First and Second Class Buses
The London bus route 73, is one of the last of the dreaded bendy ones and hasn’t got too much longer. Today I was going to the Angel and one of Ken’s chariots of fire arrived followed by a 476.
At the stop with me were several kids, who made their way down the bus so they could use the rear entrance of the seventy-free far from the gaze of the driver.
As the 73 was very crowded, probably with non-fare payers, I walked past it to the 476 behind and had the bus almost to myself.
Who says there is no class system on London buses?
They Open a Beach at the Angel, Islington and It Rains
They opened a beach in the N1 Shopping Centre at Islington yesterday, complete with plastic Astroturf sand and grass, deckchairs and all the other things a beach needs.
Then it rained.
Happy Hundreth Birthday to the Liver Building
The Liver Building is one hundred today.
Remember that the Liver Birds on the top flap their wings, when a virgin walks past on the Pierhead.
The BBC did a piece about the anniversary this morning and in it Phil Redmond, said that “Liverpool is the Second City of Empire”.
Lakeside On The Slide
The leader of Thurrock Council has said that the development of Eastfield on the Olympic Park will harm the Lakeside Shopping Centre at Thurrock.
Let’s face it, Lakeside is a tired dump and impossible to get to be public transport, so it has no appeal for me. But then when Bluewater opened C and I always crossed the bridge to a much better place. As a coeliac too, where’s the gluten free food at Lakeside?
Apologies To CrossRail
In a previous post, I accused CrossRail of not giving much information on the work they are doing.
But then I found these notes overlooking the new Canary Wharf station.
That is a lot better, so I apologise. But where is similar information at Bond Street and Tottenham Court Road stations?
London’s Floating Cinema
When I was watching the MS Deutshland leave, there was an interloper.
London's Floating Cinema
It is London’s floating cinema, that cruises the canals and rivers in the east of the city.
Auf Weidersehen, Deutschland!
I couldn’t resist going to Docklands to see the departure of the MS Deutschland.
It was a tight squeeze to get out.
I think we’re going to see more ships like the MS Deutschland entering the docks at Canary Wharf and berthing on the South Quay. I suspect that a lot of people are wishing that the lock connecting the West India Docks to the River Thames was built a bit larger by the Victorians. This was published by Motor Boats Monthly.
The manoeuvre took just under three hours, and a huge amount of skill to complete. The ship itself is 175.3m long with a 23m beam, and the lock is just over this at 178m long and 24.4m wide.
So it was a very tight squeeze. Note that the largest ship of the nineteenth century was the SS Great Eastern, which wouldn’t have fitted into the lock to get in and out of the docks.
Through The Angel,Islington On a 30 Bus
I took this video in the style of Mitchell and Kenyon, from the top of a 30 bus, as it went through the Angel at Islington.
Note the tram washing shed on the right, which is now the Jack Wills store and the statue of Hugh Myddelton on Islington Green.
In the end, I got off to go to the Carluccio’s on Upper Street.
Germans Book Their Place For The Olympics
I know there is a bit of a stereotype about Germans getting up early to put their towels on loungers.
But then they go and bring their cruise ship, the MS Deutschland, into London Docklands, a whole year ahead of the Olympics.
It did suffer the indignity of having to come in backwards. So is this an omen, that the Germans are going to do well in the rowing?
Yorkshire Cannyness?
The railway between Leeds and York via Harrogate is severely overloaded and is run using the the dreaded Pacers.
Now it is being proposed that the line be electrified using a simple third rail system and reuse ex-London Underground, District Line trains.
It is an idea that might work and provide a better service.
Although I’m generally in favour of overhead electrification, there are lines like this where less intrusive third-rail electrification may be more suitable. On this line there is also a two mile long tunnel, Bramhope Tunnel, which would be prohibitively expensive or impossible to electrify using overhead wires.
Although this proposal is based around using London Underground D Stock, which are generally about thirty years old, there is no reason to believe that as CrossRail and Thameslink progress throughout London, that other suitable trains will be released.
The Anonymous Widower 