Trivia: Scheduled passenger services that include a reversal.

[tom73]

Is there a list/table anywhere of normal scheduled services where a reversal is necessary at some point during the end to end journey?
Would such reversals have been necessary prior to BR getting its butcher knife out in the 50's and Beeching in the 60's?

 

[Glenn1969]

All journeys via Bradford Interchange require a reversal there

 

[30907]

Loads, in slightly random order:
Regular reversals on through services: - Eastbourne, Littlehampton, Redhill, Reading, Coombe Jn, Swansea, Carmarthen, Exeter St D, Chester, Shrewsbury, Grantham, Sheffield, Derby, Hull, Bradford Int, Manchester Apt, Fort William.

Llanelli, Bourne End, Gloucester, Bere Alston, Battersby - these 5 are the only ones resulting from route rationalisation.

Odd trains: Minster, Edinburgh.
Operational convenience: Eastleigh (?), Plymouth, Bristol Pkwy, Newcastle.

 

[mrcheek]

Also Bristol Temple Meads on the Cardiff-Portsmouth services

 

[PHILIPE]

Westbury for SWR services and a GWR Frome to Warminster. Birmingham New st for XC. Worcester Shrub Hill.

 

[jimm]

Huddersfield to Wakefield Westgate services reverse at Wakefield Kirkgate.

 

[Ianno87]

Liverpool-Norwich reverses at Sheffield and Ely (and occasionally at Nottingham as well if diverted via Syston)

Manchester Piccadilly (TPE Airport-Cleethorpes)

Bourne End

Colchester Town

Morecambe

 

[swidnod]

Carstairs , both ways on the Lowland Sleeper to Edinburgh....and a loco change.
The Edinburgh -Carstairs portion also sets back from the siding onto the Glasgow portion..

Later,
Stu from EGDL.

 

[rg177]

Huddersfield to Wakefield Westgate services reverse at Wakefield Kirkgate.

Been a while since that's happened. They now go to Castleford!

 

[essexjohn]

Cromer.
Rationalisation of route eliminated reversal at Tilbury Riverside.

 

[Mag_seven]

Fort William for Glasgow to Mallaig services.

 

[mailbyrail]

Glossop/Hadfield

 

[Whistler40145]

Whitby services reverse at Battersby

 

[gaillark]

Nottingham with regard trains from London St. Pancras principally HST services going onwards to Leeds via Sheffield and v.v.

 

[swt_passenger]

Aldershot - Guildford - Ascot Sunday only now, but was 7/7 until last December.

 

[swt_passenger]

Operational convenience: Eastleigh (?), Plymouth, Bristol Pkwy, Newcastle.

Yes still a couple of normal timetabled Southern services for Eastleigh, but that’s less than in recent years.

 

[6026KingJohn]

Reading (XC), Thurso, Georgemas Junction.

 

[roadierway77]

Leeds to Morecambe services reverse at Lancaster.

 

[Class 170101]

Newark Crossing East Jn for these services
https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/C66137/2019/12/18/advanced
https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/C66134/2019/12/18/advanced

Thorpe Le Soken for Walton to Clacton services (there are one or two in each direction per day)

During Engineering Works its not unheard of for Chiltern to run Birmingham services via Amersham, Aylesbury and Princes Risborough - reversing at the last two when the main line via High Wycombe is closed. I wouldn't be entirely surprised if there were works around Bicester North that Chiltern might run an Marylesbone to Birmingham Moor Street / Snow Hill service via High Wycombe and Oxford (reverse)
c2c also seem to do this if Upminster to Barking section of route is closed. Pitsea to Barking via Upminster and Grays reversing at both.

 

[class 9]

XC at New Street heading for Reading & returns

 

[Barnsley]

All trains that stop at Castleford reverse there

 

[Ianno87]

Kilmarnock for Glasgow-Kilmarnock-Ayr-Stranraer services

 

[driver9000]

Edinburgh to Ayr services reverse at Glasgow Central.

 

[Kite159]

Yeovil Junction for some of the SWR Yeovil Pen Mill services

 

[geoffk]

Gloucester - Paddington/Swindon to Cheltenham trains, also the odd early morning/late evening XC service to/from Bristol. The Paddington - Cheltenham trains have always reversed, the others served Eastgate station.

KX to Bradford/Harrogate services reverse at Leeds.

 

[Ken H]

the OP asked for historic ones...
Shipley used to have reversals for trains between Leeds and Keighley and further west before they built the platforms on the north curve.
Thread about it
https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/shipley-triangle.178047/
My post #13 gives details on my memories of how it was operated.


Bradford Exchange/Interchange inter city trains reversed at Leeds. The odd one went direct until they lifted a chord in Farnley. Some went to kings cross, some went on what is now cross country via Birmingham

Harrogate - London trains reverse at Leeds, as do the Skipton - London trains

 

[Train Boy]

The 'king' of the reversals was the summer SWR London to Corfe service, with a total of 4. (This ran during 2018 and 2019)

These were at Yeovil Junction, Yeovil Pen Mill, Weymouth and Wareham. The service now only has 2 (at the Yeovils), as it terminates at Weymouth.

 

[randyrippley]

XC at New Street heading for Reading & returns

once upon a time when xc was loco hauled, EVERYTHING reversed at New St

 

[30907]

The OP asked about the effect of Beeching. Adding to the 5 I listed earlier, Castleford is a definite, and Leeds-Lancaster-Morecambe arguable (a late response!).
So basically Beeching had little effect in this case

 

[Ken H]

The OP asked about the effect of Beeching. Adding to the 5 I listed earlier, Castleford is a definite, and Leeds-Lancaster-Morecambe arguable (a late response!).
So basically Beeching had little effect in this case

Leeds - Lancaster Morecambe would not have reversed in Lancaster. i would have gone straight through Green Ayre. Then they were all sent via Carnforth.

I dont know when they started stopping at Shipley, that required a reversal.

Some summer Saturday Leeds-Morecambe trains in the 1970's went Leeds - Bradford FS - Keighley, so would have reversed at Bradford. This went on even when they were pacers, I think. Some of these trains were quite long. But in those days they didnt serve Lancaster but went straight from Carnforth to Bare Lane.

Must have been a period when the platform on the north curve at Shipley was in use before they were diverted to Lancaster when there was no reversal.

(As an aside, the up platform was constructed first, and down trains crossed over to run wrong line to call there. Then they built the down platform later)