Vague moments for line-bashing devotees?

[Calthrop]

There is an aspect of the hobby, over which I sometimes wonder whether I am vague to the point of becoming an object of deserved ridicule. I rate myself as a line-basher, in that when travelling over new-to-me stretches of a rail system, I am very interested to see what I am travelling through, and mentally tick-off that line in the "done / collected" category. (Personal foible -- stretches of line in big conurbations, thrill me less than do more rural scenes.)

However; in the course of sixty-odd years of this pursuit (discounting childhood, which brought me some valued rail journeys, but in which part of one's life one is "at the mercy of" one's elders re where travelled to) -- done with varying degrees of ardour at different periods -- it has come about that there are a number of lines in Great Britain, over which I am less than totally certain whether I have travelled, or not. In life's ups and downs, I have parted company beyond recall with maps on which I once meticulously recorded my new-line travelling: often, memory has to serve, which it sometimes does with less accuracy than desired.

A few instances: I am over 95% sure that I have travelled over the route Settle Junction -- Wennington -- Carnforth, but cannot for the life of me remember when or in what circumstances; at all events, it must have been more than thirty years ago. Am not totally certain that I have covered the Yarmouth -- Berney Arms stretch. Made a special pilgrimage to Berney Arms from the Norwich end, a couple of years ago; had long taken it for granted that I had, in the 1960s or 70s, travelled by both routes between Norwich and Yarmouth -- know for certain that that is so, re that via Acle; but via Reedham / Berney Arms: could conceivably be wishful thinking. I really do not know whether I have done Colwich -- Stone, or not. And; reconstructing the events of a 1967 trip, am convinced that I must have travelled Cardiff -- Rhymney, though I have no actual memories of the journey. As to whether I have done anything else "west of Newport and east of Swansea", other than the GWR main line: I suspect not, but am not totally sure.

Until the mid-1970s, I was keen to travel over as much as possible of Britain's rail system, that survived -- including for freight only: did a considerable number of trips in the brake van of freights, and organised railtours via DMU, over freight-only lines. As of about the middle of the '70s, my enthusiasm for this mission rather waned, and things dwindled to keen targeting only of lines which particularly attracted me; before then, though, I went on a goodly number of railtours, some of the details of which have gone into vagueness or oblivion. For example: I strongly suspect that I did Northallerton -- Redmire on a railtour in the early '70s, but wouldn't stake my life on it.

Would be interested, and potentially somewhat reassured, to learn whether anyone else who places at least some value on lines travelled over and their intrinsic interest; is in any respect, in similar case to me -- or whether in this, I class as a special and unique species of twit...?

 

[L. B. & SNCB]

You're not alone. This has always been my main interest, and still is. And, like you, there are a few elements of vagueness in my memory, record-keeping having often perished over c.30 house moves, plus information never kept because, for various personal reasons, I wasn't paying attention. Some of my trips I have managed to reconstruct from internet data now available, but the precise route taken by a Marylebone - York excursion in spring 1976, for example, remains elusive even in Six Bells land.

 

[xotGD]

You are relatively tame compared to those who want to cover every cross-over, loop and siding.

Railtour organisers make plenty of cash catering for this type of enthusiast.

 

[Requeststop]

Calthrop, I have been a line basher ever since I can remember. I can just recall covering some lines before the dreadful Beeching Axe. However I was fortunate in that I had a father who also liked trains and found for me back in 1959, a BR (or whatever it was called then) route map. We went from St Erth to Plymouth and then via Okehampton to Exeter and up to Derby and then across to Chester and Liverpool to visit relatives, and I was encouraged to cover over the lines we had travelled on the map. A few years later and a handful of new maps later, I was at university in Bristol and able to travel on weekend specials for a fiver or so and went to places like Edinburgh, Canterbury, York, Lincoln, a round trip on the Heart of Wales and continue to fill in my route coverage. Now much older, and living overseas, I have used BritRail Passes and on my 65th Birthday in 2018, I completed all the branches, little rarely used loops that were available for timetabled passenger use. It has been a great hobby, travelling up to places like Mallaig, Wick, Skegness, Whitby, and Barrow and fill in my map, even if it was the only time I would have visited the place.

It was easier to cover some strange routes during BR days especially with diversionary routes due to weather or engineering problems. Oh the joy of getting home, getting out my map and colouring in Lancaster to Skipton and then down to Blackburn and onto Preston because the wires were down between Lancaster and Preston. Something not possible with Privatisation.

