Branch stations for a college work

Giugiaro · 10 Dec 2018

Good evening.

I'm reaching out to you since I'm working on a project of Strategic Design applied to Civil Engineering for the layout of a hypothetical future station where currently stands a simple stop.

I'm looking for stations/branches where a single track passenger branch line diverges from a 2 track mainline. They can either be from the UK or anywhere else.

This is so that I can study the state of the art by analysing the layout, the switches, the platforms (if there are any) and the speeds.

This is so that I can latter study the branch of the northern section of the Vouga line from the Northern Line in Portugal, which currently are separated and built in different gauges. Currently I have at least 3 stations in Portugal that meet these criteria, but I require more case studies to compare and extract data.

I know for experience that in the North London Line there's at least one branch line where the double track diverges directly from the mainline, using two switches and one crossing, but I wasn't able to find it yet. Can't recall if the station was before or after the branch...

RailUK Forums

Bevan Price · 10 Dec 2018

A few miles north of Leeds, the single line branch to Ilkley branches off the line from Leeds to Shipley / Skipton / Carlisle, but no station at or near the junction.
Just south of Shipley station, single line to Guiseley / Ilkley branches off the same Leeds / Shipley line. No station at the actual junction.

hexagon789 · 11 Dec 2018

May I suggest the Lanark branch (single track branch off the West Coast Main Line) or the North Berwick branch (single track branch off the East Coast Main Line).

Jonny · 11 Dec 2018

Giugiaro said:
Good evening.
I know for experience that in the North London Line there's at least one branch line where the double track diverges directly from the mainline, using two switches and one crossing, but I wasn't able to find it yet. Can't recall if the station was before or after the branch...

That would be Gospel Oak, the main line is the North London Line and the branch line goes off to Barking. The branching point is before the station from the view of a train facing onto the branch. However, the branch can only access a bay platform-like siding-platform and the lines are separate in service.

Another one would be Stourbridge Junction, to the west of Birmingham with its branch to Stourbridge Town. As is often the case, the branch is isolated from the mainline in normal service and trains can only access the branch from the non-facing end.

Yet another one would be Kirkham and Wesham (yes that's one station) with the start of the single-track Blackpool South branch from the mainline to Blackpool North.

Also Rose Grove near Burnley (at Gannow Junction for the branch to Colne, Lancashire).

Then there are the various branches in Cornwall which are the subject of several websites and magazine articles in their own right (Google is your friend).

PS You may also wish to look on the Network Rail Sectional Appendix website for publicly-available schematics (more detailed maps may be obtained on request).

berneyarms · 11 Dec 2018

Craven Arms where the Heart of Wales line diverges from the Marches Line.

goatie · 11 Dec 2018

how about the Ockendon branch line & the Southminster line ?

Andrew*Debbie · 11 Dec 2018

Would the Conwy Valley Line count? I'm not sure as it is double track from Llandudno to Llandudno Junction.

If you look at Google Maps, it appears to be diverging from the North Wales Coast Line at Llandudno Junction.

krus_aragon · 11 Dec 2018

I don't think the Conwy Valley line would be appropriate, as the single line joins the mainline right outside Llandudno Junction, where there are three through roads. The signalling will be more complex there as a result.

From a historical angle, Gaerwen may be of some interest. As the junction of the single-line Anglesey Central Railway with the North Wales Coast Line, it originally had a full double junction for trains coming/going from the Bangor direction, with two crossovers. When the line was closed to passenger traffic in the 60s, this was rationalised to a single junction with trailing crossover, meaning freight trains had to reverse twice to access the branch line. When a reopening study was done a decade ago, it was identified that this junction would have to be rebuilt (I think there may have been some initial drawings done at the time).

If further details on Gaerwen would be useful, let me know.

Ken H · 11 Dec 2018

Oxenholme. has its own branch platform.

or to be really daft, keighley

pdeaves · 11 Dec 2018

Some suggestions:
Dalreoch-Balloch
Westerton-Milngavie
Stirling-Alloa
Ladybank-Perth (connects at both ends)
Drem-North Berwick
Port Glasgow-Wemyss Bay
Saltcoats-Ardrossan Harbour maybe
Carluke-Lanark
Wishaw-Shieldmuir (connects at both ends)
Mauchline-Ayr (connects at both ends)

Adlington · 11 Dec 2018

Giugiaro said:
I'm looking for stations/branches where a single track passenger branch line diverges from a 2 track mainline. They can either be from the UK or anywhere else.

If "anywhere" includes Poland, have a look at Aleksandrów Kujawski or Nasielsk. These are "wikipedia style" diagrams, not official ones, which doesn't mean they are inaccurate. If you want official speed limits, PM me and I'll try to find out.

318266 · 11 Dec 2018

pdeaves said:
Some suggestions:
Dalreoch-Balloch
Westerton-Milngavie
Stirling-Alloa
Ladybank-Perth (connects at both ends)
Drem-North Berwick
Port Glasgow-Wemyss Bay
Saltcoats-Ardrossan Harbour maybe
Carluke-Lanark
Wishaw-Shieldmuir (connects at both ends)
Mauchline-Ayr (connects at both ends)

Dalreoch - Balloch: has a bit of double track near the junction
Westerton - Milngavie: see above
Stirling - Alloa: The junction is just before Stirling, because you can only access it through the Eastern 3 platforms.
Ladybank - Perth: works on Ladybank side only.
Drem - North Berwick: Works.
Port Glasgow - Wemyss Bay: see top
Ardrossan South Beach - Ardrossan Harbour: single track junction
Carluke - Lanark: Works.
Wishaw - Shieldmuir: Works.
Mauchline - Ayr: Works.

