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TRIVIA: The shortest journeys that cover the most counties

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anti-pacer

anti-pacer

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National Rail only please, and traditional counties (post 1974) and no unitary authorities. The only stations that the train needs to call at are the start and end points.

I'll start it off with Middlewood to New Mills Newtown. 3M 25CH, and covers 3 counties (GM, Cheshire and Derbyshire).
 
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USBT

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Presumably by "shortest" you mean by distance. But how about journey time?

Even by time Middlewood to New Mills Newtown is impressive (7 mins). I came up with Stratford Intl to Enbsfleet Intl (Greater London, Essex, Kent) in 10 minutes, and Feltham to Wraysbury (Gtr London, Surrey, Berkshire) in 12.
 
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thenorthern

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I take it you are only including ceremonial counties, Elton and Orston to Grantham covers 3 counties in 10 miles between stations.
 
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Haslemere to Liphook (Portsmouth Direct) Surrey, West Sussex, Hampshire 3m 68ch
 
DJ737

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East Midlands Parkway to Long Eaton ( Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire & Derbyshire), I could be wrong but i think it just sneaks into Leicestershire for a few chains.
 
DarloRich

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anti-pacer said:
National Rail only please, and traditional counties (post 1974) and no unitary authorities. The only stations that the train needs to call at are the start and end points.

I'll start it off with Middlewood to New Mills Newtown. 3M 25CH, and covers 3 counties (GM, Cheshire and Derbyshire).
Click to expand...

Surely there is only one county - Yorkshire
 
anti-pacer

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Not quite as low as my first example, but another one is Heswall (Merseyside) to Hawarden Bridge (Flintshire), passing through Cheshire. 3 counties, 2 countries within 8M 11CH.
 
Requeststop

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anti-pacer said:
Not quite as low as my first example, but another one is Heswall (Merseyside) to Hawarden Bridge (Flintshire), passing through Cheshire. 3 counties, 2 countries within 8M 11CH.
Click to expand...

To me traditional counties are pre-1974. Even when a tiny part of Cornwall was east of the Tamar, and a tiny part of Devon (spits on the ground) was west of the Tamar.

Anyhow.........

If I remember correctly, between Knucklas and Craven Arms you pass through boundaries and borders 9 times.
Also between Abergavenny and Hereford on the stretch of line between Pandy and Pontrilas you cross borders and boundaries 6 times.
Then there is the Salisbury - Exeter line in which you travel as follows: Wiltshire - Dorset - Somerset - Dorset - Somerset - Dorset - Somerset - Dorset - Devon. Not the shortest distance - but a remarkable crossing of boundaries on a single (route) line.

I am prepared to be disproved though.
 
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anti-pacer

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Requeststop said:
If I remember correctly, between Knucklas and Craven Arms you pass through boundaries and borders 9 times.
Also between Abergavenny and Hereford on the stretch of line between Pandy and Pontrilas you cross borders and boundaries 6 times.
Then there is the Salisbury - Exeter line in which you travel as follows: Wiltshire - Dorset - Somerset - Dorset - Somerset - Dorset - Somerset - Dorset - Devon. Not the shortest distance - but a remarkable crossing of boundaries on a single line.

I am prepared to be disproved though.
Click to expand...

The "Hokey Cokey" springs to mind! :lol:
 
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Between Dalmarnock and Carntyne you pass from Glasgow into north Lanarkshire (Rutherglen) and back into Glasgow. Don't know the distance, though.
 
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I used to be addicted to doing the Hokey Cokey, but I turned myself around and that's what it's all about.
 
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route101

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InOban said:
Between Dalmarnock and Carntyne you pass from Glasgow into north Lanarkshire (Rutherglen) and back into Glasgow. Don't know the distance, though.
Click to expand...

I think your getting mixed up with Carmyle , Rutherglen is in South Lanarkshire . Carntyne is in Glasgow and on the Airdrie line.

