How difficult is it to arrive or leave at all timetabled platforms. 5 year project to achieve this.

[All platforms]

As expected, Kyle P2 seems to have been used by the railtour today, not the SR service. There is another tour on 4/10 which goes to Kyle on a similar schedule to today so I'll keep an eye out for the platform changes then. At least I didn't end up going for it myself. I guess the best chance at it will be if there are massive delays or a faulty train in P1, but that can't really be planned.

I don't think I've seen this one before either: since there are Highland Main Line engineering works at the end of October/start of November the Inverness southbound sleeper on 1/11 is being diverted via Aberdeen and is timetabled for full P7 at Aberdeen which I believe has no other scheduled normal passenger use. I can't tell if it's a passenger stop though: RTT says it's just for staffing reasons but it does come up as bookable (albeit fully booked) on the CS site. Either way, P7 (and P6?) may be worth putting into the 'maybe possible' pile if you haven't got it there already.

Finally am I right in thinking that Aberdeen 1+2 and Stirling 4+5 are completely barred from passenger use?

Edit: I realised these engineering works are happening the following weekend, in which case the northbound Inverness sleeper is also diverted and using full P6.

The problem with Kyle is that it has so few services (only one arrival and departure on a Sunday for example) that the likelihood of something already being in P1 are so minimal that you could travel the line endlessly for months perhaps years before encountering this. The only time i have seen P2 being used in the last 2 years (and i have genuinely looked this up on RTT's new facility to do so) is when the scheduled service was routed into P2 on a Sunday 10/05/2026 after the rail tour was routed into P1 2 hours earlier. These days i would say that rail tour day might be the best opportunity in practise to get lucky. I wonder if it was a mistake on the day however and the scheduled users got very lucky.......

The Aberdeen routing of the Inverness sleeper will be for a driver change or similar so this has to be planned for in the timetable and often shows as a stop for staffing reasons. It is not a scheduled passenger stop however, and the doors will probably remain locked. Just looked it up on UTT and their code for this is C which is "Stops to change trainmen" There is a full fat P6 for 08/11/2026 and a P7 on 01/11/2026, and you are correct in thinking there are no scheduled P6/7 platforms in full fat guise. Interestingly it arrives in Aberdeen well over 90 minutes later than the actual Aberdeen sleeper south, still joining with it at Edinburgh as normal. If only they had considered an extra stop though.....

I know Stirling P4 and P5 are not signalled for passenger use any more, and Aberdeen P1 and P2 were last used in passenger service in the 1980's i believe. Currently used for stabling. Also not signalled for passenger use. I am sure i saw an article talking about the proposed uplift in Aberdeen services a few years ago and a "possible" recommissioning of the old P8. Its gone very quiet since then so maybe just speculation.

 

[All platforms]

Day 602: Saturday 12/09/2026 - Okehampton to Okehampton Interchange - £2.50 - Off-peak Return. Car Park - The other side of the tracks from the Official Car Park. Empty Car park there at the time of my visit.
Total time today 54 mins - time on trains a whopping 6 mins and time waiting 48 mins. Stations completed today 1. Total completed 2572. Platforms completed at completed stations 5975.

"A holiday in Okehampton allows a fortuitous completion of a brand new station"

Not a lot to talk about today. Turn up at Station A and travel to station B for a total of 3 minutes. Reverse the procedure and job done....

Perhaps a little more then. The Car Park i used was the one for a cafe and Bike Hire, but it was deserted pretty much at that time of the day so didn't feel i was taking anyone’s space. I did use the cafe on the station itself for what some might call breakfast, but in reality was just a sandwich. I like the station at Okehampton - in fact i like it a lot so i was happy to just vibe out for 20 mins before boarding the 2 car 158 for the short hop.

The new station will be very familiar to anyone having visited a new station in the last few years, although of course there are small differences for each of these. That would be no proper shelter then, so if it was raining you would get wet if there was the slightest bit of wind in a certain direction (that will never happen huh?), and inadequate seating for waiting passengers - at least 20 people turned up before i returned to Okehampton, and most just had to stand. I don't expect a waiting room at an unmanned station but design the shelters you do provide with better weather proofing - its not difficult surely, and the feature that most would want if asked. I didn't plan on this being a bit of a rant, but its the thing i took away from my 45 min+ stay there. Everything looked brand new as you would expect, but i didn't expect to be asked by 2 different people if the station had a ticket machine? It certainly had one, but at the end of the platform these folk had arrived from and was set back a bit so at first glance there might not appear to be one. Dunno, i noticed it OK, but then again we are dealing with the great British public, which has every flavour of difference attached to it.

All in all one of the easiest and stress free visits to the network i could imagine. Only 10 mins drive from our base for the week too, and all done in the hour.

Whilst not part of the all platforms remit, i did have another go on the Liskeard/Looe branch line a few days later with partner in tow, as its such an unusual part of the network (working ground frame anyone) and Looe itself is worthy of a few hours of anyone’s time including the purchase of a couple of ubiquitous traditional Cornish pasties. Also visited during the holiday was the South Devon Railway at Buckfastleigh albeit very briefly due to time constraints. We were visiting the Butterfly house and Otter sanctuary and units in steam were passing in full view on the embankment not 20 yards away all the time we were there. It would be very rude not to take a short walk up to the station after and take in the sights there. On the day we were there there were also vintage coaches and buses offering free rides into Totnes, though i didn't avail.

A lot of uncertainty about things this last few months, but matters are generally resolved now, so i may be doing a few more longer trips, although the cost of petrol may make it cheaper to do more travel to/from my target areas on trains than before, but nothing properly sorted yet in this regard. Next week i will be completing another new station hopefully.

