Visit to Scotland - Day 3 - Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway

This very Scottish of preserved railways runs for 5 miles between Bo'ness and Manuel Junction.

A view of Bo'ness station from the footbridge

The Railway journey begins at Bo'ness station which has the Scottish Railway Museum next to it, more of that later, plus its own running sheds all of which can be visited.

Bo'ness has an overall roof and trains depart from underneath this structure and pull out on their journey past the closed harbour on the right and follows the line of the A904, Union Street.

To the right, once past the harbour, the Forth can be viewed with the various ships that use it easily spotted through the trees.

The loco runs round its train at Manuel.

Not far out of Bo'ness station the train enters the lineside halt of Kinniel with its basic platform and passing loop.

The line now follows a heavily wooded route through some open farm land and industrial areas although it never looks ugly.

As the line approaches the oil refinery on the right hand side it turns to the left and heads into the countryside.

It then passes under a farm road and into Birkhill Halt which also has a passing loop.

The BP Refinery flares off.

Further along the line we pass over the River Avon and then under the M9. From here, if you look to the right, you can see the terminus at Manuel which is next to the Mainline . The line turns right into Manuel where you can alight to watch the loco run around its train. There is no access to this station so once the train is ready passenegers get back on for the run back to Bo'ness.

The throat of Bo'ness station and the harbour.

Back at Bo'ness we had a look around the yard on our way to the Scottish Railway Museum.

The yard has some interesting pieces of Scottish railway stock most of which, unfortunately, is not in great condition although lots of work is being done on some of it.

As we walked around the yard we visited their O gauge model railway housed in two MK1 BR coaches. It is well worth a visit with its neat detail and sound equipped model locos adding another element to the models.

A classic Scottish multiple unit under restoration.

We walked further round the yard to the back end of the shed complex furthest away from the station and, surprisingly, found two class 68 diesels one of which was brand new. I think they are there for training but didnt get confirmation of that.

The yard is typical of any preserved line with loads of wheelsets, body parts and bogies along with a surprisingly large collection of signal and point work equipment.

A covered wagon in my personal favourite livery.

We then reached the entry to the Scottish Railway Museum where we found a wonderful collection of locomotives, rolling stock and lots and lots of other railway paraphernalia. The displays are interesting and well presented, there is even a wheel tapping display!

All in all the railway is most certainly worth a visit and includes a reasonable shop and a nice cafe. The ride is interesting and picturesque and well worth the fare.

Visit to Scotland - Day 3 - Bo'ness Motor Museum

We had planned on having a ride on the Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway but on the way we happened upon the Motor Museum although we almost missed it as the brown sign in the direction we were going was on the ground having fallen off its pole. A quick U turn and we were safely in their car park.

Lots of interest and surprisingly clean 

 It is an unusual place as it shares building space with the local undertaker which takes up most of the frontage.

Lovely old Austin

The Wife met Mr Bond.

The museum is not that big however a lot of stuff has been displayed and it is not dusty and looking like it has been dumped in place and left there for years.

The cars are wonderful and beautifully maintained with some interesting models including one from Harry Potter, one from The Saint and several from James Bond.

Del Boy's Reliant

The cars are accompanied by memorabilia and props from various films which adds extra interest.

There is also a small balcony area with lots of film and TV memorabilia including a full size Tardis.

The museum is certainly worth a look and there is far more than I have described or shown in the pictures.

Visit to Scotland - Day 2 - The Kelpies

After our visit to the Falkirk Wheel we drove a few miles along the canal to the Helix Park. The park is a nice place to visit with its open spaces and the canal running through it but the biggest attraction is the gigantic

The Kelpies

statues, the Kelpies.

Kelpies are aquatic spirits that appear in different forms to lure people into the river where they drown them and eat their victim. One form would be horses that attract people to have a ride on their backs where they sticky fir holds them so the Kelpie can achieve its aim.

One of the statues seen from the canal side

Despite the rather gruesome tale the Kelpie Statues are simply stunning. They tower over the area from their canal side location and when the sun comes out they are certainly a sight worth seeing.

There is a nice cafe and gift shop with wonderful views of the
Kelpies along with a couple of specialist shops right in the shadow of the horse heads.

The canal is a pleasant place to take a walk however the horse heads will hold your attention always.

There is plenty of parking room and away from the Kelpies there is plenty to interest families with play ground and open areas for games and picnics.

