Out-of-the-way trains

[SprinterMan]

In lots of other threads odd long-distance services that take odd routes or travel huge distance between otherwise unremarkable place have been mentioned and it would be great if we could make a list of them or something like that to fully view the wonders of privatisation long distance inter-regional travel that no longer exist.

Current

Arriva Trains Wales
1239 Holyhead-Maesteg

CrossCountry
0710 Gloucester-Stansted Airport
0820 Aberdeen-Penzance

Former

'One'
Peterborough-London Liverpool Street via Bury St. Edmunds

Wrexham & Shropshire
Wrexham General-London Marylebone via Shrewsbury & Tame Bridge Parkway

Wales & West
0929 Pontypridd-Par via Ninian Park (summer 2000 timetable)
London Waterloo-Manchester via Warminster, Bath, Bristol, Hereford and Crewe
London Waterloo-Milford Haven via Warminster, Bath & Bristol
Penzance-Manchester via Abergavenny, Hereford and Crewe
Cardiff-Holyhead via Llandudno (think about it :P)
0900 Treherbert-Gunnislake [1]

Central Trains
0615 Grantham-Hereford (summer 2000 timetable)
1518 Skegness-Aberystwyth (summer 2000 timetable) [2]
0726 Pwllheli-Grimsby Town [3]
Skegness-Manchester Airport (summer 2000 timetable)
Stansted Airport-Great Malvern (summer 2000 timetable)
Stansted Airport-Aberystwyth (summer 2000 timetable)
Great Yarmouth-Liverpool Lime Street (summer 2000 timetable)

Arriva Trains Wales
Swansea-Bangor via HoW line and Crewe arr. 0046 [4]

Anglia Railways
Norwich-Basingstoke via North London Line - "Crosslink"

Please everyone add to this list

 

[calc7]

First Great Western
Taunton - Cardiff

must be a contender

 

[Ivo]

First Great Western
Taunton - Cardiff

must be a contender

What's so unusual about that? It was nice when they ran the 57s, but otherwise there's nothing remarkable about it at all.

As FGW go though, you can probably add the Malvern to Brighton route.

 

[Eagle]

Charing Cross to Ramsgate and Ramsgate (splits at Ashford)? That always looks weird on the departure boards.


EMT have some odd ones; there's a Mansfield to Skegness via Nottingham, a Nottingham to Sleaford via Oakham, several Newark to Peterborough via Lincoln, Derby to London via Oakham...


FGW's Malvern to Weymouth also always seems a little odd.


ATW also have Birmingham International to Manchester Piccadilly via Wrexham.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---




Here's a thread

 

[RailwayDan]

I used to travel a lot between Manchester and Derby and I remember once seeing a XC service leaving Manchester with a destination of Derby, via Birmingham and Wolverhampton.

Does anyone know anything about this service? I never saw it again and can't find it now. I believe it left Piccadilly at about 4.30pm.

Should probably mention that this was about 4-5 years ago

 

[sonic2009]

Central did a Hereford or Great Malvern to.Grimsby Town service as well.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

I used to travel a lot between Manchester and Derby and I remember once seeing a XC service leaving Manchester with a destination of Derby, via Birmingham and Wolverhampton.

Does anyone know anything about this service? I never saw it again and can't find it now. I believe it left Piccadilly at about 4.30pm.

Should probably mention that this was about 4-5 years ago

I remember that as well i think that eneded not so long ago in 2009/2010.

 

[MK Tom]

LM run two Northampton-Walsall trains every morning - not a strange route but a unique one-way service and one that as far as I can tell is just a positioning move that you can travel on.

 

[Eagle]

LM run two Northampton-Walsall trains every morning - not a strange route but a unique one-way service and one that as far as I can tell is just a positioning move that you can travel on.

There's also a Walsall–Liverpool (which is all stops via Aston).

 

[DarloRich]

LM run two Northampton-Walsall trains every morning - not a strange route but a unique one-way service and one that as far as I can tell is just a positioning move that you can travel on.

what time are these trains? I need to get to Walsall on Friday!

 

[Ivo]

what time are these trains? I need to get to Walsall on Friday!

0516 and 0616 from NMP. Be warned though - they aren't exactly "fast", at 92 minutes...

 

[Michael.Y]

The 1239 ex-HHD only goes to Maesteg as it arrives in Cardiff at 1715 and it makes sense to put that unit straight into commuter wagon duties than terminate it and use another unit. I think of it as two separate services combined into one movement - much like the HoWL northbound that originates at Cardiff - most of the clientele leave at Swansea.

