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[trivia] Journeys were you can pick up slower trains that departed before the faster trains

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infobleep

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The sinario is this:
Stopping train departs before fast train, both from station A. By getting fast train you can pick up stopping train later in its journey.

What examples of this are there? Are there quite a few?

This came about after I noticed tomorrow that the 7.03 Guildford to Waterloo via Cobham arrives into Surbtion at 7.40. That's perfectly normal, abet it doesn't aways arrive on time.

What was interesting to me though was that if you got 7.07 fast Guildford to Waterloo, I worked out that if one changed at Woking for a semi fast service to Surbtion, you'd arrive in at 7.37. Thus unofficially at last, since its under the minimum official connection time of 6 minutes, you could change onto the stopping service later in its journey, despite the fact it left Guildford first. This is due to a strike timetable but I'm sure examples exist elsewhere that are more regular.
 
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bramling

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The sinario is this:
Stopping train departs before fast train, both from station A. By getting fast train you can pick up stopping train later in its journey.

What examples of this are there? Are there quite a few?

This came about after I noticed tomorrow that the 7.03 Guildford to Waterloo via Cobham arrives into Surbtion at 7.40. That's perfectly normal, abet it doesn't aways arrive on time.

What was interesting to me though was that if you got 7.07 fast Guildford to Waterloo, I worked out that if one changed at Woking for a semi fast service to Surbtion, you'd arrive in at 7.37. Thus unofficially at last, since its under the minimum official connection time of 6 minutes, you could change onto the stopping service later in its journey, despite the fact it left Guildford first. This is due to a strike timetable but I'm sure examples exist elsewhere that are more regular.

Hitchin and Stevenage - it’s possible to alight from an up Cambridge-KX Thameslink service, step back to the following Peterborough-Horsham service which will overtake somewhere around Potters Bar, and then return to the original service at Finsbury Park. Not sure why anyone would need or want to do that though!
 

infobleep

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Hitchin and Stevenage - it’s possible to alight from an up Cambridge-KX Thameslink service, step back to the following Peterborough-Horsham service which will overtake somewhere around Potters Bar, and then return to the original service at Finsbury Park. Not sure why anyone would need or want to do that though!
That I think actually answers my other trivia question, if I've understood you correctly.

That is here: https://www.railforums.co.uk/posts/3665156/

On this one you don't actually board the slower train to start with. You let it depart and then take a faster train. I suspected this might be common but thought I'd ask anyway. I suspect my other trivia question is less common.
 

Hadders

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Euston - Northampton. At certain times of the day it's possible to depart Euston on Virgin, overtake a slower train and change to it at Milton Keynes.
 

Bletchleyite

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Euston - Northampton. At certain times of the day it's possible to depart Euston on Virgin, overtake a slower train and change to it at Milton Keynes.

Also Euston-Bletchley - by taking the 1816 you can catch the 1805 off Euston at Leighton Buzzard (or the Southern before it), it is a very reliable and popular connection.
 

bramling

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That I think actually answers my other trivia question, if I've understood you correctly.

That is here: https://www.railforums.co.uk/posts/3665156/

On this one you don't actually board the slower train to start with. You let it depart and then take a faster train. I suspected this might be common but thought I'd ask anyway. I suspect my other trivia question is less common.

It applies to both. You could either slight from the slow train at Hitchin or Stevenage, or be on the platform and choose not to board.

There’s doubtless a few other examples on GN and Thameslink. Nearly every fast Thameslink service overtakes something between St Pancras and St Albans, or between Finsbury Park and Stevenage.
 

Daz28

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The Sidcup to Charing Cross (fast from New Eltham) overtake the all stopper Cannon Street services that go via Lewisham. Several times I’ve missed tha Cannon Street service, jumped on the CHX service 7 minutes later, and switched back to my intended train at London Bridge.
 

STKKK46

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You can get the 1647 Marylebone to Moor St to Banbury to pick up the 1624 Marylebone to Snow Hill there.

