Fife Heritage Railway

Much fanfare surrounded the return of passenger services to Leven last year. The Fife coastal town lost its railway station in 1969, although the seafront power station received freight deliveries until the turn of the century. The double-track line then rusted away for years before being slated for reopening. But train whistles could occasionally be heard in Kirkton Yard, an old marshalling facility next to the inactive route. Fife Heritage Railway - then known as the Kingdom of Fife Railway Preservation Society - acquired the premises in 2001 and began transforming the place into a working railway, initially with diesel stock.

The organisation was formed from the ashes of the Lochty Private Railway - a preservation project that ran between 1967 and 1992, further north in the county on a portion of a former freight link. Lochty even housed the legendary streamlined Union of South Africa locomotive for the first six years of operation! Owner John Cameron (born 1939) was a local farmer and steam enthusiast, who later became chairman of both ScotRail and the National Farmers Union. Fife Heritage Railway has continued to grow since the public were first admitted to the Leven site in 2008. The complex now boasts half a mile of usable track, along with a maintenance depot and canvas covered storage sheds. I went along to a one-off Doors Open Day event and immediately noted the progress made since I'd last visited with my dad, around ten years previously. A tarmac access road and car-park now serve the site, part of a deal worked out with Network Rail, who used the heritage infrastructure to store equipment during the reopening works. Within the compound, new platforms have been built and steam services have been in operation since 2016. Regular running days take place between April and October on the last Sunday in the month, with additional Santa Specials towards the end of the year. Around 4000 people visit each year. Guided tours behind the scenes were on offer today. No services were scheduled but I was able to enter carriages and generally explore the entire site, with volunteers on hand to answer questions and show you around. Not all the rolling stock is rail-worthy and staff have the never-ending job of attempting to bring coaches and locos up to standard. A main reason for including the railway in the Doors Open programme was to raise awareness of the campaign to open a museum. The proposal is costed at £480,000 and three quarters of that sum is available as a government regeneration grant. The challenge for the society is to bridge the funding gap and enable the conversion of the temporary Network Rail office block by the car-park into a permanent exhibition space and café. Shared community facilities also form part of the plans. The new complex would also function as the main halt for the heritage trains, with a triangular pattern of three on-site stations envisaged. The Levenmouth area has a rich industrial history and cargo was exported all over the world from Methil Docks. A museum illustrating this tale would be an exciting development and help breathe life into a community that has long been classed as an area of economic deprivation.

The new railway link to Kirkcaldy and Edinburgh is already doing a good job of putting the town back on the map, both literally and figuratively. Until 1967, you could travel right round the East Neuk of Fife by rail but this was reduced to two end stubs serving Leven and St Andrews, an arrangement swept away just two years later. One can only imagine the popularity of a scenic coastal ride around the Kingdom today. The picturesque fishing villages dotted around the Fife coast attract hordes of visitors all year round. Following the withdrawal of passenger services, the retention of coal traffic to Methil Power Station (and the subsequent mothballing of the line) made the reopening process relatively straightforward, as the basic infrastructure remained in place. A campaign to restore the St Andrews link at the other end of the old loop is bravely battling on. The new Leven Station sits on the branch alignment to the power station. The principal tracks through the town (and beyond) were removed decades ago. Nevertheless, the current terminus offers an ideal location as the bus station, High Street, leisure centre and promenade are all just a short walk away. There was talk of integrating the heritage project with the new transport corridor, but that would have entailed considerable expense and signalling arrangements. Kirkton Yard is now a physically separate entity. A very worthy project and I wish them the best of luck.

Bay City Rollers

Dunfermline puts on a good show for the annual Christmas lights switch-on ceremony, with a town-centre parade followed by a programme of live music at the Glen Gates. Last year I saw the excellent Red Hot Chilli Pipers, along with 90s dance act N-Trance. This time around, the Bay City Rollers were booked as the headliner. Just one member - guitarist Stuart "Woody" Wood - remains in the line-up from the glory days of the mid-70s, but I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to see the legendary band, one of Scotland's most successful musical exports of all time.

