Through the mists of time.....as soon as I have worked out where we went, I will update this commentary! Photos at Nursery Avenue, Kilmarnock are black and white - my only venture into that medium

A1 Service was a consortium of Ayrshire operators who were eventually taken over by Stagecoach.

Airbus Industries A380 F-WWOW visited Edinburgh Airport as part of a UK tour on Saturday 5th September 2009. She made a pass over the city and then out over the Forth Bridges before an "approach and go" at the main runway from east to west.

Starting off with Loganair on Islay

A2B as it is colloquially known is the reinstatement of the rail connection between Drumgelloch and Bathgate. This link will allow through running of electic services from Helensburgh to Edinburgh (and beyond....). I will try to record works as they progress.

Trams are a principal means of transport in Amsterdam in many areas, but there are several bus operators. Buses can use the tram tracks where on road running exists

A selection of the various types of tram which ply the streets of Amsterdam. A few detail shots of bridging arrangements and interir detail also feature. Regrettably only managed one overall livery shot.

Opening with the preferred hostelry of Inspector Rebus

i give up. Too many collections, far too many options for displaying snaps....

Cannot recommend Austria too highly. Loads of real trains and plenty narrow gauge action!!!

The buses and trolleybuses of Austria

A selection of snaps which could easily have been taken by a normal tourist......

A major tourist attraction in Barcelona, the largest stadium in Europe.

A little sceptical on this prior to departure - a lot of dollars to be trapped on a boat in the middle of the ocean with hunners of people in the hope of seeing whales. I would have to say this was fantastic! The whales create turbulence in the water causing the fish to gather, and then break the surface to catch their prey. Seabirds flock to the whales and sometimes steal the fish out of the whale's mouth. Recommended!

Our daughter takes a keen interest in birds, and if I wasn't colour blind I might be better able to participate!

Appears to be a "must do" but game tickets are more difficult to come by than advance notice of lottery numbers.....

July 2009 saw a return to Brussels for our Silver Wedding, having last visited a mere 25 years earlier on honeymoon. A jolly time was had. Apparently.

The Royal Museum of the Army and Military History is located in one of the buildings of the Cinquantenaire Park and contains about one hundred thousand items. This collection makes the museum rank among the top military museums in the world. It's a top visit!

Thus far a rather odd selection, from Elgin to Batley via Copenhagen and Dijon.

I quite enjoy catching the odd bus needing a bit of help from a tow wagon - so I might as well have a collection, I suppose!

A small selection of the variety to be found in New England, along with some golden oldies from other parts of the USA

Tour buses were the only deckers to be seen, but a wide selection of singles, bendies and coaches kept the interest up!

A return visit to Brussels in celebration of our Silver Wedding. Needed to be a bit circumspect with the camera thoughbut....

Chester is quite an acceptable place to visit. Back in the day, she had a Corpy Bus Company, and I managed a good few piccies. It's my beloved First these days, but I haven't managed along so far.

Yet another broad brush approach, but I think it's time for separate collections for other UK areas, and for Abroadshire to be on her own.....

Plenty of scope here. All I need is a visit to Manchester...

Tuscany to be precise! Wide variety of types and sizes.

Photos on a recent family holiday - no "broads" though but.....

A few snaps whilst attending a meeting at the University. Minibus city.....

A "Grab and Go" session inbetween trains, but managed a few ex Preston Bus vehicles now with Stagecoach

Time to group "other" Scottish fleets in the one place. Buses Around the World covers too many areas as it is.....

Easter holidays 2008 found us in Shropshire - and this is a selection of the snaps I managed to take whilst avoiding the inevitable grief...

Our daughter trying her hand at transport photography.....(with an odd shot of me pointing something other than a camera!)

City Circle have a base in Bonnyrigg and operate a fleet of coaches which are a familiar sight around Edinburgh.

Long distance services in Scotland are operated under the Citylink banner. Time to organise the fleet in the one place methinks

Time this had a home of its own. Paisley and environs would be the theory, but there appears a snap of an RM working the Glasgow - Ayr service 4.....

