Stations with restricted road access

[Llanigraham]

Relevant at the moment; Caersws where the bus stop is opposite The Unicorn in the village. The reason stated was that there is no-where for a bus to turn around at the station without reversing on a busy road with bends.

 

[Rick1984]

Of course somewhere like Acle the bus goes to great lengths to get to station and do a complicated turn only for the passengers whom it's deposited to then follow the bus to get where they're going.would dumping them in village not make more sense in this sort of occasion?

 

[Esker-pades]

There's all sorts of fun that could be had for Far North Line bus routing.

The route from Inverness up to Ardgay is fairly easy. There is a lot of weaving on and off the A9 to get to stations, especially around Alness and Fearn.
Beyond Ardgay, it is impossible to serve Culrain without making huge detours using roads not suitable for buses or coaches. That doesn't matter too much because Invershin is just across a railway & foot bridge. Invershin can be served fairly easily. From there one takes the A836 and A389 via Lairg and Rogart back to the A9.
Nothing hard about the section from there to Helmsdale.

Beyond Helmsdale is where it gets interesting. I'm not sure the A897 can take a rail replacement bus. It would probably have to work as a smaller feeder service. IE: the main bus from Inverness continues via the A9 up to Wick, Georgemas and Thurso (like the existing Stagecoach non-Rail Rep buses).

Assuming that some kind of bus (mini or otherwise) can get up the A897:
Kildonan will have to be served either at the junction by Kildonan Lodge, or with a 94-point turn just before the level crossing.
Kinbrace has a similar situation to Kildonan.
Forsinard is simple.

From there, the road diverts from the railway. As has been mentioned before, Altnabreac is virtually impossible to reach. And, whilst Scotscalder can be reached by road easily, the route will be mad.
One has to take the A897 all the way up to the junction with the A836 (you remember that one?) near Bighouse/Goval. You'd then have to practically go all the way into Thurso before taking the B870 all the way back down. We'd take a huge detour back round via Mybster and back up the A9 to Wick and Georgemas.

In conclusion: mad.

 

[bearhugger]

James Cook University Hospital. Footpath over the footbridge into the estate or at least 5 mins walk to Marton Road.

 

[Lemmy99uk]

Braystones and Nethertown in Cumbria.

 

[dk1]

Manulla Junction, Ireland. Purely exists as an interchange between the Westport line and the Ballina branch.

& quite a magical place it is too. Last time I used the train from Ballina the passenger locos shunted the goods yard which took priority then eventually coupled up to the passenger stock with a 15 late start. The IC connection was waiting & also delayed for us. Just wonderfully Irish.

 

[swaldman]

There's all sorts of fun that could be had for Far North Line bus routing.

A minibus should be fine on that road. But... yeah, Altnabreac was my first thought when I saw the thread title

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Mirfield is served by RRBs on the main road, due to the road leading to the station being a problem even for single-deck coaches, with nowhere suitable for turning.
Brockholes also served on the main road (A616) by RRBs, handy for most of the village but not those who've deliberately bought houses at the top of the hill to be close to the station. A few of the Penistone line stations are served like this due to the rural nature of the area.

 

[DelW]

Cynghordy on the Heart of Wales line is inaccessible to anything bigger than a minibus, and even that would have difficulty turning round. On the one occasion I was on an RRB on that route, it was about a 30-seat coach and the driver declined to go any closer than the main A483 road nearly a mile away from the station. Though the station is so little used, and what there is of the village is so spread out, it probably doesn't make much difference anyway.

 

[Essan]

Although accessible by road, Rannoch cannot be served by normal rail replacement buses as the road access is from the "wrong direction". So if the Fort William line is closed it gets omitted, along with Corrour.

I assume Scotrail would lay on a taxi, though it's a long way if you were only planning on visiting a friend in Bridge of Orchy!

 

[Llanigraham]

Cynghordy on the Heart of Wales line is inaccessible to anything bigger than a minibus, and even that would have difficulty turning round. On the one occasion I was on an RRB on that route, it was about a 30-seat coach and the driver declined to go any closer than the main A483 road nearly a mile away from the station. Though the station is so little used, and what there is of the village is so spread out, it probably doesn't make much difference anyway.

Funny but when the single car unit I was on broke down just outside the station 2 years ago and eventually managed to roll into it, we were picked up by a small coach (definately not a mini-bus) from a company in Llandovery who managed to get down there and turn around.

