Here is a question: What services near you would you say you find particularly different or interesting for one reason or another? The railway seems to be losing more and more unique, infrequent or interesting services over the past few decades (for better and for worse), so what are some that are left? It is one of my favourite things about the railway, being able to travel on niche/infrequent services that I can actually find a use for.
I'm thinking maybe once-per-day services with a different operator or type of rolling stock to the norm, or services that happen occasionally only during diverts that bring new destinations/stock to a station. Really anything you find interesting that is not so frequent.
For example, I've recently loved using the Crosscountry diverts that occur via Guildford and Havant when the SWML is closed for engineering to get to destinations like Manchester and Newcastle, which haven't been seen on the departure boards since the days of XC running to Brighton and Portsmouth, or the morning service that ran pre-covid.
Another one for me would be the 444 diagrams that run Alton-Waterloo, as well as the 458 that goes 'the long way round' from Waterloo to Aldershot via Ascot once per day, leaving at around 17:00 as 1N91. IIRC, isn't there an SWR service that runs on the district line at some point for route knowledge?
I'm thinking maybe once-per-day services with a different operator or type of rolling stock to the norm, or services that happen occasionally only during diverts that bring new destinations/stock to a station. Really anything you find interesting that is not so frequent.
For example, I've recently loved using the Crosscountry diverts that occur via Guildford and Havant when the SWML is closed for engineering to get to destinations like Manchester and Newcastle, which haven't been seen on the departure boards since the days of XC running to Brighton and Portsmouth, or the morning service that ran pre-covid.
Another one for me would be the 444 diagrams that run Alton-Waterloo, as well as the 458 that goes 'the long way round' from Waterloo to Aldershot via Ascot once per day, leaving at around 17:00 as 1N91. IIRC, isn't there an SWR service that runs on the district line at some point for route knowledge?