England Railway Journey

[sbbcffffs]

Hello Railway Fans

I'm 19 and unfortunately not a British Railway fan yet but I Swiss one. I would like to become a British one and so I will take 15 days off in June to explore a bit England with the Brit Rail Pass England.
I already know a few things which I'm gonna visit like Bath, Oxford, Chester, Blackpool, Liverpool, etc.
But I've got no idea which railway line I have to travel on. Could you give me perhaps a tip what to do/see/visit in England; have you got an exciting railway line; do you even know where I can find a typical train with a locomotive and waggons or do you know a company which still uses elder railway material?
Well, which railway line I shouldn't miss to travel on?

I'm looking forward to hearing some ideas of you and as a little "Thank You" I would like to give you an answer on all your Swiss railway questions. You can write me a PM as well. Please don't hesitate to ask me something!
I'm already saying thank you and hope to get some ideas and hope my English is not too bad either.

Kind regards

Clem

 

[RichmondCommu]

Hello! If you get the chance take the train between Leeds and Carlisle. The line is known as the Settle and Carlisle line and the scenery is very good. From Carlisle you can then head up to Scotland. Trains from London to Leeds are quick and frequent, as they are from Carlisle to Scotland. There are some wonderful railways in Scotland.

In London please make sure that you have an Oyster card. London is expensive and an Oyster card will save you lots of money on the Underground, Overground (main line services close to the city centre) and buses.

While i was younger i spent two very happy weeks travelling in Switzerland via an over night train from Gare De Lyon in Paris. My favourite place was Interlaken and in particular the Jungfraujoch railway. Happy days!

Enjoy your stay in the UK and i hope you have the weather!

 

[northwichcat]

I already know a few things which I'm gonna visit like Bath, Oxford, Chester, Blackpool, Liverpool, etc.

To see those towns do:

Bath-Oxford (First Great Western)
Oxford-Stockport (Cross Country Trains)
Stockport-Chester (Northern Rail)
Chester-Liverpool Lime Street (Merseyrail)
Liverpool Lime Street-Blackpool North (Northern Rail)

On the Stockport-Chester section you may want to stop off at Delamere station for Delamere Forest and you can admire the views of the rivers and canals over Leftwich viaduct (between Northwich and Greenbank stations.)

 

[trentside]

do you even know where I can find a typical train with a locomotive and waggons or do you know a company which still uses elder railway material?

There are very few passenger services in the UK still hauled by locomotives. The most common would have to be the East Coast (London - York - Edinburgh and London - Leeds) services worked by Class 91 electric locomotives, with MK4 coaches and a DVT (driving trailer) on the rear. There is also the Great Eastern main line from London to Norwich, worked by Class 90 electric locomotives and MK3 coaches.

Another suggestion would be Chiltern services between London Marylebone, Banbury and Birmingham. Some workings are run using Class 67 diesels with MK3 coaches. Details of timings to be found in this thread.

Finally, two workings I'm less sure about are the 'WAG Express' in Wales, a return working between Holyhead and Cardiff - I believe this is currently run with Class 57 diesels and MK2/3 coaches. There are also some Class 67 workings on the Fife circle in Scotland.

The only other locomotive worked passenger journeys are special tours.

--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Ooops! I realised that I forgot the two sleeper services. The Night Riviera from Penzance to London, operated by First Great Western using Class 57s and sleeper coaches. The second is the Caledonian Sleeper, run by Scotrail, using Class 90s from London Euston to Scotland. For stations north of Glasgow and Edinburgh, class 67s are used.

 

[sbbcffffs]

@ Richmond Commu

Thank you. I will take the train on the Settle Carlisle line.
I know London is expensive. Thank you for the tip of the Oyster Card.

Yes, many years ago, a Sleeper used to connect Paris to Interlaken. (Via Pontarlier, Bern).

@ jcollins

Thank you for the routes. I will also make a stop at Delamere Forest, after all those cities fresh air would certainly do any good

@ trentside

Thank you for all those explanations. I didn't know that there were still many trains. Perhaps I should buy the Brit Rail Great Britain and not only the England Pass. But 15 days are not many to visit Wales and Scotland as well.
Norwich will be fine, I'll go there as well as York and from London to Birmingham during the week!

 

[trentside]

Thank you for all those explanations. I didn't know that there were still many trains. Perhaps I should buy the Brit Rail Great Britain and not only the England Pass. But 15 days are not many to visit Wales and Scotland as well.
Norwich will be fine, I'll go there as well as York and from London to Birmingham during the week!

I'm glad the information was useful, sbbcffffs.

If you've got 15 days, you should have enough time to take in Scotland and Wales. Both have absolutely fantastic scenery and I'm sure people on here would be able to recommend the best lines to see this from. Plenty of people on here have done 2 week rail rover tours around the UK - so if you need help planning your trip I'm sure they'll be able to advise you on the best ways to see as much as possible in the time you have.

