Favourite Station

[The_Rail_WAy]

My favourite preserved station would have to bury Bolton Street:

(1) Wide variety of steam/diesel locos
(2) Wide varety of coaching stock
(3) Good view of yard
(4) Plenty of passing locos
(5) Good facilities

I also like Haverthwaite (Cumbria) - they have a shed where you can have a look at some of the locos while you wait. Aslo in a good location.

 

[Gizmogle]

I've noticed people have mentioned Leeds and Edinburgh Waverley as their favourite stations.

These are two stations that I really quite dislike. Waverley is a beautiful station, but it's impossible to navigate your way around if you're not too familiar with it. Same goes for Leeds, I just find that it's too big and there's too many platforms all over the place.
They both confuse the hell out of me and I dread changing trains at them.

 

[william]

Whatshotjimmi I will start the ball rolling with Leeds. The perfect example of how a modern station should be. Though I will admit that Manchester Piccadilly comes close.

Giz I've noticed people have mentioned Leeds and Edinburgh Waverley as their favourite stations.

Giz These are two stations that I really quite dislike.

Ditto giz. Sorry whatshotjimmi, dont want to offend, but leeds is the worst station i have ever visited, it just has no atmosphere whatsover a bit like Sunderland today. IMO these stations are designed primarily for efficiency, even though its human beings who use them.
Durham is a favourite of mine. Yes it is my local but it is a very pleasant place to wait. Further afield I'd say Kings cross heading inwards; when you get off the train and the sun beams straight in through the large glass window beyond the buffers. Theres alot to be learned from those Victorians.

Darlington is another station I like, very traveller friendly. Apart from Leeds and Sunderland and BelfastCentral there are very few stations I have visited which i dislike. I' m avoiding commenting on small basic stations, because they are just that.

 

[spoony]

I love all the little quaint stations on the Esk Valley line

 

[william]

Star of the show?

 

[spoony]

Star of the show?

I like them all, but Glaisdale is good. I imagine that a lot of country stations which are now gone would have looked like that, ie station house on a single platform.

 

[whoshotjimmi]

Same goes for Leeds, I just find that it's too big and there's too many platforms all over the place.

Ditto giz. Sorry whatshotjimmi, dont want to offend, but leeds is the worst station i have ever visited, it just has no atmosphere whatsover a bit like Sunderland today

Just for the record, it is whoshotjimmi

No offence taken whatsoever as this is purely about everyone's opinion! As you may have read, I had a go at Keighley station myself!

Maybe I should explain my reasoning. Changing at any large station can be a bit of a nightmare, especially if one is unfamiliar with it. As far as that is concerned, I think Leeds does it pretty well; Platform 1 on the right and platform 17 on the left - straightforward enough. As for atmosphere, I agree. You don't step out onto the platform at Leeds and feel warm and fuzzy in the same way you do at Darlington for example. I am a true fan of the great architecture on offer at some of our stations. And yes, we can learn much from the Victorians. The trainsheds at Paddington, St. Pancras, York and Darlington are testament to that. Personally, in that respect, my favourite is Newcastle as it is the only one that retains its true originality.

However, I think the Victorians could learn a lot from us. And that is why I chose Leeds. Yes, it is built for efficiency, but that is what makes the modern railway work so well. Passengers get to wait in a clean, spacious, well and naturally lit environment with plenty of shops and eating establishments both land and trackside. Trains heading west do not conflict - the holy grail of the modern network - and are clean, tidy, smart in appearance and, on the whole, punctual. It is also not overcrowded, despite being the busiest station in England outside London, something that cannot be levelled at the rather more cramped and compact Manchester Piccadilly, hence my decision to put it into 2nd place though I will concede the atmosphere at Piccadilly is superior.

As a passenger and rail enthusiast, the standard of service that Leeds provides cannot be matched anywhere else and a quality service is the most important factor in modern rail travel.

 

[william]

Leeds is a money pit.

Leeds facilitates movement 'in' and 'out', like all big stations, but lacks the welcoming atmosphere of some. Yes it busy, it needs to do this and changing trains is very simple and easy, but waiting for one...., that's where the quality of service is lacking.

 

[Daimler]

In London, I'd have to go for St. Pancras because of its all-out grandeur and fabulous roof, although I do feel it's a bit empty up where the Eurostars are - especially seeing as you can't get up close to them properly - the glass walls make it seem a little impersonal. However, the trainshed and Midland Hotel make minor things like that easy to forgive (having said that, I'm only counting the old section as St. Pancras. EMT's area is awful!).

