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Do “Through train” enthusiasts exist?

cornishjohn

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1 Feb 2011
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Do we think Cleethorpes/Liverpool is the closest to a coast-to-coast service? You can see the sea from one end, and it's a short walk to the Mersey estuary at the other. Tricky to define "coast" precisely, but at least it's salt water!
The Norwich/Liverpool service actually crosses tidal water at its eastern end over Trowse Bridge... I've only managed the Norwich/Manchester portion myself.
 
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pokemonsuper9

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This thread has made me realise how few services I've done the full length of in 1 go!
Kirkby/Headbolt Lane - Liverpool Central, Euston - Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Picc - Hatfield, Rose Hill Marple, Sheffield, Chester, Stourbridge Shuttle, Inverness - Kyle, Aberdeen, Edinburgh. London Liverpool Street - Southend Victoria, Waterloo & City line, Leeds - Ilkley, Bradford, Skipton, Knottingley, York (via Harrogate), Doncaster, Ilkley-Bradford, Liverpool - Wigan, Edgware Road - Wimbledon
Probably missing a couple I didn't think of

I like to split up journeys wherever possible (and I avoid changing at termini and usually use small stations if possible to tick them off).

And maybe counts:
Chester - Liverpool Central
 
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superalbs

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Kraków
I enjoy doing weird journeys end to end (especially international), or even just weird journeys from point-to-point.

Praha to Split was an insane operation, and Warsaw to Rijeka was a great one last year - a real unexpected service. And London Paddington to Cranbrook has to be a highlight too.
 

A S Leib

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This thread has made me realise how few services I've done the full length of in 1 go!
Kirkby/Headbolt Lane - Liverpool Central, Euston - Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Picc - Hatfield, Rose Hill Marple, Sheffield, Chester, Stourbridge Shuttle, Inverness - Kyle, Aberdeen, Edinburgh. London Liverpool Street - Southend Victoria, Waterloo & City line, Leeds - Ilkley, Bradford, Skipton, Knottingley, York (via Harrogate), Doncaster, Ilkley-Bradford, Liverpool - Wigan, Edgware Road - Wimbledon
Probably missing a couple I didn't think of

I like to split up journeys wherever possible (and I avoid changing at termini and usually use small stations if possible to tick them off).

And maybe counts:
Chester - Liverpool Central
Replied here.
 

EYFanatic

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Hell's Dungeon
I was wondering therefore is there a subset of rail enthusiasts who enjoy riding such trains the whole distance, simply because they’re there? I know there was a lot of interest in the former through Aberdeen to Penzance train because it was the longest unbroken journey you could make in the UK, but are there people who make travelling on through trains a major part of their hobby?
There is a Japanese guy that comes from Fukuoka to ride the trains from Leeds to Carlisle at least three times a year in both directions because he likes the full length trip up the S&C. When there was the 37s on the Cumbrian Coast, he'd be seen doing that too
 

cambsy

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CaptainHaddock, have done theCardiff-Holyhead Premier Service. Both ways, with night in Holyhead B&B, well worth doing with dining in First class, which on these services is really great value, and really good food. Most quirky trips have been rail tours, though once did Glasgow-Birmingham via Glasgow and South Western and Settle and Carlisle then via Manchester area to Crewe, when WCML was closed many years ago now.

Done the Highland chieftain a few times, with 45 mins Inverness, before Highlander sleeper back to Euston on 1st class All Line Rover, also years ago did HST Fishguard-Paddington on the very limited stop service, which was think whitland-LLanelli-Cardiff-Reading-Paddington if memory correct, and a few times the over night Leeds-Newquay HST, which after Birmingham was Bristol TM-Plymouth-Par-Newquay And various others.
 

Swr28

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I did during Central Trains days. Lincoln Central To Aberystwyth Pair of 153s.
Pwllheli To Grimsby a 156.

Not the full route but a Wales and West 158 from Shrewsbury (ex Manchester Piccadilly) to London Waterloo.
 

Kite159

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Severn Beach to Frome anyone?
GWR have some unusual through journeys, especially at the end/start of the day when they rotate units between Exeter & Bristol.

For example:
2F05 05;22 Bristol Temple Meads to Exmouth
2U34 20;24 Exmouth to Cardiff Central
 

CaptainHaddock

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I did during Central Trains days. Lincoln Central To Aberystwyth Pair of 153s.
Pwllheli To Grimsby a 156.
Wow, that's pretty impressive! What sort of journey time did these two services take? Whatever, I hope there was a working toilet on board.
 
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EYFanatic

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Hell's Dungeon
I did during Central Trains days. Lincoln Central To Aberystwyth Pair of 153s.
Pwllheli To Grimsby a 156.

Not the full route but a Wales and West 158 from Shrewsbury (ex Manchester Piccadilly) to London Waterloo.
Impressive

As my learned friend above says, what was the time for that?
 

Swr28

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That's a question without my notebook or my 'bible' the Railtrack National Rail Passenger timetable from that period.

