Recent content by brompton rail

Thanks for your responses.

Well, the Newcastle / Reading is a shortened version of Newcastle / Southampton; it runs less than two hourly now rather than hourly, so how has that improved the service?

Cross Country trains fail on a daily basis to run the full complement of services. The Newcastle - York - Doncaster - Sheffield - Birmingham - Leamington - Oxford Reading service being probably their worst. Services either don’t run throughout or are cancelled partway, often at Birmingham...

Doncaster also has a Platform 0. It caters for terminating trains from Hull and Scunthorpe (when the later run that is, as Scunthorpe stoppers are currently buses!)

Heysham service was a through train from Leeds back in the 1960s. Caught it once to connect with the ferry to Belfast.

Most bikes should fit into the boot of a car type taxi, albeit with an overhang. London taxis and similar can fit a bike upright into the passenger accommodation. Of course a hatch back car type taxi would be perfect. You might have to pay for the taxi hire though!

Clearly East Coast diversions via MML are not now feasible. Capacity all along the route and St Pancras would make it impossible. Previously there have been a few EC diversions via March and Cambridge to Kings Cross.

LNER,no, but BR did! When ECML was being electrified some East Coast services were diverted from Doncaster to St Pancras. Routed via Rotherham Masborough, the Old Road (Barrow Hill) to Chesterfield, then via the Erewash Valley direct to Trent Junction, and down MML via Leicester. East Coast HSTs...

Have you considered contacting SUSTRANS? Their subsidiary company Railway Paths own a number of former railway lines and structures around the country, the Spen Valley route and Great Northern Trail being two in West Yorkshire.

It forms part of the line from the Midland Railway (Rotherham Masborough to Normanton) at near Royston to Saville Town at Dewsbury. The most notable part being Criggleston Viaduct. I believe the section east of Criggleston village is useable. I remember using it nearly 20 years ago. However many...

A XC service travels this route in the opposite direction each evening just before 22.00 ( Southampton to York) I think most people would regard the Chesterfield - Barrow Hill - Beighton - Sheffield route as the “Old Road” too. Certainly I’ve heard railway men refer to it as such. An early...

Probably not going to a problem, as given the cost escalation to over £100bn HS2 is unlikely to get much beyond Birmingham and a link into WCML. Anyway east - west connectivity is much more important to the North of England than getting to London quicker.

I thought this was normally a double Voyager. Starts as it starts as 06.45 from York. However today it was cancelled at Exeter due to high seas at Dawlish. Probably the sets produced to work it from Plymouth came from various eastbound trains that were cancelled. Only XC HSTs made it to Plymouth...

My understanding of the McArthur Glen Outlet (Fulford Road) is that Bus Passes are valid all the way OUT of Town, but passengers who board at the outer terminus (McArthurn Glen) to go INTO Town have to pay a supplement / premium. This makes it simpler for the driver as there is only one stop he...

The line north out of Midland station is in a deep cutting through solid rock. Widening this would be very expensive and disruptive. Beyond the cutting /tunnel the line is on a viaduct. Rebuilding Meadowhall station platforms would be very difficult too to allow set back slow platforms and fast...