I also love Marylebone - it feels so quiet and civilised, and with the arrival of WSMR has some of the most interesting trains on the network. Marylebone feels almost personal as a station - it's welcoming.

Outside of London, I'd have to go for York - at least it still has regular loco-hauled trains, and the station has a great old-fashioned feel. I enjoyed Shrewsbury station too - even if it seems run-down in some places. As has already been mentioned, the semaphores and signal box take some beating!

Plenty of other smaller stations are nice too - Chalfont & Latimer on Chiltern's Aylesbury line springs to mind, but for a proper country station only a preserved line can hope to compete - Quorn & Woodhouse, Horsted Keynes, and Arley/Hampton Loade stations are all wonderful, especially the last two during the SVR's all-night gala .

EDIT: I've just remembered Ribblehead station, which I only first saw a few weeks ago - it was dusk after a sunny day, and freezing cold with a strong wind, but the cold just added to the incredible atmosphere of the place.

 

[90019]

Waverley is a beautiful station, but it's impossible to navigate your way around if you're not too familiar with it.

I know that I'm familiar with it, but it's always seemed to me to be pretty well signposted where the platforms are, with the only confusing ones being 1 & 2 and 19 & 20 (because of the signs on the far side on platfroms 1 and 20 making people think 19 is 20 and 2 is 1), and 8 and 9 because of them being effectively separated from the rest of the station.
Meh, I dunno, maybe it is confusing to some, but I suppose all stations are to a point

 

[Gizmogle]

Hmm, see with most stations, if you need to make a quickish connection you can just make your way to the right platform without needing to follow signs. A good station is when you end up on the right platform with no effort at all.

Waverley is definitely not one of these stations. I always end up going the wrong way, or ending up on a part of the station that isn't even attached to the actual station!
I've even had people ask me where the train station is! They were inside it!

 

[90019]

Heh, fair enough, I suppose I can understand why parts of it could be confusing

 

[whoshotjimmi]

I think Waverley can confuse most people; as I walked out of the station on my last visit there, a man in a kilt played the bagpipes on one side of the road, whilst an Asian woman played a harp on the other. Very surreal. It definitely confused me!

 

[Proud Salopian]

I enjoyed Shrewsbury station too - even if it seems run-down in some places. As has already been mentioned, the semaphores and signal box take some beating!

I forgot to mention in my earlier post in this thread that Shrewsbury also now has, after years of being DMU kingdom, a good number of loco-hauled services, with Wrexham & Shropshire and now Arriva's WAG express. We're witnessing a steady improvement in our railway fortunes in Shrewsbury, with the ERTMS 97/3s based here soon and more freight to pass through with Telford's new railfreight terminal.

 

[MCR247]

I forgot to mention in my earlier post in this thread that Shrewsbury also now has, after years of being DMU kingdom, a good number of loco-hauled services, with Wrexham & Shropshire and now Arriva's WAG express. We're witnessing a steady improvement in our railway fortunes in Shrewsbury, with the ERTMS 97/3s based here soon and more freight to pass through with Telford's new railfreight terminal.

Sorry but whats that?

 

[Proud Salopian]

The WAG Express is the nickname for the Arriva Trains Wales express service (subsidised by the Welsh Assembly Government - hence WAG) from Holyhead to Cardiff (morning) and Cardiff to Holyhead (evening). The train consists of two Class 57s, in stunning Arriva livery (I was surprised at how good they ended up looking) and mark 2/3 coaches. Goes via Shrewsbury and Crewe (not Wrexham). Weekdays only.

http://daviddawson.fotopic.net/p55300046.html

Hopefully this will continue into the new timetable and maybe an increase to 2 trains each way per weekday.

 

[MCR247]

Oh right. Forgot about the Arriva 57 service. I didnt know it went through Sherwsbury.
Thanks for the info

 

[4SRKT]

My vote goes to Carlisle Citadel. A fantastic facade, a nice Big Station feel, and lots of memories from my youth of traction interest. Class 40s a plenty, and class 27s on the GSW line services to Glasgow.

 

[Trains06]

My vote goes to Carlisle Citadel. A fantastic facade, a nice Big Station feel, and lots of memories from my youth of traction interest. Class 40s a plenty, and class 27s on the GSW line services to Glasgow.

