Trivia: Unusual / Interesting Calling Patterns?

[wnr1990]

What are some regular services you know of that have unusual calling patterns?

For example, the daily Penzance-Paddington IET service that calls at lonely Menheniot

 

[The exile]

The 07.04 Bath - Filton AW catches out at least one person a week by going direct from Keynsham - Lawrence Hill - especially if it’s running a few minutes late.

 

[Flange Squeal]

The 1133 Weybridge to London Waterloo via Staines & Hounslow journey runs six days a week, Monday to Saturday. These services run every half an hour calling at all stations.

Except on a Friday, when this particular journey sits at Brentford (formerly at Chiswick) for around 15 minutes, before continuing forward but skipping Putney, Wandsworth Town, Queenstown Road and Vauxhall. I’ve heard it’s to facilitate a weekly track/bridge inspection.

 

[liamf656]

EMR has three Intercity calls at Belper, and one of them is a 158!
1F02 06:54 Derby to Sheffield calls at Belper and Dronfield (158)
1C80 17:32 Sheffield to St Pancras calls at Belper (222)
1C10 22:29 Sheffield to Derby calls at Belper (222)

 

[507020]

This can actually include any service which calls at a station which is unusual for one which also calls at another. The train doesn’t actually have to make any deviations from its route or do anything else unusual, although if it does this also counts.

The 07.04 Bath - Filton AW catches out at least one person a week by going direct from Keynsham - Lawrence Hill - especially if it’s running a few minutes late.

This is absolutely next on my list to go on. The last one I made the effort for was SWR’s 1J66 18:47 Salisbury - Reading, which effectively pretends it wants to be a CrossCountry service at Basingstoke, rather than going to the usual Waterloo. There are quite a few of these in SWR’s Diesel operation, including everything that goes via Westbury.

There are also some on the Portsmouth Direct Line. 2Y13 and 2Y61, the 07:15 and 19:15 departures from London Waterloo call at all stations from Woking to Havant, then continue to Southampton Central. The only SWR services to call at several stations otherwise served by Southern.

Conversely, 3 services in each direction starting with 1G22 07:45 Portsmouth Harbour - London Waterloo are non-stop Guildford - London Waterloo, not calling at Woking.

EMR’s Liverpool Lime Street - Norwich makes several 1 a day calls at various stations along its route throughout the day, including Hunts Cross, Hazel Grove and Dore & Totley.

Also 1D06 06:05 and 1D08 06:35 St Pancras - Nottingham and 1B98 16:12 Nottingham - St Pancras International call additionally at Bedford, the only direct services between Leicester and Bedford all day and the only Diesel calls at Bedford.

ScotRail’s 1C06 17:37 Anderston - Carstairs calls at Glasgow Central low level, Argyle Street, Rutherglen, Uddingston, Bellshill, Wishaw, Carluke and Carstairs. Extremely unusual. I don’t know what to say about it.

Many evening Avanti West Coast services have unusual stopping patterns compared to the daytime. Also LNWR’s daily service to Polesworth.

There are also CrossCountry calls at Brockenhurst few times a day. I’m not sure if they make any others like this.

I’ve just noticed a lot around Newcastle. Those Northern services that find themselves at Middlesbrough with a Class 1 headcode. Either 2 hourly off peak Middlesbrough, Thornaby, Hartlepool, Sunderland and Newcastle only, or early morning 3 trains, Middlesbrough - Carlisle, Saltburn - Carlisle and Saltburn - Newcastle run to Darlington then instead of terminating or continuing to Bishop Auckland, call at Durham, Chester-le-Street and Newcastle, with 156s!

 

[aftv]

Southerns 1C04 0554 Victoria to Portsmouth Harbour makes a stop at Faygate. Making it the only Southern service to call at a station otherwise served sparsely by Thameslink.

 

[Horizon22]

Although less common post-Covid I’m sure you’ll find lots of quirks like these in London & SE operators at peak times.

 

[Class15]

There’s a GA service in one of the peaks which is non-stop Ingatestone to Liverpool Street. Always wondered why but I assume it’s so the train doesn’t get crammed with commuters getting on at Shenfield or Stratford

 

[Falcon1200]

ScotRail’s 1C06 17:37 Anderston - Carstairs calls at Glasgow Central low level, Argyle Street, Rutherglen, Uddingston, Bellshill, Wishaw, Carluke and Carstairs. Extremely unusual. I don’t know what to say about it.