Okehampton	Depart	8.22​	*****	GW			stations	platforms
Okehampton Interchange	Arrive	8.25​	Single	GW	wait 48m		completed	completed
Okehampton Interchange	Depart	9.13​	Single	GW			1​	1​
Okehampton	Arrive	9.16​	*****	GW

 

[777142]

Next week i will be completing another new station hopefully.

If that happens to be Balgray, the crossover west of Rutherglen is in use on opening day, with hourly ex-Balloch trains terminating in P1, if you still need that one. Makes it much easier than the usual late-night offerings.

 

[All platforms]

Day 603: Saturday 19/09/2026 - Stowmarket to Ipswich - £2.50 - Off-peak Return. Cambridge North to Shelford (Cambs) - £2.85 - Super Off-peak Return. Cambridge to Royston - £4.35 - Super Off-peak Return. Car Park - Random large restaurant Car Park near the station (Can't recall the name) for free, and Cambridge North - £8.40
Total time today 387 mins - time on trains 78 mins and time waiting 309 mins! Stations completed today 1. Total completed 2573. Platforms completed at completed stations 5979. Stations now 99.03% complete

"Cambridge to Cambridge and then back to Cambridge - Rinse and repeat"

Immediately back from holiday and straight away i resolved to do something awkward first thing on the Saturday before moving onto something less so. I had previously scoped all this out but only pulled the trigger upon return and had a good conversation at my local station when buying the tickets (and also for my isle of Wight trip next month). Good stuff - its always a great thing to have an interesting chat when its a bit quieter.

Off super early to make the most of the day as is my want, and i had a very uneventful (always the most welcome) drive down to Stowmarket - more like down and across for me actually, before parking up and gaining the platform. There was an all day blockade further North (not sure where but not too close as i saw a freight movement going North also) and a good few already waiting as the RRB had just arrived from Norwich. Also waiting was our 12 car set, not in the platform itself, but just to the South in the Loop, which is close by. I was going one stop South to Ipswich before returning with the rare track interest being the crossover from P2 to gain the Up line being situated after going all the way past the loop. Going the wrong way then for a few hundred yards...... Great, and a good result even if it did take me 4 hours to get here.

The rest of my time in Cambridgeshire was spent doing the platforms and track at Cambridge South which has been open now for over 2 months. I am not one to rush out and do these new stations straight away, although saying that i may make an exception to that rule next week when Balgray station opens. More on that later.

New stations with multiple platforms can be a real pain to complete sometimes, but i have to say Cambridge South was and is the exception, with pretty much every service in/out of Cambridge stopping here and a good spread of platform use throughout the day. Having given up on making the Car Park app work and having zero help from the help desk in the foyer i was glad i had noticed one (and only one) notice on leaving the car park that said you could pay up to midnight following the day of your stay at a particular GA website, so having taken a picture of this i eventually moved forward onto Cambridge North platforms, exceedingly glad i had the time to find all this out before my due departure time.

I was doing all 4 platforms in a linear fashion, so arrive on a platform and wait for the next service on that platform to continue my journey, and for P3 and then P2 this worked exactly as planned although services towards London were exceedingly packed - well the ones i boarded were. Cambridge South is not as other new stations, and a lot of money has been spent on making it look different, with an inordinate amount of wood in evidence of its green credentials i guess. It also had a proper set of enclosed larger waiting areas, much as i was bleating on about in my previous blog. In addition, there was a decent amount of covered seating for once, so basically what i was asking for for all new stations. Big tick for Cambridge South then.

So, 2 platforms down and 2 to go. I alighted at Cambridge itself this time and hoofed over to P7 where i had for some unknown reason neglected to tick off a P7 arrival or departure from/to the South despite many many previous visits. Again a scenario of what was once tricky now being commonplace, and just like that another piece of track was in the bag and i was alighting at Cambridge South for the third time, this time in P1. This is where i just had to sit it out for an hour as speed restrictions the other side of the core were causing large delays and cancellations at this end with services stopping short of Cambridge. In the end i caught the GN stopper which was a Thameslink unit today which confused me no end at first glance on approach. The original plan was first stop Royston but with the stopper in play i decided to stop short at Meldreth to catch the stopper back, which would have been a bit (actually very) tight if turning at Royston. Back at Cambridge south i alighted onto my 4th platform and a short wait for the next service which was terminating at Cambridge P7 and another go on the previously rare-ish P7 to/from the South. A brief wait for my return to Cambridge North and a relatively stress free drive home. The Saturday was much a much better drive than the Friday by the way for the same distance covered on returning from Devon.

Another station bagged today, and i may do the same next week as indicated above. I have wanted to look at getting more track under my belt at Carlisle for months now, and Saturday is the ideal day for this. Sunday has the DPL at Carstairs in play as well as other rare Carlisle track. And this is before we consider the first day at Balgray, and a daytime use of the Crossover West of Rutherglen which i hadn't considered previously (Thanks 777142 for the heads up). so, this is under strong consideration as my time becomes my own once more. lets see.....