I walked the three miles into town, cutting through Pittencrieff Park, known to locals simply as The Glen. Dunfermline benefits greatly from this central green space. A row of Christmas themed stalls were trading, alongside various attractions for kids. The middle of November seemed rather early for festivities but the illuminations bring footfall to the town centre and it's wise to capitalise on that buzz for a few weeks. A sizeable stage had been erected on the cobbled area between the bottom of the High Street and the main park entrance. The American DJ (in full Santa regalia) was doing a good job whipping up the crowd in advance of the countdown. On came the lights, bathing the streets in a seasonal glow. The Rollers were due on in another half hour and a pipe & drum acts filled the gap. A healthy crowd was in attendance and the whole event is popular with families. Free days out in the run-up to Christmas are bound to be appealing in these inflationary times. Famed for their catchy hits and tartan costumes, the Bay City Rollers achieved worldwide success in the latter half of the 70s. The line-up from this era comprised Wood (guitar), Eric Faulkner (guitar), Les McKeown (vocals), Alan Longmuir (bass) and Derek Longmuir (drums). The roots of the band go back to the late 60s with the ever-present Longmuir brothers and original singer Nobby Clark augmented by a revolving cast of other musicians. Constant gigging secured a record deal and chart inroads were made while Clark still fronted the band. The big breakthrough came in 1974 with McKeown as vocalist and considerable sales of albums and singles ensued in Europe, North America, Australia and Japan. The band even hosted TV shows in the UK and USA. Manager Tam Paton marketed the musicians as clean-cut lads who drank milk and went to bed early. Complete tosh, but it helped attract a huge teenybop following. Two dark clouds shroud the legacy. Despite the long-running chart action, the promised financial rewards never seemed to fully materialise. Not an unknown issue in the music industry back then. There are also sinister allegations against Paton, who died in 2009. He is alleged to have raped at least two members of the band. No police action was taken when complaints were lodged years down the line. Paton had separate convictions for the sexual assault of young boys. A sordid character indeed. The band split from Paton in 1979, by which time oldest member Alan Longmuir (then pushing 30) had elbowed out and then invited to re-join. His successive replacements were the fresh-faced teenagers Ian Mitchell and Pat McGlynn. Read into that what you will. Chart success dried up as the 80s arrived and the group (sans McKeown) tried to reinvent themselves as a more serious act, known simply as the Rollers. Somewhat predictably, it petered out but the band periodically featured in the media as reunion rumours surfaced. The mid-70s line-up only ever played together again as a unit in Japan, but various incarnations of the band staged concerts over the years, with differing numbers of classic members present. Les McKeown passed away in 2021. Alan Longmuir and Ian Mitchell are also no longer around.

Stuart Wood (now 68) is the only man left flying the flag from the old days. Derek Longmuir has long since retired and Eric Faulkner has serious health issues. Pat McGlynn recently appeared in the ITV documentary Secrets of the Bay City Rollers, in where he made direct allegations against Paton. Wood has assembled a crew of (mostly) younger players. The current members are Ian Thomson (vocals), Mikey Smith (bass), Jamie McGrory (drums) and John McLaughlin (keyboards, occasional lead vocals). The latter musician has enjoyed a successful career as a songwriter and also doubles as the Rollers manager. It was a highly enjoyable show and Wood clearly has plenty gas left in the tank. The lads were all bedecked in trademark tartan. It's all about celebrating the catalogue these days and it's absolutely right that the music is placed to the fore. The unsavoury parts of the story provide important context but should not overshadow a fine body of work. Wisely, the band included a few well-known Christmas sing-a-longs in the set. It was predominantly a family crowd and you would have to be around 60 to remember the Rollers at the height of their powers. Some money apparently did filter down to the guys eventually. One of Scotland's most popular musical exports, they fully deserved any remuneration that came their way. The big-guns Bye Bye Baby and Shang-a-Lang were kept until the end, and known to almost everyone in attendance. The Rollers were followed by a UK tribute to American rapper Pitbull. Headlining a Christmas Lights event doesn't dovetail with playing last, as the Red Hot Chilli Pipers found out last year. After standing in the cold for a while, the audience tends to drift away in the aftermath the switch-on. Kids need to be fed and get up early for school the next day. It's a tough sell to persuade punters to hang around beyond one main musical performance. A nice tick on my legends list tonight.

