Best train spotting locations.

[plzmindethegap]

I have only just started to take trains seriously.
As I now like taking note of traffic on my nearest train spotting post (Marykirk) I have managed to convince my dad to take me around the UK on a train spotting expedition but I need to get some suggestions on where to go and where to stay England &Scotland and what to do when I'm there.
Thanks
For
Posting

 

[musicking1306]

I would say From only completing Clapham junction and vauxhall yesterday, I would highly recommend them also within London kings cross and st pancreas is good, However it all depends on what you want to see. ( I would also recommend Bristol temple Meads.)

PM me if you would like some more advice!

Oh and welcome to the forum!

 

[starrymarkb]

For accommodation advice there is always this thread

 

[96tommy]

Colton Junction is a great location. You get plenty there, East Coast HST's and 225's, Grand Central 180's and HST's, Cross Country Voyagers and HST's, First Trans Pennine Express 195's, Northern Rail 142's 150's and 158's. You also get quite a bit of freight, including a Colas 66 and sometimes test trains and light engine movements for trains going to the NRM in York, and York Parcel Sidings next to the station. Of course, railtours can also ve found.

Due to its closeness to York, their are plenty of places to stay. There is also a Premier Inn about 2 miles away as well as B&Bs in th enearby villages of Bolton Percy, Colton and Tadcaster.

Other great locations I would reccommend are:

Clapham junction (the busiest station in terms of passing trains in the country)


Manchester Piccadilly (a huge variety of units)

Water Orton or Nuneaton (for freight)

Tamworth is also good, as on the high level is the cross country route towards Birmingham, and on the lower level is the West Coast Mainline towards London, both seeing a variety of traction and a large amount of freight)

East Midlands Parkway (In a day, most East Midlands Trains HST's and 222's past, as well as 158's and 156's)

Ebury Bridge (This is in London, just a few minutes walk away from London Victoria, and you get many Gatwick Express, Southern and Southeastern units)

Other locations great include: Barnetby, Carlisle, Liverpool South Parkway, Edinburgh Waverley/Haymarket, Bethnal Green, Doncaster, Preston, Glasgow Central, Alexandra Palace, Ipswich.

 

[Robert Taggart]

Whether spotting or just watching - things are nowhere near as interesting as they used to be.
But, York does attract many charter trains still - even if they be but passing through. These trains can bring something different vis a vis motive power - to 'lighten up' the usual 'unitary' dirge !

 

[VTPreston_Tez]

Levenshulme will always beat Manchester Piccadilly. It appears to always be quiet during the peak hours and still has a plethora of units going through.
And of course you can't forget Crewe. Again a wide variety.
Northallerton also looks like a good place due to the high speed of trains passing through and the variety of trains that pass through. The same also applies to Tamworth.

 

[Condor7]

If you come up to Cumbria, then Carlisle station is a good place.
The station staff are very train spotter friendly, and passenger wise there are Pendolinos and Voyagers, and a fair variety of multiple units.
Depending on the time of day there is also the Royal Mail units.

Freight wise it is very busy. Mostly 66's but also a good chance of seeing 70's, 37's, 57's, even the occasional 60's as well as electric 92's and 87's on a fairly regular basis.

I cannot particularly recommend anywhere to stay but there are plenty of hotels within a few minutes walk.

A little further south you could stay at the Westmorland Hotel next to Tebay motorway services, an independent services regularly winning the best services in the UK award, with a lovely farmers shop and great food in their restaurant.
The hotel is also within walking distance of Greenholme a popular spot on the WCML. Not as busy as Carlisle but similar locos to be seen.

Site seeing wise, you are within easy driving distance of the Lake District and Hadrian Wall.

 

[Beveridges]

What do you rate most from a location, Locomotives, Units or how pleasant the location is to spend time at?

For locomotives I'd go with Barnetby and Doncaster stations. For purely freight locomotives Barnetby is clearly top of the list, while Doncaster is top of the list for a mix of passenger and freight locos and theres often shunt moves going on at the adjacent Wabtec depot to keep things interesting. Both are relatively near each other so can be visited in 1 day. Spending a few hours at each would be the best option.

