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Trivia: Stations that have never had a diesel passenger service

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superjohn

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Welham Green and Arlesey on the Great Northern suburban line have only ever had an electric service, both being opened in the late eighties.
 
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RT4038

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The whole of the London Underground network except Harrow on the Hill on the Metropolitan Line and the more important stations beyond it. The idea of diesels on the LU is not all that preposterous - the whole of the Met and District lines (inculding the Circle) were originally steam hauled.

DMUs also operated on the Central line between Stratford and Epping, on night trains into the early 70s.
 

Bevan Price

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Has the Ormskirk line ever had diesels? I thought the last steam service to Preston and beyond was the last through service, i.e. the through services were withdrawn at the end of steam leaving only the EMUs.
Sandhills to Ormskirk & Preston, and to Kirkby & Wigan Wallgate both had dmu services from the 1960s until the closure of Liverpool Exchange in 1977.
On the Wirral side, the Wrexham Central services used dmus into New Brighton, until these were moved to Birkenhead North, and then cut back to Bidston.
 

1D53

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Hadfield has had a DMU (Pacer) service from Manchester Victoria via Ashburys during a closure of Picc for engineering works some years ago. It squealed like a pig round Ashburys curve.

For a couple of months around 2014/2015 the first trip on a Sunday was 156 due to OHLE maintenance.
 

RT4038

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Has the Ormskirk line ever had diesels? I thought the last steam service to Preston and beyond was the last through service, i.e. the through services were withdrawn at the end of steam leaving only the EMUs.

By 1968 few of the through trains were actually steam hauled - on the last night this and the Blackpool was a special arrangement to mark the end.
 
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Rather doubt my local station Purley Oaks has ever had a diesel service. Diesel trains passing though, yes, but not stopping for passengers. Steam to overhead 6,600 volt then third rail. South Croydon will have had Thumpers off the East Grinstead line. Not so sure about Purley; perhaps only as an emergency.
 

Ianno87

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Hadfield has had a DMU (Pacer) service from Manchester Victoria via Ashburys during a closure of Picc for engineering works some years ago. It squealed like a pig round Ashburys curve.

I did that too - New Years Day 1999. DMUs have also occadionally substituted for the normal service too (I once did it on a 101)
 

geoffk

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I recall going to Ormskirk from Maghull with my mum one Saturday and finding that dmus were substituting for emus, while something was amiss with the power supply. Only happened once in my experience.
The Ormskirk line was severed in 1970 so there must have been a diesel service to Preston for two years.
 

30907

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The Kent Coast had alot of scheduled Diesel hauled trains (mostly BR/Sulzer Type 2 in the D5000 series) in the run up to Electrification.
As someone has already said, that was on the Phase 2 (via Ashford) routes - the SR had no main line diesels in June 1959 when the Chatham lines went electric.

Re. The southern 3rd rail area:
Tunnel flooding at Maidstone and Strood (not at the same time afaik) occasioned the use of diesel locos or thumpers at times
And the regular floods at Clock House saw Cromptons replace steam on the emergency for a couple of years in the early 60s.

I think the same applies to most of the Southern Region.....
Apart from the obvious DEMU routes, Pirbright Jn to Basingstoke was part dieselised from about 1962 when Cromptons took over 1 or 2 Bournemouth trains (I remember being gutted to catch the 1130 Bournemouth in summer 1964 and discover this - suspect my Dad was too). But then, of course, that line never became 100% electric.
 

kermit

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Stations on the electrified line from Manchester to Altrincham, but not including Manchester Oxford Rd, (Deansgate? Did Liverpool diesel services stop there?), Sale or Altrincham, where the Chester DMU services started / called. So...Old Trafford, Warwick Rd, Stretford, Dane Rd, Brooklands, Timperley. Not Navigation Rd, as that has been a stop for the Chester services since the rest of the line was converted to Metrolink
 

AM9

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Stratford low level had a diesel service usually 105's to North Woolwich. There was also a morning service post privatisation to I believe Watford which used a 150
If you read my post you will see that Stratford Low Level was mentioned as an exception:
With the exception of Liverpool St - most main line trains, Stratford - Low Level platforms and some Lea Valley line services, /..../ the line from London to Southend Victoria has ISTR, never had services that used diesel-halued trains.
 