Stowmarket	Depart	7.29​	*****	LE			stations	platforms
Ipswich	Arrive	7.40​	P2	LE	wait 20m		completed	completed
Ipswich	Depart	8.00​	P3a	LE
Stowmarket	Arrive	8.09​	*****	LE	drive +
Relocate to	*****	*****	*****	*****	wait 118m
Cambridge North	Depart	10.07​	*****	LE
Cambridge South	Arrive	10.16​	P2	LE	wait 12m
Cambridge South	Depart	10.28​	P2	LE
Shelford	Arrive	10.31​	P1	LE	wait 9m
Shelford	Depart	10.40​	P2	LE
Cambridge South	Arrive	10.43​	P3	LE	wait 22m
Cambridge South	Depart	11.05​	P3	LE
Cambridge	Arrive	11.10​	P4	LE	wait 12m
Cambridge	Depart	11.22​	P7	LE
Cambridge South	Arrive	11.26​	P1	LE	wait 62m
Cambridge South	Depart	12.28​	P1	LE
Meldreth	Arrive	12.40​	P1	LE	wait 10m
Meldreth	Depart	12.50​	P2	LE
Cambridge South	Arrive	13.03​	P4	LE	wait 18m
Cambridge South	Depart	13.21​	P4	LE			1​	4​
Cambridge	Arrive	13.26​	P7	LE	wait 26m
Cambridge	Depart	13.52​	P1	LE
Cambridge North	Arrive	13.56​	*****	LE

 

[All platforms]

If that happens to be Balgray, the crossover west of Rutherglen is in use on opening day, with hourly ex-Balloch trains terminating in P1, if you still need that one. Makes it much easier than the usual late-night offerings.

I was actually referring to my Cambridge foray just posted, but i have to say i wasn't aware of any use of the crossover West of Rutherglen, so that is definitely one to consider for next weekend. This crossover is not scripted by UTT for some reason so have added it to my list to do. As explained above there is other stuff happening that day and i was probably going to go do that even before Balgray and the Rutherglen crossover were presented. Excellent news that so thanks for the heads up. I just need to go do some research on what works best and when. Cheers.

 

[777142]

a daytime use of the Crossover West of Rutherglen which i hadn't considered previously (Thanks 777142 for the heads up)

No problem. I've recently committed to starting a similar project to do all platforms and track in Scotland and the North West (it's hard for me to get further afield) but I'm also trying to get all the timetabled terminus stations/starting stations and run non-stop through as many as I can as an extra challenge (although I'm definitely allowing myself to walk between stations) so I'll probably pick up on a few more things over the coming months (years?). Think I'll take the opportunity for Carstairs DPL next Sunday as well, since I need to do both platforms at Lockerbie anyway.

 

[Kite159]

A productive day in Cambridgeshire & agreed with Okehampton Interchange not having much in the way of shelter

 

[All platforms]

No problem. I've recently committed to starting a similar project to do all platforms and track in Scotland and the North West (it's hard for me to get further afield) but I'm also trying to get all the timetabled terminus stations/starting stations and run non-stop through as many as I can as an extra challenge (although I'm definitely allowing myself to walk between stations) so I'll probably pick up on a few more things over the coming months (years?). Think I'll take the opportunity for Carstairs DPL next Sunday as well, since I need to do both platforms at Lockerbie anyway.

That is still quite a task to undertake. Scotland is huge geographically albeit with fewer lines to consider, so a long term project however you view this. Good luck with your progress.

I have made many many visits to Scotland so far and there is still a ton to do even after all that time. I think i may do some LNER diverts on the Saturday coming. I feel like its time for a long sit in the seats so will try Newcastle to Pitlochry (another attempt at P4 going North at Perth - i should do at least one attempt a year....) with Sunday reserved for the Carstairs DPL as well as Balgray and Rutherglen. Again good luck with your project.

 

[777142]

Sunday reserved for the Carstairs DPL as well as Balgray and Rutherglen

I have a feeling we will be doing very similar itineraries on Sunday in that case. I'm tempted by the Beattock Summit loop on the next Lumo out of Motherwell after Carstairs DPL, but the connection is a bit too tight for my liking, and with a 4am start I'm not sure it's a good idea to do that and then Rutherglen before heading back.

Over the last couple of days I've been scoping out the main difficult bits of Scottish track that could still be doable. Luckily I'm based in a good area for many of the rare stuff, especially since I'll be doing it without a car (shoutout to the Young Scot card!)

Dundee still hadn't given its all as i departed there from a most unexpected bonus platform of P3f.

Was there a proper annoucement of "front train only" for this? Dundee is not far from me at all but I didn't know they ever did that.
Also at Dundee there is an early morning train which divides in P4 and forms two outbound services 6 minutes apart in different directions (2L91 and 1T12), which seems to me kind of like a 4N and 4S situation (even if they’re both just timetabled as 4). I'll go and see that service at some point soon, probably when I do Balmossie P1, just to check if both trains are open for boarding at the same time, in which case I'll count it as something I need to do.

Finally, there are Highland Main Line closures on 31st October/1st November meaning there are more trains terminating at Perth, so I'm cautiously optimistic I can get P3 then without as much trouble as you have had.

 

[All platforms]

I have a feeling we will be doing very similar itineraries on Sunday in that case. I'm tempted by the Beattock Summit loop on the next Lumo out of Motherwell after Carstairs DPL, but the connection is a bit too tight for my liking, and with a 4am start I'm not sure it's a good idea to do that and then Rutherglen before heading back.

Over the last couple of days I've been scoping out the main difficult bits of Scottish track that could still be doable. Luckily I'm based in a good area for many of the rare stuff, especially since I'll be doing it without a car (shoutout to the Young Scot card!)

Agreed its a bit tight, and whilst it may still be doable, its too risky for me to attempt this time. Have also had to sack off my trip to Pitlochry on the Saturday as the hotel cost in Glasgow that night is around £200. I will turn at Edinburgh after hopefully doing Abington DPL on the way over the tops. The Advance Singles make the day out (almost) cheaper than driving up so a local start and finish for me which makes a change.

