Saturday 26th September 2015 – Lothian Buses Doors Open Day 2015

I'd never been to Edinburgh for transport before, prior to yesterday, so it was something I was looking forward to. As I'd decided to skip the Open Day last year, I opted to attend this year, as the weekend happens to fall on my birthday (it's on the upcoming Tuesday if anybody is interested), and I'm started to expand my horizons and visit new places now. After booking my train tickets and deciding which bus ticket I was going to require, I did a bit of research into the Lothian network and the latest additions to their fleet so I could map out some ideas.

1S03 – Newcastle Central Railway Station to Edinburgh Waverley Railway Station – (08:39 --- 10:25) – Virgin Trains East Coast Class 43 43272 and Class 43 43206 – InterCity 125 Set
When I checked Real Time Trains for some allocations, and discovered that 1S03 (the 08:42 service from Newcastle) was a High Speed Train (HST, or a Class 43 to some) as it ran on to Aberdeen (the line of which is not electrified, meaning Class 91s cannot be used as they require electrified lines, whereas a Class 43 can be used as they are diesel and don't need electrification), I decided to book that train up to Edinburgh. I don't actually know what my fascination with HSTs is. When I frequently have discussions with citaro5284 about trains, he tells me that he finds the Class 91s more comfortable to ride, they're more convenient as the guard has to slam all of the doors shut on Class 43s at stations, and the Class 91s are more modern than them. I can't say I disagree with him. But it's something about me; I love older and more historic items in life. The Class 43 was absolutely revolutionary at the time it first entered service, it was like nothing the people had ever seen before. Then the Class 91 was just a slight upgrade/improvement. They're just iconic trains and I always look forward to a ride in one. When my dad and I arrived at the station, we sat in the Costa on Platform 3 until 08:30, when we moved across to Platform 2, which the 08:42 was due to depart from. Within a few minutes, it rolled into the station, and we located the flag for Coach G, which we were booked in. An Asian was sat in our seats, so we had to ask her to move. When I messaged Adrian about this, claiming victory, he misinterpreted my words and thought I was actually being highly racist. I probably should have expanded on what I said in my message to him, rather than ''just booted an Asian hahahah''. Anyway, Coach G was swarmed with what appeared to be a hen party. They made such a racket that I resorted to listening to my music. Following stops at Morpeth; Berwick-upon-Tweed; and Dunbar, we rolled into Edinburgh Waverley more-or-less on time. 

#34 – Princes Street, Edinburgh City Centre to Ocean Terminal Shopping Centre – (11:03 --- 11:38) – Lothian Buses 561 – Volvo B5LH/Wright Gemini 3 – ''Madder and White''
As I'd seen 43272 was leading the train at Newcastle Central; I just needed to identify the rear car. Following a walk down to the bottom of the platform, I got a few photos of 43206, which was on the rear, and my dad and I walked back into the station. I noticed 67003 was the Thunderbird at Edinburgh today as well as a Freightliner Class 90, 90047. Got a photo of 90047 however I couldn't be bothered to walk down to 67003. When we walked out of the station and up onto the Waverley Bridge, I immediately got a photo of ''Airlink'' liveried 435, first time I'd seen one for myself and I have to say they look incredibly smart. My dad went off to do his shopping, leaving me to my own devices. Adrian and Jimmi soon appeared so we headed across to the middle of Princes Street for some photos. A driver stopped by Adrian as he pulled away, informing him of the event at Central depot, which of course we were aware of. Was nice that a driver took the time to tell us though. As the event didn't open until 12:00, we decided to head to Ocean Terminal for some photos. Adrian told us to wait for the 34 as that would be one of the new Gemini 3s, with the Streetdeck-like body. Before long, I saw one coming in the distance. While Adrian and Jimmi had Plusbus tickets, I had decided to buy a Day Ticket for the pure novelty of it. As I asked the driver of 561, a 15-plate Hybrid Volvo, for said ticket and put my money in the cash box, he said ''I can't give you any change, sir''. Wasn't aware that I was a ''sir'' but I was happy to be given such a privileged title nonetheless. Journey was really smooth and enjoyable, and we arrived at our destination at 11:38.  