This collection was started as a damage limitation exercise on my part, the front panel on the dishwasher having become amost completely separated from the carcase. The carcase door had also developed an alignment problem. If my repair mission ended in failure, I wanted evidence of the existing damage in my defence....

Self explanatory I believe. A selection of views based around a favourite recreational activity. Kicking off with a visit to Islay in 1992

First visit to the DLR. Would envisage this to become part of the Underground and Light Rail collection over time though.

Dodds are 100 years old next year. Ayr based these days, popped in to their depot whilst between parking surveys and grabbed some snaps.

The light railway between The Mound and Dornoch opened in 1902 and operated until 1960. Managed these pics whilst on holiday in Dornoch for a few days. Three intermediate stations at Embo, Skelbo and the delightfully named Cambusavie Platform were provided, and the line operated on the "one engine in steam" principle, with services connecting to the Inverness - Wick/Thurso line at The Mound.

Will contain vehicles and locomotives driven by the webmeister. First pic is prior to starting my first Rail Replacement duty with 36026!

The images in this gallery are from my collection of slides and were acquired more than 20 years ago - I'm afraid the slides did not have the photographer's name on them, so I am unable to acknowledge his excellent work. They depict scenes in Dundee from the mid to late 1960s, during a period when I was at primary school in the city, and bring back happy memories of that time. Particular favourites are the Cravens roofbox RTs and the new single deck fleetlines, whose bodywork sadly had to be replaced.

Eric and Mark Horsburgh now operate from Houston Industrial Estate but started in Uphall. An interesting mix of new small minibuses and Optares coupled with a large collection of ex Lothian vehicles and others for school contracts.

What I thought was a single snap of ESRA facilities at Dornoch turned into an exciting series as the training exercise seemed to go off plan as a result of the first inflatable trailer becoming stuck in less than supportive beach, and the efforts to free this trailer resulted in the almost brand new JCB Groundhog 4x4 becoming stuck as well. A Suzuki Jimny proved to be inadequate as a tow vehicle, and eventually a Toyota truck was summoned to free the errant Groundhog. To my surprise, the Groundhog was coaxed into life and was able to retrieve the boat trailers and conclude the evening's practice. Well glad I had brought the camera along!

Perhaps the most well known road haulier in the UK - I suspect others* may well rue the day that I started this one (* wife, daughter, boss). Hehehe.

A Lothian Buses subsidiary. Challenge is to present a full fleet without overdoing "The Princes Street Years". We shall see....

Hitherto pretty much a coach operator, Edinburgh Coach Lines have burst onto mainstream stage carriage operation with two new Plaxton Centros for the 13 which they have taken over from Lothian and indeed over the full former 13 route from Lochend to Blackhall. ECL took over the contracted former Mac Tours 61 route last year, but this has now been withdrawn. Gary Forbes-Burns has been instrumental in the 13 contract, and the buses look good!

As I work in edinburgh, it's only fair I snap the action. Captions will be provided. Probably.

Doug Lansky might be one of the world’s most respected travel writers, but he is better known as the orchestrator of The Signspotting Project, a longstanding mission to collect images of the world’s funniest road signs. This passionate quest for examples of unintentional roadside humour has been the subject of a nationally syndicated column in the US and three Lonely Planet books, the most recent of which has just been released in the UK. Now, Lansky’s project has evolved into a form of art – though he is reluctant to call it that – with The Signspotting Project exhibition taking place in Edinburgh’s Princes Mall throughout August.

On its first UK outing in Edinburgh, the exhibition will be split into two, displaying some signs indoors at Princes Mall and others on the roof. With around 40,000 images in his bank, Lansky says that whittling down his catalogue to the 100 featured in the show was tough. ‘I started out with the ones I had in the first two books,’ he says. ‘There were a couple of hundred in each. Plus, there’s only so many that work well without their backdrop. Basically, the ones I chose were personal favourites that worked well universally. I tried to opt for those that had the least text and were more visual.’

All the above commentary is replicated from The Edinburgh Festival Guide website.......

Second year on the shuttle buses. Fair bit of hanging about. One run to Port Seton, then two birls up from Musselburgh Racecourse in the afternoon. Head got a bit sunburnt....