I will drive up on the Sunday and do Rutherglen and then have a go at Carstairs DPL. Not much for a day out but there we go.. Any reduced fare card is your friend doing this. Good luck with that Young Scot card as you rack up the miles.

Was there a proper annoucement of "front train only" for this? Dundee is not far from me at all but I didn't know they ever did that.
Also at Dundee there is an early morning train which divides in P4 and forms two outbound services 6 minutes apart in different directions (2L91 and 1T12), which seems to me kind of like a 4N and 4S situation (even if they’re both just timetabled as 4). I'll go and see that service at some point soon, probably when I do Balmossie P1, just to check if both trains are open for boarding at the same time, in which case I'll count it as something I need to do.

Finally, there are Highland Main Line closures on 31st October/1st November meaning there are more trains terminating at Perth, so I'm cautiously optimistic I can get P3 then without as much trouble as you have had.

I am fairly sure there was no announcement of "front train" at Dundee. I hadn't planned to do this, i just got lucky on the day i think. There does still appear to be a P3f on weekday evenings as an arrival and departure - 19.17 Arr from Edinburgh and 19.43 Dep back to Edinburgh. There is an earlier Glasgow arrival into p3 which doesn't go to depot until after the Edinburgh service departs. There may be others but its a labour intensive search.... and now of course i will have to go look at p4n/s in more detail. I do want to revisit Balmossie and the other 2 sparsely served stations again to satisfy my completist itch so this may be ideal. You will have to make up your own mind on when a platform variation counts. I have seen so many different ones i have had to make rules for myself as to when to count and when not. I had a train split wholly within P7a at Shrewsbury so can you count it as a P7b departure if it actually starts in p7a (as does the other split portion in due course). Lots of those to consider..

I think you might be right about Perth P3 being more likely to be a thing 31Oct/01Nov as i see P5 and P6 are occupied in a few instances at the same time. I personally would be tempted to go for a P3 departure and camp out there for it. There is no way to actually know what happens at Perth due to data limitations unless you are either there yourself, or camp out on Tigertrains live at the appointed time. I may well have a go at that myself.

 

[777142]

Agreed its a bit tight, and whilst it may still be doable, its too risky for me to attempt this time. Have also had to sack off my trip to Pitlochry on the Saturday as the hotel cost in Glasgow that night is around £200. I will turn at Edinburgh after hopefully doing Abington DPL on the way over the tops.

Yeah, hotel costs can be rough... I hadn't looked at it properly but was sort of considering doing the same to save the early start on the Sunday but that's enough to convince me otherwise. I did notice last week that a lot (maybe all?) of the planned stops in the loops, including the normal Stirling-Euston at Beattock Summit, seemingly passed through without stopping (mostly reporting 15-30 seconds between arriving and departing the timing point rather than waiting their allotted minutes). Whether they actually used/would ever use the track through the loops I don't know.

Edit: The Saturday Beattock Summit UPL offering has a 3/5 success rate in recent history, however on one of the other occasions it got looped at Abington instead. This service also seems to use the UPL at Carnforth quite consistently which I'd never seen before!

 

[777142]

Of course i will have to go look at p4n/s in more detail.

I haven’t got confirmation about this one yet but I did get an unexpected P2F at Dundee yesterday. Turns out the 17:40 to Edinburgh forms from a previous arrival dividing in P2 so that was a nice find. The information screens on the platform did say FRONT TRAIN ONLY as well so I think I will be going for that 3F offering at some point. Was relieved to get that after having my U/1S opportunity get put into P4.

In other news, the Merseyrail page for the engineering that opens up James Street P2 actually says that it will be P3 for the New Brighton and Ellesmere Port trains, but RTT still says P2 and the fact that it also says there's no step-free access to P3 makes me think they have just made a typo and it will still be P2 that gets used. I don't trust that site for being particularly accurate with information anyway (my favourite one was "Northern Line services are currently delayed due to services being temporarily able [sic] to call at Liverpool Central"), but I've reached out for confirmation anyway.

 

[All platforms]

I haven’t got confirmation about this one yet but I did get an unexpected P2F at Dundee yesterday. Turns out the 17:40 to Edinburgh forms from a previous arrival dividing in P2 so that was a nice find. The information screens on the platform did say FRONT TRAIN ONLY as well so I think I will be going for that 3F offering at some point. Was relieved to get that after having my U/1S opportunity get put into P4.

In other news, the Merseyrail page for the engineering that opens up James Street P2 actually says that it will be P3 for the New Brighton and Ellesmere Port trains, but RTT still says P2 and the fact that it also says there's no step-free access to P3 makes me think they have just made a typo and it will still be P2 that gets used. I don't trust that site for being particularly accurate with information anyway (my favourite one was "Northern Line services are currently delayed due to services being temporarily able [sic] to call at Liverpool Central"), but I've reached out for confirmation anyway.

Unless the engineering works are cancelled surely they will use P2. Its been a few years but when the underground circle was last closed it was all p2 i understand. About 5/6 years ago but my memory is terrible for dates. I did go out last weekend but haven't had time to collate a report yet, but it will come.

 

[777142]

Unless the engineering works are cancelled surely they will use P2. Its been a few years but when the underground circle was last closed it was all p2 i understand. About 5/6 years ago but my memory is terrible for dates. I did go out last weekend but haven't had time to collate a report yet, but it will come.

