Tuesday 5th August 2014 ~ Creating a Diversion

The first week of the route split seems to have gone smoothly, though the roadworks which seem to dog the route have done their best to ruin things. The King's Lynn bypass work has over-run and I think is now due to end in a weeks time. Meanwhile, Nene Quay in Wisbech, for so long closed for flood defence work in recent years had been shut once again, meaning yet another diversion via Churchill Road and Weasenham Lane.

Photo copyright : Lisa Scott

This time gas main relaying is to blame, but today Nene Quay was open for traffic in one direction and although publicity points to it being open for Peterborough bound traffic only, there was an element of confusion this morning when instead the eastbound side was open, with Peterborough bound buses being diverted.
 The 10.44 departure tried the signed route via Market Place but was thwarted by the sharp right turn from Hill Street into Union Street as shown here :
Whoops ! The bus had to reverse all the way back up Hill Street to escape. One imagines the little lad in the photo asking his Dad if he can go for an exciting trip on the X1 soon !
 At 11.45 today, the Quay was reopened to Peterborough bound traffic only with eastbound buses having to use Weasenham Lane, but not before three services (33816/12/10) had travelled through to Wisbech Town Bridge where they had to take the tight left hander to go over the bridge through to the Old Market.


The buses themselves seem to have been well behaved lately with just one failure being reported, 33807  cut out at Narborough on Friday and had to be replaced, this amid all the chaos caused by heavy traffic and with major tailbacks, some services travelled from Swaffham to Lynn via Stradsett depriving Middleton, East winch and Narborough of their service for a while.
Over in the east, 33818 -24 have all been in action on the Lowestoft - Yarmouth -Norwich service, although today was the first day that Malcolm noted all 7 in service when they worked as follows:
33818 10.00 Lowestoft - Yarmouth
33819 11.45 Yarmouth - Lowestoft
33820 12.20 Lowestoft - Yarmouth
33821 14.40 Lowestoft - Yarmouth
33822 12.00 Lowestoft - Yarmouth
33823 11.00 Lowestoft - Yarmouth
33824 10.20 Lowestoft - Norwich

Other unusual sightings in Lowestoft today were 34188 on the 11.00 to Martham, while 44512 came in on the 09.45 X2 from Norwich and later 44513 worked the 14.15 X2 to Norwich.

Whilst not with in the remit of this blog, but by way of a change Jim Long writes "I thought you might like to show 32479 as she was a Norwich car originally and now displays the Privatised livery of 1987.
This shot was taken on August 2nd and has the back drop of the Orwell bridge on the extended Superoute 66 service Martlesham to Halifax which is a local estate in Ipswich not West Yorks ..lol..
Thought it would be nice on your site as the new team in place at First are making a real effort to spice things up so to speak"...... and indeed why not Jim ?