Which is your favourite railway line in the UK and why?

[JDi]

Which Railway Line in the UK do you most enjoy travelling on and why?

 

[Bletchleyite]

Conwy Valley. The scenery builds up wonderfully, right up to the breathtaking emergence from the tunnel into the moonscape that is Blaenau.

Best done in conjunction with the rest of the North Wales loop.

 

[RJ21]

I can't argue with that, I use it to go hill walking every so often.

West Highland Line all the way to Mallaig. I know it takes you to Mallaig but several hours after leaving a busy city centre you arrive in a place which is very un-citylike having passed through the fjord land of Gare Loch & Loch Long before going into the mountains of the southern Highlands and the high moorland between Bridge of Orchy & Corrour before descending through the mountains to Fort Bill, over the swing bridge at Banavie with the view back towards Ben Nevis (on a good day) and then the increasingly rocky coastal hills & mountains towards Arisaig, the view down Loch Sheil from Glenfinnan and the final section towards Mallaig with the views of the inner Hebrides. Hopfully you end up in Mallaig in time for a ferry to somewhere other than Mallaig.

 

[IainG81]

I can't argue with that, I use it to go hill walking every so often.

West Highland Line all the way to Mallaig. I know it takes you to Mallaig but several hours after leaving a busy city centre you arrive in a place which is very un-citylike having passed through the fjord land of Gare Loch & Loch Long before going into the mountains of the southern Highlands and the high moorland between Bridge of Orchy & Corrour before descending through the mountains to Fort Bill, over the swing bridge at Banavie with the view back towards Ben Nevis (on a good day) and then the increasingly rocky coastal hills & mountains towards Arisaig, the view down Loch Sheil from Glenfinnan and the final section towards Mallaig with the views of the inner Hebrides. Hopfully you end up in Mallaig in time for a ferry to somewhere other than Mallaig.

Indeed and the steam train on the line adds a bit of magic as well. Kyle of Lochalsh line is pretty special as well.

My favourite is the line from Exeter down to Exmouth reminds me of summer holidays as a kid loved how it followed the river down. Lovely line scenery beautiful.

 

[fowler9]

Another vote here for the West Highland line (Especially when it was 37 hauled). I do have a weird one to add though. If I get a train from Hough Green to Lime Street it covers a lot of my growing up. I can see all three houses I have lived in (Apart from when I was at Uni) and you can see my Primary and Secondary schools.

 

[Parallel]

Cambrian Coast for me. Absolutely stunning scenery for more or less the whole route, with a proper isolated, rural feel. Also plenty of request stops to explore.

I also really like the Looe Valley Line, something about it is so eerie.

Other highlights are the West Highland Line, St Ives bay line, Conwy Valley Line and the Tarka line.

The Conwy Valley is severely underrated by tourists, and severely under marketed.

 

[Malcolmffc]

Thameslink Wimbledon to Blackfriars. A fantastic tour of suburban and inner London where you can see 3 different generation of housebuilding styles.

 

[mrcheek]

The Great Western. So much beautiful scenery, so much history. For the best experience, take a service from Paddington to Penzance that goes via Bristol Temple Meads.

Another one worthy of mention is Manchester to Cleethorpes, probably the most under-rated journey in Britain

 

[johnnychips]

HS1 to Brussels from St Pancras...can't usually see much as it's the last train, but I'll be with good friends and know I'm going to have a great time in Belgium!

Seriously, I always love going from Sheffield to Manchester through the Hope Valley; and I was surprised last year how interesting the ride was from Bournemouth to Weymouth, and from Bristol to Salisbury.

 

[aylesbury]

Preston to Glasgow over Shap down to Carslile then over Beatock down the Clyde valley watching the Clyde twisting and turning and then into Glasgow enjoy looking at the buildings and Glasgow Central is magnificent.Good start to a day at Model Rail Scotland.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Quite fond of the Barnstaple, Far North and Kyle lines. My favourite mainline run is Carlisle to Carstairs, probably the one single run I never tire of.

 

[Cowley]

There’s so many lines I love but up near the top would be Fort William to Mallaig for the reasons others have said and the Exeter - Penzance route because of the variety of scenery.

 

[_toommm_]

Either Cumbrian Coast (especially 37 hauled as you can tell by my picture ), the Settle to Carlisle or the section of the ECML from Newcastle to Edinburgh, and on up to Aberdeen.

Bit of a weird one, also the line from Sheffield to York via Pontefract Baghill - It's the first line I can remember riding (the screeching of a Pacer's brakes at Rotherham Central rings in my ears (sadly)) and I remember riding it a lot when I was younger as we used to go to York a couple of times every Summer. As my brother is in a wheelchair, we preferred to get a direct train than change at Sheffield onto XC (I can distinctly sitting in the vestibule multiple times on XC), or at Doncaster onto VTEC.

 

[D5645]

The Erewash Valley line between Nottingham and Sheffield for me.

So many happy memories growing up in the area.

 

[thejuggler]

I can't argue with that, I use it to go hill walking every so often.

West Highland Line all the way to Mallaig. I know it takes you to Mallaig but several hours after leaving a busy city centre you arrive in a place which is very un-citylike having passed through the fjord land of Gare Loch & Loch Long before going into the mountains of the southern Highlands and the high moorland between Bridge of Orchy & Corrour before descending through the mountains to Fort Bill, over the swing bridge at Banavie with the view back towards Ben Nevis (on a good day) and then the increasingly rocky coastal hills & mountains towards Arisaig, the view down Loch Sheil from Glenfinnan and the final section towards Mallaig with the views of the inner Hebrides. Hopfully you end up in Mallaig in time for a ferry to somewhere other than Mallaig.

