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Trivia; Largest terminal station which used to have through trains?

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Howardh

Howardh

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Many rail lines now terminate at station where there used to be through passenger trains; eg Sandown on the IOW! But that's a small station, I was wondering which would be the largest by platforms (in use) or pax numbers?

Note, if a station has rail which terminates (eg Kirkby) and continues with tram, tube, DLR etc so the "old" rail/infrastructure are still in use then those don't count!!

In these parts I suggest Buxton and possibly Colne which I think both used to have through trains although they aren't partricularly large, but Buxton would have good passenger numbers I would have thought?
 
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Merseysider

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I do believe there used to be passenger trains between Buxton and Matlock from the Buxton area to Matlock, the latter of which is now a terminus.
 
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30907

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By current NR platforms I can't beat 2 (Carmarthen included - there were 3, but no P3 appears in RTT).
Including closed platforms the most I can think of is East Grinstead with 6, but still only 2 in use. (I assume preserved lines don't count.
 
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Bookd

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swt_passenger said:
Waterloo. Nothing else would come close in terms of platform numbers.
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It must be nearly a century since there were through trains to Charing Cross, but the mileages are still measured from the junction between CX and Waterloo East.
The bridge is still there but it must have been a steep climb from Waterloo.
 
Howardh

Howardh

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swt_passenger said:
Waterloo. Nothing else would come close in terms of platform numbers.
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I wondered if there were any in London, however long ago, may have once been through. Wouldn't have considered Waterloo, but a fine answer and probably is the winner! But if the OP was considering modern times, ie since the WWII including Beeching I don't think there will be one so big.
 
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Howardh said:
I wondered if there were any in London, however long ago, may have once been through. Wouldn't have considered Waterloo, but a fine answer and probably is the winner! But if the OP was considering modern times, ie since the WWII including Beeching I don't think there will be one so big.
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Since WWII, King's Cross is probably still the winner, based on the old connection to the Widened Lines to Moorgate (http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/m/moorgate/)
 
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swt_passenger

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Howardh said:
I wondered if there were any in London, however long ago, may have once been through. Wouldn't have considered Waterloo, but a fine answer and probably is the winner! But if the OP was considering modern times, ie since the WWII including Beeching I don't think there will be one so big.
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I think with that caveat that would become Kings Cross in the London area, as just posted while I was checking the Atlas.
 
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Peter Mugridge said:
Errr... pass!!! I know it's been discussed on here before somewhere, and also on Twitter a few months ago, so a Google search should yield something.
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Many thanks! Sounds like Shepperton - Hayes, CR3 on the cheap....
 
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Peter Mugridge said:
Errr... pass!!! I know it's been discussed on here before somewhere, and also on Twitter a few months ago, so a Google search should yield something.
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Yes, I recall we had a diversion into the exact Waterloo set up towards the end of last year.
As usual though, we sort of drifted into the subject, it starts out about St Pancras taxis, Waterloo comes in about post #10...
https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/old-st-pancras-platforms.173420/#post-3726402
Hope this helps if anyone wants to find out about Waterloo.

I too had my doubts about the earlier suggestion that there would have been a gradient issue?
 
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MarlowDonkey

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Howardh said:
I wondered if there were any in London, however long ago, may have once been through.
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Paddington had a main line connection to the Circle line through the Bishops Road station. I think it was removed mid 1960s when the Hammersmith & City platforms were segregated from the Paddington Suburban ones. Through passenger services had long since ceased, since 1939 probably.

If you count the H&C platforms, Paddington still isn't a terminus.
 
delt1c

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Not as big as Waterloo , but I think Liverpool St would be in with a shout
 
Howardh

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Outside of London - Uckfield? Largeish town with I suppose high pax numbers (0.5m) due to commuting? Anyone know for sure that the map shows a disused railway and it would have carried pax onwards once?
 
AlbertBeale

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Bookd said:
It must be nearly a century since there were through trains to Charing Cross, but the mileages are still measured from the junction between CX and Waterloo East.
The bridge is still there but it must have been a steep climb from Waterloo.
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Surely the through Waterloo trains weren't to Charing Cross, but joined the ChX lines heading eastbound through what is now Waterloo East (then Waterloo Junction, I think). So the section east of Waterloo East had Up trains via London Bridge to ChX, and Up trains going the other way via Waterloo to ...? Cannon Street?

The old railway bridge was, a decade or three back, a route from the main concourse (via crossing the taxi-etc road) to Waterloo East. Then they built the new higher-level pedestrian route between Wloo Main and Wloo E (via the upstairs shops of course!) and closed off the old lower (and much more direct, much quicker, and more obvious) route.
 
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randyrippley

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Tobbes said:
Fascinating, many thanks. What actual services were run over it?
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As I understand it, virtually none: it became a special-use route for Queen Victoria's royal train when she wanted to head to the SE and not a lot else.
 
Bevan Price

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Between 1964 and 1979, Glasgow Central was probably the biggest. The Low Level platforms closed in the Marples-Beeching era in 1964, and only reopened after electrification in 1979.
 
transmanche

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Tobbes said:
Since WWII, King's Cross is probably still the winner, based on the old connection to the Widened Lines to Moorgate (http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/m/moorgate/)
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Does that count? As southbound trains called at King's Cross York Road, which was completely separate from the main King's Cross station.
http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/k/kings_cross_york_road/index.shtml

(They also called at the King's Cross Met station - what would later become King's Cross Thameslink.)
 
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transmanche said:
Does that count? As southbound trains called at King's Cross York Road, which was completely separate from the main King's Cross station.
http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/k/kings_cross_york_road/index.shtml

(They also called at the King's Cross Met station - what would later become King's Cross Thameslink.)
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I’d consider that until the mid seventies down trains would count as using Kings Cross, because in that direction they called at a platform that would have been in the station, unlike York Rd for up trains.
 
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