Trivia: Stations with the worst numbered platforms

[DanTrain]

All platforms at Waverley are numbered logically clockwise. 1, cross to 2, bays 3,4,5,6, 7 through, 8 &9 round the back, turn round on yourself, through 10, cross to 11, bays 12-18, then 19 through, cross to 20. Perfectly logical.

Indeed (although 1 next to 20 always seems a little odd). My point was that in places where they've done this but then altered it, it becomes seemingly random.

 

[hexagon789]

All platforms at Waverley are numbered logically clockwise. 1, cross to 2, bays 3,4,5,6, 7 through, 8 &9 round the back, turn round on yourself, through 10, cross to 11, bays 12-18, then 19 through, cross to 20. Perfectly logical.

I seem to recall it was more confusing before the renumbering in 2007 (?).

 

[GW43125]

I seem to recall it was more confusing before the renumbering in 2007 (?).

having seen diagrams, yes it appeared so as they'd taken bits out, the platforms round the back were an afterthought.
Much better now.

 

[hexagon789]

having seen diagrams, yes it appeared so as they'd taken bits out, the platforms round the back were an afterthought.
Much better now.

Quite, the clockwise numbering is probably one of the best methods for a station of such a large size, it does actually make sense!

 

[Silver Cobra]

Oban's only two platforns are numbered 3 and 4, not 1 and 2. 1 and 2 served the Ballachulish branch and were removed in the early 70s I think.

Going on that same logic, Bridlington's three platforms are numbered 4, 5 and 6. Platforms 1-3, 7 and 8 were removed/decommissioned between 1983 and 2000.

While not quite as strange/outlandish as most of the examples here, Huntingdon and St Neots are a bit of an oddity for the local stations on the ECML between Peterborough and Potters Bar (not sure about the stations from there to Finsbury Park), in that the platform numbering is opposite to the other stations on the route. Where most of the stations are numbered with the first southbound platform as 1, Huntingdon and St Neots both have platform 1 as the first northbound platform. I imagine there is a reason for this dating from the earlier days of the railway.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Huddersfield is a bit strange.
There is a platform 1 = Bay Penistone (original 1 was where the Jackson children's centre coach now is); 2 = Through Manchester; No 3 (originally very short eastwards facing bay); 4 = Through Manchester / Leeds / Wakefield; 5, 6 both car bays Wakefield / Leeds / Bradford; No 7 (was very short westwards bay, now filled in); 8 = Through mainly TPE Eastbound to Leeds etc

Err, you'll find you've got 1 & 2 the wrong way round there! One could argue that they should be the way you have them, as that would be in order from South to North.

Leeds these days is fairly sensible, but in the late 1990s had a Platform W (For Wellington after the original name of that part of the station and the nearby Wellington Street) which became Platform 1 after the rebuild.

Both Dewsbury and Taunton give me a bit of an OCD twitch due to the numbers counting down from the main entrance rather than up, though this isn't that unusual.

 

[Railsigns]

Oban's only two platforns are numbered 3 and 4, not 1 and 2. 1 and 2 served the Ballachulish branch and were removed in the early 70s I think.

Platform 1 was taken out of use in 1969.
Platforms 2 and 4 were taken out of use in 1982; Platform 4 was restored to passenger use in 1989.

 

[hexagon789]

Platform 1 was taken out of use in 1969.
Platforms 2 and 4 were taken out of use in 1982; Platform 4 was restored to passenger use in 1989.

1 and 2 were the ones under the overall roof weren't they? So from 1982-89 only no. 3 was available then?

 

[Railsigns]

1 and 2 were the ones under the overall roof weren't they? So from 1982-89 only no. 3 was available then?

Yes and yes.

 

[greaterwest]

Haslemere.

1, Portsmouth bound only
2, reversible
3, London bound only.

Typically at smaller stations, it's the other way around.

 

[edwin_m]

The reason why the platforms have weird numbering sequences at some stations is down to the signal interlocking circuits and signalbox panels. When the signals were first installed the wires/cables and relay contacts would have loads of labels referring to the platforms so any change to platform number would mean changing all those labels which would be a big job in itself. So the only way to tidy up the platform numbering to a more logical sequence is to resignal the whole station.

An example is Lincoln which had 8 platforms but closures whittled them down to 5 platforms starting with 3 on to 7. Resignalling during 2008 provided the opportunity to number the platforms logically from 1 to 5!

Usually the platform number is displayed on a route indicator on the approach signal, so drivers know which platform they are routed into. So re-numbering the platforms would also involve changing these safety-critical circuits, and re-briefing all the drivers on the new arrangement. There might also be a hazard of driver confusion if the numbers changed but the rest of the station stayed about the same. With a major re-signalling everything usually changes and drivers will need to learn a very different layout so including a change of platform numbers isn't really a big deal.

