The Bus Replacement Rail Service (yes, that's the right way round)

This may be the most British video I've done in a while! But I saw the news story and immediately wanted to film it: the volunteer-run, narrow-gauge Leadhills and Wanlockhead Railway, in the south of Scotland, has stepped in to replace buses while a road is being resurfaced -- avoiding a 45-mile diversion and meaning that local residents can still get to their neighbouring village. This isn't the first bus replacement train in British history, but it's pretty rare.
You can find out more about the Leadhills and Wanlockhead Railway here: www.leadhillsrailway.co.uk -- thank you so much to all the volunteers there for the time they spent with me today!
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[@leeraeside5341]

I love that they all take turns being the driver.

[@grancito2]

We did that as kids, but we took turns being the doctor.

[@aresorum]

@@grancito2 Sounds like an excuse to see girls' parts.

[@microfighterz]

🔫 Mum said it's my turn to drive the train

[@Camberwell86]

It's probably the least comfortable job, it can't be nice sitting at 90° to the window all day 😅

[@jaidencracknell2326]

@@Camberwell86 nah even if it is warm or cold its still fun to drive a locomotive around

[@captain_bow7672]

"if you watch it a day or two after it comes out.." Me : looks at date *4 years ago* Me: well nevermind then

[@falasnorden4359]

I feel your pain

[@PaulJakma]

It still runs though. Just not as a bus replacement service.

[@bow-tiedengineer4453]

I was half hoping that they decided to just make it a year round service. I get why they wouldn't, but still, it's quite a story.

[@Rig0r_M0rtis]

​@@bow-tiedengineer4453 It's a volunteers run track. They can't maintain the track when it snows and the open cabins must be cold af

[@bow-tiedengineer4453]

@@Rig0r_M0rtis I know. as I said, I get why they wouldn't, but it would be theoretically possible, and super cool, even if it is unreasonable.

[@Mladjasmilic]

This train is going so fast that it could count at express train in Serbia.

[@erkinalp]

Are railways that bad in Serbia?

[@brigadier3596]

@@erkinalp krajina express as example

[@filiprank9870]

Ćao Srbine, nikad nisam bio u vozu ali lepo je videti tvoj komentar, pa i 3 godine kasnije.

[@apache1234657]

same as new zealand 80kph is the max speed

[@milosm9280]

@@apache1234657 30 kmph in Serbia.

[@Pretermitted]

The bus replacement train's name is Clyde.

[@PropaneWP]

I normally don't swing that way, but Clyde is clearly the cutest train in the all of the land.

[@grande1899]

I thought it was Trainy McTrainface.

[@Up-xy1nh]

+Pretermit I swear I see you everywhere.

[@JEDiGamer007]

+grande1899 Creative.

[@x9x9x9x9x9]

I hate to say this but I don't get it. Can someone explain?

[@richardemms3050]

When there was flooding in Cumbria that destroyed a road bridge, they quickly built a temporary train station on each side and ran a shuttle train over the surviving rail bridge. This was a few years ago and lasted a few months.

[@gwenynorisu6883]

And free of charge to ride, too ... though it was only really for bus passengers, and pedestrians or cyclists would would normally have walked/ridden over the road bridge (which formed a fairly vital link between the parts of Workington, the largest town in the area, that were either side of the river, particularly for anyone from the satellite villages who usually went to school, visited doctors or the hospital, shopped, or worked, in the town centre), as there wasn't even an alternative footway until the local army reserves chucked together a narrow pontoon structure a couple days later. Everyone else had to take the 20-ish mile diversion to the next nearest road bridge that hadn't been washed away by the storm surge... that or try and find somewhere to park alongside the bank, take the shuttle, and then walk the rest of the way or try to cram onto the suddenly oversubscribed buses. Or wade across the estuary.

[@nicholaskelly6375]

Richard That showed just how quickly in an emergency "Things Get Done" Sadly PC Bill Barker lost his life when the bridge collapsed. I knew him through motorcycling A great loss.

[@n7275]

"The museum of lead mining." How very Scottish.

[@stuartpickles6907]

There isone in joplin missouri

[@joewipat5452]

I've been there it's very nice actually

[@portcullis5622]

@@joewipat5452 I wonder if it is as exciting as the Welsh Slate Museum at Llanberis?

[@spruceg00se]

@@portcullis5622 Ah mate, that museum is where it’s at!

