South West surely? You can see a retaining wall from the branch in the park just to the east.
Oops, you're of course correct, apologies. Don't ask me for directions!
South West surely? You can see a retaining wall from the branch in the park just to the east.
That's what I was thinking. Definitely no further north than west!South West surely? You can see a retaining wall from the branch in the park just to the east.
Two long-closed stations at Wigan Central and the original St Helens Central were quite peripheral to the town centres they served.Belfast Central is not at all central and, at the time it opened, the much more central Great Victoria Street closed, but has since reopened.
There are of course many towns that used to have a railway station but are now served by one some distance outside the town, sometimes with "for" in the name. MAny of these smaller stations would have closed too, if it wasn't for the proximity of somewhere bigger. Examples include Alnmouth (for Alnwick), Ashchurch for Tewkesbury, Kemble (for Cirencester).
Norwich City was even closer?
I apologise. https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/sid...t=52.6349&lon=1.2875&layers=168&right=BingHyb reveals Norwich City station to be a bit further out than I thought, north of the odd curved bit of Barn Road which was Station Road, with a depot between it and the city centre!I'm not sure. I've never quite been sure of the exact location of City - I think somewhere between the retail park and the roundabout on the ring road where there is some sort of railway sculpture. I guess you'd have been near St Andrews, so probably a few minutes walk from the market square. From Victoria you'd just wander down St Stephens to Gentlemens Walk and enter the market square from the other end.
Well, yes, but I think the city centre only drifted south after Victoria closed and the station complex, the neighbouring factories, Surrey Gardens and the cattle market were all gradually turned into shops and offices and the bus station. It looks like there was space around the oddly-angled Victoria station and I suspect a rebuild could at least have matched Thorpe's six platforms without the frustrating bridge on the approach, but it seems quite a bit uphill and it would not have been as good for the lines to the coast.With Chapelfield etc Victoria would be a better option than City today.
Lydney Town (although open on preserved line).
Merthyr, also possibly Aberdare, but not certain of that one.
Ivybridge. The old station (1848-1959) was at the North edge of the town, but at least right in the centre on the East-West axis.
The new station (1994) is on the Eastern edge of the town, and quite inconveniently sited. The main reason it was built here is they were intending it to be used for park-and-ride and so wanted more straightforward access from the A38. This never took off, evidenced by the large and perpetually empty car park which today is mainly used by driving instructors and skateboarding teens.
I don't think they could rebuild it in its original location as it was on a curve and access to/from the town was, at best, not ideal
I guess nearby Plymouth (North Road) would be another candidate - Friary and Millbay were probably both slightly closer to the current city centre
There are other similar examples of a branch line being truncated to release land for other purposes - Looe, St. Ives, Felixstowe, Morecambe, Saltburn.Fort William, further away from the town centre.
Bristol. But that's only because Bristol Temple Meads also exists as a central station.No city in the UK has made an edge-of-city station work for long-distance trains, unless there's some other factor such as airport access.
Merthyr, also possibly Aberdare, but not certain of that one.
Arguably so, although Bristol Parkway also serves a valuable interchange role between north-south and east-west services.Bristol. But that's only because Bristol Temple Meads also exists as a central station.
Both the current and previous Merthyr stations are equally close to the high street, just the current one is slightly further south.
Bristol. But that's only because Bristol Temple Meads also exists as a central station.
Newcastle?No city in the UK has made an edge-of-city station work for long-distance trains, unless there's some other factor such as airport access.
Do you mean Euston Rd or Northumberland St closing? Ironic that the current station is virtually on the Northumberland St site.Morecambe?
I reckon Newcastle Central’s site was effectively chosen so as to be Gateshead’s main station as well. When it opened the earlier station across the river at Greensfield closed.Newcastle?
I think it had far more to do with geography. To get any further into town would have required a deep cutting, very steep gradients or tunnel. Wasn't Greenfield replaced by Gateshead East so as to serve both the London line (via Leamside in those days) and the line towards Dunston when the High Level Bridge opened?I reckon Newcastle Central’s site was effectively chosen so as to be Gateshead’s main station as well. When it opened the earlier station across the river at Greensfield closed.
No. We're talking about stations on the edge of the conurbation for optimum road access. Newcastle Central may be on the edge of the city centre but it's not on the edge of the conurbation.Newcastle?