The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

090225: A720 Edinburgh City By-Pass (Bonaly) - 25th Feb 2009

Wed Feb 25 2009

Wednesday 25 February 2009: Today, i took another one of my regular visits to up to Bonaly with my brother to photograph some of the action on the A720 'Edinburgh City By-Pass'.

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Vessels: Tankers

Thu Jan 1 1970

Thursday 1 January 1970: Vessels: Tankers

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

080529: Visit to Ocean Terminal - 29th May 2008.

Thu May 29 2008

Thursday 29 May 2008: After the visit out to Edinburgh Airport, it was decided to head out to Ocean Terminal to see what ships were around. While here, i also decided to do some more aerial photography of buses from above in the multi-storey car park.

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

080529: Visit to Edinburgh Airport again- 29th May 2008.

Thu May 29 2008

Thursday 29 May 2008: Paid another visit to Edinburgh Airport again to photograph aircraft, which was initially done at the Turnhouse end, but after a short while i then moved to the Ingliston end at the Royal Highland Showground. Fortunately, unlike the last time, no buses were present.!!!

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

081005: Found..... ex Ribble Leyland Leopard CCK625C - 5th Oct 2008.

Sun Oct 5 2008

Sunday 5 October 2008: Today was my last day of my working week at the Kells Transport Museum and as i was catching a flight home at 13:30, a long lie in bed was had to start with. Once up, a trip out to Midleton was had prior to heading off to the airport. While in Midleton, i stumbled across the shell of former Ribble 625 (CCK625C), a Weymann bodied Leyland Leopard PSU3/1R now registered as 683-JPI. This was located out of sight at a private residence in the lower garden and had been used as a stores shed for many years. It's original identity was confirmed via it's fleetnumber still being visible inside and also by the chassis number of which the plate was still present. It is missing it's seats, engine, wheels & rear springs. However, from what i could gather, it's fate might be very near as the owners are looking to dispose of it.

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

080521: Visit to Edinburgh Airport - 21st May 2008.

Wed May 21 2008

Wednesday 21 May 2008: Ok, what more can i say. I actually did manage to get to photograph some aircraft after all. Dull lighting conditions coupled with the need for faster shutter speeds resulted in having to use higher ISO speeds of up to 400-ISO, resulting in some grainy effects on the images.

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Railway Locomotives: Class 08.

Thu Jan 1 1970

Thursday 1 January 1970: Railway Locomotives: Class 08.

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Aircraft: Airbus A320

Thu Jan 1 1970

Thursday 1 January 1970: Aircraft: Airbus A320

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Aircraft: Boeing 777

Thu Jan 1 1970

Thursday 1 January 1970: Aircraft: Boeing 777

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Aircraft: Boeing 757

Thu Jan 1 1970

Thursday 1 January 1970: Aircraft: Boeing 757

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

080521: Visit to Edinburgh Airport ???? - 21st May 2008.

Wed May 21 2008

Wednesday 21 May 2008: Today, i decided to have a bus free photography day as i was fed up of the sight of them, and as such i decided to wander off to Edinburgh Airport to shoot some aircraft from the Ingliston side of the fence which i had identified as a potential spot. However, upon reaching this spot, i noted there was some kind of event on at the Royal Highland Show and that there was more buses/coaches littering the car park than what you could find at a major bus rally.!!!!! Ah well, guess what happened - the Garage Cat started shooting at buses instead of planes.!!! Bloody Buses.......................!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, and yes, a couple of Firstbus vehicles were thrown in for good measure just to wind me up.

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

080512: Visit to o'Sullivans of Hospital, Co. Limerick - 12th May 2008.

Mon May 12 2008

Monday 12 May 2008: Today, myself & Michael took a trip up to the premises of o'Sullivans of Hospital in Co. Limerick to look over their fleet of buses, which incidentally were up for sale as o'Sullivan's was running down their bus operations. While on the way there, i managed to photograph a Bus Eireann 'ML-Class' minibus in Ballylanders. Upon arrival at o'Sullivans premises, i was surprised to find three Fleetines (2x ex West Midlands & 1x Cleveland Transit) and an assortment of Leyland Nationals & Lynx's, of which two of the latter were winding me up by showing me that they were ex Firstbus vehicles by means of their 5 digit fleetnumbers - this is getting bloody ridiculous now.!!!!!!

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

080510: Picking up a Bristol RELL from Rathangan - 10th May 2008.

Sat May 10 2008

Saturday 10 May 2008: Today, myself & Michael headed up to Rathangan in Co. Kildare where a few former Citybus Bristol RELL's are stored awaiting movement down to the main museum base in Cork. We picked up 84-DL-2360, which was ex Citybus 2538 (AXI2538), and with myself driving, i took it all the way to Cork. A superb run was had with this vehicle as it performed faultlessly on the journey down.

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

080508: Visit to L.P.Walsh of Cork & Trip up town with Tiger 2624 - 8th May 2008.

Thu May 8 2008

Thursday 8 May 2008: Today, myself & Michael decided to take a trip up town with former 'Citybus' Leyland Tiger 2624 while out doing a road test. We first stopped at the bus depot of L.P.Walsh, which is located in the Glanmire Ind Est at Brooklodge. Here i managed to photograph, although i did not know it at the time, a former Parks of Hamilton Jonckheere bodied Volvo. Afterwards, we took 2624 up to the city centre and posed it around Parnell Place bus station and also at the Park & ride.

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

080507: Visit to Hallanhan's of Cappoquin - 7th May 2008.

Wed May 7 2008

Wednesday 7 May 2008: Today, myself & Michael paid a visit to Hallahan's of Cappoquin to view a Gardner Engined Leyland Tiger complete with Alexander 'P' type bodywork, which incidentally turned out to be former Grimsby Cleethorpes Transport No: 28 (E928PBE). On the way here, we stopped off at Dungarvan were i managed to photograph two Bus Eireann vehicles, a derelict GAC RB & a serviceable DAF MB230. While at Hallahan's, the Firstbus haunting that was plaguing me on the previous trip to Ireland was happening again - while investigating a minibus for signs of a former ID, i stumbled across it being latterly in use with First Glasgow and also the fleeetnumber of 50366 inside.

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

080506: Vessels in the Cork Area - 6th-9th May 2008.

