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Post by moz on Feb 23, 2024 12:47:37 GMT
Haven't seen it mentioned on here but Wonderworks in Margate (Hornby Centre) is having a clearout over this weekend with stuff up to 50% off. Seemed to be a fair selection of OOC and rail with some decent discounts, though gone are the glory days of overproduction when you could rock up and buy a trade box of 6 OOC Metrobuses for a tenner.
<EDIT> Forgot to mention, don'y get distracted by the sales section in the main shop, the sale items are to the left as you go into the café area.
Moz
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Post by moz on Feb 4, 2024 1:32:16 GMT
Just in case anyone hasn't noticed, Southeastern is currently undertaking a recruitment blitz with opportunities across all disciplines including on board staff and London area ticket office staff. Some part-time London ticket office vacancies also working Mon-Fri 0600-1100. www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/about-us/careers-at-southeasternMoz
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Post by moz on Jan 27, 2024 5:28:29 GMT
Not London, but you might end up working in London, Travelmasters at Sheerness are looking for drivers. Apart from School buses there are no fare collecting duties, mainly Private Hires and Rail at weekends which can take you over a wide area. Talking to a few of the drivers if you leave your phone on there is almost constant E-Rail work available too.
Moz
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Post by moz on Jan 12, 2024 23:40:12 GMT
A small operator near me, Bayliss Executive of Eythorne have taken delivery of two brand new fully three-point belted 11.5m E400 MMC. One of them is YX73PKC, yet to see the other one. Got a lift home on PKC tonight and took full advantage of the sound system. EDIT:/UPDATE The second one is reg YX73PKE
Moz
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Post by moz on Jan 8, 2024 17:52:56 GMT
Didn't think I'd have reason to post in this channel twice in a day. Sadly Hattons Model Shop of Liverpool have announced that they are closing down. They are having a final sale both in store and online. Be sad to see them go. www.hattons.co.uk/newsdetail?id=1498Moz
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Post by moz on Jan 8, 2024 10:17:25 GMT
Not seen this mentioned here. Released 3 days before Christmas so probably flew under most radars, seems like a fun little kit with no glue or paint required and positive reviews. You could probably have some fun with some self adhesive paper and a little photoshop to vary adverts and route details. uk.airfix.com/products/quickbuild-new-routemaster-bus-j6050Moz
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Post by moz on Nov 2, 2023 13:20:38 GMT
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Post by moz on Oct 12, 2023 20:28:13 GMT
Ah, this might explain why there were a few suits wandering round Tilmanstone depot recently. Lot of cheap space they can expand into there.
Moz
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Post by moz on Oct 8, 2023 0:54:55 GMT
Well it's all going about as well as anybody could have expected since the closure. A large proportion of the drivers at FK took redundancy which caused major cancellations on the first day after closure. Since then about 60% of the staff who transferred out have given in their notice. It's fairly comical looking at the daily cancellations tweets for the area.
Moz
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Post by moz on Sept 21, 2023 4:50:12 GMT
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Post by moz on Aug 24, 2023 10:51:55 GMT
Quick update on this since the new timetables are now available:
10 - Withdrawn Sundays. Last weekday bus from Folkestone will now be just after 18:00, though a new later journey to Ashford at 19:15 but starting from Hythe. 16 - Withdrawn between Hythe and Folkestone. Remains x20 daytimes 70 - Withdrawn 71 - No major changes, retains late evening service. 71A - No major shanges. 73 - Reduced to hourly Mon-Fri only. 74 - Heavily reduced with service ending at around 14:00. Withdrawn Saturdays. 75 - Withdrawn 76 - Unchanged 91 - Unchanged 100 - Extended from Rye to New Romney, Collins Road via Camber, Lydd, Hammonds Corner. Additional Rye - New Romney shorts introduced on Sundays. 102 - Withdrawn Rye - Lydd. Basic service x30 with one bus per hour via Greatstone to Lydd on Sea, Pilot, the other via New Romney High Street, Hammonds Corner to Lydd Camp. The interconnecting early/late journeys with route 16 to/from Canterbury withdrawn.
Moz
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Post by moz on Aug 10, 2023 4:21:22 GMT
Quick update, it seems that the 100 (Conquest - Rye) is being extended as part of the East Sussex improvements scheme to replace the 102 to New Romney. Whether this means the 102 will now terminate at Greatstone or run the fast route via New Romney High Street, Brenzett and the A259 to Rye hasn't been clarified just yet.
