Trivia - Furthest you've seen someone carried beyond their intended stop

[Egg Centric]

Not breaking a record for distance, but after a decent night out as an eighteen year old, my wallet was stolen at a brothel (I think) and I somehow end up on the first train from Liverpool Street to Cambridge, having had to force my way through the barriers or something (memory is very hazy). I wake up again as it's pulling back into Liverpool Street...

 

[trainophile]

I was staying in Bridlington once, my B&B was right opposite the bus station. On departure day I asked a bus driver which bus I should get for the station (it being a bit of a walk in Bridlington and I had luggage). He pointed out the correct one, and as I boarded I said to the driver "does this bus go to the railway station?" and he said yes it does. There was me and two other people on board, I was sat right at the front, and expected the driver to stop at the right place, knowing I wanted the station, as I didn't know where to press the dinger. To my surprise he sailed past the station approach and over the level crossing, without even slowing down. I panicked when I recognised the station approach and immediately jumped up saying "I wanted the station", to which he grumpily replied "I can't stop here, you'll have to get off at the next stop". Which of course I had to do, but I was rather annoyed as he could have alerted me when we were approaching the station, every other time I've done similar the driver has called out down the bus to let me know. You don't always know where to press the buzzer when you're in a strange place.

 

[millemille]

Seeing a friend off, to emigrate to the USA, at Gatwick after a sporty weekend on the beers in that London. Get on a northbound Thameslink train from Gatwick with the intention of getting off at St. Albans for home.

I woke up as the train as it pulled out of Brighton, heading North.

In my befuddled and alcohol influenced state it took me a very, very long time to figure out that I'd slept through St. Albans northbound, all the way to Bedford, and then slept through St. Albans southbound, all the way to Brighton, and awoke as we departed Brighton northbound.

 

[Mills444]

Seeing a friend off, to emigrate to the USA, at Gatwick after a sporty weekend on the beers in that London. Get on a northbound Thameslink train from Gatwick with the intention of getting off at St. Albans for home.

I woke up as the train as it pulled out of Brighton, heading North.

In my befuddled and alcohol influenced state it took me a very, very long time to figure out that I'd slept through St. Albans northbound, all the way to Bedford, and then slept through St. Albans southbound, all the way to Brighton, and awoke as we departed Brighton northbound.

Not a bad sleep that, what is it 3 hours or so Bedford to Brighton?

 

[yorkie]

Not a bad sleep that, what is it 3 hours or so Bedford to Brighton?

2h 25min typically

 

[silverfoxcc]

A couple of examples I witnessed in the past:

In the summer of 1985 there was a short-lived Saturdays-only through EMU return service from Reading to Folkestone Harbour. It called at the usual stops as far as Clapham Junction, then ran via Ludgate, Longhedge and Factory Jcts to continue non-stop to Ashford. I took a trip on it on one occasion and as it was bowling along the SEML past Tonbridge I heard a young chap ask the conductor when the train would be arriving at Waterloo...

Sometime in the 90s I was on one of Hertfordshire's HST railtours to Cornwall. At Newbury, the last pickup station, it unusually called at P2 which is the Up platform. Some minutes after it left there I saw one of the stewards guide a couple of teenage boys to a pair of seats which happened to be spare while explaining to them that the train was definitely not going to Paddington. Fortunately it called at Exeter St.D. for a crew change so the lads were able to alight there but I'd imagine that their planned day in London was well and truly ruined!

Thanks or reminding me of that folkstone train

We used that a few times for the 'booze cruises' However one day the channel was 'playing up' and the boat could not get into Boulogne. so it scuttled up the coast to Calais , where we were advised that we had 30 mins ashore!!! before the boat went back to.......DOVER.

Lots of complaining pax on arrival esp those that who had driven to Folkestone and parked up!!! They were still 'disciussing' the provision of a coach ot taxis back to Folkstone, where we just got on the train with a suitably annotated ticket which explained Sealinks problems to ant TI thay wanted to know why we were going back a different way. Great idea by NSE, doubt if it would happen now

 

[millemille]

Not a bad sleep that, what is it 3 hours or so Bedford to Brighton?

I've got to have been out for the best part of 8 hours if you include the turn arounds at either end.

But then I'm an ex Cat 4CI fitter so sleeping on trains is second nature to me....

 

[Whistler40145]

I've got to have been out for the best part of 8 hours if you include the turn arounds at either end.

