Really basic Scotland Rail questions
 

Now that my itinerary is finally settled (!) I've discovered that I will actually do better to not use a Rail Pass for the 2 weeks I'll be traveling by train in Scotland. Two reasons: cost (surprisingly), and wanting to leave earlier in the AM's than the 9:15 restriction allows.

As a neophyte train-traveler, I am now faced with some tasks I do not know how to best negotiate. I have 7 "legs" of my trip to lock in. Please help me with these questions:

1) Should I & can I purchase & reserve my seats now (4-5 weeks in advance)? I do not want to risk standing up throughout any of these trips.

2) With all the connections involved, the time to work out & confirm all these trips might be too lengthy to do by phone from the USA. Is there another way that I can make these arrangements? (Remember here that I am not real savvy with all the mysteries of timetables!) --but am not looking for a travel agent, either.

3) I've read that I need to be careful of boarding the right car so that if a train splits en-journey, I'll be in the right section. Yike!--How the heck do I make sure I'm not headed for somewhere I don't want to go?

4) If I have only 15 minutes to change trains in Aberdeen and Perth, will there be anyone who can quickly direct me to the right rail?

Sorry if these questions seem simple, but that's the level I'm at right now! I have checked journey planners online and copied & studied timetables so that I at least have some idea of what the choices are, but connections are still open to lots of room for error on my part, I'm afraid.

I would just go to the First Scotrail or thetrainline.com websites, register, and just start buying the tickets, for collection at your starting station. If you are buying advance purchase, restricted tickets, seat reservations will be automatically provided. If you are buying unrestricted tickets, and you think you need reservations, get them at the station ticket office after you have collected your tickets in Scotland.

If trains are splitting, it will show on the departure board in the station, will likely be announced over the PA system, destinations will be posted at the doors of the individual carriages of the train and there will be staff to ask on the platform. If you are at all alert, you will not have a problem.

Likewise for your connections, there will be display boards and people to ask.

Ha--yes, Ron, most of the time I am semi-alert, especially in new situations where I might embarrass myself to bumble around in a fog. :s
I greatly appreciate your help with these little details. Forgot to also ask whether ferry reservations (no car) need to be made ahead of time for Mallaig-Armadale, and if so, where/when to do that?

Reservations for foot passengers are not required on Cal Mac ferries; in fact, I don't think it is even possible since there is nothing to reserve. You just need to have your ticket and be on board 10 minutes before departure.

In response to your semi-alert comment, you should note that,in some busy train stations, there may be last minute changes of platforms due to late departures of earlier trains using the same platform. So, even though you are sitting at what was the right platform when you arrived, it may not be the right platform 5 minutes before the train is due to arrive. You need to stay alert enough to keep checking the display board for changes, or notice when all the other passengers on the platform start making a mad dash someplace. I don't know that there are any train stations in Scotland where this would be an issue, but I certainly have had it done to me in places like Leeds, Lancaster and Reading in England.

Not sure where you are going from Perth, but once I ended up departing from an area that looked abandoned. So, get in the habit of looking at the monitors along all of the platforms. They will tell you which platform #, time of departure and if delayed or on time. If your arriving train is on time, 10 minutes will give you plenty of time to make connections. Happy rails.