Tue May 6 2008

Tuesday 6 May 2008: No visit to the Kells Transport Museum would be complete without 'Garage Cat' managing to escape and try to photograph vessels in the Cork area. Taken between the 6th & 9th of May, i paid my usual visit to the River Bandon down from Innishannon to see if the decommisioned vessels were still around - Unfortunately the hulk of the Fishing Vessel 'S230 - Achilles' was now gone and presumed scrapped. Then there was a visit paid to Carrigaline where i photographed the two ferries that ply their trake the short distance between here & Passage West, before heading down to Cobh to see what i could find. Finally i paid one of my usual visits to Kinsale, where at last, i managed to photograph one of the decommision fishing vessels that had been bugging me as i could not find out how to get to it. Now that i have found it, that just leaves one more to try and get to.

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

080507: Kells Transport Museum Working Week - 7th-11th May 2008.

Wed May 7 2008

Wednesday 7 May 2008: It was that time again, time to visit the Kells transport Museum for the usual working week which was done from Tue 6th May to Tue 13th May. Unusually, this time it was just myself as Kenny was unavailable. Again, photography on this visit of the Museum's buses were mostly kept to those not previously photographed before. The majority of the photographs having been taken between the 7th-11th May.

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

080507: Misc Scenic Shots Around Cork

Wed May 7 2008

Wednesday 7 May 2008: While at the Kells Transport Museum for my working week, i did manage to get some free time to myself. Unusually, i spent some of my photographic time actually doing some scenic shots for a change, either near the museum grounds, or when i was let loose away from the museum.

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Aircraft: De Havilland DHC-8

Thu Jan 1 1970

Thursday 1 January 1970: Aircraft: De Havilland DHC-8

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Aircraft: Fokker F28

Thu Jan 1 1970

Thursday 1 January 1970: Aircraft: Fokker F28

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Aircraft: SAAB SF340

Thu Jan 1 1970

Thursday 1 January 1970: Aircraft: SAAB SF340

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Railway DMU's: Class 158

Thu Jan 1 1970

Thursday 1 January 1970: Railway DMU's: Class 158

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Railway DMU's: Class 170

Thu Jan 1 1970

Thursday 1 January 1970: Railway DMU's: Class 170

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Aircraft: Bae 'Avro' 146

Thu Jan 1 1970

Thursday 1 January 1970: Aircraft: Bae 'Avro' 146

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Aircraft: Boeing 737

Thu Jan 1 1970

Thursday 1 January 1970: Aircraft: Boeing 737

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Aircraft: Airbus A319

Thu Jan 1 1970

Thursday 1 January 1970: Aircraft: Airbus A319

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Aircraft: Embraer EMB/ERJ 145

Thu Jan 1 1970

Thursday 1 January 1970: Aircraft: Embraer EMB/ERJ 145

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

080506: Outside Bus Eireann's Capwell Depot in Cork (Again) - 6th May 2008.

Tue May 6 2008

Tuesday 6 May 2008: Today, i flew out from Edinburgh and headed back over to Cork again, this time for my usual working week at the museum. Unusually on this occaision, Kenny was not present so it was just me, myself & i for a change. However, as Michael was somewhat busy in the afternoon, i decided to make myself useless and hung about outside Bus Eireann's Capwell depot in Cork for a while to photograph the buses.

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

080503: Broomhouse West Halt, Edinburgh - 3rd May 2008

Sat May 3 2008

Saturday 3 May 2008: Today, myself & my brother met with Kenny at Broomhouse Halt West (Guided Busway) to photogrpah Class 52 'Western' D1015 passing westbound with the 1Z53 Edinburgh - Tame Bridge Parkway 'Pathfinder Tours' railtour. While waiting, i photographed some of the bus action on the busway together with a few passing DMU's and a freight on the main line.

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

080427: Kells Transport Museum Visit - 27th Apr 2008.

Sun Apr 27 2008

Sunday 27 April 2008: Having brought Leyland Tiger NXI4629 all the way from Belfast the following day, the following couple of days were spent in Cork before heading home. On the Sunday (27th), i had my usual wander around the yard at the museum looking vehicles to photograph, which i kept generally to those i had not photographed before due to being relatively inaccessable, or were now in a different and interesting position. Thankfully, it was a Firstbus free day............... ......... Good grief, who the hell was responsable for that.!!!!!!!!! Oops, that was me. I forgot about ex First Edinburgh 31756 (NTC135Y) being here.

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

080426: ITT 2008 Bus & Coach Rally, Cultra

Sat Apr 26 2008

Saturday 26 April 2008: WHO LET THE FIRSTBUS INTO THE RALLY.!!!!! After picking up Tiger NXI4629 from the Ulsterbus depot at Milewater Road, we headed to the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum were the 'Irish Transport Trust' were holding their 2008 Bus & Coach Rally, and were we were booked in with NXI4629 as an exhibit. A good selection of buses were on display, many of which were from 'Ulsterbus' origins. However, i was totally unhappy to see yet another Firstbus in Northern Ireland, this time one on display at the rally.!!! If i go to Northern Ireland, i expect to see Ulsterbus, if i go to the republic of Ireland i expect to see Bus Eireann - I DO NOT expect to see Firstbus.!! As i was taking NXI4629 to Cork, we could only stay until 14:00, but by that time i had photographed mostly everything anyway.

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

080426: To Belfast to collect former Citybus Leyland Tiger 'NXI4629' - 26th Apr 2008.

Sat Apr 26 2008

Saturday 26 April 2008: Today, i was going over to Belfast for two reasons, these being: 1, to Collect former Ulsterbus Leyland Tiger 'NXI4629' and take it to Cork & 2, To go to the Cultra Bus Rally (seperate gallery). I flew out from Edinburgh just after 6am by Easyjet, and was surprised that the aircraft was an Airbus A319 as i was expecting a Boeing 737 - Ah well, another new type of Aircraft to add to my flight log. Upon arrival at Belfast International Airport, there i was believing a was going to have a 'Firstbus' free weekend - i was wrong.!!!! Operating on the car park shuttles was one of the Wright bodied Volvo B7RLE's belonging to First Northern Ireland - Yes, First Northern Ireland.!!!!!! Who let them loose over there.?? I hung around the airport for a bit photographing some buses and looking very suspicious as usual, but no-one even challenged me asking what i was doing. I then caught the Service 300 into Belfast City Centre where i then walked from Great Victoria Street to Belfast Central where i met Michael Grimes. We met up with Pat Moss, Ulsterbus General Manager whom collected us tand took us to Milewater Road where 'Tiger' NXI4629' was stored. While Michael was doing the paperwork, i was left to my own devices and able to photograph many of the other buses here - i guess a depot is not a depot without a 'Garage Cat' wandering around somewhere.!!! Once everything was in Order, myself & Michael headed off to the ITT's 2008 Bus Rally at Bangor (Cultra) with NXI4629, photo's of which are in a seperate gallery. As NXI4629 was going to Cork, we could only stay here until 2pm, were we headed off on the long journey. At Dublin, a stop was made to eject Michael off the bus as he was going to catch the train to Cork, and i then carried on from Dublin to Cork on my own, arriving in Cork about 21:30 that evening - a whopping 7hrs 30min drive with a Gardner engined Tiger with a top speed of 42mph.

