Garlenberg
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I remember going from France to Turkey. It was both hard and exciting.
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What's the longest train ride you've had?
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High Dyke
Established Member
Not wanting to promote the anti-pacer brigade...but a three hour Cumbrian coast trip on an un-refurbished cl.142 is a challenge.
A couple of years ago the wife and I did Kings Cross - Inverness. A pleasant, but long journey.
A couple of years ago the wife and I did Kings Cross - Inverness. A pleasant, but long journey.
From Wien Westbahnhof to Ostend in Couchettes on a school trip in 1963. We left Wien at about 23:00 and arrived in Ostend between 14:00 & 15:00. We changed direction several times, our coach started at the rear of the train and finished at the front, - still going forwards in the same direction.
mm333
Member
I tried to do Aberdeen-Penzance on the through Voyager but due to the sea spray at Dawlish, I had to decamp at Exeter St David’s for a GWR HST for the last bit.
If changes are allowed, then for me probably Dundee to Fishguard for the ferry to Rosslare (followed by Rosslare to Dublin (and Dublin to Dundee via Holyhead that night)).
Once tried Lincoln to Thurso but got stopped in Newcastle by the weather.
Once tried Lincoln to Thurso but got stopped in Newcastle by the weather.
Whistler40145
Established Member
Chicago to Flagstaff on Amtrak
JonathanP
Member
Without changes: 14 hours on the old CityNightLine service from Amsterdam via Cologne and Odense to Copenhagen, including a 2 hour delay.
With changes: Recently I did Athens - Thessaloniki - Belgrade - Ljubljana - Munich - Berlin which took 57 hours including a 12 hour daytime break in Belgrade. Theoretically it is possible to do it without the break, but had I opted for that I would have needed a pre booked taxi to make it across Belgrade in time.
With changes: Recently I did Athens - Thessaloniki - Belgrade - Ljubljana - Munich - Berlin which took 57 hours including a 12 hour daytime break in Belgrade. Theoretically it is possible to do it without the break, but had I opted for that I would have needed a pre booked taxi to make it across Belgrade in time.
adamskiodp
Member
Aylesbury to Worms (Germany) and back in 48hrs! With Dover to Oostende ferry as a foot passenger.
Iskra
Established Member
Without changes: Narvik-Stockholm at around 20 hours, but we were further delayed by about 2 hours. With changes Reggio Di Calabria-Sheffield taking about 36 hours with an overnight stay in Milan.
FrodshamJnct
Established Member
Nanjing to Beijing on the overnight Z train when they still ran before the G trains were introduced. Around 9 hours I think.
nlogax
Established Member
Have done both Texas Eagle (LA > Chicago via San Antonio - 2,728 miles - scheduled for 66 hours but took over 70 hours due to cold weather in Illinois) and Southwest Chief (Chicago > LA via Albuquerque - 2,265 miles, about 45 hours). Next on my list is the California Zephyr (Chicago > Bay Area - 2,438 miles, also scheduled for 45 hours)
steamybrian
Established Member
Toronto to Vancouver - three and half DAYS including a 8 hour delay somewhere in the Rockies whilst a broken rail was replaced.
Spamcan81
Member
Chengde to Galadasetai via a change of train at Jining Nan. About 19 hours actual travelling time, much of it in a hard class sleeper.
With changes Haywards Heath to Hamburg.
It was an hour to St Pancras alone. On that trip I went north, then south and eventually north again. Took 12 hours.
Wihout changes it will be either Euston to Inverness or Paddington to Penzance. Probably the former in 1990. No idea of time.
It was an hour to St Pancras alone. On that trip I went north, then south and eventually north again. Took 12 hours.
Wihout changes it will be either Euston to Inverness or Paddington to Penzance. Probably the former in 1990. No idea of time.
Esker-pades
Established Member
With changes it'll be London to Bari (change at Paris and Milan).
Without? I'm not sure. Aberdeen to Penzance is the longest UK one I've done, but there may be European ones which are longer. I've listed them below:
Without? I'm not sure. Aberdeen to Penzance is the longest UK one I've done, but there may be European ones which are longer. I've listed them below:
- Bourg St Maurice to London
- St Jean de Luz to Paris
- Paris to Nice
- Paris to Milan
On a single train, Trondheim-Oslo (and return), about 7 hours each way. With a two year old. Luckily NSB are civilised and have comfortable seats, legroom and play areas.
Also Paris-Carcasonne by sleeper which I think was about 8 hours but I was asleep. Harpenden-Carcasonne was the total trip, pre Chunnel so four trains, a ferry and probably some underground and Metro
Also Paris-Carcasonne by sleeper which I think was about 8 hours but I was asleep. Harpenden-Carcasonne was the total trip, pre Chunnel so four trains, a ferry and probably some underground and Metro
ac6000cw
Established Member
I've done both the CZ and the Chief (all in coach - couldn't afford sleepers). Longest train journey with changes was Oakland - LA (change), LA - Chicago (change), Chicago - Washington DC. About three days and 3500 miles from end to end on just three trains...
Longest in Europe was St. Polten (near Vienna) to Oostende with changes, then overnight ferry, then train to Birmingham.
Longest in UK (with changes) is probably Cambridge - Newcastle (via GE-GN joint line to Doncaster, then ECML to York, then via Sunderland) - Carlisle (wait a few hours) - Inverness - out and back trip to Kyle of Localsh.
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Peter Mugridge
Veteran Member
The Highlander Sleeper.
Outside the UK, and I think a very similar mileage, Paris Montparnasse to Lourdes via Bordeaux direct on a TGV.