 

[DelW]

Funny but when the single car unit I was on broke down just outside the station 2 years ago and eventually managed to roll into it, we were picked up by a small coach (definately not a mini-bus) from a company in Llandovery who managed to get down there and turn around.

That's quite an impressive feat, I hope his paintwork didn't suffer too much! I've walked down the lane from the station and it seemed very narrow to me, though it was several years ago now.

 

[hexagon789]

& quite a magical place it is too. Last time I used the train from Ballina the passenger locos shunted the goods yard which took priority then eventually coupled up to the passenger stock with a 15 late start. The IC connection was waiting & also delayed for us. Just wonderfully Irish.

Shame it's all units now, seen some wonderfully atmospheric photos of 'Big GMs' on Cravens working the branch in the dying days of loco-haulage. The steam heat leaking out gives a great atmosphere in winter.

 

[urbophile]

Cressington, Aigburth and St Michaels: the RRB stops on the main road 5 minutes walk away. All of them are accessible by car or taxi, but a full size bus would have problems.

 

[gnolife]

Humphrey park had no road access.

Humphrey Park has road access on both sides of it, with an hourly(ish) bus service on each of them (routes 276 and 277).
Getting a RRB from Flixton to Irlam and from Glazebrook to Birchwood on that line would be sonething of a magical mystery tour though

 

[dk1]

Shame it's all units now, seen some wonderfully atmospheric photos of 'Big GMs' on Cravens working the branch in the dying days of loco-haulage. The steam heat leaking out gives a great atmosphere in winter.

Stop it. You're setting me off again

 

[Bevan Price]

Roby. Access on both sides of the station is via narrow, dead-end roads, with nowhere for buses to reverse. Rail replacement buses stop on the main road, 100+ yards from the station.

Glazebrook to Birchwood, mentioned above by gnolife, is easy - just a very long way round, via Culcheth & Risley.

 

[Wirewiper]

Bethnal Green (Overground) cannot be served directly by rail replacement buses. When they do run they stop at the Wilmot Street stops in Bethnal Green Road, about 5 minutes walk away. Often though they don't bother with RR and have ticket acceptance on local buses.

 

[318266]

Anderston.

You access the station with a path. It's situated in the middle of A814 Stobcross Street. Which is a semi-motorway. So, you can't access it with a bus unless you walk a bit, so they just don't serve it.

 

[Welshman]

Marsden and Slaithwaite are difficult to reach/turn round with full-sized buses.
They usually stop on the main road[A62], a walk away.

 

[185143]

Humphrey Park has road access on both sides of it, with an hourly(ish) bus service on each of them (routes 276 and 277).
Getting a RRB from Flixton to Irlam and from Glazebrook to Birchwood on that line would be sonething of a magical mystery tour though

Aye it is! Late night coach home isn't fun...

 

[jopsuk]

Where do RRBs stop for closures at either Tyndrum station? It would seem to me that stopping on the A82 would be better for everyone involved

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Sugar Loaf Halt ?

 

[Essexman]

Sugar Loaf Halt ?

The station is by the road. But access to the platform is only by steep steps.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

The station is by the road. But access to the platform is only by steep steps.

Thank you , hence the "?" when posted.

 

[Old Yard Dog]

Stanlow and Thornton has restricted road access being sited within an oil refinery on a private road. Also a very restricted timetable for that matter.

Stanlow & Thornton is on Oil Sites Road which used to be a through road between Ellesmere Port and Ince. However an automated barrier was installed in 2008 following fuel protests and now only refinery staff with passes and cyclists/pedestrians can traverse the road from end to end. Therefore any rail replacement bus would need to run round the long way via the M53 and A5117 to get to the station unless Essar agrees to lift the barrier. There is a turning circle at the station, once used by many works buses. Having never been on a rail replacement bus, I am not sure whether they bother to do this detour. Indeed I do wonder whether rail replacement buses (or taxis) are ever provided on this line.

I am not sure whether one or both parts of Oil Sites are still public rights of way. The signs at each end are rather forbidding. The western side is of course needed to access various other non-refinery sites and indeed the Ellesmere Port municipal dump so the first 0.5-1.0 miles are certainly OK.

 

[reddragon]

Berney Arms

There was a rail replacement boat service once during a points failure!

 

[reddragon]

Snowdon Summit station anyone? Rail replacement helicopter!

 

[Llanigraham]

Snowdon Summit station anyone? Rail replacement helicopter!

Well if you are going to get silly, I raise you Nant Gwernol.

 

[Marton]

Commondale