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

080421: Walk down 'The Glen' at North Berwick - 21st Apr 2008.

Mon Apr 21 2008

Monday 21 April 2008: While on break at work today, i decided to have a walk down 'The Glen' in North Berwick to do some photography of scenery for a change. Starting from the Top at Tantallon Road, i walked down through 'The Glen', which is also known as 'Ladies Walk', and emerged out at the Golf Club down by the shore at Tantallon Terrace. These are the images i obtained from my walk. However, it should be noted that image 'DB004568' was actually taken on the 19th Apr 2008, the only shot taken on that day, and is included here because the 'Genre' & 'Location' is relevant to this collection.

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

080420: Leith Docks Visit - 20th Apr 2008.

Sun Apr 20 2008

Sunday 20 April 2008: Paid a visit to Ocean Terminal this evening to photograph the vessels that were around Leith Docks. I really like the Russian ships with the Russian names.

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

080416: Buses on Glasgow's Union Street (Pt 3 - Misc Chaffeage) - 16th Apr 2008.

Wed Apr 16 2008

Wednesday 16 April 2008: Not only is Glasgow blighted by Burberry wearing & Buckfast swilling neds, it is also subjected to many smaller operators cluttering up the streets, many of whom operate a weird but wonderful fleet of different buses of different types. This gallery contains the mixed chaffeage i managed to photograph.

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Railway: On Track Plant

Thu Jan 1 1970

Thursday 1 January 1970: Railway: On Track Plant

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

080416: Buses on Glasgow's Union Street (Pt 2 - Arriva) - 16th Apr 2008.

Wed Apr 16 2008

Wednesday 16 April 2008: This gallery contains the buses in the Arriva Scotland West fleet which i photographed on Glasgow's Union Street.

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

080416: Buses on Glasgow's Union Street (Pt 1 - Firstbus) - 16th Apr 2008.

Wed Apr 16 2008

Wednesday 16 April 2008: After conduction my business in Glasgow, i decided to hang around Union Street to photograph the bus scene. This gallery contains those vehicles of Firstbus which i photographed.

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

080416: Dunsmore's Bus & Coach Breakers - 16th Apr 2008.

Wed Apr 16 2008

Wednesday 16 April 2008: Today i had some business to conduct in Glasgow, so it was my intention to initially go through by train. However, after thinking about it, i felt that if i went through by car i could visit Dunsmore's first before heading off to Motherwell to park the car and get the train into Central station. This was what i eventually done.

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

080329: Manchester area & Manchester Airport

Sat Mar 29 2008

Saturday 29 March 2008: After we left Blackpool, our next port of call before heading back home was Manchester were both myself & my Brother wanted to visit the 'Ian Allan' bookshop outside Manchester Piccadilly. To start with, we headed out to Heald Green station, where we left the car and bought single tickets to Manchester Airport where i wanted to photograph the planes from the car park again - fat chance, i never did accomplish that due to poor visibility and instead shot buses from a great height. We then bought two return tickets from the Airport to Piccadilly and then went to the Ian Allan bookshop, where i managed to photograph a few of First's Optare Solo's outside. Afterwards, we boarded the train back from Piccadilly and alighted at Heald Green, and headed off home.

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

080328: Carlisle Station - 28th Mar 2008.

Fri Mar 28 2008

Friday 28 March 2008: Following on from our vist to the Eddie Stobart depot, we went to Carlisle Station to photograph 57602 as intended. Unfortunately, just as we got into the station, it came through slightly early resulting me just grabbing the camera and shoot - unfortunately. as i did not even have time to change lenses, i ended up shooting it with the lens i have my circular polariser on, which cut down the lighting and resulting in a slow shutter speed for a fast moving subject. We stayed here for a couple of hours before heading down to Preston where we retired for the night.

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

080329: Visit to Blackpool to Photograph the 'Riverdance'.

Sat Mar 29 2008

Saturday 29 March 2008: After our night's stay at Preston, we headed into Blackpool first thing this morning, which also co-incided with a low tide, in order to photograph the stricken vessel 'Riverdance' which came to grief on the 31st Jan when it ran aground of the coast of Cleveleys. While here i also managed to photograph a milkfloat and an ex Blackpool Leyland Atlantean.

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Buses: Lothian Buses (& its subsiduaries)

Thu Jan 1 1970

Thursday 1 January 1970: Buses: Lothian Buses (& its subsiduaries)

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Buses: First Group

Thu Jan 1 1970

Thursday 1 January 1970: Added: DB004924 - 31637 (R305LKS) DB004925 - 31665 (S934AKS) DB004926 - 31667 (S936AKS) DB004927 - 31685 (P590WSU)

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Eddie Stobart Depot, Carlisle Brunthill Road - 28th Mar 2008.

Fri Mar 28 2008

Friday 28 March 2008: Today, myself & my brother decided to head down to Carlisle to catch the First Great Western Class 57/6 locomotive that was heading up from SW England to Kilmarnock for repainting. On the way to Carlisle station, we popped into the Brunthill Road depot of Eddie Stobart, where we found a lot of the brand new Scania R420 6x2 tractor units parked up and awaiting acceptance for use.

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Edinburgh Park Station - 25th Mar 2008.

Tue Mar 25 2008

Tuesday 25 March 2008: Took a trip to Edinburgh Park station to photograph the 'Mud Oil' tanks to Aberdeen which is hauled by a GBRf Class 66. While waiting i also photographed some of the passing DMU's.

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Edinburgh's St Andrew Square Bus Station - 21st Mar 2008.

