Suzy, Drinker Of Coffee

Rovering around

Started on the 1125 20B from Dundee to Forfar, with Volvo/Wright single deck 21126. The bus driver correctly waited to time at Gateside Road End (until 1150), as we had arrived a couple of minutes early. This somewhat frustrated the passenger sat opposite me!

I got to Forfar, battled the winds, and waited on the next journey. On my trip in October, I mentioned that Strathtay were taking on some work to the Forfar depot from the “sister” company Meffan’s. Neil Meffan has since retired, and the remaining school buses from Kirriemuir depot will be relocated onto Strathtay licences. It means that it is coming up for five months since Strathtay’s Forfar depot took on the 117 (morning journey), 124/125 and 128 services. Mercedes Vario/Alexander ALX100 42357 had been transferred from Hull to Forfar for the 117/124/125. The bus does not have seatbelts, but has been fitted with an orange LED destination display. So, the driver had his last smoke for now, and we got ready for 1238 departure time (after a quick call to the boss, for help with navigating).

Today was the first day of Glamis Castle’s “summer” season opening. (Note previous comments about snow due anytime now). So, as a result, most journeys on the 124/125 (and Sunday service 20C) now run into the castle grounds. We squeezed the bus through the gates in, and back out. We then headed for Eassie and Newtyle, and the driver then questioned if I’d done this run before (I was the only passenger). I said that I had a few times, then he said “is this the right road for Eassie?” Well, when Meffan’s drivers did the route, it was often made up on the spot, so anything sometimes went in that regard. We had a passenger waiting for us, who got on during the one-way sector of route on the way to Newtyle. The driver actually went the “correct” way around Newtyle to end outside the church, not opposite it as the Meffan’s drivers did every time!

So, I got off the bus here, and had seven minutes before the next one. We’d got in two minutes early, so no rush! Trident/ALX400 18509 on the 57 took me from Newtyle to Blairgowrie, where I then found I had an hour and a bit to spare before my next bus. More extravagant spending i.e. £8 on a new jacket, as well as some new skirts which I liked the look of. (Almost floor length, even on me, is a challenge!) It was at this point that I had a text in from Adam… and an exchange of texts saw me agree to take on his shift tomorrow evening.

After this, a bit of something different. While Strathtay have ran a Service 71 in Dundee since 1999 (and a previous 71 from 1986-1989), they added another earlier this year. From Monday 7^th January 2007, they took over the contract from Smith & Sons for Service 71, which links communities to the north-west of Blairgowrie. The bus leaves Blairgowrie, over the River Echt, and heads up Hatton Road, over the “bailey” bridge, through Bridge of Cally, Ballintimum, Kirkmichael, passing Straloch Primary School, before reversing at a “private road” sign at Tarvie Road End. However, on Saturdays, two journeys have been newly extended beyond Tarvie to continue to Moulin and Pitlochry. Tarvie is an un-natural terminus, and it’s been this way for more than two decades. Glenisla Coaches had ran the route as long as I can remember, before Smiths won the tender in 1995. The number (71) was added in the 1999 retendering by Perth & Kinross Council. I did the bit from just before Kirkmichael to Pitlochry previously on Service 501 last summer, but this is totally different. This was the tenth week of the extended service, and it was one of the reasons I wanted to go for a bash today.

A good choice for today’s run was Mercedes Vario 42225 – the newest step-entrance bus at Blairgowrie that was small enough! We had one other passenger on the way up from Blairgowrie to Kirkmichael, and of course I was going end-to-end, i.e. Blairgowrie to Pitlochry, on the 1507 departure. We climbed out of Blairgowrie passed the redevelopment of Keathbank Mill, the “snow gates”, the holiday park, through the villages, over the signal-controlled clattering “bailey bridge”, before dropping our passenger in Kirkmichael. After that, it was a winding single-track road for most of the way to Pitlochry, and it had proven too much (in the wind, but dry) for one driver, who was being recovered from the fields by a contractor. We got into Pitlochry with a moment or two to spare, and I had about 10 minutes – long enough to see former Tayside Volvo H157 CSP still in at Yule’s depot, and Stagecoach Perth’s 56-plate Solo on the 24 shuttles.

For the return, we had two passengers as far as Kirkmichael too! One other female passenger boarded the 71 from Pitlochry to Kirkmichael, and I stayed on through to Blairgowrie Tesco (stop on the one-way loop around Wellmeadow). The driver who we spotted crashed on the way to Pitlochry was now being towed back, and passed us shortly after the “Blairgowrie 22” (miles) sign. Interesting to see a new section of route that has lasted just 10 weeks with as many passengers as the established bit of the service!

Anyway, Volvo B7/East Lancs 16932 of Dundee depot, on their early evening run on the 57, took me back from Blairgowrie to Dundee. Not sure where the intended Trident was, but this was almost good enough – except the bus needed a shutdown-and-reboot at Rattary Cross… and subsequently put in a fairly good turn of power for most of the trip. The drivers module (ticket machine data cartridge) was showing as full, so he was advised by control to issue manually written emergency tickets. This slowed the trip a little, as each fare had to be looked up in the book! I got off just round the corner from home, and got to the foot of the stairs, to see a couple in full embrace in my doorway. I waited till she made eye contact, and wiggled my keys and asked if I could squeeze by… they moved…

Labels: transport

posted by Suzy Scott @ 23:53