Merseyrail got back to me within a couple of days (much better than ScotRail, 3 weeks' wait and counting) and confirmed that it would be platform 2 and that it was a mistake on the site.
I ended up skipping Carstairs DPL on Sunday to just get a lot of easy targets in the Roundabout area and of course the Rutherglen crossover, and stumbled across a delayed Balloch service which got me Dumbarton Central platform 3 from the east. Half the Balloch services go to Larkhall on a Sunday, which leads to a tight turnaround since it is about 1h25 end to end (so 3 diagrams at 1tph each way), combined with the need to get out of the single-track section on time and a tendency of the signallers to put the Newton terminators into platform 1 in front of the Ballochs if they are slightly delayed meant there were 5 instances of it on the 27th. I did recently find that Dumbarton Central-Balloch seems to be planned as a shuttle from 2/1/27-4/1/27 using platform 3 from the west plus the associated crossover which is definitely the harder section to get. Annoyingly I'm not going to be available for that one.

 

[All platforms]

Merseyrail got back to me within a couple of days (much better than ScotRail, 3 weeks' wait and counting) and confirmed that it would be platform 2 and that it was a mistake on the site.
I ended up skipping Carstairs DPL on Sunday to just get a lot of easy targets in the Roundabout area and of course the Rutherglen crossover, and stumbled across a delayed Balloch service which got me Dumbarton Central platform 3 from the east. Half the Balloch services go to Larkhall on a Sunday, which leads to a tight turnaround since it is about 1h25 end to end (so 3 diagrams at 1tph each way), combined with the need to get out of the single-track section on time and a tendency of the signallers to put the Newton terminators into platform 1 in front of the Ballochs if they are slightly delayed meant there were 5 instances of it on the 27th. I did recently find that Dumbarton Central-Balloch seems to be planned as a shuttle from 2/1/27-4/1/27 using platform 3 from the west plus the associated crossover which is definitely the harder section to get. Annoyingly I'm not going to be available for that one.

sounds like you had a good day with lots of ticks on offer. One thing i have found in the 6 years doing this is that the rarer the piece of upcoming track the more i now prioritise it. Too many bits and pieces have been missed over the years and i am still waiting for some to reappear. Hopefully Carstairs will turn up again for you before too long.

Great spot about Dumbarton Central. I had also spotted the New Year moves and booked a few days away for this. I do check on P3 at Dumbarton Central occasionally, and so far haven't seen many examples of services stopping short in P3, but its been a few months since i last checked. If delayed services do stop short on Sundays now and again that is good to know so cheers for that. I did spot another rarity on the same days at Dalmuir with the late service from Yoker to Helensburgh Central going via Dalmuir p4 - well its timetabled that way......

 

[All platforms]

Day 604: Sunday 27/09/2026 - Strathclyde Roundabout - £7.70 - Valid all day at Weekends. Glasgow Central to Lockerbie - £10.15 - Off-peak Single. Lockerbie to Motherwell - £6.55 - Lumo Fixed. Car Park Newton - free.
Total time today 304 mins - time on trains 177 mins and time waiting 127 mins. Rare track visit to Scotland.

"Lumo for the win"

I had intended to do Saturday and Sunday with the LNER diverts via Carlisle in play last weekend, but no matter how i worked the schedules i just couldn't work more than 2 of these rarities into a schedule on the Saturday, and when i realised that RTT was showing one of these had been changed there was little point in making the effort. Add in the exorbitant hotel costs for the Saturday it was changed to a Sunday only jaunt.

So it was off to my favourite start point of Newton and a short wait before making my way into Glasgow despite a cancellation of my intended starter. Having been made aware that Rutherglen had hourly terminators today from Balloch with all arrivals terminating in p2 via the crossover, it was too good to turn down and i was on this like a rash. A very satisfying start top proceedings and back at Central i made my way upstairs, gathered in some supplies and wait for the TPe off to Manchester Airport. I would be turning at Lockerbie, where i found an open waiting room for about the first time visiting here. I must have been unlucky on previous visits but happy to get out of the teeming rain. A bunch of folk were waiting for the London bound Lumo but an error on the boards found it arriving 15 mins earlier than advertised, though it was still around 40 mins later than timetabled. The boards didn't change until it arrived by which time it was too late for a half a dozen folk who were waiting in the main waiting room and not the excuse for a shelter on the other side. No announcements of departures/arrivals at Lockerbie either so perhaps understandable for the less than savvy traveller. The staff were great and they were accepted by the following TPe and then Avanti at Carlisle. Good teamwork that and i saw it all unfold before me as a spectator to the drama.

So why, Lockerbie? well, there was a Lumo scheduled to dwell in the DPL at Carstairs for 8 mins, but i did get nervous when the following passing train was delayed by more than 10 mins. The service itself was very quiet, perhaps because all were terminating at Motherwell today but anyway we continued North as planned. I did get my hopes up a little as we slowed approaching Carstairs and sure enough we did slowly enter the loop. What was most surprising was that after entering the loop we just slowly traversed the length of it and then back onto the main line. I count myself very lucky to have ticked this piece of track off, as there was no obvious reason to turn us out onto it. A win is a win however and after my share of bad luck a bit of karma has been applied. Off at Motherwell, again in the rain and because we arrived a few minutes early despite the loop traversal i was off over the bridge like a shot and onto my service stopping at Newton.

A good finish to the day then and a steady run back in daylight with the rain stopping just south of Carlisle. A long way to go for 2 bits of track, but due to real life intervening currently, i will not be out again until next Sunday when its my jolly to the Isle of Wight (via Kent). I hope there will be a strong finish to the year as things should be back to normal in a few weeks time.