Fri Mar 21 2008

Friday 21 March 2008: After photographing buses on diversion in the city centre, the final port of call prior to packing up for the day was St Andrew Square Bus Station to photograph the comings & going of various buses/coaches that use this station.

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Buses in Edinburgh (Not technically on Diversion) - 21st Mar 2008.

Fri Mar 21 2008

Friday 21 March 2008: This collection was taken from my 'Buses on Diversion' collection where i photographed buses technically on diversion. To qualify for this gallery, the subject had to meet the following criteria: 1): Despite operation along what is the main diversion route for all other services, the route it was photographed on is actually it's registered route. 2): Despite on the diversion route, the subject does not operate a set route between A to B and can go by any reasonable route. Therefor, it could be argued that it may not be on diversion. 3): Buses photographed on their scheduled routes or operating in Edinburgh on a section of road that is not a diversion route.

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Buses on Diversion in Edinburgh - 21st Mar 2008.

Fri Mar 21 2008

Friday 21 March 2008: Due to major roadworks in Edinburgh in preparation for the forthcoming trams, which has also seen Shandwick Place (West End) shut off to all traffic for the time being, many buses are being sent alternative routes. Today, i decided to go out along these diversion routes to photograph 'Buses on Diversion'. I decided to start at Haymarket to photograph buses at Morrision Link. As i walked around the corner at the public toilets, i bumped into Mark Hannan hanging around outside who was saying he was only there because he was bus spotting (images on his camera say otherwise as these were inside the toilets!!!!). For the rest of the day Mark then followed me around like a lost sheep. I photographed buses turning out of Morrison Link into Morrison Street, on Morrision Link itself and also on the West Approach Road including turning into Morrison Link. After this, it was to Manor Place & Melville Street, followed by Queensferry Street/Hop Street which has been repoened to traffic again, although since this visit the traffic flow has been altered again. It was then to the West Approach Road at the Lothian Road end to obtain overhead shots before heading back to Charlotte Square and then onto Princes Street to capture more action.

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Delivery of CSF166W to the Kells Transport Museum - 9th/10th Mar 2008.

Sun Mar 9 2008

Sunday 9 March 2008: With the fuel problem sorted that prevented Leopard CSF166W moving over to the Kells Transport Museum in January now fixed, it was due to begin it's journey over this evening (9th). Unfortunately, as i was away with the Scottish Railfans this weekend on their 'East Midlands Tour', this meant i had to make my own way home from Doncaster first thing on the sunday morning as we would not have been due back home with the society until late sunday evening, which was no good. Having got home, had some sleep etc etc etc, prior to heading out to pick up CSF166W, i checked the weather due to the recent stormy conditions and unfortunately there was no let up in the weather but our ferry was still sailing. Having met up with Kenny en route, we picked up CSF166W near East Calder from where it was being repaired and gave it a final check before heading off at 18:00. Despite the weather, an uneventful run was had all the way to Stranraer which seen us head out the M8 towards Glasgow and then onto the M77/A77. At Stranraer, we were informed that due to the rough weather, there may be delays with the ferry, so bearing that in mind we immediately headed off to feed our faces as soon as we got on board, which once done, we found a seat to stretch out on and sleep for the very rough crossing. At about 04:30 i awoke to find ourselves still onboard the ferry (should have been in Belfast at 03:15) and a PA annoucement stating that due to the weather which was beyond the berthing capabilities of the vessel, it was holding position outside the mouth of Belfast Lough pending a break in the weather, which they expected at about 06:30. After our extended sleep on the ferry, we finally alighted about 06:45 and we headed off to Cork, However a check of things after we got out the docks revealed the oil filler lid was not holding securely shut and was allowing oil throwback. This resulted in an oil top up just after Hillsborough and some very temporary methods to keep the lid secure. Afterwards, it was another uneventful journey all the way to Cork, which we reach by 13:30. CSF166W was to be left at the main office overnight as opposed to the main yard, but we got the chance to briefly go up to the yard to see what was going on, and while on the way there, i managed to photograph a few french fishing vessels in Cork Harbour.

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Scottish Railfans Society East Midlands Trip (Doncaster) - 8th Mar 2008.

Sat Mar 8 2008

Saturday 8 March 2008: After Barnetby, we all headed for Doncaster next, which was also where we were retiring to for the night. Prior to heading of to our hotel, we all spent a good while at the railway station. However, i decided to spend the time outside the station photographing the bus scene as opposed to the railway scene. ------------------------------------------ Camera/s used: Canon EoS 300D ------------------------------------------

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Scottish Railfans Society East Midlands Trip (Barnetby) - 8th Mar 2008.

Sat Mar 8 2008

Saturday 8 March 2008: After we visited March, we headed on up to the busy freight hotspot of Barnetby. Once here we spent a good three hours hanging around the station doing what all enthusiasts do - logging down the numbers of passing trains. Myself, i distanced myself from this activety by doing what i do best - photographing the passing traction. ------------------------------------------ Camera/s used: Canon EoS 300D ------------------------------------------

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Scottish Railfans Society East Midlands Trip (Carlisle & March) - 7th/8th Mar 2008.

Fri Mar 7 2008

Friday 7 March 2008: Today, myself & my brother went on the Scottish Railfans Society 'East Midlands' trip. After picking up the various society members at locations around the Central Belt, we headed down the A74 and stopping at Carlisle for a break where i managed a couple of shots. Then after this break, we continued south where we changed minibuses before first heading across to Peterborough (to dark to photograph much) and then across the March, where we managed to get permission to get round Whitemoor Yard, where i managed to photograph two RMS Locotec Class 08 shunters. ------------------------------------------ Camera/s used: Canon EoS 300D ------------------------------------------

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Gardiners of Spennymoor Visit - 20th Feb 2008.

Wed Feb 20 2008

Wednesday 20 February 2008: After our visit to the Barnsley Bus Breakers was over, we all headed back north again. As well as subjecting Mark to the usual harassment on the way up, we decided to get lost and ended up outside Gardiners of Spennymoor depot/yard (we never did find Scarlet Band, whom we were actually going to visit). Permission was duly granted to look round at these are the images taken from our last visit of today. ------------------------------------------ Camera/s used: Canon EoS 5D ------------------------------------------

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Barnsley Bus Breakers (P.V.S) Visit - 20th Feb 2008.

