edwin_m
Veteran Member
Yes and yes. When the local service from Trent up the Erewash Valley stopped running, Long Eaton station was devoid of passenger trains so the nearest surviving station at Sawley Junction was re-named.
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Place name differences: the railway calls it by this name, but everyone else calls it by that name!
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3141
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Princes Risborough station opened in 1862, when the railway was built. It's about half a mile south of the centre of the town. About two thirds of a mile further south is a very small settlement called Saunderton.
In 1901 a new station named Saunderton was opened. It's actually about three miles south of Saunderton itself. There were some timber works nearby which may have been the reason for building the station there.
About twenty years ago one of these works was redeveloped as a housing estate. The settlement next to Saunderton Station is now larger than the original place called Saunderton, and is generally referred to by the same name.
In this case the railway uses the same name as the original settlement but refers to a different location.
In 1901 a new station named Saunderton was opened. It's actually about three miles south of Saunderton itself. There were some timber works nearby which may have been the reason for building the station there.
About twenty years ago one of these works was redeveloped as a housing estate. The settlement next to Saunderton Station is now larger than the original place called Saunderton, and is generally referred to by the same name.
In this case the railway uses the same name as the original settlement but refers to a different location.
krus_aragon
Established Member
To summarise:
The official/original name of the village is Llanfairpwllgwyngyll.
The railway uses the name Llanfairpwll on tickets, announcements, and all other official purposes.
The famously long name of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwlllantysiliogogogoch is used in marketing the village, both by the railway and in general.
On reflection, my understanding is that the local businessman that invented the long-long name did so to tempt tourists to visit after the arrival of the railway. I know that the station at Penmaenmawr was given that name because the Chester & Holyhead Railway didn't think the English would be able to pronounce the name of the nearby village Dwygyfylchi. It's quite possible that they decided to simplify Llanfairpwll-gwyngyll to Llanfairpwll for the same reason. (A quick check of the historical newspapers on the National Library of Wales website shows "Llanfairpwll-gwyngyll" was still in common use in the 1850s, but thereafter Llanfairpwll is also used. It's another example of how local people can adopt the name used by "The Railway".)
Mutant Lemming
Established Member
...which for tourist purposes gets shortened to Llanfair PG
https://www.walestouristsonline.co.uk/anglesey/tourist/llanfairpg.html
lewisf
Member
Portslade station is in the neighbouring town of Hove
Thanks for clarification re the place with the long name !
I can see why the Chester & Holyhead Railway felt as they did, about Dwgyfylchi; however, I feel that we English tend to be more scared by Welsh spelling-vis-a-vis pronunciation, than we need to be. In Welsh, these matters are nearly always regular and predictable; whereas in English, they're all over the place, with seemingly as many exceptions to rules, as observations of them. "Saxons" like myself can in fact handle Welsh spelling / pronunciation pretty well, once we've learnt the rules -- many, though, just panic at the weird appearance of names / words. "Machynlleth" is a name which I feel that English people make more of a bogey of, than it deserves. One thinks of Rolt's Railway Adventure, and the author's 1920s workmate, a lad from the Potteries who called the place "Makinilek".
Fleetwood Boy
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Somewhere else on this thread I think someone mentioned railway companies choosing names that avoided confusion with other stations - perhaps Holytown was chosen to avoid confusion between Stevenson and Stevenston? Although I see Holytown was called Carfin when it first opened; the Caley's Stevenston station opened in 1888, not sure when Carfin was renamed Holytown.
NSEFAN
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A fairly small one, but Beaulieu Road isn't even on Beaulieu Road but Hatchet Lane!
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
I think "X Road" is more a way of saying "the road to X", or "miles away from X but vaguely serving it". It might actually be more usefully named Lyndhurst Parkway
(There is a car park opposite by the woods - the station approach is private land)
Though it doesn't seem clear from the Google map where exactly Beaulieu Rd becomes Hatchet Lane.
NSEFAN
Established Member
I'm sure it would have been called Lyndhurst Parkway had it opened today. "X road" is the old fashioned version of this!I think "X Road" is more a way of saying "the road to X", or "miles away from X but vaguely serving it". It might actually be more usefully named Lyndhurst Parkway
(There is a car park opposite by the woods - the station approach is private land)
Though it doesn't seem clear from the Google map where exactly Beaulieu Rd becomes Hatchet Lane.
MK Tom
Established Member
Always understood that MKC was so named with the 'Central' suffix to distinguish it from the other five stations in MK, especially Bletchley which up until the opening of MKC was 'Bletchley for Milton Keynes' on signs. So it's a station in the centre of Milton Keynes, rather than the station for Central Milton Keynes. It's there to serve the entire area.
