Three ways to cross the Forth...
... at Stirling, Kincardine and the Forth Bridge! This is the first of the trips which I was hinting at. Having purchased a One-Ticket at £10.65 for the day, this would cover every bus I was about to journey on - all thirteen of them!
From Dundee, I left on Stagecoach MAN 22400 on the 99A. I'm sure this bus is following me around LOL... anyway, I took that to Guardbridge, before getting on Stagecoach Volvo/PS 20332 on the 23 (St Andrews - Stirling service) as far as Tillicoultry. The plan for this segment of the trip is to intersect Stagecoach Fife's involvement in the Clackmannanshire Council funded Wee County Boarder services, especially given that the timetable is about to be reduced from two buses to one. A passenger boarded 20332, and made some comment about she was going to Stirling, but she could get this bus... the 23 runs through, but the F66/67 she was referring to, would mean she would have to change somewhere... then, a passenger from the back yelled out "It's running today..." There's something in about reliability I presume... but remember that the service is ran from Stagecoach Dunfermline depot. Whilst I was waiting at Tillicoultry, I snapped the Stagecoach Olympian 16440 (on layover from the 31), and First 62304 on the 62 "orange line" circualr towards Alloa & Stirling.
Then, it arrived - just a minute down, so not bad at all. I took Solo 47179 on the F66 from Tillicoultry to Alloa, where I was able to snap up a few other buses, like the Solo on the newly extended to Stirling 78, before catching up with First Scania 62304 onto Stirling! The 62 does a longer route between the two, including more of Sauchie.
In Stirling, it's raining and dark, but there's quite a bit to see. I then got First new Scania 65175 on the 38, and the driver stopped at Camelon Police Station (Linlithgow depot vehicle and driver, so no radio), and phoned Lw depot to advise that her front destination display was blanked... Some time around Falkirk town centre, before getting the bus back to Falkirk Bus Station. Now, I know it was cold last weekend, but has hell actually frozen over? Reason I ask is that First have reopened their travel enquiry centre at Falkirk, after closing it in 2003 to "...provide a better service..." by telephone. Well, they've taken the station controllers room and radio control, and placed them in the enquiry office (which had been repainted and refurbished in 2001/2002 anyway!), but it's good. Then, took Stagecoach 32206 on the 28 back to Blairhall... the 28 is about to be no more, as service changes next month see the 28 being withdrawn, and the 74 extended to/from Falkirk more often than the current 28. This is apparently following disquiet from some over provision from Dunfermline to Falkirk, since First's changes earlier in the year, and removal of through fares from Dunfermline to Falkirk via Kincardine.
At this point, it's time to work from one bus to the next, going between the bridges. The 28 took me from Falkirk via Skinflats, Kincardine Bridge, the new Westfield turning point, High Valleyfield, then up to Blairhall, under a low bridge. Upon arrival at Blairhall, I took Olympian 16152 on the 74. This service was increased earlier in the year to three buses an hour, as the 75 became a route on its own. 74 runs from Blairhall via Oakley to Dunfermline, but the new 75 starts at Oakley, then Saline/Steelend, via the previously unserved (for a while anyway) bits of Fife (near Lathalmond - passing the back gates!), to Wellwood, then onto Dunfermline, replacing the top bit of the 76. I got to Oakley, and waited a few minutes for 16108 to take me on the 75 back to Dunfermline via Wellwood.
Then, another chunk of the day took me on Volvo coach 52253 on the X54 across from Dunfermline to Edinburgh, before a few sights around the Capital. A variety of vehicles were snapped, including some rare or not so rare peak time workings! I then took Stagecoach Solo 47183 on the X61 from Dunfermline to Chapel Level, had a bite to eat at the nearby retail park, and then came back for a B6 on the K2 - 30673 was a bit of a surprise, as a little older than I expected (what was of Cowdenbeath's low floor B6LE's? one was on the 33/A (still with Perth fleetnames!), and one was running around light). After arriving at the partially rebuilt Kirkcaldy bus station, took Volvo/Plaxton coach 54240, then Volvo/PS 20304 on the last 42 back to Dundee.
End-to-end, it was around thirteen hours of good stuff - working out at less than £1 per hour! Tommorrow's just another day, but another mileage buster on Wednesday...
posted by Suzy Scott @ 23:35
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