Trivia: Bizarre services

[JD2168]

I always find it a bit odd the daily return journey on the Scarborough to Sheffield service that runs via Selby. On the return journey it only runs to Hull not Scarborough.

The last one from Manchester Piccadilly run by EMR from Liverpool Lime Street is the only one on this route that stops at all stops between Manchester & Sheffield.

 

[Bovverboy]

The last one from Manchester Piccadilly run by EMR from Liverpool Lime Street is the only one on this route that stops at all stops between Manchester & Sheffield.

It calls at all stops between Chinley and Sheffield, but it misses Levenshulme, Heaton Chapel, Davenport, Woodsmoor, and Hazel Grove.

 

[Eskimo]

Not sure if it’s still running, but recently there was a Leicester - Gloucester end of the night service with cross country. Seemed to be trying to get to Cardiff Bristol, half in service and half ECS.

[edit] it’s still running.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

TfWs Manchester - South West Wales service, more so when a 150 is often allocated to the service taking over 6 hours to, from Manchester to Pembroke Dock or Milford Haven, think the original idea behind the service is to fee up platform space at Cardiff Central, so TfW merged the South West Wales service with the Marches line service.

Fun fact: there are no longer any direct trains from Manchester Piccadilly to Milford Haven or Pembroke Dock. There is one train from Manchester Piccadilly to Tenby, and the others all terminate at Carmarthen or before.

There are two-hourly trains from Milford Haven to Manchester Piccadilly as always, just not in the other direction. Those that used to go there from Manchester now terminate at Carmarthen, form a service back to Cardiff, form a Cardiff to Milford Haven service, and then return to Manchester.

 

[JWK]

That really is bizarre, doubly so when you consider that Clarbeston Road is a request stop!

The classic Welsh example is Holyhead to Maesteg.

It’s a classic case of a ‘might as well run it in service’ journey that to all intents and purposes is an empty stock move. The unit has run down from Fishguard Harbour at 06:50 (https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:W09411/2023-07-08/detailed#allox_id=0) to provide a connection at Clarbeston Road with the 07:26 to Cardiff and Manchester, coming off the Milford branch. It then needs to get back to Fishguard to form the 07:51 to Cardiff. Despite the unlikelihood of any passengers, TfW clearly decide they might as well run it in service - though if I were them, I would save the wear on the brakes and skip the stop at Fishguard & Goodwick!

 

[Egg Centric]

It’s a classic case of a ‘might as well run it in service’ journey that to all intents and purposes is an empty stock move. The unit has run down from Fishguard Harbour at 06:50 (https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:W09411/2023-07-08/detailed#allox_id=0) to provide a connection at Clarbeston Road with the 07:26 to Cardiff and Manchester, coming off the Milford branch. It then needs to get back to Fishguard to form the 07:51 to Cardiff. Despite the unlikelihood of any passengers, TfW clearly decide they might as well run it in service - though if I were them, I would save the wear on the brakes and skip the stop at Fishguard & Goodwick!

Can running this sort of service help with ORCATS allocations maybe? Dunno how that actually works.

 

[islandmonkey]

5Y56 and 5Y57, runs every day seemingly between Salisbury and Reading via Winchester as an empty stock train 158.

Presumably for route knowledge retention purposes.

 

[Bovverboy]

It’s a classic case of a ‘might as well run it in service’ journey that to all intents and purposes is an empty stock move. The unit has run down from Fishguard Harbour at 06:50 (https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:W09411/2023-07-08/detailed#allox_id=0) to provide a connection at Clarbeston Road with the 07:26 to Cardiff and Manchester, coming off the Milford branch. It then needs to get back to Fishguard to form the 07:51 to Cardiff. Despite the unlikelihood of any passengers, TfW clearly decide they might as well run it in service - though if I were them, I would save the wear on the brakes and skip the stop at Fishguard & Goodwick!

The 0720 ex-Clarbeston Road is scheduled to arrive at Fishguard & Goodwick at the useful time of 0738, so I'd be very surprised if no-one at all used it. Getting back at tea-time could be a problem, though.

 

[rower40]

1L98: 0625 Mon-Fri Bristol Temple Meads to Stansted Airport arrive 1141.
Two XC services stitched together at Birmingham New Street; 2 hours slower than going via Paddington, Crossrail to Liverpool Street, then Stansted Express.