 

[sbbcffffs]

@ trentside: I will have a see if I can do Wales and Scotland as well.

 

[northwichcat]

@ trentside: I will have a see if I can do Wales and Scotland as well.

Llandudno's a place worth visiting in Wales with a direct service from Chester, which you said you wanted to visit, so you could do Chester-Llandudno and then Llandudno back to Chester before continuing to Liverpool.

I should have added before that the best views of Liverpool's waterfront can be seen from the town of Birkenhead (across the river from Liverpool) so if you travel between Chester and Liverpool by train you may wish to alight at Hamilton Square station (in Birkenhead.) The train itself goes under the River Mersey and the stations either side of the river are underground so you won't get good views on the train itself.

 

[scotsman]

I recommend Scotland and Wales, you'll get bored of 15 days of just England! In Scotland the most scenic railway line is the West Highland Line from Glasgow to Mallaig - it's also the most scenic line in the world, apparently!

 

[northwichcat]

I recommend Scotland and Wales, you'll get bored of 15 days of just England! In Scotland the most scenic railway line is the West Highland Line from Glasgow to Mallaig - it's also the most scenic line in the world, apparently!

It was voted the most scenic line in the world in a British magazine poll, so it was hardly impartial as most Britains aren't familiar with many foreign lines, or even British lines - the Hope Valley came in a BBC top 10 for 'undiscovered beauties' when there's 4-5 trains running through it every hour!

I think the easiest scenic line to do must be Manchester-Huddersfield-Leeds. There's 4 express trains per hour, plus one stopping service per hour on the Manchester-Huddersfield section and 2 stopping trains on the Huddersfield-Leeds section. On some scenic lines there's only a couple of trains per day.

 

[sbbcffffs]

@ jcollins

Yes why not going to Llandudno. When I pass Liverpool I'll make that one, thanks.

@ scotsman

Yes I'm going to buy the Brit Rail Pass for Great Britain, 15 days are enough to see Wales and Scotland as well. I'll go then to Mallaig!
Would you recommend me to do the line to Kyle of Lochalsh or up to Thurso?

Greets

 

[scotsman]

@ jcollins

Yes why not going to Llandudno. When I pass Liverpool I'll make that one, thanks.

@ scotsman

Yes I'm going to buy the Brit Rail Pass for Great Britain, 15 days are enough to see Wales and Scotland as well. I'll go then to Mallaig!
Would you recommend me to do the line to Kyle of Lochalsh or up to Thurso?

Greets

I recommend Kyle, but not Thurso

 

[Cherry_Picker]

I'd go to Paignton. The run from Exeter to Paignton is wonderful in the summer, you run along the coast for ages and Dawlish sea wall (Google it) is quite spectacular. Lovely part of the country too. Torquay is a nice place to spend an afternoon.

 

[daikilo]

Hello Railway Fans

I'm 19 and unfortunately not a British Railway fan yet but I Swiss one. I would like to become a British one and so I will take 15 days off in June to explore a bit England with the Brit Rail Pass England.
I already know a few things which I'm gonna visit like Bath, Oxford, Chester, Blackpool, Liverpool, etc.
But I've got no idea which railway line I have to travel on. Could you give me perhaps a tip what to do/see/visit in England; have you got an exciting railway line; do you even know where I can find a typical train with a locomotive and waggons or do you know a company which still uses elder railway material?
Well, which railway line I shouldn't miss to travel on?

I'm looking forward to hearing some ideas of you and as a little "Thank You" I would like to give you an answer on all your Swiss railway questions. You can write me a PM as well. Please don't hesitate to ask me something!
I'm already saying thank you and hope to get some ideas and hope my English is not too bad either.

Kind regards

Clem

Almost exactly 40 years ago I had exactly your problem for my first vist to Switzerland. I'll avoid the nostalgia but the nearly 2-week stay did focus on the smaller (and higher altitude) lines.

UK rail today is, like SBB, designed to provide a service, not a learning experience. If what you want is to understand what UK rail is all about then I suggest you consider a few runs in main markets such as on key trains, then many on the more interesting parts of the main and historic network.

You name a few towns which I suspect you have identified more for the history of the town than the rail service to them. That said, they all merit a visit.

If I had the pass you plan, I would also include some geographically/geologically interesting journeys such as to a Cornwall branch line, and much of the north Scotland network.

I would also certainly consider many of the narrow-guage and preserved railways which are an integral part of UK rail history. I would certainly include the new Ffestiniog link-up or/and another Welsh or Cumbrian NG railway, and any of the many preserved lines. Most, or at least many can be combined with overnights in the towns you cite.

I also strongly recommend you visit the National Rail Museum in York and/or the London Transport Museum to learn about our history. If you are interested in tramways I would also include Crich or e.g. Blackpool.

