[trivia] Smallest station not to close after Beeching and largest to close

[infobleep]

What was the smallest station, in terms of passenger numbers, not to close after the Beeching?

What was the largest to close?

Also what about before the Beeching report, especially the largest to close pre Beeching.

 

[Liam]

Beeching wanted to close the Kyle and Far North Line, so maybe Kildonan, Scotscalder or Altnabreac for the smallest?

As for largest station closed, Buchanan Street and St Enoch were closed by Beeching.

 

[Cowley]

In another current thread Steamy Brian mentioned Blackpool Central as one of, if not the largest station to close with 13 platforms (which out of interest I read a bit about).
How about Coombe Junction for the smallest that's managed to stay open? Or somewhere on the Far North Line maybe?

 

[30907]

As for the largest pre Beeching, assuming by size not passenger numbers, how about Crystal Palace HL in 1954? Or Leicester Belgrave Road?
In terms of passenger numbers at time of closure, the 1920s rationalisation in Thanet led to the closure of both Ramsgate termini and Margate SER.
But Cromer High (1954 again) might win on numbers plus size?

 

[deltic]

Birmingham Snow Hill must have been one of largest to close - smaller but still fairly large and busy would be Manchester Central and Exchange and Liverpool Exchange

 

[sk688]

How about Sudbury Hill, Sudbury and Harrow Road and Northolt Park for smallest

Largest closure : Holborn Viaduct.?.

 

[deltic]

How about Sudbury Hill, Sudbury and Harrow Road and Northolt Park for smallest

Largest closure : Holborn Viaduct.?.

Holborn Viaduct wasn't a Beeching closure nor was Broad Street which was bigger but perhaps had fewer passengers

 

[gg1]

Birmingham Snow Hill must have been one of largest to close - smaller but still fairly large and busy would be Manchester Central and Exchange and Liverpool Exchange

Snow Hill is quite possibly the busiest station to close in the immediate post Beeching era but it wasn't one Beeching can be blamed for, he actually recommended that Snow Hill and the route to Wolverhampton low level remain open.

 

[infobleep]

Thanks for the interesting replies. I'd love to know why some of these smaller stations remind open. Were they just lucky to be on a line that was busy enough to remain open but not high speed enough to need the smaller stations closed?

 

[30907]

Thanks for the interesting replies. I'd love to know why some of these smaller stations remind open. Were they just lucky to be on a line that was busy enough to remain open but not high speed enough to need the smaller stations closed?

And, of course, the hassle of closing individual intermediate stations - see innumerable discussions on Norton Bridge et al.

 

[talltim]

Holborn Viaduct wasn't a Beeching closure nor was Broad Street which was bigger but perhaps had fewer passengers

The question wasn't about Beeching closures, it was about closures after Beeching.
I don't know how big Sheffield Victoria was on the scale

 

[edwin_m]

A lot of the selection of stations to close was to do with whether buses could provide an adequate local service. To give a couple of examples:

Limpley Stoke station is where the main road crosses the railway allowing buses to serve the area, and the station was closed. Freshford and Avoncliff are pretty much inaccessible to a bus and would be long diversions off any bus route to anywhere else, so remain open and in the case of Avoncliff would be a good candidate for a small station surviving Beeching.

Plymouth to Tavistock was an easy road journey in the 60s so the railway was not kept open for local journeys (loss of the through main line to Exeter is a slightly different issue). However the less important Callington branch was kept open as far as Gunnislake, as the lack of decent road crossings of the Tamar and the Tavy meant these places could not practically be served by bus from Plymouth. Callington itself has much better road access.

The lack of bus-rail integration at the time, and the subsequent advent of traffic congestion and loss of anything resembling a coherent bus network in much of rural England, does of course make these decisions very questionable today.

 

[AM9]

How about Berney Arms for one of the smallest. The post office at the station closed in 1967 which was within the post-Beeching period for rationalisation purposes.

 

[Merthyr Imp]

The question wasn't about Beeching closures, it was about closures after Beeching.
I don't know how big Sheffield Victoria was on the scale

Smaller than Nottingham Victoria.

 

[yorksrob]

Glasgow St Enoch looked to be quite a biggie. Lovely trainshed as well, sadly.

 

[Western Lord]

Birmingham Snow Hill must have been one of largest to close - smaller but still fairly large and busy would be Manchester Central and Exchange and Liverpool Exchange

The closure of Liverpool Exchange was nothing to do with Beechng. It closed when the cross city tunnel opened. The answer is probably Nottingham Victoria which had four long through platforms and eight bays.

 

[najaB]

Beeching wanted to close the Kyle and Far North Line, so maybe Kildonan, Scotscalder or Altnabreac for the smallest?