#35 – Ocean Terminal Shopping Centre to South End, Edinburgh City Centre – (11:58 --- 12:39) – Lothian Buses 996 – Scania CN94UD OmniCity/Scania – ''Madder and White''
We walked across to the centre island for a photo of 561; it shortly departed on a Riccarton bound service. Have to say, the Hybrids on the 34 seem really nice. Next time I'm in Edinburgh, I'll be sure to have another ride on one. Adrian commented that the Lothian interior is incredibly smart; I have to agree. That was my first Lothian experience and I was given a good first impression. After about fifteen minutes of photo-taking, we decided to catch the next 35 back to the city centre. Unbeknownst to us at the time, the 35 didn't actually serve Princes Street, which was where we wanted to be. I can remember when Adam visited Edinburgh; he told me of the luxurious interior of the double decker OmniCity vehicles that Lothian had, hence, I was keen to try one. After having a magical mystery tour on this machine, I wasn't fussed over one anymore. On some of the rougher roads, it rattled like a shed in a gale, and despite the comfortable seating, the bus was just average. When we stopped in some traffic, Adrian pointed out that there was a railway station that he could see. We looked and saw a railway station, but make heads or tails of whether or not it was Waverley or Haymarket. Jimmi checked Google Maps and found that we were actually heading away from Princes Street rather than towards it. As a result, I pressed the bell and we made our way downstairs. The driver dropped us off just up from a near a mainstream street, which we walked down towards.

#3 – South End, Edinburgh City Centre to Princes Street, Edinburgh City Centre – (12:46 --- 12:49) – Lothian Buses 406 – Volvo B5TL/Wright Gemini 3 – ''Madder and White''
After reaching one of the series of bus stops, it became apparent that this place was called South End, and it seemed to have a decent flow of buses. This detour had now led to a lack in time; we were hoping to fit in Gyle Centre for photos too, but with time being pressed for me (had to be back for my train for around 15:00), and the need to go to the depot too. Luckily, the 3, which I knew went to Princes Street based on it's destination blind, came along, which we jumped on. Expecting it to be a short ride to Princes Street, we were hoping to be able to sit downstairs, but it was really busy so ended up venturing upstairs. It was a Gemini 3 but with a different body to the earlier example I rode, think it's the same as the demonstrator that Go North East used on the 47 and X21. With it being such a short ride to Princes Street, I can't really comment on it. Seemed alright internally. Upon arrival on Princes Street, we crossed over for a 22 to Elm Row, where we would alight for the depot. One pulled up, but a lot of people jumped on, and another was coming along, so we decided to wait for that.

#22 – Princes Street, Edinburgh City Centre to Elm Row, Edinburgh City Centre – (12:56 --- 13:01) – Lothian Buses 340 – Volvo B9TL/Wright Gemini 2 - ''22''
340 came a stop, so we happily jumped on. Managed to secure some seats downstairs, as we knew it was just a few stops to Elm Row, so this was good. A couple of stops after Princes Street, the driver opened his cab door and shouted down the bus that he wasn't stopping at Marks & Spencer. No explanation was given. When Elm Row came, Adrian pressed the bell to alight and we followed him down the aisle. After a short walk no longer than five minutes, we arrived at the depot. 305 and another Gemini were parked outside, and after walking into the depot, we were greeted with the sight of various other displays. Three Presidents that appeared to see use in the Driver Training fleet were present, with a long queue formed to have a closer look at them. Having gotten some photos of them, we made our way up to the Volvo demonstrator thing that was present. Wasn't interested in it, just looked like a recycled bottle of water... Around this time, Malarkey joined us. An ''Airlink'' 100 was parked up at the top of the depot so we went for a closer look. After trying and failing to get photos of the big line-up, due to families mindlessly wandering in front of the buses and some people just being pig ignorant, we gave up and walked off. Jimmi lost his temper outside of the depot. One suggestion to Lothian in the future, is to try and accommodate photos. I appreciate it's a family event, but it can and will attract enthusiasts and it's only fair that they are catered for...

#25 – Elm Row, Edinburgh City Centre to Princes Street, Edinburgh – (13:43 --- 13:51) – Lothian Buses 203 – Dennis Trident 2/Enviro400 Hybrid
Having been to the shambles that was the Open Day, we headed back towards the bus stop for a service back to Princes Street. A Hybrid Enviro400 came along, operating a 25 service, which we knew passed through Princes Street. Adrian and Malarkey occupied two seats in the reserved area for those who are less able to stand, while I stood and observed the rather nifty NSA screen that was located on the wall in front of the staircase. It was somehow similar to those that we have on the ''Quaylink'' services, where it shows the bus moving along. The dot (representing the bus) also flashed repeatedly when it was at a stop, if my memory is correct. Jimmi sat down at the fold-down seat that hangs from the wheelchair cushion thing in the wheelchair bay. It wasn't long before we could see the familiar sight of Princes Street, with it's distinctive buildings and hoards of crowds of both people and vehicles, so we alighted here. As I'd arranged to meet my dad back at Edinburgh Waverley no later than 15:00, in order to safely catch our train at 15:30, we decided it would be wise to not bother with Gyle Centre. When I return to Edinburgh in the future, maybe in the New Year, possibly on my own, it will be one of my priorities. I'd mentioned that Edinburgh had a bus station, although mainly seeming to have coach services, which Adrian was unaware of. As the prospect of standing at the Princes Street tram stop for an hour didn't really sound like fun, we decided to head up towards the bus station. Malarkey knew the way, having been there earlier in the morning with his new camera (which I must say takes some nice photos), so he led us up to the bus station. My first impressions were quite positive; a number of Citylink coaches and a Stagecoach Enviro or two were present in the layover, which made easy targets for photographs.