Carlisle is awesome :roll:

 

[generalvegitable]

My favorite station i would have to say is Wolverton, because its quiet, friendly, and its my local station

 

[Gizmogle]

My vote goes to Carlisle Citadel. A fantastic facade, a nice Big Station feel, and lots of memories from my youth of traction interest. Class 40s a plenty, and class 27s on the GSW line services to Glasgow.

However does have rather a large amount of feces on the tracks of the platforms.

 

[me123]

Hmm, see with most stations, if you need to make a quickish connection you can just make your way to the right platform without needing to follow signs. A good station is when you end up on the right platform with no effort at all.

Waverley is definitely not one of these stations. I always end up going the wrong way, or ending up on a part of the station that isn't even attached to the actual station!
I've even had people ask me where the train station is! They were inside it!

It can be a bit confusing, yes, but I still quite like it It's actually really simple when you get the hang of it; numbered down one side then up the other. Although I've always wondered why on earth they missed 5 and 6 :?

The one thing that annoys me is the 1300 GLQ-EDB service and return (and any other Eastbound services that use Platform 7). I fail to see why the train has to go almost to the end of the platform, making us all walk back several train lengths to the end of the platform. I'm sure they have their reasons, but Platform 7 need not have the 3-car stop so far down! People were asking staff for another train back to Edinburgh. Now I know what Platform 11a 12 at Glasgow feels like!

(In this picture, it stops at the signal of the platform on the other side of the 90!

Other than that, I like the station

 

[90019]

It can be a bit confusing, yes, but I still quite like it It's actually really simple when you get the hang of it; numbered down one side then up the other. Although I've always wondered why on earth they missed 5 and 6 :?

(In this picture, it stops at the signal of the platform on the other side of the 90!

They didn't miss 5 and 6 out, they were the old motorail platforms, where the 90 is sitting in that picture.
If you go and look, the ramps are still there from when they were used for that, and up until recently the motorail signs were still there for the car park next to them (I think they've been taken down now, but I'm not sure)
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

The one thing that annoys me is the 1300 GLQ-EDB service and return (and any other Eastbound services that use Platform 7). I fail to see why the train has to go almost to the end of the platform, making us all walk back several train lengths to the end of the platform. I'm sure they have their reasons, but Platform 7 need not have the 3-car stop so far down! People were asking staff for another train back to Edinburgh. Now I know what Platform 11a 12 at Glasgow feels like!

It'll be because the platform's curved, and the signal is up at the end so they can fit longer trains onto it, so shorter trains have to go further up. Because if they stopped them much further down, the signal wouldn't be visible.

 

[jopsuk]

It'll be because the platform's curved, and the signal is up at the end so they can fit longer trains onto it, so shorter trains have to go further up. Because if they stopped them much further down, the signal wouldn't be visible.

With forethought though they would have installed banner repeaters along the platform during the resignalling project to allow shorter trains to stop closer to the main concourse.

 

[me123]

They didn't miss 5 and 6 out, they were the old motorail platforms, where the 90 is sitting in that picture.
If you go and look, the ramps are still there from when they were used for that, and up until recently the motorail signs were still there for the car park next to them (I think they've been taken down now, but I'm not sure)

But they're not numbered, and not used for passengers.

It'll be because the platform's curved, and the signal is up at the end so they can fit longer trains onto it, so shorter trains have to go further up. Because if they stopped them much further down, the signal wouldn't be visible.

But the train was reversing and going back to Glasgow, so why did it need to go all the way to the end and why did we need to walk all the way back? I can see why it's a good position for Fife-Newcraighall through services, but for a terminating train there was no need to go right to the end of the platform.

In fact, would it not be easier to see the West signal if there's a curve?

 

[TEW]

My favourite station is Bristol Temple Meads, lovely Brunel roof and a brilliant atmosphere.

 

[90019]

But they're not numbered, and not used for passengers.

No, but if you look at the station layout, they fit in perfectly between 4 and 7. And I guess they probably were numbered in the past when there still motorail services loading/unloading there.

 

[route:oxford]

Wemyss Bay.

Love the curves, the ironwork and the sheer practicality of disembarking from the train and walking down to meet the boat.

 

[dojo]

I've not read through the entire thread so I'm not sure if I'm allowed to choose a DLR station, but if I can, it has to be Canary Wharf. It's just uber-modern, got shopping facilities right next to it, feels really big (even though it's only '6' platforms) and, well, I just love going through it. For NR, probably has to be Manchester Piccadilly or St. Pancras.

 

[robert2000]

Welshpool, lol