I would certainly recommend a visit to the park and, if the weather is kind, perhaps spend some time in the area enjoying the facilities.

Visit to Scotland - Day 2 - Falkirk Wheel

Day 2 of our long weekend saw us waking up in Dunfermline after a bit of a nightmare journey the previous evening when we were caught up in a huge traffic jam getting across the Forth Road Bridge.

After a nice breakfast we set off, under gray skies, on a short journey to visit the Falkirk Wheel and have a boat ride on it.

Our initial view of the wheel

The Wheel is a boat lift built to link the Forth and Clyde canal's and replaced 11 locks that closed in the 1930's and are now covered by other developments. The lift can take up to 8 boats, 4 in each caisson  and takes only about the power of 9 kettles boiling to move half a revolution.

The site is really set up for tourists with a large visitor center featuring a shop packed with the normal Scottish gifts. There is also a cafe selling hot and cold drinks plus hot food at reasonable prices.

A view of one of the ends of the wheel

We booked into a ride on one of the two canal boats that give trips up the lift and through the tunnel at the top. We had about an hour to wait for our trip and so we had a very pleasant coffee in the cafe and watched the wheel rotate as the preceding trips went on their way.

I also had a nice look around the site and took some pictures once a heavy rain shower blew over.

Then it was our turn to board our boat and take a trip on the wheel.

A view across the marina of the wheel.

The boat is rather large and takes a large number of passengers with plenty of windows although the rain did restrict the view somewhat.

The boat entered the lift once it had finished its previous movement and once in place the gate at the end closed trapping the load of water in place. We had to wait a short while as the other tourist boat plus a narrow boat where loaded.

A view of the short tunnel at the top of the lift.

Once on the move the journey takes about 5 minutes and is extraordinarily smooth.

Once at the top there is a short wait as the gate is opened and the boat is allowed on its way.

We first take a trip across the viaduct that joins the lift to the hillside and then into a short tunnel before reaching a small basin where the boat turns around for the return journey.

The basin at the top 

Leading out of this basin is another couple of lock's that takes the boats up to the level of the Union Canal.

The return journey is the same as the way out just on reverse although you do get a good view of the scenery once on the viaduct and in the lift, or at least it is if the weather is good which it wasnt at the time of our trip. We were able to see our next destination as the Kelpies could be seen in the middle distance.

The lift in action 

 I would certainly recommend a visit to the wheel and a ride on it if you have the time as it is not expensive. Have a walk around the site and it is a nice area with a large water park playground for the kids where they can operate different water pumps, canal gates and other mechanisms without getting wet.

Once our visit was done we went back to the car to drive a short distance along the canal to visit Helix Park and the Kelpies.

Visit to Scotland - Day 1

The last time I visited Scotland does not hold happy memories for me, not down to the beautiful part of the British Isles but rather down to the fact that I had to rush back home as my Dad was dying. 

This visit was far more enjoyable and we managed to visit two non-Scottish destinations on our long journey to the North and back home again.

A view of the yard with the main building in the background.

The first of these was a visit to the National Railway Museum's facility at Shildon, somewhere I have been meaning to go ever since the Great Gathering on the surviving A4 Pacific locomotives in 2013 when the museum hosted the Great Goodbye as the American and Canadian loco's went back to their respective museum's.

The museum building is an impressive train shed with lots of space for displaying the National Collection such as the Prototype Deltic, the forerunner of BR's class 55 diesel locomotive.

The Deltic prototype diesel-electric locomotive

There is also the prototype APT, a monstrous gas turbine powered beast that featured tilting coaches and ran at 150mph during its testing.

Along with several beautiful steam locomotives the museum has much interest for the enthusiast.

One slight problem for the photographer is that they are parked in lines as they would be in a traditional locomotive shed, making photography difficult. Also some items are hidden between the rows which is a shame.

Sans Pareil replica (the original is also in the museum)

The displays also include items of rolling stock plus a display of model railway items including a complete layout of OO gauge tinplate.

Outside there is a short line on which rides are available on certain days (see the official website for details).

Following the demo line out of the yard brings you past the coal drops, a large structure that requires a lot of work to make it safe. There is also a goods shed and other buildings further up the line but time was tight and I was not able to visit them.

There is also a large play area for the kids with railway themed play items.

The museum also has a well stocked shop with a large amount of model railway stock plus there is a small cafe area serving food at a decent price.

All in all it is a nice museum that has lots to offer for the family as well as the enthusiast.