'north' station for spotting

[transportguide]

Hi all,
where's a good station/ area in the north of which there is lots of different traction and/or freight easily accessible from London?
Am open to any suggestions and to me, the North is anyone north of Watford

 

[Iskra]

Crewe, Preston, Doncaster, Carlisle, York.

 

[transportguide]

Crewe, Preston, Doncaster, Carlisle, York.

Cheers. Are the Manchester and Leeds areas good?

 

[Iskra]

Cheers. Are the Manchester and Leeds areas good?

Not really for freight as most avoid the key stations.

 

[transportguide]

Not really for freight as most avoid the key stations.

Excluding freight as a factor, what would be good?

 

[NorthWestRover]

Manchester Piccadilly has freight on platforms 13+14.

 

[30907]

During the week, Leeds and Manchester Picc/Vic are good for units.
York and Crewe, freight tend to avoid the stations.

 

[voyagerdude220]

How about Tamworth? It's not really in the north as such, but direct trains to/from London Euston and also a good variety of stock going through both the high and low level lines.

 

[trash80]

Blackpool North

 

[The_Train]

Tamworth and Nuneaton are good options for freight in the Midlands as you have the regular stuff on the WCML plus at Tamworth workings out of Kingsbury along with stuff between the South/South West and Yorkshire. You may also get some 'special' loco moves out of Toton, Bescot and even Wetmore at Burton (on my last visit I just missed a 50 passing through). Along with the WCML stuff at Nuneaton you'll also get plenty coming off the flyover out of Hams Hall and Lawley Street. That said, if you want to nab Pendolinos and Voyagers as well neither of these are particularly good as they pass through at line speed (110mph I believe) so it is not easy to get them. If you want to include these then Stafford is a good bet as you'll still see all of the aforementioned WCML freight plus the Pendolinos and Voyagers don't tend to be travelling as quick through here (plus there are extra 350s working between Birmingham and Liverpool here).

As for further a field, I've had successful days at Doncaster (loads of LNER 91s and HSTs and plenty of Northern/TPE units) and Leeds (mainly Northern and TPE units with the odd LNER working thrown in) but neither was great for freight. Donny is certainly the better of the two and you may also see one or 2 locos around the Wabtec works

 

[47403]

Leeds doesn't get much freight. Manchester Picc gets a bit through it. Doncaster is quite good, Stafford or Nuneaton in the midlands

 

[xotGD]

Extending the geography a bit, Peterborough has a decent amount of freight plus a range of passenger services. And free wifi!

 

[mrcheek]

Manchester Piccadilly has freight on platforms 13+14.

Yeah, but nobody would want to go spotting on those platforms!

 

[PeterY]

Yeah, but nobody would want to go spotting on those platforms!

I totally agree with you there.

 

[NorthWestRover]

You can see all the freight at Piccadilly from the long platforms (8&9?).

 

[transportguide]

(forgetting freight for a min) Where are some good spots to see some traction, including new Northern/ TPE stock, that I wouldn't normally see in London areas.

 

[47403]

(forgetting freight for a min) Where are some good spots to see some traction, including new Northern/ TPE stock, that I wouldn't normally see in London areas.

Wigan or Preston.

 

[gazthomas]

As others have said, Preston, Carlisle, York, Doncaster

 

[_toommm_]

Doncaster always has something interesting in it - from the 67s, 465, HSTs and 08 parked in Doncaster Works to 66s IEPs and 91s passing through the station.

I personally don't have the confidence to spend time there spotting as I grew up in South Yorkshire and I'd hate to get recognised. Maybe when I'm not a teenager anymore

 

[cactustwirly]

Maybe not quite the 'north' but Leicester is a good shout, with HSTs, 222s, Sprinters, 170s and a bit of freight.
It's very accessible from London, only an hour from St Pancras.

 

[Condor7]

If as you say freight is not a priority then definitely try Leeds. The variety of units is extremely good with them coming in and out so frequently it is sometimes hard to keep up noting them down. Plus the new Transpennine Novas testing through the station on some days. There are a few early morning and early evening freight but during the day two or three at best.

 

[MDB1images]

(forgetting freight for a min) Where are some good spots to see some traction, including new Northern/ TPE stock, that I wouldn't normally see in London areas.

If you plan your trip you could go....
The South- Nuneaton- Tamworth- Preston- Manchester Piccadilly- Stafford- The South.

Checking realtime trains from previous dates will give an idea of Freight times best for each location with Preston & Man Picc ideal for variety of Units with the odd freight thrown in.

 

[NorthWestRover]

Piccadilly is very busy.

 

[tommy_train]

If you get yourself to Deansgate in Manchester, the freight from Picc will go through there and it is less busy. You'd get the Drax freight train going through.

 

[palmersears]

If you get yourself to Deansgate in Manchester, the freight from Picc will go through there and it is less busy. You'd get the Drax freight train going through.

The Drax traffic goes through Victoria, all you get through Deansgate during sensible hours of the day are intermodal workings to/from Trafford Park.

For the OP, the world is your oyster really from London. I'd recommend, in no particular order:

Doncaster
Manchester (Piccadilly and Victoria)
Leeds
Tamworth/Nuneaton
Leicester

All give a good mix of units, and all throw in varying degrees of freight to keep things interesting, depending upon which day of the week you choose to visit.

 

[tommy_train]

The Drax traffic goes through Victoria, all you get through Deansgate during sensible hours of the day are intermodal workings to/from Trafford Park.

Ah, I didn't know! I thought because the Trafford Park stuff went through Piccadilly, so would Drax.