L+Y

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Has the Ormskirk line ever had diesels? I thought the last steam service to Preston and beyond was the last through service, i.e. the through services were withdrawn at the end of steam leaving only the EMUs.

Yes- lots. Diesels started appearing on the Glasgow trains as far back as 1962- class 40s initially, but other classes too. The local services were moved to DMUs from steam in 1965, on both the Preston and Wigan lines.

On the Ormskirk line, DMUs had quite a random stopping pattern- the majority stopped at Aintree and/or Sandhills, but some ran fast from Ormskirk to Exchange, and some were all stations stoppers.

I recall going to Ormskirk from Maghull with my mum one Saturday and finding that dmus were substituting for emus, while something was amiss with the power supply. Only happened once in my experience.

Happened in at least 1974 and 1976, as I recall.

They did for a while - Class 50 haulage too, but I have no idea how common this was. This photo is now where Asda is.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryp28/6250482170/in/album-72157627315460580/

Class 50s were the staple motive power from 1968 until the end, though 40s and 47s were also common. One of the weekday evening portions from Preston was a booked class 25 turn, I think.

Sandhills to Ormskirk & Preston, and to Kirkby & Wigan Wallgate both had dmu services from the 1960s until the closure of Liverpool Exchange in 1977.

Kirkby had DMUs until 1977, yes, but Ormskirk was severed in 1970, so was EMU only from that point, aside from special workings.
_______________
In fact, of all the Merseyrail Northern Line, is it fair to say that only Bank Hall has never had a regular diesel service- or would I be wrong on that too?
 

kermit

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Of course, many if not all of the examples quoted that went straight from steam to electric would have had diesel substitutions at times eg during OHLE overhaul etc.
 

vidal

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Bury to Holcombe Brook Branch went from steam to electric and then back to steam before closure. I can't find out if it ever saw diesels. Does anyone know for certain? And if so do any pictures survive?

James
 

Sprinter107

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Local trains in South Manchester. Guessing Glossop/Hadfield line but also possibly stations on the line to Crewe e.g Alderley Edge?
I caught a 150 + 142 from Alderley Edge into Manchester last autumn. I'm sure that class 104 dmus worked between Manchester and Crewe for a short time before the 1960s electrification.
 

Springs Branch

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Bury to Holcombe Brook Branch went from steam to electric and then back to steam before closure. I can't find out if it ever saw diesels. Does anyone know for certain? And if so do any pictures survive?
According to the history books*, the Bury - Holcombe Brook branch closed to passenger trains on 8 May 1952 - so before DMUs began to make their appearance in north-west England.
The ex-L&Y third-rail electric units ran on the branch until 24 March 1951, being replaced by steam trains for the last year and a bit before closure to passengers in 1952.


How about most of the stations on the Manchester - Bury electric line (now Metrolink)?

In the 1960s DMUs were used on Manchester Vic - Bacup trains (which got to Bury via Heywood) and on the final services on the Man Vic - Bury - Accrington - Colne - Skipton route (which took the original East Lancs Railway route via Salford & Clifton Jn).

As far as I can tell, only the 1200V DC EMUs used the line via Whitefield, meaning stations from Bowker Vale to Radcliffe never saw diesels.
Maybe DMUs were used on occasions during preparation for the Metrolink conversion, but I suspect bustitution was coming into vogue as the preferred option by that time.

* A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain vol.10 The North West by G.O. Holt
 

Ianno87

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Ac


How about most of the stations on the Manchester - Bury electric line (now Metrolink)?

In the 1960s DMUs were used on Manchester Vic - Bacup trains (which got to Bury via Heywood) and on the final services on the Man Vic - Bury - Accrington - Colne - Skipton route (which took the original East Lancs Railway route via Salford & Clifton Jn).