[@napatora]

one of the coolest museums i've ever seen is the salt mine museum in salzburg, austria

[@Spudeaux]

The locomotive's name is Clyde. For some reason I find that quite charming.

[@vik8218]

Spudeaux Did you know that almost every locomotive has a name?

[@railpwn1268]

@@vik8218 Locomotive

[@stefanalexanderlungu1503]

Reminds me of Thomas the Tank Engine

[@snowstrobe]

So that is the name of the nearby river, even the electoral zone is called Clyde.

[@Rig0r_M0rtis]

@@snowstrobe Because half the male population there is called Clyde. And 20% of women as well.

[@PlonkapplePrequel]

Are there Plane replacement Boats?

[@williamwaffle1629]

okay dad see you in 6 months

[@marichat1256]

Is there taxi replacement walks?

[@TheOfficialCzex]

@@djsolstice8964 That's a boat replacement plane.

[@amanofmanyparts9120]

Numerous ships cross the Atlantic. Passenger as well as freight.

[@cookiechip3306]

Yes rafts

[@lloydevans2900]

I don't exactly know why this "bus replacement rail service" reminded me of the following, but anyway: Normally when a river intersects with a road, you either have a road bridge over the river, or sometimes a road tunnel going under the river. But I remember once when hiking in either the Peak District or Yorkshire Dales, I once saw a bridge which had been built to carry a river over a road. Not a particularly big river - more of a stream, really - only about 2 or 3 metres wide and at the time, about 30 cm deep, though the depth probably varies with season. It was a stone-built bridge which somehow had been made watertight, and didn't look like a recent construction, though this was more than 20 years ago.

[@nullnullsjo]

We had a rail replacement boat for some days here in Western Norway. Way better than the bus (which is never to prefer).

[@stevehallam0850]

It's on the track bed of a railway built to serve some mines that closed in the 1930's. Rebuilt as a narrow gauge tourist line in the 1980's.

[@joeybroda9167]

I would travel to these villages specifically to take this train. They should formalize its service.

[@Albinary]

Joey Broda Same.

[@trickyname]

I love Britain for things just like this.

[@Communist-Doge]

We're such a bizarre people haha. I love it.

[@anonb4632]

Scotland out of Britain, Britain out of Ireland.

[@Fm_1055]

@@anonb4632 hey there getting a bit political in a light hearted conversation dont we think here.

[@anonb4632]

@@Fm_1055 The colonial occupation of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is something to be resisted at all times.

[@Fm_1055]

@@anonb4632 not really

[@KenjiWardenclyffe]

Here in Melbourne, Australia "train replacements busses" are pretty much the standard way of travelling. If only we had bus replacement trains. I'd be much happier, but I'm sure shopping centers would be less than enthused.

[@cristalskies7045]

Me too, there's gonna be a lot more now that skyrail is being built

[@gwenynorisu6883]

Only if the train line doesn't go past / through the complex. There are plenty of examples of shopping centres that have rail stations either close by, right next to, or indeed right inside them.

[@melissakenfield5012]

seems somehow fitting to watch this on an amtrak train cruising across california.

[@Nhoj31neirbo47]

I hope they don't switch you to a bus at the next stop. 🚅 ~ 🚍

[@Skulduggery49]

Melissa Kenfield I

[@comandanteej]

@@Nhoj31neirbo47 well, if you go to eg. San Francisco, than they actually do. [ slightly late response I know :) ]

[@clray123]

Has your amtrak train arrived yet?

[@patchescessna7348]

When I worked in the airline industry we used to say: People with brains take the trains...

[@OllyPotts]

KZbin suggested this to me, even 3 years on, and no common interests. And I tell you what. WOW. What an awesome 140 seconds this was. Thank you 👍🏼

[@thany3]

Tom, if you're ever going to find amazing places a bit farther away: in southern Japan there's a railway line that has a steam train running on it, but in this case it's a "normal" scheduled train, so everything around it is totally normal (such as buying tickets, pass coverage, stations, etc). It travels between Kumamoto and Hitoyoshi and makes 1 round trip per day. It doesn't go every day though, strangely it skips all but one wednesday this year... The one-way 84km trip takes about 2.5 hours, and with its snacks car and two wide-view observation cars, it's a fairly comfortable ride.