Edinburgh Trams – York Place Tram Stop to Princes Street Tram Stop – (14:35 --- 14:43) – Edinburgh Tram 264 – Edinburgh Tram
We all photographed several Citylink, Stagecoach and First services that were serving the bus station. One thing that amused me, was that one of the Citylink services seemed to have an ''attendant'' (if that can be the correct term to use – I mean a member of staff who sits at the front of the coach opposite the driver, unsure of what their jobs entails), a rather portly female who seemed to shake her head at us taking photographs. Perhaps she thought we were taking photos of her. God knows why anybody would want to take a photo of her, she looked disgusting. Adrian suggested we caught the tram back up to Princes Street, which sounded fair enough. Perhaps we shouldn't have walked along the tramlines to get to the station though. A few people in cars were giving us dodgy looks. Didn't have to wait long for the next tram service to arrive, which we boarded and took a seat in. My first impression of an Edinburgh Tram was that it was nothing special; it appeared to have an interesting number of features to it including Next Stop Announcements and a ticket inspector on board, which we don't see on our light rail system, the Tyne and Wear Metro. Upon arrival at Princes Street station, we alighted and took a few photos until the time got close to 14:55, so I bade farewell to Adrian, Jimmi and Malarkey and descended down into Waverley station, where I met with my dad outside of WHSmiths. He seemed to have had a good day as well.  

1E21 – Edinburgh Waverley Railway Station to Newcastle Central Railway Station – (15:20 --- 16:57) – Virgin Trains East Coast Class 91 91108 and Class 82 82213 DVT – InterCity225 Set
I got a photograph of 82213, which was on the end of our train at Platform 19, and after my dad located himself a seat, I headed up to the top of the platform to identify the Class 91 at the front of the train; it was 91108. One more winner ticked off for haulage, since August, I've started making a note on a Word Document, similar to what I write my reviews on, of the various rides I make. As it stands, I have 91102, 91106 and 91108 cleared, and then 43272 and 43206. I personally find the Mk4 sets are more comfortable to ride than the HSTs; although the latter will always retain the classical value that it has. Both classes only have a few more years left before the Hitachi Class 800s take over their duties in 2018 at an estimate, so it's important to try and enjoy a few rides on them while they're still going strong. We were booked in Coach E this time; in seats 59 and 60. There appeared to be a bit of a dispute between the two parties at the table seats in front of us, I think it was regarding some reservations. One was a rather posh(er than me) old gentleman who was handed a glass of sherry and various nibbles throughout the journey. Was somewhat amused by him voicing his thoughts on the world; proclaiming he had Alzheimer's based on the fact that he misplaced his train tickets in his glasses case. Following a stop at Berwick-upon-Tweed, we rolled into Newcastle Central on-time. We headed back to the car park to find our car had survived the day; before I was treated with the surprise of ''Tornado'' entering the station with a blow of it's whistle and then grinding to a halt. Was too busy anyway, don't think I could be bothered to get a photograph even if I was on the platform next to it. We were home for 18:30; to find my mam had made £900 at her MacMillan Coffee Afternoon earlier in the day. 

Some of you may have noticed my absence on the forum recently. To be brutally honest, I'm finding this forum harder and harder to enjoy with the number of sackless idiots, opinionated clowns and unconstructive buffoons that lurk on here. From now on, I intend to keep my activity as limited as possible on the forum, as I no longer find it an enjoyable place to be. I imagine those of you who seem intent on ruining it for others, no matter how innocent you feel your actions are, know who you are. It's becoming an incredibly tedious place to be and sadly, I no longer find it very enjoyable. In a nutshell; the forum has become a children's playground. It drags the hobby down for me too, knowing how many clowns do the same as myself, albeit in a less educated manner. It spoils it for others quite frankly. I still intend to go out on my outings, but if I become a regular poster on the forum again is a matter of time or if anything changes. My only posts from now on will likely be my reviews, and that will be it. Better to have my views/thoughts on it out there than clogged up. Sad that it has come to this, but it's just the way I feel now. Anyway, thanks for reading the review.

R852 PRG