Least used electrified mainline

[route101]

Ardrossan Harbour Branch, hourly at best.

Springburn, Ashfield Junction too.

 

[nw1]

Dorking to Horsham is now down to one train per hour. Used to be the main line way from London to Bognor etc.

Was less than that for much of the eighties: peak hour only extensions of Dorking services IIRC, with the intermediate stations having peak-hour only service.

Ockley has (or was, in 2014 when I visited) a remarkably characterful remote branch-line feel for a station in the south-east, and thankfully has (or had, in 2014, and presume still has from the comment above) an hourly service, albeit one which abruptly stopped around 18:00 on a Saturday, which could catch you out if you were using it as a start/end point for a walk.

 

[Ianno87]

There'll be loads of international examples. For example the Paris-Orleans-Limoges-Toulouse classic line has only a handful of daily services on some sections.

 

[Carlisle]

I seem to remember that once Carnforth train crew depot had closed, these trains seemed to change locos at Preston.

Carnforth Traincrew depot only closed around 14 years ago, but perhaps sectorisation meant they lost the work you refer to long before that .

 

[xotGD]

From Newcastle over the High Level Bridge and round the back of the site of Gateshead depot to King Edward Bridge Junction. Generally only used for turning sets in terms of electric traction.

 

[800001]

Too many candidates here.. triangles out there with no workings, for example the actual mainline at Dinting - platform 1 is about 4 a day, do they count.

Just to get a Woodhead answer into every trivia question. They score double points.

Or the south curve at Carstairs. Less than hourly.

Actual multi-mile mainline?

The almost complete Church Fenton to Colton J. Only TPE's 802s can do it, and there is 1 or less an hour each way.

Even Edinburgh to Newcastle is mostly 1 an hour each way.

Ignoring Covid, Newcastle to Edinburgh is 3 electric trains per hour each way, 1 x TPE and 2 X Lner.

 

[D6130]

Carnforth Traincrew depot only closed around 14 years ago, but perhaps sectorisation meant they lost the work you refer to long before that .

Yes....sorry, I could have phrased that better. It became a Trainload Freight only depot on sectorisation in the mid-1990s.

Ignoring Covid, Newcastle to Edinburgh is 3 electric trains per hour each way, 1 x TPE and 1 X Lner.

Err....is that not only two electric trains per hour?

 

[satisnek]

What about the Colwich Junction - Stone line at the moment?. Many of the London - Manchester services are going via Crewe.

This has got to be the oddest bit of line on the post-Beeching network! I can only assume that it was electrified to cater for heavy freight traffic running south from the Potteries back in the day, because up until the WCML modernisation there was just one passenger train per hour in each direction. As of 2019 that frequency has doubled but there's hardly any freight that I could see. And said modernisation seems to have passed it by - it's still stuck in a peculiar sub-100mph 1960s timewarp.

Apart from the disadvantage of loading an extra 2tph onto the double track section through Shugborough Tunnel it strikes me that the Norton Bridge flyover has rendered it largely redundant.

 

[800001]

Yes....sorry, I could have phrased that better. It became a Trainload Freight only depot on sectorisation in the mid-1990s.


Err....is that not only two electric trains per hour?

Yes....sorry, I could have phrased that better. It became a Trainload Freight only depot on sectorisation in the mid-1990s.


Err....is that not only two electric trains per hour?

Err..... Its a typo by me, tpe x 1 tph, lner x 2 per hour!!!

 

[billio]

There'll be loads of international examples. For example the Paris-Orleans-Limoges-Toulouse classic line has only a handful of daily services on some sections.

The line from Nessargues to Beziers is electrified and once had main line services. There are no through passenger trains, the first part is by coach and then emu from Saint Chely d'Apcher. One service a day. This removes the possibility of travelling over the Garabit Viaduct.
The only trains running on the northern part of the line carry unprocessed and processed steel coils to and from the steelworks at Saint Chely.

 

[Andyjs247]

Err..... Its a typo by me, tpe x 1 tph, lner x 2 per hour!!!

But still only 2 electric trains per hour in places (LNER) - notably the section between Chathill and Longniddry with TPE being required to run on diesel until such time as the power supply upgrades are completed.

 

[Carlisle]

Yes....sorry, I could have phrased that better. It became a Trainload Freight only depot on sectorisation in the mid-1990s.

Ok cheers, I remember that often long line of class 31s berthed in the siding next to the depot .

 

[Alfie1014]

The Harwich branch, which immediately after electrification had loco hauled passenger trains to London and briefly Edinburgh/Glasgow plus diesel hauled trains to Manchester, the freight services were busier too with liners (some electrically hauled). Whereas today the COVID level of service is an hourly EMU shuttle from Manningtree plus a few extras in the peak/boat trains and the bi-modes to meet the Dutch ferries. Regular freight traffic is just the condensate tanks from North Walsham, the High Output Ballast trains for part of the year and the occasional liner berthed here when Felixstowe is full when having capacity problems.

