The changing face of Bristol

[PatB]

I shall mourn the Post Office building. In use or derelict it has been a major landmark for several decades.

 

Many years ago (c1983-84) I used to pass through Bristol TM on my way north, latish on a Friday evening and I was fascinated by what I could see of the workings of the mailbag  conveyor that ran from the platforms across to the PO building.

[Dazzler Fan]

+
 

66509 on 0C76 route learned at Lawrence Hill, Bristol.

 

Red Brick building on left I believe was the one and only Max Williams Model Shop.
- pity long gone too.

 

Noel

[ikks]

It will live on for a long time yet:

 

DSCN1581.JPGDSCN1584.JPG

Had to look twice at this........thought it was real! Great modelling.

 

Rgds....Mike

Edited November 30, 2016 by ikks

[Vanders]

Red Brick building on left I believe was the one and only Max Williams Model Shop.

- pity long gone too.

No, Max Williams was a few doors down; that building is on the end of the row, and currently a tool hire shop.

[37114]

No, Max Williams was a few doors down; that building is on the end of the row, and currently a tool hire shop.

 

Indeed, I think there was another shop in-between Max Williams and Machine Mart.

 

I still have my Lima Deltic which was given to me as a Christmas present when I was 5 that came from Max Williams. Many a minute spent in that shop.

[Captain Kernow]

Sadly the Coffee Trike is now in abeyance; Keira is moving away from Bristol and her last day was on Friday.

What a huge shame, she rightly won a Community Rail award for that initiative, but best of luck to her in whatever new endeavours she starts.

[Downendian]

I've just received some news from Bristol University. They are to redevelop the old post office sorting building at Temple Meads, to create the £300 million Temple quarter campus

http://universitybusiness.co.uk/Article/bristols-new-300m-campus-set-to-transform-temple-quarter?utm_source=University+Business&utm_campaign=685349dd33-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2016_12_06&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c6db9ca943-685349dd33-158927297

Temple Meads will move further away from what I remember as a child. Still excellent investment for the city.

Neil

[Andy Kirkham]

I've just received some news from Bristol University. They are to redevelop the old post office sorting building at Temple Meads, to create the £300 million Temple quarter campus

http://universitybusiness.co.uk/Article/bristols-new-300m-campus-set-to-transform-temple-quarter?utm_source=University+Business&utm_campaign=685349dd33-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2016_12_06&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c6db9ca943-685349dd33-158927297

Temple Meads will move further away from what I remember as a child. Still excellent investment for the city.

Neil

Part of a welcome trend. The railway always used to be marginal to Bristol's local transport requirements because Temple Meads was so inconveniently situated; now that the city's centre of gravity is migrating towards Temple Meads, the railway's role is increasing. It's just a pity that so many of the city's residential areas are remote from a railway - the Midland route out to Mangotsfield would be booming now if it had been kept.

[JZ]

 It's just a pity that so many of the city's residential areas are remote from a railway - the Midland route out to Mangotsfield would be booming now if it had been kept.

And probably have avoided the expense of 4-tracking Filton Bank. Or should I say re-4-tracking. A few years back, there were rumours of the Weston services starting from Yate. This would have been an ideal route.

Edited December 22, 2016 by JZ

[JZ]

I've just received some news from Bristol University. They are to redevelop the old post office sorting building at Temple Meads, to create the £300 million Temple quarter campus

http://universitybusiness.co.uk/Article/bristols-new-300m-campus-set-to-transform-temple-quarter?utm_source=University+Business&utm_campaign=685349dd33-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2016_12_06&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c6db9ca943-685349dd33-158927297

Temple Meads will move further away from what I remember as a child. Still excellent investment for the city.

Neil

From what I gather from the plans, is that there will be no car parking on site, nor for the arena. Everyone would arrive by public transport. So what about people that live in areas with no trains,myself included, or little or no bus service. The South side of Bristol has little in the way of park and rides, Brislington excepted. The outgoing mayor, George Ferguson,had said that it would cause no traffic problems. Try telling that to residents of Totterdown and Bedminster.

[young37215]

From what I gather from the plans, is that there will be no car parking on site, nor for the arena. Everyone would arrive by public transport. So what about people that live in areas with no trains,myself included, or little or no bus service. The South side of Bristol has little in the way of park and rides, Brislington excepted. The outgoing mayor, George Ferguson,had said that it would cause no traffic problems. Try telling that to residents of Totterdown and Bedminster.

The lack of car parking comes as little surprise, unfortunately the communists on Bristol city council seem to hate the car even more than those they rip off with their exorbitant council tax charge.  Absent a comprehensive public transport system in and around Bristol, there is little alternative for most other than to have to drive of they want to get somewhere. The muppet politicians cannot work this out for themselves and simply obstruct normal people trying to live their lives.

[ForestPines]

From what I gather from the plans, is that there will be no car parking on site, nor for the arena. Everyone would arrive by public transport. So what about people that live in areas with no trains,myself included, or little or no bus service. The South side of Bristol has little in the way of park and rides, Brislington excepted. The outgoing mayor, George Ferguson,had said that it would cause no traffic problems. Try telling that to residents of Totterdown and Bedminster.

There's the Long Ashton park and ride too.

 

On the Filton Bank route: the Easton Road bridge rebuild is still unfinished, nearly two months after it was supposed to reopen.

[Vanders]

There's the Long Ashton park and ride too.