Stratford as aforementioned is obviously one but Euston's numbering annoys me because it is right to left (when facing the platforms from the concourse) when traditionally it is left to right. It has caught me off guard multiple times now.

Kings Cross is the same, complete with a platform 0. I guess it will be re-numbered when the throat is re-modelled, with the benefit that platform 9 3/4 will be then be correctly between 9 and 10!

Cardiff Central platform 0 remained as such during the re-signalling a year or so back, apparently because the glazed tile signs in the subway directing passengers to the other platforms were part of the station's listed status, so couldn't easily be changed and would have caused confusion if showing incorrect numbers.

 

[hexagon789]

Yes and yes.

Cheers, I thought something like that was the case.

 

[Nick66]

I never really thought of Newcastle being unusual because I’m used to it but now that it has been mentioned I do seem to remember that it used to be different. I think the issue is that the trains to Whitley Bay/Tynemouth and South Shields used to leave from the short platforms near the entrance before the Metro was built and everything was changed after that. Can’t remember the platform numbers though I was only a kid then.

 

[LLivery]

Surprised no one has mentioned Highbury & Islington. Platforms 1 & 2 (ELL) are right next to 7 & 8 (NLL). The four in between are underground (Northern City & Victoria)

 

[ASharpe]

I find platform 5 at Shipley is a bit odd.

 

[700007]

Usually the platform number is displayed on a route indicator on the approach signal, so drivers know which platform they are routed into. So re-numbering the platforms would also involve changing these safety-critical circuits, and re-briefing all the drivers on the new arrangement. There might also be a hazard of driver confusion if the numbers changed but the rest of the station stayed about the same. With a major re-signalling everything usually changes and drivers will need to learn a very different layout so including a change of platform numbers isn't really a big deal.


Kings Cross is the same, complete with a platform 0. I guess it will be re-numbered when the throat is re-modelled, with the benefit that platform 9 3/4 will be then be correctly between 9 and 10!

Cardiff Central platform 0 remained as such during the re-signalling a year or so back, apparently because the glazed tile signs in the subway directing passengers to the other platforms were part of the station's listed status, so couldn't easily be changed and would have caused confusion if showing incorrect numbers.

I don't know how I had missed that especially as I've been using London King's Cross nearly every day this week (not a regular through this particular terminal in London, usually at St. Pancras instead!). I do love KGX though and I've really discovered that this week compared to how difficult it is to navigate and change trains at St. Pancras. I really dislike London Euston. But I'm on a real tangent here aren't I?

 

[xotGD]

I never really thought of Newcastle being unusual because I’m used to it but now that it has been mentioned I do seem to remember that it used to be different. I think the issue is that the trains to Whitley Bay/Tynemouth and South Shields used to leave from the short platforms near the entrance before the Metro was built and everything was changed after that. Can’t remember the platform numbers though I was only a kid then.

The bay platforms were numbered 1-7. 1-3 were taken out of use and filled in to make a car park when the coast loop became the Metro. Subsequently, 4-6 were taken out of use to create more car parking. What was 7 became 1 with the renumbering and the addition of the new platforms.

 

[hexagon789]

Not so much worst numbered, but several platforms at Stirling are rarely/infrequently used 4&5 cannot be used in passenger service, 8 and 10 are rarely used, and 1 is now in the car park!

 

[matacaster]

I find platform 5 at Shipley is a bit odd.

ah, yes! This station was completely renumbered when the through Leeds - Skipton lines both got platforms. Originally there were no through platforms on the third side of the triangle and all trains stopping at Shipley had to go to or come from Bradford Forster Square. There was double track as now on Leeds - Shipley - Bradford and double track (now singled) on Bradford - Shipley - Skipton.

So originally there were four platforms at Shipley, two for Bradford - Skipton, two for Bradford - Leeds, none for Leeds - Skipton direct. Then one of the Bradford - Shipley- Skipton platforms had track removed (original platform 1?) and line slewed to use full track bed (between 1 & 2?) as it is on a very sharp curve. Seem to remember a platform 5 was then created on Leeds Skipton direct line, serving both up and down lines, but may be mistaken. Think 3 & 4 have always been the same as now. When the second platform was added (becoming new Platform 1) to give both Leeds - Skipton lines a platform, Platform 5 was renumbered 2. and Platform 2 became 5.


This is done from memory , so please correct if necessary.

 

[island]

Waterloo East

New Cross

 

[edwin_m]

ah, yes! This station was completely renumbered when the through Leeds - Skipton lines both got platforms. Originally there were no through platforms on the third side of the triangle and all trains stopping at Shipley had to go to or come from Bradford Forster Square. There was double track as now on Leeds - Shipley - Bradford and double track (now singled) on Bradford - Shipley - Skipton.

