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Trivia: Most ridiculous through trains?

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Sidious

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Which is the most ridiculous through rail journey in the country?

I'd propose as a starter Scunthorpe to Lincoln. The two places are about 25 miles apart as the crow flies. The direct train takes 2h45m and travels on a route for which the ticket wouldn't be valid be it not for the through train rule...
 
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GrimsbyPacer

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It is sn odd route, one-way if I remember correctly it's Lincoln to Adwick on the way back.

The Tyne and Metro loops round on itself, so it's possible to get a direct train from Monument to St James' Park via Monument!
 

Cherry_Picker

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The now defunct once a day (Mon - Fri) Manchester Piccadilly to London Waterloo is always worth a mention. Can't remember the exact route it took but if I recall correctly it went via Shrewsbury, Newport and Salisbury. Took about five and a half hours. Wales & West were the TOC who operated it, circa 1996-2001. Dunno if anybody here can find a link to the timetable it ran in, I've had a quick look but can't find anything.
 

PHILIPE

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The now defunct once a day (Mon - Fri) Manchester Piccadilly to London Waterloo is always worth a mention. Can't remember the exact route it took but if I recall correctly it went via Shrewsbury, Newport and Salisbury. Took about five and a half hours. Wales & West were the TOC who operated it, circa 1996-2001. Dunno if anybody here can find a link to the timetable it ran in, I've had a quick look but can't find anything.

It was about 09xx something from Manchester and returned, I think, at 1520 time. Didn't call at Newport on the outward but went via Maindee Curve.
 

Adam0984

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The 0619 or 1621 Blackpool to Blackburn via Preston Bolton Man Vic and Todmorden
 

Sacro

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The now defunct once a day (Mon - Fri) Manchester Piccadilly to London Waterloo is always worth a mention. Can't remember the exact route it took but if I recall correctly it went via Shrewsbury, Newport and Salisbury. Took about five and a half hours. Wales & West were the TOC who operated it, circa 1996-2001. Dunno if anybody here can find a link to the timetable it ran in, I've had a quick look but can't find anything.

There goes half an hour of my life...

The 06:52 Manchester Piccadilly to London Waterloo (1O24)

Calling at

Crewe, Nantwich, Wrenbury, Chester, Prees, Wem, Yorton, Shrewsbury, Chester, Craven Arms, Ludlow, Leominster, Hereford, Abergavenny, Cwmbraen Bristol Temple Meads, Bath Spa, Bradford Upon Avon, Trowbridge, Warminster, Woking, Clapham Junction and London Waterloo (13:14)

This is in the 2001 timetable.
 
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EM2

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The now defunct once a day (Mon - Fri) Manchester Piccadilly to London Waterloo is always worth a mention. Can't remember the exact route it took but if I recall correctly it went via Shrewsbury, Newport and Salisbury. Took about five and a half hours. Wales & West were the TOC who operated it, circa 1996-2001. Dunno if anybody here can find a link to the timetable it ran in, I've had a quick look but can't find anything.
I took that once from Clapham Junction to Abergavenny back in 1999-ish. It wasn't deliberate, it just happened to be the cheapest ticket I could get from Brighton to Abergavenny!
From what I recall, the route I took was via Woking, Westbury, Bristol TM, Severn Tunnel and Newport, with a reversal at Bristol (?)
 

Busaholic

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Which is the most ridiculous through rail journey in the country?

I'd propose as a starter Scunthorpe to Lincoln. The two places are about 25 miles apart as the crow flies. The direct train takes 2h45m and travels on a route for which the ticket wouldn't be valid be it not for the through train rule...

How about Goldhawk Road to Notting Hill Gate via Paddington, Aldgate and Victoria for anyone not wanting to make the short walk from Goldhawk Road to Shepherd's Bush Central Line station?
 

randyrippley

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The now defunct once a day (Mon - Fri) Manchester Piccadilly to London Waterloo is always worth a mention. Can't remember the exact route it took but if I recall correctly it went via Shrewsbury, Newport and Salisbury. Took about five and a half hours. Wales & West were the TOC who operated it, circa 1996-2001. Dunno if anybody here can find a link to the timetable it ran in, I've had a quick look but can't find anything.

back in the 1980's the last train south down the WCML from Lancashire (it may have started further north - I can't remember) ended up in Paddington. Went via Birmingham and Reading. I could never understand that one

But if you want to think about it, some of the routes when the class 158's were introduced were a bit crazy: Blackpool - Manchester - Sheffield - Nottingham - Ely - Ipswich - Harwich? One or two each day even started from Barrow, not Blackpool. Now thats weird........and if you go back further to the "The European / Lorelei / anothernamethisyear" Harwich boat train from Scotland, now that was simply daft.
 

randyrippley

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There goes half an hour of my life...

