmas Presents - Let The Train take the Strain : Christmas Presents - Taunton versus Penzance
• Southampton Bus Update Christmas Eve bus services : Boxing Day bus services
• Andys Bus Blog: Seasons Greetings...
• Dennis Basford's Rails, Roads and Runways ‘Scene’ at Manchester International Airport (MIA) 3 : ‘Scene’ in the fleet of ‘Felix of Stanley’
• Home Counties Buses: Courtney Fleet News & Fleetlists back on track!
• Brentwood Bus Update: First fares to rise in January
• East Norfolk Bus Blog: 2014 Review ~ Part One : 2014 Review ~ Part Two
• Humber Transport: Christmas and New Year services 2014/15
• Norwich Buses: An unusual visitor to Norwich, Norfolk Green update and more : Atlantean Adventure : Coach Services Special : A Christmas present from BorderBus : NorwichBuses Blog through 2014 - Part One : NorwichBuses Blog through 2014 - Part Two
• Steves Bus and Train Page: Weekly News Round Up : First Fares Explained - sort of : Feliz Natal a Todos
• Public Transport Experience: Hunt for a Hotel : Plenty in Paris But How to Choose?
• Random Streets: Nürnberg, Germany
• Circle of London: Route 7: East Acton to Oxford Circus (Timelapse Video)
• Norfolk Scene: Delve In The Past; Cromer : Delve Into The Past ~ Oulton Broad North : Year Overview ~ January to April 2014 : Last Post of 2014 - Colas! : Year Overview ~ May to August 2014
• Ipswich Bus Blog: 69426 ARRIVES HOME AND 32100 AFTER REPAINT : CHRISTMAS TREATS : CHRISTMAS PHOTO SPECIAL : 66980 RETURNS HOME/FARE INCREASES : END OF THE LINE FOR THE SCANIAS AND ROUTE 55 : NOT QUITE THE END OF THE ROAD
• Lancaster Omnibus: There must be a simpler way of getting a date!
• Ian Visits: Weekly round-up of London’s railway transport news : u Photos from Crossrail’s huge Stockly flyover : A history of Pubs on the London Underground : Weekly round-up of London’s railway transport news

A very happy bus

As a bit of a light hearted breather from current and future events we start the month of August off with a musical treat!

You will of course recognise the true star of the show as Plymouth Citybus 358 ably assisted by Brian George on the day, who apparently had a great time!

The band is Mad Dog McRea – they are great live so keep an eye out for them.

---

PT RECOMMENDS

• Whenever and wherever I’ve seen one of my few Streetlites, I have to say that it has struck me as something akin to a Tonka Toy-type design. You know, trying to make a statement but in a chunky sort of way. Not handsome. Omnibuses 30 July
• Can there be any good thing come out of Rotherham? Certainly the town would not feature at the top of a "must see" list of places in the UK worthy of an extended visit; although the heavy industry featured in the picture above has almost all gone. Public Transport Experience 30 July
• Indeed, the opportunities given by the Transit—and later 608D and Daily—were responsible for the biggest single marketing-led repositioning the bus industry has ever seen, even to this day. And it all began with chassis cabs from Southampton. Omnibuses 31 July
• From last weekend, First Bus introduced a new network in Taunton; so fbb decided to visit (Monday 29th July) to see what has happened and, in particular, to see if roadside information has improved Public Transport Experience 31 July

Why not use smaller buses off peak?

Thanks to the interesting Human Transit blog for bringing this little video to my attention. Its nothing to do with Plymouth as such but it does answer a couple of questions you often hear people ask. Some parts of the answers are particular to the USA but the general points are pretty much the same for any Citybus operator.

I mainly bring this to you attention though as a nice example of how bus companies can make use of social media to get their message across. These days a simple short video news letter like this can be a very cost effective medium. Plymouth Citybus for example is so much better at self promotion these days and does make good use of social media along with its own comprehensive web site. Maybe a few short videos from time to time can be added to their sites? Would certainly make a change from all the usual comments on Facebook about buses ALWAYS being late and bus drivers ALWAYS being rude which people like to leave so often…

So what do people think? Is this a useful tool or just a gimmick?

---

Plymothian Transit Recommends

• Mrs fbb is rapidly approaching her Biblical sell-by date and friend Julia is ten years older than that. It would be fair to say that neither has any great knowledge or understanding of our nation's fragmented public transport system. Public Transport Experience
• First there was Stagecoach Gold. Then First Potteries Gold. Then the Ford Titanium. Then Google Chrome. Now comes Arriva Sapphire Omnibuses
• Now here's the point. The information they would have gleaned from the remote and computer driven Traveline was nearly right and probably the best that it could have been. But not in a thousand bus journeys would it have delivered the confidence that local knowledge would give. Public Transport Experience

PCTPG 2013

The Plymouth City Transport Preservation Group have a nice little video to show off their current collection which is well worth three minutes of your time:

©Jason Beverley PCTPG.

---

Plymothian Transit Recommends

• PCTPG Home Plymouth City Transport Preservation Group
• At first glance, the branch from Brockenhurst to Lymington does not appear to offer much excitement to the hardened ferro-equinologist or, more importantly, a mildly interested blog reader. Two red dots and a wiggly black line. Public Transport Experience
• The bus industry’s still very much a man’s world. There are nevertheless more women drivers employed in England than ever before. About one in 10 is of the female persuasion Omnibuses

How to advertise your bus service

Just a quick bonus post. This is the way that buses should be advertised... (Hit the caption ‘cc’ button if you dont speak Danish)