My Main Line is Better than Yours

[Sad Sprinter]

What main-line (from London) or ex-geographical region is your nearest and why is it better than others. I live on the Central Division of the ex-Southern Region out of London Victoria. Long frequent multiple units that are (mostly, if you don't count the 455s) very comfortable. Beautiful Victorian stations like Crystal Palace, Peckham Rye and Battersea Park and fantastic views over London especially on the South London Line. Great fast runs out of London through leafy Purley, the North Downs and out through Surrey towards Gatwick. Beat that,

 

[CaptainHaddock]

I live in Yorkshire and get to ride clapped out Northern 142 and 144s to work every day, except for Saturdays when the train service only runs from 8 till 5. Great slow runs out of Sheffield through leafy Barnsley, Normanton and Castleford. Beat that.

 

[Sad Sprinter]

I live in Yorkshire and get to ride clapped out Northern 142 and 144s to work every day, except for Saturdays when the train service only runs from 8 till 5. Great slow runs out of Sheffield through leafy Barnsley, Normanton and Castleford. Beat that.

No I think you win...

 

[Table 52]

I live in Luton. We have fast trains to Birmingham, Manchester and North Wales, all available by spending an hour or so on a bus going up to Milton Keynes first.

There's some line running up to Corby or something as well locally, but that's a side point.

 

[Eccles1983]

My line runs from Anglesey to Warrington.

Keep London and it's smog. The coastline up here and Cheshire countryside beats suburban grime.

And we still get locos.

 

[DerekC]

The south western (Southampton) main line is my nearest. I am trying to think why it is the best and struggling a bit. Winchester to London - 66 miles in 1hr 1min with no stops - Hmm - not going to beat any records. The trains (444s preferably) are OK - light, airy and quiet. (Not so keen on the 450s). The best bit is the ability to catch a direct service to Birmingham, Manchester or York - even though it does mean putting up with Voyagers! Still, I am quite fond of it. And Waterloo does beat all the others in terms of passenger numbers (and it's sometimes quite well organised)

 

[61653 HTAFC]

I live on the Trans-Pennine main line (IMO the only "proper" Trans-Pennine line!) which currently has 4 very overcrowded "Express" trains flying past without stopping at my station, along with 2 stoppers. But soon, there'll be brand new LHCS services.

Proper Trains = Best.

 

[xotGD]

I was born within 50 yards of the East Coast Mainline, with Deltics storming past outside. I think I win!

 

[Captain Bigwig]

Great Western Main Line. Need I say more?

(Ok, ok, so you can all sneer about the electrification being late, over budget and cut back. Fair enough. But we have some beautiful structures.)

 

[PaxVobiscum]

Great Western Main Line... But we have some beautiful structures.)

Cor! Look at the portals on that!

 

[Wilts Wanderer]

My local main line is the GWML. It wins because it was built to the Broad Gauge, and the extra width is still put to good effect. On double-track sections the six foot is actually about 8-10 ft wide, which allows passengers sat in window seats on the right hand side of the train to fall asleep with their head against the glass at 125mph without being woken up with a thump every 5 minutes when you pass a train going the other way at a closing speed of about Mach 0.3. I once made the mistake of falling asleep on an East Coast HST north of Grantham and I was still recovering from the concussion about a week later.

 

[yorksrob]

I live in Yorkshire and get to ride clapped out Northern 142 and 144s to work every day, except for Saturdays when the train service only runs from 8 till 5. Great slow runs out of Sheffield through leafy Barnsley, Normanton and Castleford. Beat that.

I can't.

Because it's my line as well !

