Which station can you see the train coming from furthest away?

[philjo]

Cumbrian coast line - at Ravenglass you can see the trains coming southbound some time before they get to the station.

as already mentioned - Berwick upon Tweed along the cliff top on the approaches to Tweedmouth.

 

[Retorus]

You can see southbound trains at Biggleswade from pretty far away.

 

[Green Lane]

My local one is Bidston in Birkenhead, where to the west you can see trains over a mile and a half away. This is before they have even arrived at Moreton (Merseyside), which is two stations away. So it does take quite a long time to eventually arrive.

 

[cuccir]

Cumbrian coast line - at Ravenglass you can see the trains coming southbound some time before they get to the station.
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Was going to suggest this line, but probably Kirkby-in-Furness - you can see the train when it's travelling between Millom and Green Road across the Duddon Estuary

 

[Clip]

At Teynham you can see trains approaching from about a mile in either direction, as you can see, sort of, in this photo. http://www.flickr.com/photos/royalwizard/3937192449/

Wouldnt surprise me if you could do the same at Newington too.

There's also a station on the DLR where you can see the train come round the curve/viaduct, I forget which station though.

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Canning town you can watch them come round from East India. Shadwell you can see them coming from Tower gateway. probably a few by Excel too.

 

[calc7]

Canning town you can watch them come round from East India. Shadwell you can see them coming from Tower gateway. probably a few by Excel too.

West India Quay or Heron Quays you can see trains approaching two stations away.

 

[Clip]

West India Quay or Heron Quays you can see trains approaching two stations away.

At Poplar you can see 4

 

[Howardh]

East Didsbury looking south. Can see a train from a distance which can take 3 - 4 minutes to arrive.

 

[DaveNewcastle]

Burtisland to Dalmeny.
(You'd maybe need a telescope unless the train you were watching was steam-hauled).
About 7 miles by sight, and 10 miles by rail.

Has anyone ever seen their train leaving Brora from Tain? It must be about 18 miles away (18 miles line of sight and an hour by train), but could be a possibility if the tide is out, the air was clear and you used a telescope.

Not quite the same as the sightlines from Biggleswade, I must admit.

 

[trentside]

Collingham is approached on a long straight from the Lincoln direction, so I'd imagine the train is in view for quite awhile before it arrives at the station.

 

[ainsworth74]

Fitzwilliam is pretty good for watching train approaching from the Doncaster/Sheffield direction.

 

[fairysdad]

Exton - Lypmstone Commando

Any Paignton-Exmouth trains you can see leaving Starcross when you're at Exmouth... that's almost an hour away

 

[telstarbox]

How are the sightlines on Redhill–Tonbridge–Ashford (the original SER mainline)?

They are pretty good! For example, on a clear day at Staplehurst you can see an up train as soon as it comes out of the platform loop at Headcorn.

 

[LE Greys]

Northallerton is certainly in with a shout when looking North. Even at 125mph, you can watch a 91 or HST approaching for a good 2-3 minutes before it passes.

That's what I was going to say. Thirsk might be another possibility, but I'm not sure of the line-of-sight there. Northallerton is the one place I have ever literally seen my train disappear over the horizon rather than go behind an object. With a decent pair of binoculars, the last thing you would see is the pantograph.

Aberdeen is an interesting case, because you can't see much in the actual station, but from the Union Square car park, you can see the train emerge from the cutting on the other side of Torrey, a good three or four minutes away.

 

[12CSVT]

At Bromborough Rake/Bromborough/Eastham Rake you can see trains at the next station

From the foot crossing at Ty Glas station you can see trains in the platform at Coryton station in good lighting conditions (possibly the only place on the National Rail network where you can see trains four stations away)

On London Underground you can see a long way down the line at West Ham (District Line platforms) and at Willesden Green

On preserved lines you can see for about a mile in both directions at Quorn on the Great Central Railway, looking west at Ferry Meadows on the Nene Valley, and the whole length of the Lincolnshire Wolds Railway at Ludborough

 

[Eagle]

(possibly the only place on the National Rail network where you can see trains four stations away)

At Starcross you can see trains that are eleven stations away :P

 

[HSTEd]

How about southbound from Grantham?

