Lincolnshire RCC memories

Another short story from Alan M Watkins

It was a funny old Tilling-BTC company for many years using non-standard blinds and doing all sorts of curious things in curious places.

There was the instruction pasted inside the lid of every conductors box: "Have you made sure you have sufficient transfer waybills for your duty?"

Good question for a company that frequently swapped up and down crews in the middle of nowhere and which made people get on different buses to get home.

The poor old Service 2 from Lincoln to Sleaford via Cranwell a good example with everything a through fare but: "Passengers for Cranwell change cars at Cranwell Lane end" or "Passengers from Cranwell travel on Sleaford car and change at Cranwell Lane End."

Anyone trying to get from Sleaford to Lincoln on Saturday and Sunday on the 9.10 p.m. Service 2 were advised: "Lincoln passengers change cars at Cranwell Church."

So while they all affectionally (mostly) just called it Road Car they certainly had to keep up to speed with the timetable arrangements.

The 4.5 p.m NSSu warned passengers that travellers on Service 4 to RAF
Scampton would be set down "at the Scampton Guard Room instead of the normal bus stop."

Service 4a advised that although a departure time of 6.59 a.m. to Lincoln was shown at Nettleham (Green)  "no passengers may be picked up at 6.59 a.m. for Lincoln".  The solution to that locally was that everyone got on at Trott's Corner instead of The Green.  Local knowledge.

Service 10B 6.30 p.m. out of Lincoln said Alford on the front but it was lying as it was really going to Mablethorpe and thus: "Passengers for Alford change cars at Maltby Corner."  Okay, the timetable "sword" did say "This car proceeds to Mablethorpe, arriving 8.56 p.m."  But the Duty Card still said: "SHOW ALFORD".  Confusing or what?

The 50C Grimsby to Marshchapel at 7.5 a.m completely disappears out of a return but that is because it operated the 8.10 a.m. Marshchapel to Grimsby duplicate.

And although through tickets were issued on the WO 9.30 a.m. Mablethorpe-Grimsby and it said  SHOW GRIMSBY it was actually only going as far North Somercotes from where it doubled back as a duplicate to the 9.5 a.m. ex Grimsby (WO duplicate).  Confusing?  It certainly was.  So they all trouped on to the 9.15 a.m. Louth-Grimsby
Service 50B.  Not a lot happened at North Somercotes but that was certainly a Wednesday event.  Transfer Waybill job par excellence.

And what about the mystery of the disappearing bus service?  Dear old service 14 Horncastle to Louth (a lovely ride) via Belchford (prettier than the name) and Scamblesby. On Wednesdays and Saturdays a bus trundled out from Horncastle through the hamlet of Fulletby and brought such as there were back into Horncastle at 11.37 am.

Aaargh - there's no return journey.  But study the timetable carefully and the secret is revealed.

4.7 pm Horncastle to Louth: "On Wednesdays and Saturdays the Relief Car to this journey proceeds via Fulletby." So there was a happy ending and they all got home!

Spare a thought for the residents of Moorby, a tiny hamlet and a bus width only lane from Wood Enderby on the 15 from Horncastle to Boston via Mareham le Fen.  They didn't actually manage to get the name of their village in the main timetable nor the times when it arrived or departed but local knowledge knew that on Wed and Sat the Relief Car to the 10.10 and 2.10 to Boston and the 12.10 and 5.35 ex Boston "will
proceed via Moorby."

The Horncastle Duty Card for the Service Bus says: "ENSURE YOU HAVE NO MOORBY PASSENGERS ON YOUR VEHICLE."

Quite.

Just before kick off I used to say: "Anyone for Moorby needs to be on the bus behind."  I don't remember any takers so I think they were pretty well trained.

If one escaped it was okay because the LRCC instruction was: "Duplicate Vehicles must never overtake the Service Vehicle except in case of breakdown."

The 15, by the way, went past the depot of Goslings of Mareham le Fen.  One of their conductor girls was a Saturday early traveller from Scrivelsby and, as was the practice of the time with anyone "badged", was entitled to a free ride.