A select group of like minded individuHals who cngregate monthly to immerse themselves in (generally) buses of a certain age....

The finest locomotive from the world's finest locomotive builder. Many miles, many locomotives, many photos far too poor to consider scanning.........

Photos will only be taken when it is appropriate!

The replacement of Polmont Junction over the Christmas holiday period - plain line replacement also taking place east of Linlithgow. This collection has attracted significant attention, and given it was my first digital venture, has provided great personal satisfaction. Only regret was the poor weather.

Very little touring. Just an assortment of snaps taken on various holidays. Interestingly, it seems to be sunny more often - except in France.

Monster machines which just cry out to be photographed. Looking out for an RNLI abc to start spotting the lifeboat launchers.

Also the two boat lifts in the UK are featured, anong with a classic US fire engine! The van with a TGV front is superb.

A new collection, of ships which provide passenger services. If they are painted to look like buses, trains or trams so much the better!

Red buses....

A wee haven for those First vehicles which don't fit in elsewhere at the moment....

Having previously been Lowland Scottish, this album will contain photos of vehicles in the Borders

First in Glasgow operate many services in the city and the wider Glasgow conurbation. They took over what were Corporation and subsequently SPT depots.

An Eastern Scottish depot in the old days, became Midland for a time and now First Edinburgh. I will try to maintain a full pictorial record of all vehicles allocated to or used by the depot here.

The 'country' operator in Edinburgh. The archives need searched for Eastern Scottish material to support this collection of recent images

Coach operator based in Grangemouth. Tours specialist, with a mainstay operaing the former Scottish Amicable services to Craigforth, which currently fly under the Prudential flag. Also retails cycles from their showroom next to the depot.

Edinburgh to Powderhall (nearly), North Berwick, South Leith (almost), Edinburgh, Benhar (no), Cadder reversal (not on the original plan) Greenhill Upper reversal (not on the revised plan), Grangemouth, Stirling, Alloa, Townhill and back to Edinburgh. Simple.

Stagecoach in partnership with SESTRANS have provided a trial hovercraft service from Kirkcaldy to Portobello for a two week period. These photos will provide a flavour of the event, which uses an Isle of Wight hovercraft

Photos from a very wet night at Freightliner Coatbridge. Thanks to Freightliner staff for giving up their time and CILT for organising the event.

This deserves a collection of its own! This will cover all operations up to the point at which First took over.

Great day out! Loads of vehicles, plenty of shuttles and South Side Tours all thrown in for the £5 admission charge. Only disappointment for me was that I had limited time, and was unable to go on a tour. I'll be back.....

Aberdeen. The land of my birth. Various generations of photos, which may see some expansion as my current employment involves work in Aberdeen. Alexander bodied Atlanteans again. There is a pattern here.

A very good friend, Graham Stalker, started me off taking photos of bridges. Basically, it's all his fault.

An initial collection of shots taken at Hamilton, mostly at what would traditionally be known as a bus stations! Plenty of action, and lots of variety both in operator and vehicle terms. Will merge into other collections as time allows.

Haymarket is being expanded with the addition of a terminating platform which is to be numbered 0. I will update this collection as work progresses

A selection of older photos to start with - a fine collection of pre-owned double deckers!!

The bridge over the Grangemouth freight line at Ice House Brae is being renewed over Christmas 2007 - a few shots of the work

Ireland currently provides the opportunity for travel on proper trains, although the multiple unit takeover is under way with Rosslare gone and Sligo to follow shortly. NIR are in process of replacing their small fleet of Thumpers, although some will survive - not to be missed!

Quick stop on the way back from Ayr. Unfortunately traffic ruined my attempt to snap TMS407X en root.....

North Glasgow Midland operations became Kelvin at deregulation. Kelvin followed Clydesidedown the Routemaster path in the early days.

Views taken on the final ceremonial opening of the swing bridge on 31st January 1988. A driech day in more ways than one!

A small selection of grids in varying liveries at Knottingley on the only occasion I have been granted permission to visit the depot.