At Barnetby expect about 6-12 freight trains every hour.
At Doncaster expect about 3-6 freight locos per hour & about 7-10 class 91s or HSTs every hour.

Edit: As a bonus: Barnetby in good weather is a very pleasant station to spend time at, and also has tonnes of semaphores. Doncaster has a 6 story cark park next to it, if you can get on the top level, which is open air, it gives you a superb view looking down on Doncaster station and Wabtec depot and is also great for photos.

 

[Trainfan344]

Too add onto this, anyone know of any good trainspotting locations in east anglia?

 

[Temple Meads]

It depends to an extent on what you're after; do you want to spot (IE: take down numbers), take pictures or film or just watch the trains?

Down my way, Bristol Temple Meadsand the Dawlish area are worth a visit for all of the above persuits.

 

[Trainfan344]

Well for taking pictures.

 

[Bevan Price]

If you mainly want to spot / photograph large numbers of dmus & emus, visiting the following stations will help:
Glasgow Central, Edinburgh Waverley, Newcastle, York, Leeds, Sheffield, Doncaster, Manchester (Piccadilly & Victoria), Liverpool (Lime St. & Merseyrail Electric lines), Birmingham (New St. and Moor St.), Derby, Nottingham, Stafford, Northampton, Watford Junction, Reading, Cardiff, Bristol Temple Meads, Eastleigh, Brighton,
and around London, Stratford, Clapham Junction, London Bridge, Finsbury Park, Willesden Junction, Ealing Broadway, Victoria.
For the London area, a one day travelcard is strongly recommended, as it will enable you to travel between and access all stations in the area.
Similar one day tickets are available in other areas and are also worth considering, as are railrovers in many areas (but the all line railrover is a bit expensive)

For example, the North West Rover (valid for 7 days, or for any 4 days in 8), includes the area from Dumfries & Carlisle as far south as Leeds, Manchester & Liverpool. You might find it cheaper to stay in a B&B in Blackpool than to find a hotel in one of the larger cities.

 

[Temple Meads]

Well for taking pictures.

That question was aimed at the OP, I've not (yet) visited East Anglia, so can't really comment! :P

 

[Essexman]

A good photo spot in East Anglia is by the river at Manningtree ( a few minutes walk from the station), with trains crossing the Stour Bridge - loco hauled Norwich trains, freight from Felixtowe & a few units.

 

[petersi]

Hi

you can always use this website if visiting an area
http://www.trainspots.co.uk

 

[Beveridges]

You might find it cheaper to stay in a B&B in Blackpool than to find a hotel in one of the larger cities.

Completely agree, plus the huge bonus that Blackpool is a much nicer place to stay for a day than Manchester!

 

[GearJammer]

Didcot.... plenty of HST's, DMU's, freight plus you got the Steam shed/centre there.

 

[chuckles1066]

Crewe was the mecca when I was a boy (late 1970's) although I never went there.

Toton was also *the* place to be, hundreds of class 20s just parked up in sidings.

 

[jaigee]

Nuneaton always has a good variety, with the WCML plus the Birmingham/Leicester/East Anglia and Coventry lines.

Also it has an enthusiast friendly cafe to boot!

 

[Beveridges]

Best locations for each region:

North East - Barnetby or Doncaster
North West (North) - Carlisle
North West (South) - Acton Bridge or Peak Forest (Can be hit & miss, not recommended to just turn up blind)
Midlands - Stafford but lots of other places that are also busy; Nuneaton, Rugby, Water Orton, Tamworth

unsure about the South and Scotland, rarely trainspot there.

My list identifies the best locations for freight / locomotives / special workings, though you will see many units as well at most of them.
If you are only after mundane DMU's / EMU's and not bothered about loco workings, then look elsewhere, there are far busier places.

