Trivia: Odd through trains?

[ATW Alex 101]

There is a Walsall-Liverpool service once a day IIRC. (Cant really check on tablet)

Also Buxton- Barrow in Furness, Shrewsbury-Rugely tv and I dont know if it still runs but up until a yearish ago there used to be a service from Crewe to Pembroke dock, it was a 150 and it always left from the little bay platform 7.

 

[Darren R]

Get yourself to Buxton station at 15:29 and you can catch a through train filling that all-important Buxton - Barrow-in-Furness market!

Or for what must be an even more significant passenger flow get to Buxton at 0559 for the all stations to Clitheroe!

 

[Max]

There used to be a morning Hull-Hexham train in the Northern Spirit days, the 1100 departure from Hull if my memory serves me correctly!

Also, until very recently, there was a 16xx departure from York-Scarborough via Hull that had run for pretty much as long as I can remember. Sadly it is no more as a result of the recasting of the timetable on the Yorkshire Coast route.

 

[Liam]

There's a Kyle of Lochalsh to Elgin service and an Inverness-Aberdeen-Edinburgh service. Edinburgh-Ladybank-Perth-Dundee has always seemed odd to me aswell.

 

[12CSVT]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Crosslink is one I find quite strange. Not in the league of some of these, but more recent.

I only travelled on the Crosslink throughout once. It was completely wedged from Basingstoke to Woking, then I just about had a whole coach to myself the rest of the way to Colchester (apart from a crowd getting on at West Hampstead, thinking it was a North London Line service).

My personal favourite is the 1V59 1232 Holyhead to Maesteg, a long-distance express as far as Cardiff where it becomes a commuter service to Maesteg. ATW diagram it like this so a big 3-car 175 is on the busiest evening peak train to Maesteg. It does cause confusion at the Holyhead end though, as this train connects with a ferry, and few ferry passengers have ever heard of Maesteg :P

There was an early morning Waterloo - Maesteg service (2 car 158) in the 1990s. Next part of the diagram was Maesteg to Coryton (possibly the only Valley Lines service ever to be booked for a 158).

Other unusual workings over the years

York to Shrewsbury overnight (via Denton and Reddish South)
Barrow in Furness to Cambridge (booked class 156)
Edinburgh to Carlisle stopper via Newcastle - booked for Deltic haulage when it first started running in 1981.
Edinburgh to Harwich Parkeston Quay (now Harwich International) via WCML to Preston, them Manchester, Sheffield, Nottingham, Grantham calling at major interchanges such as Alfreton and March

 

[Blindtraveler]

Aberdeen or Inverness to Penzance may still exist, I'm not sure. If so it's Cross Country.

Actually, it's not that odd. Long but fairly direct. It would however be odd if it were part of Northern Rail. Who duly operated it with a Pacer. Then we wouldn't need prisons? We would just threaten to make all felons travel the whole journey!

ABD>PNZ is still very much alive, 08-:20 I think off ABD.
Usually a 4 car XC Voyager. If a 144 was booked then I actually would do it! mention was also made of VXCs PAD>GLCF, I did this at age 17 on the last MK2 Worked train before a new voyager went onto it. Was the youngest enthusiast onboard!
Also did the GLC>LDS Via the S and C, was actually a lot of fun as the 158 was booked to run via the WCML!
i][/i]
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

There's a Kyle of Lochalsh to Elgin service and an Inverness-Aberdeen-Edinburgh service. Edinburgh-Ladybank-Perth-Dundee has always seemed odd to me aswell.

a lot of these serve dule purpose of running trains when needed and shifting units around.
The early to mid 2000s I seam to recall saw an Afternoon Edinburgh to Thurso and Wick direct. There was no return working though but there was a Kyle to Edinburgh.



--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
the 1 that amuses me most is the once daily Kirkaldy to Glasgow and return - All shacks to Dalmeny then Linlithgo and then for some reason (pathing) onto Falkirk Grahamsdon, Cumbernauld and finally GLQ. given its timing, would they not be better running it as a 170, running one of the EDB>GLQ Shuttles as a 3 car 170 and attaching the Fiffe unit at Linlithgo making it a 6 piece for the fast run into GLQ with a similar opperation for the return detaching 3 coaches at Linlithgo?