Unless Bruxelles to Frankfurt on an ICE beats that? I don't think it does...?
Outside the UK, and I think a very similar mileage, Paris Montparnasse to Lourdes via Bordeaux direct on a TGV.
Unless Bruxelles to Frankfurt on an ICE beats that? I don't think it does...?
87electric
Member
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Los Angeles to New York.
The Highland Chieftain, Kings Cross to Inverness, approx 8 hours. Thats the longest single journey. If you count changes, add the couple of hours it took to get to Kings Cross from Weston-super-Mare. Longest ever done in one day is Weston-super-Mare to Edinburgh and back, which Ive done 4 or 5 times
I returned from Inverness a couple of days later, interestingly managing to take an almost entirely different route (Inverness- Aberdeen, Aberdeen - Edinburgh, Edinburgh-Birmingham, Birmingham-Bristol, Bristol-Weston), the only duplicated track being Bristol-Weston, and a couple of miles through Edinburgh
I returned from Inverness a couple of days later, interestingly managing to take an almost entirely different route (Inverness- Aberdeen, Aberdeen - Edinburgh, Edinburgh-Birmingham, Birmingham-Bristol, Bristol-Weston), the only duplicated track being Bristol-Weston, and a couple of miles through Edinburgh
Warwick Parkway to Palermo
nights in London, Nice, Firenze and Napoli
Spoiled by replacement bus From Rosario to Villa San Giovanni, whicg denied me getting shunted onto the ferry. But there was a train waiting for us at Messina.
Genoa - Pisa we were in a compartment with 2 Italian ladies, who then shared a huge bag of cherries!
nights in London, Nice, Firenze and Napoli
Spoiled by replacement bus From Rosario to Villa San Giovanni, whicg denied me getting shunted onto the ferry. But there was a train waiting for us at Messina.
Genoa - Pisa we were in a compartment with 2 Italian ladies, who then shared a huge bag of cherries!
Struner
Member
Hellas Expres: Duisburg-Athens, through train, took two days. & had to get to Duisburg as well of course. Seated accomodation (ahem). Same on the way back. Mid-sixties.
On a single train it would probably be Penzance to Dundee on a HST.
I did also once go from Fort William to Weymouth with a change in London, going straight from Euston to Waterloo.
I have also done York to Prague entirely by train, effectively as one journey, however this did include an overnight stay in Brussels as it's not really feasible to do that journey without an overnight break.
I did also once go from Fort William to Weymouth with a change in London, going straight from Euston to Waterloo.
I have also done York to Prague entirely by train, effectively as one journey, however this did include an overnight stay in Brussels as it's not really feasible to do that journey without an overnight break.
Reminiscences:
1984
Shin Kobe to Shin Yokohama 507 km
(boat)
Nakhodka to Khabarovsk 903 km (Vladivostok was at that time closed to foreigners)
Khabarovsk to Irkutsk 3,340 km (Trans-Siberian)
(flight)
Moscow to Ostend 2,853 km (Ost-West Express)
(boat)
Dover to London 125 km
7,728 km by train in total for that journey
... having flown out London Gatwick - Hong Kong - Osaka first class with Cathay Pacific
As far as trip experience, I had been offered a job at GCHQ to start in September 1984 but was warned that if I travelled in the Soviet Union on my own then I would probably fail vetting. I made the right choice to decline the job offer and go on the trip. I ended up working for IBM instead.
1996 Oakland - Los Angeles (464 miles) - New Orleans (1995 miles) - New York (1377 miles) - Chicago (900 miles) - Denver (1038 miles) (5,774 miles in total)
(flight Denver - San Francisco because my rail pass ran out of time)
1984
Shin Kobe to Shin Yokohama 507 km
(boat)
Nakhodka to Khabarovsk 903 km (Vladivostok was at that time closed to foreigners)
Khabarovsk to Irkutsk 3,340 km (Trans-Siberian)
(flight)
Moscow to Ostend 2,853 km (Ost-West Express)
(boat)
Dover to London 125 km
7,728 km by train in total for that journey
... having flown out London Gatwick - Hong Kong - Osaka first class with Cathay Pacific
As far as trip experience, I had been offered a job at GCHQ to start in September 1984 but was warned that if I travelled in the Soviet Union on my own then I would probably fail vetting. I made the right choice to decline the job offer and go on the trip. I ended up working for IBM instead.
1996 Oakland - Los Angeles (464 miles) - New Orleans (1995 miles) - New York (1377 miles) - Chicago (900 miles) - Denver (1038 miles) (5,774 miles in total)
(flight Denver - San Francisco because my rail pass ran out of time)
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AlbertBeale
Established Member
Probably my longest through journey - ie with no significant stops beyond changing trains, with reasonable allowance for connection times to allow for delays - was London to Syracuse (far corner of Sicily), with just two changes (Paris, Milan). (Though there were changes of station in both cases, if that doesn't invalidate it.) Breakfast in London, lunch in Paris, Milan for tea-time / quick evening meal, breakfast with brilliant fresh coffee on the sleeper somewhere in southern Italy, a quick snack on the ferry carrying the train across the strait, and a rather late lunch in Syracuse.
And longest individual trip on one train must have been that Milan-Syracuse sleeper - about 1000 miles in 18 hours or so?
Edit/Correction - come to think of it, it must have been more like Elevensies in Paris, and lunch on the train!
And longest individual trip on one train must have been that Milan-Syracuse sleeper - about 1000 miles in 18 hours or so?
Edit/Correction - come to think of it, it must have been more like Elevensies in Paris, and lunch on the train!
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