Yes, although that has (will) only becomes useful for the majority of South Bristol residents once the South Bristol Link Road has opened. There's probably some irony in that or summat.

 

It's fine; I'm sure Bristol City Council have some cunning plan to improve public transport in Bristol & the surrounded areas, no doubt by shoveling more public money into the utterly useless First Bus. Like somebody else said, the old Midland route would have been ideal for serving East Bristol, especially developments such as Emersons Green & Lyde Green. There's almost enough of the route left between Westerleigh and Bath to create a usable route; if only some plonker hadn't built a couple of miles of now-congested ring road on top of it a few years back!

[ForestPines]

On the Filton Bank route: the Easton Road bridge rebuild is still unfinished, nearly two months after it was supposed to reopen.

Apparently it reopened yesterday, shortly after I posted that! Maybe I should have posted it earlier...

[Andy Kirkham]

Apparently it reopened yesterday, shortly after I posted that! Maybe I should have posted it earlier...

Does anybody know why it needed to take so long? I thought the new bridge was craned into position months ago. What kind of works were needed to make it ready for use?

[ForestPines]

Does anybody know why it needed to take so long? I thought the new bridge was craned into position months ago. What kind of works were needed to make it ready for use?

It was indeed months ago that the main structural beams were craned in - I think, if you scroll up this thread, I took a photo of the crane in position. I'm not sure why there was such an overrun, but I know it was rare to see much action on site whenever I walked past!

[Captain Kernow]

And probably have avoided the expense of 4-tracking Filton Bank. Or should I say re-4-tracking. A few years back, there were rumours of the Weston services starting from Yate. This would have been an ideal route.

I think you're right, although that would (probably) have been at the expense of XC not calling at Bristol Parkway. I've always thought that the Mangotsfield route would have been ideal for the Voyager service, plus some of the freight that currently goes via Filton Bank.

[JZ]

I think you're right, although that would (probably) have been at the expense of XC not calling at Bristol Parkway. I've always thought that the Mangotsfield route would have been ideal for the Voyager service, plus some of the freight that currently goes via Filton Bank.

Maybe the Manchester and Northern Territories ones alternating between routes. Or have Cheltenham as the interchange for South Wales. 

Edited December 27, 2016 by JZ

[Captain Kernow]

Maybe the Manchester and Northern Territories ones alternating between routes. Or have Cheltenham as the interchange for South Wales. 

Yes, I'd have liked to have thought that they would have used the time saved by not running via Stoke Gifford and calling at Parkway, to call at Gloucester instead, although in that particular time line, Eastgate wouldn't have closed either.

[rodent279]

Fascinating. My sister lived in Bristol from 1978 until a couple of weeks ago, and I've lived in Downend since 2006. Despite many visits to Bristol during the 80's & 90's, I've no real memory of either the flyover, or the railway bridge outside TM.
Fray Bentos's photos are addictive!
Cheers N

Edited December 28, 2016 by rodent279

[rodent279]

I think you're right, although that would (probably) have been at the expense of XC not calling at Bristol Parkway. I've always thought that the Mangotsfield route would have been ideal for the Voyager service, plus some of the freight that currently goes via Filton Bank.

The thing is, Parkway itself is not that well sited. If the MR via Mangotsfield had survived, a parkway could have been built somewhere near Westerleigh, or slightly further south, near what is now Lyde Green.

With the ring road nearby, & M4 a mile or so distant, I would think that would be as good as Parkway if not better. Of course, an extra junction off the M4 would be required-but that has been needed for at leat the last 10 yrs, if not longer.

[Captain Kernow]

The thing is, Parkway itself is not that well sited. If the MR via Mangotsfield had survived, a parkway could have been built somewhere near Westerleigh, or slightly further south, near what is now Lyde Green.

With the ring road nearby, & M4 a mile or so distant, I would think that would be as good as Parkway if not better. Of course, an extra junction off the M4 would be required-but that has been needed for at leat the last 10 yrs, if not longer.

What a splendid idea! A kind of Tamworth type set-up with the platforms, perhaps?

[JZ]

What a splendid idea! A kind of Tamworth type set-up with the platforms, perhaps?

Now there's a modelling project.

[Vanders]

The thing is, Parkway itself is not that well sited. If the MR via Mangotsfield had survived, a parkway could have been built somewhere near Westerleigh, or slightly further south, near what is now Lyde Green.

With the ring road nearby, & M4 a mile or so distant, I would think that would be as good as Parkway if not better. Of course, an extra junction off the M4 would be required-but that has been needed for at leat the last 10 yrs, if not longer.

If you drive along the section between J18 & J19, you might notice there are a set of half-built slip roads already in place. Although you'd want to build a South-East chord to avoid a reversal at Yate, assuming we're talking about retaining London services.

 

And yes, a station there would have saved me the trouble of having to get through the Hambrook Lights/Hambrook Lane. Frankly it's easier to get to Temple Meads...

[rodent279]

If you drive along the section between J18 & J19, you might notice there are a set of half-built slip roads already in place. Although you'd want to build a South-East chord to avoid a reversal at Yate, assuming we're talking about retaining London services.

 

And yes, a station there would have saved me the trouble of having to get through the Hambrook Lights/Hambrook Lane. Frankly it's easier to get to Temple Meads...

 

In fact, moving slightly off topic, it's interesting to speculate whether, if the GWR had gained control of the Bristol & Gloucester instead of the Midland, the Badminton route would have had an east-south connection allowing London trains to reach BTM via Mangotsfield.