[@samuelao9497]

What is it called

[@ToniBabelony]

This service is called Hitoyoshi and is ran by an 8620 Class engine. It's very rare to have daily steam in operation (Ōigawa Railway also operates all year long with only a few days off), though there are a few companies in Japan that do regular weekend steam all year long (e.g. Mooka Railway, Chichibu Railway, JR East, JR West). Those aren't too different from other companies in the world with an operable heritage fleet though.

[@gootywooty]

In the UK we actually have quite a few steam trains that run normally but not for long distances, most of them are short distance 30min-1hour. They don't run everyday but they are scheduled. Now that I look at it we have tons of active steam trains run by volunteers but I haven't seen a long distance steam train yet, most journeys are for leisure though.

[@5hirtandtieler]

+thany3 Seeing that he's about to take a trip to the arctic, I think Japan isn't too far fetched :) But that definitely sounds interesting!

[@thany3]

5hirtandtieler Japan is farther from the north pole than the UK ;)

[@Rig0r_M0rtis]

What a timing. I had to take a rail replacement bus two yesterday. It was as great an experience as can be when you crowd a whole train into two buses in the peak of summer.

[@iankemp1131]

The Leadhills and Wanlockhead Light Railway was for years the highest standard gauge railway line in Britain, even higher than Druimachdar/Drumochter summit on the Highland main line. It closed in 1939, but the rebuilt volunteer-run railway has regained the distinction of being the highest adhesion worked railway. The Snowdon Mountain Railway goes much higher but is worked by rack-and-pinion.

[@liamdoinsomething6017]

(At the end of the video) **Goes into description** **Sees date** Today’s date: Sunday 6th October 2019 Video’s upload date: Thursday 7th July *2016* Me: _oh_

[@clockworkkirlia7475]

I know right! Gah, wish I'd known about Tom four years ago; I'd have loved to take this train. I'm probably about twenty minutes from Leadhill, if my "everything in South Lanarkshire is twenty minutes apart" rule holds.

[@subwarpspeed]

@@clockworkkirlia7475 they stepped up for that one occasion but normally as I understand it runs on a museum railway schedule (i.e. it being the attraction and not the means to an end). So it will operates. Checked the homepage and currently they haven't opened for the season due to COVID-19.

[@clockworkkirlia7475]

@@subwarpspeed Oh fantastic, thanks for the info! Blast this virus.

[@sethanix3969]

Wow... 6 years later, and Germany is doing it too... On the heritage Brohltalbahn between Weiler and Niederzissen (in the area between Bonn and Cologne) there is a bus replacement rail service in effect until 20.05.22 - if someone is interested...

[@flyingscotsmanreport]

I grew up in wanlockhead, my grandparents and parents are still there to this day, in fact my mother used this service just last week during the road construction between both villages...

[@peppeddu]

Love how they don't care how it looks as long as it works.

[@dryfesands1367]

Fantastic video, and a fantastic service. I love Leadhills and Wanlockhead, some of the most beautiful places you'll find and it's fantastic to see the railway volunteers, who I know work really hard, getting the recognition they deserve.

[@wattage]

What a great video, Tom. I would definitely try this out if I were nearby. Looks so peaceful and relaxing. What a simple solution. Love it!

[@awmperry]

Nice to see my neck of the woods on the channel - I grew up just south of there! Never knew about this train, though; must get my dad to go up there and have a go on my behalf.

[@Olfway]

I grew up near Moniaive. Never thought i'd see the local area on this channel!

[@Rory_Perkins]

Dumfries here

[@dmreid9620]

I live in Glasgow and we want to Wonlockhead for a day trip last month and we saw the railway but we never thought it was in use.

[@ArchieSimpson]

I live in Biggar. This is just a few miles from me

[@shadowxxe]

i grew up in Aberdeen

[@ThomasTrue]

Nice video, Tom. By the way, the line was opened on the trackbed of the former standard gauge Caledonian Railway Wanlockhead branch. It closed in 1938 but when open, Wanlockhead station at 1498 feet above sea level was the highest standard gauge station in the whole of the British Isles.

[@PaulJakma]

The road from Wanlockhead up to the NATS radar station on top of Lowther Hill is the highest paved road in the UK, I believe. Closed to cars, but you can walk or cycle up it.

[@jeremyedowd]

Tom, the LRT (light rail transit) service I use on weekends is [again] on bus replacement for maintenance work this weekend. Thanks for posting this clip--it made my day a bit brighter. :-)

[@ucho9210]

This year (2019), there is bus replacement rail service between Slovakia and Czech Republic because of reconstruction a road bridge across the border river Morava. The rail line has not been previously used for some years, so this year the traffic there will come alive for a few months.