Exhibition 200 Train

The birth of the modern passenger railway can be traced back to 1825, with the opening of the Stockton & Darlington line in County Durham. Many events have been organised this year to commemorate the bi-centenary and I was determined to catch Inspiration - an exhibition train currently touring the UK (until March 2026). Curated in conjunction with the National Railway Museum, entry tickets are free although a timeslot must be booked in advance. The aim is to showcase ground-breaking railway firsts, along with science, engineering and cultural themes. Many exhibits are family-friendly and there is also a carriage dedicated to career prospects. The most convenient date for me was in Glasgow and I took a bus through on a Saturday morning and walked down to the Central Station.

The train was docked on a main platform and the engine was named Michael Portillo, after the former government minister who has carved out a successful post-political career presenting Great British Railway Journeys on the BBC. A total of 16 series has been completed. I waited in line until I could enter the first carriage and studied some of the landmark facts painted on the metalwork. The Channel Tunnel was completed in 1994. Onboard wi-fi arrived in 2003. Construction of HS2 began in 2020, although that's a thorny issue. I stepped into the rear coach and started shuffling my way forward. The exhibition was very busy and - as expected - many kids were present. My eye was drawn to a familiar photograph - Linlithgow Station in 1845, the oldest known Scottish railway image. I had seen another copy at a recent event within Stirling Castle. Railway themes run through popular fiction. Examples are Harry Potter, Thomas the Tank Engine, A Bear Called Paddington, Murder on the Orient Express and of course The Railway Children. All of these publications were successfully filmed. A direct freight link with China was established in 2017. It took 18 days to complete the journey of almost 7500 miles and the 34 containers passed through seven countries. The first railway to link two major cities was the double-track Liverpool & Manchester in 1830. It featured full timetabling, proper signalling and no horse-drawn traffic was permitted. The expanding network obviously changed the ability of people to move around the country beyond all recognition, but these new transport corridors were also used to carry telegraph and - later - telephone infrastructure, allowing information to be instantly relayed across the nation. Railway operations themselves have always taken advantage of new technology developments. Real-time train updates were introduced at principal stations in 1974. Of course, the railways changed the way clocks were set in Great Britain back in the 1840s. Running services across the land required synchronised timings, rather than each town or region being a few minutes out of kilter with the next. Huge armies of labourers constructed the network, wielding picks and shovels, although steam-powered machinery was also used. The pay was high, but living conditions were dire. As for healthy & safety protection, forget it. Women took on many railway roles during the world wars, but driving remained largely a male preserve. We had to wait until 1979 for a female to be appointed to a permanent position in the cab. Karen Harrison also rose through the ranks in the train drivers' union, ASLEF.

A whole carriage was devoted to potential railway careers. Glasgow Central tour guide Paul Lyons was present. He appeared many times on the BBC documentary series Inside Central Station, which depicts various aspects of life within Scotland's busiest rail interchange. Several seasons have been broadcast. I did the tour back in 2014, shortly after the launch. Still going strong, I can thoroughly recommend the experience. The nation's railway system has constantly evolved over the last two centuries. The severe cutbacks of the 1960s hit hard and many towns lost their station. A few lines have re-opened in recent years, notably the Borders route and the extension to Leven, in Fife. Global climate concerns certainly strengthen rail's hand and I'm sure we will see new projects come on stream. Politically speaking, the system is moving back towards a nationalised set-up. It's an ever-changing landscape and one that's eternally fascinating to me. I very much enjoyed the travelling exhibition. Other stops on the Scottish itinerary were Edinburgh Waverley, Aberdeen, Strathspey Heritage Railway (Aviemore) and the Scottish Railway Preservation Society operation at Bo'ness, West Lothian. It wasn't all train history today though. A heritage bus passed by as I emerged from the Central Station concourse. I enjoyed a couple of pints at the Crystal Palace Wetherspoons pub in Jamaica Street - the UK's oldest commercial building with a cast-iron façade, inspired by the legendary centrepiece of the 1851 Great Exhibition in London. The tall arched windows flood the interior of the former furniture showroom with natural light. Fopp music store is a few doors up. The company has half a dozen outlets around Britain and also stocks books and films. The resurgence in the vinyl market and the general stubbornness of physical media has led to an upturn in fortunes for the chain, that once boasted over 100 shops. The place was buzzing and even had a doorman welcoming customers. A nice bit of old school!