A lone Nimrod flew over the runway in tribute to the 14 crew lost. A very sad moment. These are my shots on what was a very warm day.

Highlight was the Vulcan, which sadly was unable to fly (along with most of the programme) due to the conditions. Weather was a disaster for the organisers..... There are a few shots, but mostly ground based. Even resorted to taking pictures of other photographers! If you are interested in the tugs used to position aircraft, there are a few shots of these.

Vulcan to the Skies..... XH558 did the business this year in glorious weather. Huge crowds. Fantastic day!!!!!

Chance spot down a side street in Auchinleck took me to this paradise of Atlanteans and Alexander bodied products. Even the Mk 2 Metrobus is superb. Look out for the works cat....

Not a collection yet. Very few LT photos taken thus far. Need to improve.

Flagship service 100 is operated from Waverley Bridge to Edinburgh Airport with a dedicated pool of vehicles and drivers based at Marine. First shots are of new Scannies at Reliable Vehicles Newbridge awating and receiving PDIs.

Currently only one Scania which has been purchased for use on the X48 Park and Ride services. Pics of a previous demo which saw use on the 19 are included here.

Lothian Buses plc are the principal operator in Edinburgh, originally Edinburgh City Transport and having been Lothian Regional Transport for a period. This collection will contain vehicles now withdrawn from service, and oddball stuff like Park and Ride liveried coos.

Lothian Darts including the K-plate small ones operated by Edinburgh Bus Tours which have now departed the fleet.. 151-160 were renumbered during 2007 as 451-460 prior to the arrival of the batch of 10 Volvo Eclipse for the 49 service. 451-460 see little passenger service, with 451 and 452 seconded to the Driving School for periods of time. 161-175 are now 461-475 to make room for more Eclipses. Perhaps it would have been easier to move them on.....but we can't have everything now, can we? (Junk, heap, etc.....)

Well known for its distinctive yellow Olympians, the dedicated fleet has recently expanded with three 52 plate Darts being painted in the revised livery style first seen on TB320. Other fleet liveried vehicles are also used from time to time. I will expand this collection, as it appears that the instructors advise their trainees to check the website to see if they have been featured. The waves are always much appreciated!

Known irreverently as "Jimmy Nyes", the new (smiley) face of the Lothian decker fleet. The first shots in this collection are of the first batch of B9s at a local dealer for PDI. Lothian have now completed deliveries of 175 vehicles from 701 to 875, with 125 B7s and 50 B9s thus far. Route branding has been applied for 3, 31, 37/47 and 44 so far, all in the B7 batches, and the vehicles are almost never seen on other routes. Suffice to say I have yet to photograph one!

Lothian turned out Atlanteans for a swansong on the 4 in January 2000. A small collection of pictures taken on a day of poor light and wet weather. Sadly missed

So sayeth the Tramboards.... Lothian provided a tribute to the final Leylands in the main fleet by running on their final day with commemorative tramboards. All 6 (366-371) ran on the 15 during the day. 366, 367 and 371 were "spirited away" from the 15 (to be replaced by 3 Royales which were also in their final service day) to allow them to cover three 26 departures from Clerwood, the Tridents on these duties having run dead from Clerwood to Shandwick Place via Queensferry Road to beat the rugby crowds. A grand night out, but pretty sad at the end. The three buses ran part Route from Tranent in convoy to Charlotte Square, and I think I was the last fare paying passenger to step off a Lothian Leyland Olympian in normal service.

Photos taken at Longstone depot - these will merge into the main Lothian collection in due course. Many thanks to the driver who took the time to assist me in my quest for the unusual!

The new era in the early 1980s - the successor to the Atlantean in some respects. The first vehicles appeared in late 1982 with ECW bodies, a departure for Lothian. The arrival of the new Volvo B9s will spell the end for the vehicles as a fleet mainstay.

The newest type in the fleet and indeed the first as far as I am aware to be MAN powered. The are being introduced to replace the Diddy Darts, and with the exception of Yellow Peril II will be in a MacTours variation of Hurley Quine livery.

