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Trivia: most circuitous route between 2 stations on same line

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HowardGWR

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They do in the case of Exmouth - Starcross (at Exeter St David’s).
They do indeed but that was not my example but someone else's (sorry I forgot that one :oops:).

Can anyone beat my Weston to Cardiff example (70 miles detour by a direct service 82 vs 12 miles)?
 
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High Dyke

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I'd have thought either Thorpe St Peter or Wainfleet to Boston was longer by rail than as the crow flies since the line heads up to Firsby then back down - a legacy of when there was the through line to Louth.
Thorpe Culvert - Boston about 17.25 miles by rail, but 18.5 miles by road or 13.87 miles as the crow flies. That said the limited service at that station does influence things somewhat. Wainfleet is about 19.25 miles by rail, but just over 17 miles by road (14.11 miles as the crow flies).
 
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Not as impressive as some on this thread.

Lowestoft to Darsham on the East Suffolk should take longer by rail than road...but that A12 road can be very tedious indeed!
 

Bevan Price

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I had in mind that the "most circuitous" would be expressed as a multiple, i.e. the number of times that the rail route was longer than the straight line distance between 2 points on a continuous line, not parallel routes; interesting that many of the suggestions cluster around 4. Estuaries could qualify if there is a through service without reversal, I think, which rules out Southport to Lytham (need to change stations at Wigan, and trains at Preston).
Back in steam days, Southport had a few summer services to/from Blackpool Central via Lytham (29 3/4 miles from Southport).
 

scrapy

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Staying in that area, Dalton-in-Furness to Askam-in-Furness is just under 3 miles by road but 12 by train (via Barrow). The OS map shows a direct line between the two that cuts out Barrow but I presume that's freight only?
Yes no scheduled services over it although don't think it's a goods line so nothing to stop them. Would be interested to know in Northern crews sign it as a diversion?
 

Springs Branch

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It won't win any prizes, but on Merseyrail there's the 08:41 Chester to Birkenhead North service, which calls at Birkenhead Central then Conway Park: 0.30 miles direct, 5.25 miles by train via the Mersey Tunnel (twice) and the Wirral Line Loop.
 
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Par

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Gone now of course, but until reasonably recently (and if you consider the Oldham Loop to be one line) then Moston to Hollinwood would I estimate, to be about 17 or 18 miles by rail via Rochdale and about 1.5 miles by road.

Rails still there of course, just a different type of service.
 

randyrippley

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Slightly OT but this line is even more remarkable in that regard. Travelling from Kirkby in Furness to Ulverston, the line does, as you say take what I'm sure must be close to a record within the UK for most circuitous route by a direct train compared to car/walking/cycling. And then it immediately does the very opposite: Crosses the bay in what isn't that far off a direct line to Cark - which would be massively longer by road. And then it does the same again going from Grange-over-Sands to Arnside!
Not forgetting the accident of history which resulted in the Foxfield detour.........the line was supposed to cross the Duddon Sands on a viaduct but would have bankrupted the company
 

S&CLER

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Not forgetting the accident of history which resulted in the Foxfield detour.........the line was supposed to cross the Duddon Sands on a viaduct but would have bankrupted the company

I read somewhere that the FR charged fares for the distance as if the viaduct had been built; the opposite of what was done in cases such as the Forth Bridge, which carried a mileage surcharge.
 

randyrippley

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I read somewhere that the FR charged fares for the distance as if the viaduct had been built; the opposite of what was done in cases such as the Forth Bridge, which carried a mileage surcharge.

Apparently that was imposed on them by the traffic regulating authorities (Board of Trade???) as part of the deal which permitted abandonment of the viaduct. They were permitted to abandon it, but were forced to charge a mileage rate as if it were there and in use. Must have saved the haematite mines around Millom a fortune
 

Leigh White

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I once did a detour on a train to Barrow a few years ago due a landslip at Dalton, went via Park Junc and reversed at Askam back into Barrow.
 

Howardh

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Slightly OT but this line is even more remarkable in that regard. Travelling from Kirkby in Furness to Ulverston, the line does, as you say take what I'm sure must be close to a record within the UK for most circuitous route by a direct train compared to car/walking/cycling. And then it immediately does the very opposite: Crosses the bay in what isn't that far off a direct line to Cark - which would be massively longer by road. And then it does the same again going from Grange-over-Sands to Arnside!
If anyone hasn't done that journey I thoroughly recommend it! Also a stop of at Ulverston to take liquid on board is essential. One of my fave journeys in the world!
 
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