Trivia: Unusual / Interesting Calling Patterns?

[InkyScrolls]

The 0641 Bradford Forster Square all stops to Carnforth - the only train from Bradford along the (L)NWR, and the only one along that line to terminate at Carnforth! Only in the Down direction, SuX.

 

[Meyrick]

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

It does, however the train I referred to goes non stop to Runcorn after Lichfield.

 

[A S Leib]

The Caledonian Sleeper and Stockport – Stalybridge are services with infrequent calling patterns, if high-profile ones.

The 17:27 CrossCountry from Plymouth has a normal calling pattern as far as Sheffield, then is the only CrossCountry service to serve both Doncaster and Wakefield Westgate / Leeds.

 

[hexagon789]

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

Part of the 'second' hourly Avanti Liverpool pattern.

 

[AMD]

Wigan to Liverpool via St Helens Central throws up a handful of oddities -
1F02 gains Garswood, Prescot, Roby & Broad Green
2C25 skips Broad Green & Edge Hill
1F02 gains Broad Green (this follows 2C25)
1F09 gains Roby, Broad Green, Wavertree & Edge Hill
2C34 gains Bryn, Garswood, Thatto Heath, Eccleston Park & Prescot but misses everything between Huyton & Liverpool (having come from Blackpool on this headcode)

 

[aliceh]

There's 3 daily services from Bournemouth that call at St Denys and Swaythling (usually the domain of the Romsey/Salisbury services), yet each of them are different.
2B28 is all stations to Winchester except Millbrook and Redbridge
1B60 is the same as 2B28 but continues direct to Basingstoke
1B64 is the same as 1B60 but skips Beaulieu Road

There's only one service that does the journey in reverse, 2B91, which is even more unusual. It runs from Winchester, calling all stations to Southampton Central. Then it becomes one of two daily services to serve Redbridge but not Millbrook, followed by Totton and Ashurst, skips Beaulieu Road, then every other station to Bournemouth (skipping Sway, Hinton and Pokesdown).

 

[lxfe_mxtterz]

South Western Railway's 2D51 17:39 and 2D53 18:09 London Waterloo to Guildford via Epsom services (which are ordinarily all stations) skip Earlsfield and also run fast from Wimbledon to Worcester Park, skipping Raynes Park and Motspur Park.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

There's a solitary Northbound call at Carstairs six days a week at 0746 (SuX) by TPE, offering direct journey opportunities from Manchester Piccadilly, Preston, Lancaster, Oxenholme, Penrith, Carlisle and/or Lockerbie.

Return Southbound journey possible from Carstairs with TPE on Sundays at 0950 (various stations to Preston) and on Mondays at 0507 (to Manchester Airport), which train also calls at Manchester Oxford Road and Manchester Piccadilly. Think the 0950 Sunday working is the only train that calls there on that particular day of the week, as ScotRail don't serve Carstairs on Sundays.

 

[Western 52]

There are a few west Wales to Cardiff services which avoid Swansea either via the district line or the Landore triangle. Interesting that it's possible to avoid Swansea via two other routes.

 

[GatwickDepress]

The weekdays only 0534 from London Victoria to Ore goes via the Quarry Lines, calling additionally at Purley, Redhill, Earlswood, Salfords, Horley, and Three Bridges.

Provides additional journey opportunities for shift workers, but you really feel the extra twenty minutes it adds on. Also the only direct service to the East Coastway for those stations (excluding Three Bridges which has the 0724 to Ore as well).

 

[Mcr Warrior]

The weekdays only 0534 from London Victoria to Ore goes via the Quarry Lines, calling additionally at Purley, Redhill, Earlswood, Salfords, Horley, and Three Bridges.

How's that possible? Surely between Purley and Horley, it's the Down Quarry Line, or via Redhill? Can't be both.

 

[GW43125]

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.

In the same vain, there's one on a Saturday morning that terminates at Twickenham due to the weekly patrol block at Clapham 3/4.