I kind of like Virgin's informal approach to announcements, as long as things are still clear and there isn't potential for confusion.
mike57
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Seamer station, its actually in Crossgates about 1 mile from Seamer Village. According to wiki it was named because of confusion with Crossgates near Leeds
onlinespotting
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[.n]
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So much so that as far as I recall buses go to North Station not Colchester Station. [Has been a few years since I've been there though]
dilbertphil
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When I first started in the First North Western days St Helens Central was referred to as Shaw Street I think and Widnes was called Farnworth. It was mainly the older generation who used these names.
DavidGrain
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Rowley Regis station is in Blackheath. The station was previously called Rowley Regis and Blackheath but someone sitting in an office in Paddington decided to delete the second half of the name. When built the station was in Worcestershire but Rowley Regis was in Staffordshire.
Alvechurch is pronounced Alv'church but the recorded announcements always include the extra syllable.
Alvechurch is pronounced Alv'church but the recorded announcements always include the extra syllable.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
In the 1980s St Helens Central was actually called Shaw St.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
At least I suppose they don't call it "Milton" like far too many people do, which is a town near Cambridge. Locals sometimes call it "the Keynes" but never "Milton".
I believe it was named after the nearby Lord Nelson Inn. Marsden was the original name of Great Brierfield station but as Marsden grew it enveloped the area of Nelson station. At this point the local council decided it would be good to avoid confusion with the Yorkshire Marsden and changed their name.
There's still the brilliant FARNWORTH*WIDNES sign at Widnes station.
crosscity
Member
Take three consecutive stations on the Birmingham Cross City line. If you consider the stations and how close they are to their commercial centres: Bournville station is closer to Stirchley, Kings Norton to Cotteridge and Northfield to West Heath.
telstarbox
Established Member
There is another Blackheath station of course.
Not just for tourist purposes. My recollection is that in the 1960s Llanfair P G was the usual form used by local railwaymen.
Tends to be referred to as just Mac by many on the railway.
I wonder why the railway chose Portmadoc rather than the parish name of Ynyscynhaiarn?
61653 HTAFC
Veteran Member
Though the Marsden near Huddersfield still appears on tickets (or did last time I saw one) as Marsden (Yorks), even though there isn't another Marsden on the network or even a Marston which might cause a mix-up. There's Marton, but that's less of a clash than many others such as the Gillinghams, the Adlingtons, or Appley Bridge/Apperley Bridge.
Dhassell
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Weston Milton Station is actually located in the Ashcombe Part of Weston-S-M, with Milton being a good mile walk away.
edwin_m
Veteran Member
There's a Marden station in Kent, which appears on National Rail as Marden (Kent).
nottsnurse
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Not sure if it's been mentioned yet but an interesting aside to this topic is the manner by which RAF stations have traditionally been named after the nearest railway station.
One of the many exceptions to this is the UK's largest RAF station, Brize Norton. When construction was first started in 1935 the nearest railway station was Bampton (Oxon). As another Bampton railway station existed (in Devon) this was not chosen for the RAF station to avoid potential confusion for those travelling to the new base by train.
The next option considered was to name the new RAF station after the nearest large settlement, Carterton (which didn't have a railway station at the time). This was also not chosen, due to the potential confusion with the similarly named RAF Cardington (named after that railway station). So instead, what was to become the UK's largest RAF station was named after the tiny village of Brize Norton.
Later Bampton (Oxon) would be renamed Brize Norton and Bampton (to aid those travelling to the RAF station by train) and Carterton gained it's own railway station to connect to the rapidly expanding RAF station nearby.
One of the many exceptions to this is the UK's largest RAF station, Brize Norton. When construction was first started in 1935 the nearest railway station was Bampton (Oxon). As another Bampton railway station existed (in Devon) this was not chosen for the RAF station to avoid potential confusion for those travelling to the new base by train.
The next option considered was to name the new RAF station after the nearest large settlement, Carterton (which didn't have a railway station at the time). This was also not chosen, due to the potential confusion with the similarly named RAF Cardington (named after that railway station). So instead, what was to become the UK's largest RAF station was named after the tiny village of Brize Norton.
Later Bampton (Oxon) would be renamed Brize Norton and Bampton (to aid those travelling to the RAF station by train) and Carterton gained it's own railway station to connect to the rapidly expanding RAF station nearby.
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syorksdeano
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Hell.... Also known as Birmingham New Street to those that use it
Having said that, Sheffield seems to be getting called Sheffield Midland quite a few times in news reports in this area
Having said that, Sheffield seems to be getting called Sheffield Midland quite a few times in news reports in this area
Railsigns
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I am now picturing some Norwegians on board a train out heading east out of Trondheim, preparing to alight at a station they call 'Birmingham New Street'.
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