Track bash July 2021

Day 6 (Friday)

Balloch to Caldercruix

Last updated 2021-11-27

I've never heard of a hotel that doesn't serve breakfast before 09:30. Since that would mean no chance of catching my planned Oban train, I ended up strolling to the nearby Co-op for munchies for my connecting service.

The journey to Oban itself was scenic, enjoyable, and relaxing. When I got there, there was time for some present shopping and to obtain food and drink for the return. The return was much the same, though we had a long wait in the Tyndrum area, presumably because the Mallaig train had the token but was delayed.

Having done the long bit, the next step was to drop my luggage at the B&B a couple of minutes from Caldercruix station. This would also get me part of "A to B" (Airdrie to Bathgate), which wasn't there last time I was in Scotland. However, there was no answer from ringing the bell or knocking on windows round the side, so I had to drag the suitcase (thankfully on wheels) back to the station and carry it the rest of the day.

Then about 100 miles of travel to capture about 10 miles of new track in the form of the Alloa and Milngavie branches. It may seem inefficient, but I couldn't find a better way, especially given what was coming next.

On day 4 or 5, while changing trains at Glasgow Central, I noticed that there was a train to Edinburgh Waverley that did not stop at Edinburgh Haymarket. This seemed odd, because I thought everything did, so I looked it up on Real Time Trains. Where I discovered that it was routed around the Edinburgh Suburban, the only passenger service to go that way. This was too good to miss, so I made sure to catch it; unfortunately, even in July it was too dark to see anything along the route. I presume this is a move to get the train into a bay at the eastern side of Waverley to wait for a path to Craigentinny depot.

The train back to Caldercruix (giving me the rest of "A to B") leaves, in theory, at the same time as the train from Glasgow arrives, but we were a couple of minutes early and I thought I could run across from one platform to the other in time. Unfortunately, just as at Marylebone on day 1, it was the furthest platform from the concourse and the train left as I got to it, meaning a half-hour wait and the latest bedtime of the week.

Today's trains table

Today's route table

Today's new lines

• Oban branch
• Airdrie to Bathgate line between Bellshill and Bathgate
• Alloa branch
• Milngavie branch
• Craiglockhart Loop
• Edinburgh Suburban between Craiglockhart and Portobello junctions

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