I thought it was all rural rail north of Edinburgh/Stirling that was at risk? In which case Barry Links probably takes the cake as it's normally one of the bottom ten stations nationally.

 

[Busaholic]

A lot of the selection of stations to close was to do with whether buses could provide an adequate local service. To give a couple of examples:

Limpley Stoke station is where the main road crosses the railway allowing buses to serve the area, and the station was closed. Freshford and Avoncliff are pretty much inaccessible to a bus and would be long diversions off any bus route to anywhere else, so remain open and in the case of Avoncliff would be a good candidate for a small station surviving Beeching.

Plymouth to Tavistock was an easy road journey in the 60s so the railway was not kept open for local journeys (loss of the through main line to Exeter is a slightly different issue). However the less important Callington branch was kept open as far as Gunnislake, as the lack of decent road crossings of the Tamar and the Tavy meant these places could not practically be served by bus from Plymouth. Callington itself has much better road access.

The lack of bus-rail integration at the time, and the subsequent advent of traffic congestion and loss of anything resembling a coherent bus network in much of rural England, does of course make these decisions very questionable today.

Just taken a look at the current bus timetable from Tavistock to Plymouth on Stagecoach's 'express' route X1. Weekday A.M. peak journeys are timed at 71 minutes for the full journey!

 

[birchesgreen]

Wasn't Stourbridge Town listed for closure?

 

[Cowley]

Just taken a look at the current bus timetable from Tavistock to Plymouth on Stagecoach's 'express' route X1. Weekday A.M. peak journeys are timed at 71 minutes for the full journey!

Not great when you realise that it's only got to go about twenty miles.

 

[Kendalian]

Blackpool Central was the largest station (by number of platforms - 14) to close.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackpool_Central_railway_station

 

[Howardh]

Was Bolton Moor Lane closed due to Beeching? Not sure how big it was, but seemed to have several trains per day to Manchester, Leigh etc.

 

[deltic]

The closure of Liverpool Exchange was nothing to do with Beechng. It closed when the cross city tunnel opened. The answer is probably Nottingham Victoria which had four long through platforms and eight bays.

Sorry meant Liverpool Central

 

[AndrewE]

The question wasn't about Beeching closures, it was about closures after Beeching.
I don't know how big Sheffield Victoria was on the scale

I (and most of the others) read it as meaning "closures as a consequence of the Beeching [report]"

It's interesting to see how many people (and even members here) assume that all closures were down to Beeching, when clearly they have not been.

 

[AndrewE]

Beeching wanted to close the Kyle and Far North Line, so maybe Kildonan, Scotscalder or Altnabreac for the smallest?

As for largest station closed, Buchanan Street and St Enoch were closed by Beeching.

I don't think Beeching actually proposed the Fort William line for closure, but Corrour must be the smallest surviving station on almost any criteria!

 

[gg1]

I don't think Beeching actually proposed the Fort William line for closure, but Corrour must be the smallest surviving station on almost any criteria!

Surprisingly (amazingly given it's location) wikipedia gives an annual passenger usage of 11,000 to 13,000 for Corrour in each of the past 5 years making it one of the busier West Highland line stations.

 

[Darren R]

Was Bolton Moor Lane closed due to Beeching? Not sure how big it was, but seemed to have several trains per day to Manchester, Leigh etc.

Bolton Great Moor Street () closed to regular passenger services in 1954, so we can't blame that one on the good doctor!

It was only a small station with four platforms; the western two for Kenyon Junction arrivals and departures, and the easternmost side for Manchester Exchange. Despite being the first station in town, passenger numbers were never as high as at the nearby Trinity Street, which offered faster, more frequent services and more destinations.

 

[eastdyke]

I don't think Beeching actually proposed the Fort William line for closure, but Corrour must be the smallest surviving station on almost any criteria!

Earlier in the post Kildonan (Far North Line) was mentioned, it is probably the least used UK station that has a regular service pattern (ie not of the Parliamentary variety).

 

[Liam]

I don't think Beeching actually proposed the Fort William line for closure, but Corrour must be the smallest surviving station on almost any criteria!

I'm not sure Corrour is the smallest station in any category. There are certainly less used stations, stations served by fewer trains, stations with shorter platforms and more that I can think of.

 

[Bevan Price]

In terms of platform numbers, the biggest stations closed were probably:
Blackpool Central
Glasgow St. Enoch
Nottingham Victoria
(10 or more platforms)

then
Birmingham Snow Hill
Manchester Central
(about 8 or 9 platforms)

followed by
Sheffield Victoria
Liverpool Central
Glasgow Buchanan Street
Edinburgh Princes Street
(5 or more platforms)

Cromer High, mentioned above, and closed long before Beeching. had 4 platforms, and was not very busy in later years.