The Edinburgh to Helensburghs pass through a fair few . Argyll and Bute , West Dumbartonshire , East Dumbartonshire if via singer , Glasgow City Council , North Lanarkshire , West Lothian and Edinburgh
 
Dr Hoo

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Another Scottish example (now closed) that must have almost matched the first entry was Mawcarse Junction to Glenfarg. This was shown in Bradshaw as being 3.25 miles and taking 7 minutes. It started in Kinross, just clipped into Fife and ended in Perth.
 
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route101 said:
I think your getting mixed up with Carmyle , Rutherglen is in South Lanarkshire . Carntyne is in Glasgow and on the Airdrie line.

The Edinburgh to Helensburghs pass through a fair few . Argyll and Bute , West Dumbartonshire , East Dumbartonshire if via singer , Glasgow City Council , North Lanarkshire , West Lothian and Edinburgh
Click to expand...
My bad.
 
kieron

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Requeststop said:
To me traditional counties are pre-1974. Even when a tiny part of Cornwall was east of the Tamar, and a tiny part of Devon (spits on the ground) was west of the Tamar.
Click to expand...
There have been lots of changes to what is termed a county before 1974 as well as after. Using 1974-96 counties does give us something to aim for, though.

I'm more surprised that "cover" seems to be a synonym for "visit for at least a few seconds".
 
Requeststop

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I think you have selectively quoted me. I didn't claim that the tiny parts of Devon (sotg) and Cornwall (cheers) that were interchanged in 1974 had any rail coverage, even visiting for a few seconds. I was only stating that "traditional" counties for people of my age and generation were the boundaries pre-1974. For us it's like being in the EU and Leaving the EU. We, of my generation tend to reminisce about the old boundaries from our youth, when there was no Avon, Humberside, Gwent, Powys, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Cumbria etc. But Cheshire did include the Wirral but not Warrington and so on.

The Sailsbury-Exeter example I quoted does have visits for a few seconds but I don't see any complaint from the OP. That example was not subject to boundary changes in 74 as far as I am aware.

As I said in my first post in this topic

"I am prepared to be disproved though"
 
Trainfan344

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Not sure where the boundaries are, but between Shippea Hill and Lakenheath you take in Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk
 
LNW-GW Joint

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All the Welsh counties are unitary authorities.
eg Flintshire and Rhondda Cynon Taff are at the same level.
There's no equivalent to "Greater Manchester", and there's no "Glamorgan".
 
Trainfan344

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Interesting to see this summer when Derby is closed, trains from Willington to Nottingham will start in Derbyshire, sneak into Leicestershire, then back into Derbyshire, before ending up in Nottinghamshire.
 
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Westerton - Drumry
2m 0ch
East Dunbartonshire - Glasgow - West Dunbartonshire with a Station in each council area.

Also works on traditional county boundaries where Westerton was in Stirlingshire, Drumchapel in Glasgow and Drumry in Dunbartonshire.
 
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DJ737 said:
East Midlands Parkway to Long Eaton ( Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire & Derbyshire), I could be wrong but i think it just sneaks into Leicestershire for a few chains.
Click to expand...
According to the OS map it misses Leicestershire by a couple of hundred metres (confluence of the Soar and Trent).
 
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route101 said:
The Edinburgh to Helensburghs pass through a fair few . Argyll and Bute , West Dumbartonshire , East Dumbartonshire if via singer , Glasgow City Council , North Lanarkshire , West Lothian and Edinburgh
Click to expand...

He did say "no unitary authorities" so the whole of Scotland is excluded from this thread as all 30-something local authorities are unitary.
 
backontrack

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How about between two closed stations - Yaxley & Farcet, and Essendine, both on the ECML? A service serving both of these two would have travelled through Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire and Rutland. 15 miles between Yaxley Station Road and Essendine Station Road as the crow flies - even if you added on a couple more for the looping railway at most, 17 over 4 is 4.25 so that works out as 4.25 miles per county.
 
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