You could also get the 1715 Kidderminster service and catch up the 1624 by changing at Dorridge, as the Snow Hill service is overtaken again at Hatton. That however doesn’t provide you with any extra local calls.
 

Kite159

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Waterloo to stations between Woking & Basingstoke, if you miss the XX:12 or XX:42 Basingstoke semi-fast/stopper services you can change at Woking from the XX:20/XX:50 West of England line services.

I dare say if you are travelling to a station between Reading & Didcot it would be quicker to take a South Wales bound high speed service and change at Reading to save 18 minutes on the stopper from Paddington to Reading
 

318266

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When ScotRail introduce the Glasgow - Edinburgh via Cumbernauld services, you could catch, from Glasgow, the xx45 (via Falkirk High), and get the xx26 (via Cumbernauld) at Linlithgow or Polmont.
 

MarlowDonkey

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There's a journey on the Underground, I do every so often from Ealing Broadway to Hammersmith. It's invariably faster to change at Acton Town (cross platform in seconds) and arrive at Hammersmith non-stop on a Piccadilly Line train well ahead of the stopping District. If you've overtaken a second District Line train, then that's a gain when you are heading for a District Line station further into London. It can work the other way as well, where you catch up with the District Line train you just missed at Hammersmith.
 

rg177

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I remember one very bored evening when I was heading home, I jumped off a XC at Sheffield as it had a booked 16 minute dwell, jumped on a 158 to Doncaster (one to Bridlington iirc) and dropped back onto the Voyager there.

The 158 was significantly emptier so I deemed it worth it :lol:
 

jumble

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There's a journey on the Underground, I do every so often from Ealing Broadway to Hammersmith. It's invariably faster to change at Acton Town (cross platform in seconds) and arrive at Hammersmith non-stop on a Piccadilly Line train well ahead of the stopping District. If you've overtaken a second District Line train, then that's a gain when you are heading for a District Line station further into London. It can work the other way as well, where you catch up with the District Line train you just missed at Hammersmith.

Likewise on the Met in peak hours ( used to be all the time Boo Hoo)
Often overtake an Uxbridge that I require but have missed by catching the following Watford Amersham or Chesham Semi Fast and changing at Harrow on the Hill
I thus always take the first train if it is a Semi Fast
( this may or may not work on Amersham or Chesham fasts as some come in on Platform 3 which is cross platform and OK but some go to Platform 1 which generally does not allow enough time to get to platform 4 in time)
 

infobleep

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It applies to both. You could either slight from the slow train at Hitchin or Stevenage, or be on the platform and choose not to board.

There’s doubtless a few other examples on GN and Thameslink. Nearly every fast Thameslink service overtakes something between St Pancras and St Albans, or between Finsbury Park and Stevenage.
OK. I understand now.
 

infobleep

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I remember one very bored evening when I was heading home, I jumped off a XC at Sheffield as it had a booked 16 minute dwell, jumped on a 158 to Doncaster (one to Bridlington iirc) and dropped back onto the Voyager there.

The 158 was significantly emptier so I deemed it worth it :lol:

I love it. Although not quite the same, when.i use to commute to Harrow, there was a period where I'd have a20 minute wait at Clapham Junction for my next train. During this period I'd take a train to either Wandsworth Common or Queenstown Road (Battersea). Take a few photos and then travel back and board my train.

As for trains departing. You can let the x15 and x45 Portsmouth and Sourhsea trains go off peak from Waterloo and board the x00 or x30. You can then rejoin the first trains at Haslemere that you previously avoided.
 

snookertam

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Direct Glasgow to Girvan & Stranraer services all run via Kilmarnock. Tend to leave Glasgow Central at XX:13. You can catch the XX:30 From Glasgow Central to Ayr and join the same Girvan or Stranraer train at either Troon or Ayr.

Only works when the line south of Ayr is actually open though!
 

vlad

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I'm sure there must be plenty of these.

