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Diagram map of the whole UK network

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Alex27

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Crainlarich and Carstairs are shown as interchange only, as they are both island platforms, so no step free access to the station, but step free interchange is possible between trains. The reason that these stations are shown as such and Falls of Cruachan is not, is that they are considered useful interchange stations (both situated at junctions), Falls of Cruachan is not and is also only a request stop.
 
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RailUK Forums

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What has happened to the old school rail maps, first produced by BR in the 1960s, but continued after privitisation? They had a map of the entire network on one side, and different maps for various regins on the other. They were fold out maps, but they could also be downloaded on the national rail website. The latest version i can find is from 2013. Have they stopped making them? I much prefer them to the more recent UK rail maps.
 

flitwickbeds

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Nce map! It's missing the Stirling to Alloa line. My PDF viewer is rendering Paisley Canal Street twice, once to the north of the Clyde.

Is there any operational significance to the angle at which lines branch or combine?
Still very much a work in progress - working on the last bits of Scotland right now.

No significance to angles or space between stations (except where it would majorly mess with physical geography).
 

si404

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Still very much a work in progress - working on the last bits of Scotland right now.
When you are done with Scotland, Carnforth needs to be on the line heading right out of Lancaster, as well as the line heading left.

One of those places where reality gets in the way of a neat solution!
 

flitwickbeds

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When you are done with Scotland, Carnforth needs to be on the line heading right out of Lancaster, as well as the line heading left.

One of those places where reality gets in the way of a neat solution!
Yes, I have a plan already for that! :)
 

flitwickbeds

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Scotland now done (I hope!) and Carnforth fixed.

Please do feedback any errors, omissions or suggestions!

Now... on to Blackpool, Preston, Colne, Liverpool and Manchester...!
 

alistairlees

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Scotland now done (I hope!) and Carnforth fixed.

Please do feedback any errors, omissions or suggestions!

Now... on to Blackpool, Preston, Colne, Liverpool and Manchester...!
A few spelling mistakes if it helps:
- Laurencekirk
- Dalgety Bay
- Bridge of Allan
- Steeton & Silsden

otherwise great map!
 

Inthewest

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Is there a map that shows connecting lines like Aston to Stechford used for diversions?

I seem to remember someone doing a map of the tube lines, highly detailed pdf, but wondered if there was one for national rail?
 

gnolife

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Crainlarich and Carstairs are shown as interchange only, as they are both island platforms, so no step free access to the station, but step free interchange is possible between trains. The reason that these stations are shown as such and Falls of Cruachan is not, is that they are considered useful interchange stations (both situated at junctions), Falls of Cruachan is not and is also only a request stop.
Carstairs is almost completely useless as an interchange, as there is only one connection each day, from the first TPE from Manchester onto a Scotrail heading to Edinburgh - the only other services from there in the Carlisle direction are the sleeper, and that calls at all of the principal stations served by the local, and I don't think there's any great demand for a connection from Carluke to Preston, Crewe and London.
 

zwk500

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Down to Leeds, Blackpool, Preston and Hull now complete
www.railmap.me

The way you've drawn Hunmanby is no different to Battersby/Bradford Interchange, but the reversal of the service is kind of important as the orientation of the train will reverse (So back becomes facing, and vv). This, I accept, may not be important to you, who is drawing it.

You're missing the Direct Leeds-York line between Micklefield and Church Fenton, the way you've drawn that area suggests either that all york service terminate at Selby or you can get a direct train from Sherburn to south Milford.
You're also missing the direct Northallerton-Yarm-Eaglescliffe Route. And the way you've drawn Carnforth suggests to me that Hellifield - Barrow is possible but Hellifield - Lancaster isn't (the third side of the triangle at Carnforth is not connected at at least one end), when it's the other way round. The issue of the Morecambe line being South of Lancaster and Carlisle being shown slightly misleadingly (the Hexham and Maryland lines cannot directly connect through the station) are me being pedantic rather than any thing else)

Looking further ahead, when the ECML is drawn in you're going to want to re-work the whole York/Selby area. If you're determined to do your own map and not use the one I linked to in post #22 as a base, I'd suggest that you put the Main Lines in first, to a station beyond the area of focus (I.e. in your current state WCML to Wigan NW, ECML to Doncaster) then go back and fiddle with it as you're putting in the local lines.
For me personally, I associate 45 degree angles with continuous train movement, and 90 degree angles with a stop and reversal, and anything greater than 90 degrees as an impossible move for the train. You've also not made any distinction between lines that cross each other without interaction and lines that are draw at 90 degrees to each other for the map, but do have a physical junction on the ground. If your intention is to show services rather than the network, it may be worth at Larger stations doing the tube-style separate circle for terminating lines. (Carlisle and York are the ones that spring to mind).

There is also a Network Rail produced diagrammatic map, as can be seen in their long-term strategy documents, which would pretty much fulfill what you're after. (https://www.networkrail.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Network-Specifications-2019-LNE-EM.pdf). I've so far only seen it broken down by area, so a national map would involve some cutting and sticking.
1596009794355.png

EDIT: for anybody interested, here's NR's Long-term strategy page https://www.networkrail.co.uk/running-the-railway/long-term-planning/
 

flitwickbeds

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19 Apr 2017
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515
The way you've drawn Hunmanby is no different to Battersby/Bradford Interchange, but the reversal of the service is kind of important as the orientation of the train will reverse (So back becomes facing, and vv). This, I accept, may not be important to you, who is drawing it.