07.05 Basing-Waterloo on a weekday calls all stations to Farnborough, then fast to Weybridge, missing out Woking, then fast from there to Waterloo. Pre-covid, the 2Bxx used to run fast Clapham to Farnborough.

I also have memories of the first Brighton on a Sunday morning calling at places like Selhurst and Purley. It wasn't fun.

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

There used to be a 1657 Euston-Glasgow, which if memory serves was something like fast Lichfield-Warrington!

The pre-covid blackpools used to be weird too, stopping at Rugby but not Crewe. I think there was also a Chester around lunchtime that had a Rugby stop inserted.

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!

There's a morning run which is still fast Runcorn-Euston. The 0700 off Manchester returns in December as fast Stockport-Euston.

 

[hexagon789]

There used to be a 1657 Euston-Glasgow, which if memory serves was something like fast Lichfield-Warrington!

That was back when there were 5 Glasgows (via Trent Valley) in a 2-hr period from Euston in the evening, the 1630 being Preston only and the 1657 making lots of stops.

1530 - normal calls (Oxenholme). 4h31
1630 - Preston only. 4h08
1657 - Tamworth, Lichfield, all IC stops Warrington to Carlisle, Lockerbie, Motherwell. 4h50
1730 - normal calls (Oxenholme). 4h31
1757 - same as 1657, except omits Oxenholme & Penrith. 4h42
1830 - normal calls (Oxenholme plus Penrith). 4h34

Started with the original VHF timetable in Winter 2009.

In the southbound direction there were two limited stops from Glasgow:

1140 - Carlisle, Penrith, Preston. 4h23
1340 - Carlisle, Oxenholme, Preston. 4h21

(The other workings, outside the early morning and evening services, made the usual 6 stops, taking 4h32.)

 

[GW43125]

That was back when there were 5 Glasgows (via Trent Valley) in a 2-hr period from Euston in the evening, the 1630 being Preston only and the 1657 making lots of stops.

1530 - normal calls (Oxenholme). 4h31
1630 - Preston only. 4h08
1657 - Tamworth, Lichfield, all IC stops Warrington to Carlisle, Lockerbie, Motherwell. 4h50
1730 - normal calls (Oxenholme). 4h31
1757 - same as 1657, except omits Oxenholme & Penrith. 4h42
1830 - normal calls (Oxenholme plus Penrith). 4h34

Started with the original VHF timetable in Winter 2009.

In the southbound direction there were two limited stops from Glasgow:

1140 - Carlisle, Penrith, Preston. 4h23
1340 - Carlisle, Oxenholme, Preston. 4h21

(The other workings, outside the early morning and evening services, made the usual 6 stops, taking 4h32.)

Ah thanks, didn't realise it was that far back. Also I had it in my head for some reason that the 1630 was Carlisle too.

 

[OliverH68]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the 1702 & 1732 Waterloo - Guildford which are both fast Waterloo - Surbiton, then all stops to Woking & fast to Guildford. More notably, the 1702 is booked 8-455 & is the only fast 455 that runs fast from Waterloo!

Similarly, there's an 1802 Waterloo - Aldershot which is fast Waterloo - Surbiton, then all stops to Woking then fast to Aldershot.

 

[PGAT]

1U10 from Brighton to Hastings (and 1U50, 1U54 to Ore) runs fast from Eastbourne to Cooden Beach, skipping Pevensey & Westham for some odd reason

 

[GW43125]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the 1702 & 1732 Waterloo - Guildford which are both fast Waterloo - Surbiton, then all stops to Woking & fast to Guildford. More notably, the 1702 is booked 8-455 & is the only fast 455 that runs fast from Waterloo!

Similarly, there's an 1802 Waterloo - Aldershot which is fast Waterloo - Surbiton, then all stops to Woking then fast to Aldershot.

A number of the up Wokings in the morning run fast Surbiton-Waterloo. The 1802 used to run to Guildford a couple of years ago.

 

[hexagon789]

Ah thanks, didn't realise it was that far back. Also I had it in my head for some reason that the 1630 was Carlisle too.

