"Well I Never Knew That"...

[Greenback]

Swansea once had the following stations:

High Street
Victoria
Bay
St Thomas
East
Mumbles Road
Landore
Cockett
Upper Bank
Morriston East
Morriston West

 

[EM2]

The first station to be called Walthamstow, is not (and never has been) the main station in the town. Walthamstow became Walthamstow Queen's Road (and is not in Queen's Road)
The town's main station is Walthamstow Central, but was originally called Hoe Street. and opened over twenty years earlier.

 

[OxtedL]

Oxted station was never built anywhere particularly near Oxted. Instead, New Oxted grew around it, until somebody decided it would be easier to drop the New and give the other one an Old.

I'm sure there are similar stories out there.

 

[455/8]

I'm sure this is common knowledge but the highest point of the SWT network is Basingstoke.

It's the same height standing on the platforms at Basingstoke as it is standing on the very top of St. Paul's Cathedral.

 

[tbtc]

I'm sure this is common knowledge but the highest point of the SWT network is Basingstoke.

It's the same height standing on the platforms at Basingstoke as it is standing on the very top of St. Paul's Cathedral.

I didn't know that. I did know that Grantshouse (between Dunbar and Berwick) is the highest place on the WCML between London and Edinburgh (though this is probably common knowledge)

 

[flymo]

I didn't know that. I did know that Grantshouse (between Dunbar and Berwick) is the highest place on the WCML between London and Edinburgh (though this is probably common knowledge)

ECML (Sorry !)

 

[ralphchadkirk]

I'm sure this is common knowledge but the highest point of the SWT network is Basingstoke.

It's the same height standing on the platforms at Basingstoke as it is standing on the very top of St. Paul's Cathedral.

I believe the highest station in the Southern Region to be Medstead and Four Marks on the Mid-Hants Railway.

 

[scotsman]

In the days when Virgin ran CrossCountry, they only served ONE unmanned station (exc. the irregularly served Patchway and Filton Abbey Wood, which was still satffed then). Can anyone name it?

Lostwithiel?

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Lostwithiel?

Nope, apparently you can get penalty fared at this station (Hayle wasn't regular either!)

 

[tbtc]

ECML (Sorry !)

::facepalm::



Erm, yeah, good spot! Am slapping myself...

 

[LE Greys]

And, as everyone knows, the highest point on the WCML is Beattock Summit, between Lockerbie and Carstairs. The lowest point anywhere in Britain is the bottom of the Severn Tunnel, deeper than any Tube line (the Channel Tunnel doesn't count) but where is the lowest non-tunnel point? The answer is probably Manea, in the middle of the Fens, about 20 ft below sea level. If anyone knows better than this, please tell us.

 

[table38]

There are a few examples of towns named after stations (rather than the other way around). Of the top of my head:

Nelson in Lancashire, where the station was named after the local pub rather than Marsden to avoid confusion with the Marsden in t'Yorkshire.

Earlestown, where the station was named after Hardman Earle, a chairman of the LNWR.

Llandudno Junction, where the town grew up around the station.

There may be others

 

[imagination]

Manea is apparently about 14m above sea level.

Dundee is below sea level though.

 

[krus_aragon]

There are a few examples of towns named after stations (rather than the other way around). Of the top of my head:

...

There may be others

Clarbeston Road for one.



The Mostyn family's original plan for Llandudno was not a Victorian holiday resort, but the main railhead and port for traffic to Ireland.

 

[Wyvern]

Ambergate was originally the name of the station (the gate of the Amber Valley) but the village took the namme. The Ordnance Survey still shows the old part of the vilage as Toadmoor.

Ashburys is named after the Ashbury Carriage and Wagon Works which paid £175 for it to be built.

 

[Bittern]

I didn't know that 5511 was the first diesel to traverse the Waverley Route. It did so in 1958.

 

[scotsman]

Widdrington Station is located in a place named 'Widdrington Station' which built up around the station, strangely enough - the actual Widdrington is about a mile away

 

[vectra33]

Sorry I should have said road, air, rail and waterway.

Road: A6 and M6 motorway
Rail: West Coast Mainline
Waterway: Lancaster Canal
Air: International flightpaths for Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow plus Lancaster airfield.

Hope this makes sense Martin.

Theres no airfield in lancaster,
On the same basis ,at watford gap serices theres the wcml,The M1 and the canal all running together and planes fly over.

Dave

 

[Sadsmileyface]

380's are only capable of travelling three hundred and eighty feet without failing.

 

[Bittern]

And they're still better than the 334s!

Another one:

Flying Scotsman's going under tests next month!

 

[Trog]

You are quite right, it was - it's one of the Watford tunnels, but I''m not sure if it's the fast or slow lines tunnel. I think it's the fast lines tunnel.

A little odd as the tunnels are quite deep, and Google earth shows no church or grave yard on the line of the tunnels.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

It was probably a small local graveyard and totally obliterated by the tunnel works? Yes, the tunnels are quite deep, but the approaches aren't - I guess it could have happened there?

Wouldn't be the only case of a graveyard being removed for railway premises; a prime example is St Pancras; the current lower concourse ( the undercroft ) is where a large cemetery used to be and it was completely removed when the station was built.


Meanwhile, another obscure fact: Edinburgh is further west than Carlisle.

 

[Hydro]

Meanwhile, another obscure fact: Efinburgh is further west than Carlisle.

When I first saw this, my first reaction was "Balls is it!" but stone me, you are entirely correct.

 

[flymo]

Meanwhile, another obscure fact: Edinburgh is further west than Carlisle.

Looking from a Railway point of view rather than the whole town, Edinburgh Waverley Station is also further west than Cardiff Central (just!) and Taunton stations

 

[LE Greys]

And the LNER once owned both the most westerly (Arisaig) and most easterly (Lowestoft) stations in Great Britain. Meanwhile, Aberdeen was technically the top of the WCML, being a Caledonian station where the mileage is calculated from Carlisle.

 

[kylemore]

Random - Intercity 125 catering cars used to have deep fat fryers! Health and Safety - not!

They also had draught beer for a while as well, a plate of proper chips and a pint on a train, luxury!

 

[DarloRich]

Nostalgic trivia - In 1922 the through carriages from Aberdeen - Penzance took 21 hours 55 minutes southbound, that is about 8½ hours longer than today's journey.

but still more comfortbale than a voyager!

 

[Wyvern]

They also had draught beer for a while as well, a plate of proper chips and a pint on a train, luxury!

At one time they served proper meals in the Restaurant Car.

A treasured memory was being at a stand on a diversion across Harringworth Viaduct, eating my lunch with the spring sun shining and the birds singing.

 

[flymo]

but still more comfortbale than a voyager!

Well quite... Fewer stop too, 33.

FYI the stops were Aberdeen, Stonehaven, Montrose, Arbroath, Dundee Tay Bridge, Leuchars Jcn, Kirkcaldy, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Darlington Bank Top, York, Sheffield Victoria, Nottingham Victoria, Leicester Central, Rugby, Banbury, Oxford, Swindon, Bath, Bristol, Taunton, Exeter St. David's, Newton Abbot, Plymouth North Road, Liskeard, Par, St.Austell, Truro, Redruth, Camborne, Gwinear Road, Hayle, St. Erth, Penzance

 

[ainsworth74]

Fewer stop too, 33.

Well that's still quite an impressive number of stops. Also takes a different route I notice going via Nottingham, Leicester, Rugby rather than Derby and Birmingham.