Finally, there is a huge amount of historical material about UK rail on the net which I suggest is sometimes even more interesting than to visit the sites as they are today.

You may even want to spend a few minutes understanding bits of our canal system which preceded then competed with the railways.

Rest assured, in a few weeks you will only have a taste. There will be much more to see the next time, and the next time and ...

 

[transportphoto]

an Oyster card. London is expensive and an Oyster card will save you lots of money on the Underground, Overground (main line services close to the city centre) and buses.

Wouldn't the BritRail pass cover overground?

 

[Gordon]

It was voted the most scenic line in the world in a British magazine poll, so it was hardly impartial as most Britains aren't familiar with many foreign lines, or even British lines -

I'm biased as a total Swiss-o-phile, but the Mallaig line certainly has beautiful scenery in its own context, but would it beat places like Zermatt in a true, balanced worldwide poll?

eg:

other Zermatt photos:

http://gwizz.zenfolio.com/p420418482

http://www.flickr.com/photos/59671832@N08/sets/72157626534990930/

http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d112/josage


cheers

Gordon

 

[acquiesce]

Hello Railway Fans

I'm 19 and unfortunately not a British Railway fan yet but I Swiss one. I would like to become a British one and so I will take 15 days off in June to explore a bit England with the Brit Rail Pass England.
I already know a few things which I'm gonna visit like Bath, Oxford, Chester, Blackpool, Liverpool, etc.
But I've got no idea which railway line I have to travel on. Could you give me perhaps a tip what to do/see/visit in England; have you got an exciting railway line; do you even know where I can find a typical train with a locomotive and waggons or do you know a company which still uses elder railway material?
Well, which railway line I shouldn't miss to travel on?

I'm looking forward to hearing some ideas of you and as a little "Thank You" I would like to give you an answer on all your Swiss railway questions. You can write me a PM as well. Please don't hesitate to ask me something!
I'm already saying thank you and hope to get some ideas and hope my English is not too bad either.

Kind regards

Clem

The North York Moors railway.

R

 

[317653]

Hadley Wood is a good place to visit if, and also HS1 (High Speed1) runs between Ashford Internationald and St Pancras International

 

[Zamracene749]

If you'd like try something a little different from that available in Switzerland, you might like to try the Cumbrian coast line between Carlisle-Whitehaven- Barrow and Lancaster. Pretty much hugs the coast for a lot of the journey, with fine sea and mountain vistas throughout. Dont miss the east coast mainline between Newcastle and Edinburgh (sit on the right heading north) too.
Other than that, West Highland line to Mallaig, the Settle and Carlisle line and the sea wall between Exeter and Plymouth are some of the best already mentioned.

For another more unusual route, try the line from Cleethorpes to Barton- on Humber. Very flat and rural, followed by a trip over the magnificent Humber bridge on the connecting double decker to Hull!

There are many many more of course

 

[sbbcffffs]

@ daikilo

That's true there's always something to be seen. Of course I'll do the Cornish lines to Penzance and the branches to Falmouth and St Ives
I'll do the Bruenau-Ffestiniog branche as well. I'll even take the little train from Porthmadog to Ffestiniog

@ transportphoto

I think so.

@ Gordon

I'll do the Maillag line.

@ acquiese + @ 317653

Thanks for the tips. I'll have a see if I can do those ones as well.

@ beermaddavep

I'll do the Carlisle Whitehaven Barrow line but as I saw they're doing some construction on a viaduc on the south of the line.
I'll travel from Edinburgh to Newcastle when I will have done Scotland.
I thought of walking on the viaduct cause it's the worldwide longest viaduct you can do by foot.

@Cherry Picker

I haven't got the time to do that one as well, but thanks.

@ scotsman

Thank you


Does somebody know the timings of the WAG Express. On the internet I can't find the timings of this timetable period. I think:
Cardiff depart:16.15 Holyhead arrive: 20.49
Holyhead depart: 5.32 Cardiff arrive: 9.58
only on weekdays.
Are they still with the old Class 57 and the MK 2 / 3 coaches?

Greets

 

[Spaceflower]

Leeds - Carlisle is A MUST!

There is the World heritage site at Saltaire, The Worth Valley steam line at Keighley, Ribbleshead is a tribute to great British grit and determination and is a short walk from Blea Moor, which is a very surreal and bleak place. Then there is Appleby, which has its own dedicated railway museum. Most other stations along this line are managed primarily for tourist traffic and the line is reputably the most scenic in England, with many viaducts and tunnels. Leeds and Carlisle stations at either end are network hubs and offer many interesting traction as well as good connections for onward travel.

 

[Gordon]

I thought of walking on the viaduct cause it's the worldwide longest viaduct you can do by foot.

The Humber Bridge is well worth doing on foot, and it is quite convenient with the approach roads being close to Barton upon Humber station and Hessle station.