But then I'm an ex Cat 4CI fitter so sleeping on trains is second nature to me....

At least you weren't woken up with the train going through the carriage washer

 

[millemille]

At least you weren't woken up with the train going through the carriage washer

Amen brother!

 

[2192]

When travelling to school on the 0840 Kingston to Raynes Park, on foggy days we hoped it would be the 0829 running late, as that was non-stop to Waterloo after Malden (now New Malden), and we would have had a good excuse for a free trip to Waterloo and back. Sadly the only time it could have happenend to me I spotted that we had been switched to the fast line at Malden, and felt morally obliged to get out and change trains to a stopper! This would be about 1952.

 

[Wookiee]

A colleague of mine ended up staying in a Premier Inn in Eastbourne after a work do in Croydon, having boarded a Victoria train to change at Clapham for the last connection to Portsmouth. Went in and out of Victoria and woke up as the train was arriving in Polegate...

Worst I've managed was heading back from London on a Poole train after a few drinks, intending to pick up the last connection from Eastleigh to Fareham. Looked out the window in confusion as we pulled into Totton. No more trains that night, so ended up with a £40 Uber back home.

 

[MotCO]

When travelling to school on the 0840 Kingston to Raynes Park... Sadly the only time it could have happenend to me I spotted that we had been switched to the fast line at Malden.

Could a train from Kingston access the fast line at New Malden?

 

[Ianno87]

Could a train from Kingston access the fast line at New Malden?

Currently not possible, but perhaps possible in the past.

 

[MotCO]

Currently not possible, but perhaps possible in the past.

I didn't know if there was room, so may not have been possible in the past.

 

[Gloster]

I interpreted it to mean that while the train was in the Up Slow platform at Malden, the poster saw that the signal was off for the Up Fast line through a crossover at the east end of the station. There would be room for an Up Slow to Up Fast connection at the east end of Malden.

 

[SirAlf]

I managed the same over-run twice about a year apart. At the time I lived in Sheffield but most of my mates were in Chesterfield, so I often got late trains back. I knew the route very well. I'd also just started my first job after university.

Anyway, summer 1975, I got the train about 01:00 from Chesterfield, just 20 minutes or so to Sheffield. I think the train was called the Thames-Clyde Express. Woke up as the train was going through countryside I didn't recognise. A few minutes later it stopped at Appleby. So I got off thinking something like “Appleby's just north of Leeds, I’ll get the first train back.”

But of course Appleby is a long way north of Leeds and the first train back was mid-morning, it would have got me to work in the afternoon and I thought my new boss wouldn't be happy.

So I walked to the main road and stuck out my thumb. Within 5 minutes I got a lift to Retford, and the nice bloke dropped me off at Retford station a few minutes before a train about 07:30 to Sheffield. I caught it and got into work half and hour early.

A year later a mate was getting married so off I went to his stag night round the fleshpots of Chesterfield. Got the same train back to Sheffield, found the guard and told him that I wanted Sheffield and if I dropped off could he please wake me up. I was very polite and he said he would. But he didn't, I woke up with the train again going through countryside I didn't recognise. Not pleased I went looking for the guard, but it was a different bloke, they'd changed guards at Leeds.

Then the train stopped at Appleby. Thinking I couldn't get lucky twice I stayed on to Carlisle, hid my money in my sock and told the staff that a guard had not woke me up when I’d asked him to (which was true) and that I didn't have any money to get back (which wasn't strictly true). So they endorsed my Chesterfield – Sheffield ticket to travel from Carlisle to Sheffield. The whole journey back cost me 10p, that was the bus across Manchester from Victoria to Piccadilly. I got into work mid-morning, boss wasn't happy, he'd have been even less happy if he'd known the real story.

Took a few years to live that one down. One "mate" still reminds of it from time to time

 

[2192]

2192 said:


When travelling to school on the 0840 Kingston to Raynes Park... Sadly the only time it could have happened to me I spotted that we had been switched to the fast line at Malden.

"...Could a train from Kingston access the fast line at New Malden?..."

Yes it could in 1952, and the 0829 from Kingston used it daily. The slow to fast crossover was actually in the platform (at the country end) with the conductor rail on the platform side, not the far side, just for the short distance needed. It was protected as far as possible with timber side boards.

 

[trainophile]

I trust all those who have slept through their stop now set their phone alarm to wake them up in good time!