I tend to refer to these as Try Dents.....basically a double deck Dart and IMO a mistake. The first low floor decker for Lothian, with 5 ALX400 examples preceding the main fleet of Plaxton bodied examples. The ALX400s have been converted to City Sightseeing vehicles to provide a full low floor fleet on CS for 2008.

Lothian has a small batch of Volvo B7TL Plaxton bodied Trident lookalikes - quite distinctive to the experienced observer. They are fitted with big fans and provide an immense thrash, particularly if they are needing some TLC. Were standard fare on the 4 for many a day, but will now appear from time to time on other Marine services. A bit rare on 26s though.

The first 30 B7 vehicles for the 22 were augmented by a further 5 prior to delivery of the first 15 Euro 4 vehicles branded "The Best Deal" for the 29. 49 branded 151-160 "The Leader of The Pack" followed, then 161-166 unbranded. 167-169 arrived as Eclipse 2 and 170, exhibited at the Motor Show as the first Eclipse 2, was branded for the 49, and is currently unique.

This will probably be a small collection, as I wasn't big on the borders at the time. Nevertheless, deserves a slot....

Well presented selection of buses and coaches at their depot at Kelliebank, Alloa opens this collection

MacEwans are based in Amisfield and operate services in the South West and Borders, including the Dumfries - Edinburgh route.

Overdue feature for the vehicles of a well kent operator. A relation of mine is an instructor.

Massachussets Bay Transportation Authority or MBTA for short. Operates a wide variety of trains, tubes, light rail and buses in the Boston area. The Charlie ticket was a huge bargain at $15 for a week unlimited travel!

All coffee cups appearing in these phots will be on location. There is no question of me carrying around an empty cup simply to take daft photos.......

McDade have taken several ex Lothian Olympians of late, but ironically I have only managed to snap them so far in Edinburgh....

Based in Port Glasgow, operate a network of services within and beyond the Inverclyde area. Smoothiecruiser is one of the key brands in use.

Stagecoach brand for longer distance stuff. First snaps in the collection are of the 59 plate Van Hool Astromegas during their driver familiarisation period at Aberdeen. Others will move swiftly....

Midland has been my local operator since 1971, and has seen many changes, now being part of the vast First organisation. Although the Metrobuses shown here have been withdrawn, others still soldiered on at Bannockburn until recently when an Olympian invasion put paid to their sterling service. MRM82 and MRM88 were particular favourites, as I was able to test their tachograph operation following resealing at our Truck Centre.

The SRPS and Beaver Sports organised the biggest rolling riot seen in Scotland for some years, taking 55022 from Linlithgow via the Highland Main Line to Inverness, over the top to Aberdeen and back via the two bridges to Edinburgh before a reversal returned us to Linlithgow. These shots are designed to create a flavour of the day's events.......

Borders operator based in Jedburgh. Operates a mix of local and long distance services in the area.

Since I have Citylink, might as well have National Express!

National Museums of Scotland houses a wide selection of civil and military aircraft, mainly with Scottish links. Home to Concorde G-BOAA

The major hobby these days is collecting lines - along the way some phots will be taken, and some of these may even be worth a look............

Yellow trains.....

Groups of people with cameras hanging about usually suggest something interesting is afoot, and tend to attract my attention. So the group might increase by one person. That person might simply be amusing himself taking pics of the photographers......

y only visit thus far to North Weald - a splendid event which allowed me (after an hour's wait) to thrash DMS1626 around the airfield and even overtake an RM!!

Closed after 9th December 2006 as a result of DLR expansion. Yet another case of leaving it far too late to travel.....

W Alexander and Sons (Northern) had a wide operating area, from Dundee to Inverness via Aberdeen. Some vehicles suited the yellow livery, others perhaps less so. Strathtay now holds sway in Dundee, Stagecoach from Aberdeen to Inverness

Mainly Amsterdam Centraal thus far. Graffitti is the one disappointing aspect of rolling stock presentation

This may yet turn out to be a collection too far, but we shall see.....

A Pollock artic loaded with insulation was caught by a gust of wind at Lathallan Roundabout, Polmont and was blown over onto a PT Cruiser. Neither driver was injured in the accident.

