The West Highland Line (Copyright © 2007 Google Inc)
WEST HIGHLAND LINE, Scotland -- In the early Autumn of 2005, Kahuna and Darth Teddy embarked on an expedition of Scotland by rail. The first leg of the journey began at the Queen Street station in Glasgow and ended in the fishing port of Mallaig on the west coast of Scotland.
The West Highland Line, Rathad Iarainn nan Eilean ("Iron Road to the Isles") in Scotts Gaelic, is arguably one of most scenic railway lines in the United Kingdom. Here are some of the photographs of the journey from the vast Archives of Kahuna.
Driving Trailer of Class 318 EMU (Copyright (cc) 2005 B Kahuna)
We pass a driving trailer of a British Rail Class 318 electric multiple unit train (as opposed to a locomotive). This type of train would usually be configured with two driving trailers and a central motor car containing the traction motors.
The Hills (Copyright © 2005 B Kahuna)
The Barrow (Copyright (cc) 2005 B Kahuna)
This barrow full of flowers was parked on a small lonely railway platform, the name of which escapes us. Kahuna posted a close-up of this scene as an entry to the controversial Vandoofus Prize in 2005.
The Misty Highlands (Copyright (cc) 2005 B Kahuna)
The Misty Peak (Copyright (cc) 2005 B Kahuna)
The Mist-Swept Loch (Copyright (cc) 2005 B Kahuna)
Class 37 Locomotive 'The Saltire Society' (Copyright (cc) 2005 B Kahuna)
This is a Class 37 Diesel-Electric locomotive named 'The Saltire Society' built in the 1950s and refitted in the 1980s. The diesel engine, main alternator and traction motors are contained in a single car.
The Loch (Copyright (cc) 2005 B Kahuna)
The Glenfinnan Viaduct (Copyright (cc) 2005 B Kahuna)
We pass over the Glenfinnan Viaduct built by Robert 'Concrete Bob' McAlpine during the early 20th century. Fans of the Harry Potter movies (which exclude Kahuna and Darth Teddy) will recognize the viaduct from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Darth Teddy is known to have strong views on the subject. "I detest that brat," and "they should have killed him in the first book," being some of the milder oaths attributed to the allegedly cuddly one.
The Sea Loch (Copyright (cc) 2005 B Kahuna)
The Contentious Game (Copyright (cc) 2005 B Kahuna)
In between swigs of Scottish ale, Kahuna and Darth Teddy engaged in a long game of Scrabble during the journey. Naturally, the anaconda keeper was squarely trounced by Kahuna. This incident remains a sore point with Darth Teddy to this day.
Cursum Perficio (Copyright (cc) 2005 B Kahuna)
After almost five hours, our journey comes to an end at the beautiful port of Mallaig. We spent the night feasting on some of the freshest seafood in Scotland and took the ferry to the Isle of Skye the next day, but that's another story. 
Monday, July 16, 2007
The West Highland Line
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4 comments:
The contentious scrabble game was the first game won by Kahuna in 10 attempts ... he still gloats about it to this day ...
Nonsense! This is vicious slander!
Why else would he make sure to take a picture of his first win in scrabble with Darth Teddy? But being as compassionate as we are we will let Kahuna gloat to his hearts content ...
For the record, Kahuna takes photographs of everything. Darth Teddy's conclusion is as usual, flawed. If the Bear has doubts of Kahuna's vast archives, more evidence can provided on request.
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