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Trivia: Through stations with platforms numbered in 'reverse' order.

150249

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Newton Abbot's main entrance is located on Platform 3 with Platform 1 usually being used for services to and from Paignton.
 
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Trackman

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Another nomination is Bolton. Platforms 1, 2 and 3 further away from the main entrance / ticket office than platforms 4 and 5 are.
It's a fair trek from P2 to the booking hall as I experienced once.
The original entrance I believe was next to P1 until it moved to Trinity street.
 

barbette165

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Birmingham Moor Street, when the line to Snow Hill opened platform 1 was towards Snow Hill and platform 2 was towards Tyseley. When the bay platforms reopened, the two through platforms swapped numbers, so that the bay platforms could become 3 and 4. (There's also platform 5, but it doesn't have any tracks.)
 

Krystal

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Stratford - from the main entrance nearer to the town centre, P17 is closest, then P16, P15, 14, 13, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 10A, 11, 12, 2, 1 onlthe other side of the station leading to Westfields.
 

Springs Branch

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Bolton. . . It's a fair trek from P2 to the booking hall as I experienced once. The original entrance I believe was next to P1 until it moved to Trinity street.
Yes, I remember back in the day the old ticket barrier and booking office was at the top of the stairs from P1.

. . . . the L&Y’s convention was for the platform towards Manchester to be platform 1)
Wigan Wallgate for some reason is an exception to this rule with P2 towards Manchester and P1 towards Southport & "Liverpool". The station is an island platform - so neither P1 nor 2 is significantly closer to the entrance / ticket office than the other.

Looking at most of the stations between Southport (exclusive) and Salford Crescent - via both Westhoughton and Atherton - most of these follow the old 'Platform 1 for Manchester' rule except, for some reason, Ince and Kearsley where it's reversed. These are both basic two-platform shacks, of course, so numbering is relatively trivial, even for travellers unfamiliar with the area, given there is "Trains towards XX" signage near the entrance.
 

norbitonflyer

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Richmond. The main concourse leads to all platforms except No 1, which is across the bridge. And No 1 is not the main London-bound platform either (that's number 2)
 

Krystal

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I'm going to cheese this thread by saying that some commuter (mostly in London) stations with only two platforms have their main entrance on the platform 2 side - for example, Homerton, Hackney Central, Hackney Wick, etc.
 

Techniquest

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Until 2021, Taunton was configured in this way.

It’s been many years since I last used Taunton properly, when that was the case I only used the exit by the southbound platform for connecting onto a bus to Minehead. It’s been so long that I don’t even remember the route number, I want to say 28 but that sounds wildly inaccurate.

The only time I used the entrance for platform 5, which I seem to recall was the main one at the time (mid-2000s), was when connecting off the bus from Minehead. Does this mean the main entrance is now on the southbound side?
 

birchesgreen

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A number of stations on the Cross City Line (North) are like this, platform 1 is in the Sutton direction but the main entrance / booking office / main building is on the Birmingham platform (2).

Examples include Chester Road, Erdington and Gravelly Hill
 

KN94

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Dewsbury - platform 2 being on the side that contains the main entrance, ticket office, and station pub. Platform 1 contains a waiting room
 

cce

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It’s been many years since I last used Taunton properly, when that was the case I only used the exit by the southbound platform for connecting onto a bus to Minehead. It’s been so long that I don’t even remember the route number, I want to say 28 but that sounds wildly inaccurate.

The only time I used the entrance for platform 5, which I seem to recall was the main one at the time (mid-2000s), was when connecting off the bus from Minehead. Does this mean the main entrance is now on the southbound side?
Yep, there's now a nice entrance setup on the south/west bound side and I gather the old 1980s ticket office on the northbound side is closed
 
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Several suburban stations on four-tracked main lines for starters, where tracks are paired by use - Twyford, Maidenhead, Langley, West Ealing, Brentwood, probably most of the rest of the Great Western/Great Eastern Elizabeth Line stations but these ones jump out. Presumably the same is also true of some West Coast stations, but I'm less familiar with those. I think Wolverton counts but I can't remember where the entrance is exactly. You could also make an argument for Scarborough given the way the platforms are staggered there - it's a long walk to platform 1.
IIRC platform 4 is the up slow and closest to the entrance at Wolverton with 3 being the down slow. The fast lines, platforms 1&2, are the ones closest to Wolverton Park and the canal. Makes sense as normally fast trains don't stop at Wolverton.