 

[Bletchleyite]

What main-line (from London) or ex-geographical region is your nearest and why is it better than others. I live on the Central Division of the ex-Southern Region out of London Victoria. Long frequent multiple units that are (mostly, if you don't count the 455s) very comfortable. Beautiful Victorian stations like Crystal Palace, Peckham Rye and Battersea Park and fantastic views over London especially on the South London Line. Great fast runs out of London through leafy Purley, the North Downs and out through Surrey towards Gatwick. Beat that,

The WCML. One of the two 125mph mainlines, and interesting and/or beautiful scenery near enough throughout. The WCML tells the story of the UK in one journey - from the bustle of London, to the run-down suburbs, to the beautiful rolling hills of the Chilterns and Northamptonshire, to the industrial Midlands, to the much greener rolling hills of Cheshire, to the industrial North West, to the actual west coast (briefly!) and up through Lakeland, over Shap, a stop at the border city of Carlisle, then on through more stunning mountain scenery to the great Scottish cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh.

The ECML is a drab and boring wasteland in comparison.

 

[Wilts Wanderer]

The WCML. One of the two 125mph mainlines, and interesting and/or beautiful scenery near enough throughout. The WCML tells the story of the UK in one journey - from the bustle of London, to the run-down suburbs, to the beautiful rolling hills of the Chilterns and Northamptonshire, to the industrial Midlands, to the much greener rolling hills of Cheshire, to the industrial North West, to the actual west coast (briefly!) and up through Lakeland, over Shap, a stop at the border city of Carlisle, then on through more stunning mountain scenery to the great Scottish cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh.

The ECML is a drab and boring wasteland in comparison.

Ahem? ECML and WCML all well and good, but aren’t we forgetting the GWML, the very first 125mph main line in Britain? The MML also has sizeable stretches of 125mph running between Sharnbrook Summit and Luton. And that’s without mentioning HS1.

 

[_toommm_]

Beat Manchester Piccadilly, where you , not only have to stand behind a yellow line (which is fair enough) but also have to stand behind a red line, reducing the platform size by 50%. Dare to even touch the red line and you'll be shot down by 'security' shouting and screaming case in point.

 

[LewFinnis]

South Eastern High Speed - fastest line in the country and well worth the slightly higher fares.

 

[Gems]

Move over all you young pretenders. You can't and wont beat my Settle - Carlisle line. Sunny in Leeds, a foot of snow at Garsdale, where else will you get that and see views like it.

 

[Train Maniac]

My Main Line is the Ashford to Swanley via Maidstone line. Kinda main line ish. More trunk commuter route than anything else. Relatively short walk from my house (30 minutes) Uh... fairly decent service to London, not so great the other way. Most stations have managed to retain original structures. Meant to be getting proper Thameslink trains at the end of this year (not entirely convinced at this rate). On a more hobby level, Good variety of frieght as well.

 

[Train Maniac]

South Eastern High Speed - fastest line in the country and well worth the slightly higher fares.

Only if you live east of Ashford

 

[Kneedown]

MML and WCML are superior to all others purely because they were LMR. I must confess a soft spot for WR lines though, out of respect for my Grandfather who was a GWR Driver.

 

[cactustwirly]

I live on the GWML, it's the best!
It has the history, was built by one of the world's greatest engineers, had the best trains (had the most HSTs)

Also the MML, goes through excellent scensy such as the Chilterns, rolling Northamptonshire hills, and finally along the edge of the Peak district!
It has some of the best station architecture, I mean St Pancras is awesome!

 

[ArchieWoodbine]

The GWML between Bristol and London. Wonderfully engineered; level for great swathes; beautiful bridges like Maidenhead; tunnel portals at Box & Middle Hill that put some palaces to shame; the strategic steam reserve hidden under Box (shhhh!); gliding down through the park at Sydney Gardens; electrification portals that will outlast mankind and the original stomping-ground of HST.

 

[Metal_gee_man]

South Eastern High Speed - fastest line in the country and well worth the slightly higher fares.