Wed Feb 20 2008

Wednesday 20 February 2008: After our visit to Ripleys Yard we descended on T.Wigley's yard to ask permission. Unfortunately, like Harkwick, they have been having the same problem regarding enthusiasts, so access was not granted. Not to be deterred, we went to P.V.S next where we were allowed in, and as a result, this gallery contains photos from this visit. More pics can be seen at Malcolms site at: http://413.fotopic.net ** Please consider making a small donation to contribute to the costs of bringing you these images by clicking on the PayPal donate button at the foot of this page.** ------------------------------------------ Camera/s used: Canon EoS 5D ------------------------------------------

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Barnsley Bus Breakers (G.Ripley) Visit - 20th Feb 2008.

Wed Feb 20 2008

Wednesday 20 February 2008: Today, myself & Malcolm from 'Malcolms Bus Photo's (http://413.fotopic.net) decided to pay a visit to the Barnsley Scrapyards. Although it was against our better judgement, we decided to take Mark Hannan from 'The Gaylords Omnibus Adventures' (http://northberwick-depot.fotopic.net) with us just for the sake of having someone to slag off & wind up. After subjecting Mark to much 'slagging off' all the way down from Edinburgh, we reached the scrapyards just before noon. First port of call was to Hardwick's yard, but alas we were not granted access as they have been getting hassle from enthusiasts of late demanding that they cannot break this & that bus up, so Hardwicks would rather not let enthusiasts in for the foreseeable future to at least prevent what buses he has in becoming known to these 'so called' enthusiasts. Next port of call after that was G.Ripley, were we were granted permission to wander round and photograph the buses, and this gallery shows the stuff i managed to photograph that was photographable. More pics can be seen at Malcolms site at: http://413.fotopic.net ** Please consider making a small donation to contribute to the costs of bringing you these images by clicking on the PayPal donate button at the foot of this page.** ------------------------------------------ Camera/s used: Canon EoS 5D ------------------------------------------

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Dunsmores Bus Breakers & End of Life Visit - 11th Feb 2008.

Mon Feb 11 2008

Monday 11 February 2008: Today, i paid another visit out to Dunsmores Bus & Coach Breakers. Unfortunately, nothing had really much changed since my last visit so i only had the opportunity to photograph a few of the new arrivals and also a few of the stuff i had not photographed previously. Afterwards, i paid a trip out to 'End of Life Vehicles' of Rutherglen. ** Please consider making a small donation to contribute to the costs of bringing you these images by clicking on the PayPal donate button at the foot of this page.** ------------------------------------------ Camera/s used: Canon EoS 300D ------------------------------------------

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Girvan Fishing Vessels - 27th Jan 2008.

Sun Jan 27 2008

Sunday 27 January 2008: After our stay at Carrickfergus, we caught the morning 'Stena Line' crossing from Belfast back to Stranraer and home ground. On the way up from Stranraer, i decided to stop at Girvan to see what fishing vessels were around, and also to photograph. ** Please consider making a small donation to contribute to the costs of bringing you these images by clicking on the PayPal donate button at the foot of this page.** ------------------------------------------ Camera/s used: Canon EoS 300D ------------------------------------------

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Leaving the Kells Transport Museum - 26th Jan 2008.

Sat Jan 26 2008

Saturday 26 January 2008: Our working week at the KTM ended on the afternoon of today, where it was our intention to drive all the way up to Carrickfergus (N.Ireland) where we would spend the night in a hotel prior to catching our ferry home the following day. Prior to leaving the KTM though, the all clear came through to pick up another aquisition for the museum, namely a Van Hool bodied Volvo B10M-61 that was donated to the museum by 'Ovens Coaches'. We tagged along to where the bus was being picked up so we could get pictures of it, and any other vehicles around. Once this was acheived, we headed away from Cork, making a stop at Urlingford for a bite to eat and also photograph a couple of Bus Eireann vehicles. ** Please consider making a small donation to contribute to the costs of bringing you these images by clicking on the PayPal donate button at the foot of this page.** ------------------------------------------ Camera/s used: Canon EoS 300D ------------------------------------------

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

The Moor & More 'Pathfinder' Railtour - 15th Dec 2007.

Sat Dec 15 2007

Saturday 15 December 2007: Today was the day of the 'Moor & More' railtour run by Pathfinder, one of their ever popular Spin n Win railtours which feature a variety of unspecified traction from classes of locomotives not normally seen on passenger turns. Today's tour took us from Gloucester to Birmingham International behind EWS Class 66 - 66170 (with GBRf example - 66703 D.I.T). At Birmingham, 66170 left the train leaving 66703 to haul the train to Wembley and taking us there via Banbury,& Ealing. At Wembley we traded in 66703 for an EWS Class 92, namely 92029 which took us from Wembley to Dollands Moor in Kent via Denmark Hill, Maidstone East and Ashford International. At Dollands Moor, we changed traction to a pair of GBRf Class 73 'Electro-Diesels' - namely 73209 & 73205 for the trip into London Euston this time running via Tonbridge, Redhill & Croydon. At Euston, Freightliner Class 90 - 90016 took us up the WCML back to Birmingham (New Street) were EWS Class 66 - 66158 then returned us back to Gloucester. Even though i had a decent sleep at a hotel after our marathon bus journey down to Gloucester, i spent most of the tour sleeping rather than photographing, hence the lack of content on this occaision. Headcodes: 1Z11 Gloucester - Wembley (66170 & 66703) 1Z12 Wembley - London Euston (92029 & 73209+205) 1Z13 London Euston - Gloucester (90016 & 66158).

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Derelict Cottage/Croft near the Kells Transport Museum - 24th Jan 2008.

Thu Jan 24 2008

Thursday 24 January 2008: On land next 20 yards from the perimeter of the Kells Transport Museum, an old derelict cottage/croft was discovered. As this area was thick woodland, which has been partially cleared, the cottage/croft lay amidst the trees and undergrowth, out of site to all but the dedicated adventurer. I decided to photograph this, both externally and internally, as it may make a good photographic project in the future next time i'm over with proper photographic equipment, and it is for that reason that i am regarding these shots as 'Referance Shots' only. Also included in this gallery, taken at the same time, is the small outbuilding/barn located on the private road down to the main museum gates (image: DB003804). ** Please consider making a small donation to contribute to the costs of bringing you these images by clicking on the PayPal donate button at the foot of this page.** ------------------------------------------ Camera/s used: Canon EoS 300D ------------------------------------------

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Kells Transport Museum Working Week - 20th - 26th Jan 2008.

