Diversions to alternative London terminals

[Jim Jehosofat]

I'm sure that in the early 1980s major engineering work closed either Kings Cross or Euston and that the sleeper services were diverted all over the place. I seem to remember one of them being booked to arrive at Liverpool Street but I don't remember if there was a departure.

Also remember a boxing day when the trains from Charing Cross to Dover Priory that connected with the hovercraft to Boulogne and onward train to Paris were diverted to run from Victoria with a fleet of Red Arrow buses transferring passengers between the London Terminals.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

When was the year (past decade I think) that services towards London Kings Cross were terminated/started short at some seemingly random suburban LU interchange station, with resultant gross overcrowding?

 

[pdeaves]

When was the year (past decade I think) that services towards London Kings Cross were terminated/started short at some seemingly random suburban LU interchange station, with resultant gross overcrowding?

Finsbury Park; Christmas 2014, I think. Whichever year it was, Hull Trains did a multiple-reversal move to avoid FP platforms and ran to St Pancras.

 

[Steve Harris]

Finsbury Park; Christmas 2014, I think. Whichever year it was, Hull Trains did a multiple-reversal move to avoid FP platforms and ran to St Pancras.

Yes, Indeed it was, I remember it well. It was I believe, the day after Boxing Day when services resumed from the Christmas break. Kings Cross was still blocked with engineering works. FP was utter chaos and closed at times to try and ease the overcrowding. Trains southbound were being held in stations as far north as Potters Bar at one point, while they all qued to gain entry to FP.

Luckily things did quieten down during the day snd come late evening the service started to resemble what was originally planned.

 

[steamybrian]

Mentioning Kings Cross reminded me that when the GN suburban lines were electrified in November 1976 many of the suburban services were diverted to/from Moorgate (via Drayton Park).
The peak hour services between Broad Street and GN suburban services via Canonbury spur were also diverted to either Kings Cross or Moorgate (via Drayton Park).
At the same time services between Moorgate and the GN lines via Farringdon and Widened lines were withdrawn and replaced with above resulting in the closure of the unusual single platform Kings Cross (York Road) station served in the up direction only.

 

[py_megapixel]

I believe the east coast open access operations have been known to divert into St Pancras.

There was a time fairly recently when Virgin Trains served Harrow & Wealdstone because Euston was shut. But I'd say that's not really a diversion, as it's on the same line (albeit a station on that line that Virgin would never ordinarily serve).

 

[IanXC]

Finsbury Park; Christmas 2014, I think. Whichever year it was, Hull Trains did a multiple-reversal move to avoid FP platforms and ran to St Pancras.

It was rather fun passing all the great long queue of other trains going south, changing ends, over the flyover and back north at the other side of the same queue of trains before changing ends to access the North London Line. The looks of the passengers on trains in the queue was priceless!

I believe the east coast open access operations have been known to divert into St Pancras.

Its only Hull Trains that have diverted from the ECML to St Pancras. Grand Central simply don't run on days like that.

 

[The exile]

Not a diversion as such, but there used to be a scheduled service for a Wales and West Class 158 into and out of Waterloo. I don't think it lasted many years (if that). Certainly an unusual service though.

Think it ran for the entire time that Eurostar used Waterloo. Of much shorter duration was the use of Waterloo as the London end of the Night Riviera.

When Eurostar served Waterloo, Olympia was the designated alternative station in times of disruption. It had basic custom / border facilities built, although I don’t think that they were ever used in anger.

At least one Eurostar got there in passenger service - but only to turn the set. Doors were definitely not opened!

 

[swt_passenger]

Think it ran for the entire time that Eurostar used Waterloo. Of much shorter duration was the use of Waterloo as the London end of the Night Riviera.

AIUI the “western region” DMU service finished in May 2004, but then because closure procedures hadn’t been done, it was replaced by a taxi from Kensington Olympia for about 6 months. I think they ran it a bit too long to be still considered experimental, and no-one must have noticed...

The Eurostar move to St Pancras was over three years later.

So I guess the service must have been found unnecessary long before the move, in fact didn’t it only run Tuesday to Friday mornings anyway?

 

[The exile]

AIUI the “western region” DMU service finished in May 2004, but then because closure procedures hadn’t been done, it was replaced by a taxi from Kensington Olympia for about 6 months. I think they ran it a bit too long to be still considered experimental, and no-one must have noticed...

The Eurostar move to St Pancras was over three years later.

So I guess the service must have been found unnecessary long before the move, in fact didn’t it only run Tuesday to Friday mornings anyway?

Think we’re talking about two different things - I assumed this was the Waterloo - Carmarthen ( or equivalent) via Salisbury which would not have required closure procedures as the entire route still sees passenger trains.

 

[swt_passenger]

Think we’re talking about two different things - I assumed this was the Waterloo - Carmarthen ( or equivalent) via Salisbury which would not have required closure procedures as the entire route still sees passenger trains.

Maybe, it becomes less clear to me with passing time. But it always seems whatever they tried in terms of special connections to Eurostar it all seemed a bit pointless in practice.

 

[CW2]

October 1991
November 1991

Scans of the timetables which applied for the days when WCML services were diverted into St Pancras are available on the timetableworld.com website, links above.

 

[MarlowDonkey]

AIUI the “western region” DMU service finished in May 2004, but then because closure procedures hadn’t been done, it was replaced by a taxi from Kensington Olympia for about 6 months.

Was this something to do with the withdrawal of Cross Country services that went from the GWR main line to destinations in the South via Olympia?

 

[swt_passenger]

Was this something to do with the withdrawal of Cross Country services that went from the GWR main line to destinations in the South via Olympia?

Yes it was, but only to the extent that XC still kept some of the route in use until 2007, so the closure procedure in 2004 only concerned the very short distance of Sheepcote Lane curve. Eventually XC withdrawal from the WLL caused another retrospective closure application later, the one that was fudged for a few years with a Southern service from Wandsworth Town to Shepherds Bush.