Trivia - UK constituency with no railway

[quantinghome]

A few years ago there was a discussion about parliamentary constituencies with no stations. As far as I can see, there is only one mainland constituency with no railway, past or present, running through it at all. Anyone care to guess?

 

[waverley47]

A couple of close contenders, and a couple that blur the criteria (does the tube count for example). I don't know about the exact boundaries of some of them, so close suggestions would be Brighton Kempdown, Ilford North (Central line notwithstanding) and South Swindon.

I think the winner would have to be Northampton North (though I'm pretty sure the railway counts as the boundary).

Happy to be corrected, or any different answers?

EDIT: The old Market Harborough route definitley cut the corner through Northampton North, so no winner there.

 

[Gloster]

Cornwall North?

EDIT: Wrong, I missed ‘past or present’.

 

[SargeNpton]

A couple of close contenders, and a couple that blur the criteria (does the tube count for example). I don't know about the exact boundaries of some of them, so close suggestions would be Brighton Kempdown, Ilford North (Central line notwithstanding) and South Swindon.

I think the winner would have to be Northampton North (though I'm pretty sure the railway counts as the boundary).

Happy to be corrected, or any different answers?

EDIT: The old Market Harborough route definitley cut the corner through Northampton North, so no winner there.

And until the town was split into two (1970s? 1980s?), the whole of Northampton was just one constituency

 

[waverley47]

If the tube doesn't count, we have a winner with Epping Forest, with the new boundaries meaning the WAML now skirts around the edge, fully in neighbouring Harlow

And until the town was split into two (1970s? 1980s?), the whole of Northampton was just one constituency

Ah, but being pedantic, the OP didn't mention constituency splits, merely asking which current constituencies have never had a railway running through them.

 

[telstarbox]

Boundaries are here by the way. https://mapit.mysociety.org/areas/WMC.html

 

[trebor79]

There must be loads in the far north west of Scotland, for example?

 

[GusB]

While it did in the past, Banff and Buchan currently has no railway.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 2 Oct 2020 ==

There must be loads in the far north west of Scotland, for example?

The current UK parliamentary constituencies that cover the far North are Ross, Skye and Lochaber, and Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, both of which have railways.

 

[johnnychips]

There must be loads in the far north west of Scotland, for example?

Caithness, which includes Wick, is one constituency. I did think Orkney and Shetland, but there used to be a railway on Orkney.

 

[Gloster]

I think I have found the answer, but as I cheated by using the internet and reference books I won’t reveal. I will say that it is a little bit surprising, although not very surprising if you think laterally (and that isn’t a subtle clue).

 

[Adoarable]

There must be loads in the far north west of Scotland, for example?

Excluding island-only constituencies (OP specified "mainland"), the far NW of Scotland is so sparsely populated that the constituencies are massive and therefore all have railways inside them.

Counting the London Underground and other light rail services as railway - sure they're not National Rail but you'd be hard pressed arguing they're not "railway" - I haven't found any yet.

My guess is it's got to be a small constituency to reduce the chance of there having been a railway at some point in the past, so I'm guessing somewhere suburban with a relatively high population density, particularly somewhere built on in the post-war pro-car era. I think London can be ruled out, so I'm guessing Midlands or North of England. Houghton and Sunderland is a contender but not quite right.

 

[norbitonflyer]

There must be loads in the far north west of Scotland, for example?

There are only two constituencies north of the Great Glen: Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross has the Far North Line, Ross Skye & Lochaber has the Kyle Line and the West Highland north of Rannoch.

Leeds NE looks possible.

 

[etr221]

If the tube doesn't count, we have a winner with Epping Forest, with the new boundaries meaning the WAML now skirts around the edge, fully in neighbouring Harlow

But as that bit of the tube was originally "main line" (GER), I think it does count, so Epping Forest isn't it.

 

[DorkingMain]

Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Western Isles) hasn't ever had a railway, has it?

 

[johnnychips]

Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Western Isles) hasn't ever had a railway, has it?

Same trap I fell in: OP specifies mainland.

 

[Adoarable]

Has Leeds North East ever had a railway? I think possibly not.

 

[AM9]

But as that bit of the tube was originally "main line" (GER), I think it does count, so Epping Forest isn't it.

Which is the same as Ilford North, the Fairlop Loop was opened by the GER in 1903.

 

[Sniffingmoose]

Louth & Horncastle in Lincolnshire. It includes Mablethorpe and Sutton on Sea.

 

[trebor79]

No, there used to be a railway to Horncastle.

 

[Sniffingmoose]

Ah I thought we were talking about now.

 

[norbitonflyer]

The question did say "past or present", and "mainland".

The largest island in each of the Orkney and Shetland archipelagos are both called "Mainland". Does that count?

 

[quantinghome]

The largest island in each of the Orkney and Shetland archipelagos are both called "Mainland". Does that count?

Nope. Let's clarify: The island of Great Britain.

 

[Kingspanner]

Excluding island-only constituencies (OP specified "mainland"), the far NW of Scotland is so sparsely populated that the constituencies are massive and therefore all have railways inside them.

Counting the London Underground and other light rail services as railway - sure they're not National Rail but you'd be hard pressed arguing they're not "railway" - I haven't found any yet.

My guess is it's got to be a small constituency to reduce the chance of there having been a railway at some point in the past, so I'm guessing somewhere suburban with a relatively high population density, particularly somewhere built on in the post-war pro-car era. I think London can be ruled out, so I'm guessing Midlands or North of England. Houghton and Sunderland is a contender but not quite right.

Houghton and Sunderland? No way! Riddled with colliery lines and I think the Leamside lne.

 

[C J Snarzell]

Leigh is one of the biggest constituencies with no railway connections. The nearest local line is through Atherton, while the West Coast Line passes through Golborne but there is no stops between Wigan North Western & Warrington Bank Quay.

CJ

 

[backontrack]

It must be a new constituency. Yes, closed railways are specified within the OP - that includes constituencies that have seen closures. But there may be some constituencies who were created after the fact - in fact, there certainly are. I wonder if the answer is one of those.

 

[30907]

Has Leeds North East ever had a railway? I think possibly not.

Nothing shows up on Openrailwaymap, but that sometimes misses industrial lines which have disappeared without trace....

 

[norbitonflyer]

I'm fairly sure it's Leeds NE. It doesn't reach as far souith as L:eeds city centre, the line to Harrogate is further west and the former line from Cross Gates to Wetherby further east. My 1923 rail atlas shows no other lines running north of Leeds between those two.

 

[etr221]

I'm fairly sure it's Leeds NE. It doesn't reach as far souith as L:eeds city centre, the line to Harrogate is further west and the former line from Cross Gates to Wetherby further east. My 1923 rail atlas shows no other lines running north of Leeds between those two.

Nor can I see any on the old OS maps on the NLS in the relevent area.

 

[waverley47]

So, I think we have a winner. The Low Moor Coillery Railway gets close (less than 100 meters or so) but apart from that, no evidence of anything railway related.

 

[Gloster]

I must admit I had Coventry North West, presuming that the line to the old Keresley Colliery didn’t count as a railway for the purposes of the question. I reckoned that the old Wetherby line just clipped Leeds North East.