Struggling to find a collection for this picture, I decided to invent one! Plan is to add one pic a month I am particularly pleased with. The webmeister's decision is errrrr..... final! (Probably)

No anoraks, though.... An eclectic mix of camera chappies and other like minded individuHals

The Polmont Rail Disaster took place on 30th July 1984 near redding, just west of Polmont. 13 people lost their lives and 61 were injured. A Memorial was unveiled on the 25th Anniversary of the Disaster at Polmont station. Our daughter Jayne took the photos of this sad event.

Portugal was a departure for us in holiday terms, but a week here in 1999 wasn't long enough in spotting terms as I only managed to escape once!

The Branch Line Society uses this classification, so it's time I did! usual disclaimer about moving stuff over etc etc...

From time to time, I succeed in persuading editors to actually subject unsuspecting readers to my pictures..... Please don't get the impression this is a huge source of income - I am still a long way away from recovering the cost of the camera, but the 170-500 is (as far as my good lady is concerned) well covered. Happy to settle for photo credit. One well known journal did however publish a photo (twice in fact) and woundn't even respond to my query in respect of payment. Given that it was in fact my first published photo, a little disappointing. Always happy to receive requests for use of pics.

An increasingly regular sight these days. First views of replacements on Edinburgh - Bathgate route. The Jays Olympian seems to feature strongly at Uphall for some reason!

A new collection which will provide a home for odd stuff!

Time to split up Eurpoean Tours. 1996 shots to open the batting here.

This collection will have no theme, nor any real point to it. Just humour me....

Stagecoach in the Highlands took over Rapsons in summer 2008. Rapsons were based in Inverness and at the time of starting the collection were Scotland's leading independent bus and coach operator. Operations comprised Rapsons Coaches, Highland Country Buses, Orkney Coaches and Causeway Coaches, serving mainland Scotland and the Orkney Isles. Rapsons also operated an executive coach hire service. The owner, Sandy Rapson, kindly gave permission for my brother and I to visit their depot in Inverness following arrival on the Moray Mint railtour. Other photos of Rapsons vehicles in the Inverness area are also included. There are shots currently in Lothian Longstone Depot of 807 which I understand is to pass to Rapsons for a schools contract in Fort William.

A three weekend project to replace the pedestrian footbridge across the Grahamston railway line at Redding. Week one sees the removal of the bulk of the old structure

A long established operator based to the north west of Dunfermline. Recent tie-up with Stagecoach in respect of leasing of vehicles as I understand it - may be related to school contracts. All current fleet appears to be white based, as the ex LT Titans and Metros languish at the rear. **Stagecoach have now taken over the Rennies business, but it appears to be retaining the Rennies concept and to an extent livery.**

There are many programmed infrastructure works across the network, and this collection will endeavour to provide a small flavour of these events as time and the patience of my dear wife will allow......

Time to split BR from the privatised railway. The present Scottish Rail Scene will be reclassified once I move content across!

The home for anything Scottish - unless it's a Class 40!

Railway themed pictures from Scotland where the train, if it appears at all in the shot, is incidental. Closed station sites will appear here, along with oddball stuff!

A wee collection of snaps taken at times I haven't hit the full Museum...

A grand day out! Difficult to commend the day too highly, with as good a display of vehicles as I have seen. The return of VV773 to the road was a highlight for me.

This collection will contain floating devices that are not in "stage carriage" passenger service. Starting with Queen Mary 2, I have a feeling the only way is down....

In the days when works visits allowed wandering at will, I obtained a permit for Swindon Works and set out from Edinburgh the previous night on the long gone Bristol sleeper. This collection is the photographic outcome of a sad day for a Class 40 fan. The only time I have seen a Warship sandwiched between 5 Class 40s though!

Eats shoots, and leaves. Sort of. Have a look. If you get the idea, let me know. Then I can improve the title of the collection.... or not.

The most recent rare(ish) track extravaganza round west central Scotland taking locos where they have rarely gone before. Helensburgh Central, Drumgelloch, Paisley Canal, Largs and Lark Hall all featured in the tour. The first shots in this gallery are all courtesy and copyright of my brother.

