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[Trivia] Most TOCs at a single point on the network?

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eastwestdivide

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So you’d be looking for somewhere that a bunch of TOC routes converge and then diverge with no station in between? or where two routes cross over each other?
 

najaB

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So you’d be looking for somwhere that a bunch of TOC routes converge and then diverge with no station in between? or where two routes cross over each other?
Exactly what I was thinking of - or where one TOC passes through an intermediate station and never stops.

If someone wanted to photograph/spot the largest number of TOCS where would they go?
 

Kite159

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Peterborough with 5 TOCs calling (EMR, XC, GTR*, LNER & Greater Anglia) regularly with Grand Central making limited calls. & both Hull Trains & Lumo passing nonstop will probably take some beating with 8 TOCs.

(*Both as Thameslink branded services and Great Northern branded services)
 

LowLevel

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Peterborough with 5 TOCs calling (EMR, XC, GTR*, LNER & Greater Anglia) regularly with Grand Central making limited calls. & both Hull Trains & Lumo passing nonstop will probably take some beating with 8 TOCs.

(*Both as Thameslink branded services and Great Northern branded services)
Pick the right day and you can add Caledonian Sleeper to that too with semi regular diversions.
 

mangyiscute

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Depending on how detailed you want to be, I'm sure at some point basically every TOC has had a train in Crewe/Derby or places similar to that where new/refurbished trains often get stored
 

Watershed

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Doncaster would have 8 - all 7 operators that stop there (Northern, TPE, LNER, XC, Hull Trains, Grand Central and EMR) plus Lumo who run through non-stop. Very occasionally, during engineering works south of Doncaster, Lumo terminate their services there for an onward connection on Hull Trains; on such a day it would hold the title of being served by 8 operators.

Peterborough has 9 operators if you count Thameslink and Great Northern separately (even though they are legally speaking both just GTR brands).

If it's about photographing the largest number of TOCs in one location, rather than a physical piece of track/infrastructure that's shared by them, a location like this (under construction?) building - overlooking the North London Line (NLL) and HS1 where they cross over Belle Isle Junction on the ECML - would probably win. You could score 9 or 10 TOCs, depending on the way you count the GTR brands:
  • LNER, Great Northern, Thameslink, Hull Trains, Grand Central, Lumo out of Kings Cross
  • Southeastern and Eurostar services out of St Pancras (also Thameslink out of the Canal Tunnels here, but obviously they can't be double counted)
  • London Overground and Caledonian Sleeper on the NLL (CS are scheduled to divert this way in the base timetable during certain periods each year, so I'd have thought this counts)
 

renegademaster

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WCML + Watford DC (so somewhere like Harrow)would give you
Overground
Underground
Avanti
LNWR
CS
Southern
Only 6 at the moment but if the OA requests are successful you might get another
 

najaB

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If it's about photographing the largest number of TOCs in one location, rather than a physical piece of track/infrastructure that's shared by them, a location like this (under construction?) building - overlooking the North London Line (NLL) and HS1 where they cross over Belle Isle Junction on the ECML - would probably win.
Not what I was specifically thinking of, but a good shout none the less since it would let you photograph multiple operators as long as you have a good enough lens.
 
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Snex

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Stoddart Street Bridge in Newcastle has:

LNER
Northern
Crosscountry
Transpennine Express
Lumo
Tyne and Wear Metro
Grand Central (Dead runs to Heaton)
Scotrail (Daily few services to Morpeth)

Since others are adding it aswell, the Caledonian Sleeper if on diversion aswell.

Unsure where the place actually is though but there's quite regularly photos from the site.
 
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Watershed

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Stoddart Street Bridge in Newcastle has:

LNER
Northern
Crosscountry
Transpennine Express
Lumo
Tyne and Wear Metro
Grand Central (Dead runs to Heaton)
Scotrail (Daily few services to Morpeth)

Since others are adding it aswell, the Caledonian Sleeper if on diversion aswell.

Unsure where the place actually is though but there's quite regularly photos from the site.
ScotRail don't run to Newcastle. They used to run a service from Glasgow (later Dumfries) that changed operators to Northern at Carlisle, and latterly there was a ScotRail 156 diagram which involved going to Newcastle etc. But AIUI, this unit sharing no longer happens.
 

Snex

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ScotRail don't run to Newcastle. They used to run a service from Glasgow (later Dumfries) that changed operators to Northern at Carlisle, and latterly there was a ScotRail 156 diagram which involved going to Newcastle etc. But AIUI, this unit sharing no longer happens.

Ah didn't realise the Glasgow / Dumfries joint operation didn't run anymore, I know it used to run through to Morpeth. Missed that one changing.
 
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If it's about photographing the largest number of TOCs in one location, rather than a physical piece of track/infrastructure that's shared by them, a location like this (under construction?) building - overlooking the North London Line (NLL) and HS1 where they cross over Belle Isle Junction on the ECML - would probably win. You could score 9 or 10 TOCs, depending on the way you count the GTR brands:
  • LNER, Great Northern, Thameslink, Hull Trains, Grand Central, Lumo out of Kings Cross
  • Southeastern and Eurostar services out of St Pancras (also Thameslink out of the Canal Tunnels here, but obviously they can't be double counted)
  • London Overground and Caledonian Sleeper on the NLL (CS are scheduled to divert this way in the base timetable during certain periods each year, so I'd have thought this counts)
I imagine there’s a tall building in London somewhere from which you can see most, if not all, of the major termini or their approaches. This would allow you to (distantly) see a large number of TOCs’ trains departing/arriving, although this isn’t really what the OP was asking, so probably for a different thread.
 

Geeves

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Liverpool Lime Street must be up there. Avanti, EMR, LNWR, Northern, Mersey Rail, TfW, TPE.
 

Cherry_Picker

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WCML + Watford DC (so somewhere like Harrow)would give you
Overground
Underground
Avanti
LNWR
CS
Southern
Only 6 at the moment but if the OA requests are successful you might get another

There are footbridges over the West Coast Mainline by South Kenton and Northwick Park where you can see all of that plus the Met, Jubilee and Chiltern Lines that pass above.

 
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