Sun Jan 20 2008

Sunday 20 January 2008: It was that time again, another working week over in Cork at the Kells Transport Museum. We were supposed to be combining this with delivering Leopard CSF166W over to the museum, but prior to leaving it developed a power loss problem which we believe to be a fuel problem, so it was head over with the car instead. My photography experience here i tried to limit to buses i had not photographed before as well as getting the new arrivals since my last visit. However, for the record, i video'd every bus here both externally & internally, and i hope to release this on DVD later. This is why i never done any 'Still' interior shots on this visit as there would be a conflict of interest. ** Please consider making a small donation to contribute to the costs of bringing you these images by clicking on the PayPal donate button at the foot of this page.** ------------------------------------------ Camera/s used: Canon EoS 300D ------------------------------------------

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Birmingham City Centre Buses - 16th Dec 2007.

Sun Dec 16 2007

Sunday 16 December 2007: After Leaving Gloucester bound for Birmingham, where we were to change trains in order to catch the Cross Country service to Edinburgh, we had some time to kill in Birmingham. A visit was therefor made round the corner from New Street station to visit the Ian Allen bookshop on Stephenson Street, where i also managed to photograph some of the buses passing by. As the weather was a bit dull, and given that the surrounding buildings were adding to the problem by cutting down the ambient lighting further, i only managed a small selection of reasonable shots.

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Dunsmores Bus & Coach Breakers Visit - 16th Jan 2008.

Wed Jan 16 2008

Wednesday 16 January 2008: Today, myself & Kenny paid one of the regular visits to Dunsmores Bus & Coach Breakers of Larkhall. This visit was not just to photograph buses that were photographable, but also log everything that was in the yard, a feat that we accomplished barring three vehicles that we could not get any ID's off of whatsoever. ** Please consider making a small donation to contribute to the costs of bringing you these images you like so much, by clicking on the PayPal donate button at the foot of this page.** ------------------------------------------ Camera/s used: Canon EoS 300D ------------------------------------------

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Edinburgh Misc Wanderings - 2nd Jan 2008.

Wed Jan 2 2008

Wednesday 2 January 2008: Today, with nothing better to do, myself & my brother ventured out to various places in and around Edinburgh to see what we could find. The first photo location for me was Port Seton Harbour to see what Fishing Vessels were around (Images DB003669 to 3672). My next photo call was at Cloburn Quarry adjacent to Millerhill yard where i photographed just two wagon that were stabled in a consist here (Images DB003673 to 3674). The final port of call was to the Portobello 'Secure Coach Park' just off Sir Harry Lauder Road where i photographed the ex London Leyland National now in use with Chaplins Disco's as a party bus, while also here was an ex London Country Leyland Olympian (Images DB003675 to 3677). ------------------------------------------------------- Vessels - 4, Railway Wagons - 2, Buses - 3. Camera/s used: Canon EoS 5D. -------------------------------------------------------

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

DMU's at Gloucester - 16th Dec 2007.

Sun Dec 16 2007

Sunday 16 December 2007: After the railtour the following day, it was time to head home, this time by train. The travel intenary was catching a train from Gloucester to Birmingham New Street, then catch a Cross-Country service from Birmingham New Street to Edinburgh (via the East Coast) which was done First Class. While waiting for our train at Gloucester, i shot a few of the DMU's that were littering the station and yard.

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Manchester International Airport - 14th Dec 2007.

Fri Dec 14 2007

Friday 14 December 2007: Today, both myself & my brother were heading down to Gloucester in order to do a 'Pathfinder' railtour the following day that was starting from this station. Unusually, we decided to 'bus it' all the way for a change which took us over four legs, these being 1): Edinburgh-Glasgow, 2): Glasgow-Manchester, 3): Manchester-Birmingham & 4): Birmingham-Gloucester. As we had a bit of time at Manchester we visited one of the multi-storey car parks that overlook the airport. Although the weather was not very good, i managed to photograph a few aircraft.

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Dalmeny Station - 6th Nov 2007.

Tue Nov 6 2007

Tuesday 6 November 2007: Today, i paid a brief visit up to Dalmeny with my brother to meet a few fellow enthusiasts, and while i was here i photographed a couple of things. The main highlight for me was managing to finally photograph the two ex South West Trains Class 158's that are now operating with First Scotrail, as these have been causing me major headaches in the past due to the fact that as soon as i put my camera away, one or the other has turned up. On this occaision both turned up at the same location and i was not even looking for them.

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Ocean Terminal Buses & Vessels - 25th Oct/5th Nov 2007.

Thu Oct 25 2007

Thursday 25 October 2007: On Thu 25th Oct 2007 i had a few errands i had to undertake up town at Elm Row, and rather than take the car i decided to take he bus up town. After i had done the errands i headed on down to Ocean Terminal mainly to see what new Volvlo B9TL's of Lothian Buses i could photograph on the 11's before heading home. While here, i also bumped into Richard Walter, well known bus photographer whom frequently gets his work published in the mainstream publications. On Mon 5th Nov 2007, i also paid a visit down to Ocean Terminal again, this time to see what vessels were about. On the way back home, i also popped up to Hunter's Tryst to see what buses i could photograph - only 865.

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Appointment with a pair of Leopards - 13th Oct 2007.

