Trivia: Longest trip that any loco or unit has every done.

[Merseyrailfan]

This is a thread where we tell about the most longest journey that one class of loco has every done in it service. also units that are not suitable for one type of route.

 

[Peter0124]

Class 318 - Glasgow Central to North Berwick
Class 320 - Balloch to Lanark?
Class 334 - Helensburgh Central to Edinburgh
Class 380 - Ayr to North Berwick

 

[Merseyrailfan]

If you count empty stock workings:
Class 318/320:
Shields (Glasgow) to Doncaster via ECML

Just in normal passenger or freight service, mate.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Aberdeen to Penzance must be up there, unless there's been a railtour that went further. That would cover both HSTs and Voyagers.

For class 373, London to Marseille or that place in the Alps that the ski-train used to go to (Bourg St. Maurice?).

For 158s, is there anything longer than the old London Waterloo to Manchester Piccadilly via Bristol and the Marches?

 

[Merseyrailfan]

unless there's been a railtour that went further

Could be Inverness I think?

For 158s, is there anything longer than the old London Waterloo to Manchester Piccadilly via Bristol and the Marches?

Don’t think so.

 

[AndrewE]

The Clansman loco should be well up in the league table. Electric-hauled Euston to a freight yard (Mossend) en route to Stirling IIRC. Maybe that's not any further than Glasgow, though...
How about an old loco-hauled NE-SW service, say Penzance to Newcastle with a Peak or a 47 on the front?

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Could be Inverness I think?

Do you mean the King's Cross to Inverness service, the "Highland Chieftain"? Not sure that's quite as far as Aberdeen to Penzance but I'm happy to be corrected. The latter is known as the longest service on the network.

 

[Dren Ahmeti]

20s did Derby-Prishtina (Kosovo) back in the '90s.

By Train to Kosovo September 1999 - Charles Woodland

In September 1999 after months of planning the "Train for Life" team, led by John Morris and Neil Howard took 3 DRS class 20s to Kosovo taking Aid from Derby, the train crossed Europe from Germany to the Czech Republic, Hungary, to Bulgaria to Greece. Here are a selection of the shots I took as...

charlesgwoodland.smugmug.com

 

[Merseyrailfan]

Do you mean the King's Cross to Inverness service, the "Highland Chieftain"? Not sure that's quite as far as Aberdeen to Penzance but I'm happy to be corrected.

No Services from Inverness to Penzance, so you were right.

20s did Derby-Prishtina (Kosovo) back in the '90s.

By Train to Kosovo September 1999 - Charles Woodland

In September 1999 after months of planning the "Train for Life" team, led by John Morris and Neil Howard took 3 DRS class 20s to Kosovo taking Aid from Derby, the train crossed Europe from Germany to the Czech Republic, Hungary, to Bulgaria to Greece. Here are a selection of the shots I took as...

charlesgwoodland.smugmug.com

Impressive.

 

[Bertie the bus]

As for units there are several long distance services they have operated, whether they were suitable is open to debate:

158s - Penzance - Manchester Piccadilly, Rochdale - Euston
317s - Kings Cross - York (relief services)
322s - Manchester Airport - Euston
141s and 144s - York - Blackpool North
142s - some bizarre services when they were new. Holyhead - Hull (?), I had one on a Crewe - Blackpool North WCML service.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Presume the one-time 'Sussex Scot' service from Brighton to Edinburgh Waverley had an intermediate change of loco somewhere en route?

 

[Merseyrailfan]

Presume the one-time 'Sussex Scot' service from Brighton to Edinburgh Waverley had an intermediate change of loco somewhere en route?

What loco?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Presume the one-time 'Sussex Scot' service from Brighton to Edinburgh Waverley had an intermediate change of loco somewhere en route?

What loco?

Class 47 for the Southern part of the run. Class 86 or 87 for the remainder? Or maybe one class of loco sometimes did the whole run.

 

[6Gman]

Did Class 50s have any job further than Crewe - Inverness?

 

[High Dyke]

I seem to recall that when Class 33's covered Waterloo - Exeter services they were prone to running out of fuel. I just can't remember how far they managed before it happened.

 

[Merseyrailfan]

Did Class 50s have any job further than Crewe - Inverness?

Paddington- Pembroke?

 

[Silver Cobra]

321 - Kings Cross to Leeds (in 1998 as relief for the IC225 fleet)

 

[Ken H]

What about some of Central Trains long routes. Didnt they have a working from Aberystwith to somewhere on the East coast at one time. Skeggy?