As far as I can tell, only the 1200V DC EMUs used the line via Whitefield, meaning stations from Bowker Vale to Radcliffe never saw diesels.
Maybe DMUs were used on occasions during preparation for the Metrolink conversion, but I suspect bustitution was coming into vogue as the preferred option by that time.

Class 504s were used up to the bitter end, from my reading. Partly a combination of:
-BR being desperately short of diesel fleet at the time with Class 158 deliveries being late, and
-The last 2 months or so of BR operation was Crumpsall-Bury only (the network south of Crumpsall being severed for construction of the depot etc.)
 

yorksrob

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Class 504s were used up to the bitter end, from my reading. Partly a combination of:
-BR being desperately short of diesel fleet at the time with Class 158 deliveries being late, and
-The last 2 months or so of BR operation was Crumpsall-Bury only (the network south of Crumpsall being severed for construction of the depot etc.)

I read that the reliability of the route when operated by 504's was extremely high, right up until the end. This was apparently due to there being a lot of them close at hand on account of having been somewhat overprovided.
 

Ianno87

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I read that the reliability of the route when operated by 504's was extremely high, right up until the end. This was apparently due to there being a lot of them close at hand on account of having been somewhat overprovided.

Slack in the fleet, self-contained line, low mileage accumulation, line with it's own depot that basically didn't do anything else - no wonder!
 

Taunton

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With the exception of Liverpool St - most main line trains, Stratford - Low Level platforms and some Lea Valley line services, Romford - Upminster shuttles, Shenfield - a few main line stoppers and Wickford, - Southminster shuttles, the line from London to Southend Victoria has ISTR, never had services that used diesel-halued trains.
Sorry, not even that one. Onetime office colleague who lived down the Southend Victoria line (Rochford?) arrived late one morning to tell that after a power failure in the 1980s a Southminster dmu was hijacked from Wickford to run down to Victoria and back to Shenfield picking up as many as would fit in. Not for the first time apparently. I wrote about it on here a while ago.
 
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PeterC

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With the exception of Liverpool St - most main line trains, Stratford - Low Level platforms and some Lea Valley line services, Romford - Upminster shuttles, Shenfield - a few main line stoppers and Wickford, - Southminster shuttles, the line from London to Southend Victoria has ISTR, never had services that used diesel-halued trains.
There was a mail/parcels service carrying passengers to Norwich in the early hours that called at Romford and Brentwood.
At one time a couple of Sunday morning Southminster services ran in service from London rather than as empty stock.
As Taunton posted DMUs did sometimes get used in emergency. I remember travelling on one from Liverpool Street.

I was going to suggest the London Tilbury and Southend but I never knew the line well enough round about electrification.
 

urbophile

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Most of the present Merseyrail system apart from the extensions electrified since 1977.
There was a regular diesel service from Southport to Liverpool Lime Street in the sixties and early seventies I believe. Also although the main commuter service from Exchange to Ormskirk was electric, there were through trains towards Preston which would have called at least at Ormskirk and possibly other stations. The Hunts Cross line was diesel operated until its temporary closure (1970?). So that only leaves the Wirral Line as far as Rock Ferry/ New Brighton/ West Kirby.
 

Journeyman

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No diesel services ever operated on the Isle of Wight railways in BR ownership - the only diesels ever based on the island were shunters for p-way duties. The steam railway has, ironically, operated the only diesel passenger trains ever to run on the Island.

The very first tube car to be delivered to the island formed a gauging train in September 1966, hauled by a steam locomotive.
 

Springs Branch

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Stations on the electrified line from Manchester to Altrincham, but not including Manchester Oxford Rd, (Deansgate? Did Liverpool diesel services stop there?), Sale or Altrincham, where the Chester DMU services started / called. So...Old Trafford, Warwick Rd, Stretford, Dane Rd, Brooklands, Timperley. Not Navigation Rd, as that has been a stop for the Chester services since the rest of the line was converted to Metrolink
DMUs did substitute for EMUs on all-stations-to-Altrincham services on several occasions.