The Carstairs/Glasgow Central Low Level workings, one train Down in the morning and one Up in the evening, are long-standing trains, dating back to when Carstairs had no other Scotrail/local services. They also had the benefit of retaining Route knowledge between Lanark Junction and Carstairs.

 

[mm333]

There's the Sunday morning Leeds-Kings Cross that doesn't stop at Doncaster and goes non-stop from Wakefield to Retford. The only other service that does that is the Mon-Sat 0630 from Bradford Forster Square which is non-stop after Wakefield to Kings Cross.

 

[swt_passenger]

There are also some on the Portsmouth Direct Line. 2Y13 and 2Y61, the 07:15 and 19:15 departures from London Waterloo call at all stations from Woking to Havant, then continue to Southampton Central. The only SWR services to call at several stations otherwise served by Southern.

I think that doesn’t quite make sense as you’ve written it. With the trains you mention, yes SWR are operating a passenger service over a section of route predominantly used by Southern, (ie the northern side of the Farlington triangle), but all the stations between Havant and Southampton still have regular SWR calls. What you cannot normally do is travel directly on SWR between Havant or Bedhampton and Cosham.

 

[Bikeman78]

The Carstairs/Glasgow Central Low Level workings, one train Down in the morning and one Up in the evening, are long-standing trains, dating back to when Carstairs had no other Scotrail/local services. They also had the benefit of retaining Route knowledge between Lanark Junction and Carstairs.

Around 10 years ago, they increased to two per day. The second one took the rather unusual Bellshill-Holytown-Wishaw route, avoiding Motherwell. The post Covid cutbacks reduced it back to one each way. The Holytown one was kept, presumably for route knowledge purposes.

 

[43055]

EMR has three Intercity calls at Belper, and one of them is a 158!
1F02 06:54 Derby to Sheffield calls at Belper and Dronfield (158)
1C80 17:32 Sheffield to St Pancras calls at Belper (222)
1C10 22:29 Sheffield to Derby calls at Belper (222)

And 1F02 is the only service to skip Chesterfield for EMR?

 

[duffield]

The daily 1802 from Euston to Wrexham General (1J32) provides an unusual direct connection from Tamworth to Wrexham

 

[louis97]

And 1F02 is the only service to skip Chesterfield for EMR?

Only on a Saturday now too! Quite enjoy getting that train for something different.

 

[CaptainHaddock]

1H54, the one Northern Scarborough to Sheffield service per day that goes via Selby rather than Goole.

 

[liamf656]

And 1F02 is the only service to skip Chesterfield for EMR?

It used to, it very subtly gained the Chesterfield call in June

 

[W-on-Sea]

I've been caught out (from a split ticketing perspective, at least, or would have been if anyone had checked my tickets) by the odd service on the North Cotswolds line that skips Worcestershire Parkway

 

[A S Leib]

The 16:34 Euston to Tring calls at Watford Junction, skips Kings Langley and then calls at Apsley, Hemel Hempstead, Berkhamsted and Tring as normal.

The 18:13 (Saturdays) southbound Trent Valley stopper calls at Berkhamsted, Hemel Hempstead and Watford Junction and the 20:19 on Sundays calls at every LNR station south of Rugby except for Apsley, Kings Langley and Wembley Central.

There's two trains per day in each direction between Maidstone West and St. Pancras via Ebbsfleet, which I think are the only regular passenger services to run through Maidstone Barracks, Aylesford, New Hythe, Halling and Cuxton without stopping (and if you're counting that, you could also count e.g. LNER's daily Sunderland until December not calling at Heworth).

Except for Sundays, there's two return journeys between Newcastle and Chathill, with the second, third (M-Sa) and fourth (M-F) legs being to / from Carlisle. The first one's also unusual in going to Chathill and not calling at Pegswood, Widdrington or Acklington.

There's two trains per day in each direction on Sundays which call at Berney Arms and Buckenham; the 09:36 and 11:36 from Norwich and the 10:17 and 12:17 from Great Yarmouth.