Now with computers on line maps and (sadly increasingly unreliable) timetables, a lot of enjoyment has gone out of planning of the journeys, but home being the far West of Cornwall, the challenge of covering the myriad of lines around London, and Manchester, was and still is exciting. Even the Norfolk branches were fun to do.

What is my challenge now? Well all the heritage lines of course. I also collect from U-Tube and other sources Cab-ride videos, for some enjoyments during the long Papuan nights.

 

[route101]

New line basher , do it when i can . Living in Glasgow means not easy doing some in England.

 

[Bevan Price]

Have done most of the currently available lines in UK, apart from a few curves & freight-only lines, and some recently built or reopened lines (e.g. HS1). Could probably have done more lines that were closed by Marples/Beeching, but circa 1960, did not appreciate how soon things would change. Did numerous (now-closed) lines on railtours, but coupled with lack of money, lack of time, etc., and sometimes due to "difficult" timetables, I also missed many lines. I marked "lines done" with a yellow "highlighter" pen in a version of the Ian Allan Atlas.

 

[PeterC]

I still love to cover new lines but long since gave up marking them off on maps. One thing that I used to enjoy was actually seeing railway activity in the places that we went past but with the demise of trainload freight there is far less to see.

 

[Calthrop]

You're not alone. This has always been my main interest, and still is. And, like you, there are a few elements of vagueness in my memory, record-keeping having often perished over c.30 house moves, plus information never kept because, for various personal reasons, I wasn't paying attention. Some of my trips I have managed to reconstruct from internet data now available, but the precise route taken by a Marylebone - York excursion in spring 1976, for example, remains elusive even in Six Bells land.

Thanks -- it is indeed a bit of a relief to learn that there is at least one other person who in some sense "collects" lines travelled on; but has, re some of such, lost certainty of how, when, and indeed sometimes, whether, "down the memory hole". My life's experience over the past half-century has been analagous to your thirty-odd house moves -- in the course of such, some things will go AWOL. (I do know one person, my age, who has kept pretty well everything he has ever owned, down to his childhood Dinky toys; but he is in the obsessive-compulsive bracket.)

You are relatively tame compared to those who want to cover every cross-over, loop and siding.
Railtour organisers make plenty of cash catering for this type of enthusiast.

What I always think of as "Branch Line Society syndrome". I belonged to the BLS for some while in the 60s / 70s: they certainly kept their finger on the pulse of everything that was running or ceasing to run -- and I gather that they are still going strong, though with overall much less material to work on than a few decades ago. I've always been a "broad-brush" type -- "routes rather than curves" -- every cross-over, loop and siding, would bore me to madness or death !

Calthrop, I have been a line basher ever since I can remember. I can just recall covering some lines before the dreadful Beeching Axe. However I was fortunate in that I had a father who also liked trains and found for me back in 1959, a BR (or whatever it was called then) route map. We went from St Erth to Plymouth and then via Okehampton to Exeter and up to Derby and then across to Chester and Liverpool to visit relatives, and I was encouraged to cover over the lines we had travelled on the map. A few years later and a handful of new maps later, I was at university in Bristol and able to travel on weekend specials for a fiver or so and went to places like Edinburgh, Canterbury, York, Lincoln, a round trip on the Heart of Wales and continue to fill in my route coverage. Now much older, and living overseas, I have used BritRail Passes and on my 65th Birthday in 2018, I completed all the branches, little rarely used loops that were available for timetabled passenger use. It has been a great hobby, travelling up to places like Mallaig, Wick, Skegness, Whitby, and Barrow and fill in my map, even if it was the only time I would have visited the place. [snip]
What is my challenge now? Well all the heritage lines of course. I also collect from U-Tube and other sources Cab-ride videos, for some enjoyments during the long Papuan nights.

Papua New Guinea -- while striking me as, in many respects, a fascinating place -- would, it seems, have to be a frustrating one for a railway enthusiast to be located in ! I gather that in the past, PNG had a bit in the way of industrial / plantation lines...

New line basher , do it when i can . Living in Glasgow means not easy doing some in England.

I have always lived in England -- whereby I've covered the large majority of what is still passenger-active in England and Wales: but my lines-covered map of Scotland, has a number of big gaps. As I'm now old, and of straitened means, this unfortunately looks likely to remain the case.