When the line was re-electrified from 1500V DC to 25kV AC in 1971, switching from the DC to AC power supply was done over a weekend.
  • The last DC EMUs ran on the evening of Friday 30 April 1971.
  • A diesel service ran on Sat 1 May.
  • No trains on Sun. 2 May.
  • "New" Class 304s started on the morning of Mon. 3 May 1971.
There's also an earlier thread on Altrincham line services:
https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...vices-in-heavy-rail-days.196966/#post-4347365
which mentions regular use of DMUs on Sundays in the last days of heavy rail operation.
Whether this was an economy measure or part of the prelude to the Metrolink conversion is not clear.
 

vidal

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According to the history books*, the Bury - Holcombe Brook branch closed to passenger trains on 8 May 1952 - so before DMUs began to make their appearance in north-west England.
The ex-L&Y third-rail electric units ran on the branch until 24 March 1951, being replaced by steam trains for the last year and a bit before closure to passengers in 1952.


How about most of the stations on the Manchester - Bury electric line (now Metrolink)?

In the 1960s DMUs were used on Manchester Vic - Bacup trains (which got to Bury via Heywood) and on the final services on the Man Vic - Bury - Accrington - Colne - Skipton route (which took the original East Lancs Railway route via Salford & Clifton Jn).

As far as I can tell, only the 1200V DC EMUs used the line via Whitefield, meaning stations from Bowker Vale to Radcliffe never saw diesels.
Maybe DMUs were used on occasions during preparation for the Metrolink conversion, but I suspect bustitution was coming into vogue as the preferred option by that time.

* A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain vol.10 The North West by G.O. Holt

I believe the line closed to passengers in 1952 but continued up until 1963 (to Tottington only) for freight. I know it would not had a diesel passenger service, but was any freight diesel hauled?

James
 

AM9

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There was a mail/parcels service carrying passengers to Norwich in the early hours that called at Romford and Brentwood.
At one time a couple of Sunday morning Southminster services ran in service from London rather than as empty stock.
As Taunton posted DMUs did sometimes get used in emergency. I remember travelling on one from Liverpool Street.

I was going to suggest the London Tilbury and Southend but I never knew the line well enough round about electrification.
OK, I excepted Romford, (because of ther Upminster shuttle, so Brentwood had a one, maybe two trains calling there.
The Southminster run in is far from a 'service'.
Emergency arrangements aren't really services in that they wouldn't appear in a normal timetable. There must be plenty of electrified lines where a power failure has resulted in some makeshift runs with diesels.
 

vlad

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No diesel services ever operated on the Isle of Wight railways in BR ownership - the only diesels ever based on the island were shunters for p-way duties. The steam railway has, ironically, operated the only diesel passenger trains ever to run on the Island.

I was going to mention Lake - which opened about 30 years ago - but from what you've said, the other stations on the line (except for Smallbrook Jcn) would also count.
 

John Luxton

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Not sure that is right, because there was an (infrequent) Liverpool Lime Street to Southport via Bootle DMU service which connected with certain London trains (I presume replacing steam hauled through carriages), and the Liverpool Central-Hunt's Cross section was DMU operated. So apart from the Mersey Tunnel lines all had DMUs at one time?

Yes I used the Lime Street - Southport service quite a bit as a youngster. My grandmother preferred it as Lime Street was more convenient than Exchange for the bus. Ran about 5 times a day weekdays less, Saturday and Not Sunday. I liked it as it was a DMU with the forward views! Also Exchange to Ormskirk was mixed electric / diesel / steam. Diesel and steam operating semi fast with the electrics picking up all stations. Bidston / Birkenhead North, New Brighton, Wallasey Grove Road and Village also had DMU Wrexham services at various stages and Bidston - New Brighton section Chester Northgate trains DMU.
 

Journeyman

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I was going to mention Lake - which opened about 30 years ago - but from what you've said, the other stations on the line (except for Smallbrook Jcn) would also count.

There were plans for a private company to operate diesel railcars on the Newport/Cowes line. A prototype was developed and tested on the mainland, but the plans never came to fruition as BR were pretty obstructive, and the trackbed in the Newport area got used for a road scheme.
 
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