Magicbus and Neoplans. Two things I remember. The best bit about Magicbus was the selection of ex everywhere kit.......

First shots in this collection on a day trip to Peterhead. Mr Gardner deserves his own collection...

Perth - shots of the new Goldline Enviro 300s in service on their first day

Not to be confused with Stagecoach in Cumbernauld....! A few snaps on a recent rail excursion in search of required branch lines kicks this one off.

Stagecoach operate services on Arran with a modest fleet of vehicles based at the compact depot at Brodick, adjacent to the ferry terminal. The bus station is immediately adjacent to both of these, and appears to be the depot overspill as buses sit on stands for long periods of time!

75th Anniversary of Western Scottish Omnibuses was celebrated with an Open Day at Kilmarnock - which had the added bonus of superb weather and a tie-in with photo opperchancities of 40145 on an SRPS tour! Well done indeed to the Stagecoach management - I hope that the charity fund raising was successful.

The magnificent 60163 TORNADO opens the batting here.....

The line from Stirling to Kincardine via Alloa is currenlty being reinstated, with passenger services to operate from Stirling to Alloa, and coal for Longannet planned to be rerouted from the E&G and Forth Bridge along the line. First photos taken 29th October 2006 showing the line in various stages of reinstatement.

Buses operating in the Strathclyde PTE area will feature here. First photos were in Whifflet, with a number of local operators providing services alongside First. Feature collections of operators from within the SPT area are now being added.

This will be the first of a number of collections featuring the deregulated Scottish operators which sprung up from the sitting nationalised tenants. Finding a big batch of Strathtay slides all at once finally convinced me of the way forward in this regard. Gems in here include the former MRA1

Only ventures to Sweden from Copenhagen - have been to Malmo by sea and by rail. The rail link is thoroughly recommended!

Dundee - home of jute, jam and journalism. Prefer to remember my time here, well before the photos, as a time of green buses including the Cravens RT working the Fintry routes and the single deck fleetlines on the 7/8 circular. Alexander bodied Ailsas a good substitute, mind.

Late advice by Chief Executive left this agonisingly poorly planned, although the loss of updates to the Pocket PC Journeyplan application probably didn't help. Colne, Darwen and the Oldham Loop were on the most wanted list, and achieved. Cow Pie Pit will have to wait - partly because I misread a 6 as an 8 and watched the direct service to Rochdale depart.... Penny (sadly) was 390022. That's my story etc.

Our Silver Wedding rather crept up on me - it was only late January when I realised it was actually THIS year. Anyway, in a lavish reconstruction of the honeymoon we went back to Brussels. Eurostar beats a cross channel hovercraft any day, so that was hastily substituted along with flights to and fro London. These are just the to and fro shots, the trams, buses and other nonsense can be found elsewhere if you are tired enough of life to look. St Pancras was suitably impressive. And no, my dear wife ISN'T called Penny. (see episode 1). A jolly spin, but no way to value the thrash.

The Edinburgh Transport Group decided to take up my offer of retrieving one of the few remaining Citybuses from Gala for their evening tour in August. Enlightened self interest - I was unlikely to be able to drive one in service otherwise. All the victims seemed to enjoy the spin - even Shoeman, after his early suggestion that a brake application had perhaps been "sherp". Many thanks to the man at First Scotland East who fixed it for me, along with the guys at Gala for a well turned out vehicle. Pure quality thrash, particularly on the way back to Gala at dark-o'clock......

Episode 4 achieved all it set out to, with the exception of Starr Gate to Please Your Beech. What it didn't do was stay dry, have the appropriate number of staff on departure from Glasgow to provide the advertised breakfast service, ensure that all trams stopped at stops when I gave a clear signal to the driver, or have enough passengers waiting for E326MSG in Pressed on to allow me to run from the station and get a snap..... Fans may need to wait a while for Episode 5. It's more likely to be 2010 Episode 1.

Spotted this operator in Hawick. More gen to follow.....