Have done most of the currently available lines in UK, apart from a few curves & freight-only lines, and some recently built or reopened lines (e.g. HS1). Could probably have done more lines that were closed by Marples/Beeching, but circa 1960, did not appreciate how soon things would change. Did numerous (now-closed) lines on railtours, but coupled with lack of money, lack of time, etc., and sometimes due to "difficult" timetables, I also missed many lines. I marked "lines done" with a yellow "highlighter" pen in a version of the Ian Allan Atlas.

@Requeststop and @Bevan Price -- seems that as regards how long we've been around and in a position to do stuff: Request... , I've got about five years on you; and BP, you'd appear to have a few years on me. I was aged fifteen when the Beeching Report was issued: did what I could to cover lines whose death-warrant was sealed thereby, before they closed -- but being in mid-teens and with limited funds (some kind parental help was forthcoming), there were a lot of such victims which I didn't manage to get to in time. Practicalities of where living then: meant that I did better with the most southerly third of Great Britain, than further north.

 

[Calthrop]

In a separate bracket concerning this subject / pursuit: is stuff that one did "in tow of" one's elders, in early-ish childhood -- memories re same liable to be faint and erratic, plus one's probable shortage when very young, of detailed knowledge of the country's railway geography. I have some cherished memories of the kind, from the first half of the 1950s: with their very frustrating side, because of their fragmentary nature. I've done some earlier posting on these Forums, concerning these memories. One such instance, involved a day's "land cruise" by train in North Wales, our starting and finishing point being Chester, our base for that holiday. The only specific location involved in that day's travels, which I remember: was Llangollen -- I recall standing on the station platform beside the loco, admiring its wheels and motion; and recall our taking a trip on the canal at Llangollen, in a horse-hauled boat. But all the published info about these 1950s rail "Land Cruises" in North Wales, suggests that Llangollen was not on their itinerary...

Another in that league -- until I was aged nine, we lived in Spalding; enabling me to be acquainted with the Midland & Great Northern Joint system in its last "in-full" decade, and with parental accompaniment, to travel on some of it. In what I think must have been summer 1954, my mother and I spent a couple of weeks with a relative in Birmingham. We travelled between south Lincolnshire and Birmingham by the M&GN's "crack train": the daily semi-fast between Birmingham and the Norfolk seaside resorts. As at the time of this holiday, this train did not serve Spalding: it took the avoiding line to the south of Spalding station. To make things a little easier, a friend drove us to and from Bourne: we boarded and alighted from the semi-fast there. I distinctly remember from our outward journey, being on the station platform at Bourne watching the train approaching; and a few snippets of scenery not a long way west of Bourne (memory of any of the journey further west, is non-existent).

I also have an early-1950s memory -- only a fragment, but clear -- of self and parents changing trains at Saxby: I recall the Peterborough -- Leicester line train coming in, and our shortly afterward, seeing the buildings of Melton Mowbray from that train. It can be deduced that this could not have been part of mother's-and-my Birmingham journey by the semi-fast; because that train ran straight through, causing there to be no need to change at Saxby. My Saxby memory must thus have been of a different journey -- of which I recall nothing else. A pure guess -- a family journey by rail between Spalding and Leicester, where we had relatives? The crucial point for me here re "lines in the bag", is: I know for sure, as above, that I have travelled over the Bourne - Saxby section of the route concerned. I have certain and definite memories of travelling by train, between Spalding and South Lynn / Kings Lynn via the M&GN line. Have no memory for sure, however, of travelling over the intervening part of the route between Spalding and Bourne. Saxby memory, however, suggests a possibility of that change of trains being off one from the M&GN route, on which we had travelled from Spalding, thus getting me Spalding -- Bourne; but, no memory whatever of that part of the run.

The frustration re these things is, for me, great; and everyone involved in these journeys except for me, is long dead -- so I have no way of ever knowing any answers !

 

[mrcheek]

I must have done something like 95% of the routes in Britain now.
The ones I am unsure about are those dull commuter routes through major cities. Especially through south east London, where there are numerous different ways to get towards Kent. I cant for the life of me remember which I have done and which I havent. Ill probably end up getting a one day TRavelcard and doing them all in one go, just to be sure.
As for main lines, I can remember most of them. There was a time when I could remember full details every single day I had ever done on my annual two-week All Line Rover, but now that I have done 12 of those, some details are fading. I can still remember everywhere I have been, but no longer in order!

