What Makes A Good Bus Company? It All depends! If you are an employee, you will want high wages, good working conditions and job security. If you are a shareholder or Managing Director you will want good profitability with hefty dividends as a return for your investment. As a Local Authority you want all of your voters to be satisfied…
The Big Split: Overground Line Names
As the Overground has grown, calls have increased to provide its sub-lines with clearer identities of their own. Behind the scenes, TfL have been working to do just that. Those new identities have now been revealed. The Orange “But I thought it was all going to be orange.” These were the words that ensured that the London Overground, when it…
Trouble Travelling To Thamesmead (4)
For The Record Always fearless, and always desirous of helping his world-wide following understand the complexities of the bus and rail service in the UK, fbb has decided to provide his readership with a full list of the current bus routes serving all or part of Thamesmead. Approaches via the West Broadwaters Hill View (route 380 with roads unnamed on…
Trouble Travelling To Thamesmead (3)
1970 London Bus Map Mike Harris’ repro London Bus Map for 1970 shows almost nothing for Thamesmead. Regular service 229 passed by and 171A terminated at Abbey Wood garage. Those who first arrived in late 1968 would be faced with a long walk to a bus! The 171A ran all the way from Tottenham and served the Abbey Wood estate…
Trouble Travelling To Thamesmead (2)
Starting At Charing Cross? It seemed a good idea at the time. In the heady enthusiastic days after the brand nee Victoria Line opened, London Underground was eyeing up new destinations and new routes. The planners h upon th idea os taking the existing Bakerloo line from Stanmore, bending it a but then rinning via Charing Cross, Aldwych and off…
Monday’s Friday Reads – 12 February 2024
• Former District line train to start GWR battery-train trials (IanVisits) • Vienna plans orbital S-Bahn lines (Rail Journal) • Construction to start in March on next phase of Second Avenue Subway (amNewYork) • How Paris, & Parisians, pay for its public transport (Fabric of Paris) • Pilot project uses AI to prevent suicide in Montreal Metro (CBC News) •…
Trouble Travelling To Thamesmead (1)
Thamesmead? This map from the late 1860s shows that there wasn’t much to Thamesmead back then, apart from low lying grazing land often flooded in the winter. The straight line across the lower part of the above map is the National Rail line. Where the straight roadway crosses at right angles, you will find Abbey Wood station. Just to the…
Tuesday LR Pub Meetup 13th February
A quick reminder to those interested that our second meeting of 2024 is on Tuesday 13th February at the Crosse Keys pub in the City of London. Normally at least a couple of us are there by 6.30 p.m. Join us anytime in the evening. For more details click ‘Monthly Meetup – 2nd Tuesday Evening in the City‘ at the…
Sunday Variety
Running A Little Late – Again Remember this? It is a bus for London route 358 that tries to make you think it’s a tram. It even calls itself an “i e tram”. (when first announced, fbb thought it was called, in French, Le Tram.) Got that? Well it is running a little late. It was running a year late ……
Saturday Variety
Manchester City into Manchester city This footy stadium is located in the Etihad district of Manchester, according to its official name. It is the home of big successful footy club, Manchester City. The club has just announced a massive network of footy match special buses to transport fans to stadium. The new network is far-ranging. Here is the detail for any…