Butts
Veteran Member
Well I nabbed a Scotrail Club 50 £16 Flat return fare and decided to head to Kyle of Lochalsh to visit the Railway Museum. From what I could ascertain from the website it was open 10-5 Monday to Friday.
I figured both the Train and Museum would be quiet at this time of year and was correct on both counts - to much so with regard to the latter
Jumped on the 0708 to Stirling from Falkirk G and then connected to the Scotrail 0736 to Inverness. I had a reserved seat but ignored that and grabbed a Priority Seat in Coach A. With Scotrail why can't you choose the seat you want from a diagram like other operators instead of being randomly allocated one. The technology exists why don't Scotrail have access to it ?
Got my free Club 50 Coffee same "fun sized" one you get in 1st Class. I was suprised when the trolley operator asked for my ticket and annotated it with "1 Free Coffee" this has never happened before. I was to find out why later.
Had half an hour to kill in Inverness before my Kyle Service so I nipped out for a burn and a quick stroll around.
Returning to catch the 1100 to Kyle of Lochalsh I virtually had the whole of Coach A to myself as there were only 2 other passengers in it. The scenery was magnificent and quite different from the summer with snow covered mountains and frozen lochs and rivers and forests.
When the trolley came around I asked for my Club 50 Coffee and when the lady looked at my ticket she said "I'm sorry, you are only allowed one per journey". What a bunch to tightwads same allowance on a 20 min journey from Glasgow to Falkirk as on a 6 hour plus one to Kyle ? Fortunately for me she must have concurred as she came back five minutes later with said coffee in her mit - I was going to buy one but common sense prevailed.
I told her I was going to visit the Museum and she told me she didn't think it was open. Sure enough on arrival she was correct so rather than catching the 1713 back I nipped off for a smoke and then went back on the same service 1346. Much to my chargin this carried no trolley service but there is very little to do in Kyle without any wheels so I had no choice really.
By the time we got back to Dingwall I was gagging so I got off there at 1550 aware there was a subsequent service to Inverness 20 minutes later at 1610. really weird timetabling three trains to Inverness in 40 minutes when some parts of the day it is hours between services. Amazingly the Ticket Office was shut but luckily both the cafe and pub that from part of the station were open - what's that all about ? Got an excellent £1 Takeaway Coffee (cheapest on a station in the UK?) and joined four others flouting Abellio's ludicrous ban on smoking on platforms with no staff to enforce it !!!
Joined the 1610 to Inverness and was admonished by a schoolgirl wearing a Guards Uniform for breaking my journey - 1st time that has ever happened to me
I explained the "dry" kyle service and she was actually okay about it.
Arrived in Inverness at 1640 and hotfooted to the Co-Op for a meal deal to take onto the 1730 to Glasgow from whence I would alight at Stirling and catch a train back to Falkirk. Good deal Egg and Bacon Sandwich, Ginsters Sausage Roll and Orange Juice for £3.25 !!!! Also onboard I got my Club 50 Coffee to go with my Co-Op purchase and a Priority Seat again.
So a bit of a disaster on the Museum Front , but luckily I had loaded up with Autobiographys from X-Mas and got through a good bit of them with my 10 hours plus on trains. Did wonders for my fag consumption as well
I figured both the Train and Museum would be quiet at this time of year and was correct on both counts - to much so with regard to the latter
Jumped on the 0708 to Stirling from Falkirk G and then connected to the Scotrail 0736 to Inverness. I had a reserved seat but ignored that and grabbed a Priority Seat in Coach A. With Scotrail why can't you choose the seat you want from a diagram like other operators instead of being randomly allocated one. The technology exists why don't Scotrail have access to it ?
Got my free Club 50 Coffee same "fun sized" one you get in 1st Class. I was suprised when the trolley operator asked for my ticket and annotated it with "1 Free Coffee" this has never happened before. I was to find out why later.
Had half an hour to kill in Inverness before my Kyle Service so I nipped out for a burn and a quick stroll around.
Returning to catch the 1100 to Kyle of Lochalsh I virtually had the whole of Coach A to myself as there were only 2 other passengers in it. The scenery was magnificent and quite different from the summer with snow covered mountains and frozen lochs and rivers and forests.
When the trolley came around I asked for my Club 50 Coffee and when the lady looked at my ticket she said "I'm sorry, you are only allowed one per journey". What a bunch to tightwads same allowance on a 20 min journey from Glasgow to Falkirk as on a 6 hour plus one to Kyle ? Fortunately for me she must have concurred as she came back five minutes later with said coffee in her mit - I was going to buy one but common sense prevailed.
I told her I was going to visit the Museum and she told me she didn't think it was open. Sure enough on arrival she was correct so rather than catching the 1713 back I nipped off for a smoke and then went back on the same service 1346. Much to my chargin this carried no trolley service but there is very little to do in Kyle without any wheels so I had no choice really.
By the time we got back to Dingwall I was gagging so I got off there at 1550 aware there was a subsequent service to Inverness 20 minutes later at 1610. really weird timetabling three trains to Inverness in 40 minutes when some parts of the day it is hours between services. Amazingly the Ticket Office was shut but luckily both the cafe and pub that from part of the station were open - what's that all about ? Got an excellent £1 Takeaway Coffee (cheapest on a station in the UK?) and joined four others flouting Abellio's ludicrous ban on smoking on platforms with no staff to enforce it !!!
Joined the 1610 to Inverness and was admonished by a schoolgirl wearing a Guards Uniform for breaking my journey - 1st time that has ever happened to me
I explained the "dry" kyle service and she was actually okay about it.Arrived in Inverness at 1640 and hotfooted to the Co-Op for a meal deal to take onto the 1730 to Glasgow from whence I would alight at Stirling and catch a train back to Falkirk. Good deal Egg and Bacon Sandwich, Ginsters Sausage Roll and Orange Juice for £3.25 !!!! Also onboard I got my Club 50 Coffee to go with my Co-Op purchase and a Priority Seat again.
So a bit of a disaster on the Museum Front , but luckily I had loaded up with Autobiographys from X-Mas and got through a good bit of them with my 10 hours plus on trains. Did wonders for my fag consumption as well