Sat Oct 13 2007

Saturday 13 October 2007: An e-mail recieved earlier in the week about a pair of Leyland Leopards located within Leith Docks, that were owned by Bredero Shaw (British Pipe Coaters), was drawing my attention that both were up for sale and that any sale is for both or none at all. Having spoke with Kenny, we made arrangements to go and view both of them early evening (16:30) today. As i was working early, i arranged to meet Kenny (and Martyn) at the allotted time at the main dock gates. As i was finishing at 14:30 at North Berwick, i had a good two hours to waste off, so upon leaving the depot i spied one of Munro's Enviro 300's at North Berwick Rugby Club and this was duly photographed before heaing off again. At Drem, i came across 60051 stabled on an engineers train due to upgrade work on the ECML and thus i duly photograhed this and some of the wagons. Upon getting to Seafield, i still had 45mins to waste, so a trip into Leith South Yard seen me photograph some of the 'ZCA' that were stabled here, including the long dumped 'Car Loader' Wagon. A trip into Ocean Terminal then seen me photograph one ship, the 'Aasnes' at the back of the casino. At 16:30, i met up with Kenny & Martyn and headed deep into the dock complex were we were greeted by the two Leopards, these being ex Fife Scottish CSF166W & ex Western Scottish BSJ927T in a red & white livery and looking a bit tatty. Not only that but both had been OOU for nearly 18 months. A mechanical inspection saw that both were intact, However, bodily CSF166W was internally complete with DP style bus seats while BSJ927T was missing the majority of it's seats and a missing skylight saw water ingress rotting part of the floor. We decided to prepare CSF166W for start-up and it started 'on the button'. After leaving it to tick over for a bit, there was no signs of water/oil leaks and we took it for a road test within the dock complex and found it to be a superb runner all round. The down side is that 'IT WILL' require an oil change and all 4 rear tyres are shot with both the inners being wrecked and the outers heavily cracked and the N/S only holding 50PSI. We then turned our atention to BSJ927T, but it was reluctant to start as it was suffering low compression. Even with introducing a combustion agent into the air flow it was still struggling but we eventually got it going. Again once we left it to tick over and carried out checks, we found it had a slight air leak from one of the auxilliaries underneath. On taking it for a road test we moved it only a short distance before giving concerns about it banging the gears and giving off a bad vibration from the driveline. At that we aborted the road test and parked it back up. However, unlike CSF166W, this has 4 decen tyres on the rear. At the end of the evening we were all in agreement that BSJ927T is only fit for scrap and not worth the money considering it will have to be towed out as well. On the other hand CSF166W is worth buying but any successful purchase of it would depend on two things, these being 1): Able to negotiate purchase of CSF166W only without being orced to buy the other & 2): Negotiating a deal to swap the rear tyres over between the two and at what cost (this is a tricky one as it technically puts the ball back into the owners court to say 'If you want the tyres that bad then it's buy both vehicles nor none at all' - a catch-22 situation).

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

A Grande Day Out, Pt-6 (Dunsmore's Bus & Coach Breakers Visit) - 8th Oct 2007.

Mon Oct 8 2007

Monday 8 October 2007: Finally, we reached Dunsmores Bus & Coach Breakers at just ater 14:30. Not bad going considering what we had done 'en-route'. However, the light was starting to get bad and this would be our last port of call for our adverture. Again, access was granted to photograph the vehicles and both myself & Malcolm were surprised at the number of ex 'Yorkshire' Scania deckers that had been sent north to First Glasgow that were now here, every one of them minus their power plants and obviously sent here in that condition. All in all, a Grande Day Out was had by all, and so ends our photographic diary of today. Also, other pictures from all of todays visits can be found on Malcolm's site at http://413.fotopic.net. The out of sequence archive numbers for the first 6 images in this collection are due to these numbers being available for re-assignment due to the images initially allocated these numbers being delected from my archives. These were initially allocated as DB003401 to DB003406 (not all in that order though).

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

A Grande Day Out, Pt-5 (Hutchisons of Overtown & Stonehouse Coaches Depot Visits) - 8th Oct 2007.

Mon Oct 8 2007

Monday 8 October 2007: Leaving Newmains, we decided to head straight for Dunsmore's Bus & Coach breakers as the lighting was starting to get poor. However, passing through Overtown we sighted a white decker in the yard of Hutchison's and so we decided to investigate and found it to be ex Western Scottish 'Citybus' E865ECS. Again, like before, permission to access the depot was granted. On leaving Overtown, we passed into Shawsburn and past 'Stonehouse Coaches' depot that is located off Ayr Road. I knew of this location for long enough but have really never bothered to visit, but on this occaision we decided to pop in to photograph the fleet, again permission to photograph the buses here was granted. It should be noted, however, that i don't know how much of the sstuff here is actually owned by 'Stonehouse Coaches' as there tends to be vehicles held here or other operators at times. Other pictures from all of todays visits can be found on Malcolm's site at http://413.fotopic.net

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

A Grande Day Out, Pt-4 (McKindless of Newmains Depot Visit) - 8th Oct 2007.

Mon Oct 8 2007

Monday 8 October 2007: After leaving 'Golden Eagle' of Salsburgh, we headed down to Newmains and the McKindless depot located off Main Street. For Malcolm, this visit was a must in order to see the former Busways C-LFT registered Olympians that have entered service with McKindless, while for myself it was to roam around all the scrap at the back of the depot again as usual.!!!! Upon arrival at the depot, again we were granted permission to photograph he buses. While there was quite a few C-LFT Olympians here to keep Malcolm happy, i was surprised to see quite a bit of the scrap stuff was being broken 'On Site' and a few Chassis lying around. Many thanks go to the friendly staff at McKndless for our enjoyable visit today. Also, other pictures from all of todays visits can be found on Malcolm's site at http://413.fotopic.net

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

A Grande Day Out, Pt-3 (Golden Eagle of Salsburgh Depot Visit) - 8th Oct 2007.

Mon Oct 8 2007

Monday 8 October 2007: Heading further west, we found ourselves heading for the North Lanarkshire village of Salsburgh and the depot of Golden Eagle Coaches located off 'Main Street' in the village. Again, permission was granted to enter the premises and photograph the vehicles currently in the depot by the staff whom seemed very pleased that we paid them a visit to photograph their fleet, especially the coaches in which they take great pride in maintaining to the highest standard. Other pictures from all of todays visits can be found on Malcolm's site at http://413.fotopic.net

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

A Grande Day Out, Pt-2 (Prentice Westwood of West Calder Depot Visit) - 8th Oct 2007.

Mon Oct 8 2007

Monday 8 October 2007: Following on from our visit to E&M Horsburgh, we headed the short distance west towards West Calder and to our next port of call, namely to the premises of Prentice Westwood. One of the main reasons for today's visit was to see what scrap buses were still lying around 'The Graveyard' section, as two of the former Scottish Omnibuses Daimler Fleetlines were rumoured to still be existant having escaped the initial scrapping that occurred during 2005 of all the original former 'SBG' vehicles that had been dumped here. Both DD696 & DD712 were still to be found here, although DD696 has now suffered serious front end damage from a mechanical device. As always, the staff at this location were very friendly and helpful and are great ambassadors for this West Lothian operator. Other pictures of this visit can be found on Malcolm's site at http://413.fotopic.net

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

A Grande Day Out, Pt-1 (E&M Horsburgh Depot Visit) - 8th Oct 2007.