Newton	Depart	9.08​	*****	SR			stations	platforms
Glasgow Central	Arrive	9.37​	P6	SR	wait 18m		completed	completed
Glasgow Central	Depart	9.55​	P16	SR
Rutherglen	Arrive	10.04​	P1	SR	wait 4m
Rutherglen	Depart	10.08​	P1	SR
Glasgow Central	Arrive	10.17​	P17	SR	wait 50m
Glasgow Central	Depart	11.07​	P1	TP
Lockerbie	Arrive	12.08​	P2	TP	wait 50m
Lockerbie	Depart	12.58​	P1	LF
Motherwell	Arrive	13.48​	P2	LF	wait 5m
Motherwell	Depart	13.53​	P4	SR
Newton	Arrive	14.12​	*****	SR

 

[sad1e]

Have you got the ECML south suburban fast line platforms yet ?

I've been wondering for quite a while if it was possible to do Hadley Wood platforms 2 and 3.

 

[gazr]

Have you got the ECML south suburban fast line platforms yet ?

I've been wondering for quite a while if it was possible to do Hadley Wood platforms 2 and 3.

Hadley Wood would take something special. Platforms can only be accessed via a locked door, from memory. New Southgate, Oakleigh Park, New Barnet and rarely Brookmans Park are all possible.

 

[All platforms]

Have you got the ECML south suburban fast line platforms yet ?

I've been wondering for quite a while if it was possible to do Hadley Wood platforms 2 and 3.

It has taken a hot minute, but i have persevered enough to visit all the fast line platforms that are ever timetabled, apart from Cholsey for some reason. There are some that never get used regardless and more than a few show in the sectional appendix as not for passenger use. Hadley Wood P2 and P3 are classified as OOU and the gates down to the platforms kept locked. The platforms are not really fit for passenger use these days, so it would take some emergency or emergency combo for a train to disembark there. Slightly different circumstances but ditto P3 and P4 at Wembley Central. P5 and P6 at Queens Park also not used and its years since anything used P3 or P4 at New Cross Gate. One place where the jury is out is Earlsfield P1. i believe it can get used but its not timetabled even on engineering Sundays any more. Also discount Taplow Hanwell and Acton Main Line in GWR land. Probably more but essentially yes you can use all fast platforms apart from those, but engineering Sundays early on are the most likely time to find them timetabled.

 

[777142]

Sounds like you had a good day with lots of ticks on offer. One thing i have found in the 6 years doing this is that the rarer the piece of upcoming track the more i now prioritise it. Too many bits and pieces have been missed over the years and i am still waiting for some to reappear. Hopefully Carstairs will turn up again for you before too long.

Yes, absolutely. I could go for Carstairs tomorrow but it requires an early start which I reckon I'm a bit too tired for at the moment. I saw last weekend that the Lumo spent only a short time in the loop and was waiting for your report to check it actually did it at all!

Fortunately, the week that I'm back home in Liverpool is bookended by James Street P2 and the Rock Ferry crossover from P2 to the Down line so those are hopefully the upcoming wins for me. Unfortunately, the next rare opportunity in Liverpool after that so far as I know is the crossover at Aintree all day on 15.11 which I will not be there for. It's on the Ormskirk side, so its only other "usual" uses are ECS moves when the extras are on for the Grand National I believe.

I was out for a few hours today and just so happened to get a certain platform which has eluded you on several occasions... so that's what I believe to be two of my hardest platform targets out the way after only two proper days out, surprisingly (maybe the two hardest in Scotland that can actually happen? From what I've read from your reports I think Perth P3 is definitely up there). I guess the HML closure weekends are freed up for me to go elsewhere now!

 

[All platforms]

Fortunately, the week that I'm back home in Liverpool is bookended by James Street P2 and the Rock Ferry crossover from P2 to the Down line so those are hopefully the upcoming wins for me. Unfortunately, the next rare opportunity in Liverpool after that so far as I know is the crossover at Aintree all day on 15.11 which I will not be there for. It's on the Ormskirk side, so its only other "usual" uses are ECS moves when the extras are on for the Grand National I believe.

I was out for a few hours today and just so happened to get a certain platform which has eluded you on several occasions... so that's what I believe to be two of my hardest platform targets out the way after only two proper days out, surprisingly (maybe the two hardest in Scotland that can actually happen? From what I've read from your reports I think Perth P3 is definitely up there). I guess the HML closure weekends are freed up for me to go elsewhere now!

I wasn't aware of the Aintree move. Where did you get the info from if its not too much to ask. I have checked the scripting i use for this and see i had it looking for p2 starters not p1. Now amended!! I don't think the crossover at Rock Ferry is too difficult. I believe its a relatively common engineering move so hopefully you will be about next time.

Well, i'm glad someone is having luck with Perth - it proves it can be done. Out of interest which service did you use for this. I may bookmark that for my next attempt..

 

[777142]

I got P3 on that Saturday afternoon option (14:10 arrival/15:25 departure) that you've mentioned a few times. The two previous departures to Edinburgh via Ladybank were swapped between 5 and 6, leaving P5 free during the whole stand time for the P3 train, but it was put it in P3 anyway. Phew. All the information screens at stations for miles around Perth have been saying for weeks that the ramp to P3 is out of use so I thought it a bit less likely that they'd use it at the moment, but I guess not. Also I was surprised that they had the train right up against the buffers (although a welcome surprise to get all the track available). The front door of the train ends up on the wooden section of the platform, which is beyond the "passengers must not pass this point" sign.
The more I think about it, the less convinced I am that P3 is an easy (well, comparatively easy) win on the weekends of closures via Aviemore, since P7 and P4 are then also available for terminating trains. Hopefully this afternoon service is decently consistent and you can get it on the next attempt anyway.

