An Incredible Journey

Another visit to the used bus emporium at Purfleet with cheque book in hand and the inevitable happens!

I must admit that I had already made up my mind that I was going to buy a bus, the biggest clue was the fact that I had only bought a single ticket from Gloucester to Rainham (£22.50 bargain!).

The day began badly. Strong winds and driving rain showing how badly designed Gloucester railway station is. Couple this with conflicting information about which platform my train was to depart from and large puddles on the undulating platform surface, causing me to get rather wet, and you can understand my already worsening mood. The scheduled departure from platform 1 and its redirection to platform 4 could not have been worse under the circumstances, all caused by the train that should have been going to Cardiff sitting idly in platform 2 (its path blocked by fallen trees near Lydney). Platforms 1 and 4 could not be further apart!

My train arrives and we depart only 10 minutes late in a South West Trains liveried unit working a First Great Western service.

I sit back in a surprisingly comfortable seat and enjoy the view. We pass Stonehouse without incident and at Stroud I notice the 35 service from Nympsfield at the end of Cainscross road at 1017 (meaning it should arrive on time at Cornhill at 1020). Onwards to Kemble, where I am always surprised by the number of passengers joining and alighting each train, and then the guard makes an announcement!

The gist of this long winded and pause ridden statement was that there was disruption across the entire network due to the weather, the London Underground was in turmoil and that we were running 10 minutes late whilst our connection was not! The tone of his statement was that we were going to miss our connection to Paddington. Much muttering and rustling then took place within the carriage.

We arrived at Swindon and as it appeared most of the passengers on our train intended to make this impossible connection, there was a scramble for the doors. How i miss the days when there were more than two door per carriage and you could just reach out of the window and open the door to enable you to begin your sprint before the train had even stopped! Luckily, however, the guard had missed the fact that 10 minutes late meant that we still had a good 10 minutes to wait for the Paddington train!

Having just dried out I was once again lauched into the driving wind and rain to ensure further discomfort. I even had time to buy a paper from the newsagent before my train arrived.

I have learnt through bitter experience that all trains heading into and out of Paddington will be horrendously overcrowded and so I made sure that I reserved a seat. I also chose the quiet carriage as an excuse to turn off my mobile and enjoy some peace before being launched into the unmitigated chaos that is London. I was astounded to find the train almost empty and only about 10 people occupying the quiet carriage. I looked for my reserved seat and I was astounded to find somebody sitting in it! How on earth could this be! Out of all the available seats, only mine and nine others were occupied! But being English, I carried on past and found another seat and did not make a fuss. On the other side of the train was a lady who I guessed to be in her mid fifties. Just as the train departed from Swindon her mobile rang! She answered it and then proceeded to talk into it saying such gems as " hold on a sec, I am in the quiet coach" and "nearly there" as she wandered down the aisle to the end of the carriage. I thought that the whole point of being in the quiet carriage was that you turned these infernal devices off! She eventually returned to her seat without displaying any shame and in no way looking apologetic adding to my growing sense of injustice. I am sure that if my phone had rang she would have been the first to point out that this was the quiet carriage, a place that she had deliberately chosen to sit!

We arrived at Paddington on time but the rain was still torrential and I had by this point noted that the quiet coach was at the back of the train giving me a longer walk along the platform. This gave me time to reflect on the grandeur of the train shed and more importantly that it was impossible to walk to the exit without walking through several waterfalls, which I am sure were not in Brunel's original design, caused by stratigically placed holes in the roof. Thankfully First Group had provided several helpful yellow signs informing me that there was water on the floor and that there was a risk of slipping. How amusing it was to see someone trip over one of these signs! If only there had been a sign warning people that there were signs on the platform!

I made for fresh air, extra fresh due to the wind howling through the concourse, and made my phone calls. I phoned Paul at Ensign Bus to say I was at Paddington and to arrange a lift from Rainham Station and then phoned the wife.

The underground was running well, not in chaos as previously warned, and the familiar journey across London to Tower Hill ensued. Whilst underground, the weather had miraculously cleared up and blue skies greeted me on my emergance to the surface. From Tower Hill it is just a short walk to Fenchurch Street and onto the train bound for Grays.

Another smooth and punctual journey and I arrive at Rainham. The ticket barrier refuses to let anyone out unless they have a pass but by using the gate that says no exit I am out! Now I am confronted by a lake where once there was car park which can only be crossed by getting your feet wet (again!). Only five minutes wait and the familiar blue and silver colours of the Ensign Bus van appears. In no time I am in used bus heaven!

I had come to see two Mercedes automatic minibuses both of which were waiting for me in 'the shed'. Both were running and awaiting my inspection. I was only allowed to buy one and so the selection process began. There was not much between them except that on one the passenger doors would not work properly so decision made! N912 ETM was going to join our fleet.

My choice was adorned with trade plates and made ready for a test drive. This passed without incident except that I wanted to try its hill climbing ability. This part of Essex is devoid of such geographical features and so I had to make do with a mild gradient. I already knew that this aspect of performance was likely to be dissapointing and so it proved to be. Test drive completed, it was back to the yard for paperwork.

After an attempt was made to sell me a low floor dart from Veolia in South Wales and I had made sufficient disparaging comments to show that I was not going to spend any money on such a monstrosity it was time to leave.

