Trivia: Most ridiculously named station in UK

[gazthomas]

I assumed that a Parkway station was a park and ride for long distance train travellers. Perhaps I came to this conclusion because I was aware from my youth of two stations south of Birmingham where the London trains used to stop to pick up passengers from South Birmingham and the areas near Birmingham in Worcestershire and Warwickshire. These were Hampton in Arden on the New Street-Euston line and Knowle and Dorridge (now just Dorridge) on the Snow Hill-Paddington line. Nowadays Birmingham International serves this function for the New Street-Euston line.

Thinking about it, Birmingham International is a silly name for a domestic railway station. The only 'international' service that ever ran was the train which ran for a short time unsuccessfully as a feeder service to Waterloo for Eurostar. Even Birmingham Airport which it was built to serve has dropped International from its name. A more appropriate name would be Birmingham Airport-NEC (for National Exhibition Centre)

I guess the "International" relates to the airport's destinations rather than the railway's

 

[DarloRich]

I would define Central Milton Keynes as the InTu Shopping Centre which is where the main bus station is. However if you prefer to take the MK Civic Offices as the centre, I have measured that on Google Maps and it is a waking distance of either 0.9 miles or 1.0 mile depending on which route you take

and? How close to your arbitrary central point of a town or city must a station be to be called "central"? Is Newcastle Central acceptably close? What about Glasgow Central? What about the centrals of Coatbridge or Gainsborough? What about Wembley Central? Perhaps Wrexham Central is better? Could we define some rules whereby we know when it is correct to use the word "Central" in a railway station title?

BTW - Is it even worth pointing out that Miltion Keynes isnt designed with any one centre in mind but several? The station is ideally situated for the employment centre.............

 

[tsr]

I have always felt that Dorking Station is poorly named given that there is also Dorking Deepdeene and Dorking West.

It was once named "Dorking North" and has also been known as "Dorking Main" at times.

 

[och aye]

Its not Edinburgh

But it is in Edinburgh though. Why do you say its not in Edinburgh?

 

[edwin_m]

See also Hell, Norway.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell_Station

Imagine asking for a return ticket to there.

A single would be worse...

 

[adrock1976]

How about Birmingham New Street? Yes, it's in Birmingham, but does not now (and as far as I can make out has not ever) been accessed from New Street.

Before the recent rebuilding of the concourse area, the station could be accessed via New Street (at the Corporation Street/Stephenson Place junction) by means of going up the ramp next to the the former Midland Bank (now HSBC) to

 

[adrock1976]

But it is in Edinburgh though. Why do you say its not in Edinburgh?

You could split hairs and say that it is actually in the former Royal Burgh of Queensferry.

 

[adrock1976]

I assumed that a Parkway station was a park and ride for long distance train travellers. Perhaps I came to this conclusion because I was aware from my youth of two stations south of Birmingham where the London trains used to stop to pick up passengers from South Birmingham and the areas near Birmingham in Worcestershire and Warwickshire. These were Hampton in Arden on the New Street-Euston line and Knowle and Dorridge (now just Dorridge) on the Snow Hill-Paddington line. Nowadays Birmingham International serves this function for the New Street-Euston line.

Thinking about it, Birmingham International is a silly name for a domestic railway station. The only 'international' service that ever ran was the train which ran for a short time unsuccessfully as a feeder service to Waterloo for Eurostar. Even Birmingham Airport which it was built to serve has dropped International from its name. A more appropriate name would be Birmingham Airport-NEC (for National Exhibition Centre)

Alternatively, another name could be Bickenhill Parkway (for Birmingham Airport and NEC).

Furthermore, I believe that the High Speed station over the other side of the airfield/NEC complex will be called Birmingham Interchange.

 

[adrock1976]

I am aware that I may be splitting hairs slightly here, but with the exception of London Liverpool Street and London Fenchurch Street, none of the other mainline terminal stations that has the "London" prefix within Zone 1 of the London zonal system are in the City of London.

E.g. Victoria, Paddington, and Marylebone are in the City of Westminster. Euston, St Pancras, and Kings Cross are in the Borough of Camden (formerly Borough of St Pancras), etc.

 

[tsr]

Mitcham Eastfields
...
Tattenham Corner?

Mitcham Eastfields station straddles Eastfields level crossing and is a fairly well-known place. I have never heard of many people complaining about the station name. As for Mitcham, that's already a tram stop, and Mitcham Junction was once a "heavy rail" junction which is now a National Rail / Tramlink interchange.

Tattenham Corner is, again, locally well-known - and some local businesses have definitely been known to consider themselves to be located at Tattenham Corner instead of Epsom Downs.

Comes from the old term 'Mumper', meaning beggar.

Still a bit of a silly name, if so. Who names a station after beggars?

Does Looe have a working public convenience on it?

No, sadly.

