Crewe or Doncaster: Which is more important?

[J-2739]

Two junction stations in the North of England served by a variety of TOCs.

Which do you think is more important for the North, based on how many people go through them, tph passing through, historical significance, etc.?

 

[DarloRich]

did we not already do this thread?

 

[Freightmaster]

did we not already do this thread?

School holidays, innit?

 

[J-2739]

did we not already do this thread?

Didn't have Doncaster in it, DONCASTER!

School holidays, innit?

Last day though

 

[daodao]

Crewe owes its existence to the railway, specifically the Premier line, whereas Doncaster, as the name suggests, was originally a Roman fort.

 

[DarloRich]

Didn't have Doncaster in it,

DONCASTER!
It isnt Darlington................

Crewe is a dreary, horrible, dull place to have to spend time. Cant get a decent pint. Can get a decent pint in Doncaster. Doncaster is fairly dull and dreary. Have seen Darlo win at Donny but never at Crewe.

Any good?

 

[Bletchleyite]

Crewe, because the WCML is much more important than the ECML because it connects England's first and second city (regardless of which of Birmingham or Manchester you think that might be!)

Yes, the ECML connects two great capitals of the UK, but far more people fly that than to Manchester so it's not as key.

 

[woodhouse122]

deffinetly crewe, York is more important than donny anyway

 

[Altfish]

Probably Doncaster at the moment as it still has the works BUT come HS2 and Crewe will be more important

 

[QueensCurve]

Two junction stations in the North of England served by a variety of TOCs.

Which do you think is more important for the North, based on how many people go through them, tph passing through, historical significance, etc.?

The West Coast Mainline wouldn't really work without Crewe and the East Coast Mainline wouldn't really work without Doncaster.

DONCASTER!
It isnt Darlington................

Crewe is a dreary, horrible, dull place to have to spend time. Cant get a decent pint. Can get a decent pint in Doncaster. Doncaster is fairly dull and dreary. Have seen Darlo win at Donny but never at Crewe.

Any good?

I often spend an hour at Crewe and find it very enjoyable.

 

[fowler9]

DONCASTER!
It isnt Darlington................

Crewe is a dreary, horrible, dull place to have to spend time. Cant get a decent pint. Can get a decent pint in Doncaster. Doncaster is fairly dull and dreary. Have seen Darlo win at Donny but never at Crewe.

Any good?

You not been to Beer Dock then? Loads of excellent beer from obscure breweries there. A meer ten minute walk from the station.

 

[DarloRich]

You not been to Beer Dock then? Loads of excellent beer from obscure breweries there. A meer ten minute walk from the station.

I haven't. Is it new?

 

[fowler9]

Crewe links directly in to the massive northwestern industrial area and also the West Midlands. Doncaster is handy for Leeds and Sheffield I guess.

 

[gordonthemoron]

the answer is obviously Newcastle

 

[fowler9]

I haven't. Is it new?

Been there a couple of years I think. Turn left outside the station and it's on your right after about a ten minute walk.

 

[DarloRich]

Been there a couple of years I think. Turn left outside the station and it's on your right after about a ten minute walk.

thanks - will pop in next time i am becalmed at Crewe

 

[fowler9]

thanks - will pop in next time i am becalmed at Crewe

It's a nice little place. Enjoy.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Cheers, will bear that one in mind for the future.

Given how massive the footfall at Crewe station is, I remain amazed the retail and catering isn't improved there. There's surely lots of profit to be made.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

In 1985 nothing called at Crewe during the rebuild as there are avoiding lines etc. Crewe is vital strategically but I do think if a disaster happened at Crewe it would cause less disruption than Donny

 

[fowler9]

In 1985 nothing called at Crewe during the rebuild as there are avoiding lines etc. Crewe is vital strategically but I do think if a disaster happened at Crewe it would cause less disruption than Donny

I am 50/50. Doncaster is an important station but where does the East Coast Mainline pass through or terminate in that is a major city? Leeds, Newcastle, Edinburgh. Where does the West Coast Main Line pass through or terminate, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow. Manchester and Birmingham both have claims for being Englands second city.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Doncaster has a surprising number of freight avoiding lines outside the station area.
Crewe just has the local independent lines, but no real by-pass unless you count the North Staffs route 10 miles away.
With the run-down of coal, I wonder how long the Doncaster avoiders will last.
Doncaster will lose out when (if?) the main Edinburgh traffic goes via Crewe, as HS2 Ltd currently plans.
But we were here once before ("Euston only for the north") in the 1960s/70s, and it didn't happen.

These days there are several trains through Crewe which don't call (Glasgow fasts and some Liverpools).
I don't know how Doncaster compares with non-stop trains.
Crewe suffers from repeated plans to relocate it southwards.
Doncaster doesn't seem to have the same degree of planning blight, and even has a new bay platform.
Also nobody seems happy with the 1985 remodelling at Crewe, especially the restrictive signalling, but the WCRM project passed it by.

 

[Gathursty]

I'm drawn to Crewe by virtue of living nearer to it and using it much more than Doncaster which I have been on a calling train from Manchester to Grimsby. I don't have much info on Doncaster's amenities to compare the two fairly.

 

[J-2739]

DONCASTER!
It isnt Darlington................

Crewe is a dreary, horrible, dull place to have to spend time. Cant get a decent pint. Can get a decent pint in Doncaster. Doncaster is fairly dull and dreary. Have seen Darlo win at Donny but never at Crewe.

Any good?

Okay, okay, Crewe is obviously not the place for you!!

I am 50/50. Doncaster is an important station but where does the East Coast Mainline pass through or terminate in that is a major city? Leeds, Newcastle, Edinburgh. Where does the West Coast Main Line pass through or terminate, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow. Manchester and Birmingham both have claims for being Englands second city.

WCML also serves Edinburgh, but not the fastest of the two routes...

 

[cle]

I would say that Crewe is a better known junction/hub and 'railway town' - but Doncaster is more of an actual place itself, beyond the railway. It is a bit overshadowed by York - which also is a huge railway town and has a lot of connections/branches.

Whereas Crewe's next big one up is Preston - completely different region, really.

 

[Starmill]

The OP has really not given us any criteria. However, there are more intercity passengers on the West Coast than the East Coast, so I guess Crewe? Worth noting that a significant number of passengers on the WCML don't pass through Crewe though.

 

[InOban]

I'm surprised no-one has pointed out that half of the XC trains avoid Doncaster - they go by Leeds even though it adds 20 minutes.

 

[gordonthemoron]

I'm surprised no-one has pointed out that half of the XC trains avoid Doncaster - they go by Leeds even though it adds 20 minutes.

Oh for the days under BR when XC trains avoided both Leeds and Doncaster

 

[D365]

Leeds has been spruced up a fair bit since; Doncaster on the other hand...

 

[DarloRich]

The West Coast Mainline wouldn't really work without Crewe and the East Coast Mainline wouldn't really work without Doncaster.



I often spend an hour at Crewe and find it very enjoyable.

it is dull as ditch water. Nothing happening unlike the old days

 

[fowler9]

it is dull as ditch water. Nothing happening unlike the old days

I go Crewe on a farely regular basis as I quite like a blast across the Cheshire plain for £8.90. The station is itself pretty dull most of the time. A clock face timetable of the same units. Now twenty years ago.....