I had already worked out that my new steed was not going to proceed faster than about 50 mph, less on an incline, and so a painfully slow journey was in store for me. Nearly four hours of tedium later, including a stop for fuel at South Mimms, I arrive at Nailsworth. Ian had waited for my arrival (Ian is our only driver with an automatic only licence) and so was most eager to see my latest purchase. I parked it and Ian jumped aboard. He scuttled around it and inevitably ended up in the cab where he attempted to start it. All of a sudden, despite no problems other than lack of speed on its mammoth journey from Essex, the battery was flat.

The next day it was to go into the workshop for a full inspection and so I knew we would be fitting a new battery at least. And so I went home after another fun packed day in the world of buses.

Home At Last

Another significant event that occurred during the later part of 'The Dark Ages' was that we finally had scheduled bus services (other than schools services) in our home town of Nailsworth!

Not satisfied with just an occasional visit to this rural metropolis we now operate what is left of a once generous level of local services as well as a six day per week link to Minchinhampton and Stroud. It only took 5 years to achieve this!

Nailsworth still has what I call a proper bus station! Quite a luxury these days in our area when compared to the larger nearby town of Stroud which now has to make do with a collection of laybys on a main road!

The Dark Ages

And so it continues! Two years on and now not so blinded by the anger and frustration that the bus industry can cause, I return to the blog.

I shall refer to this time as the Dark Ages!

I think, although I cannot quite remember, that it all started with what I can only describe as a confrontation with South Gloucestershire Council over route 620. Needless to say, the end result was that we withdrew from the service and have not undertaken work for this particular authority since!

This was followed by uncertainty over the future of supported bus services and an expensive visit to a Public Enquiry and I am sure there was something else...Oh yes, I got married!

What has improved my mood recently, improved enough to even think about returning to the blog, is that we appear to have crossed a major hurdle caused directly by the Government spending cuts. The entire Gloucestershire supported bus service network was reviewed and subsequently re-tendered. We made our bids and were more successful than I could have hoped!

Lets Try A Volvo This Time!

Bye bye Scania, hello Volvo! H431 EFT is departing soon, already replaced by a Volvo B10M (L310 PSC). They look the same but the volvo has a vicious tail!! N384 PNY has also departed recently, bought by Gloucester Limos for a school contract in the Gloucester area.

Another Departure

And so H430 EFT leaves for pastures new across the Severn Bridge to Chepstow Classic Buses. It has a gearbox fault that was uneconomic for us to attend to so I don't know what the future holds for it!

Photos Number 8 and Number 9 - WX59 BWB

The new arrival just after delivery parked next to a Bristol RE for contrast! And a shot of the light and airy interior!

The New Additions

And so they have all arrived in the nick of time!

Our new MAN Centro is now registered WX59 BWB and the Ugly Ducklings (which don't look so bad in the flesh) are V682 FPO and W483 OUF. Did I mention that there is another Dart (N64 KBW) nicknamed Dino due to the fact it has arrived in Jurassic Coast promotional livery!

The Centro is now painted but still needs its vinyls fitted. It will hit the streets during the week ahead!

As well as the vehicles there are also new routes. The 130 and 131, with a 29A in the afternoons, will serve Sir William Romney's School in Tetbury.

The Ugly Ducklings

Success!

I have found two low floor vehicles under 12 years old and within our price range! The only problem is they are ugly! The Caetano Compass body certainly was not in the running for any design awards but beggars cannot be choosers!

And so on Tuesday I will head off to the Ensign used bus emporium to complete the deal! Fortunately delivery is included in the price as there are few more boring tasks than driving a bus for a long distance on the M25 and M4!

Added to the fact that our new MAN arrives next week sees nearly a fifth of the fleet converted to low floor in a week!

The Forsight Saga

And so the 620 saga is nearly at an end! The route was put out to competitive tender a little while ago causing mild distress to myself as losing it would have caused chaos! And so the only alternative to chaos was to win the route back!

And so an alternative timetable was promptly dispatched with an attractive price in the appropriate box leading to success! We have now been awarded the contract although the 620 service will now only run between Bath and Chipping Sodbury. The 29 route will now extend southwards to Yate.

The only problem now is finding appropriate vehicles! The contracts now require low-floor vehicles less than 12 years old and so the search for something in this catagory continues!

More Route Changes

Not only the vehicles are changing! September will see two new routes (130 and 131), a new variation (29A) and also changes to route 620!

Add to this the change to route 864 through Chedworth village (starting today) and I now realise that is a lot of paperwork!

The changing or creation of a route has become a tedious process! Gone are the days of excitement about how it was going to perform, replaced by the laborious process of negotiation and registration.

The change to the 864 for example was initiated by Chedworth Parish Council who, if looking at a map, wanted the route moved a little to the right! So Chedworth Parish Council contacted us and, as the route is effectively owned by Gloucestershire County Council, then contacted them. Gloucestershire County Council then contact us leading to the postal and email systems being overloaded for a while asking if we thought this was a good idea! Whether or not we considered this to be of any benefit will become less relevant as time progresses and it becomes more of a political issue! To be perfectly honest this change, being of a minor nature, meant that there was no issue to us if it happened or not however I personally don't see any possibility of this change increasing patronage! But the machine of change continues and so a change date is agreed and the paperwork may begin as follows: -

1. Fill out the registration form (4 pages)
2. Fill out the supplimentary registration form (2 pages)
3. Provide a scale map of the route (8 pages)
4. Write a route description (1 page)
5. Create a timetable (1 page)
6. Write a cheque for £60.00

And so my 18 pages must now be copied 3 times, 1 for the Traffic Commissioners Office, 1 for the Local Authority and 1 for the file. So thats 54 sheets of paper and a good quantity of printer ink!

Fortunately the Council will print the timetables!!!!!