The ITG Portrush Thumper was a marathon bash with 80 class demus: Belfast Dublin Belfast - Coleraine - Portrush - Antrim - Crumlin - Lisburn - Belfast - Bangor - Belfast - Dublin - Belfast. A big vote of thanks to the ITG organisers for another very enjoyable day out!

NIR beckoned on the holiday Monday courtesy of a £40 flybe ticket and the huge value £14 day rover which is valid on all rail and bus services, including the Enterprise. Grand spin on 80 class to Larne Town, then a Castle Class to the harbour before a CAF unit to Derry completed the track. Made a -1 at Portadown but was bowled out for 8208 as a dud NIR brick.

Whilst I have a significant preference for stage carriage PCVs, from time to time I manage to snap the odd couch as I meander round the Capital. This collection may eventually achieve the aim of keeping all these random snaps in the one plaice.....

A statue of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's most famous character, Sherlock Holmes has been a fixture at Picardy Place, Edinburgh for nineteen years. Unfortunately he has to move to make way for the tram lines, and has been shipped off to storage for a while, until his new home can be made ready. A Time Capsule was located under the statue and one of the three individuals who know what the contents of the time capsule is was on hand to take it away for safe keeping meantime. Apologies to the hotel whose chair I used as an impromptu stepladder....and thanks to all those who put up with me pretending to be the press...!

2007 saw preparatory works for the tram network commence. I will endeavour to take a few snaps documenting the construction phase of the project. I may even remember to take one of the big hole in the ground at Gogar!

Brussels as a honeymoon and Silver Wedding holiday venue. Brave or what? Anyway, why I have only managed this many Tram snaps will be no mystery to anyone, least of all me. First dissent re photos was on the Heathrow Express the day before.....

Bus phots along the way whilst on the ITG Portrush Thumper tour. Translink appear to have an enlightened policy when it comes to interchange - the bus and rail stations are adjacent, and thus the bus depot is on hand for photo opperchancities. Look out for the Leopards!

Contains transport planning themed shots

The railways of Italy during a family holiday in 2006. A small number of earlier shots have moved from European Tours

Principal interest in trucks is taking the wheel! Recent updates include Carrara in Tuscany and Truckfest 2006 at Ingliston, although the weather was not kind

Buses from the Tyne and Wear PTE area, including the magnificent Quaylink electric buses, which are eerily quiet!

Support your local tram network - perhaps then we will be more enlightened in our decisions not to proceed even where cities are crying out for tram networks as their roads grind to a halt. People use trams who would never dream of going on a bus.

This will take time. Perhaps money. Few snaps thus far as visits have been either family holidays or chaperoned business "conferences". New England on the agenda for next summer so here's hoping....

UWoS have finally reached the construction phase of their new Campus building at Craigie, Ayr in August 2009. As one of a number of Consultants who have been involved in the project for quite some time, I was favoured with an invitation to the Turf Cutting ceremony on 28th August. I hope to make this an ongoing record of the construction project as it progresses.....

Work is now well underway to construct the new road crossing at Kincardine. First photos at the end of January 2007

An exercise in the Clyde resulted in a number of ships gathering in the Gare Loch. Unable to cover the action, managed a few shots of the moored craft and the strong police presence

Network Rail are adding two additional through platforms at Waverley and simplifying the track layout, and this collection will contain shots of work as it progresses. Additional preparatory work for the Airdrie - Bathgate - Edinburgh electrification is also taking place

Stylish livery and a significant penchant for registrations containing WCM clealy identify this operator, headquartered in Campbeltown but with interests along the rugged coastline of western Scotland. Well overdue! First pics in the collection as a result of a site visit to Oban. I will try to shift the others over ASAP. Getting to like this one.... Glasgow Citybus also a part of this group, and they now have some ex Lothian kit, including an R-Type Olympian!

Hopefully does exactly what it says on the tin...

Principal Operator in south west Scotland. First shots in Ayr whilst attending a meeting with the operator.

Stonehouse based operator, commenced operations in 1973. Now have a fleet of 24 buses and 14 coaches. Largest collection of Y-Type Leopards I have seen in a while! Thanks as always for permission to visit.