 

[ivanhoe]

Got a mate that has gone past twice. First time he was on the Liverpool Central to Chester train, on route to Shrewsbury. He fell asleep, woke up at Hamilton Square,unfortunately on the return working. He finally got to Chester but alas too late for the Shrewsbury connection. Embarrassed phone call to wife, for a lift.
Secondly, he was on his way to Shrewsbury again via Stafford and Wolverhampton. Needless to say he fell asleep and the London train was non stop to London from Stafford. Managed to get a train back as far as Northampton and another embarrassing phone call to his missus.
On both occasions, I was with him in Liverpool but took a different route to Loughborough, via Nottingham. I used to wake up in Sheffield, which fortunately was on the way! Football and drink can be a bad mixture when you’re relying on connections.

 

[D6130]

Got a mate that has gone past twice. First time he was on the Liverpool Central to Chester train, on route to Shrewsbury. He fell asleep, woke up at Hamilton Square,unfortunately on the return working. He finally got to Chester but alas too late for the Shrewsbury connection. Embarrassed phone call to wife, for a lift.
Secondly, he was on his way to Shrewsbury again via Stafford and Wolverhampton. Needless to say he fell asleep and the London train was non stop to London from Stafford. Managed to get a train back as far as Northampton and another embarrassing phone call to his missus.
On both occasions, I was with him in Liverpool but took a different route to Loughborough, via Nottingham. I used to wake up in Sheffield, which fortunately was on the way! Football and drink can be a bad mixture when you’re relying on connections.

Two incidents in which I was involved many years ago come to mind. The first was in the summer of 1979, when I was working on the railway in Glasgow and living in Hyndland, in the West end of the city. A (non-railway) friend from Hampshire came North to stay with me for a long weekend and we decided to take a day trip to Mallaig on the Saturday. All went smoothly on the outward journey on the early morning train, which conveyed the sleepers from London - and on the early afternoon return working from Mallaig to Fort William. We decided to have a few pints in the Fort and then return South on the Summer dated 17 25 service to Glasgow, travelling in one of the through seating coaches to London. The intention was to change at Dumbarton Central onto a local electric service to Hyndland. Some way into the journey, my friend enquired whether it would be possible to go through to Queen Street and catch a local service back from there, in order to increase his class 27 haulage distance. I replied that it shouldn't be a problem but, somewhere round about Westerton, it suddenly dawned on me that on Saturday evenings the sleepers ran non-stop from Dumbarton Central to Mossend, for attachment to the Inverness - Euston "Royal Highlander". Luckily the train was booked for a pathing signal stop of several minutes at Cowlairs North Junction, so we made our way to the guard's brake to request an unofficial set down there. The guard, who was even more "sheets to the wind" than we were, readily agreed and on coming to a stand, we clambered gingerly down the brake van steps into the pitch dark cess approximately where Ashfield station is now situated. We then had to scramble up the steep cutting side, through a hole in the fence and a hedge into somebody's front garden, before climbing over their locked front gate and out onto the street. There then followed a one and a half hour's night time walk through some of the less salubrious neighbourhoods of North Glasgow, arriving back home in the wee small hours. Luckily, I have a good sense of direction!

The second incident happened about six years later, by which time I was a guard based at Brighton. I had a three day long weekend of rest days and decided to go and visit my maternal grandparents who lived at Eaglescliffe on Teesside. Returning on the Monday afternoon, I was changing trains at Darlington when I noticed that a young lady standing near me on the platform was showing some interest in my railway photography. We got chatting and it turned out that she was intending to travel to York to visit a friend for the afternoon, catching the train following mine, which I think was a Newcastle - Liverpool loco-hauled. She told me that she liked HSTs, as well as horses, and often rode her horse across the fields from the village where she lived in North Yorkshire to Picton Crossing to see the Down evening Cleveland Executive go past in the Summer months. I suggested that perhaps she might like to join me on my HST so that we could chat more about railways and other things, to which she readily agreed. After a very pleasant half hour, which passed all too quickly, she got up to put her coat on as we approached the station at York....until it dawned on us both more or less simultaneously that we we rattling through the then still-extant centre roads. We were on the Up Aberdonian, which in those days was non-stop Darlington to Peterborough! Feeling rather sheepish - although she was quite amused - I tore a page out of my notebook and wrote her a "to whom it may concern" letter, signing it with my name, grade and depot, before alighting with her at Peterborough, giving her money to phone her parents and her friend in York. During the 45 or so minutes before the next train back to Darlington, I bought her tea and biscuits in the buffet and we swapped names, addresses and phone numbers.....and I ended up going out with her for more than two years, until she decided that her horses were more interesting than me. If you're reading this Sue, I hope you'll forgive me for telling the tale, but it was a long, long time ago and now I'm a retired driver....and where are you?