So originally there were four platforms at Shipley, two for Bradford - Skipton, two for Bradford - Leeds, none for Leeds - Skipton direct. Then one of the Bradford - Shipley- Skipton platforms had track removed (original platform 1?) and line slewed to use full track bed (between 1 & 2?) as it is on a very sharp curve. Seem to remember a platform 5 was then created on Leeds Skipton direct line, serving both up and down lines, but may be mistaken. Think 3 & 4 have always been the same as now. When the second platform was added (becoming new Platform 1) to give both Leeds - Skipton lines a platform, Platform 5 was renumbered 2. and Platform 2 became 5.


This is done from memory , so please correct if necessary.

I do remember that platform on the south side of the Leeds-Skipton leg of the triangle arrived before the other one and was used in both directions. But I can't recall anything about platform numbers or if that was the same time the Bradford-Skipton leg was singled.

 

[swaldman]

Following on from a thread about platfors trains never depart from, I noticed the platforms at Newcastle Central seemed to have no logic to their numbering. It's like they tried to go clockwise (as in Edinburgh Waverley) but failed with the through platforms (and one or two others too). What other stations are illogically numbered like this, and why?

Edinburgh Waverley
Yes, it's meant to go clockwise, but that only makes sense if you're sat in an office looking at a map. It's useless for somebody at the station, without an overhead view or extensive knowledge of the station, who is trying to find their platform.

But Stratford definitely wins for "most bonkers".

 

[richard1976]

Newhaven Marine only had one platform, Numbered 3

 

[GW43125]

Newhaven Marine only had one platform, Numbered 3

Wasn’t that to avoid confusion with harbour station?

IN the same way that Waterloo east is lettered so they could say “fire on platform D” and there’d be no confusion as to which part of the station was being referred to.

 

[Skimble19]

While not quite as strange/outlandish as most of the examples here, Huntingdon and St Neots are a bit of an oddity for the local stations on the ECML between Peterborough and Potters Bar (not sure about the stations from there to Finsbury Park), in that the platform numbering is opposite to the other stations on the route. Where most of the stations are numbered with the first southbound platform as 1, Huntingdon and St Neots both have platform 1 as the first northbound platform. I imagine there is a reason for this dating from the earlier days of the railway.

Whilst you're correct about St Neots being the opposite way round to the rest of the GN (well, at least Finsbury Park to Huntingdon, not sure about further north!), that isn't the case at Huntingdon. The bay platform is Platform 1, with the Southbound Platform 2 and Northbound Platform 3.

 

[Taunton]

Both Dewsbury and Taunton give me a bit of an OCD twitch due to the numbers counting down from the main entrance rather than up, though this isn't that unusual.

That's because the "main" Taunton entrance changed sides, used to be that the entrance on the south (town) side was considered the main one, it got shifted to the north side on the basis that most passengers entering the station were travelling Up, not Down, and only one entrance and booking office, not two, were desired.

Then the platforms were renumbered, although still following the old south-to-north logic. There are now only 6, used to be 9, although the basic structure remains, it was just short bays that were eliminated.

 

[cuccir]

Newcastle is a bit confusing; I commute there and sometimes still have to check which platform I'm heading to if I'm travelling on a different train from usual.

It's not helped by the furthest two through platforms being split into two (5/6, 7/8) but not the nearest three.

It would make more sense if what are currently the bay platforms 9-12 were renumbered as 1-4, with the remaining platforms numbered in the existing order starting with the current platform 1 as 5, 2 as 6 etc, getting further from the entrance. That would also make the split platforms simpler as these would be the final four numbers, rather than the middle 4!

 

[dk1]

Stratford!

That really should've been sorted some how. It would be better being say platform 18. It's very common to see luggage laden passengers bolting along platform 10 for the subway as the Norwich rolls into 10A & even a GA manager (say no more) almost missed it as he thought it was the front part of platform 10. The signalling still routes us into 10A with the indications AV for Avoider.

 

[Stopper]

10 used to always be used for the Glasgow-Stirling services before the Alloa link. I always found that quite strange given it was in a far more inconvenient location to 7&8.

Nowadays they use 7, with 8&10 sometimes being used for the Edinburgh-Stirling services on a Sunday.

I’ve never seen 4&5 used and 9 is barely used either apart from a few peak services. Only 2,3,6&7 see regular use.

 

[Stopper]

Not so much worst numbered, but several platforms at Stirling are rarely/infrequently used 4&5 cannot be used in passenger service, 8 and 10 are rarely used, and 1 is now in the car park!

10 used to always be used for the Glasgow-Stirling services before the Alloa link. I always found that quite strange given it was in a far more inconvenient location to 7&8.

Nowadays they use 7, with 8&10 sometimes being used for the Edinburgh-Stirling services on a Sunday.

I’ve never seen 4&5 used and 9 is barely used either apart from a few peak services. Only 2,3,6&7 see regular use.