The entrance is the new station (built in the early 2000s after the lovely old station on the bridge over the railway lines was demolished overnight in the late '90s) off the Stratford Road at the bottom of the hill needed so that the road can go up and over the railway.

The entrance was on the bridge and led to a covered walkway across all the lines so one went right for platforms 3-5 and left for 1 & 2. I have memories of the lift that took my sister's pram up from platform level to road level and the way out.

Again, IIRC from childhood, the (bay?) platform for trains to Newport Pagnell, on the branch line, was number 5.
 
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How does one decide on furthest away when the entrance is above the line, eg New Cross Gate, Honor Oak Park?
 

D6130

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Perhaps I should have clarified that the OP referred to stations where the main - or only - entrance or building is on one of the through platforms.
 

DelW

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It’s been many years since I last used Taunton properly, when that was the case I only used the exit by the southbound platform for connecting onto a bus to Minehead. It’s been so long that I don’t even remember the route number, I want to say 28 but that sounds wildly inaccurate.
Still number 28, operated by First using a fleet of electric single deckers introduced within the last year.

The only time I used the entrance for platform 5, which I seem to recall was the main one at the time (mid-2000s), was when connecting off the bus from Minehead. Does this mean the main entrance is now on the southbound side?
The north side entrance has a TVM, but (as mentioned in #45) the staffed ticket office is now on the south side.
 

Techniquest

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Yep, there's now a nice entrance setup on the south/west bound side and I gather the old 1980s ticket office on the northbound side is closed

Thanks :) That’s a bit of my early railway memory consigned to nostalgia then!

Still number 28, operated by First using a fleet of electric single deckers introduced within the last year.


The north side entrance has a TVM, but (as mentioned in #45) the staffed ticket office is now on the south side.

Well blow me down, I didn’t think I was even close with the route number. Score one for the memory then, especially given it’s got to be something in the region of 20 years since I last used the route. It might even have been 2004, so 22 years almost to the day!

Electric single deckers, now you’re talking my language. I do like a nice, modern electric bus. I spy a return to Minehead in my future, there’s a walking adventure with my name on it!

Thanks both for replying so quickly :)
 

Kingston Dan

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Under the old numbering, the “back entrance” (from Calton Road) landed you right by 1 - the numbering was then clockwise from there (albeit with a lot of gaps at the low end) until you got to 19 which was at the other end of 1.
In theory, at least, 1 was the main London platform (certainly until 7 was reinstated).
Yes, but that was and probably still is a minor entrance. The Market Street entrance took you to platforms 20/21 and then to lower numbered ones - I have no idea what the current numbering is. (And I don't remember platform 7 ever being closed - are you thinking of the Motorrail platforms?). But the old numbering was based on arriving at the now closed carriage drive entrances (which probably makes sense) but they're not the main entrances these days.
 

RUK

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Southend Central, Southend East, Chalkwell, West Horndon, Rainham, and Dagenham Dock. Shoeburyness isn’t a through station, but is built like it is, with the station building off to the side of Platform 2 (full length) / Platform 3 (shorter bay). Pitsea’s station building seems to be in the middle island, between platforms 2 and 3. Not sure about Laindon, from the Network Rail map of it.
 

Ayrshire Roy

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Prestwick Town and Prestwick Airport.
Oddly I only noticed this last night whilst waiting for my wife's train.
A lot of the stations on the Ayr to Glasgow line seem to be numbered 1 to Glasgow but the ticket office is on the other side.
 

JamesC357

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Southend Central, Southend East, Chalkwell, West Horndon, Rainham, and Dagenham Dock. Shoeburyness isn’t a through station, but is built like it is, with the station building off to the side of Platform 2 (full length) / Platform 3 (shorter bay). Pitsea’s station building seems to be in the middle island, between platforms 2 and 3. Not sure about Laindon, from the Network Rail map of it.

Laindon’s station building is indeed on Platform 3, from where you take the footbridge to reach Platforms 1 and 2. There is also a second entrance that takes you directly onto the Platform 1 and 2 island, however I don’t believe this is always open.
 

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