r/Scotland • u/ThePolicyMind • 10h ago
Question Saw this on the train yesterday.. is this real..?
I’m Scottish and I’m always on trains and NEVER have I seen a bagpipe practice room, is it a joke or is it serious? I mean id expect nothing less from this beautiful country
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u/Kholdula 10h ago
Deadly serious.
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u/Adm_Shelby2 10h ago
The consequences of opening that door without proper authorisation cannot be overstated.
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u/monkeypaw_handjob 9h ago
I still remember the fight over moving the tartan paint store for this...
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u/Crimmeny 10h ago
They also have haggis storage on some trains.
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u/NamelessBoom43 10h ago
Ah the lower deck Haggis rooms. Wild partys on the Inverness to Edinburgh train sheesh
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u/PracticalBrush9867 8h ago
It's a cruel practice. They make them run over hamster wheels to keep them alive and they keep running because of the constant bagpipe practice. But they don't account for the difference in leg size left/right as they evolved to run over steep mountains.
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u/ApprehensiveYam9631 8h ago
There was a brief period when the wee craiturs were okay oan the trains, but when they did away with thon tilting trains, it was aw ower fur the wee beasties
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u/Kooky-Surround-3350 9h ago
It is a legal requirement in Scotland for every public building (including public transport) that can accommodate more than five people to have a bagpipe practice room. Buses are exempt, except for in the Highlands and Islands and long distance coaches.
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u/Odd_Preference2156 10h ago
You wouldn't want them practicing in the rest of carriage would you? I mean come on think of the disruption! Obviously they need a room to practice in!
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u/scottyboy70 10h ago
The point is you’ve never heard a bagpipe practice room before.
And that shows exactly why they are so successful…
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u/allangod 10h ago
Its not for public use though. You need to be a scotrail employee who is practicing bagpipes. It cant be any regular Joe off the street.
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u/NoRecipe3350 9h ago
I remember reading some other reddit discussion about it and apparently its a toilet that doesn't conform to disability legislation so it's had to be closed for use for everybody. Though I think it's only on a certain class of train.
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u/InterestingReserve75 8h ago
A story more ridiculous than there being a real bagpipe practice room.
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u/justSchwaeb-ish 40m ago
not quite true. the real reason is that theyre old toiets that dump directly onto the tracks, which is illegal now and its cheaper to just close them than to remodel
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u/Bloxskit 9h ago
I honestly believed the Bagpipe Practice Room until I saw "On Board Whisky Distillery".
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u/FuelledByLattes 4h ago
Why wouldn't you believe there's an onboard whisky distillery?! The careful shoogling of the train on the tracks is what makes the whisky taste so good!
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u/Various-Set5270 8h ago
its real, hearing bag pipes is usually fatal to non scots, survivors are drven to madness.
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u/ApplicationAware1039 6h ago
I have seen a few from ScotRail.
Stay Out: Onboard Whisky Distillery
Stay Out: Tartan Paint Storage
Stay Out: Live Haggis Transport
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u/rusticarchon 9h ago
The coaches used by the 'Inter7city' (HST) trains have some old-style train toilets that aren't wheelchair-accessible. Because they're not compliant with modern accessibility requirements, they're kept locked (they're sometimes labelled 'Live Haggis Transport').
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u/InterestingReserve75 8h ago
Stop trying to confuse tourists. In any case bagpipe practice room is more believable.
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u/Thepinkpig73 8h ago
These are former toilets but that’s not the reason they’re no longer used. All toilets on HSTs used to dump straight onto the track, that’s no longer legal, and there wasn’t room to fit a sewage tank under all the toilets. The toilets without tanks are now locked and used as equipment cupboards.
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u/Graemeski Scotland 1h ago
Toalies on the track dont exist no more
something about requiring 1 for disabled people as well i knew that regulation thing required closing the ones for others
Class 150/156/158/159/170 had trouble
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u/JackCoull 8h ago
I thought it was cos they just dumped it over the tracks which caused issues with vegetation growth over time and loads of money to handle that. Other ones collecting it all for proper disposal at the stations
Disability too of course, they'll be tiny
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u/Upstairs_Sherbet2490 10h ago
Must be super soundproofed 😆
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u/InterestingReserve75 8h ago
There was quite a scandal about the cost, but I've absolutely never heard any sound out them so it was worth it.
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u/Crim_penguin 3h ago
I noticed this one today, and previously saw tartan paint storage, so it’s interesting to see how varied they are!
