GB Station extremities- highest, lowest etc

[theironroad]

Some very interesting, and detailed, replies. Thanks.

Certainly defining where to take the measurement from makes it complicated.

I would say an entrance point, but not all stations have a very well defined one.

If every station only had one of the official station totem signs (I'm thinking the red BR style insignia with station name underneath) then that could be a common marker (the base) but I think some have more than one and some are at ends of road a little way from the actual station.

Anyway, fair to say there's a few contenders!

 

[alangla]

Given the op's request for no underground stations, that discounts the ELL, Argyll and North Clyde underground stations.

Exhibition Centre might be an interesting one though. It’s on the surface & pretty much level with the roads to the south with not much of a hill down to the river. Different story to the north obviously. You’d need to look at some very old maps to see what the lie of the land originally was there given that area used to be extensive docks which were then filled in for the SECC, so the “engineering” in that area may well have removed a substantial bit of hill!

 

[OneOffDave]

Berney Arms is at -0.3m AOD according to a couple of sources and OS mapping puts it at the Datum

 

[Deepgreen]

LU's highest is Amersham.

 

[CEN60]

Dundee is indeed in a cutting below ground level. The north end of the platforms slope down into the dock street tunnel, which has a track heigh minimum of something like 20ft below the ground level. Wether the station sits below sea level itself is probably a matter for an accurate surveyor, but the given height of +13ft would be for the station building.

If I remember correctly, one of the three Welsh stations on the marshes might be up there for the lowest ground level. Fairbourne, Morfa Mawddach and Borth all sit perilously close to sea level, and Fairbourne being the first place in Britain to be essentially surrendered to the sea might mean it's in with a shot.

Obviously City Thameslink is probably the closest mainline station in central London to sea level, but as mentioned up thread, discounting the central London underground stations.

From 1st hand experience of surveying Dock St Tunnel at Dundee - ther used to be a yellow line on the tunnel wall with 0m Datum on it!

 

[Royston Posh]

That same Magic mapping has Berney Arms Station sitting right on 0m.

 

[MadMac]

Something that may provide a guideline is the often-surprising fact that the highest senior football ground in England, although I believe it lost the title fairly recently, is/was West Brom's Hawthorns.

 

[Glenn1969]

Dent station claims to be the highest mainline station in England according to its website

 

[Jack Hay]

Dent station claims to be the highest mainline station in England according to its website

I am sure it is, but surprisingly the S&C isn't the highest railway line in England. That title goes to the Hindlow branch in Derbyshire, which is freight-only.

 

[Julia]

The farmland around Shippea Hill is certainly below sea level - both road and railway are elevated slightly. You might not be able to detect the hill but the name Shippea derives from it historically being an island...

Meanwhile, does "rails actually *in* UK coastal waters" count for anything? If so... https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/17811456.history-brightons-strangest-seaside-railway/

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Something that may provide a guideline is the often-surprising fact that the highest senior football ground in England, although I believe it lost the title fairly recently, is/was West Brom's Hawthorns.

Where else? Silverlands, Buxton, perhaps?

 

[backontrack]

The extremities of our *closed* stations:

Northernmost - Hoy
Westernmost - Lech-a-Vuie Platform
Southernmost - Helston
Easternmost - Lowestoft North

 

[Bald Rick]

Something that may provide a guideline is the often-surprising fact that the highest senior football ground in England, although I believe it lost the title fairly recently, is/was West Brom's Hawthorns.

Think you’re confusing that with the location hosting the worst football team in England.

 

[TheSeeker]

What about station on the steepest incline?

 

[AM9]

Yes, but the real climbers are the Tattenham Corner branch from Coulsdon Town and the Oxted line from Sanderstead, with the Caterham branch from Kenley and the SE main line from Petts Wood also beating Crystal Palace (the first station I list is around the 80m contour in each case).

I would think that Knockholt is the highest station in the GLA at 123m track level.

What about station on the steepest incline?

City Thameslink at 1:27 (southern end)

 

[Parham Wood]

Not the lowest but some of Dawlish, Dawlish Warren, Starcross, some Exmouth line stations, Ferryside, Pembrey and even Carmarthen (almost) would appear close to or under 5m.

 

[AM9]

Some very interesting, and detailed, replies. Thanks.

Certainly defining where to take the measurement from makes it complicated.

I would say an entrance point, but not all stations have a very well defined one.

If every station only had one of the official station totem signs (I'm thinking the red BR style insignia with station name underneath) then that could be a common marker (the base) but I think some have more than one and some are at ends of road a little way from the actual station.

Anyway, fair to say there's a few contenders!

If we're talking about the lowest point, then the height of the track next to the platforms seems right. So many stations have their 'entrances' on road overbridges. Sheerness-on-Sea is 2m ASL there.

 

[backontrack]

Whittlesea might be a contender for lowest surface station.

 

[thenorthern]

Dent is the highest station in England.

In the United Kingdom as a whole the Westernmost station is Londonderry.

Slightly off topic but as far as I know Calderstones Hospital in Whalley, Lancashire is the center of Great Britain so I assume that Whalley is the most central station.

Church Flatts Farm near Coton in the Elms, Derbyshire is the furthest point from the sea, the nearest station to there is Polesworth so I assume that Polesworth is the station that is furthest from the sea.