[@liquidsonly]

Actually, the replacement bus used to go right past where I wanted to go, so we just asked the driver to stop there rather than continue to the station which required a 1/2 mile walk backwards to the destination. Also no fee was charged due to the "inconvenience".

[@Braeden123698745]

I love these videos. I'm also glad to see more citation needed. Keep it up!

[@OnkelJajusBahn]

In Austria they had the same thing on the Donauuferbahn in the Wachau region. Because they had a flood and the road was closer to the Danube than the rail. The railway had been abolished a few months before but was set on service again.

[@glitchlife4639]

This was really cool :) I wish more places did it. I want rail travel in the States really badly.

[@TannerMecham]

I love your videos! You always find the most interesting topics to cover.

[@paulsmyers203]

These are the videos you make that I love the most. Thank you for your diligent journalism service in the weird and wacky world of man made oddities.

[@DavidMacchiaW]

That train and the people who keep it going deserve an impromptu party. Donations can go to it's upkeep. Just saying over the pond people.

[@niklasblh7298]

We've actually had underground/light rail replacement trams once. Seeing the "replacement service" sign on a tram was quite confusing...

[@Fabian-xc7bx]

A few years ago, in Switzerland in the Gotthard-Region, a landslide had interrupted the highway, so everyone had to use the train, because the local street was closed due to road work. In consequence three closed railway stations were temporarly opened.

[@MartinAhlman]

That is brilliant! I now have some other places to visit, just for the beauty of it. Thanks for this.

[@adamlabadi849]

There was a bus replacement train in Hungary a few years ago. But even better we had a Metro replacement boat service.

[@Nirrrina]

They should try running it a couple of times times a week or month just for fun. I bet it would continue bringing in more tourists. I'd certainly go out of my way to ride it. Looks like more fun than my local bus system. Probably a smoother ride too & I literally mean that. I went on Tulsa's 201 yesterday & the road was so bouncy & loud we couldn't talk even if we yelled.

[@JewishMusicToronto]

The scenery looks lovely!

[@RichardAspdenOfficial]

That train is oddly adorable. Thanks for this video!

[@GreenJeep1998]

It does look like it belongs in an amusement park....

[@epiendless1128]

Rewatching this after watching Tim Traveller's "Rail Replacement Helicopter". Nice gesture, Tom.

[@ronleitch7788]

Fascinating! If I had still been living in Cummertrees, I would have made a point of visiting the railway!

[@henrylie4699]

i find myself coming back to rewatch this video at least once a month

[@scottvelez3154]

Looks cozy and looking at nature, or just grass.

[@lngvly22]

I'm no rail fan (I don't dislike trains, I just know nothing about them) but this is extremely cool. Like a blast from the past.

[@TheConnor12500]

Congratulations on half a million!

[@WesleyGreen]

Considering how much time Amtrak spends sitting still, that speed looks great

[@chloelorna4335]

If I was living near there I'd love to volunteer

[@davidcrook4166]

Just found this amongst the clips recommended for me by YT I think the other comment s say it all so I'll just say a big Thank You!

[@DasVERMiT]

Woah, what's with that fancy subscribe button annotation thing at the end? :O

[@anotherwildeboy]

ikr

[@AlexanderPavel]

He's been doing that for some time now. I guess it's a special type of annotation

[@MrMistery101]

They seem to be the new annotations that also work on mobile.

[@tennicktenstyl]

It's called google cards or something like that.

[@gen157]

I thought the cards were the little circle in the top-right that can be references to throughout the video. Much like the sources section on Wikipedia.

[@guafito]

Mr. Tom Scott, bringing videos of stuff i dont know since many years ago.

[@NANONilsWORLD]

tx for this video...never see this before...cool!!!

[@Grizzly_Lab]

Just three words: this is *AWESOME*!!!! ^_^

[@mehalld]

I can confirm it's well worth going if you're nearby. as the video said, it's on weekends through the most of the year (the bits you'd want) so drop by if you're nearby.

[@theswissmiss69]

I absolutely love this train!

[@Teverell]

Oh, that's brilliant! Fantastic! :D

[@hawk_ness]

Very close to where I was about 2 days ago near Thornhill. Nice place to visit! Impressive hills.

