{"id":3825,"date":"2024-02-25T02:29:55","date_gmt":"2024-02-25T02:29:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/sunday-variety-37\/"},"modified":"2024-02-25T02:29:55","modified_gmt":"2024-02-25T02:29:55","slug":"sunday-variety-37","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/sunday-variety-37\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunday Variety"},"content":{"rendered":"
A Special Day?<\/span><\/p>\n U N O Change? : New? No Change<\/span><\/p>\n The 19, straight up Kingsthorpe Road, Eastern Avenue and then right onto Boughton Green Road becomes the 4A, whilst journeys via Kingsley become 4B.<\/p><\/div>\n The current 4 timetable is every 15 minutes, BUT …<\/p>\n … The new 4 is reduced to every 20.<\/span> Somewhere at thr back of fbb’s mind is that the original Stagecoach service to Obelisk Rise ran every 10 minutes!<\/p><\/div>\n … means that there is a bus every 10 minutes serving the Waterside Campus.<\/p><\/div>\n … is replaced by extending the Stagecoach Kings Heath route 8 cross-town on a similar\u00a020 minute\u00a0<\/span>frequency<\/span>.<\/p>\n There are now three Stagecoach routes serving Rectory Farm on the east of the town and close to fbb’s Little Billing childhood home.<\/p>\n Which leaves the Sixfields Park and Ride, route 18.<\/p>\n Under\u00a0 U N O “ownership” it was probably the worst park and tide service in the western arm of our spiralling galaxy. The buses were often observed by Northampton Alan whizzing past the railway station bereft of passengers;\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\n … which runs every 50 minutes<\/span>. Please Stagecoach, make it every hour then at least the handful of daily “commuters” to the Uni campus (it doesn’t even serve the town centre) might remember what time the buses run. But if you just miss one it really is quicker to walk!<\/p><\/div>\n We are left with the 59 and 60. These rural “oddments” have been tendered to a whole host of operators over the years. Now Stagecoach have the dubious pleasure of winning the tender.<\/p><\/div>\n … but not the whole timetable<\/p><\/div>\n Needless to day, a full timetable can be found carefully hidden in the dark depths of the ‘on-line” world, but dated 2020.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Note that it is for suburban use rather than express city to city work. Just observe the tops of the doors and the windows.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\n It has diddy extra windows above the windows, but not above the doors. Here we can see them inside – First Class …<\/p>\n … and Third Class.<\/p>\n fbb guesses that they were intended to provide extra daylight in the compartment. Oddly, and for no reason that fbb can think of, they were fitted with frosted glass.<\/p><\/div>\n … AND the toplights have frosted “glass”!!\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\n The specification is spectacular in the extreme.<\/p>\n And there’s more!<\/p>\n Of course, this comes at a price. RRP from Dapol is a tad under \u00a365<\/span> per coach. One might utter the usual OUCH but …<\/p><\/div>\n fbb doesn’t think the green first class armrests lift up to slot in their slots! Disgraceful.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\n … and you can’t really see it either!<\/p><\/div>\n He specialises in investing in companies that he thinks are undervalued on the stock market and which he is convinced have huge potential for growth. His business style is ruthless but usually successful.<\/p>\n He now owns 9% of Hornby, making him the largest single investor in the company. In practical terms he probably only needs about 25% to take control.<\/p>\n Will this be good news for Hornby – yes! Will it be good news for railway modelling – pass!<\/p><\/div>\n While there are old men (with more money than sense?? fbb is, obviously, an old man but his financial resources are not vast) prepared to pay for expensive models like the Toplight coaches, at least parts of the industry will thrive.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\n And there’s more!<\/p>\n Give that wee lassie a whole box of chocolate peanuts!<\/p><\/div>\n