 

[Welshman]

The Crewe-Derby line is no stranger to "bizarre" services!
In BR days there used to be a Crewe-Lincoln service, using Cl.120 first-gen mus.
Then in the era of Central Trains [the Yarmouth to Barmouth Rly], there used to be an hourly Manchester Airport- Skegness service. I caught it once from Heckington to Crewe, stopping at every station on a Cl153 dogbox. Never again!
Both, I imagine, were for operational convenience to save turning at Nottingham.

 

[johntea]

I seem to remember a time when on Friday and Saturday nights the last all station stopper service from Sheffield to Leeds was around 9pm due to some historic nature of lots of potential (anti social) trouble running anything later, although it looks like they've sorted that now (probably because there is a lot more CCTV on board these days!) and there is a 22:31 service

It used to mean a lot of my trips to Sheffield took place on a Sunday because that retained a late service back (and still does) at 22:44 which is actually a non express service all the way from Nottingham!

 

[greyman42]

The 0600 Berwick to London Kings Cross is unusual as no other LNER service starts or terminates at Berwick.

 

[Tayway]

The 0600 Berwick to London Kings Cross is unusual as no other LNER service starts or terminates at Berwick.

There's also a handful of similarly unusual Edinburgh - Berwick services operated by TPE which seem to only exist in order to serve the new station at Reston.

 

[dk1]

1L98: 0625 Mon-Fri Bristol Temple Meads to Stansted Airport arrive 1141.
Two XC services stitched together at Birmingham New Street; 2 hours slower than going via Paddington, Crossrail to Liverpool Street, then Stansted Express.

It was always Gloucester-Stansted but was extended back from Temple Meads a few years back.

 

[Strathclyder]

One ScotRail example which I believe no longer runs: the Ayr - North Berwick services (with an end change at Glasgow Central and calling at Motherwell, Carluke & Carstairs only between the two cities IIRC).

It was basically a Ayrshire Coast & Glasgow - North Berwick via Carstairs & Edinburgh service stitched together. The latter of which had existed dating back to at least the Class 318/322 era on the North Berwick service, primarily as a means of getting units to/from Shields Depot. This extended service was a victim of COVID I think; was always worked by a 380 of either length.

Another electric ScotRail example that still runs would be the Anderston - Carstairs peak-hour service on the Argyle Line network (it enters passenger service at Anderston, running ECS from the siding at Exhibition Centre). Not a unusual routing, but the start/end points stand out on the Argyle Line itinerary. Almost always run by a 318/320 or some combination of the two; it'd be a red letter day if a pair of 334s dropped onto this working nowadays.

There are also those Argyle/North Clyde services from the east that terminate & start at Garscadden, with units running out of/into the nearby Yoker Carriage Sidings for stabling and cleaning. Bathgate is similar to Garscadden in this respect, with a few services starting/finishing there with units coming out of/going into the the adjacent stabling sidings there (on that note, I could swear I've seen a Bathgate - Balloch service somewhere; could just be a false memory though).

 

[M60lad]

I don't think it runs anymore but I'm sure that there used to be a once a day XC service that ran from Manchester-Cardiff that ran via Severn Tunnel Junction, can't remember whether it terminated at Cardiff or went further.

 

[The exile]

It’s a classic case of a ‘might as well run it in service’ journey that to all intents and purposes is an empty stock move. The unit has run down from Fishguard Harbour at 06:50 (https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:W09411/2023-07-08/detailed#allox_id=0) to provide a connection at Clarbeston Road with the 07:26 to Cardiff and Manchester, coming off the Milford branch. It then needs to get back to Fishguard to form the 07:51 to Cardiff. Despite the unlikelihood of any passengers, TfW clearly decide they might as well run it in service - though if I were them, I would save the wear on the brakes and skip the stop at Fishguard & Goodwick!

Indeed - and my experience of splendid isolation on both of those services was probably in part due to the fact that no trains were running the other side of Carmarthen. I had. However boarded the up service at Fishguard & Goodwick, so I’m glad they didn’t decide to save the brakes.

 

[Jez]

Fun fact: there are no longer any direct trains from Manchester Piccadilly to Milford Haven or Pembroke Dock. There is one train from Manchester Piccadilly to Tenby, and the others all terminate at Carmarthen or before.

There are two-hourly trains from Milford Haven to Manchester Piccadilly as always, just not in the other direction. Those that used to go there from Manchester now terminate at Carmarthen, form a service back to Cardiff, form a Cardiff to Milford Haven service, and then return to Manchester.

There is still a service to Pembroke Dock from Manchester on a Saturday at 1330. Also a few still go to direct to Milford Haven from Manchester on a Sunday plus there is a Milford Haven/Pembroke Dock that splits at Whitland, usually formed of a combination of different Sprinters!

