What's new?
What's new?
The Bygone Era is now back online (10/03/13)! While it has been down for essential maintenance which I’ll mention after this, I’ve taken the opportunity to make some other changes. As I promised earlier, the Independent operators now have their own threads, and we also welcome a new thread from the Tees and District Transport Company, with timetables from December 1990 including those operating under the names of CountyBus and Hoppa.
I have also been working on re-uploading the problematic PDF timetable attachments into unique URL links, which will give faster page load times and improved accessibility. The Independent operators and the Stagecoach/Busways threads have now been completed; and work is underway on the Go North East thread, the Tyne and Wear Timetables thread, and the PTE thread. These should be completed shortly in the coming days but are online now as they are in their current form.
The main reason for the section downtime was to add a watermark to all content generously donated by cbma06. After the recent scare we had with our bus photo collection, we both deemed it necessary to prevent against future theft. All timetable scans and a few other miscellaneous items are now copyright to cbma06, and you’ll now find a discreet copyright mark on all material supplied by him. I do apologise for the length of time the section has been down due to this. I only acquired the watermarking software this week, and combined with a poor internet connection and site issues; this has taken a bit longer than I was hoping to complete.
As before, I'll continue trying to locate further items as and when I get the time. Anyway, I'm just over the moon we're back online, so hope you enjoy having a look around!
Updates for tonight (10/03/13) include a Coaster 1/2 timetable from January 2007 operating the Kibblesworth and Wrekenton extensions from Gateshead. There is also a Crusader 27/27A timetable from January 2008 between South Shields and Newcastle. These can be found in the Go North East thread at - http://northeastbuses.co.uk/forum/showth...hp?tid=145
We also have a Northern and United leaflet from December 1975, with timetables for service 130 between Sunderland and Newcastle, 230 between Sunderland and Hartlepool, 244/245 between Horden and Hartlepool, and 246 between Horden and Sunny Blunts. This timetable leaflet can be found in the Go North East thread linked above (listed at 130), and also in the United section of the Arriva thread at - http://northeastbuses.co.uk/forum/showth...hp?tid=255
Thanks
Unfortunately this evening I have come to realise that I cannot access our online archive and can't view the old timetables. Thankfully it has been confirmed that all files are still "there" in our external server - but the issue seems to be with MyBB itself.
This isn't an area of expertise for me and sadly I cannot give any indication as to when they will be back online. I can confirm that they will all return to the site in some form or another.
The PDF timetable attachments are unaffected and can still be viewed. But these are now confined to the Go North East thread and the Tyne and Wear Area Timetables thread only - due to them being phased out.
I'm really sorry for any inconvenience.
I'm pleased to announce that all timetable links appear to be working now! I was starting to think they'd all need their URL's changing...
I have no idea why they weren't working before, or why they have started working now all by themselves
Anyway - just glad to be back online with them. I'm slowly rolling out The Bygone Era to cover operators from around the UK, starting with Stagecoach. Work will start on this from tomorrow; I was hoping to start earlier this evening but I'm too tired now.
Updates this evening (Friday 15 March 2013)
The following timetables have been added to the their respective threads in the Bus Operators section.
Updates from the last few days (w/b 18 March 2013)
In the Stagecoach and Busways thread, we now have online information given to employees at City Busways, as well as Faretables for City & Newcastle Busways routes from 26 October 1986.
In the Go North East thread, we have a Northern timetable from July 1978 for services 151/152 between Sunderland and Thornley or Easington Lane, and 192/193/194 between Newcastle and Murton, Thornley or Easington Lane.
Copied into both the Arriva and United thread and the Go North East thread, there is a leaflet for service changes taking place on 31 August 1980, affecting X3, 220 and 724, as well as X1, 722 and 723. Timetables are enclosed in the leaflet.
Faretables from December 1975 have been added to the Hartlepool Transport thread - look how cheap the fares were! Faretables from July 1981 have also been added to the new Darlington Transport thread.
In our new Newcastle Corporation Transport thread, we have September 1948 faretables for the local tram and trolly bus routes across Newcastle.
Huge thanks to our member cbma06 for these contributions. They're much appreciated!
An excellent contribution has been added this afternoon courtesy of cbma06.
In the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive thread, we have bus stop plans effective from 26 October 1986 for the following locations:
Byker
Chichester
Four Lane Ends
Gateshead
Haymarket and Eldon Square
Heworth
Jarrow
Marlborough Crescent and Central Station
Newcastle
North Shields
Park Lane (Sunderland)
Regent Centre
South Shields
Sunderland
Wallsend
Updates from this evening (24 March 2013) -
A Scarlet Band timetable from March 2005 for their Saturday-only service X25 between Darlington, Ferryhill, and MetroCentre is now online.
In the Stagecoach and Busways thread, we have 14 Calender Cards from between 1991 and 1994 courtesy of cbma06. Also in this thread are March 2003 timetables for the MetroCentre IKEA Shuttle and X23 between Central Station and Newburn; a Newcastle Bus Guide from September 2003, a Newcastle NightRider leaflet from June 2005, and a QuayLink timetable from January 2006.