Moz
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Post by moz on Jul 25, 2023 2:36:13 GMT
The Hastings - Dover run was decimated years back. The 100/101 only run between Hastings and Rye, only the 102 runs Rye to Dover which means if you want to get to New Romney from Rye you have to sit through Lydd-on-Sea, Lade and Greatstone as nothing other than the 11 runs along New Romney High Street and Hammond's Corner. Also, apart from the last journeys, there are no guaranteed connections at Rye. Moz Something of a contrast to the early Stagecoach days when they combined the Brighton - Eastbourne, Eastbourne - Hastings, Hastings - Rye, Rye - Folkestone and Folkestone - Dover routes into one marathon numbered 712. It ran through every hour iirc and with many shorter workings to provide suitable headways over the busier parts such as Brighton - Eastbourne and Folkestone - Dover. For the enthusiast this brought the unusual sights of East Kent's bus-grant coaches in Brighton and Southdown's tall Volvo Citybuses in Dover. It presented all sorts of operational issues however as drivers didn't work through and could be presented with an unfamiliar vehicle type with differing ticket machine fitments. Punctuality was also a major issue given the length of the route and the heavy traffic often encountered. Seaford - Brighton was and is notorious for severe traffic delays while Eastbourne and Camber Sands in summer could grind to a halt. Passenger accustomed to a double-decker on the busy Sussex coast suddenly found apparently random journeys worked by a coach with fewer seats, more steps and no luggage racks inside which was very unpopular. Local passengers demanded a reliable and more localised service. It was swiftly broken up into Brighton - Eastbourne and Eastbourne - Dover sections with the latter soon becoming Eastbourne - Hastings and Hastings - Dover. That remained the position until the most recent round of cuts which, as you mention, split the route across Rye once again and have thinned the service across what was always a rather under-used section. Lydd - Camber was once served only by a twice-daily summer-only service (426) and Rye - Camber was only a couple of trips in winter. I suspect most users are only travelling to or from the next major town anyway so through services were more an operational thing than driven by commercial considerations. A couple of years earlier Stagecoach attempted to link the Worthing - Brighton route with those eastwards to Camber producing an unlikely Worthing - Camber through route 799 every two hours. This replaced some trips on the 230 (Worthing - Brighton) and those routes mentioned above to Camber. Also worked by coaches instead of deckers this proved equally unpopular with both staff and passengers. It started from Worthing coach station rather than the time-honoured sea-front bus stops (though was altered to also serve the usual Brighton-bound stop there after a few months of complaints) and again was usually late, could not be readily boarded by the less-able and had nowhere for shopping trolleys or buggies unless the driver got out and opened the locker. I gather the main purpose in this case was to retain work for coach drivers as the traditional Southdown "South Coast Express" and London routes had been run down or withdrawn by NBC and Stagecoach had no interest in keeping the remaining few trips. On the occasions I did 'Wave' work through to Hastings the 100/101 were well used along what would be considered the country sections of route between Dymchurch and Ore, regardless which branch you worked. People liked it because it was fairly reliable and got them closer to home - something Marshlink can't do. With some slack built into the running times then they would have worked great but SSE got a new broom with a sidekick who thought they knew better and culled the through service. I still think it would be workable, but it would take a large operating competitor to prove me right. Moz
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Post by moz on Jul 14, 2023 11:18:40 GMT
Looks like an exploding clock
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Post by moz on Jul 6, 2023 16:21:53 GMT
How long until the remaining key inter-urban links are broken? Rye - Lydd for example. And what then will be the fate of the Hastings - Dover operation? Try catching a bus to or from Sevenoaks - a large town - in any direction. Go Coach runs a few trips between school runs over former LT and M&D routes which once ran at least once an hour and every day. There is a residual daytime service south to Tonbridge. Nothing else. Ashford is about to head the same way. The Hastings - Dover run was decimated years back. The 100/101 only run between Hastings and Rye, only the 102 runs Rye to Dover which means if you want to get to New Romney from Rye you have to sit through Lydd-on-Sea, Lade and Greatstone as nothing other than the 11 runs along New Romney High Street and Hammond's Corner. Also, apart from the last journeys, there are no guaranteed connections at Rye. Moz
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