interesting diversions?

The No 4 being lit at Wigan Wallgate always excites me.

Glasgow Queen Street LL - Edinburgh via Bathgate. Scheduled service nowadays, but this was by DMU in the early 1970's when the whole line between Airdrie and Bathgate (aka Newbridge) Junction was freight only and had been since (I think) 1956.

In the days of InterCity West Coast, I travelled from Euston to Blackpool North & had several diversions, route home was via Northampton, Rugby, Coventry, Birmingham International, Bescot, Stafford, Crewe, Wilmslow, Heald Green, Manchester Piccadilly & Bolton, more unusual was due to the backlog of services being dragged via Manchester that we used Platform 1 at Preston.

Diversions I have travelled in years gone by are:-

Bristol to Exeter via Bath, Castle Cary, Yeovil and Honiton (May 1991)

Leicester to Birmingham via Landor St Junction, Camp Hill, Bourneville and Five Ways (2000)

Birmingham to Bristol via Leamington, Oxford, Didcot and Swindon (March 2002)

Bristol to Taunton via Bath, Bradford on Avon and Westbury (2008)

My parents have done Bristol-Cheltenham via Severn Tunnel, Newport and Chepstow and also Bristol Parkway to Bristol TM via Avonmouth!

Does anyone remember when they diverted Bournemouth-Manchester services beyond Reading via West London and the WCML? Happened around 1997/98 IIRC.

Like another poster I also remember the diversions between Oxford and Birmingham via Worcester and Kidderminster - the only time I have done the Cotswold line. But they never seem to divert this way, let alone the WCML, these days.

On an ALR, Paddington to Penzance via Yeovil diversion on an 'Fag Packet' HST set with Valenta's

Would have like to have done the recent Derby Skegness HST that was on diversion via Peterborough but missed that

One Sunday early 90s returning from a holiday in Perth, the Dorset or Sussex Scot was divered via the GSW to Carlisle on departure from Glasgow. I had wondered why there was a 47 on the front...

nickw1 said:

Does anyone remember when they diverted Bournemouth-Manchester services beyond Reading via West London and the WCML? Happened around 1997/98 IIRC.

Like another poster I also remember the diversions between Oxford and Birmingham via Worcester and Kidderminster - the only time I have done the Cotswold line. But they never seem to divert this way, let alone the WCML, these days.

Click to expand...

I remember 1988 the Manchester to Weymouth was diverted via Rugby, Milton Keynes, Kensington Olimpia, East Croydon and Gatwick Airport then on to Southampton.

A couple of interesting historical ones!

Early 1970s, late night Sunday train from Darlington to Edinburgh, diverted by the coast route north of Newcastle, and ended up in a bay at Morpeth, awaiting the arrival of the loco that was to attach to the back and take us onward. Sadly it was a murky winter night, and I don't feel I got the full value of the experience!

Winter 1970 - Had travelled to Manchester from London (first time I had travelled on an AC electric service, so memorable in its own right). Return service was diverted because of heavy snow, and we ended up arriving (hauled by a Peak - also a first) in St Pancras three hours late. Wouldn't happen now...

dannypye9999 said:

I remember 1988 the Manchester to Weymouth was diverted via Rugby, Milton Keynes, Kensington Olimpia, East Croydon and Gatwick Airport then on to Southampton.

Click to expand...

There was one Brighton Glasgow on a Sunday that was diverted via Oxford/Worcester to Birmingham, and also diverted via the S&C AND South Western route to Glasgow!!

I am glad I was not travelling but there was a 5+ hour epic Paddington to Swansea via the Berks and Hants reaching Swindon via Melksham where it reversed to reach South Wales via Gloucester. From Cardiff to Bridgend it was routed via the Vale of Glamorgan.
Never used to go down well when I pointed out to passengers how much cheaper per mile their journey had become when diverted.

Even though it took an age I couldn't resist the diversion across Filton Airfield between Patchway and Avonmouth. I think it was when Filton Abbey Wood was expanded.

