Place name differences: the railway calls it by this name, but everyone else calls it by that name!

[urbophile]

Colchester is often referred to as North Station.

Sometimes the name will follow the station, Gidea Park and Squirrels Heath was quite clearly in the latter but the more up market name from 5 minutes walk away was preferred by developers and became applied to the area around the station so now it is just Gidea Park.

I wonder if something like that was the case in Liverpool. Allerton station (now South Parkway) is south-east of West Allerton which is south-east of the area commonly regarded as Allerton. The main shopping area is on Allerton Road which no doubt used to mean 'the road to' rather than 'the road in'. Few people now would regard Allerton station (as was) as actually being in Allerton.

 

[GreatAuk]

Oxenholme Lake District and Penrith (North Lakes) are obviously just Oxenholme and Penrith... At least Penrith has the decency to put it in brackets though!

 

[PeterY]

Hemel Hempstead is often referred to has Hemel station and by the older generations Boxmoor.

I agree about North Watford.

 

[MontyP]

Cobham & Stoke d’Abernon is usually referred to as Cobham station (e.g. “Guildford via Cobham”) but is actually in Stoke d’Abernon which is about 1.5 miles from Cobham town centre.

Walton-on-Thames station is closer to Hersham than to Walton.

 

[johnr57]

Thirsk Station is really Carlton Miniott or better still "Thirsk Racecourse"

 

[brompton rail]

Nelson in East Lancashire, between Colne and Burnley, grew from the settlement of Marsden (Lancs). However the Yorkshire and Lancashire Railway already had a Marsden station in Yorkshire on the Huddersfield to Manchester line. Therefore, to keep things simple, the company named the Lancashire Marsden station, Nelson (I guess after the Admiral) and the name was adopted by the then rapidly growing cotton textile settlement.

 

[krus_aragon]

Shortening it could well have an impact on tourist ticket revenue (certainly it got a fiver out of me a couple of weeks for nothing other than going to the station there - there is no other reason to go there, it's utterly nondescript). Arguably printing the full version on tickets would increase it!

FWIW I believe the long form was created by the railway for precisely that reason.

You're quite right: the long-long-name is still used on souvenir tickets and the like for that very reason, but the official name remains Llanfairpwll, whereas the village is officially called Llanfairpwllgwygyll. (Note that the railway's official name would have to be lengthened to match the village's official name!)

 

[Revilo]

The level crossing between Yatton and Worle is known by the railway as 'Huish' despite being in the village of Hewish.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

So it is pronounced like that. I thought so, but I’ve heard several people pronounce it ‘Dod-worth’, even in Dodworth itself (I’m not sure they were local though).

It might be a bit like Slaithwaite: There, locals might say "Slath-waite" or "Slawit" (though with a glottal stop at the end in both cases). But you'll rarely hear the incorrect "Slay-thwaite"!
Likewise in Dodworth you'll hear "Dod-worth" (outsiders); or "Dodduth" and "Dod-wuff" (locals).

 

[SHD]

Waterloo is nowhere near London, and similarly Austerlitz is the German name of a tiny village in Moravia.

 

[BigCj34]

The last time I was there (about three years ago), the station signs said just "Cark".

I think it is still called Cark and Cartmel technically. The streetview photo, from August 2016, does display Cark and Cartmel on the entry sign.

 

[30907]

And Portsmouth & Southsea, which whilst certainly being slap bang in the middle of Portsmouth, is most definitely not in Southsea. It's also known by the locals simply as "the town station". P&S is a bit a bit of a mouthful, to be fair!

And indeed was known as Portsmouth Town for decades.

 

[telstarbox]

Then there's Audley End for Wendens Ambo for Saffron Walden.

 

[Mutant Lemming]

The last time I was there (about three years ago), the station signs said just "Cark".

As indeed it was early January of this year.....

www.train-photos.net/picture/show/27958/Cark-station-sign

 

[Mutant Lemming]

I've heard people refer to Crewe as "Crewe Junction".

Which grates.

There did used to be a Crewe Town station so quite logical to call the station at a junction a mile or so from the town centre Crewe Junction.

 

[mirodo]

In other words, Alnmouth for Alnwick - in neither Alnmouth nor Alnwick!

Having been promised visits to Alnmouth in both Michael Portillo and Julie Walters’ railway-based TV programmes, only to be disappointed as they failed to venture into the village, maybe the station should be renamed “Hipsburn or possibly Bilton but definitely not Alnmouth (for Barter Books)”...

