Kinghorn on the Fife coast with the Firth of Forth and ScotRail sprinter 158717 passes over the viaduct and through the station non stop with an unknown working.
The first up departure from the Highland capital Inverness is 1B08 0640 to Edinburgh. Turbostar 170394 is just 32 minutes away from the journeys end and passes above the waterfront houses on the viaduct and high embankment the station is built upon.
170471 wears the attractive carmine and cream livery of the former Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive. This day it is employed on the Fife Circle and forms 2G03 0800 New Craighall to Edinburgh via the Fife Outer Circle. Here is slows for its Kinghorn stop.
The set departs the station and heads into the cutting which leads to Kinghorn Tunnel.
The Greek tanker Astro Perseus puts to sea with a load of oil or oil related products. She was built in 2003, weighs 158,982 tonnes, is 274 metres long with a beam of 48 metres.
The Dutch registered tanker Bro Galaxy proceeds up river off Kinghorn. The vessel is empty and may be loaded at Grangemouth. She was built in 2001, weighs 7,559 tonnes, is 115 metres long and a beam of 15 metres.
Ships that pass in the morning!! Bro Galaxy passes Astro Perseus on the right as per maritime rules.
One of the Forth Ports Authority pilot vessels goes about its business.
The tug Hopetoun has come against the stern of Astro Perseus. This tug was built in 1993, is 43.5 metres long, has a beam of 13.5 metres and draws 6.74 metres of water. Its 9900bhp engine gives it a bollard pull of 124 tonnes and was the most powerful terminal docking tug to built at the time. Inchkeith Island is in the background.
The Pilot vessel has turned towards the Astro Perseus, possibly to uplift the Pilot now that the narrows between the mainland and Inchkeith Island has been cleared.
170402 speeds through Kinghorn station without stopping, its diagram is 1A55 0930 Edinburgh to Aberdeen.
Alpha Line liveried 158870 slows for its Kinghorn stop with 2G47 0834 Newcraighall to Edinburgh via the Fife Circle outer.
This was a surprise, MPV 98907 and 98957 passes through the station heading north, its journey details are not known. It looks as if it has weed killing equipment fitted.
Arriva Cross Country liveried 221132 speeds through the coastal town with a very long distance working, 1V60 0820 Aberdeen to Penzance.
First Group liveried, ScotRail branded 158736 draws into Kinghorn for its station stop with a Fife Circle Inner working, 2K07 0941 Edinburgh to Newcraighall.
A move to Burntisland and the beach with the railway running right along it. An unknown class 170 Turbostar heads for Edinburgh with 2K21 1023 Glenrothes to Edinburgh class 2 local service.
A service to Glenrothes is formed by 170419 in ScotRail livery passes by. The train is 2K67 1006 off Edinburgh.
Turning round and the line is climbing hard at 1 in 128 and 170419 passes below the new clubhouse at Pettycur Bay caravan site. The next stop is Kinghorn a short distance away.
Moving to Pettycur Bay but looking back to Burntisland and the 0710 Leeds departure to Aberdeen, East Coast's 1S11, passes along the shore. Powercars are 43300 and 43306.
170406 passes below the overbridge at Pettycur Bay with 1L10 Perth to Edinburgh service. It will pass the north bound HST very shortly.
The Leeds to Aberdeen East Coast HST reappears at Pettycur Bay led by 43300.
Turning round and looking north and 43300 is about to enter the 250 yard long Kinghorn Tunnel which passes through Witches Hill. The rear powercar is 43306.
Turbostar 170431 exits the tunnel with 2G49, 0933 Newcraighall to Edinburgh via the Fife Circle. Despite its short length the tunnel has a kink in it as the contractor digging the tunnel missed the two working headings by the width of the bore. Hence the speed limit.
Just where the unit is passing was a turnout which led to a steeply graded siding down to a glass bottle factory on the shore where the roofs above the bushes can be seen. It closed in 1982 and now houses have been built where it stood.
A move to Seafield, just at the edge of Kirkcaldy at the site of the former Seafield Colliery. It is now a housing estate and part of it provides a grand viewing platform for the railway southbound. 158733 is seen again working 1L12 1057 off Perth fo Edinburgh.
The late morning sun shines and paints powercar 43208 leading East Coast's 1E14 0952 service from Aberdeen to Kings Cross in London.
Alphaline liveried 158870 heads north with a class 2 all stations stopper from Edinburgh to Glenrothes with Thornton. The working is 2K69, 1105 from Edinburgh.
This unit has been seen already today on an earlier diagram. Now it is working 2G65 1037 from Newcraighall to Edinburgh via the Fife Outer Circle. It passes Seafield in the midday sun.
Turbostar 170414 is bound for Inverness with the 1135 Edinburgh departure, headcode 1H11. Long gone are days of a class 47 and eight coaches on a working such as this.
First Group have hired in some interesting units over the years, 158870 is in defunct Alphaline livery from the South West of England. Today the unit is rostered on 2K25 1218 Glenrothes with Thornton to Edinburgh Waverley. Here is slows for the Kirkcaldy stop from the north.
Looking down on Kirkcaldy station from Bennochy Road overbridge and the driver of 158703 and 158731 opens the throttle to get the train away on the rising 1 in 685 gradient. The train is 2K11 1139 Edinburgh to Newcraighall via the Fife Inner Circle.
158703 with 158731 pass the entrance to the down loop which is used in the morning as a turnback siding and occasionally a unit will stable there for a while.
Up and down services cross at Kirkcaldy and the units are sequentially numbered. The up working is 170394 working 1L02 1159 Perth to Edinburgh. Whilst on the right is 170395 with 1L51 1200 Edinburgh to Dundee.
The down platform is deserted as 170406 passes through non stop. It is working 1A75 1230 Edinburgh to Aberdeen.
After lunch and a rain shower had passed through I moved to a new location. An unknown class 170 turbostar passes the site of Seafield Colliery, Kirkcaldy, now a housing estate with 2G71 1237 Newcraighall to Edinburgh via the Fife outer circle.
I believe this class 170 and 158 combination is 1H13 1335 Edinburgh to Inverness. 21 years ago the backdrop would have been Seafield Colliery sunk in the 1950's and winning coal way out below the River Forth. It closed after the Miner's Strike of the mid 1980's.
The afternoon sun shines on the river and picks out the white superstructure of a tanker lying at anchor in the Forth.