You're missing the Direct Leeds-York line between Micklefield and Church Fenton, the way you've drawn that area suggests either that all york service terminate at Selby or you can get a direct train from Sherburn to south Milford.
You're also missing the direct Northallerton-Yarm-Eaglescliffe Route. And the way you've drawn Carnforth suggests to me that Hellifield - Barrow is possible but Hellifield - Lancaster isn't (the third side of the triangle at Carnforth is not connected at at least one end), when it's the other way round. The issue of the Morecambe line being South of Lancaster and Carlisle being shown slightly misleadingly (the Hexham and Maryland lines cannot directly connect through the station) are me being pedantic rather than any thing else)

Looking further ahead, when the ECML is drawn in you're going to want to re-work the whole York/Selby area. If you're determined to do your own map and not use the one I linked to in post #22 as a base, I'd suggest that you put the Main Lines in first, to a station beyond the area of focus (I.e. in your current state WCML to Wigan NW, ECML to Doncaster) then go back and fiddle with it as you're putting in the local lines.
For me personally, I associate 45 degree angles with continuous train movement, and 90 degree angles with a stop and reversal, and anything greater than 90 degrees as an impossible move for the train. You've also not made any distinction between lines that cross each other without interaction and lines that are draw at 90 degrees to each other for the map, but do have a physical junction on the ground. If your intention is to show services rather than the network, it may be worth at Larger stations doing the tube-style separate circle for terminating lines. (Carlisle and York are the ones that spring to mind).

There is also a Network Rail produced diagrammatic map, as can be seen in their long-term strategy documents, which would pretty much fulfill what you're after. (https://www.networkrail.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Network-Specifications-2019-LNE-EM.pdf). I've so far only seen it broken down by area, so a national map would involve some cutting and sticking.
View attachment 81450

EDIT: for anybody interested, here's NR's Long-term strategy page https://www.networkrail.co.uk/running-the-railway/long-term-planning/
Thanks. I'm still deciding how best to show the map - whether it's by service or not. I did actually have the Northallerton/Yarm/Eaglescliffe line on the map originally but deleted it last night as I was thinking of not showing any "short cuts". Main reason for that is when I get down to the South-East and especially suburban London it's going to be very difficult to find enough space for all the lines and all the names especially as everything is based on 45 degree angle steps. I guess I need to figure out what I want from the site before making the final decision.
 

zwk500

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Thanks. I'm still deciding how best to show the map - whether it's by service or not. I did actually have the Northallerton/Yarm/Eaglescliffe line on the map originally but deleted it last night as I was thinking of not showing any "short cuts". Main reason for that is when I get down to the South-East and especially suburban London it's going to be very difficult to find enough space for all the lines and all the names especially as everything is based on 45 degree angle steps. I guess I need to figure out what I want from the site before making the final decision.

Yarm isn't a short cut (in the way you're hinting at) - there's no other direct link between Teeside and the South.
There's a reason every map of the UK network has the larger cities such as London/Birmingham/Manchester inflated on the map against the rural stations, which are often crammed in very close. The joy of diagrammatic maps (especially for Rail) is that actual geography only has to bear passing resemblance to the map in the end!

I'm still struggling to see what this map does that anything already on Project mapping doesn't give you already (and post #22 is available on project mapping somewhere), not that my confusion should in any way hold you back from doing as you see fit! :)
 

flitwickbeds

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I'm still struggling to see what this map does that anything already on Project mapping doesn't give you already (and post #22 is available on project mapping somewhere), not that my confusion should in any way hold you back from doing as you see fit! :)
I have lots of ideas, once the map is complete, to make it interactive in various ways. Part of the reason I'm struggling to make the decision about different routes/lines is because those ideas will be much, much harder - if not impossible - with those included.

Yarm isn't a short cut (in the way you're hinting at) - there's no other direct link between Teeside and the South.
Ah, I see now. I missed Yarm completely. I suspect I drew the original lines (that I deleted last night) intending to put the station in, but never did. Yes that needs to go back in then!
 

BanburyBlue

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18 May 2015
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717
What has happened to the old school rail maps, first produced by BR in the 1960s, but continued after privitisation? They had a map of the entire network on one side, and different maps for various regins on the other. They were fold out maps, but they could also be downloaded on the national rail website. The latest version i can find is from 2013. Have they stopped making them? I much prefer them to the more recent UK rail maps.
Totally agree - I much preferred those maps.

I'm sure I was told that you can't get them anymore.
 

BrianW

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22 Mar 2017
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FlitwickBeds- I admire you in setting yourself this task. I hope you will press on for your personal satisfaction taking on board the many well-meaning 'corrections' here. I dare say there will be many times you doubt your own resolve and resilience. I gave up on my own forlorn attempts often! Your original posting spoke in terms of 'any interest'- I hope the postings of Forumites show that there is interest, though I doubt you will make a living from it.:( Hope to be wrong on that.

Using this thread as a way of reaching those 'in the know', I linked into a wonderful site Raildar.co.uk. It has the whole GB rail network with tracks, points, [latforms, signals and real time train icons linking to what I old-fashionably call 'headcodes' and timetabled and actual times en route. fabulous. Only problem I'm finding is no Ordsall Chord and trains vanishing (and sometimes reversing). Maybe I have an old or pirate version. FlitwickBeds- it has a lot of 'kinks' to join lines at the right place- a reminder of what you find as issues to surmount.

Press on ...
 

LocoCycle

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5 Jan 2020
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Edinburgh
Scotland now done (I hope!) and Carnforth fixed.

Please do feedback any errors, omissions or suggestions!

Now... on to Blackpool, Preston, Colne, Liverpool and Manchester...!

Very impressive! I noticed a couple of errors:
  • Galashields should be Galashiels
  • Dunkeld should be "Dunkeld and Birnam"
 
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