I only found the Aintree crossover by manually looking at future services on OpenTrainTimes with origins/destinations at stations that would likely be used during timetable changes (Rock Ferry, Birkenhead Central, Hooton, Birkenhead North, Aintree, Rice Lane, Hall Road, Formby and Hillside come to mind for Merseyrail). Having a script to check this stuff makes a lot of sense and I might make a small program for some of my targets as well.

 

[Kite159]

I wonder if Mr All Platforms will be in the West Midlands on either Christmas Eve or the 27th December to do a service from Walsall direct towards Wolverhampton via Willenhall as part of the Birmingham New Street closures (also for the XC between
St Andrews Jn & Landor Street Jn)

 

[zero]

I wonder if Mr All Platforms will be in the West Midlands on either Christmas Eve or the 27th December to do a service from Walsall direct towards Wolverhampton via Willenhall as part of the Birmingham New Street closures (also for the XC between
St Andrews Jn & Landor Street Jn)

Initially seemed to be Xmas Eve only which was going to be rather inconvenient for me, so thanks for the info that it will continue on the 27th. Actually it also appears to be happening on the 28th

 

[All platforms]

I wonder if Mr All Platforms will be in the West Midlands on either Christmas Eve or the 27th December to do a service from Walsall direct towards Wolverhampton via Willenhall as part of the Birmingham New Street closures (also for the XC between
St Andrews Jn & Landor Street Jn)

I did see the Christmas eve versions of these a couple of weeks ago, but its so far away in my world i just parked the info to look at again in a months time. Good info on the 27th though and to "Zero" for the info on the 28th. Knee deep in scripting stuff for the website right now and have just realised i need to include the Landor Street to St Andrews Jns on that list. Thankfully i was lucky enough to do this section a couple of years ago. Pleck however has my undivided attention so will be out one of the three days. Thanks again both for the heads up.

 

[Mike99]

I did see the Christmas eve versions of these a couple of weeks ago, but its so far away in my world i just parked the info to look at again in a months time. Good info on the 27th though and to "Zero" for the info on the 28th. Knee deep in scripting stuff for the website right now and have just realised i need to include the Landor Street to St Andrews Jns on that list. Thankfully i was lucky enough to do this section a couple of years ago. Pleck however has my undivided attention so will be out one of the three days. Thanks again both for the heads up.

I've been following your progress since your opening text. There's a web site?

 

[Western Sunset]

A website? I didn't know that...

 

[777142]

Other rare track bits I've got my eye on which might interest you:
- 13.10 (edit: wait, that’s today!): last service of the day timetabled to arrive in Mallaig P1 as the only change to its timetable. No idea why and I don't think I'll be able to find out if that actually happens.
- 20.10 to 23.10: 1E31 (GR, pickup only) and 1B16 (CS, not stopping) booked for wrong way through Perth P2. Not sure if this opens up any actual rare track.
- 26.10 and 27.10: 1N79 (the northbound Winchburgh curve train) is timetabled to use the crossover into Thornton North DPL from the Down Main rather than from the Glenrothes Single since it's diverted via Kirkcaldy
- 08.11: crossover into Hunts Cross P2 from the Warrington side as all Northern trains are terminating there
- 24.12, 27.12 and 28.12: trains using Sandwell + Dudley P1 in both directions so crossover to the west is available
- 15.02 and beyond: timetabled use of the Edinburgh South Sub by 1V66 and 1S43

I'm also working on a list of front/rear platform offerings at the main stations in Scotland where they are not shown in RTT just by periodically checking TigerTrains. Will send it over in a few weeks once I have enough collated.

 

[All platforms]

I've been following your progress since your opening text. There's a web site?

A website? I didn't know that...

Well, i have found myself in the position of looking after the old UTtracker website, which identifies all the upcoming rare track for the next 12/13 weeks and displays it in map form or listed based on old Quail books/pages. This info is updated weekly. There is more to it than that but i have had to learn to speak sql/php and to reverse engineer how it all gets put together, and i have no training in all this. All the detailed maps were finally completed early 2026 and a few anomalies sorted. There are several hundred thousand moving track parts and it has taken a while to work through them all. Its still a work in progress and i am now working my way through how the weekly data gets turned into individual scripts. Very much a learning curve but finally several hundred out of 5000 or so are being checked and updated weekly. Its a members only site, accessed via a one off charitable donation and i do not intend to change this. However membership remains closed whilst i sort things out - it has only taken 2 years so far........ the site needs to work as intended, and i need to be able to add more functionality once that has been done as there is no feedback capability at the moment. All that whilst being out most weekends myself....

 

[All platforms]

Day 605: Sunday 11/10/2026 - Strood to Rochester - £2.65 - Off-peak Return. Barnham to Ryde Pier Head - £25.15 - Anytime Single. Island Line & Steam Day Ranger - £27.50 - Valid all day at Weekends. Car Park - Canal Road Strood and Barnham Road Barnham - both free.
Total time today 588 mins - time on trains/ferry 201 mins and time waiting 387 mins. Stations completed today 4. Total completed 2577. Platforms completed at completed stations 5984

"Finally, a visit to the Isle of Wight"

Still no shortage of targets in the greater scheme of things, but i do prioritise the main gig wherever possible, and that is to complete the remaining stations, PSUL stuff as well as loops and through lines. But it all has to work and piecing together an itinerary with multiple targets is not always easy. However, these next few days were a lot easier to plan around the use of the Island Line which is my last TOC also. I have mixed things up quite a bit this time and this is not my usual type of itinerary.

