June 18th, 2007
We took a couple of hours to do some trainspotting while at a conference in Edinburgh, Scotland. Stopping first at Waverly station and then travelling east to Musselburgh station on a tip from trainspots.co.uk, we caught 24 trains ranging from two car Electric Multiple Units to 60-car unit coal trains in short order before returning to the venue.
Edinburgh, Scotland
(map) The Scottish capital hosts a relatively large passenger station called Waverly station which has a train in or out of out around every 4 minutes during peak hours. To the south of the downtown is the freight bypass.
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Several passenger trains come and go from Edinburgh's Waverley station in the twenty or so minutes we watch from the west end.
Musselburgh, Scotland
(map) Just a few minutes to the east of Edinburgh, Musselburgh hosts the regional freight yard called Millerhill and is beyond the Edinburgh freight bypass. The passenger station is very accessible with the freight yard available to trainspot at just a few minute walk away down a bicycle path, under the A-1 highway, and up onto a road bridge.
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An EWS ballast train pulls into Millerhill yard.
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An EWS Class 66 brings a lengthly coal train into Millerhill yard in Musselburgh.
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A Freightliner Class 66 pulls a train out of EWS Millerhill yard.
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Passenger trains fly by Musselburgh station at high speed every few minutes.
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A rare half-century-old Class 37 leads a trash train through Musselburgh station with Edinburgh's smelliest.
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More passenger trains rush through Musselburgh station while the locals make their station stops.
June 20th, 2007
One day each DebConf the conference organisers come up with a day trip. This year 154 of us went to the Isle of Bute by train, leading to a series of entertainingly overcrowded trains on the journey. I shot out the window of the train and at the stations where we stopped and have rather liberally described the locations where those photos were taken as Edinburgh to half way to Glasgow, Glasgow covering up to Port Glasgow, and Wemyss Bay, the ferry transfer point to the island, for everything west of Port Glasgow.
Edinburgh, Scotland
(map) The Scottish capital hosts a relatively large passenger station called Waverly station which has a train in or out of out around every 4 minutes during peak hours. To the south of the downtown is the freight bypass.
Glasgow, Scotland
(map) Glasgow is about midway between Edinburgh and the west coast of Scotland and hosts two major train stations.
Wemyss Bay, Scotland
(map) Wemyss Bay is on the west coast of Scotland and hosts the Wemyss Bay-Rothesay ferry that connects the Isle of Bute to the Scottish mainland via a direct train-ferry connection that even shares the same ticket to get all the way through.
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Our SPT train comes to a stop at Wemyss Bay station for our transfer to the ferry to Rothesay, before returning to the train a couple of hours later.
Glasgow, Scotland
(map) Glasgow is about midway between Edinburgh and the west coast of Scotland and hosts two major train stations.
June 21st, 2007
While out museum browsing, Laura took a few photos of trains at Edinburgh Waverly station.
Edinburgh, Scotland
(map) The Scottish capital hosts a relatively large passenger station called Waverly station which has a train in or out of out around every 4 minutes during peak hours. To the south of the downtown is the freight bypass.
June 22nd, 2007
Once again proving that the best trains come when you aren't there, Laura went downtown and shot a rare Class 67 running light power through Edinburgh Waverly station followed shortly by a parked Class 90 electric freight locomotive also in the passenger-only Waverly corridor.
June 23rd, 2007
We caught a Virgin train in the early afternoon at Edinburgh, Scotland and made for High Wycombe, England. On the way I tried to shoot anything interesting, catching my second Class 37 and my only Class 57 of the trip. Somehow we managed to see two of the rare Class 67s but were not able to shoot either of them in time. We transferred at Leamington Spa and made the whole trip in a little under seven hours.
Musselburgh, Scotland
(map) Just a few minutes to the east of Edinburgh, Musselburgh hosts the regional freight yard called Millerhill and is beyond the Edinburgh freight bypass. The passenger station is very accessible with the freight yard available to trainspot at just a few minute walk away down a bicycle path, under the A-1 highway, and up onto a road bridge.
Dunbar, Scotland
(map) The east coast line connecting Scotland to England turns south at Dunbar. Just outside the city to the south is a relatively large facility serviced by Freightliner.