 

[mirodo]

Therefore, to keep things simple, the company named the Lancashire Marsden station, Nelson (I guess after the Admiral)

Indirectly, yes. The station took its name from the nearby Nelson Inn, which was of course named in honour of Horatio.

 

[urbophile]

There did used to be a Crewe Town station so quite logical to call the station at a junction a mile or so from the town centre Crewe Junction.

But wasn't the town named after the station (ie it didn't exist until the railway company decided to build its works there)? Lord Crewe was I believe the local landowner.

 

[PeterC]

Hemel Hempstead is often referred to has Hemel station and by the older generations Boxmoor.

I agree about North Watford.

The original Hemel Hempstead station was close to the town centre on the now defunct Midland Railway branch line from Harpenden. The LNWR didn't even bother putting Hemel in their station name until 1912 and LMS didn't put Boxmoor second until 1930.

 

[Wirewiper]

Having been on the rail replacement bus to Newbury yesterday, I was reminded that Midgham Station is actually in the village of Woolhampton - Midgham itself is a scattered village a mile away to the west. Also Aldermaston Station is in Lower Padworth, a couple of miles from Aldermaston village, but you can blame the Kennet & Avon Canal Company for that one - they named the location Aldermaston Wharf.

 

[Matt Taylor]

And Portsmouth & Southsea, which whilst certainly being slap bang in the middle of Portsmouth, is most definitely not in Southsea. It's also known by the locals simply as "the town station". P&S is a bit a bit of a mouthful, to be fair!

P&S Highb Level is known as 'The Town', but there are quite a few people who refer to platforms 3& 4 as 'The Low Level'.

 

[parkender102]

The amount of people I hear pronouncing London Euston (or Euston), including Train Managers, as 'Heuston'. Heuston station is in Dublin.

 

[Deafdoggie]

It seems to change roughly as often as the TOC changes its socks (or station nameboards, at least). The on board announcements on Class 185s definitely say "Cark & Cartmel".

It probably makes sense to drop the suffix completely, because if going to Cartmel you're better off getting off at Grange where you might have a hope[1] of a taxi or (during the day) bus connection.

OK, if you're walking the walk from Cark is a bit nicer (done it myself), but who on earth would be walking that (a short hike, really, requiring appropriate clothing and a torch at night) who hadn't already looked at a map to decide which station to use?

[1] No guarantee - the taxis are mostly one man bands and you have to ring round, and if they're booked, they're booked - there is no big taxi firm operating any nearer than perhaps Ulverston or Barrow.

Been caught out there myself. Going to the near(ish) Haven at Lakeland, a list of taxi firms on the station poster, but none were available, so best foot forward it was! Nice and flat route though, and a Haven staff member saw us, and stopped and took the luggage!

 

[J-Rod]

Swansea is known simply as 'High St' or 'High St Station', despite all other central stations having vanished long ago!

 

[shotts56]

Holytown train station isn't in Holytown, its in New Stevenson. They are two distinct villages with greenfield between them, and Holytown station is in the area of New Stevenson farthest away from Holytown, so I've always wondered why the station is named the way it is.

 

[Gwenllian2001]

Barry is commonly referred to as Barry Town although it has never been named as such. Llandaff, formerly Llandaff for Whitchurch, is almost always referred to as Llandaff North but has never carried that name.

 

[BestWestern]

P&S Highb Level is known as 'The Town', but there are quite a few people who refer to platforms 3& 4 as 'The Low Level'.

Indeed, although almost entirely railway people presumably? 'The town station' is more of a 'public' term.

 

[DanTrain]

The amount of people I hear pronouncing London Euston (or Euston), including Train Managers, as 'Heuston'. Heuston station is in Dublin.

I always used to think it was 'Euston, we have a problem' when I was young! I suspect it's not a station in Dublin causing the mixup, more the large Americain city.

 

[Calthrop]

You're quite right: the long-long-name is still used on souvenir tickets and the like for that very reason, but the official name remains Llanfairpwll, whereas the village is officially called Llanfairpwllgwygyll. (Note that the railway's official name would have to be lengthened to match the village's official name!)

Not meaning to seem snide -- but you've got me a bit confused here. Shades of the White Knight in "Alice", and his song, which has four different titles: what the name of the song is called; what the name is; what the song is called; and what the song actually is...

 

[Ambient Sheep]

Then there's Audley End for Wendens Ambo for Saffron Walden.

Yes, but everybody I know still calls it Audley End station...