I think it changed under Virgin, rather than Avanti. Firstly the extra 2012 Pendolinos allowed Glasgow to go hourly all day (previously there were three two-hour gaps in both directions), then later the 1630 limited stop was removed at some point.

 

[Dfatcontroller]

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.

And retaining route knowledge between Wishaw and Bellshill, via Holytown Jn

There's a solitary Northbound call at Carstairs six days a week at 0746 (SuX) by TPE, offering direct journey opportunities from Manchester Piccadilly, Preston, Lancaster, Oxenholme, Penrith, Carlisle and/or Lockerbie.

Return Southbound journey possible from Carstairs with TPE on Sundays at 0950 (various stations to Preston) and on Mondays at 0507 (to Manchester Airport), which train also calls at Manchester Oxford Road and Manchester Piccadilly. Think the 0950 Sunday working is the only train that calls there on that particular day of the week, as ScotRail don't serve Carstairs on Sundays.

The northbound TPE heading to Glasgow allows a connection at Carstairs into a ScotRail Glasgow to Edinburgh service which gets held for it providing the TPE isn't too late.

 

[infobleep]

The 7:04 and 7:34 Guildford to London Waterloo services stop additionally at New Malden.

The 23:07 stops additionally at Berrylands, New Malden and Raynes Park.

However, if you wish to travel from any of those three stations to Guildford, on a direct service, you can't! They use the New Line Guildford so the same applies to any stations you wish to go to from Hinchley Wood to Guildford.

The 5:30 London Waterloo to Portsmouth Harbour service calls at Vauxhall, Clapham Junction, Surbiton, Walton on Thames, Weybridge, West Byfleet, Woking, Guildford and then all stations to Portsmouth Harbour.

Clearly no demand at Worpolesdon but there is at Witley. I haven't checked what other services are running from Worpolesdon at that time.

06:59 and 15:29 London Waterloo to Portsmouth Habour services combine a Baskingstoke stopper service with a Portsmouth Habour via Basingstoke service. So one of the few times you can travel directly from Surbiton to Eastleigh for example.

The 05:00 Reading to Redhill service calls additionally at Wanborough.

The following Reading to Gatwick Airport service also calls at Wanborough.
07:20
16:49
23:33

In the opposite direction though you get 1 less service to Reading.
From Gatwick Airport
05:11
22:30

From Redhill
07:34.

I assume the 07 34 and 16:49 services are to cater for school children.

Not sure if this one counts. Monday to Saturday you get a Guildford to Farnham service and an Aldershot to Ascot service. However, on Sundays, you only get a Guildford to Aldershot service. It is as if suddenly people don't wish to go to Farnham by train, which isn't the case.

The Guildford to Ascot service used to run 7 days a week but then they switched to running 6 days to run to Farnham, with Aldershot to Ascot becoming a separate service.

So weekdays the journey takes 23 minutes to Farnham and on Sundays 56 minutes! However, it seems from December perhaps the Farnham service will be 7 days a week, which actually makes more sense. So Guildford to Ascot will only return during some engineering works it seems.

There are 07:10 and 07:40 Haywards Heath to Bedford services that in the stopping pattern include Salfords and Earlswood. The only service in the opposite direction is the 05:34 from London Victoria to Ore, as mentioned previously.

So if you want to do a return journey from Earlswood or Salfords to Haywards Heath, only travelling on direct trains, the maximum time you could spend in Haywards Heath would be 1 hour and 7 minutes. You'd have to buy an anytime-day return ticket, too. An expensive day out for little time. I could see a YouTube train traveller doing that as a pointless thing to do.

 

[30907]

That was back when there were 5 Glasgows (via Trent Valley) in a 2-hr period from Euston in the evening, the 1630 being Preston only and the 1657 making lots of stops.

