Which station(s) have gone the longest without seeing any freight/railtours?

[CAF397]

Colne?

Visited frequently by a NR recording train as part of a NW network circuit.

Also on a daily circuit during leaf fall.

 

[Cowley]

Has the Alphington branch in Exeter received anything recently?

 

[Peter0124]

Visited frequently by a NR recording train as part of a NW network circuit.

Also on a daily circuit during leaf fall.

Would those be considered a freight train though? Pedantically they are not carrying goods or wagons.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Would those be considered a freight train though? Pedantically they are not carrying goods.

The OP did specify in post #1 that Network Rail maintenance / inspection trains counted as 'freight'.

 

[Llandudno]

Wrexham Central
Blackpool South
North Berwick
Burscough Junction, Rufford and Croston

 

[RetroCrowe]

Wrexham Central
Blackpool South
North Berwick
Burscough Junction, Rufford and Croston

Wrexham Central gets the monthly Borderlands/Mid-Cheshire PLPR.

BPS looked like a good shout but it seems like it gets an RHTT in the early hours of the morning during leaf fall.

Looks like North Berwick doesn't get an RHTT but it is supposed to have a test train tomorrow night (or I guess tonight now, considering it's gone midnight)

The Ormskirk Branch looks like a very promising suggestion. Doesn't look like any tours since 2022, no RHTT and I can't seem to find much info about any test trains along that line, although surely a line of that length must get them occasionally?

 

[D7666]

The Thameslink Core. Whilst Test Trains do run through every few weeks I wouldn't consider them as 'freight' trains.

However, if you don't consider test trains as 'freight' but still consider "gone the longest without" in the OP title.

Until c.1970 the Snow Hill route was a significant cross London freight route (actually why it survived at all; no looked it up but off top of head lost its passenger trains 1914 at start of WW1) and even into 1960s very VERY busy with up to 30 freight per day both ways.

1970 to 2024 might be a long time with no freight, 54 years, but I am sure this forum will find other routes longer without freight. ***

It also has had at least one railtour

Six Bells Junction

_

Equally disqualified if one discounts test trains, but never ever had any revenue freight must be Merseyrail loop on the Wirral; well the Merseyrail link on the Northern too; although both are 1970s routes younger than the freightless Snow Hill; Mersey has had tours though.
_

IOW :

Wow I never knew that - yes tampers do count as engineering trains for the sake of this discussion.

The entire reason D2554 / 05001 was there post electrification was exactly for engineering trains, then replaced by and 03.
_

*** e.g. I find one myself : Moorgate / Drayton Park must be there somewhere w.r.t. no 'real' freight although again they have test trains; unsure about railtours - did a 313 farewell go there ? 6BJ not responding at the moment now.
_

Essentially with this thread, if one counts engineering trains as "freght", and then things like tampers and hence road-railer OTP count as engineers trains, then I suggest there is not one line in the entire country anywhere without "freight". As small OTP can't really be tracked (excuse pun), and may work in possessions etc by road access driving up to site, there is little hope of establishing facts based on this criteria.

 

[RetroCrowe]

Essentially with this thread, if one counts engineering trains as "freght", and then things like tampers and hence road-railer OTP count as engineers trains, then I suggest there is not one line in the entire country anywhere without "freight". As small OTP can't really be tracked (excuse pun), and may work in possessions etc by road access driving up to site, there is little hope of establishing facts based on this criteria.

A potential solution to this would be to only include any engineering trains that would appear on RTT? Although this would raise questions about the 2021 Stourbridge Town possession mentioned in the original post, as I'm not sure if this was on RTT as far as Stourbridge Town and it might've only shown a path to the Junction?

 

[D7666]

A potential solution to this would be to only include any engineering trains that would appear on RTT? Although this would raise questions about the 2021 Stourbridge Town possession mentioned in the original post, as I'm not sure if this was on RTT as far as Stourbridge Town and it might've only shown a path to the Junction?

so now that blocks out anything that ran before RTT was invented

hardly going to generate sensible answers is it

that is like saying Rocket don't count in the Rainhill trials because did not have TOPS numbers so not registered in present day systems so no record of it

next ?

 

[61653 HTAFC]

It's been served by RHTT and the occasional charter in the last ten or so years, but for a fairly long period of time the northern end of the Penistone line was barred to all non-DMU stock. The only non-passenger service that could have operated between Huddersfield and Lockwood during that time (other than ECS) would be the Class 950 track recording unit.

 

[D7666]

It's been served by RHTT and the occasional charter in the last ten or so years, but for a fairly long period of time the northern end of the Penistone line was barred to all non-DMU stock. The only non-passenger service that could have operated between Huddersfield and Lockwood during that time (other than ECS) would be the Class 950 track recording unit.

So you are saying, for example, even NR MPVs were then banned ?