A lot of driving in the next few days, starting with a trip down to Kent early Sunday morning where i would be parking up at Strood. Canal Road just before the station car park was restriction free on a Sunday and there were a few spots left to choose from. The line between Rochester and Rainham was closed today so RRB's were everywhere. However the High Speed units were stopping at Strood and then continuing one stop to Rochester coming to rest in the Looped platform aka p3. Marvellous. This allowed me to stay on for the return to Strood by way of the London-end crossover, which is not normally timetabled, and we were off to a good start.

Time to relocate to Barnham where i got lucky again by being able to park very near the station on a restriction free section of Barnham Road. The car would stay here until Tuesday morning. My ticket to Ryde Pier Head included the catamaran crossing to the IOW which is why i included it in my itinerary. It really is the simplest thing to arrive at Portsmouth Harbour and then head down the ramp to the ferry, and it was only a short wait before the cat turned up and we were boarding for the 20 mins or so crossing. Ryde Pier Head may be one of the very few piers to have a car park at the end of it, and whilst i am no pier expert i am struggling to think of any other that includes parking.

Ryde Pier Head is now singled all the way to St Johns Road but the other track is largely intact, but it is doubtful if it would ever be reinstated. The demand for 15 min services would be the only driver for this i think. Perhaps i should have done the IOW prior to the new rolling stock being introduced to get the real underground effect of those older units, but the new ones are excellent all things considered.I was off to Smallbrook Junction as the Steam Railway was operating today and i could ride this on a Day Ranger. Again not many examples of anything similar elsewhere, so i guess i can ride the line legitimately without resorting to "non British Rail tickets" - so i did!! A jaunt up to Wootton and back with stops at Haven Street each way. No calls for the request stop at Ashey by the way. A well frequented service each way and some wonderful renovated carriages to choose from. I may even have brought the average age of the passengers down a tad. Something a bit different then as i made my way back to Smallbrook Junction. Some stations do claim to be remote or inaccessible but perhaps Smallbrook has the greatest claim as there is only access between the steam railway and the island line. No other vehicular or walkable access is available.

So, with my heritage fun concluded it was back to business and a jaunt back to Pier Head to claim my first tick, with my second tick for arriving back at Smallbrook. My rules say arrive/depart by train not counting the first/last station before/after relocation. Time was marching on and for now just time to ride back up to Ryde Esplanade and back down the line to Sandown which would be my base for the evening. A cheap Premier Inn had been sourced and i decided to eat in for once with a bang average Cumberland and mash offering chosen. Boy, that's one steep bit of road to get there and back and my calves are still protesting a little from the experience.

For some reason i had not found a huge amount of information about the use of Ryde St Johns Road since the upgrades done last year. I had heard whispers that the only train of the day to terminate as St Johns Road did so in P2 but others said P1. So i went and had a look for myself. It was P1 and after a few minutes the unit then reversed direction over the crossover to the P2 line before drawing forward to stable in P3 overnight. I did have a quick word with the driver about the possible use of P2 and P3 from the South, and he confirmed that quite a few years ago it was only possible for P3 departures, but the signalling won't allow this any more. He used to be a signaller so has some knowledge on the matter. No unusual moves at Ryde these days basically although he did say there was talk of upgrading the crossover and signalling to allow a P1 departure to the South. However he did stress it was talk and even if agreed it would be quite some time in the future before it could happen. P3 is never going to be used except in dire emergency in passenger service was the other message. I will have to amend my records to reflect this...

Back to Sandown and that route march over the hill to gain my hotel. i did just squeak inside last orders for a nightcap thankfully. So, in the end i got 4 stations under my belt today, with Ryde St Johns the last of these.

Strood	Depart	8.54​	*****	SE			stations	platforms
Rochester	Arrive	8.57​	P3	SE	wait 38m		completed	completed
Rochester	Depart	9.35​	P3	SE
Strood	Arrive	9.38​	*****	SE	drive +
Relocate to	*****	*****	*****	*****	wait 161m
Barnham	Depart	12.19​	*****	SN
Portsmouth Harbour	Arrive	12.59​	*****	SN	wait 19m
Portsmouth Harbour	Depart	13.18​	*****	Ferry
Ryde Pier Head	Arrive	13.34​	*****	Ferry	wait 29m
Ryde Pier Head	Depart	14.03​	*****	IL
Smallbrook Junction	Arrive	14.13​	*****	IL	wait 4m
Smallbrook Junction IOWSR	Depart	14.17​	*****	IOWSR
Wootton IOWSR	Arrive	14.35​	*****	IOWSR	wait 12m
Wootton IOWSR	Depart	14.47​	*****	IOWSR
Smallbrook Junction IOWSR	Arrive	15.29​	*****	IOWSR	wait 18m
Smallbrook Junction	Depart	15.47​	*****	IL
Ryde Pier Head	Arrive	15.57​	Single	IL	wait 6m
Ryde Pier Head	Depart	16.03​	Single	IL			1​	1​
Smallbrook Junction	Arrive	16.12​	Single	IL	wait 13m
Smallbrook Junction	Depart	16.25​	Single	IL			1​	1​
Ryde Esplanade	Arrive	16.32​	Single	IL	wait 17m
Ryde Esplanade	Depart	16.49​	Single	IL			1​	1​
Sandown	Arrive	17.06​	*****	IL
Food	*****	*****	*****	*****	Food
Sandown	Depart	19.36​	*****	IL
Ryde St Johns Road	Arrive	19.49​	P1	IL	wait 70m
Ryde St Johns Road	Depart	20.59​	P2	IL			1​	2​
Sandown	Arrive	21.12​	*****	IL