 

[fairysdad]

I am aware that I may be splitting hairs slightly here, but with the exception of London Liverpool Street and London Fenchurch Street, none of the other mainline terminal stations that has the "London" prefix within Zone 1 of the London zonal system are in the City of London.

E.g. Victoria, Paddington, and Marylebone are in the City of Westminster. Euston, St Pancras, and Kings Cross are in the Borough of Camden (formerly Borough of St Pancras), etc.

That said, London Bridge is okay as it's the name of the bridge and not the City. (It's also the only station on the London Underground that has 'London' in its name.)

 

[bramling]

That said, London Bridge is okay as it's the name of the bridge and not the City. (It's also the only station on the London Underground that has 'London' in its name.)

On a similar subject, the forthcoming Northern Line terminus seems to be looking like it may well get the name “Battersea Power Station”. To me having the word station in the name is a little daft.

 

[USBT]

Tattenham Corner is located in the Tattenham ward of the local council (Reigate and Banstead). The main road passing through the neighborhood is Great Tattenhams. Yes the station is named after the turn into the home straight of Epsom racecourse, and it's right next to it. But the racecourse turn was named after the neighborhood (late 1700s) and the station opened in 1901, more than 100 years later.

I went to school about a mile from Tattenham Corner (Nork Park, now Beacon, not De Burgh which was closer).

The station name is no different to say Limehouse or New Cross.

 

[Ianno87]

Still a bit of a silly name, if so. Who names a station after beggars?



No, sadly.

The area is known as Mumps (and presumably had been for a very long time before the railway to become the established area name). Accordingly the station is named Mumps to reflect the name of the area it is in. So the station is/was not named after beggars, it is named after the area. And the origin of the name of that area historically comes from beggars.

Alternatively, another name could be Bickenhill Parkway (for Birmingham Airport and NEC).

Furthermore, I believe that the High Speed station over the other side of the airfield/NEC complex will be called Birmingham Interchange.

ISTR that the 2012 First West Coast franchise-that-never-was included a requirement for bidders to come up with an alternative name for Birmingham International?

 

[DarloRich]

Before the recent rebuilding of the concourse area, the station could be accessed via New Street (at the Corporation Street/Stephenson Place junction) by means of going up the ramp next to the the former Midland Bank (now HSBC) to

you still can.

 

[Peter0124]

I guess my local station Newton in SE Glasgow counts, a station named after the UK's most common place name isn't very unique! It's even located between three villages.

 

[InOban]

Alnmouth station is in Hipsburn. Alnmouth is on the East side of the river.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

I am aware that I may be splitting hairs slightly here, but with the exception of London Liverpool Street and London Fenchurch Street, none of the other mainline terminal stations that has the "London" prefix within Zone 1 of the London zonal system are in the City of London.

E.g. Victoria, Paddington, and Marylebone are in the City of Westminster. Euston, St Pancras, and Kings Cross are in the Borough of Camden (formerly Borough of St Pancras), etc.

London Liverpool Street! How has that stupid name avoided this thread until now?!

Not only is there the Norwich confusion, but I imagine it's also tricky for tourists: it's not unusual for stations in other countries to be named for the principal destination from that station, but you won't get a train to Liverpool from there! A better name would be London Broadgate or even London Great Eastern.

 

[Tetchytyke]

I've always had a fondness for the euphemistic "xxx Road", "xxx Junction" or "xxx Parkway". It sounds better than "xxx you've got a bloody long walk boyo".

Which makes me wonder what the furthest from the town one of these stations actually is, now that Alfreton got a sensible name back. Probably Bodmin.

The stupidest names are ones that refer to a local landmark, without really taking into account it is a national network with similar landmarks everywhere. University, as mentioned before, is the worst. But there's The Lakes, Valley (not in a valley), Clock House, Manors.

A better name would be London Broadgate or even London Great Eastern.

But it's a London station actually on Liverpool Street, and the road was there first (named after Lord Liverpool).

 

[61653 HTAFC]

I've always had a fondness for the euphemistic "xxx Road", "xxx Junction" or "xxx Parkway". It sounds better than "xxx you've got a bloody long walk boyo".

Which makes me wonder what the furthest from the town one of these stations actually is, now that Alfreton got a sensible name back. Probably Bodmin.

The stupidest names are ones that refer to a local landmark, without really taking into account it is a national network with similar landmarks everywhere. University, as mentioned before, is the worst. But there's The Lakes, Valley (not in a valley), Clock House, Manors.



But it's a London station actually on Liverpool Street, and the road was there first (named after Lord Liverpool).

Though as your third paragraph suggests, an accurate name can also be a confusing name: Sometimes for passengers and sometimes for staff:- hence the Tyndrum situation!

 

[bastien]

Portsmouth Harbour. Guess who got off there thinking the ferry terminal was nearby?

 

[Kite159]

Portsmouth Harbour. Guess who got off there thinking the ferry terminal was nearby?