If you wanted to go from Crewe to London you could get the xx02 LNR service. Or you could wait over half an hour to get the xx35 Virgin service and you'd still get to Milton Keynes in time to pick up the LNR.
 

Trainfan344

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At least back in July, you could get a fast tpe from Leeds to Manchester Victoria, and then board a Leeds to Wigan local service that left 15-20 minutes earlier.
 

USBT

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Plenty of down services from London Terminals will do this. The Waterloo-Hampton Court example in the other thread works here too.
  • Take the xx12/42 for Basingstoke
  • Get off at Surbiton at xx29/59
  • Wait 6 minutes for the Hampton Court train that departed Waterloo at xx06/36
You can also - if you really wanted to - wave to the London Bridge-Coulsdon Town (xx10/40) or Caterham (xx14/44) stoppers as they depart LBG, then take the Caterham/Tattenham Corner at xx17/47, and change at East Croydon or Purley and wait ages for the earlier train.

For up services, there must be plenty of Thameslinks, the most obvious being from Gatwick: wave to the Gatwick-Bedford slow as it leaves (xx03/33), board the xx06/36 Bedford fast, and pick up the slow at any station from East Croydon except West Hampstead Thameslink.
 

causton

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I'm sure there must be plenty of these.

If you wanted to go from Crewe to London you could get the xx02 LNR service. Or you could wait over half an hour to get the xx35 Virgin service and you'd still get to Milton Keynes in time to pick up the LNR.
Even worse than that, as I think you mean xx35 from Chester, which means xx56 from Crewe!
 

Tracked

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Stopping train to Adwick leaves at xx:05, Cleethorpes TPE service leaves at xx:10, overtakes Adwick train in the Rotherham area (assuming the TPE to Cleethorpes is on time, which it often isn't)
 

ooo

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Bristol to Worcester. It's normally quicker to get the CrossCountry to Cheltenham then change to the GWR to Worcester which you overtook when it went to Gloucester
 

gazthomas

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Alton services from Waterloo. Get the later Portsmouth Harbour service changing onto the Alton train at Woking
 

ValleyLines142

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When the 0600 Penzance to Cardiff used to run, you could take it as far as Truro I think and switch onto the 0628 Penzance to Glasgow service as far as Bristol, and then catch the same service from there an hour later!
 

DanNCL

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Glasgow Central - Newcastle. You can take the 17:10 from Glasgow Central to Carlisle, then join the 18:41 to Newcastle, which left Glasgow Central at 16:13
 

Elecman

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Milton Keynes to Crewe and North therof by getting the 30 minute later Chester train than the Virgin via Birmingham,
 

70014IronDuke

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Well, how about this for a "sinario" - though it is rather OT - in fact, the opposite of what you are asking about.

In this example, you could get off the "express", board a " semi-fast" - and then get the "express" 50 miles up the line :)

At least, I hope I've remembered it correctly. Back in the days of The Thames-Clyde Express and Cl 45s on the Midland main line - I'm talking c 1970 or so - you had a semi-fast leave St Pancras at about 08.20. As per the normal pattern, the Sheffield fast - in this case the grandly named Thames-Clyde - followed from St Pancras about 30 mins later, caught up and overtook the semi-fast at Leicester, heading north via Nottingham to Sheffield and Leeds.

The semi-fast then departed Liecester, stopping at Loughborough, to Derby. But in those days, it was one of the remaining St Pancras - Manchester trains, then routed via Chesterfield and the Hope Valley. But because the Thames-Clyde needed to reverse at Notthingham, the slower semi-fast (via Derby) actually beat it to Chesterfield. I never met anyone who did it, but I'm sure some late arrivals at LEicester for the T-C must have been ushered onto the semi-fast on some days in order to board their missed train at Chesterfield. No restaurant-buffet on the semi-fast, of course, but I'm sure they could have put up with that inconvenience if it meant getting the one daytime servce to Leeds and Glasgow.
 
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