 

[snowball]

Well, if we're talking about branches there's the Grangemouth branch.

 

[Watershed]

What about the Colwich Junction - Stone line at the moment?. Many of the London - Manchester services are going via Crewe.

Also, the Aston - Stechford section of the WCML?

Quite the reverse, actually. Avanti only had a handful of route retention London-Manchester via Crewe trains each day between December/January(?) and the May timetable change.

Whereas the London-Manchester via Stoke service continued even through the deepest, darkest depths of lockdown, albeit at 1tph instead of 2.

 

[thenorthern]

Bescot Stadium to Wolverhampton has several Avanti services timetabled to run that way if you class that as the mainline.

I know for many years the East Coast Main Line between Newcastle and Edinburgh was carrying so little electric traffic that one of the operators (GNER I think) suggested deactivating the electrification between the two stations.

 

[Springs Branch]

The original WCML electrification around Crewe, Liverpool, etc got very profligate in how far they wired down the various side lines.........

When the WCML electrification was extended from Weaver Jn to Scotland in the early 1970s, BR also electrified the 3½ mile alternative route between Winwick and Golborne Jns via Earlestown and Newton-le-Willows.

Apart from presumably very occasional diversionary use when the direct line was closed, these wires went unscraped for 40-odd years until they were incorporated into the Chat Moss electrification in the past decade.

I wonder if authorisation of the original Earlestown OHLE was related to the former Motorail terminal at Newton-le-Willows? This was in operation at the time the northern WCML electrification was planned & approved (presumably in the very late 1960s) with services to/from Scotland and the West Country.
Unfortunately those particular Motorail trains were withdrawn just before the wires were energised in 1973, so never saw an electrically-hauled departure (although, IIRC, the two Motorail sidings at NLW were wired).

 

[Dai Corner]

The Relief lines between Cardiff and Severn Tunnel Junction have never carried a revenue-earning electric train as far as I'm aware.

 

[Watershed]

The Relief lines between Cardiff and Severn Tunnel Junction have never carried a revenue-earning electric train as far as I'm aware.

I'm sure they have done, or will do, when the Mains are blocked during engineering works.

 

[Dai Corner]

I'm sure they have done, or will do, when the Mains are blocked during engineering works.

Hope so. I want to do the Bishton flyover in an 80x (or even a 387!)

 

[LRV3004]

Different now that electrification has expanded, but for a while, the Stockport to Hazel Grove line saw very little electric traction as the Buxton/Hazel Grove to Manchester/Preston/Blackpool services were all DMUs prior to Bolton being wired. Think there was one or two Manchester to Hazel Grove services that were booked 323s. Completely different these days as there are hourly Hazel Grove to Blackpool services using 331s.

 

[Beebman]

When the WCML electrification was extended from Weaver Jn to Scotland in the early 1970s, BR also electrified the 3½ mile alternative route between Winwick and Golborne Jns via Earlestown and Newton-le-Willows.

Apart from presumably very occasional diversionary use when the direct line was closed, these wires went unscraped for 40-odd years until they were incorporated into the Chat Moss electrification in the past decade.

I wonder if authorisation of the original Earlestown OHLE was related to the former Motorail terminal at Newton-le-Willows? This was in operation at the time the northern WCML electrification was planned & approved (presumably in the very late 1960s) with services to/from Scotland and the West Country.
Unfortunately those particular Motorail trains were withdrawn just before the wires were energised in 1973, so never saw an electrically-hauled departure (although, IIRC, the two Motorail sidings at NLW were wired).

I think the idea was that electrically-hauled freights could be routed that way to allow express passenger trains to pass them on the direct WCML route between Winwick and Golborne Jcts, however I don't know if that ever actually happened. One train that did go that way in 1982 which 'scraped the wires' in both directions (and which I was on) was HRT's Blue Train Railtour with a couple of 303s:

https://www.sixbellsjunction.co.uk/80s/820904wi.htm

 

[Ianno87]

When the WCML electrification was extended from Weaver Jn to Scotland in the early 1970s, BR also electrified the 3½ mile alternative route between Winwick and Golborne Jns via Earlestown and Newton-le-Willows.

Apart from presumably very occasional diversionary use when the direct line was closed, these wires went unscraped for 40-odd years until they were incorporated into the Chat Moss electrification in the past decade.

I wonder if authorisation of the original Earlestown OHLE was related to the former Motorail terminal at Newton-le-Willows? This was in operation at the time the northern WCML electrification was planned & approved (presumably in the very late 1960s) with services to/from Scotland and the West Country.
Unfortunately those particular Motorail trains were withdrawn just before the wires were energised in 1973, so never saw an electrically-hauled departure (although, IIRC, the two Motorail sidings at NLW were wired).

Good example. I also always been intrigued by the logic for wiring this bit - I guess the relatively low extra expense for such a short distance would've helped.