The 06:52 Manchester Piccadilly to London Waterloo (1O24)

Calling at

Crewe, Nantwich, Wrenbury, Chester, Prees, Wem, Yorton, Shrewsbury, Chester, Craven Arms, Ludlow, Leominster, Hereford, Abergavenny, Cwmbraen Bristol Temple Meads, Bath Spa, Bradford Upon Avon, Trowbridge, Warminster, Woking, Clapham Junction and London Waterloo (13:14)

This is in the 2001 timetable.

was it by any chance a hangover from the wandering days of the Class 33's - a good way of bringing a lost one one home? They worked into South Wales, then on to Crewe/Chester and then sometimes got hijacked to run to Manchester
 

EM2

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How about Anglia's 'London Crosslink', which ran from 2000 to 2002?
Norwich, Diss, Stowmarket, Ipswich, Colchester, Witham, Chelmsford, Ingatestone, Romford, Stratford, Highbury & Islington, Camden Road, West Hampstead, Brentford, Feltham, Staines, Woking, Farnborough (Main), Basingstoke.
 

Sacro

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Did it miss Westbury? (Serious question, not a dig at possible copying errors)

Nope, doesn't look to be booked to stop there.

was it by any chance a hangover from the wandering days of the Class 33's - a good way of bringing a lost one one home? They worked into South Wales, then on to Crewe/Chester and then sometimes got hijacked to run to Manchester

It's booked DMU E, (158)
 

Cherry_Picker

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back in the 1980's the last train south down the WCML from Lancashire (it may have started further north - I can't remember) ended up in Paddington. Went via Birmingham and Reading. I could never understand that one

They were Cross Country services weren't they? Even Virgin XC ran into Paddington several times a day in the early to mid 00s, I can't remember whether it stopped with Operation Princess or the handover to Arriva. A lot of the route is still covered now with the Manchester - Birmingham - Reading services.
 

Rob F

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In the late 80s/early 90s there was a Leeds -Manchester service which ran via Sheffield, Derby, Birmingham and Wolverhampton. I think I still have the droplight destination sticker somewhere.

ROB
 

mlambeuk

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What about Scarborough to Doncaster & Sheffield via Hull (is a Scarborough to Sheffield ticket valid on that route), much quicker changing at York.
 

racklam

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There goes half an hour of my life...

The 06:52 Manchester Piccadilly to London Waterloo (1O24)

Calling at

Crewe, Nantwich, Wrenbury, Chester, Prees, Wem, Yorton, Shrewsbury, Chester, Craven Arms, Ludlow, Leominster, Hereford, Abergavenny, Cwmbraen Bristol Temple Meads, Bath Spa, Bradford Upon Avon, Trowbridge, Warminster, Woking, Clapham Junction and London Waterloo (13:14)

This is in the 2001 timetable.

Non-stop Manchester to Crewe must be quite rare in itself...
 

61653 HTAFC

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On Saturdays I think a handful of the "Grand Tour" Selby to Wakefield Westgate via Leeds, Bradford, Brighouse and Huddersfield still run as through services.
 

Doctor Fegg

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IIRC, Wales & West simply figured they had a couple of services that they could join up, thereby giving a few more through-journey opportunities - and that's how Manchester to Waterloo came about. Chris Gibb was interviewed about it in Rail magazine many years ago.
 

SeanG

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A lot of these services will be for operational convenience, however it is still of interest to bring them up.

Southport - Chester via Manchester on Sundays

Also Liverpool S Parkway - Preston/Blackpool N
 

heart-of-wessex

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There was some serivce over Easter 2015 IIRC that was Exeter to Weymouth via Bristol & Swindon booked for a 150, practically all stops as well!!
 

FenMan

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There was some serivce over Easter 2015 IIRC that was Exeter to Weymouth via Bristol & Swindon booked for a 150, practically all stops as well!!

The current Weymouth - Gloucester used to continue to Great Malvern?
 

SeanG

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Blackburn - Clitheroe via Todmorden, Manchester Victoria, Bolton and Blackburn
 

berneyarms

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