Ole structures prefixes

[ole man]

Heard a story that the ole structures got there letter prefixes from London in a clockwise order.
I know where E F G are,where are A,B,C and D?.

J is out of Paddington and is the most western so maybe there might be some truth in the story.

All the other structures around the country have the destinations involved in he prefixes.

 

[Eagle]

List, diagram. (Note that the codes are not unique.)

 

[ole man]

That's good never seen that before and I work on ole.
Why Is D from Bristol to Rotherham via Derby?

 

[Jonny]

That's good never seen that before and I work on ole.
Why Is D from Bristol to Rotherham via Derby?

Presumably, it's for when(ever) the whole of the NE-SW axis of the XC network gets electrified...

D for Derby? just a guess.

 

[ole man]

Can't see it being that, unless BR knew Derby was going to be wired all them years ago

 

[Eagle]

Can't see it being that, unless BR knew Derby was going to be wired all them years ago

These codes have been around for ages (1960s?), even though there weren't plans to electrify a lot of the lines that were given codes.


Also in the 1970s it was planned to electrify the MML and XC services (and a hell of a lot more besides). But it fell majorly by the wayside as investment in rail dropped off.

 

[O L Leigh]

I'm not convinced that the original premise is correct. I'm fairly certain that the prefixes on the WA mainline are "C".

I was told that the prefix denotes the area or route on which the structure is.

O L Leigh

 

[Trog]

I think there are two systems in use the anticlockwise alphabetical order system for the radial mainlines out of London. Then branches and cross country lines seem to have descriptive codes based on where the line runs to and from etc.

 

[Eagle]

I'm not convinced that the original premise is correct. I'm fairly certain that the prefixes on the WA mainline are "C".

That does fit if you ignore the fact that D is skipped (for XC routes). A is LTS, B is GEML, C is WAML, E is ECML, F is MML, G is WCML, H is Didcot to Birmingham, J is GWML and K is the Berks and Hants. But then HS1 uses Y... and the Chiltern mainline is P.

 

[miikey]

Its the route designation prefix.

 

[IrishDave]

That does fit if you ignore the fact that D is skipped (for XC routes). A is LTS, B is GEML, C is WAML, E is ECML, F is MML, G is WCML, H is Didcot to Birmingham, J is GWML and K is the Berks and Hants. But then HS1 uses Y... and the Chiltern mainline is P.

It's surely too much of a coincidence that the (old) mainline to Cambridge is C, the mainline to Edinburgh is E, and the mainline to Glasgow is G - I suspect D was deliberately skipped to make that work, and the rest filled in in the anticlockwise pattern.

I think Y makes sense for HS1 if you consider it the next line clockwise from the LTS (A), and you don't want to use Z. And the whole H/P thing is really just speculation until some wires actually go up - the list includes the possibility that H will be used for the Chiltern mainline, which would fit the pattern.

 

[Eagle]

One thing to consider is that some of these designations are less speculative than they seem, on account of the fact that most diesel lines adjoining an electric line will have a small stub of electrification, and the code will often be that of the diesel line. Both CN (Coventry to Nuneaton) and KC (Kenilworth to Coventry) are currently in use for the beginnings of those lines, in both cases to access yards.

One other thing I notice about the KC line is that the 'limit of electrification' sign is wooden and hand-painted, probably original to when the masts were erected in 1966.

 

[W230]

It's surely too much of a coincidence that the (old) mainline to Cambridge is C, the mainline to Edinburgh is E, and the mainline to Glasgow is G - I suspect D was deliberately skipped to make that work, and the rest filled in in the anticlockwise pattern.

We were told in training that the OLE prefix matching with the places name was mere coincidence and that the lines were named in the manner ole man describes in the first post, with another common misconception amongst some drivers being the 'F' starting at Farringdon. But it does seem a little coincidental now you mention it...