I think there were some long holiday excursions using modernisation plan DMUs that went a fair way.

 

[Merseyrailfan]

similar difference I think

Or was it Fishguard Harbour?

 

[Snow1964]

I did a day rail tour in 1989, Hertfordshire rail tours, that started Kings Cross, via Edinburgh, across both Forth and Tay bridges to Dundee, and came back via West Coast to Euston.

Highest mileage day rail tour that I think had ever been done at the time. It was a HST set with one of the kitchen cars added

EDIT have found it.
933 miles with power cars 43062 and 43120

Six Bells Junction

www.sixbellsjunction.co.uk

 

[geoffk]

Going back in time, one of the longest runs for a tank engine would have been the 91 miles from Birmingham New St to Bristol TM. A Fairburn tank did this run for a while and I remember seeing one at Temple Meads - it must have been 1958. A water stop at Worcester was scheduled in both directions. The central (Heart of) Wales line is over 100 miles but I'm not sure if tank locos worked right through.

 

[Merseyrailfan]

I did a day rail tour (think it was about 1986, possibly Hertfordshire rail tours) that started Kings Cross, via Edinburgh, across both Forth and Tay bridges to Dundee, and came back via West Coast to Euston, must have been close to 1000 miles.

Highest mileage day rail tour that I think had ever been done at the time.

What were the locos that day.

 

[Mat17]

142

Leeds - Huddersfield - Sheffield - Lincoln

Quite a trip. Although, Leeds - Carlisle is a fair trek too.

 

[hexagon789]

Aberdeen to Penzance must be up there, unless there's been a railtour that went further.

For a period in the mid-80s, the Aberdeen-Penzance started back at Elgin.

Could be Inverness I think?

Do you mean the King's Cross to Inverness service, the "Highland Chieftain"? Not sure that's quite as far as Aberdeen to Penzance but I'm happy to be corrected. The latter is known as the longest service on the network.

In 1986 there was an Inverness-Glasgow QS-Plymouth and Taunton-Glasgow QS-Inverness

158s - Penzance - Manchester Piccadilly, Rochdale - Euston

There was also the 1340 Edinburgh-Wick via Inverness and Thurso, running from about 1999-2004. I think Penzance-Manchester is a bit longer though.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

156s will probably have a fair few long runs from back in the day. They did the Cambrian in Central Trains days, as well as things like the West Highland (which they still do) and Settle to Carlisle. Blackpool to Harwich and Wakefield to Llandudno too IIRC.
155s did Scarborough to Blackpool, but the Provincial ones might have done longer runs before they were converted into 153s... whether they completed said runs without the doors flying open is another thing altogether though!

I'd be surprised if 153s did anything longer than Cardiff to Crewe via Swansea and Llandrindod regularly, but they do occasionally get subbed onto the Cardiff to Holyhead service, some of which start back beyond Cardiff.

 

[snowball]

The Clansman loco should be well up in the league table. Electric-hauled Euston to a freight yard (Mossend) en route to Stirling IIRC.

The service was Euston-Inverness daily, five or six days a week, but as you say the elctric loco only did Euston-Mossend.

 

[Snow1964]

What were the locos that day.

Have updated the post, was HST with power cars 43062 and 43120

 

[Mat17]

Back in the 1980s, I believe some of the Tyseley based suburban DMUs got to exotic locations like Skegness.

 

[Flange Squeal]

Quite limited possibilities for such a small class anyway, but Class 707s are toilet-less standard class units intended for - and usually limited to - inner suburban routes in/out of London Waterloo. 707018+015 operated the 1735 Waterloo to Southampton Central in place of the usual 444 on 18/12/2019 though, very much out of their usual stomping ground. I seem to recall it was as a last minute thing as a result of disruption further down the line.

 

[Grecian 1998]

Class 159 - Penzance to London Waterloo.

Waterloo - Weymouth would be the winner for multiple 3rd rail EMUs including 442s and 444s in regular service, with 450s, 411s, 421s and 423s visiting occasionally I think. A longer journey when diverted via Guildford and Havant.

I think I read once of a 142 deputising for a HST on a London service from Penzance via Bristol as far as Swindon. Sadly it was swapped there rather than allowed to clog up the fast lines into Paddington. Spoilsports if so, although I could be wrong about that.