Long term, I hope that some day I will have covered every official route. But I have no desire to cover every single curve, every single piece of track, every single platform, every freight line that gets used for diversions once a year. Thats just too much. But kudos to anyone who has the determination to try it.

 

[duffield]

Get a rail atlas specially for this purpose. Mark the lines you're certain about (e.g.) in red, the 'not-sure' ones in yellow, leave the 'definitely not' ones uncoloured. Decide your priorities based on this, and make sure you record future journeys!

 

[Mike99]

I'm also in the group of covering every recognised line but not every crossover or set of points, and like others I doth my cap to those that do. I'm left with a small amount to do to cover everything, South Croydon to Uckfield and East Grinstead branches, Aylesbury to Aylesbury Vale Parkway, Tolworth to Chessington South, New Malden to Shepperton, Bedford to Bletchley and very random and frustratingly, North Berwick branch of off the ECML. Hope to complete some if not all of this in March on a 7 day ELR, I've kept a Baker Rail Map book with highlight of lines covered for many years as a way of recoding coverage etc.

 

[Calthrop]

I must have done something like 95% of the routes in Britain now.
The ones I am unsure about are those dull commuter routes through major cities. Especially through south east London, where there are numerous different ways to get towards Kent. I cant for the life of me remember which I have done and which I havent. Ill probably end up getting a one day TRavelcard and doing them all in one go, just to be sure.
As for main lines, I can remember most of them. There was a time when I could remember full details every single day I had ever done on my annual two-week All Line Rover, but now that I have done 12 of those, some details are fading. I can still remember everywhere I have been, but no longer in order!

Long term, I hope that some day I will have covered every official route. But I have no desire to cover every single curve, every single piece of track, every single platform, every freight line that gets used for diversions once a year. Thats just too much. But kudos to anyone who has the determination to try it.

I sympathise re "dull commuter routes through major cities". I found that part of the scene -- even at my keenest -- decidedly "grit your teeth and get on with it". A feeling which I think many get, who engage in this part of the railway fancy. I remember fifty-odd years ago, an enthusiast friend who was more of an "every single curve, every single piece of track..." man than I could ever be; nonetheless rather glumly announcing that he was shortly off for a day of "suburban masochism", covering the complex of lines on the south side of London. There's a good deal of that stuff on which I have never travelled, and probably never will now. In fact, there are several lines in the further reaches of Kent, which I've never done. With apologies to lovers of "the Garden of England": for the most part, I find Kent boring, and my desire to go there lukewarm at best.

I'm also in the group of covering every recognised line but not every crossover or set of points, and like others I doth my cap to those that do. I'm left with a small amount to do to cover everything, South Croydon to Uckfield and East Grinstead branches, Aylesbury to Aylesbury Vale Parkway, Tolworth to Chessington South, New Malden to Shepperton, Bedford to Bletchley and very random and frustratingly, North Berwick branch of off the ECML. Hope to complete some if not all of this in March on a 7 day ELR, I've kept a Baker Rail Map book with highlight of lines covered for many years as a way of recoding coverage etc.

I did Bedford -- Bletchley as part of travelling over the Oxford -- Cambridge line in its entirety before its late-1960s largely-closure, boast boast. For my money, this part of the "Varsities Line" which has survived for passenger traffic, is the dullest bit ! The North Berwick branch, which you mention, is one of numerous lines in Scotland which I lack.

 

[Welshman]

Growing-up in the 1960s in West Yorkshire, I was thrilled by the introduction of the dmus where you could sit behind the driver and survey the route ahead. All of my pocket-money, and more besides, went on travelling on as many lines served by them as possible, and "learning" the route. Thus I travelled from Bradford Exchange to Penistone and Clayton West via Halifax and Cleckheaton, but unfortunately was too late for the branches to Holmfirth and Meltham; Bradford to Leeds Central via Stanningley and Pudsey; Bradford to Wakefield via Morley Top and Batley; and further afield Bradford to Liverpool Exchange via Manchester Victoria and Wigan Wallgate and the Pemberton Loop.
I also made extensive use of what they called the "Day-Line Diesel Ticket" [10s.6d - 5s.3d for me at the time], allowing travel to Scarborough, Whitby, Hull and Harrogate, all by the newly-introduced dmus. I particularly remember the route from Scarborough to Whitby, always making sure to sit at the back leaving Scarborough as they train reversed at Londesborough Rd - about half a mile up the line. Similarly when leaving Whitby, as the train reversed at Whitby West Cliffe. I also travelled from York to Bridlington via Market Weighton and Leeds to Harrogate via Wetherby - all of which are impossible to do today.