Giugiaro · 11 Dec 2018

Thank you for your suggestions! All the cases are very interesting and some quite curious. I wasn't expecting so many to come up in just a short while, so I'm very grateful for that.

I just forgot to say the mainline has all services running through it, including Pendolinos at speed. Avoiding traffic congestion would be nice.

The criteria I gave wasn't to be taken so strictly. The stop in question is being taken into consideration given the older interface station is now built underground with gradients on both ends and no junctions to speak of. The other stations in Portugal I have under investigation are Nine (9), Lousado, Lamarosa and Casa Branca (this last one has the East-West line set to be a double mainline in the future).

Most stations are very similar in their philosophy, and I understand why they were designed the way they were, but I need to look upon other takes on the same sort of branching, to see if it's viable to have a smaller station with the junctions set to the minimum necessary for a train to deviate from mainline to branchline, or have a shared central platform rather than having two facing platforms.

I've found Rose Grove interesting to how simplistic it is for example. Aleksandrów Kujawski is very similar if we remove all the bloat.

GW43125 · 11 Dec 2018

The single line to Newquay splits from the twin-track mainline at Par.

Cherry_Picker · 11 Dec 2018

Hatton might be an example. It's on a triangle too, so you get a station on one side with a mainline and a single track branch while the other side is a two track mainline with a single track branch .

Elecman · 11 Dec 2018

If you need a Pendolinos then it’s Oxenholme to Windermere or Kirkham& Wesham to Blackpool South or even Bletchley to Bedford or Watford to St Albans

etr221 · 11 Dec 2018

Two examples i can think of are Chalfont & Latimer (on the London Underground, junction for the single track Chesham branch); and Princes Risborough (single line to Aylesbury). Also various examples in Ireland, in particular Mallow, Portarlington and Cherryville Junction: the Dublin-Cork main line is double track, all (IIRC) the lines branching off are single. Something to bear in mind is that many British examples are 'simplified' from what was there originally. Also consider whether your branch is is to be served only by trains running through off the main line; or has trains which start at the junction station.

DelW · 12 Dec 2018

At Ash Vale the Ascot line diverges as double track but immediately becomes single as far as Frimley Green.

Similarly the Romsey to Eastleigh single line diverging from the Salisbury to Redbridge double track, though there the convergence to single is further from (Romsey) station.

DarloRich · 12 Dec 2018

Bletchley to Bedford branch meets your criteria at each end. it also ties into a very heavily used commuter service to London at both ends despite being a very rural branch line.

HaggisBotherer · 12 Dec 2018

Giugiaro said:
I'm reaching out to you

Please don't. Contacting us is fine (and so much less gushingly American :'(

)

Stuart-h · 13 Dec 2018

There’s the Bedford to Bletchley line.

Meole · 13 Dec 2018

Ambergate / Matlock and Duffield / Wirksworth.
Morpeth / Bedlington.

DelW · 13 Dec 2018

DarloRich said:
Bletchley to Bedford branch meets your criteria at each end. it also ties into a very heavily used commuter service to London at both ends despite being a very rural branch line.

Stuart-h said:
There’s the Bedford to Bletchley line.

But the OP specified:

Giugiaro said:
I'm looking for stations/branches where a single track passenger branch line diverges from a 2 track mainline.

Neither WCML or MML are two track at the junctions.

DarloRich · 13 Dec 2018

DelW said:
Neither WCML or MML are two track at the junctions.

they are if you consider the fast and slow as different railways - which in the case of Bletchley they essentially are

Surreytraveller · 13 Dec 2018

How about the Epsom Downs branch at Sutton?
Or the Mill Hill East branch of the Northern Line?
Chesham branch of the Metropolitan Line?

Surreytraveller · 13 Dec 2018

DelW said:
But the OP specified:
Neither WCML or MML are two track at the junctions.

But if I think if people are trying to be genuinely helpful, where questions or responses could be open to interpretation, then the OP should be given the option of deciding whether the answer is appropriate or not.

thenorthern · 13 Dec 2018

Its been closed to passengers since 1998 but the Sinfin branch in Derby was one, the Matlock branch is an odd one as its single for the National Rail part of the branch but it continues as Peak Railway.

Peter Kelford · 6 Aug 2020

Giugiaro said:
I'm looking for stations/branches where a single track passenger branch line diverges from a 2 track mainline. They can either be from the UK or anywhere else.

I got here late but look at Cannes-Voyageurs. The line branches off to Grasse.

Tio Terry · 6 Aug 2020

You could look at Reedham Junction. Two track Norwich - Lowestoft and single track towards Great Yarmouth.

Gathursty · 6 Aug 2020

Let me throw Wrexham General/Central in as a bit of a curve ball.

Branch stations for a college work

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