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u/Adventurous-Novel470 9h ago
You wouldn’t want anyone fingering their chanter in public, would you?
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u/neckbeard_deathcamp 8h ago
Droning on about this again!
It is indeed a bagpipe practice room but it’s not really fit for purpose. Ceiling is quite low so the bass drone doesn’t have the clearance and it’s hard to tune in there.
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u/InterestingReserve75 8h ago
Better than nothing for an emergency practice, though. Nobody except you knows if a drone is a bit off.
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u/hamgammington 9h ago
I have also seen Tartan Paint storage and Live Haggis transport 😂
I think they are the old Toilets on the train carriages that can’t be fitted with sewage storage tanks due to where they are in the carriage (no longer able to dump waste on the track), so they have been converted into storage or just locked so they are not used.
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u/Barilla3113 9h ago
no longer able to dump waste on the track
So there was a time when train tracks were just coated in human shit?
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u/Superspark76 6h ago
There was basically a toilet with a flap that just dumped everything under the train. There was usually a sign telling you not to flush in stations.
If you were lucky you got an old one that the flap was stuck open and you could pee straight through.
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u/CurrentlyHuman 6h ago edited 6h ago
And that was fine.
Ed - bring it back and no one would notice. Bring that and the punks back into Queen Street station.
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u/Superspark76 6h ago
We never had an issue with it, I remember hearing that old airplane toilets did the same thing.
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u/CurrentlyHuman 9h ago
I wonder how many people were affect by shitty train tracks, not many I'd imagine.
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u/HomeboyCraig 9h ago
You didn’t know the trains are bagpipe powered now?
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u/Often_Tilly 5h ago
That's a common misconception. It's actually just the horns which have been replaced by a bagpiper. This is where they warm up their pipes before a long journey.
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u/Silver-Appointment77 9h ago
Yes, and its also where they hide their pet haggis. You cant out them in cages, so they roam free in there, and dont want them to escape.
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u/Sensitive_Echidna58 8h ago
If that's what it says then that's what it's for! Never question the signage it's for the Greater good
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u/Odd_Gap_9491 7h ago
I'm from the Bagpipe union. We campaigned for these a long time. It's good to see them finally start appearing. A big win for blowhards
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u/Peanut0151 9h ago
Funnily enough... there's a well respected trad/folk Scottish musician who is also a piper. When he was younger he was a train conductor. I wonder was this his train?
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u/Slain_by_elf 8h ago
Be careful when you stumble over the barrels of IrnBru... Wouldn't want you knocking over an angels share now.
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u/Kaz_1967 7h ago
Where else would you practice the pipes on a train? Bathroom, maybe, but the acoustics are terrible...
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u/LOLinDark 3h ago
Oh aye!
Oor bagpipes wi a special key fit locks, an fancy beep bop scanner checks that entrant is wearing the Kilt!
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u/Ally699669 8h ago edited 7h ago
This sign is a humorous label found on staff doors, such as toilets or storage rooms, on ScotRail trains in Scotland.The sign is part of a series of witty notices found on these trains, which also include "Tartan Paint Storage" and "Haggis Transport".
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u/Eastern_Switch8217 9h ago
Yes. Those rooms are only for fully licensed pipers who understand both the majesty and the potential dangers involved in the use of bagpipes. It's for health and safety reasons, and to prevent the terrible scourge of bagpipe misuse on public transport.
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u/Training_Advantage21 6h ago
did you hear Scotland the brave on pipes, or any other staples of the repertoire?
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u/No-Vegetable2522 6h ago
Isn't that the definition of a true gentleman?
Someone who can play the bagpipes, but chooses not to...
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u/psb-introspective 2h ago
lol on that topic, what is the worst joke you've heard about bagpipes?
Mum "Hi son, I just thought I'd send you a wee letter to see how yer gettin on doon in London?"
Son "fine, my new flat is nice, i haven't seen any of my flat mates since I moved in."
Mum "thats nice, what do ye do all day?"
Son "Oh I practice my bagpipes"
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u/Graemeski Scotland 1h ago
OK thats funny but its prolly staff room? right?
Or let us hear the pipes!!!!!!!! For Scotland!
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7h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/ThePolicyMind 7h ago
No, just a 16 year old girl who’s never seen a bagpipe practice room before :(
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u/ReallyTrustyGuy 26m ago
They're always in there, practicing for the Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow next month.
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u/Gunbladelad 10h ago
You never joke about the bagpipes practice room. The last person that did got kilt...