 

[CC 72100]

As FGW go though, you can probably add the Malvern to Brighton route.

Nothing wrong with this route, it means I have a 158 as opposed to a 150 from Bristol when I come home from uni!

 

[calc7]

What's so unusual about that? It was nice when they ran the 57s, but otherwise there's nothing remarkable about it at all.

As FGW go though, you can probably add the Malvern to Brighton route.

"Out of the way" as in a backwards C route for two towns that are on the same longitude?

 

[trentside]

Northern run a service from Scunthorpe to Lincoln. These places are 30 miles apart as the crow flies, but this service via Doncaster and Sheffield is over 90 miles. It takes over two hours, on something usually Pacer operated!

 

[GNERman]

Northern run a service from Scunthorpe to Lincoln. These places are 30 miles apart as the crow flies, but this service via Doncaster and Sheffield is over 90 miles. It takes over two hours, on something usually Pacer operated!

Or what about Hull to Lincoln? 35 miles between them, 107mi 70ch by train...

Northern's Selby to Wakefield Westgate is also an odd 'un... 18 miles between them, 53mi 17ch by train...

 

[dvboy]

Central's Grimsby-Hereford was extended as far as Cardiff at some point.

 

[Eagle]

"Out of the way" as in a backwards C route for two towns that are on the same longitude?

No, it's the most direct route between the two!

And believe it or not there's actually quite a large commuter and leisure market for Somerset to South Wales.

 

[Michael.Y]

Owing to something called the Bristol Channel, funnily enough.

 

[tempests1]

stock positioning movements can present some odd workings like Thames Trains/FGW used to run a service from Reading to Shalford. SWT once run a Guildford to London Waterloo service via Aldershot/Ash Vale/Ascot/Hounslow Loop stopping all stations until Feltham then Brentford/Clapham Jn/Vauxhall, i don't know if a service like this still runs? The Malvern services to Southampton & Brighton must give good returns on the intermediate passengers e.g. Havant to Brighton who want a service that doesn't stop at every lamp post like most of the Southern services on the line. I wonder how many people from Great Malvern actually travel to Southampton? not many I am sure but there must be a small number.

 

[Eagle]

I wonder how many people from Great Malvern actually travel to Southampton?

And I wonder how many of those go via Reading, or even London...

 

[Ivo]

I suppose the old Peterborough to Liverpool Street via Ipswich service could count, even if it was effectively a merger of two separate routes.

Thames Trains/FGW used to run a service from Reading to Shalford

Still do I thought?

EDIT: They do indeed. FOUR each way!

 

[burns20]

I used to announce an Aberystywyth/Pwllheli service at Newark Northgate

 

[scarby]

Now:

East Midlands SO summer only 06.37 London St Pancras-Scarborough and return.

Before:

Summer Saturdays only Scarborough-Llandudno; Glasgow-Scarborough and return; Newcastle-Scarborough and return; King's Cross-Scarborough and return. And probably some others I've forgotten about.

"Before" being up until some time in the 1980s.

 

[marks87]

ScotRail have 1tpd in each direction Edinburgh-Inverness via Aberdeen, although that could technically be seen as two services merged into one.

 

[Eagle]

ScotRail have 1tpd in each direction Edinburgh-Inverness via Aberdeen, although that could technically be seen as two services merged into one.

They also have one Kyle–Elgin, and on Sundays Glasgow–Elgin.

 

[craigwilson]

Was reading this site a while ago and was reading about a summer Saturdays service that went Ramsgate - Edinburgh!!

 

[Eagle]

Was reading this site a while ago and was reading about a summer Saturdays service that went Ramsgate - Edinburgh!!

That lasted into the 2000s, I think.

 

[tempests1]

Was reading this site a while ago and was reading about a summer Saturdays service that went Ramsgate - Edinburgh!!

Deltic hauled from time to time. There used to be Intercity services from Margate & Dover Western Docks to detinations in the North & Scotland

 

[calc7]

No, it's the most direct route between the two!

And believe it or not there's actually quite a large commuter and leisure market for Somerset to South Wales.

I wasn't suggesting there is a shorter route, just that it is one of the more rounded ones!

 

[pdq]

Cross country Swansea to York. Considerably slower than changing at Bristol PW, but ad a student with loads of luggage it was great.