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28/12/2008

Saturday 27th December 2008 ~ Shop Till You Drop

The Gemini contingent at Lynn over Christmas was 37564/5/6/7, 37572/4/5/6/9. The remaining 8 were presumably at Yarmouth and Lowestoft.
I was about early today and after defrosting the car saw 37571 on Y8 09.01 Wisbech - Peterborough - later this evening I saw it arriving at Lynn on the same turn. K2 09.09 Wisbech - Lowestoft (08.18 ex Pbo) pulled in to the bus station with 37579. Next service I saw was J10 10.48 ex Peterborough with 37577 roughly on time. Bruce had sent me a text to tell me that J11 and L13 were both B10Ms, now this suited me fine as my plan was to do J11 12.09 Wisbech to Lynn and later this evening L13 19.59 Lynn - Wisbech.
Waiting at Wisbech bus station from 11.55 until 12.42 was hardly what I had in mind, particularly as my train left Lynn at 12.56 ! Nevertheless, due to some unprecedented delay J11 with 20103 was 33 late from Wisbech. It had only been 5 late going west, but little blame can be attached to 103 as this was moving along nicely although it must be said with very little heating being provided. A fellow passenger informed me that 'sometimes they miss Wisbech out and go down the bypass' - had he been reading the blog I wonder ? Anyway on a related matter, I can reveal that there has at last been an instruction from head office to drivers to stop using the alternative A1101 route out to gain access to and from Wisbech - so the old lady waiting at Weasenham Lane stop triumphed in the end then !
Meanwhile during my wait at Wisbech 37568 arrived and departed slightly late on Y14 12.01 to Peterborough and once on board 20103 we passed 37565, 37567 and 37576 on K15/16/17 respectively. The latter was about 10 late and passed us sitting in a lengthy queue on Nar Ouse Way caused by the World and his wife descending on King's Lynn to use their Christmas vouchers etc. We eventually rolled into Lynn at about 13.30 (48 late) and 103 went forward as a late running L12 13.12 to Lowestoft. What happened to the real L12 is unknown, but as Bruce saw 20111 heading east past him at 13.20, it is fairly safe to assume this was L12 running 32 late. As I walked to King's Lynn station to catch the 13.56 train, 20104 arrived on K18 13.29 Lynn - Peterborough.
On my return after several pints of real ale in Cambridge, I arrived at Lynn bus station at 19.50 to find 20103 in the middle (L12), 20109 arrived on a 41A and 20111 waiting to work the 19.59 to Peterborough (L13) which pleased me. The only negative thing to say about 111 was that it had a badly screeching fanbelt which only seemed to correct itself once 50mph was reached. We left at 19.59 with some heat this time and despite a clear road and a capable driver, we were 1 late at Terrington St. John, on time at Walpole and about 1 early into Wisbech. How on earth drivers are supposed to maintain the timetable in times of heavy traffic is a mystery, the answer to which is only known by FEC. At Walpole Highway we passed another B10 (20105 ??) on Y9 heading for Lowestoft, bringing the total B10M count for the day to four.

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