One of Scotland's best transport museums is about 4 miles north of Dunfermline. You could cycle there, but there is another, unique way to get there. A free vintage bus service from Dunfermline on special museum open days. It's an unforgettable experience rolling through the countryside in one of these historic vehicles.
Highlights
Getting there
The museum is open on Sundays from April to October. Take a train from Edinburgh to Dunfermline Queen Margaret station (around 35 minutes). From there its a 4 mile cycle on quiet country roads to the museum.
The museum operates a free shuttle bus service. It leaves from Dunfermline bus station. If you are coming on one of the open weekends you can get a ride on a vintage bus from Dunfermline to the museum. Check the museum website for details of where in Dunfermline you can catch this bus. Vintage bus travel from Dunfermline
Bristol Lodekka bus picking up passengers at Dunfermline bus station to take them to the museum
What was it like to trundle along country roads by bus in the 1960?
You can find out by visiting the museum on one of their open days. There's a free vintage shuttle bus from Dunfermline to the museum. During my visit I travelled on a 1965 Bristol Lodekka. It had an advert for £5 'Bartex' sunglasses on the side. Inside and out it was in beautiful condition. It's a nostalgic and unforgettable experience to ride one of these vehicles. The sound of the engines, the slow uphill speeds, the clunky gear changes. The fabric on the seats, the use of wood and metal in the interior. Everything is so different to today's buses. Exploring the collection
One of the beautiful vintage buses on display
Vintage Lothian Buses number 16
The site of the museum is a mixture of sheds, workshops and the railway. There's a road, called Albion Drive, running through the centre of the site. On the open days this road is lined with a huge variety of buses that their owners bring along.
You can climb onboard some of these vehicles, walk up the stairs if it's a double decker and try out the seats. There's also an exhibition hall with the museum's permanent collection. This includes things that aren't buses, such as a horse drawn tram and a Trojan bubble car. I was delighted to discover a collection of classic bicycles. 
Trojan bubble car
Display of vintage bicycles
Uniforms and ticket machines
Try out riding lots of different buses
On the open days you can ride around the site on lots of different buses. Stand next to one of the bus stops, wait for one to come along and ride it to whatever stop you want. Repeat as many times as you want to experience different vehicles.
If you come to the museum on one of the regular days your ticket includes a tour of the site on a preserved bus. 
Interior of one of the buses. I think these seats have an Art Deco feel to them
One of my favourite buses that I saw at the museum. It's a tour coach
Train rides
The museum site was part of Royal Naval Store Depot (RNSD) Lathalmond. There was a railway network servicing RNSD until the 1970s. The Lathalmond Railway Museum has restored some of the railway.
There are 2 lines you can ride on. There's a cute narrow-gauge steam engine called 'Big Dave' that pulls open carriages along the West of Fife Munitions Railway. The other line is standard-gauge with a diesel engine pulling a brake van along a short stretch of track. You can sit in the brake van or stand on its balcony. 
Trains and carriages at the Lathalmond Railway
Station platform where you can board a guard's van pulled by this yellow engine
How does this rate compared to other transport museums?
Being able to ride vintage buses, step aboard and explore them provides a unique immersive experience at the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum. You don't always get that at other transport museums. For example, the Riverside Museum in Glasgow only has a couple of vehicles that you can go inside. Of course, that's because they need to preserve them. But that makes it even more special to have the opportunity to sit on the seats, touch and ride these vehicles at the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum.
In addition to the buses you also have the opportunity to ride some historic trains at this site. It might not be the most extensive railway, but it is an added bonus to have this along with the buses. My advice would be to visit on one of the open days so that you can experience the journey to the museum on a vintage bus from Dunfermline.
1 Comment
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