1530 - normal calls (Oxenholme). 4h31
1630 - Preston only. 4h08
1657 - Tamworth, Lichfield, all IC stops Warrington to Carlisle, Lockerbie, Motherwell. 4h50
1730 - normal calls (Oxenholme). 4h31
1757 - same as 1657, except omits Oxenholme & Penrith. 4h42
1830 - normal calls (Oxenholme plus Penrith). 4h34

Started with the original VHF timetable in Winter 2009.

In the southbound direction there were two limited stops from Glasgow:

1140 - Carlisle, Penrith, Preston. 4h23
1340 - Carlisle, Oxenholme, Preston. 4h21

(The other workings, outside the early morning and evening services, made the usual 6 stops, taking 4h32.)

For completeness, the 1630 was duplicated by a 1633 to Preston which formed a southbound back (before Glasgow went hourly).
The 1630 loaded lightly, so it's not surprising the trains were combined.

 

[class350desiro]

9M62 is supposed to call at Northampton at the bright and early time of 9 minutes past midnight, dropping people off only.

 

[RJ]

The first GWR from London to South Wales stops at Filton Abbey Wood on weekdays.

Edit: No it doesn’t, just realised it has been cut back to Bristol Temple Meads!!

 

[A S Leib]

The first GWR from London to South Wales stops at Filton Abbey Wood on weekdays.

I think that's the Paddington – Swansea reversing at Temple Meads and Parkway; if so, is that the only GWR service to reverse twice outside engineering works, given that there's currently no GWR services west of Carmarthen?

 

[RJ]

I think that's the Paddington – Swansea reversing at Temple Meads and Parkway; if so, is that the only GWR service to reverse twice outside engineering works, given that there's currently no GWR services west of Carmarthen?

It was, but just looked it up and it only goes as far as Temple Meads now!

 

[RailWonderer]

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.

Chinley also gets calls at 17:09 and 18:09 weekdays on this service.

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.

The non-stop Guildford Waterloo services all run via Oxshott not Woking that's why they don't call.

 

[brad465]

The Golden Hind GWR service in both directions is fast between Penzance and Redruth, so skips Camborne and St Erth (and Hayle, but this is skipped multiple times) that every other GWR London train serves. The Up train (05:03 from Penzance) also skips Par and Totnes, but the down train (18:03 from Paddington) doesn't; the down train also serves Newbury as part of the evening peak flow.

The 10:03 PAD-PNZ also runs fast from Reading-Exeter, the only non-summer special service to do this, with no equivalent return outside summer Saturdays.

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

Some good examples of this include the following:

Beckenham Junction - Blackfriars: the peak flow runs all stations but the contra-peak flow runs as a passenger service calling only at Herne Hill.
Hastings - Cannon St: some services run fast from High Brooms to Chelsfield, then fast to London Bridge, and vice versa in the evening peak.
A couple of Gillingham - Victoria services normally only call at Denmark Hill off peak between VIC and Bromley South, but in the peak direction also service Bellingham and Crofton Park.
There are two Charing X - Orpington services that run fast between London Bridge and Grove Park, skipping Hither Green, but all stations before/after that.

There are two services that start at Faversham and run to Charing Cross going "the long way round", via Ramsgate, Ashford (One via Dover, one via Canterbury W) and Tonbridge. No equivalent return from London appears to do this.
The Sidcup line has a few morning services that run non-stop from New Eltham-London Bridge, and one return in the evening peak en route to Gillingham. AFAIK no other Southeastern services on the trio of lines feeding into Dartford skip stations between Dartford and the last station on the respective line towards London (Thameslink of course skip some on the NK line).

 

[onlinespotting]

While not a different calling pattern; is there still an evening class 9 service to Whitby?

 

[CaptainHaddock]

The 0528 from Sheffield is the only Leeds stopper via Barnsley that misses out the annoying diversion and reversal via Castleford which, in doing so, cuts a considerable 12 minutes off the journey time. As a commuter from Elsecar to Leeds I only wish more of them did!

 

[MattyJames]

A few years ago, the first LNWR (London Midland) to Euston from Crewe went non-stop to Rugeley via Colwich Junction or straight through Stafford and also missed out MKC Central which was quite unusual.