 

[Doctor Fegg]

I've been caught out (from a split ticketing perspective, at least, or would have been if anyone had checked my tickets) by the odd service on the North Cotswolds line that skips Worcestershire Parkway

There's one that skips Hanborough too - the 17.26 from Worcester Foregate Street. Now the only such train to do so, I think, excepting the early morning Turbo positioning move.

 

[A S Leib]

There's one that skips Hanborough too - the 17.26 from Worcester Foregate Street. Now the only such train to do so, I think, excepting the early morning Turbo positioning move.

The 17:04 from Didcot's an oddity in the opposite direction, being the only service for Combe, Finstock, Ascott-under-Wychwood and Shipton.

and the only Diesel calls at Bedford.

Apart from Marston Vale services.

I’ve just noticed a lot around Newcastle. Those Northern services that find themselves at Middlesbrough with a Class 1 headcode. Either 2 hourly off peak Middlesbrough, Thornaby, Hartlepool, Sunderland and Newcastle only, or early morning 3 trains, Middlesbrough - Carlisle, Saltburn - Carlisle and Saltburn - Newcastle run to Darlington then instead of terminating or continuing to Bishop Auckland, call at Durham, Chester-le-Street and Newcastle, with 156s!

In the same area, there's the 13:13 and 17:13 Darlington – Hartlepool and 14:25 and 18:25 returns on Sundays.

 

[tomsy47]

The 0600 1C55 from Paddington to Penzance via Bristol is a bit of an odd one. Calls at Bridgwater, misses Totnes, then when in Cornwall it calls at the likes of Saltash, St Germans and Lostwithiel, but doesn’t stop at Par.

 

[Wolvercoter]

Saturdays only, 1L45 (15:20) and 1L53 (17:20) London Waterloo to Exeter St Davids are the only passing services not at call at Pinhoe. All trains call Sunday to Friday.

I think this is a hangover from when hourly services alternated between stopping either at Pinhoe or Feniton and Whimple.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

2K62 0618 Blackburn to Headbolt Lane calls at Ince* (presumably for school/college connections at Orrel)

* Ince is temporarily closed while they replace bridges and extend the platform.

2K68 1220 Blackburn to Headbolt Lane skips Hag Fold and Hindley (and is followed closely by a freight train).

To have time to be the two trains a day that stop at Clifton,
2W44 0726 Southport to Stalybridge - skips Moses Gate
2W25 1752 Stalybridge to Southport - skips Farnworth

There are also a couple peak time only trains on the Clitheroe/Blackburn-Rochdale that stop at Moses Gate or Farnworth, presumably to pick up the missed call from the above.

 

[Shimbleshanks]

I was going to mention the 19.07 Euston to Liverpool Lime Street which was first stop Runcorn. But I've checked the timetable and they've inserted a Crewe stop. Bah!

 

[CastlebarKeith]

Around 1970, there was an afternoon service from Paddington to Moreton-in-Marsh, (or was it Worcester?). It called at the fast platform (1) at Ealing Broadway to give an advertised connection to "The Greenford Line", then after Oxford called at every station to Moreton giving some platforms their once a day parly service.

 

[childwallblues]

1L21 2137 Liverpool Lime Street to Nottingham calls at Chinley, Edale, Hope, Bamford, Hathersage and Grindleford. I do not know whether this train always does the route but after Sheffield it runs via Woodhouse and Barrow Hill calling only at Chesterfield before Nottingham.

 

[tram21]

1L21 2137 Liverpool Lime Street to Nottingham calls at Chinley, Edale, Hope, Bamford, Hathersage and Grindleford. I do not know whether this train always does the route but after Sheffield it runs via Woodhouse and Barrow Hill calling only at Chesterfield before Nottingham.

This service normally does an even more exciting/ interesting route via Toton Centre (freight only diversion route) as a refresher for train crew.

I can only assume engineering works are altering the route this week as it's going via Derby instead.

From Sheffield to Nottingham that service is a track-bashers dream-come-true, quite a bit of rare track!!

 

[Meyrick]

I was going to mention the 19.07 Euston to Liverpool Lime Street which was first stop Runcorn. But I've checked the timetable and they've inserted a Crewe stop. Bah!

New timetable has a 1307 which calls at TAM, LTV and RUN!

 

[childwallblues]

New timetable has a 1307 which called at TAM, LTV and RUN!

1F39 2200 Euston to Liverpool Lime Street stops at both Tamworth and Lichfield Trent Valley currently.