A few years ago (possibly October 2005) I did Birmingham to Glasgow almost entirely off the usual route. The train turned right at Norton Bridge and then ran via Stoke, Manchester Picc, Bolton, Blackburn, Hellifield, the S&C and the G&SW, with about an hour's wait timetabled at Kilmarnock for reasons that weren't clear to me. As my journey was Oxford to Stirling, it would have been much quicker to go Derby-Sheffield-ECML, or (at slightly greater cost) via London and the ECML, but that would have been a missed opportunity. It meant about 8 hours on a Voyager, but I'm much more tolerant of them than many forum members, and it was almost empty.

I remember being sent via the Leamside line at least once in the 1980s.

Diversions via the Cotswold line have happened at least once since privatisation, at Easter 2000 if I remember rightly. As others have said, bustitution is normal these days, although once I did at least get a booking website to give me an itinerary via the Cotswolds on normal trains with a change in Worcester.

Smaller but still interesting to me as a native of SW London are the two occasions on which I've been diverted off the SW main line via East Putney. The first was in October 1995 on the way to my first trip through the Channel Tunnel, and the second was on the way back from a Continental trip a few years later.

Due to a breakdown, I travelled from Manchester to Sandwell & Dudley via Styal and Alsager this morning.

I managed to get a Paddington to Slough HST via Greenford in August 1989 due to an accident at West Ealing the day before.

quarella said:

Even though it took an age I couldn't resist the diversion across Filton Airfield between Patchway and Avonmouth. I think it was when Filton Abbey Wood was expanded.

Click to expand...

Correct, when Filton was re-modelled and platform 3 added. Did that on a diverted Portsmouth - Cardiff, that was something different, didn't do a Voyager over it though, wish I did now to do the freight line towards Parkway.

There was a Southern service, may as well have been a tour, last year or so I believe was the 0100 Victoria - Brighton. Route was Victoria - East Croydon (rev) - Norwood Junction (rev) - Sutton - Horsham (rev) - Three Bridges (rev) - Brighton, though I think one ran via Hove to reverse too. Happened twice from what I recall, still bet the driver loved changing ends!

heart-of-wessex said:

There was a Southern service, may as well have been a tour, last year or so I believe was the 0100 Victoria - Brighton. Route was Victoria - East Croydon (rev) - Norwood Junction (rev) - Sutton - Horsham (rev) - Three Bridges (rev) - Brighton, though I think one ran via Hove to reverse too. Happened twice from what I recall, still bet the driver loved changing ends!

Click to expand...

There was, though there was no reversal at Hove.

Hasnt been done since, fairly sure that was because it was quicker and easier to use buses.

During the Balcombe Tunnel incident a few years ago, a Southern service left London Bridge from the Southeastern platforms and ran via Tonbridge, Hastings (rev) and Eastbourne (Rev) to Brighton - only time that has happened too.

Birmingham N S to Leeds in June 2007 when most of the East Midlands and Yorkshire was affected by severe flooding. (Deviations from normal route in bold)

New Street - Whitacre Jct - Kingsbury Jct - Derby - Ambergate Jct - back to Derby (Toadmoor Tunnel reported to be flooded)

After about an hour at Derby, Toadmoor Tunnel was now safe

Derby - Chesterfield - Sheffield - Moorthorpe - Hare Park Jct - Crofton West Jct - Wakefield Kirkgate - Wakefield Westgate (reverse) - Wakefield Kirkgate - Normanton - Woodlesford - Leeds

BTW in case you're wondering why we weren't diverted via Erewash Valley, it was closed for major resignalling.

When the Birmingham-Bristol (via Cheltenham) and Birmingham-Oxford routes were closed by flooding one Saturday in July 2007, I believe one XC NE-SW service was diverted from Birmingham via Coventry, WCML, Acton, Reading then either to Bristol or the Berks & Hants to Taunton to continue westwards.