Whilst I love the line in terms of what it does for journey times, it absolutely sucks with tunnel after tunnel after tunnel and built in such a way that two trains can't pass in the North Down Tunnel because the pressure is too high all because they didn't fit any Ventilation ducts (AONB) bloody daft really

 

[bramling]

The WCML. One of the two 125mph mainlines, and interesting and/or beautiful scenery near enough throughout. The WCML tells the story of the UK in one journey - from the bustle of London, to the run-down suburbs, to the beautiful rolling hills of the Chilterns and Northamptonshire, to the industrial Midlands, to the much greener rolling hills of Cheshire, to the industrial North West, to the actual west coast (briefly!) and up through Lakeland, over Shap, a stop at the border city of Carlisle, then on through more stunning mountain scenery to the great Scottish cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh.

The ECML is a drab and boring wasteland in comparison.

Have to agree the WCML is a much more scenic journey than the ECML, especially north of Crewe.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say the ECML is wasteland, however the only really special bits are Durham viaduct, through Newcastle, and parts between Morpeth and Edinburgh. Plus the South Yorkshire section if power stations float one’s boat!

Have to say the GWML wins hands down though. The London section is dumpy, but the rest of the route has it all. Even the outwardly bland Wiltshire and Somerset sections have a certain sleepy charm.

 

[LAX54]

No I think you win...

Maybe not ! (as an ex Central Div person) running down the Mid-Sussex, through Pulborough, Amberley and alongside the Arun River, and the view of the Castle, then on to Arundel Junction

 

[ArchieWoodbine]

All this feels a tad Monty Python-esque. “Brothers, we mustn’t fight each other! Surely we should be united against the common enemy?!”

“The Great Eastern Main Line!?”

“No, no! The DfT!”

 

[yorksrob]

South Eastern High Speed - fastest line in the country and well worth the slightly higher fares.

That's a matter of opinion.

Not a patch on whizzing between Ashford and Tonbridge non-stop (even though the opportunity is rare nowadays).

 

[yorksrob]

Have to agree the WCML is a much more scenic journey than the ECML, especially north of Crewe.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say the ECML is wasteland, however the only really special bits are Durham viaduct, through Newcastle, and parts between Morpeth and Edinburgh. Plus the South Yorkshire section if power stations float one’s boat!

Have to say the GWML wins hands down though. The London section is dumpy, but the rest of the route has it all. Even the outwardly bland Wiltshire and Somerset sections have a certain sleepy charm.

MML Beats them both. Particularly 1st class in a 125.

 

[yorksrob]

My Main Line is the Ashford to Swanley via Maidstone line. Kinda main line ish. More trunk commuter route than anything else. Relatively short walk from my house (30 minutes) Uh... fairly decent service to London, not so great the other way. Most stations have managed to retain original structures. Meant to be getting proper Thameslink trains at the end of this year (not entirely convinced at this rate). On a more hobby level, Good variety of frieght as well.

A beautiful set of station buildings (including Maidstone East, which is still quite charming). Still one of my favourite lines.

Not sure I would differentiate Thameslink as being the 'proper' trains though.

 

[bramling]

That's a matter of opinion.

Not a patch on whizzing between Ashford and Tonbridge non-stop (even though the opportunity is rare nowadays).

You’re right. We did a day-trip to Rye a year or two ago (to walk the Rye & Camber Tramway). Unusually we took HS1, or what is still to me CTRL, to Ashford, and it was remarked to me how utterly boring that part of journey was.

Sure it’s useful for getting places quickly, although I tend to find that once beyond Ashford this advantage rapidly diminishes, and doesn’t really exist at all on the Faversham route. However in all honesty at the end of the day it’s still a case of getting on a train at an origin and getting off at a destination, half an hour extra on a pleasant and comfortable Electrostar which at certain times of day may well be pretty empty for most of the journey (especially on the Ashford routes) is no bother at all.

Having said that, coming back from Rye via Hastings for variety’s sake, and in the evening when everything calls everywhere, the other half went ballistic upon hearing the train announce the list of stations from Hastings to Charing Cross! Again no bother so long as the train’s empty which it was.