It is a downer that the line connects two of the most miserable places on the west coast of Scotland!

Fort William always leave me cold.

A great place to study how not to develop a town. Demolish the Fort, build a dual carriageway between the town and the amazing Loch, add in a huge Morrisons and the disaster is complete!

The only postive of Mallaig is the ferry to Skye, but even Skye is not the same since the bridge was built as its certainly no longer an island.

 

[A Challenge]

While you could still see across the Thames I liked the final approach into Waterloo as you could see loads of London landmarks and I was going for a day out!

It is hardly visible because of the new buildings now though unfortunately!

 

[djpontrack]

The West Highland Line for the same reasons that others have given and also because I was born in Fort William. I went to Inverlochy primary school and copped a few locos there as the line went past the school on the way to Fort William station.
I also like the Cumbrian coast line. I had a trip along it today. 37401 and 37402 were the locos on the Northern services today.
I like the Great Western mainline from Paddington to Swindon. I worked on the platforms at Swindon and I would often jump on an HST after work and take a trip to Paddington and back.

 

[DanTrain]

I personally love the WCML from Oxenholme up to Carstairs, a lovely bit of high speed engineering through stunning scenery (the M6 up there is glorious too!).

Also the Bittern line is nice, but that’s partly a function of always being on holidy when I use it

 

[47271]

Highland Main Line

You pass through rolling fields after Perth, through Luncarty, Stanley and Murthly, then through a short tunnel and blam you're in the highlands surrounded by the rocky wooded crags at Dunkeld. I know a few people who feel quite emotional as they pass northwards through the Kingswood Tunnel.

 

[MG11]

St Pancras to Bedford is my favourite. It's quite a varied route and I like the way the EMT trains race Thameslink ones on the slow lines. It's one of the few lines to pass through three counties non-stop. You get to see some iconic landmarks too, Wembley Stadium, Ampthill Hall.

 

[B&I]

Can't argue with what other people have posted, but sometimes on my travels I have found myself on certain lines at certain times which were pretty atmospheric. Once travelled from King's Lynn at the end of a winter afternoon and it was like travelling through a frosty fairyland. Another was Barnsley to Huddersfield on a beautiful midsummer evening.

Some of the most impressive sights are on stretches of the approaches to Liverpool Street, Victoria, Waterloo and especially through London Bridge to Charing Cross - the dense tangle of buildings in the foreground (often, interestingly, seen from behind), and the towers behind across the river, at Docklands and the City.

Sadly my usual London terminus, Euston, is one of the less interesting approaches (unless you like the underside of brutality flats). However, Crewe to Liverpool has a couple of gems on a nice evening - first the Weaver, then the Mersey. And it also usually means I'm home after 2 days away.

 

[anti-pacer]

Another vote for the West Highland Line, but also...

Settle-Carlisle
Cumbrian Coast south of St Bees
ECML north of Morpeth
Marshlink Line
GWR between Reading and Didcot, and again between Exeter and Newton Abbott
North Wales Mainline, after Abergele
Conwy Valley

 

[Andrewh32]

Another vote for the Conwy valley from me & then probably ECML above Newcastle towards Edinburgh, finally a mention for a short section crossing the Harringworth viaduct

 

[ChathillMan]

St. Ives Branch. St. Ives Bay left my jaw on the floor. I will never forget the view as the train made its way towards St. Ives.

 

[theageofthetra]

RHDR with both the doors of the disabled carriage open can of beer and a bag of chips in hand on a summers evening is right up there.

 

[Bodiddly]

It is a downer that the line connects two of the most miserable places on the west coast of Scotland!

Fort William always leave me cold.

A great place to study how not to develop a town. Demolish the Fort, build a dual carriageway between the town and the amazing Loch, add in a huge Morrisons and the disaster is complete!

The only postive of Mallaig is the ferry to Skye, but even Skye is not the same since the bridge was built as its certainly no longer an island.

Can't argue with that. Unfortunately Fort William and Mallaig both fall under the jurisdiction of Highland Council, in my opinion the most inept organisation I have ever had the misfortune to deal with. Fort William is an embarrassing carbuncle that has most definitely missed a trick. The amount of people who pass through this town would make you think it would be ripe for redevelopment with state of the art facilities but in truth looks like a Glasgow scheme shopping centre.
It's been a while since I've been in Mallaig but if it's anything like how Kyle Of Lochalsh has become then it's quite sad really.

I'm dead against it normally but If there was ever an argument for privatisation then Highland Council would be a good start.

 

[bearhugger]

The Middlesbrough to Whitby line, once you're out of Middlesbrough. Followed closely by the Settle Carlisle line.

 

[Deafdoggie]

I love falling asleep in Paddington on the Night Riviere, then waking up and opening the blind to see St Michaels Mount rising majestically out of the sea.

The sea wall at Dawlish I still love. I remember being a little boy, and catching the overnight summer Friday night train from Crewe in a MK1 compartment. Hardly slept of course, but remember Dawlish for the first time. The Mk1 compartments were virtually sleepers, just without the bedding!

I love the Phwelli line too.

 

[Del1977]

Some really good suggestions. Cambrian Coast, particularly going over Barmouth Bridge, is fantastic.

Personal favourite would be the Marches line between Abergavenny and Shrewsbury. I just love the rolling hills with the Welsh mountains in the distance, the old signal boxes and level crossings and the general 1950s feel to it.

Best vistas over a short stretch: Durham from the viaduct, or sweeping into Bath Spa.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

The Heart of Wales line takes some beating, but the Settle & Carlisle does so. Haven't been further up Scotland than the Central Belt so can't have an opinion on the famous lines up there.