Google Maps doesn’t recognise that there is a walkway across the bridge, so rather amusingly offers a 19 – 26 hour marathon walk inland around the creeks of the estuary!

On arrival in Hull, you could take the railway up the coast (although actual coastal views are limited as it stays just inland mostly) from Hull to Scarborough via Bridlington and Filey.

It’s worth stopping off at either Bridlington or Filey which are both very typical ‘ordinary’ English seaside resorts. Scarborough is also typically English but rather larger and more impersonal.

I don’t know if you are interested in ornithology (bird watching), but along that line also is Bempton, which has high cliffs famous for seabirds, within walking distance of the small rural Bempton station:
http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/b/bemptoncliffs/index.aspx


Just a small linguistic note, although it is a very long/large bridge, suspension bridges like this are normally referred to as bridges in everyday English. You will not generally hear any talk about the ‘Humber Viaduct’.



.

 

[185]

British version of Jungfraujoch = Snowdon Mountain Railway
British version GoldenPass = Settle & Carlisle Railway
British version of Clockwork/On time Swiss Railways = Island Line (who have 1 train)

 

[Gordon]

British version of Jungfraujoch = Snowdon Mountain Railway
British version GoldenPass = Settle & Carlisle Railway

I like the concept of finding equivalents but have to disagree.

I'm not sure there can ever be a British equivalent to the Jungfraujoch, where the summit station is 3471 metres asl, almost three times higher than the highest mountain in the British Isles (Ben Nevis @ 1344m) and over three times higher than Snowdon.

The Swiss equivalent of the Snowdon Mountain Railway is the Brienzer Rothorn Bahn (in fact it’s exactly the same…) and the Jungfrau line is not really like anything else having so much in tunnel inside the mountain.

Not sure about the Settle – Carlisle vs Goldenpass, as the Goldenpass features a lot of lake views. I’d say Glasgow – Mallaig would be a closer equivalent, and Perth Inverness crosses a mountain pass (Druimuachdar) more akin to continental European routes.

There is another ‘Swiss type’ mountain line in the UK and that is the Cairngorm funicular.



.

 

[sbbcffffs]

Thanks Gordon for all the advices. Unfortunately I haven't got the time to do the Hull Scarborough line.

Equivalents are nice but I think/hope every line is unique.

I've finished now the organisation of my trip. If someone evince interest in my journey plan let me know.

 

[EltonRoad]

Please post it, thanks.

 

[TGVDUDE]

@ trentside: I will have a see if I can do Wales and Scotland as well.

if your heading to Birmingham, you could go across to Shrewsbury & then down the Heart of Wales line to Swansea for a HST back into England, however that line takes alot of time, or even get the WAG Loco Hauled back up to Shrewsbury, hope you have fun on your travels

 

[RichmondCommu]

Thanks Gordon for all the advices. Unfortunately I haven't got the time to do the Hull Scarborough line.

Equivalents are nice but I think/hope every line is unique.

I've finished now the organisation of my trip. If someone evince interest in my journey plan let me know.

I think everyone would be interested to read that so go ahead and post! I hope you enjoy your trip and i hope you have the weather!

As an aside be prepared for many different dialects in the UK! For instance people in the north of England often sound very different to say those living in London (where i live) although we all speak the same language!

 

[sbbcffffs]

Hello

It took me a little time to write down all the times and destinations in a textdocument. But now here it is:

There where you have got a wide gap of time, I'll visit the place/town/city. In a further step I'm going to add in the document what I'm going to visit. (Unfortunately I couldn't consider every piece of advice you gave me. Sorry about that.)
But now there is the most interesting thing in it.

 

[sbbcffffs]

Hello again

Well, now I did my trip throughout your marvellous country. I saw a lot of different things, cultures, people, English accents and a lot lot more.

I attach a PDF document (it's better than the old world document I used before) with the lines I really did. As you might know things never come as we planned it. But there are no big differences betweeen my plannings and what I did. I know I did a lot of miles, but I would do this all again. Just wonderful!


By the way: Your trains are as punctual as they are in Switzerland!! The train from Birmingham N.S. towards Chester which is supposed to leave on 17.36 left 17.34!!
Only two delays and one serious delay, all other trains on time. Well done!

It was a real adventure! Sometimes I felt as I was in the 1950. On some lines they securise it with token. Between Par and Newquay (I really love this line) two times the train stops to give the token to the signal box.
Or even on the Carlisle - Grang over Sands line there is someone who closes a gate instead an automatical barrier. Such things I've seen many times. I really like this, that's still neat railway.

Let me know if you want some photos (of a specific part) or of the beautiful countryside. I took over a thousand of them.

Thanks again for your help!

PS: The city I liked most was Edinburgh, that's why I spontaneously returned on my last day with the sleeper.