 

[Adam0984]

I couldn't say definitively but given how few passengers travel from the S&C to stations between Leeds and Nottingham generally, one would expect the numbers using the direct service to be very low indeed.

I work this train every so often and you'd expect it to be basically 2 train loads of people the S&C portion and the Leeds to Notts portion but surprisingly I'd say most weeks you get maybe 4 people doing north part of S&C stations to Sheffield or Notts, with quite a few people on the south end of the S&C and Aire Valley going to Barnsley and beyond. And northbound from Sheffield you semi regularly get a few people on tickets to Glasgow and certainly quite a few people heading Skipton and beyond

 

[penguin8967]

Not sure if it’s still running, but recently there was a Leicester - Gloucester end of the night service with cross country. Seemed to be trying to get to Cardiff Bristol, half in service and half ECS.

[edit] it’s still running.

There's a daily Bristol to Stansted Airport service, again one of those services which is essentially multiple joined together. Certainly an indirect route though!

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

There is still a service to Pembroke Dock from Manchester on a Saturday at 1330.

It terminates at Tenby.

Also a few still go to direct to Milford Haven from Manchester on a Sunday plus there is a Milford Haven/Pembroke Dock that splits at Whitland, usually formed of a combination of different Sprinters!

I didn’t really mean Sundays tbh. It’s more of an outlier, Sunday.

 

[Starmill]

It terminates at Tenby.

It does Monday to Friday but on Saturday the 1330 and 1530 services from Manchester Piccadilly go to Pembroke Dock.

 

[Wilts Wanderer]

There's a daily Bristol to Stansted Airport service, again one of those services which is essentially multiple joined together. Certainly an indirect route though!

View attachment 138821

Thats almost as bizarre as the epic Aberystwyth-Stansted Airport service that Central Trains ran for a couple of years

 

[RGM654]

Back in 2018 I caught a XC train from Berwick to York that because of engineering works that weekend was a service from Aberdeen to Guildford. Obviously members of this forum will understand the need for this, but to the unwary it does seem at face value an odd pairing of start and end points for a passenger train.

I'm afraid I don't understand. Could you explain please? Where would that train have run to normally?

 

[Jez]

It terminates at Tenby.


I didn’t really mean Sundays tbh. It’s more of an outlier, Sunday.

On Saturday it does infact terminate at Pembroke Dock. Different end to the diagram on a Saturday. Weekdays it goes back to Cardiff from Tenby Saturday it stays overnight in Carmarthen.

 

[Doctor Fegg]

Thats almost as bizarre as the epic Aberystwyth-Stansted Airport service that Central Trains ran for a couple of years

Several of my fellow students found that one useful. Cambridge and Aberystwyth universities both have a speciality in Celtic languages and there’s some travel between the two…!

 

[43055]

I'm afraid I don't understand. Could you explain please? Where would that train have run to normally?

That service was a mix of two services which ran between July and October 2018. In the normal timetable the services ran as the 0820 Aberdeen - Penzance and 1335 Newcastle - Guildford where between Sheffield and Birmingham these services are about 30 mins apart.

Due to the Derby Resignalling project the services were diverted adding around 30 mins into the timetable so the services 'stepped back' by half an hour after the diversion so it became the 0820 Aberdeen - Guildford for this period meaning the core service becoming Reading - Scotland and Plymouth - Newcastle.

 

[Some guy]

it’s not bizarre but this service from Carlisle to Preston via barrow takes 4 hours and is the only direct northern service between the 2 places

There’s already 3 faster direct services an hour which are 3 hours faster

Realtime Trains | 1909 Carlisle to Preston | 10/07/2023

Real-time train running information for 1909 departure from Carlisle to Preston on 10/07/2023. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

 

[mm333]

It used to mean a lot of my trips to Sheffield took place on a Sunday because that retained a late service back (and still does) at 22:44 which is actually a non express service all the way from Nottingham!

In the 2010s (and possibly before) IIRC the Friday night last service from Sheffield-Barnsley would then run ECS to Wakefield Kirkgate and then in service to Leeds to make sure no Wakey-types could use it for a late night trip home from South Yorkshire.

And the last service via Goldthorpe would run fast from Moorthorpe to Leeds to avoid calling at Wakefield.

 

[blelic]

Whilst they aren’t exactly rare, the handful of Southern services that terminate at Newhaven Harbour are certainly bizzare (especially when you consider their purpose is to serve a station that no longer exists!), when Newhaven Harbour otherwise gets a very limited service.