 

[DarloRich]

Not that I'm aware of - occasional checks of RTT have never shown anything, no photos of a Stourbridge Town test train on Flickr and no videos on YouTube. I'd imagine it would be simple enough to run 950001 down in the middle of the night but that doesn't seem to have happened at all

thanks - that is what I assumed must happen - A 950 visit overnight on a Sunday.

How is the track quality inspected then? Does @Freightmaster know?

 

[D7666]

How is the track quality inspected then?

How about a man in a hi-vi walking the route the same way they did it for the past 200 years before yellow trains were invented ?

 

[RetroCrowe]

so now that blocks out anything that ran before RTT was invented

hardly going to generate sensible answers is it

that is like saying Rocket don't count in the Rainhill trials because did not have TOPS numbers so not registered in present day systems so no record of it

next ?

I see your point but RTT came out in 2012, I highly doubt there are any lines in the county to see no freight or engineering trains in the last 12 years and if there is one, that line would surely be the winner. Realistically this discussion will never come down to putting a date on things that ran pre-RTT

Another contender I'd like to put down is the Looe Valley Line, which has seen nothing since the 1st November 2023 when 950001 derailed on catch points at Coombe GF.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

So you are saying, for example, even NR MPVs were then banned ?

Up until the repairs were carried out to Paddock Viaduct, which was round about 2010 though I forget exactly when, only vehicles classed as DMU were permitted between Lockwood Station and Springwood Junction. I don't know what restrictions MPVs have, so it's possible they would have been permitted.
Back in those days, the RHTT runs ran from the Barnsley end and turned back in Lockwood.

 

[Ribbleman]

Surely everywhere sees weedkiller trains???

Sadly not. Many lines are badly neglected. Though it has to be said that modern weedkillers are not very effective and where they do kill, the benefit does not often last through a summer’s growth.

 

[WesternBiker]

Greenford (the bay platform)?

 

[HSTEd]

When was the last time an engineering train went down the St Ives branch?

 

[FGW_DID]

Marlow?

 

[The exile]

I see your point but RTT came out in 2012, I highly doubt there are any lines in the county to see no freight or engineering trains in the last 12 years and if there is one, that line would surely be the winner. Realistically this discussion will never come down to putting a date on things that ran pre-RTT

Another contender I'd like to put down is the Looe Valley Line, which has seen nothing since the 1st November 2023 when 950001 derailed on catch points at Coombe GF.

When did those specials with the steam rail motor (or whatever) run?

 

[Ashley Hill]

Has the Alphington branch in Exeter received anything recently?

The last railtour I believe was the class 142 farewell on the 27/11/11. However I am aware of an ECS unit which only went in rear of the exit signal last year due to congestion at the west end of Exeter SD. I don’t know if any of the NR test trains go down there.

 

[philthetube]

Colne?

I remember seeing a railtour at Colne, a good few years ago, trailing back across the viaduct.

 

[dan4291]

Bishop Auckland. No freight or recent railtours, but does get the odd NR 153 or the 950 but rarely.

 

[RetroCrowe]

When did those specials with the steam rail motor (or whatever) run?

2012 I believe

 

[ayubdaud]

The Ormskirk Branch looks like a very promising suggestion. Doesn't look like any tours since 2022, no RHTT and I can't seem to find much info about any test trains along that line, although surely a line of that length must get them occasionally?

Ormskirk branch should see 3S58 run down there in autumn.

 

[greyman42]

Southport?

 

[Metrolink]

When was the last test train at Manchester Airport (if any)?

 

[driverd]

How about a man in a hi-vi walking the route the same way they did it for the past 200 years before yellow trains were invented ?

Surprisingly, the vast majority of the network, including some now private infrastructure (eg: Sinfin) are covered by the PLPR/UTU inspection cycle. I don't know about Stourbridge - as a guess, I'd presume it doesn't get covered because of the 139s being VERY light and the route being short. That said, I also wouldn't be overly surprised if a UTU visits on an extremely irregular basis (eg: twice a year in the middle of the night).

Unfortunately, counting test trains as "freight" essentially means the whole network is covered, and the least visited place will be whichever destination is on the least frequent cycle.

 

[Taunton]

West Kirby in the Wirral must be a complete challenge to get to other than the regular electric passenger units, which access via the tunnel link lines in Liverpool. Visiting periodically I have never seen any sign of anything else, no works vehicles, no run round facility for any locomotive, nothing.

 

[Kite159]

West Kirby in the Wirral must be a complete challenge to get to other than the regular electric passenger units, which access via the tunnel link lines in Liverpool. Visiting periodically I have never seen any sign of anything else, no works vehicles, no run round facility for any locomotive, nothing.

I guess access for West Kirby will involve a reversal in the Bidston area, likewise for New Brighton with the freight/railtours accessing merseyrail via the line from Wrexham