Trivia: Over how many islands does the Network Rail system currently exist?

[Cambus731]

Apologies if this had been covered in a thread before, but I was wondering about this. I can think of:
Great Britain (obviously)
Isle of Wight
Portsea Island
Isle of Sheppey
Anglesey
Holy Island
Monicreiffe Island (in Perth)

Any others?

 

[Peterthegreat]

Holy Island (Holyhead).
Inchgarvie (Forth Bridge)

 

[Cambus731]

Holy Island (Holyhead).
Inchgarvie (Forth Bridge)

I did mention Holy Island.
I would never have thought of Inchgarvie though.

 

[snowball]

Would you count the Britannia Rock in the Menai Strait, on which the central pier of the Britannia Bridge is founded?

Perhaps we should only count islands where you can get on or off a train.

 

[Gaelan]

Not Network Rail, but DLR covers the Isle of Dogs. Crossrail narrowly avoids it.

 

[Cambus731]

Not Network Rail, but DLR covers the Isle of Dogs. Crossrail narrowly avoids it.

Well, strictly speaking it's not an Island, it's a peninsula surrounded on three sides by a huge meander in the River Thames.
Strictly speaking The Isle of Thanet wouldn't count as its no longer an island.
The line to Hayling Island closed in 1963.

 

[geoffk]

Isle of Ely?

 

[jfowkes]

Merkinch in Inverness? The Caledonian Canal was originally the River Ness, so it's a natural island in the river, not one formed by the building of the canal.

 

[Robert Ambler]

Barry Island - we might need to agree on a definition of what can be accepted as an island before we can answer the original question

 

[fandroid]

The Isle of Dogs became an island when a canal was cut across it, pre-railway. I suspect that there's still a continuous water link across there if you look for it. Bristol Temple Meads is surrounded by water!

Lowestoft and its station are on an island

 

[Gaelan]

Not Network Rail, but DLR covers the Isle of Dogs. Crossrail narrowly avoids it.

Actually, Wikipedia points out that Canary Wharf EL station itself is an "artificial island in the West India Docks" - through of course the track here is under, not over, the island!

 

[D6130]

Has Network Rail taken over the lines on Sodor yet?

 

[Gloster]

Guards Club Island at Maidenhead.
Black Potts Ait near Datchet.

 

[Cambus731]

Barry Island - we might need to agree on a definition of what can be accepted as an island before we can answer the original question

Very good point. I'm not familiar with Barry Island. Is it surrounded by tidal water like Portsea?

 

[Llanigraham]

Very good point. I'm not familiar with Barry Island. Is it surrounded by tidal water like Portsea?

Not any more. They filled in the wet bit with the spoil from digging Barry Docks.

 

[etr221]

Barry Island - we might need to agree on a definition of what can be accepted as an island before we can answer the original question

Very good point. I'm not familiar with Barry Island. Is it surrounded by tidal water like Portsea?

I don't think Barry Island is still an island

But agree there is a need for agreement over what is (and isn't) an island before we can comprehensively and correctly answer the question.

Issues include those areas called 'Isle' or 'Island' that aren't (Barry, Grain, Thanet,...) and areas that are surprisingly islands, when you start plotting rivers, canals and drainage ditches - perhaps the most surprising being 'London Island', surrounded by the River Thames, Grand Union Canal and Regent' Canal, and a couple to its east. Come to it, how many islands make up 'Great Britain', once you start investigating the Caledonian Canal and other 'coast to coast' waterways?

Than there is 'English Stones' in the Severn Estuary, under which the Severn Tunnel runs...

 

[Basil Jet]

Google shows The Forth Bridge passing near Inchgarvie, not over it, although at low tide the situation might be different.

c2c passes over a weird arm hanging off Three Mills Island, although I presume one side of that arm is a manmade cut.

West of Stratford the GEML passes over two sizeable islands.

East of Hackney Wick the NLL passes over an island between the Lea and the Lea Navigation.

Coppermill Junction (various lines) and the Goblin all pass over what looks like a former island between the Lea and navigation.

South of Frogspawn Broxbourne two islands.

 

[jfowkes]

Guards Club Island at Maidenhead.

And the much larger Glen Island right next door - but that was created by the digging of the Jubilee river, which is an artificial channel, so not sure if it counts.

 

[fandroid]

There's the Flood Relief Channel along the eastern edge of the Lea floodplain. It's always got water in it, even if it's not going very fast when there's no flood. The Chingford line crosses both that and combined navigation/river.

 

[swt_passenger]

If you get into details of tributaries and minor but parallel river courses you could even argue Oxford station is on an island…

 

[Dai Corner]

You have to cross the River Avon, New Cut, Feeder Canal or Bathurst Basin to get to Bristol Temple Meads.

Does that count? As others have said: define an island.

 

[emoaconr]

The Wirral is surrounded by the Mersey and Dee, and Liverpool Bay on three sides, and the Shropshire Union Canal on the south. Wouldn't say however that makes it an island!

 

[HSTEd]

Wouldn't even bridge pier founded in water be considered an island by some of these definitions?

Surely you have to exclude manmade structures

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Cornwall is almost an island...

 

[Magdalia]

There's the Flood Relief Channel along the eastern edge of the Lea floodplain. It's always got water in it, even if it's not going very fast when there's no flood. The Chingford line crosses both that and combined navigation/river.

There are similar examples here in the Fens.

The Isle of Ely is surrounded by water: the River Ouse Old Course and the Hundred Foot Drain/New Bedford River.

The Hundred Foot or Welney Washes between Ely and March, are effectively an island between the Hundred Foot Drain/New Bedford River and the Old Bedford River.

March is effectively on an island between the River Nene Old Course and the Twenty Foot River.

 

[urpert]

Wouldn't even bridge pier founded in water be considered an island by some of these definitions?

Surely you have to exclude manmade structures

Blackfriars Island anyone?

 

[swt_passenger]

I would never have thought of Inchgarvie though.

Google satellite view suggests the bridge legs are very close to, but not actually on the Island. Unless it’s dependent on the state of the tide…

 

[randyrippley]

If you trace thee interconnections in the Somerset Levels between the Rivers Brue, Yeo (aka Ivel), Parrett and the Huntspill and other drains then Highbridge- Bridgwater is on an island. Hard to believe unless you've ever seen it all flooded

 

[DelW]

Romney Marsh was effectively turned into an island by the building of the Royal Military Canal, although there are many bridges across it, and maps show a sea wall / causeway blocking the Hythe end. So the line to Lydd and Dungeness might be counted.

 

[zwk500]

Romney Marsh was effectively turned into an island by the building of the Royal Military Canal, although there are many bridges across it, and maps show a sea wall / causeway blocking the Hythe end. So the line to Lydd and Dungeness might be counted.

It's man made and doesn't reach the sea, so it hardly makes an island of the marsh. If we did include it, we'd have to include the islands formed by canals like the Kennet and Avon, or the Trent and Mersey.

The rail system formerly served Hayling island, next to Portsea - but the line closed in the 60s.