I didn't actually cross the lines off on a map, but it gave me satisfaction to know I'd travelled over them. And I don't like to think how much money I gave to British Railways, and had I invested it, would probably be enjoying a more comfortable retirement now, but it was good fun. nonetheless.

 

[Calthrop]

@Welshman -- I envy you your described journeys, particularly the "Day-Line Diesel Ticket" ones in rural regions. My life's circumstances were such that Yorkshire at first-hand was terra incognita to me until 1967.

Re the money given to BR in the course of this pursuit: my obsessive-compulsive friend mentioned upthread (he is, also, a railway enthusiast) has among his oddities, an extreme loathing of having to part with any money of his. As a cash-strapped teenager trying in the first half of the 1960s to cover threatened lines and quest for ever-dwindling steam, there was always a lot more that he wanted to do, than he could afford. He felt at the time, and claims still to feel, that his rail travels should have been free of charge; per the rationalisation that he wasn't travelling from A to B for the boringly necessary "occasions of life" -- he was revelling in his rail travel as a joyous mission (or something like that). My cynical reaction is, "nice try, sunshine"...

 

[satisnek]

I did most of my travels in the late '80s/early '90s and highlighted the lines travelled in a copy of Stuart Baker's original 'Rail Atlas Of Britain 1977', together with modifications such as inking in freight lines reopened to passengers, etc. Today I appreciate that it's a seminal publication and I regret defacing it! But while my coverage looks pretty comprehensive, there are large parts of the network which I haven't done since then, I have little memory of certain lines and much of it would have changed beyond recognition today, so I can't help feeling that my records have become irrelevant.

 

[route101]

Im trying to do all the lines with a service , not in a rush and do them when i can. Used to be the case i wasnt bothered about boring lines or branches , more interested if it was scenic.

Yes the London third rail can be hard to follow .

 

[Springs Branch]

I'm not a dedicated line basher, and still have not travelled on a good fraction of the rail network, but I do like to keep a record of where I have been. Identifying "missing links" provides plausible excuses to plan days out to fill the gaps.

My interest in railways had a hiatus, with several decades gap between the 1970s Rail Blue era and the past 10 years or so, when career demands have slackened off.

Unfortunately I kept sketchy records of my trips back in BR days, and the notes I did keep are long lost. I now have to rely on increasingly distant memories of the routes I travelled and why. Most routes are unambiguous, but there are some niggling uncertainties, like "why did I need to change at Bristol Parkway that time I froze half to death waiting there in the middle of winter?"

The result is that my marked-up UK network map uses two highlighter colours: Blue for lines I know I covered way back when, yellow for recent post-privatisation trips, where I have retained proper records (other colours are available - mine determined by availability of pens in work's stationery cupboard on that day)

I have a similar problem with another interest which went on hold for several decades - hill walking & rock climbing. As with train trips, I now struggle to remember exactly which Wainwrights I bagged as a youth, and whether that was the trip I stayed at the YHA at Coniston Copper Mines or the one at Holly How.

Back at the time it seemed very geeky and trainspottery to be writing down lots of details, and it was all about quickly moving on to the next big adventure. Now in my seventh decade, I'd love to spend a winter evening or two browsing through dog-earred old notebooks and diaries.

My advice to younger players is to keep reasonable records of where you go, when you went and maybe why. And try not to lose them.
You don't even need to wait until you're old and in your dotage to reminisce. Looking back at what you were doing a mere 10 years ago can be very enjoyable and enlightening.

 

[Calthrop]

I did most of my travels in the late '80s/early '90s and highlighted the lines travelled in a copy of Stuart Baker's original 'Rail Atlas Of Britain 1977', together with modifications such as inking in freight lines reopened to passengers, etc. Today I appreciate that it's a seminal publication and I regret defacing it! But while my coverage looks pretty comprehensive, there are large parts of the network which I haven't done since then, I have little memory of certain lines and much of it would have changed beyond recognition today, so I can't help feeling that my records have become irrelevant.

(My bolding) -- does this perhaps prompt thoughts of re-doing one's travels over the whole system --possibly even more than once, the basher's life-span permitting? With maybe coming to mind just slightly, the chap in the ancient myth who was condemned to spend eternity pushing a heavy boulder up a mountain; when summit reached, it promptly rolled back down to the bottom, and so on ad infinitum. (These reflections are meant in admiration, rather than poking of fun !)