 

[Class465pacer]

Not on NR and very minor compared to the other examples I’ve read but I failed to get off a DLR train (old type B90/B92/B2K) at Gallions Reach because the button on the door (not the one next to it) was defective. Luckily Beckton is the last stop after where the train reversed to go in the other direction and I only got back there a few minutes late

 

[tomwills98]

Best I've seen was a woman who was meant to change at Didcot ask me how to get home at Cardiff. Still no idea how she managed that and I don't think she did either.

Funniest was a gran, mum, and daughter getting over carried to Llanharan from Pontyclun (1 stop). The gods blessed us with a 3-car 175 rather than the usual 150, but everyone still squeezes into the coach closest to the stairs at Cardiff. I was in the front coach on the jump seat by the door, the announcement for Pontyclun comes up and 3/4 people come out of the front coach. Pontyclun is a busy station and with the doors at the end rather than thirds the train stood at the station for a good couple of minutes to let everyone get off, and at the front of the train no one else was getting off or on. Just as I think we'll be going soon, I hear the internal door slide open and look up from my phone to see gran waddling through with mum and daughter in tow, all carrying big shopping bags. I'm thinking they've left it bit late, and just as gran gets close to the doors the hustle alarm goes and the door starts to close. Panicked shouts furious button mashing didn't reopen the door and they watched Pontyclun sail by.

Best I've done is fall asleep at Newport and wake up getting into Port Talbot when I should have got off at Bridgend.

 

[LRV3004]

Fell asleep on the Caledonian Sleeper (as you would expect) from Aberdeen, intending to alight at Crewe. Woke up as we pulled out of the platform. Next stop Euston. Crewe-Euston seems to be a common thing!

I didn't set an alarm because I was in the seated coach and didn't want to wake everyone else up.

I did the exact same! I awoke passing Basford Hall! Before my brain kicked in I thought I was just north of Crewe. When reality hit I just thought “sod it” and went back to sleep. Got to Euston in time for the 0855 Manchester. At the time I was working as an on board cleaner for Virgin and the 0855 was the first service from Euston to Manchester with a Manchester crew. They were rather bemused when I rocked up with bags (or suitcases) under my eyes asking for a lift back to Stockport, and I was in work that afternoon!!!
On arrival at Stockport I had no train due to Davenport any time soon so I ran to the bus stop. I caught the bus home, went upstairs, quickly freshened up, got my uniform on and ran back to the bus stop.....only to be picked up by the same bus returning! The puzzled look on the driver’s face was priceless!
I made it to work on time and found myself back at Euston later that afternoon - this time when I was SUPPOSED to be there!!!

 

[Traveller54]

One of those anecdotal stories......
back in the 1970s some of the chaps I played rugby with told a tale that they'd got an unliked foreman at the aircraft factory they all worked at blind drunk on his stag night. Drove him to Taunton and bundled him naked onto the Scotland sleeper. Wasn't found until next day - his wedding day.
I know stories like this abound, but this had the aura of truth in that they named the victim and claimed to have carried out the act themselves

I read about a similar story in reverse in the Perthshire Advertiser in the early 70s. A chap got really drunk on his stag night the night before his wedding in Perth. For a laugh his “mates” put him on the overnight train to London. He woke up at Crewe. He found a taxi driver who agreed to drive him to Perth for £50, sounds a bargain now but quite a tidy sum then. He arrived back with about half an hour to spare for his wedding.

 

[citycat]

When I was a train guard for GNER, I lost count of the number of passengers I’d find with Peterborough tickets when doing a check after leaving KX, when we were first stop York !

People also got overcarried on the 373 White Rose services that I worked because they could never work out how to open the doors. You had to push the door plunger quite hard to make it open, and then there would be a delay while the exterior steps were deployed before the door opened. Meanwhile the passengers would panic and run to find another door and get overcarried.

Also, one time we departed Peterborough heading north on an HST, next stop York. I had a female passenger come up to me and ask me to confirm that it was the Stansted airport service. She went into shock when I told her it was not. She was the leader of a hen party heading to Prague and she held all the airline tickets. The rest of the group were waiting for her at Stansted.