A Teesside Bus Guide from April 2003 is now online, as well as a notice for Teesside changes from March 2004.
An update from this evening, 27 March 2013, courtesy from cbma06 -
In the Go North East thread, we have a 2001 timetable for service X97 between Seaburn, Heworth and Newcastle (including secured service 558 during evenings/Sundays). There is also a March 2002 timetable for service X98 between Southwick, Heworth and Newcastle.
A January 2001 timetable can be found for new services 37/37A, which link South Shields, Sunderland and Seaham. In 2000, Go North East extended City Circular services 135/136 to Hollycarrside to replace the circular services 134/138 - though this was very much short-lived; a timetable for this new extension is now online.
We welcome a new thread for St George Travel, and a 1999 timetable can be found for services 179/181 between Concord, Washington Galleries and Chester-le-Street.
In the Durham County Council thread, we have the following bus station and area maps which are correct until October 1986 -
Updates from this evening, 28 March 2013, courtesy of cbma06
In the Stagecoach / Busways thread, timetable leaflets for the following Sunderland Busways services have been added -
A largely Wearside area update from this evening, 2 April 2013, courtesy of cbma06 -
The following timetable leaflets have been added to the Stagecoach / Busways thread -
Sunderland Busways
omg yes we have a 21 timetable, ive being looking for this service for ages, it was one of my local buses, y did it ever get withdrawn?
I didn't think it ran at a bus every 15 mins, more every 30 mins, it had good links to, the bus was always full and it was a mini link =D
(02 Apr 2013, 8:32 pm)Michael omg yes we have a 21 timetable, ive being looking for this service for ages, it was one of my local buses, y did it ever get withdrawn?
(02 Apr 2013, 8:32 pm)Michael omg yes we have a 21 timetable, ive being looking for this service for ages, it was one of my local buses, y did it ever get withdrawn?
(02 Apr 2013, 8:41 pm)Michael yeh i think it was, it served round the estate, not just the main road, like the 23 does now.
i used to love getting this bus, maybe just because it was a mini link or cause i was a kid
(02 Apr 2013, 8:41 pm)Michael yeh i think it was, it served round the estate, not just the main road, like the 23 does now.
i used to love getting this bus, maybe just because it was a mini link or cause i was a kid
A follow-on from yesterday's update, courtesy of cbma06 -
The following timetable leaflets have been added to the Stagecoach / Busways thread -
Sunderland
Sunderland Busways
Until the time comes when we're able to increase our server capacity to upload a further 6000+ files, I'm planning on some changes.
In the server, I've unearthed the complete set of timetables from the Go North East thread and the Tyne and Wear Timetables thread, so I can get to work on replacing the last remaining attachments with these URL links instead. This should give the threads a much simpler look.
Threads are currently set up where all the information for each operator is in the first post. While it's nice to keep it all together; in the case of the Go North East thread, I think it can be quite difficult to scroll down to what you want. I'm contemplating splitting the top post into multiple posts with hyperlinks at the top of the thread, which would direct visitors immediately further down the page to where they want to be. I think this would be especially useful in the Go North East thread and the Stagecoach thread.
For the Bygone Era to evolve, I think we need to be offering more than timetables. I want to return to having photos within each thread - and I'm already getting in contact with some Flickr members to see if we can link in appropriate sets and/or having images hosted with their expressed permission. Following a suggestion, I'm very keen to include a company history on each company and I hope that this would be of interest to some visitors. As well as a generic company history, I can see merit in the idea of providing a brief background on each service listed, i.e. "what the service was replaced by, is it still running today? If so what route does it now take?" If this becomes too crowded, could we offer an insight into specific groups of services in towns/cities instead?
In the Go North East, Stagecoach and Redby threads, I've trialled having a logo image at the top of the post to improve the overall look and feel of the thread. I'm quite happy with how these look and I'll be rolling these out to the other threads in due course.
These changes will be gradually on-going over the next few weeks and will also involve some re-organising of content within some threads to improve navigation and appearance. Unlike the overhaul currently undergoing in the Local Bus Scene area of North East Buses which will be unveiled once complete, changes here will be made on an on-going basis. I don't envisage this work causing any disruption to content here within The Bygone Era.
I hope these changes will be positive for The Bygone Era. I believe they're necessary to grow the section and improve the offer for visitors. If you have any suggestions or any other changes you'd like to suggest, drop them in a reply below or PM me! I'm really keen to hear your thoughts
We are in the process of re-publishing our individual timetable scans into PDF booklets. Not only are these easier to read, they take up significantly less room on the server than the part 1, part 2, part 3... etc... scans we currently have; so much in fact that I'm confident we will be able to upload most if not all of our recent contribution of over 6000 individual files. This will keep us going for the time being until a more permanent solution for increasing the capacity of the server can be made.
Regular updates will commence in due course. In the meantime, we have a May 1949 guide to British Rail trains from Durham, Newcastle and Sunderland now online here.
New updates to the Arriva / United thread include full United timetable booklets for the following areas: