Friday morning

1. Long serving driver, Mike Crabtree, demonstrating one of the disadvantages of the temporary terminus - no trolley reverser.
2. The great tram race.
3. Halloween preparations.
4. The third service tram was Glagow 812.

Town End - Monday 27th Oct

The digging is now complete. This week's work included removing all the old rail and other unwanted material from the construction site.
Balfour Beatty are expected to be on site next Monday to prepare for concreting and the weather is expected to detriorate.

Halfterm and a Busy Tuesday

1&2. Tuesday was a busy day with Chesterfield 7, Glasgow 22 and Liverpool 869 all carrying good loads. Leeds 399 was being used for driver training.

3&4. Recently appointed Traffic Superintendent, Martin Gurr was duty inspector.

Town End 23rd October

1&2. By Friday afternoon the filling and levelling was virtually complete.
3. I think that the work so far is a credit to the Museum and the Outside Works staff.

4. Big boys' toys.
The next stage of the project is lay the concrete base for the pointwork as was done at Wakebridge last year.

Town End 20th October

1. Track lifting and digging out are now complete.

2. The work now is to build a firm foundation using hardcore from the quarry.
3. The levels are checked using more traditional methods than Balfour Beatty's laser beams.
4. As I left in the early afternoon it had started to rain.

More buses

The weekday buses to Crich on services 140, 141 and 142 are now provided by DUNN MOTOR TRACTION LIMITED T/A yourbus and based in Hucknall. Doyles still operate the 144.

1. yourbus were using lowfloor Dennis Darts for all journeys that I saw. They were all route branded for Nottingham city services to Bulwell.

2. Doyles had upped their game with this low floor Optare Solo in their new green livery.

3. The bus stops outside the National Tramway Museum.

4. 'eh up me duck! roughly translates as hello and I don't really think they are offering day tickets for £2.
Finally here are lists of the Crich bus services:

from 25th October 2009
140 Sunday Matlock-Crich-Alfreton-Ripley (trentbarton)
140 M-S Matlock-Crich-Alfreton Station (yourbus)
141 M-S Matlock-Crich-Heage-Ripley Sainsburys (yourbus)
142 M-S Nether Heage-Belper-Crich-Alfreton Station (yourbus)
144 M-S Ripley-Ambergate-Whatstandwell-Crich (Doyles)

way back in 1959
E2  Daily Matlock-Crich-Alfreton (Midland General)
96  Daily Ripley-Crich (Trent)
97  M-S Ripley-Crich-Whatstandwell (Trent)
157  Daily Belper-Crich (Trent)
197  M-F Ripley-Crich-Whatstandwell-Belper (Trent)
     Friday Crich-Derby (Gervase Taylor)
     Sat Crich-Ripley (Gervase Taylor)

PS I agree with Aaron's comment. We OAPs don't stay up late enough to check out the 21:00 or 23:05 departures.
PPS On Thursday yourbus were operating a step entrance bus on the 142 - so an all low-floor service to Crich didn't last long. Finally youbus don't issue tickets to OAPs. 

Library update

Collections Access Assistant
My application for this post was unsuccessful. However it was accepted that I have some relevant technical skills so I will apply for any similar vacancy in future.
Dismissal from the Library
I have read the Panel's report carefully and I have written to the Chairman with my observations. It is very thorough and makes a number of recommendations which I suggest should be published and distributed with Contact. The Report also highlights a number of problems and contradictions that need to be addressed.
In the short term I have asked that the duration of the formal suspension and the nature of any conditions attached to it should be approved at the next Board meeting.

Fifty years on

Fifty years ago I joined the Tramway Museum Society and I used to travel to Crich most Sundays on the E2 (Matlock-Crich-Alfreton) Midland General bus from my home in Matlock. In the 1970s Midland General was taken over by Trent and the E2 was given the more conventional service number 240. Deregulation of bus services in 1986 brought about more changes and the last Trent bus on the 240 was a Leyland National on Saturday 25th October 1986.

Weekday services were contracted by Derbyshire County Council to a small company called Maun International based in Sutton-in-Ashfield. In May 1987 the 240 was renumbered 140 and a summer Sunday service to Matlock was provided by Chesterfield Corporation by extending the number 17 Chesterfield to Matlock service to Crich. Over the years the tenders changed and for a short while Stagecoach registered some 140 journeys commercially.

Today Trent now trading as trentbarton returned to Crich on Sundays having won the tender for service 140 which on Sundays follows the old E2 from Matlock to Alfreton but then continues to Ripley. Another difference is that today's 140 is operated from Matlock depot. Alfreton having closed many years ago.

1.The pictures show the 12:58 to Matlock arriving Crich Market Place.

2. Arrival at Matlock Rail Station. (Before the first Matlock bus station opened c1953, Midland General buses used to terminate in the station yard a few yards from here).
3. Back at Crich Town End at 13:58.
4. Finally back in 1959 I was a regular customer in Harrison's shop for Lyons fruit pies and bottles of pop. The shop has now been converted into an attractive tea room.

Autumn

Liverpool 869 and Glasgow 22 on the penultimate Friday of the season.

In the distance

The letter has arrived.

The good news is that my dismissal from the Library was an inappropriate action and that a formal suspension would have been the correct action.

The bad news is that no definite recommendation is made as to when and under what circumstances I can resume my duties. I hope this will be clarified very soon.

In the meantime I will proceed with my application for the temporary post of Collections Access Assistant which I hope will enable me to make a positive contribution to the Museum.


1-4. Zoom lens views of Blackpool 40 yesterday. When the last picture was taken it had just started to rain! 

A letter in the post

1. David Gibbs changing the points for Blackpool 40.
2. A Landrover and two trams.
3. Leeds 399 in the woods.
4. Mike Conroy-Hargreaves at the controls of 399 under the watchful eye of Paul Hobson.

In reply to a direct question, I was told that there is a letter for me in the post from the Chairman. Perhaps it will arrive before the strike.