[@darrenr49]

This truly is, an amazing... place.

What a lovely story :)

[@LectronCircuits]

Passengers are receiving excellent training. Cheers!

[@edmund-osborne]

I've been there, it's a fabulously british attraction.

[@anonb4632]

Scotland out of Britain, Britain out of Ireland.

[@No2Guy]

Hey I’m from Dumfries and Galloway! It’s awesome to hear it mentioned in a KZbin video for once 😂

[@crayzmarc]

This is great!

[@boofheadgerry]

A similar thing happened in Australia on the Walhalla Goldfields Railway in Victoria which operates a tourist rail service from Thomson to Walhalla on the former Victorian Railway Moe to Walhalla narrow gauge railway. Approximately 15/20 years ago a landslide blocked the road from Moe to Walhalla, as there is only one road in and out Walhalla from the south VicRoads contracted the Walhalla Goldfields Railway to operate a limited passenger and light freight service from Thomson to Walhalla until the road was repaired. I believe the repairs to the road took several months to complete as the cliff face had to be stabilized.

[@tm502010]

Delightful!

[@finbat]

Well done sir!

[@JuchePasa]

This sounds like Railway Commune where workers control it

[@TheOwenMajor]

It sounds like a bunch of old guys who have a passion for railways. It's not a business, it's a hobby group. It is like a commune in the sense that nobody gets paid, but that's how most volunteering works.

[@dabelli3818]

It is, but it's volunteer

[@FalbertForester]

@@TheOwenMajor The pay is in satisfaction at the end of the day!

[@Pokabjorn]

Yay! This would be great between Castle Douglas and Dumfries

[@DentalHygieneTipsUk]

That's amazing!

[@minovio66]

Sounds good !! I would love to do that too what a nice people for a better place and better Community

[@metropod]

There are a few instances of such services using mainline railroad trains in the US, and at least one, Shore Line East in Connecticut, bypassing a massive rebuild of Interstate 95, being made permanent when the construction ended.

[@dizzydjc]

That looks so cool, I wanna go on it

[@pianoman7753]

This is awesome, Id love to volunteer for something like this in my area.. Im gonna build my career around the railways if I can manage it.

[@seanross7611]

I live near here! Wish I saw you about!

[@ArgoIo]

How lovely!

[@davidrapalyea7727]

What fun! How about an entire show about this railroad? 😊

[@anthonydefreitas6006]

This has to be a dream come true for Geoff Marshall

[@louielouiepks]

Awesome little train

[@alangrahamcouk]

Sadly not in Glasgow this week as I'm on holidays - if I'd known you were up here I'd have been glad to buy you a pint / coffee / other beverage (IRN BRU?) ... lol ... fascinating story I didn't know was even happening just a few miles away from me.

[@kayzeaza]

This is actually really cool

[@Altoclarinets]

Talyllyn is currently doing this to replace buses reduced in number by construction on the B4405! (June 2019)

[@TheFastestSrbin]

I actually like it!

[@RarePupper]

Out of all the people I have subscribed to, I am always interested to see what you put your mind too :)

[@arponmeyado]

Fantastic idea

[@Lighting_Desk]

That's so cool!

[@yharuhi39]

Ah This is something I have not known. I actually like it!

[@wisteela]

That really is fantastic.

[@too-hot-to-handle01]

I love this idea

[@matthewmccallion3311]

Being from Northern Ireland, we tend to have bus-replacement rail services more often than rail-replacement bus services. Our rail network unfortunately isn't as good as that in GB, so most commuters get the bus (especially between the two largest cities, Belfast and Derry, where the bus (1hr40min) is much quicker than the train (2hr20min)). I once had to get a bus-replacement train from Belfast to Derry as the motorway was closed due to an accident

[@jedisalsohere]

Wonderful.

[@paulsmith5398]

We could use more of these for public transportation, slow, but steady always wins!

[@arpad2188]

Interesting that it's ridiculous for the British. Where I'm from we have a few of these operating and most people are fascinated by them. I also completely understand why they're willing to do the job for free as I happily would, too. I'd even take a day off just to drive that beauty.

[@MicroBlogganism]

Haha, that's pretty neat!

[@fft2020]

This is the cutest train I have ever seen

[@nitroneonicman]

Cool!

[@Olodus]

Haha cute. Seems very nice and relaxing.

[@x9x9x9x9x9]

Thats amazing.