I have done some research on here for the times. As for what the Central Trains unit numbers where that's a pass without my notebooks. The only exception being 158 867 in the one off livery on the Waterloo service it was exciting at the time I do remember that...

Central Trains operated several services from the Cambrian to random destinations beyond Birmingham New Street. These ceased in around 2001 as the Cambrian was transferred to the Wales and Borders branding.


0737 or 0730 from Pwllheli 1000 into Machynlleth to couple with the ex Aber 1130 into Shrewsbury and into Grimsby around 1320ish we went via Nuneaton and Leicester, back then it was a decent trolley service with sandwiches made by a local cafe in Shrewsbury (with a crank as a trolley dolly so several tea top ups)

The Lincoln to Aberystwyth was a pair of 153s in turn becoming the sole 170 run in about 2000/01 all I can remember is we either arrived at 1530 or 1730 into Aberystwyth.

I did this a couple of times between Machynlleth and Nottingham 05??? and 0740 off Machynlleth it was a useful service to get to the Midland Mainline at a reasonable time without changing at New Street. Although from memory one early trip was booked for a solo 153.

Shrewsbury to Waterloo was done when the railways did a 50% rail ticket cut after the Hatfield and Selby accidents so group cheap returns to Waterloo and back the same day with 158 867 in its one off Wales and West livery.

07:54 off Shrewsbury avoiding Newport and arriving into Waterloo for 1406 (found access to an old timetable online for this period) returning from Waterloo at 15:17 and back in Shrewsbury for 2015.

And then the usual 156/158/153 lash up at 2115 back to Machynlleth which I fell asleep on and woke up in Aberystwyth. Returning to Machynlleth after midnight to receive a rollicking from my Father stood on the platform. Lack of mobiles and the phones in the 158s where useless.

Central Trains had some great long distance services back then I often bashed the Coventry to Leicester services. The one that got away was the early morning Northampton to Stansted operated with a 158.

All happy memories.

A link to the Wales and borders timetable.

Need to dig those books out.
 

Sprinter107

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I think it may have taken longer than 1 hour and 50 minutes to get from Shrewsbury to Grimsby.
We used to have a Great Malvern to Grimsby Town working on a Saturday morning, which used to take around 4 and half hours. It used to leave Foregate Street about 08.35 ish getting to Grimsby around 13.00ish, and returning around 13.15 to Worcester.
 

Swr28

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The Cambrian since 1982
I think it may have taken longer than 1 hour and 50 minutes to get from Shrewsbury to Grimsby.
We used to have a Great Malvern to Grimsby Town working on a Saturday morning, which used to take around 4 and half hours. It used to leave Foregate Street about 08.35 ish getting to Grimsby around 13.00ish, and returning around 13.15 to Worcester.
Read the first line.... It's from memory. 1320 maybe 1520 without my notebooks I don't remember the exact timings or unit numbers.... Anyway it was done
 

EbbwJunction1

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Here's a few long journeys:

Adelaide to Alice Springs (the original "Ghan") in 2001. It was then a sleeper service which had started at Sydney; it arrived late and left late. I remember sitting in the lounge car reading a book the following morning and looking out of the window every so often - and seeing hundreds of miles of absolutely nothing!

Plymouth (or possibly Totnes) to Newport, South Wales via Paignton - on, I think, a Class 150 the whole way!
Crewe to Glasgow (another sleeper)
Inverness to London Euston (also a sleeper)

There may be more, but I can't remember them at the moment!
 

nw1

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As said on the other thread about end to end journeys, I did, shortly after its re-introduction in May 1988, do the Waterloo-Staines-Ascot-Guildford through service end-to-end without break of journey. This also allowed quite a considerable amount of new track: Clapham-Virginia Water, Virginia Water-Ascot in daylight (had done it at night on a diverted 119 in Dec 1982), Ascot-Ash Vale and Aldershot-Ash. The 1603 service, if I remember right.

It wasn't a one-off service: it ran hourly Mon-Sat off-peak, but it was an interestingly esoteric route. By taking up former Reading calls between Waterloo-Ascot, it allowed one of the two Reading services to run fast (non-stop Richmond-Ascot).
 
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PY33

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9 Aug 2016
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North Wales
Do we think Cleethorpes/Liverpool is the closest to a coast-to-coast service? You can see the sea from one end, and it's a short walk to the Mersey estuary at the other. Tricky to define "coast" precisely, but at least it's salt water!
I did Liverpool - Cleethorpes and return a couple of years ago when TPE were selling tickets for £1.
 

A S Leib

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Has anyone doen Paddington - Pembroke Dock throughout? Must be quite an ordeal.
I've done the last non-sleeper of the night from Penzance to Paddington, going via Bristol, having done the Night Riviera to Plymouth in seats the night before.
 

Llandudno

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Matlock
I guess so yeah.

I'm planning to do Matlock to Cleethorpes myself, but I'm waiting until the spring for the better weather and lighter nights.
Quality fish and chips at both ends, plus the odd game of prize bingo in the arcades!
 

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