You can see a lot from the South end of Platform 2/4.

 

[Requeststop]

brilliant!

Made me snort too!

The two that came to mind when reading the thread have been mentioned.

Bidston to just beyond Moreton to the Lingham Lane footbridge is 1.9miles by my measurement on Google Earth. (strange that they call an area Lingham knowing what a lingham is in slang - Lingham lane, close, park and school - wonder what they teach there and what happens in the park at night)

The other was Starcross across the Exe estuary.

 

[PR1Berske]

Bamber Bridge is pretty good at looking down many a mile.

 

[Scotrail84]

Approaching Haymarket from the west, 2 miles easy, south gyle a mile in both directions. Lenzie, portlethen, Carnoustie must be a winner too coming from Dundee.

 

[Phil6219]

I'm not sure about the distances but Acton Bridge on the WCML is great for offering a long approach shot. Looking south it is possible to see the Hartford station which is on a curve, to the north there is a curve probably close to a mile away.

Either way its a great spot purely because it's difficult to miss an approaching freight unless one is seriously not paying attention (such as busy posting GEN rather than keeping an eye on the lines)... Heck it's one reason I choose to go there to do my filming, that and the fantastic numbers of freight movements.

Phil

 

[robschopper]

On the Cambrian Coast, standing at Llanaber north of Barmouth, you can see an approaching northbound train as it leaves Llywngwril. That's 7 miles, 5 stations and about 15 mins away.
Theoretically, with binoculars, and probably easier when the steam train is running, from Pwllheli or Criccieth you could see the train as it came around the headland between Tonfanau and Llwyngwril. That's 40 miles, 21 stations and 90 minutes away.

 

[snail]

My local station my train comes from round a bend and that's it! Just wondered though which stations you can stand at and see your train coming from miles away? Thinking maybe Arnside gets a shout as you can watch your train coming from across the river?
Anyone?

Can you see the viaduct from the station? It's about 1/4 mile away, round a curve.

 

[jaigee]

Crewe, either way on the WCML, depending where you stand.

 

[Howardh]

Can you see the viaduct from the station? It's about 1/4 mile away, round a curve.

Think you can from the end of the station (??). Better if you are in Arnside itself then you can look across the bay, see the train coming and then wander to the station.

In the old days, you didn't even have to see it. You could hear it coming over the viaduct *thud..thud...thud...* but since the rebuild it's a lot quieter. Booo...:cry:

Never been, but can you see the viaduct from Kent's Bank? Looks like there's a direct line of sight on the map, an it's about 5km. Must make a trip there again some day - lovely ride from Lancaster.

 

[button_boxer]

On the Cambrian Coast, standing at Llanaber north of Barmouth, you can see an approaching northbound train as it leaves Llywngwril. That's 7 miles, 5 stations and about 15 mins away.
Theoretically, with binoculars, and probably easier when the steam train is running, from Pwllheli or Criccieth you could see the train as it came around the headland between Tonfanau and Llwyngwril. That's 40 miles, 21 stations and 90 minutes away.

You'd have to be over 1000 ft above sea level with no intervening obstacles for the horizon to be 40 miles away...

 

[Oswyntail]

I would nominate Habrough, from childhood memory, with possibly any station from there to Barton (long, straight, level line, no trees!). Even Barnetby looking West

 

[robschopper]

You'd have to be over 1000 ft above sea level with no intervening obstacles for the horizon to be 40 miles away...

Sorry, I was unclear, 40 miles is route miles, the straight line distance is 20 miles, and the only thing in between is Cardigan Bay.

 

[Johnuk123]

On the Cambrian Coast, standing at Llanaber north of Barmouth, you can see an approaching northbound train as it leaves Llywngwril. That's 7 miles, 5 stations and about 15 mins away.
Theoretically, with binoculars, and probably easier when the steam train is running, from Pwllheli or Criccieth you could see the train as it came around the headland between Tonfanau and Llwyngwril. That's 40 miles, 21 stations and 90 minutes away.

I doubt that you'll better that for long distance in this country.

 

[YorkshireBear]

Might not rival some of the one mentioned but tamworth looking south has a fairly long sight.