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Most Depressing Stretch of Line on the Network

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irish_rail

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Jamesrob637 said:
Plymouth will serve as a (brief) reminder of London just under 2 hours from Penzance. Once on the Royal Albert Bridge out of Devon things pick up noticeably.
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Id argue the approaches to Plymouth as one zooms down Hemerdon bank, and rounds the curve over the river plym before skirting the Laira estuary on the left are rather nice and a stark contrast from the departure from Paddington 3 hours earlier.
 
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Howardh

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I don't know most of the other rail lines into London, but any first-time visitor coming into Euston might love the sight of Wembley, and from then on it's heart-sinkingly awful! Luckily it's better on the far side of all those over-hanging houses (around Camden) than the railway side!!
 
Class 466

Class 466

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Darlington- Redcar Central (and probably onwards to Saltburn) is a contender for me so far!
 
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SlimJim1694

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Howardh said:
I don't know most of the other rail lines into London, but any first-time visitor coming into Euston might love the sight of Wembley, and from then on it's heart-sinkingly awful! Luckily it's better on the far side of all those over-hanging houses (around Camden) than the railway side!!
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The joke about those horrible overhanging flats is that most of the people passing them on the train wouldn't be able to afford to live in them these days!
 
nlogax

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Judging by this thread one forum member's meat is another's poison :D I love the approaches into any large city terminal, including the derelict nature of brownfield land, scrap yards and building companies that usually inhabit those areas. Full of character.
 
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Peter Sarf

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Howardh said:
I don't know most of the other rail lines into London, but any first-time visitor coming into Euston might love the sight of Wembley, and from then on it's heart-sinkingly awful! Luckily it's better on the far side of all those over-hanging houses (around Camden) than the railway side!!
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Yes that really struck me in the 70s as a kid. On the right as heading North there were houses built out from the top of the cutting on stilts right by the DC lines. All dirty and grimy. With goodness knows what rubbish under the houses. Somewhere around Queens Park maybe. And all the way to Watford overtaking Electric Multiple Units that reminded me of the EPBs on the equally grim North Kent lines !.
 
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route101

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nlogax said:
Judging by this thread one forum member's meat is another's poison :D I love the approaches into any large city terminal, including the derelict nature of brownfield land, scrap yards and building companies that usually inhabit those areas. Full of character.
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Yes , love that too. I took a 802 from Manchester Airport to Victoria , the Castlefield is very interesting
 
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Kingspanner

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Class 466 said:
Darlington- Redcar Central (and probably onwards to Saltburn) is a contender for me so far!
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I take exception to this. Thornaby to Redcar is grim, but Darlington to Thornaby is pleasantly largely rural yet incorporating views of the airport, and Redcar to Saltburn similarly runs mainly through fields.
 
Jamesrob637

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irish_rail said:
Id argue the approaches to Plymouth as one zooms down Hemerdon bank, and rounds the curve over the river plym before skirting the Laira estuary on the left are rather nice and a stark contrast from the departure from Paddington 3 hours earlier.
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That side is fine as Plympton is a relatively affluent area. The western side of Plymouth is a bit grim but once on the Brunel bridge it's one of the best stretches of line in the land.
 
Mikey C

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What's really depressing is the prospect of not seeing ANY of the lines mentioned in this thread for a few months as the lockdown gets tighter :(
 
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The Prisoner

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A second vote if I may - this time for Hooton - Birkenhead Central. Stops every 90 seconds, depressing rows of houses, dingy Green Lane, former grandeur of the GW main line to Woodside tempered only by glimpses over the Mersey and the momentary pleasance of Port Sunlight. Oh, and whilst not down to the view out of the window....no loos!!!!
 
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The Prisoner

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Mikey C said:
What's really depressing is the prospect of not seeing ANY of the lines mentioned in this thread for a few months as the lockdown gets tighter :(
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Could argue that with life in general. Despite the subjectively dismal site of all of these lines we will miss them and find something in their beauty when we are allowed to travel on them once more.
 
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joke2711

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Another vote for Birkenhead Park to Birkenhead North ... the amount of waste that is disposed in the cuttings is shocking.
Hasn't been cleaned since the golf was last at Hoylake in 2014 ... but on the bright side it is only two years until they will want to create a better impression again.
 
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