My advice to younger players is to keep reasonable records of where you go, when you went and maybe why. And try not to lose them.
You don't even need to wait until you're old and in your dotage to reminisce. Looking back at what you were doing a mere 10 years ago can be very enjoyable and enlightening.

(My bolding) -- wise counsel, and a worthwhile endeavour; but as mentioned upthread: as with myself and @L.B. & SNCB, sometimes life and circumstances intervene.

 

[satisnek]

(My bolding) -- does this perhaps prompt thoughts of re-doing one's travels over the whole system --possibly even more than once, the basher's life-span permitting? With maybe coming to mind just slightly, the chap in the ancient myth who was condemned to spend eternity pushing a heavy boulder up a mountain; when summit reached, it promptly rolled back down to the bottom, and so on ad infinitum. (These reflections are meant in admiration, rather than poking of fun !)

In my case, not really. To be perfectly honest, the emaciated state of the UK rail network today depresses me. And anyway, we've got Google Earth these days, which doesn't require time spent working out the best split ticketing arrangements and doesn't suffer from delays and missed connections...

Having said that, for some time now I've been thinking about a trip to Scotland to 'do' Edinburgh - Tweedbank which didn't exist in my 'line bashing' days.

 

[Calthrop]

To be perfectly honest, the emaciated state of the UK rail network today depresses me.

On this, I feel as you do. I see the element of "glass half empty" versus "glass half full"; but people are free here, to choose the attitude which suits them !

Re Edinburgh -- Tweedbank: I'll be revoltingly smug and reveal that I travelled on the Waverley Route throughout -- just once, and only in one direction -- only days before its closure. I recall few details, but remember finding it a very beautiful run.

 

[PeterY]

Armed with my senior railcard my aim is to complete the rail network this year and have passed though every station, before I go to the great terminus in the sky. I started colouring my Baker Atlas in yellow, a big mistake back in the 80's. It faded, so when I re started, I high-lighted in purple. But over 40 odd years the memory has faded, especially for rail tours and exact routes. I only re started line bashing several years ago and for 3rd rail land, I used my Network South-east card, before I got to 60. I live in the South.

If I do 3 sides of a triangle, I count myself lucky (Carmarthen for example) .
If I do a rare crossover, again I count myself lucky.

My rule is: I only need to do a new line in one direction only.

Re Edinburgh -- Tweedbank: I'll be revoltingly smug and reveal that I travelled on the Waverley Route throughout -- just once, and only in one direction -- only days before its closure. I recall few details, but remember finding it a very beautiful run.

I'll be smug and say I did the Watford High Street to Croxley Green line before it closed.

So to complete UK.
Skegness. North Lincolnshire, South Manchester, Goole to Leeds, Sheffield to York, Hamilton circle, far north from Inverness and Kyle of Lochalsh.

Once I've done it all , I may start on the trams. I need a goal

My suggestions to the younger generation, keep records.

 

[xotGD]

I suppose my yellow-penning claim to fame is Spalding - March, done going on holiday to Great Yarmouth back in the day.

Norwood Jn to Tyne Yard on a diverted Hexham - Newcastle dmu was also a nice move.

On a micro-level, going in and out of the parcels lines next to the old Platform 10 at Newcastle to drop off a defective coach.

 

[Calthrop]

Spalding -- March seems to have been a considerable challenge / "King Charles's Head" for a good many folk. Myself included, to a slight extent. At the risk of becoming autobiographically boring -- up to age 9 for me, our family lived in Spalding; for the succeeding dozen years, in Peterborough. While domiciled in Spalding, it would seem we never had occasion to travel by rail south-eastward of that town. When in Peterborough: Spalding -- March was the hypotenuse of a rail-routes triangle whose apex was Peterborough: thus, not relevant or applicable as regards any journey with an actual purpose -- and in early teens, cash for the covering of desired lines not plentiful. I finally bagged Spalding -- March, southbound, in the course of a week's Eastern Region Railrover home-based travelling in summer 1964: my only journey over the section, ever.

Of the secondary-line sections which radiated from Spalding in six different directions in the great days: with the March line, I have in my life certainly travelled on five. As mentioned in a post upthread, I might also have travelled on the sixth, to Bourne; or might not -- truly no way of knowing !