Mon Oct 8 2007

Monday 8 October 2007: Today, myself, Malcolm (Malcolms Bus Photos) & Kenny Baird (Calder Depot) took a trip heading 'Way Out West' to chase buses. The original plan was to head straight out to Dunsmores Bus Breakers first and work our way back east. However, true to 'Garage Cat' style, as soon as we hit the road the intenary went out the window again and we decided to work east to west. Our first port of call was E&M Horsburgh's depot located somewhere in Houton Industrial Estate in Livingston, although this visit was not actually on our original intenary plans as a 'To Do'. Once we finally located the depot, we drove right past the entrance much to the horror of Malcolm - reason was 'Mr Cat' was hot on the trail of an aroma eminating from a snack bar somewhere.!!!! Once we found the snack bar and fed our faces, we headed back up to the depot of E&M Horsburgh, were we were granted permission from the friendly staff to get round the depot and photograph buses. Other pictures of this visit can be found on Malcolm's site at http://413.fotopic.net

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Buses Around Edinburgh's Waverley Bridge & Bus Drivers Outing - 7th Oct 2007.

Sun Oct 7 2007

Sunday 7 October 2007: Today, many of us Bus Drivers with Firstbus at Dalkeith, Musselburgh & North Berwick, had a 'Driver's Day Out' to Kelso for the day utilising Firstbus Volvo Olympian 30829 (R849HYG). As i was not getting picked up until 10:30 at St Andrew Square, i arrived up town early for the sole purpose of hanging around Waverley Bridge to photograph some of the action, due to the fact that there was rail replacement coaches running as the ECML was shut for engineering works. Kelso was a bit of a washout for buses, so myself & Malcolm (Malcolm's Bus Photo's) found a quiet pub ourselves and had a couple of drinks and a chat about future projects.

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Visit to Firstbus Livingston (Deans) Depot - 24th Sept 2007.

Mon Sep 24 2007

Monday 24 September 2007: Today, i had a visit out to Firstbus' Livingston (Deans) Depot as i was here on official company business. Having brought my camera along with me, i managed to photograph some of the stuff that was 'On Depot' and especially on 'Death Row'.

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Buses in Edinburgh City Centre, Pt-3 (Misc Operators) - 21st/28th Sept 2007.

Fri Sep 21 2007

Friday 21 September 2007: As well as Lothian & Firstbus, Edinburgh see's other operators, including coach operators, running in & out of the city. This gallery contains a selection of images of those operators i managed to capture. 21st Sept: Images DB003056 - 3068 28th Sept: Images DB003157 - 3166, 3189 - 3196

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Buses in Edinburgh City Centre, Pt-2 (Firstbus) - 21st/28th Sept 2007.

Fri Sep 21 2007

Friday 21 September 2007: Having established from the previous gallery that Lothian Buses is the main & dominant operator in Edinburgh, it therefor comes as a surprise to know that Firstbus (one of the major UK operaors of buses & trains) is only the second biggest operator in Edinburgh. In terms of route networks in Edinburgh are concerned, First is not a patch on Lothian in the city. This stems back to the days of old when, as SOL/Eastern Scottish/SMT before aquistion by First, they were the main operators outside the city boundaries in East/West & Mid Lothian, with services from these outlying locations being run to & from Edinburgh. As a result, this resulted in Lothian (then ECT), being able to focus solely on Edinburgh itself and build up a sizeable city route network. Fleetwise, it is pretty mix & match of old, secondhand & new, again not a patch on Lothian. Although brand new buses are obtained, this can be few & far between at times, with many of the new-ish vehicles actually having been transferred in from other parts ofFirst. Even much of the older fleet is cast-off's from other First operations. 21st Sept: Images DB003025 - 3055 (3044 deleted) 28th Sept: Images DB003167 - 3188

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Buses in Edinburgh City Centre, Pt-1 (Lothian Buses & it's Subsiduaries) - 21st/28th Sept 2007.

Fri Sep 21 2007

Friday 21 September 2007: On Friday 21st & 28th Sept, i took a wander up town to photograph buses due to having nothng more better to do with my time. This gallery contains pictures of Edinburgh's major bus operator, namely Lothian Buses (& it's subsiduaries), an operator whom operates a modern fleet of buses with approx 75% of the service fleet being 'Low-Floor' (replacment of the remaining 'Step-Entrance' buses is well underway). This operator also operates a comprehensive network of routes & night services throughout Edinburgh & the surrounding areas. 21st Sept: Images DB002979 - 3024 28th Sept: Images DB003088 - 3156

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

Edinburgh Airport - 5th Sept 2007.

Wed Sep 5 2007

Wednesday 5 September 2007: After having spent time laid up resting my ankle, which i badly injured across in Ireland and as a result seen me off my work for two weeks, it was a case of trying to get a bit of exercise into my ankle before i went back to work on the 7th Sept. As i result i decided to take a trip out to my usaul spot at Turnhouse to photograph aircrat coming into Edinburgh. The plan was that while there was any period of inactivety, i would sit around and rest my ankle but when there was activety i would be able to stand around and get some excercise in it. Alas, the opposite was to happen as i found that while standing around tracking the incoming aircraft with my camera, i was still a bit unsteady on my feet, and wth a slight wind, this was not helping keep the camera steady in my hand. herefor i opted o sit around and photograph the incoming aircraft and move about when nothing was happening.

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.

GAC RB 'KR181' PZV-181 Stripping - 19th-24th Aug 2007.

Sun Aug 19 2007

Sunday 19 August 2007: While over at the Kells Transport Museum, one of the main tasks was to strip GAC bodied GAC RB 'KR181' PZV-181 for spares and gradually cut it. While the inside was being gutted of fittings & glass, the outside was being stripped of it's aluminium body panels. Once this was done, the roof was cut by firstly allowing it to collapse in on itself by cutting all the nearside pillars and then systematically cut the offside pillars. Once the roof was collapsed, it was gradually cut into managable sections, thus leaving the lower half of the vehicle and it's mechanicals to be dealt with at some point later, either by myself & Kenny on our next visit or by Steven Payne & Aaron Donohoe. All of these pictures are from same angles but show KR181 n various states of stripping.

Published in The Garage Cat's Transportation Station.