I think it may also have been a precursor even then to wiring Chat Moss as a follow-on - notably overlaps were left both towards Liverpool and to Manchester to provide for future extension in each direction. Also helped by Parkside feeder station being located where the WCML and Chat Moss cross each other, so feeding both routes.

 

[yorksrob]

I'm sure they have done, or will do, when the Mains are blocked during engineering works.

 

[Taunton]

I wonder if authorisation of the original Earlestown OHLE was related to the former Motorail terminal at Newton-le-Willows? This was in operation at the time the northern WCML electrification was planned & approved (presumably in the very late 1960s) with services to/from Scotland and the West Country.
Unfortunately those particular Motorail trains were withdrawn just before the wires were energised in 1973, so never saw an electrically-hauled departure (although, IIRC, the two Motorail sidings at NLW were wired).

When the electrification opened in 1973 a daily local Class 304 emu started from Crewe to Preston and back, which went this way. It ran for some years. Apparently it was a sinecure diagram for a Crewe driver approaching retirememt, left Crewe at about 09.30, couple of hours for lunch at Preston, home by teatime. Given up maybe around 1980. It stopped at both Hartford and Newton-le-Willows.

The irony of using this route to keep freights out of the way was that it rejoined the main line at Golborne on the east side, whereas north of there electrified slow lines open up on the west side, so slow freights had to go right across both main lines. The connecting curves were little used; when the Royal Train visited the North-West it was a favoured place to stand it, guarded, overnight.

 

[jfollows]

When the electrification opened in 1973 a daily local Class 304 emu started from Crewe to Preston and back, which went this way. It ran for some years. Apparently it was a sinecure diagram for a Crewe driver approaching retirememt, left Crewe at about 09.30, couple of hours for lunch at Preston, home by teatime. Given up maybe around 1980. It stopped at both Hartford and Newton-le-Willows.

Maybe, but 2P82 09:17 EMU Crewe-Preston in the May 1974 WTT used the main line between Warrington (d. 09:42.5) and Wigan (a. 09:54). It went to Carnforth, not advertised 1 July to 27 September. 2K82 15:00 Preston-Crewe seems to be the return working, not calling at Hartford, whereas 2P82 called at Hartford in the down direction. WTT extract from Section G 6 May 1974 to 4 May 1975.

EDIT The following year (1975-76) 2P82 became 1P82, no longer ran to Carnforth, but ran in the same timings. 2K82 became 1K82 in the up direction.

The 1974 EMU service (SX 1/7 to 27/9) to Carnforth was unusual for sure.

EDIT PS I did think that there was a service along the lines Taunton describes, but I happen to have the 1974 and 1975 WTTs for the route, in which I couldn't find such a service.

PPS Sometimes the working timetable needs a bit of interpretation. The E455+ 100mph start-stop timing for direct services from Warrington to Wigan is 10 minutes in the WTT, so I don't think the 75mph EMU start-stop timing of 11.5 minutes for the same pair of stations is long enough to allow for a diversion via Earlestown, let alone a station stop at Newton-le-Willows.

 

[gnolife]

Maybe, but 2P82 09:17 EMU Crewe-Preston in the May 1974 WTT used the main line between Warrington (d. 09:42.5) and Wigan (a. 09:54). It went to Carnforth, not advertised 1 July to 27 September. 2K82 15:00 Preston-Crewe seems to be the return working, not calling at Hartford, whereas 2P82 called at Hartford in the down direction. WTT extract from Section G 6 May 1974 to 4 May 1975.

EDIT The following year (1975-76) 2P82 became 1P82, no longer ran to Carnforth, but ran in the same timings. 2K82 became 1K82 in the up direction.

The 1974 EMU service (SX 1/7 to 27/9) to Carnforth was unusual for sure.

THat picture appears to have clipped off too much to have any useful information

 

[jfollows]

THat picture appears to have clipped off too much to have any useful information

Feel free to use my second attempt which includes more detail. V - Applies SX 1 July to 27 September. Not advertised from Preston.

 

[Ianno87]

Maybe, but 2P82 09:17 EMU Crewe-Preston in the May 1974 WTT used the main line between Warrington (d. 09:42.5) and Wigan (a. 09:54). It went to Carnforth, not advertised 1 July to 27 September. 2K82 15:00 Preston-Crewe seems to be the return working, not calling at Hartford, whereas 2P82 called at Hartford in the down direction. WTT extract from Section G 6 May 1974 to 4 May 1975.

EDIT The following year (1975-76) 2P82 became 1P82, no longer ran to Carnforth, but ran in the same timings. 2K82 became 1K82 in the up direction.

The 1974 EMU service (SX 1/7 to 27/9) to Carnforth was unusual for sure.

Is that the only electric passenger service that Carnforth has ever had?

 

[Tobbes]

Back to the original question, I'm not sure how much (electric) use the N-E chord at Manningtree gets? Possibly more with the bimode 755s?