I got on the phone to Control, and explained the situation. They surprisingly gave authorisation for a stop at Grantham to let her off. However, we were just going through Stoke tunnel at the time at line speed. I quickly gave six to the driver and asked if there was any chance we could stop at Grantham. In a deep Geordie accent, he replied “Bloody hell mate, you’ve left it late but I’ll give it a go”.

I felt the brakes go in sharply like in a full service, and as we approached Grantham, we still seemed to be going too fast. If we overshot, it would be game over and we’d have to carry on. We roared into Grantham and came to a stop with the TGS door adjacent to the downward slope of the platform, accompanied by the nice aroma of burning brake blocks, and I could see station staff running over the footbridge from their office on the southbound platform to find out why an HST that they weren’t expecting had suddenly come to a stop.

I helped the lady down and she gave me a grateful kiss on the cheek, and waved to the driver who was hanging out of his cab door. The TGS door was slammed shut, I gave two on the buzzer, and the Valentas screamed as we headed north again in under 60 seconds from stop to start.

I heard later that Grantham staff got her heading southbound again 11 minutes later, and that she made the next Stansted service at Perterborough, though not sure if she made the flight?

Good old days on GNER, I miss em’ !

 

[Gems]

I know of a Leeds based Northern conductor who was asked to go to Doncaster to work a train back. So they boarded the 7am KGX from Leeds. First stop Wakefield, then London.

Oh the howls of laughter around the messroom.

 

[Master Cutler]

About 10 years ago I had to attend a 10:00 meeting in Swindon and an American colleague had flown into Heathrow Sunday evening to join me the following morning. As the flight arrived late Sunday evening he decided to stay in London for the night and get the train down from Paddington Monday morning arriving in Swindon at about 09:05 where I would pick him up and proceed to our 10:00 meeting.
I waited on Swindon station and watched his train pull in, then pull out, followed by him phoning me.
He was still on the train because he couldn't find the "door open button". It was Mk 3 stock on a 43 HST service.
I told him to get off at Bristol, explained how to open the door, then get the next train back to Swindon.
An excellent First Great Western member of staff chaperoned him to the next London train and saw him on to it at no cost and explained the quirks of how to disembark the train at Swindon.
We eventually arrived at our meeting and were greeted in the reception by all of the other meeting participants who proceeded to give a round of applause to my USA colleague for eventually getting there and managing to work out how our British travel complexities work.

 

[4REP]

Travelling back from Weymouth to Southampton on a 12car TC-TC-REP The doors were jammed or could not open on 2 coaches at the back of the train(on the TC) so train departed and ended up non stop to Waterloo arriving just over an hour later. I got the very same units back to Southampton on a semi fast this time sitting in the Rep! Incoming fast service formed the semi back.

 

[d9009alycidon]

Just over a year ago I had a Business Trip to Croydon from Glasgow. On the day of the return journey there were high winds and Network Rail had imposed a 50mph blanket speed restriction on all lines south of Crewe. I got from Croyden to Victoria and crossed to Euston where as expected the place was rammed, I was due on the 11:30 but everything was late and out of place so they announced that all ticket restrictions were lifted and I was permitted to board the late running 10:30 which left around 55mins late. We then ran at 50mph out from London and the ticket examiner came round and this is where the chap sitting opposite that was going to Birmingham found out that in the confusion he was on the wrong train! So for him it was first stop Warrington and get a train back to Birmingham from there. To rub salt in the wounds due to the blanket speed restriction a class 350 EMU heading for Birmingham was pacing us on the slow line and we gave the guy some gentle ribbing by continually pointing to the EMU and saying "isn't that the Birmingham Train there?"

 

[zuriblue]

I was going to Milton Keynes and caught what I thought was the right train. It wasn't, the guard broke the news when he clipped my ticket. He endorsed the ticket and I decided, since my evening had been derailed that I could spend a couple of hours in Birmingham partaking of delicious malted (and hopped) beverages. I got the train back and encountered the same guard. He wasn't pleased to see me until I showed him that, since I'd decided to make an evening of it, I felt it was better to buy another ticket.

I know a guy who was travelling back from Zürich and woke up in the sidings at Brugg, having gone Zürich - Brugg - Zürich - Winterthur - Zürich - Brugg - about 3 1/2 hours.