Most Depressing Stretch of Line on the Network

[Ben Bow]

Most depressing? Middlesbrough to Redcar, nowhere else even comes remotely as close.

 

[Arrpi87]

The Sheerness branch. Especially between Queenborough and Sheerness.

 

[ian1944]

Onto page 2 now and nobody has given a Scottish example. Try Coatbridge - Queen St, or anywhere near Holytown.

 

[185143]

The Sheerness branch. Especially between Queenborough and Sheerness.

I had the entertainment of onboard RPIs for that trip, so wasn't properly looking outside

 

[Eccles1983]

Phillips park to ashburys.

A filthier, desolate rat filled dumping ground of nothingness.

 

[WatcherZero]

Passing through Carstairs!

 

[Darandio]

Most depressing? Middlesbrough to Redcar, nowhere else even comes remotely as close.

It used to be a fantastic sight at night, and not because that meant you couldn't see it. When all the industry was in full flow it was a light show with flame, molten metal, you name it.

 

[glenbogle]

Aberdeen to Inverness is a complete yawn.

 

[4F89]

The Crewe independent lines!

 

[vlad]

Just sat on a Derby to Crewe train and it struck me that the line between Longport and Kidsgrove is one of the most depressing “scenic” experiences one can have.

I'm wondering why you think the Stoke to Longport section is better - you still get the scrapyards and dereliction. At least between Longport and Kidsgrove there's a glimpse of open country and a tunnel. You can even see Harecastle Central if you know where to look.

 

[Megafuss]

Most depressing? Middlesbrough to Redcar, nowhere else even comes remotely as close.

Middlesbrough to Seaton Carew is pretty grim too

 

[C J Snarzell]

The area around Armley coming into Leeds looks quite grim - especially those high rises close to the track that look like they should be ear marked for demolition. There are a few terraced streets that look quite run down then the industrial area just outside Leeds which looks so depressing on a grey overcast day.

CJ

 

[Bletchleyite]

I love it, it's one of my favourite urban railways. But then I like canals, and particularly canals and railways side-by-side, showing the different ages of the industrial revolution.

Agreed. I don't like it as much as I do Castlefield, but it is interesting. I similarly like the M6 through Brum, which is much less congested than it used to be.

It's industrial, but it's interesting.

Actually, if you want another depressing one, much of east Anglia. Same, same, boring flatlands. Though when you approach Norwich or Ely the city view with the cathedral is nice.

Thameslink into London is pretty boring, when compared with the at times almost spectacular (and somewhat unsung) south WCML.

Wigan-Kirkby is pretty rubbish, mostly in cutting so you can't see anything.

 

[Undiscovered]

I think it's time those black metal horses at the lineside were removed, myself.
I've no idea what they are supposed to represent, and there's one cluttering the platform at Wolverhampton.

Ah! I know this!
There are several horses on the route between WVH and BHM and they represent the seven key towns that make up the Black Country.

 

[Roast Veg]

I agree that Doncaster to Sheffield is a drag, but specifically the section before Rotherham around Booths and the other industrial sites.

 

[Mogster]

The Atherton Line?

A slow trip through some of the most deprived areas of Northern England...

 

[Bletchleyite]

The Atherton Line?

A slow trip through some of the most deprived areas of Northern England...

Ah, yes, I forgot that (maybe I tried to forget it). It's grim. The Bolton line is wonderfully interesting by comparison.

 

[Glenn1969]

Think Leeds to Bradford Int would be high up this list

 

[Skipness]

Most depressing? Middlesbrough to Redcar, nowhere else even comes remotely as close.

I agree with you on this. Industrial dereliction on a large scale and the “interesting” station of Redcar British Steel, an open station that is served by no trains at all.
However, I can remember this line in the fifties and sixties with the blast furnaces etc in full flow 24hrs a day, and a huge variety of steam locomotives of various vintages, illuminated by the molten metal, flames and a continuous light show visible for miles around.