Could be worse, you could have got off at Newhaven Harbour expecting it to be the closest station to the ferry terminal in Newhaven

 

[Statto]

Conway Park, no Park nearby or place called Conway Park, it's in Birkenhead Town Centre, even Conway Street which it's partly named after is a couple of hundred yards from the actual street, no suggestion you can get to Birkenhead Bus Station from there even though the bus station is a couple of hundred yards from the station.

 

[PR1Berske]

Conway Park, no Park nearby or place called Conway Park, it's in Birkenhead Town Centre, even Conway Street which it's partly named after is a couple of hundred yards from the actual street, no suggestion you can get to Birkenhead Bus Station from there even though the bus station is a couple of hundred yards from the station.

Oh for them to call it Europa Boulevard!

 

[bastien]

Conway Park, no Park nearby or place called Conway Park, it's in Birkenhead Town Centre, even Conway Street which it's partly named after is a couple of hundred yards from the actual street, no suggestion you can get to Birkenhead Bus Station from there even though the bus station is a couple of hundred yards from the station.

I can assure you there's no Park anywhere near Oldfield Park... Although there might have been a field 150 years ago!

 

[tsr]

Tattenham Corner is located in the Tattenham ward of the local council (Reigate and Banstead). The main road passing through the neighborhood is Great Tattenhams. Yes the station is named after the turn into the home straight of Epsom racecourse, and it's right next to it. But the racecourse turn was named after the neighborhood (late 1700s) and the station opened in 1901, more than 100 years later.

I went to school about a mile from Tattenham Corner (Nork Park, now Beacon, not De Burgh which was closer).

Well, quite. I was trying to simplify matters a little, but that is a much fuller explanation.

Tattenham Corner station, of course, was once a lesser counterpart of Epsom Downs, which (as you no doubt know!) was once much larger and grander, but subject to being relocated and massively rationalised. Tattenham Corner itself is still a reasonably flexible station, and many a service suspension has been prevented by the fact that it still has a choice of both a few platforms and also sets of points by which to access them.

I've always loved the name "Nork", and I think it would be a fun addition to the National Rail map, but there we are!

On the subject of schools, I went to another local school which swapped one or two of what you'd now call its "senior leadership" with what is now Beacon. So there we are.

The area is known as Mumps (and presumably had been for a very long time before the railway to become the established area name). Accordingly the station is named Mumps to reflect the name of the area it is in. So the station is/was not named after beggars, it is named after the area. And the origin of the name of that area historically comes from beggars.

I am very surprised the railway did not try to lead a trend towards "gentrifying" the area and removing the name of that district. This certainly happened in other areas of the country. Whilst the name may be historic and a marker of the locality, it does nothing for good publicity (which has always been something railway companies have tried to achieve, with varying success!) and it's not like it promotes anything good about the area, either!

The stupidest names are ones that refer to a local landmark, without really taking into account it is a national network with similar landmarks everywhere. University, as mentioned before, is the worst. But there's The Lakes, Valley (not in a valley), Clock House, Manors.

In the Midlands, Earlswood and The Lakes are particularly confusing for anyone from Surrey - where there is also a station called Earlswood, just up the road from which is a local attraction called Earlswood Lakes (although that doesn't have a station)!

 

[Allwinter_Kit]

This brings me to Haymarket as an odd name for a station. Should this not more properly be called Edinburgh Haymarket?

I'm sure that it used to be announced as such, as in 'calling at Edinburgh Waverley, Edinburgh Haymarket...' but now it is simply 'calling at Edinburgh, Haymarket...'

Given they now recommend you change at Haymarket for the airport bus and the tram it is even more integrated and thus 'Edinburgh' than before whilst it seems a shame to have lost 'Waverley' off the announcements when A) all the signs say it and B) that is what it is called by everyone in Edinburgh!

Does anyone know why that change happened?

 

[duffield]

Portsmouth Harbour. Guess who got off there thinking the ferry terminal was nearby?

Errr...Am I missing something? Where do the Portsmouth Harbour to Ryde Pier Head Ferries go from them?
Or do these not count as ferries?
http://www.wightlink.co.uk/go/isle-of-wight-ferry-routes-destinations/portsmouth-ryde-catamaran/

 

[DarloRich]

Portsmouth Harbour. Guess who got off there thinking the ferry terminal was nearby?

Was i imagining getting off there and getting a ferry to the Isle of Wight?

 

[stut]

Could be worse, you could have got off at Newhaven Harbour expecting it to be the closest station to the ferry terminal in Newhaven

Or worse still, Lübeck-Travemünde Skandinavienkai which, although the former station for the Skandinavienkai terminal, and although you can see the Skandinavienkai terminal quite close up from the station platform, there's no physical way to walk there. You have to go to the Hbf or Strand station and take a bus instead (which is rather irritating).