 

[GRALISTAIR]

There was a daily service from Nottingham to Carlisle until at least the late 1970's which ran via the S & C. After that I'm pretty sure it continued to run via the WCML. Before that the Thames Clyde express ran from St Pancras to Glasgow via the S & C. Sadly I can't ever see this being reinstated!

Yes I did that in 1972 D60 Lytham St Annes was the haulage

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

I think I recall an old BR service from Paddington to Glasgow. Or is my memory failing me?

And when the Waterloo - Salisbury - Bristol service was provided by Wales and West (or was it Wessex) there were trains from Waterloo to Fishguard and (I think) Waterloo to Manchester via Wales.

Yes I remember those, they may have been something to do with connections to Eurostar when they went from Waterloo. There were also some inter-city trains from the Northeast to Waterloo for the same reason. I also remember the inter-city services from the Midlands and Northwest that ran Via Kenny O & CLJ to Gatwick, Brighton & around Kent to connect with the airport and sea ports at Dover, Folkestone & Maybe Ramsgate, not sure about that last one though. I used those trains often from Oxford to Clapham and Dover to Bromley South. They were all useful links for passengers with luaggge and avoided having to change London Stations.

I also remember being at Exeter and seeing an IC train terminating at Rose Hill which is north of Manchester.

I did travel on the above mentioned Anglia Crosslink service, I went from Staines to Colchester a few times.

 

[northwichcat]

There used to be a morning Hull-Hexham train in the Northern Spirit days, the 1100 departure from Hull if my memory serves me correctly!

Also, until very recently, there was a 16xx departure from York-Scarborough via Hull that had run for pretty much as long as I can remember. Sadly it is no more as a result of the recasting of the timetable on the Yorkshire Coast route.

I remember pre-First TPE there was a Middlesbrough-Beverley service which took the place of a Middlesbrough-Manchester Airport service in the standard pattern.

 

[High Dyke]

Edinburgh to Harwich Parkeston Quay (now Harwich International) via WCML to Preston, them Manchester, Sheffield, Nottingham, Grantham calling at major interchanges such as Alfreton and March

That was just an extension of the Harwich Boat train the ran to / from Manchester? In days gone by it worked over the GC (Woodhead) to Sheffield Victoria and onto Lincoln using the line through High Marnham. When that was closed it was diverted to run via Peterborough, Grantham and the Hope valley. 10:08 ex-Grantham was always a welcome change to the usual diet of DMU's. The swaying of the coaches as they lurched through the section at Saxondale near Bingham onto the experimental concrete sectioned track...but i digress.

Now rebranded 'The European', the extension to Edinburgh was achieved by diverging at Ashburys Junction and Phillips Park to Manchester Victoria. In 1986 the route was again changed to call at Stockport using the newly opened Hazel Grove chord and 'Windsor Link'. A bigger change came a year later when it was diverted to run via the GEML, North London Line and WCML. I used the train from Shenfield - Watford Junc during an NSE Network Day.

Extract from: http://mancunian1001.wordpress.com/...-services-of-greater-manchester-the-european/

May 1987 saw a most controversial change to the timetable. The European would no longer serve Manchester Victoria, Sheffield and Nottingham. Instead, it would follow the West Coast Main Line all the way to Watford Junction via Birmingham New Street, with a slight detour in Willesden for Ipswich and Harwich Parkeston Quay. Though the journey time was reduced, the Mark 2s carried fresh air south of Birmingham. It was barely a footnote on the InterCity timetable.

Manchester, Sheffield and Nottingham passengers were placated (or palmed off) with a more modest replacement. The southern section of the 1982 – 1987 service was renamed The Rhinelander. Trains operated from Manchester Piccadilly instead of Victoria. Again, Class 47s were used, albeit under the wires in Greater Manchester. The air conditioned Mark 2Fs were replaced by older Mark 2s from 1963 to 1968, this time with openable windows. First Class accommodation was discontinued.

Sprinterisation

The Rhinelander only operated for a year, as did its revised stablemate via the WCML. The 16 May 1988 saw an extension of the 1987 service to Blackpool North, using the newly opened Windsor Link. For 1988, it was renamed The Loreley. In spite of this improvement, there was a nasty sting in the tail. It involved the loss of loco hauled trains.

Class 156 Super Sprinter units would take over. The original service had 10 coaches. Its immediate successor had 7 coaches. The Loreley would be operated with just…

…2 coaches.