 

[mirodo]

Wandsworth Road in London is meant to be quite good for freight workings, isn't it? Plus there's still chance to get the Kensington Olympia parly service before it ends, if you're into that sort of thing as well.

 

[317666]

Too add onto this, anyone know of any good trainspotting locations in east anglia?

It depends what sorts of trains you want to see. For DMUs (especially 156s), Brundall, just outside of Norwich, is a good location. All Wherry Lines services stop or pass through, and it has a traditional gated level crossing and semaphore signals.

For freight, I would recommend Derby Road station, in the outskirts of Ipswich, especially on a weekday. http://www.trainspots.co.uk/locpage.php?ts_number=721

Alternatively, just over the border into Essex, Manningtree is a good spot on the Great Eastern Main Line. A short walk from the station is the bridge over the estuary at Cattawade. There is also plenty of freight here too, (again your best bet is a weekday,) and unlike Derby Road it's electrified so you would also see Freightliner 86s and 90s, as well as the London - Norwich Intercity services hauled by Greater Anglia 90s.

http://www.trainspots.co.uk/locpage.php?ts_number=282

Hope this helps

 

[Freightmaster]

I like Lincoln for photos, no overhead wires, but it is quite...

Quite what? Quite quiet?

MARK

 

[StripeyNick]

Newport/Cardiff can be pretty good. Depending on what you are after, Newport is the better of the 2 for freight as there are some services from the east that terminate before Cardiff.

Cardiff is pretty good if you want to 'spot' units as the Valleys services are frequent.

Loco wise, you can choose from 56s, 60s, 66s, 67s, 70s and the odd 59 on Machen trains. If you are lucky, you may catch a 37 or 47 if there is anything unusual working.

Finally, if you want photos, it's worth visiting sooner rather than later as it won;t be long before wires go up and photo spots are changed forever!

 

[williamus]

A few years ago I would have recommended the Lickey Incline

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lickey_Incline

It's still just as steep as it always was and it's still one of the most photogenic spots on the network, IMHO. The three best parts on this two mile 1:37 stretch were always the siding at Newton Road south of Bromsgrove Station where the bankers were stabled, Bromsgrove itself at the bottom of the Incline and Vigo about two-thirds of the way up. I was always told that this was an access used to build the inline and was left in situ afterwards. Either way, as many will know, it's a superb vantage point. Bromsgrove Station now even has a Travel Lodge next door...

...the health warning about planning a week's (or even a day's) train spotting at this still-magical spot is that the traffic bears no resemblance to the variety that it once did and whereas a significant percentage of trains required the services of the bankers, few seem to today. Voyagers, HSTs and all manner of DMUs now seem treat the bank with contempt.

On the other hand... if you are passing nearby (e.g. on the M5 on the was to Temple Meads) it would be a shame not to stop off and have a look... especially as they're threatening to electrify it.

Wherever, you go, enjoy.

 

[corin paul]

Quite what? Quite quiet?

MARK

Yepppp...............................

http://railphotoarchive.org/rpc_zoom.php?img=1364022173000

 

[gdale1]

Any ideas for a day out in Glasgow.

 

[Bevan Price]

Any ideas for a day out in Glasgow.

Maybe try a Day ticket:
Include Central, Queen Street (High & Low Levels) in your travels, with opportunity to select other stations for variety if taking photographs. Also gets you access to platforms.


http://www.spt.co.uk/travelcards/day-tickets/

 

[Freightmaster]

I like Lincoln for photos, no overhead wires, but it is quite...

...busy at the moment!

(the Hatfield landslip has doubled the number of freight movements
through Lincoln, so it's a bit of a hotpot at present)


MARK

 

[sbatts43]

Maybe try a Day ticket:
Include Central, Queen Street (High & Low Levels) in your travels, with opportunity to select other stations for variety if taking photographs. Also gets you access to platforms.


http://www.spt.co.uk/travelcards/day-tickets/

The most scenic one for photography Is Dawlish. It has recently got a new footbridge. Also there Is a guest house looking right onto seafront. 10/10 for this one. Absolutely superb.