 

[Starmill]

First time I went on E* I overheard a posh American couple talking enthusiastically about "going through the ghettos". I wondered if they had, even in the 1990s, seen the house prices.

I recently met a Dutch man in West London. On the way to the pub, he pointed at a row of Greenford's houses and said "This is very strange. In the Netherlands it's very common to see people with very beautiful houses, but run down crappy old cars parked out front. Here it seems to be the reverse?"

I replied that the really grubby semi-detached house he was pointing out would probably sell for more than €500,000, so if the person who lived there owned it, they could probably afford the Porsche Cayenne on the drive.

 

[47271]

Aberdeen to Inverness is a complete yawn.

It may well be that, but I don't think that it fulfils the requirement of being depressing. Other than the first bit in Aberdeen out of the Hutcheon Street tunnel and as far as Woodside there are no run down areas anywhere in the 100 or so miles, everything else is spick and span to an extent almost unsurpassed elsewhere in the UK.

God knows there is plenty of competition for the accolade elsewhere in Scotland...

 

[Bletchleyite]

It may well be that, but I don't think that it fulfils the requirement of being depressing. Other than the first bit in Aberdeen out of the Hutcheon Street tunnel and as far as Woodside there are no run down areas anywhere in the 100 or so miles, everything else is spick and span to an extent almost unsurpassed elsewhere in the UK.

One thing that's most noticeable about Scotland, rather than England, is that pretty much all stations, however minor, appear to be in a superb state of repair.

 

[Whistler40145]

Probably the line through Scunthorpe and around Grimsby

 

[yorksrob]

The Atherton Line?

A slow trip through some of the most deprived areas of Northern England...

The view's never struck me as particularly unpleasent - except of the open cast mine between Walkden and Atherton.

 

[The Prisoner]

I'm wondering why you think the Stoke to Longport section is better - you still get the scrapyards and dereliction. At least between Longport and Kidsgrove there's a glimpse of open country and a tunnel. You can even see Harecastle Central if you know where to look.

Perhaps the Stoke to Longport section had subconsciously softened me up by that stage. I used to live between Kidsgrove and Alsager and have nothing against the area, but the area in the immediate vicinity of the line just struck me as so grim today.

 

[Sean Emmett]

Paddington - Reading is rather grim, with urban sprawl and much of the Maidenhead - Twyford rural section in cutting.

A few exceptions such as Hanwell and Slough station buildings, and the open views from Wharncliffe and Maidenhead viaducts.

 

[Saperstein]

The lines through Portland must surely be the most “Grimm” at times...

I’ll get me coat.

 

[kermit]

Liverpool Lime Street to Edge Hill. Dank, mouldy, smelly and horrible.

 

[387star]

Pretty much the whole Thameslink network whilst St Albans to Sutton must be hellish to drive. Hardly a green field in site.

Luton Crawley and Croydon are ugly places

I also found Rainham via Woolwich incredibly uninviting save for the beautuful run into Rochester

 

[muddythefish]

It was much worse in years gone by, when there was an iron foundry right under the line at Crane St and huge gas works around Bilston.
In fact it's surprising how quickly the greenery has taken over in some areas, though there is still much dereliction.
I think it's time those black metal horses at the lineside were removed, myself.
I've no idea what they are supposed to represent, and there's one cluttering the platform at Wolverhampton.

Much the same applies between Longport and Kidsgrove - in fact it's a lot better than it was now the collieries, steelworks and pot banks have gone.
e.

The vistas you are describing there are when the Potteries and the Black Country were thriving places of industry, when the Midlands and the north really were "powerhouses" and when manufacturing was an important element of the economy, men and women had skilled and valued and often well-paid jobs and areas had a greater sense of community before their industrial heart was ripped out.

The railway was of course also much busier then because of all the manufacturing. Personally I found it fascinating travelling through those areas by train and if wish we could turn the clock back to those days.