Though the timetable saw improved frequencies, there was terrible overcrowding on popular journeys – most of which hitherto at times The Rhinelander and The European had left at. The section between Manchester and Nottingham was most overcrowded. By 1989, busy services saw 4 coaches added. Even so, it was a marked contrast to the more comfortable Mark 2s.

I also seem to recall that the Harwich - Blackpool service ran with the name the 'North West Dane'.

 

[glbotu]

I only travelled on the Crosslink throughout once. It was completely wedged from Basingstoke to Woking, then I just about had a whole coach to myself the rest of the way to Colchester (apart from a crowd getting on at West Hampstead, thinking it was a North London Line service).

The Crosslink was a strange service, namely because it was very well advertised (it was on the London Connections map), but ludicrously infrequent. (1tp2h). I remember trying to go from Feltham - Stratford with it, only to be told I'd have a massive wait and be better off going to Richmond and taking a NLL train. My understanding was that it mostly defeated its own purpose. It was supposed to take passengers from GEML to SWML avoiding London, but it was almost always quicker to go through London and change.

 

[CheekyBandit]

I seem to remember travelling on the 2-coach Loreley between Sheffield and Derby in 1988 (IIRC standing, which put me off using it again). I would have never taken the train to Nottingham in those days. Then I lived in Worksop and on the the bus route to Nottingham.

 

[shaun]

The Crosslink was a strange service, namely because it was very well advertised (it was on the London Connections map), but ludicrously infrequent. (1tp2h). I remember trying to go from Feltham - Stratford with it, only to be told I'd have a massive wait and be better off going to Richmond and taking a NLL train. My understanding was that it mostly defeated its own purpose. It was supposed to take passengers from GEML to SWML avoiding London, but it was almost always quicker to go through London and change.

Oh yes, a two/three car '170' fitting in between the modestly lengthed Mk1s and 321s...then being held up by a '313' most of the way through London! It was like a charter service, not many people did know about it and probably never did. The WSMR reminded me a bit of that when i used it, especially at weekends. At least WSMR had refreshments on board though.

 

[Mugby]

As I said in another thread recently, I saw a Pacer pass through Derby working from Manchester to Nottingham on one occasion. It would have been about 1989.

 

[jamesr]

With regards Crosslink, it wasn't just the passengers who weren't particularly aware of it. I seem to recall there was one through service a week to Norwich (most only ran to Ipswich), and I remember trying to book a bike from West Hampstead to Norwich and the staff at the ticket office in Radlett (I think... this was probably 2001/2) refusing point blank to look for the service on his computer because there definitely weren't any through services between West Hampstead and Norwich.

No-one seems to have mentioned Penzance to Milford Haven, or the old Pontypridd to Par chestnut yet. Ten years earlier, someone upthread did make mention of the Rose Grove - Paignton services which I seem to remember being a staple of the summer Saturday timetables.

I've got a distinct recollection of Table 158 showing a selected dates Ealing Broadway - Weymouth train on summer Sundays, possibly only for one year in the late 80s / early 90s. Did those trains really happen, or was it a timetable error?

 

[Eagle]

I've got a distinct recollection of Table 158 showing a selected dates Ealing Broadway - Weymouth train on summer Sundays, possibly only for one year in the late 80s / early 90s. Did those trains really happen, or was it a timetable error?

What was the first calling point after Ealing Broadway? You can't get to the SWML directly from the WLL at Clapham, although you can get to the Windsor lines and go via Chertsey to Woking.

Sounds like it may have originated from the Reading/Birmingham direction, although why it went via Ealing Broadway and not take the Reading to Basingstoke line makes no sense.

 

[43074]

I found an unusual Saturdays Only service from Nottingham to Llandudno and return service in the 1991 Summer Timetable. This went via Derby, Stoke-on-Trent, Crewe and Chester.

I suppose it was privatisation that stopped interesting through services such as this, although it did bring about other new through services like the London Crosslink, the Waterloo to Manchester service and the Central Trains services from Aberystwyth/Pwllheli to the East.

 

[87015]

What was the first calling point after Ealing Broadway? You can't get to the SWML directly from the WLL at Clapham, although you can get to the Windsor lines and go via Chertsey to Woking.

Sounds like it may have originated from the Reading/Birmingham direction, although why it went via Ealing Broadway and not take the Reading to Basingstoke line makes no sense.