 

[backontrack]

...so I assume that Polesworth is the station that is furthest from the sea.

Let's see if that's still the answer in ten years!

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Where else? Silverlands, Buxton, perhaps?

Harrogate Town could be the new highest football league stadium- the only way I can see that WBA would lose their title would be a team being promoted up from non-league. Of the two new members, Harrogate will be higher than Barrow.

(Sorry for continuing the off-topic).

 

[YorksLad12]

Harrogate Town could be the new highest football league stadium- the only way I can see that WBA would lose their title would be a team being promoted up from non-league. Of the two new members, Harrogate will be higher than Barrow.

(Sorry for continuing the off-topic).

Bringing it slightly back on-topic; if Railway had been promoted instead of Town we could have included Starbeck for consideration - the two being next to each other

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

What about station on the steepest incline?

Are stations allowed to be on inclines?

 

[pdeaves]

Are stations allowed to be on inclines?

Any station not on dead level track is on some sort of an incline. Since Victorian days, thousands have been built on non-level track. Modern rules discourage anything other than level, but it is still possible provided that the risks are understood and suitably mitigated.

In other areas, Princetown (on Dartmoor) used to be England's highest station until it closed. Wales' current highest is, I believe, Llangynllo. Does anyone know the altitude? Some other facts and figures at http://www.railwaycodes.org.uk/stations/trivia.shtm#elevation

 

[BarryD]

Wales' current highest is, I believe, Llangynllo. Does anyone know the altitude?

Looks like about 295 metres, from the OS map. Surprisingly, this is higher than Sugar Loaf halt on the same line.

 

[etr221]

The highest station in Wales, apart from those on the Snowdon Mountain Railway, is (I believe) Whistle Inn, on the Pontypool and Blaenavon, at about 390m or 1300 feet. The other end of the line (a bit below below Blaenavon High Level (!)) is still significantly above 300m (maybe 320m).

LU's highest is Amersham.

TfL have released a spreadsheet of 'Station depths' (I think I found it on an FOI response).
Highest is, as you say, Amersham, which has 'ground level outside station' (GLOS) quoted as 145m, rail level as 149.3m.

Lowest by GLOS is West Ham, at 1m. Rail level for Jubilee Line is 1.2m, for District 4.7m (NR LTS will be similar)
Canning Town has GLOS of 2m, Jubilee Line rail level 0m.
20 other stations have GLOS of less than 5m, including Waterloo (4m), where Jubilee line rail level is -26m.

Lowest rail level for a sub-surface line (District, etc) is -3m at Victoria (GLOS 4.6m)
7 other other sub-surface stations (all District line) have rail levels <0m; both Gloucester Road and South Kensington have rail levels of 0m, GLOS 7m.
Kensington (Olympia) has GLOS of 4m, rail level 2.1m - National Rail will be about the same, and I don't think has been mentioned above (surprise!)
Plaistow seems to another 'low' ground level (apparently) station, with a rail level of 2.4m. While GLOS is given as 9m, that will for station entrance, which is up on an overbridge.

(All heights are above ODN)

 

[Kingston Dan]

Dent is the highest station in England.

In the United Kingdom as a whole the Westernmost station is Londonderry.

Slightly off topic but as far as I know Calderstones Hospital in Whalley, Lancashire is the center of Great Britain so I assume that Whalley is the most central station.

Church Flatts Farm near Coton in the Elms, Derbyshire is the furthest point from the sea, the nearest station to there is Polesworth so I assume that Polesworth is the station that is furthest from the sea.

How would Polesworth compare to Newtonmore or Kingussie?

 

[Bald Rick]

Church Flatts Farm near Coton in the Elms, Derbyshire is the furthest point from the sea, the nearest station to there is Polesworth so I assume that Polesworth is the station that is furthest from the sea.

Burton on Trent station is closer to the ‘furthest from the sea’ point than Polesworth. However, I’m not sure which of those (or Tamworth) is closer to the sea, as I’m not sure what counts as ‘the sea’ !

How would Polesworth compare to Newtonmore or Kingussie?

Polesworth is over 70 miles from the sea, Newtonmore / Kingussie less than 40.

 

[S&CLER]

Dent is the highest station in England.

In the United Kingdom as a whole the Westernmost station is Londonderry.

Slightly off topic but as far as I know Calderstones Hospital in Whalley, Lancashire is the center of Great Britain so I assume that Whalley is the most central station.

Church Flatts Farm near Coton in the Elms, Derbyshire is the furthest point from the sea, the nearest station to there is Polesworth so I assume that Polesworth is the station that is furthest from the sea.

I've also heard the title of most central point in the GB mainland awarded to the telephone kiosk at Dunsop Bridge in the Forest of Bowland.

 

[norbitonflyer]

Calderstones Hospital in Whalley, Lancashire is the centre of Great Britain so I assume that Whalley is the most central station.

There are several definitions of the centroid.

Caldesrtones is the centre of the British mainland. If you include islands (and several islands have railways on them, such as Wight, Sheppey, Anglesey, the centroid moves about twelve miles further north, to Whitendale Hanging Stones near Dunsop Bridge. The nearest station to Dunsop Bridge is Clitheroe, but the stones are several miles north of the village and their nearest station is Bentham on the Lancaster-Hellifield line.

Haltwhistle also claims to be the centre of Britain