It would have been an Ealing Broadway starter, ecs from Old Oak with a Thames Valley commuter set and would run to allow people from Ealing, Southall and local shacks to Reading to have an easy day out on the South Coast. Very sensible use of otherwise spare at weekend rolling stock - joined up railway required though.

 

[dk1]

I always found the Liverpool Street-Ipswich-Peterborough service a strange one.

Also, I remember when Anglia Railways did a Norwich-Basingstoke via the NLL.

The Peterborough served as a through train for Bury St Eds to London aswell as Essex to Peterborough for EC connections.

We where talking about the Crosslink the other day. The weekday through service left Naaaaaarich at 07.38. At one time this gave 6 Ipswich departures in just over an hour. 0655, 07.10, 0724, 07.38, 07.51 & 08.00.

 

[Eagle]

EMT have a few odd ones in Lincolnshire:

Worksop–Nottingham–Lincoln
Newark–Lincoln–Peterborough
Nottingham–Lincoln–Peterborough
Spalding–Peterborough–Oakham–Nottingham

 

[els]

I'm sure there used to be a direct Brighton - Waterloo service in the late 1990s (?) via Eastleigh, as an extension of the Brighton - Basingstoke service.

Similarly indirect was the Victoria - Bournemouth service via Hove.
Brighton - Great Malvern I've always found a curious one too.

 

[ValleyLines142]

One I have always found unusual is 2B60 1510 Swansea to Abergavenny, which only runs through to Abergavenny on a Saturday. There is no return service, however, which would be useful for Saturday night folk making their way into Cardiff for the evening!

 

[dvboy]

There is a Walsall-Liverpool service once a day IIRC. (Cant really check on tablet)

There is, and there's also a Wolverhampton - Four Oaks service and return.

 

[PHILIPE]

When the Cambrian was in Central Trains hands and various extensions some of which have already been mentioned, the route was known as "Barmouth to Yarmouth".

 

[IanD]

When the Cambrian was in Central Trains hands and various extensions some of which have already been mentioned, the route was known as "Barmouth to Yarmouth".

As already mentioned in post 2.

 

[Boothby97]

Spalding–Peterborough–Oakham–Nottingham

I believe that gets the unit off the Spalding-Peterbrough shuttles home
Thanks, Sam

 

[Welshman]

I found an unusual Saturdays Only service from Nottingham to Llandudno and return service in the 1991 Summer Timetable. This went via Derby, Stoke-on-Trent, Crewe and Chester.

I suppose it was privatisation that stopped interesting through services such as this, although it did bring about other new through services like the London Crosslink, the Waterloo to Manchester service and the Central Trains services from Aberystwyth/Pwllheli to the East.

In the case of a Nottingham-Llandudno via Stoke-on-Trent service, I think I'm right in saying it will now also be the revised track-layout at Crewe which would make running such a service potentially more problematic, as I think it could only use platform 6 through Crewe.

 

[High Dyke]

EMT have a few odd ones in Lincolnshire:
Spalding–Peterborough–Oakham–Nottingham

I believe that gets the unit off the Spalding-Peterbrough shuttles home
Thanks, Sam

Indeed it is. On Saturdays the train runs via the ECML and Grantham - Nottingham instead of the Midland route.

Come the Nottingham blockade there will be even more bizarre workings. ECS from Derby - Nottingham via Loughborough, Melton Mowbray, Peterborough (reverse), ECML, Grantham; and Derby - Lincoln via Loughborough, Melton etc... then Allington Chord, Sleaford (reverse), Lincoln.

 

[ATW Alex 101]

There is also the Mansfield Wodhouse-Skegness service and I'm sure there is a service to Norwich, I think it even goes via Leicester if I'm correct but I stand to be corrected.

 

[43074]

There is also the Mansfield Wodhouse-Skegness service and I'm sure there is a service to Norwich, I think it even goes via Leicester if I'm correct but I stand to be corrected.

The Mansfield Woodhouse to Norwich goes via Grantham, not via Leicester, although there are two early morning trains that go from Nottingham to Loughborough and then direct to Peterborough via the chord between Syston North and Syston East Junctions and all stations Melton Mowbray to Peterborough.

Leicester lost it's Norwich trains a few years ago. I vaguely remember them, so it was probably about 2004.