Trivia: Longest train journey between two geographically close towns

[DeeGee]

Some people aren't reading the thread title...

My apologies.

In which case I'll go for Grimsby and Hull. 16 miles as the crow flies.

Or Barton and Hessle, 2 miles on foot.

 

[SWTCommuter]

Hungerford to Swindon: 20 miles by road, 65 miles by rail.

 

[TorqueOfTheDevil]

How about Berwick to Chathill? If you catch the 0600 from Berwick, you can do the journey in 46 minutes, but if you miss the 0600 and get the 0647, it will take you 11 hours 59 minutes to go about 15 miles. In both cases, you will go whizzing through Chathill on your way to a change at Alnmouth.

I wonder if Berwick and Chathill are the only two stations on the same line, with no junctions/branches in between, where there is absolutely no direct service between the two.

 

[Tobbes]

King's Lynn - Sheringham: 41 miles to drive, 3:15 via Ely and Norwich on the train.
King's Lynn - Boston: 33 miles to drive, 3:41 via Ely and Grantham on the train.

 

[asylumxl]

St Albans to St Albans Abbey must be quite a long journey.

Via London, excluding the walk or using the tube it's about 43.5miles. Walking is about 0.8 miles. About 45x further.

Via Bletchley it's even worse lol.

 

[paddy1]

How about Berwick to Chathill? If you catch the 0600 from Berwick, you can do the journey in 46 minutes, but if you miss the 0600 and get the 0647, it will take you 11 hours 59 minutes to go about 15 miles. In both cases, you will go whizzing through Chathill on your way to a change at Alnmouth.

I wonder if Berwick and Chathill are the only two stations on the same line, with no junctions/branches in between, where there is absolutely no direct service between the two.

What about Carstairs and Lockerbie? Both on the West Coast main line, 48 miles apart, no junctions or branches in between them and, as far as I am aware, no longer any direct trains between them, although there has been a direct service between them in the past.

 

[Railsigns]

What about Carstairs and Lockerbie? Both on the West Coast main line, 48 miles apart, no junctions or branches in between them

The junctions at Carstairs are between those two stations.

 

[me123]

Coatbridge Sunnyside-Central

Looking at 1h34-1h59 with 2 changes (either Sunnyside-Queen Street-Glasgow Central-Whifflet-Coatbridge C; or Sunnyside-Queen St-Greenfaulds-Coatbridge C).

Actual distance by road is just half a mile, about a 10 minute walk at most (although knowing the road involved, perhaps the lengthy detour is preferable).

 

[Kite159]

Andover to Newbury
30 minutes by car, 90 minutes by train involving 2 changes

 

[plastictaffy]

Northampton to Market Harborough. 17 miles by road says Google. By train it would be NMP-BLY at 21 mins, BLY-BDM at 40 mins, followed by BDM to MHR, what, 30ish minutes??
So we're looking at over an hour and a half plus connection times.
40 minutes on the bus, or about 25 to drive.

 

[theageofthetra]

Clock House to Kent House? About 1/4 mile apart but a trip to London, Tube and journey back out required. There is however the twice a day oddity which runs from Beckenham Junction via New Beckenham which could reduce the journey time a bit.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Tilbury Town to Gravesend is accros the Thames about 1/2 mile but at least 2 hrs in via central London & Tube or via Stratford/Limehouse & DLR to Lewisham & back out.

 

[Batman]

Birmingham New Street to Birmingham Moor Street.

5 minute walk or 20 minutes by train with a change at Smethwick Galton Bridge.

 

[ffm]

Birmingham New Street to Birmingham Moor Street.

5 minute walk or 20 minutes by train with a change at Smethwick Galton Bridge.

And another 'didn't read the question' answer.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Clock House to Kent House? About 1/4 mile apart but a trip to London, Tube and journey back out required. There is however the twice a day oddity which runs from Beckenham Junction via New Beckenham which could reduce the journey time a bit.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Tilbury Town to Gravesend is accros the Thames about 1/2 mile but at least 2 hrs in via central London & Tube or via Stratford/Limehouse & DLR to Lewisham & back out.

1 .... As above
2 .... As for the Humber post, a river separation makes for a substantial geographical separation!

 

[390026]

What about Cambridge Station to Huntingdon? 20miles apart 30mins by Car. 1.29 by train.

Or Even Cambridge to St Neots 18miles apart 29min by Car 1.18 by train.

Or Bedford to Milton Keynes Central. 30mins by Car 1hr 17 by train

 

[Roverman]

My cousin has just got a job in Gorton, Manchester. He lives in Kirkby, Merseyside. Both have train stations. He'd love to use the train but it takes 2 hours to do a journey that he can do by car in 40 minutes. No contest.

 

[Rich_D3167]

Whitby to Scarborough: 20 miles by road (roughly 35 minutes), by rail: 3 hours & 40 minutes at best, changing at Middlesborough, Darlington & York (slightly quicker than waiting at Middlesborough for the direct TPE to York)!

 

[SWTCommuter]

Uckfield to Lewes
8.6 miles by road taking 15 minutes ; 73.5 miles by rail taking 2hrs 18mins

 

[Waldgrun]

Here's an historic one, Kerry (Powys/Montgomeryshire) to Newtown by road from the centre of the Village to Newtown Station 2.75 miles aprox.
By the old railway route 8.5 miles. made up of a Mile trip eastwards by road from the centre of the Village to the station, 3 and a half miles on the branch to Abermule, then 4 miles on the mainline, to Newtown.
It couldn't have been quick, no wonder that passenger services where withdrawn in 1931!

 

[HowardGWR]

I haven't got the distances to hand but I imagine Thornford to Yeovil Junction (3 kms as the crow flies, but via Castle Cary and Exeter St Davids if exclusively by rail) must be a fair old detour. The FGW site says it can't be done although if you put in Crewkerne, it then tells you to get the bus from Pen Mill to Jcn and get a train, which of course you could do for the example I gave(??).

 

[barbarajohn]

I shoveled coal into 6119," THE LANCASHIRE FUSILIERS", from London to Carlisle in 1956, when at Camden steam depot, Boy, that was a long journey.

 

[WestCountry]

I haven't got the distances to hand but I imagine Thornford to Yeovil Junction (3 kms as the crow flies, but via Castle Cary and Exeter St Davids if exclusively by rail) must be a fair old detour.

Doesn't count for this thread though, because Pen Mill is easy enough. This is 'long journey between close towns', not close stations'.

Are there really no passenger services on the Pen Mill - Junction link? Seems odd if there isn't even a parliamentary - how about the FGW diversions, did any of those call at Yeovil Junction and then Pen Mill/Castle Cary?

 

[FQ]

Doesn't count for this thread though, because Pen Mill is easy enough. This is 'long journey between close towns', not close stations'.

Are there really no passenger services on the Pen Mill - Junction link? Seems odd if there isn't even a parliamentary - how about the FGW diversions, did any of those call at Yeovil Junction and then Pen Mill/Castle Cary?

There was once a few FGW diverts but the chord between Yeovil Pen Mill and Yeovil Junction but it is mainly just used for tours.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Amersham to Berkhamstead is about 7 miles by road; over two hours by train/tube.

 

[JamesRowden]

Amersham to Berkhamstead is about 7 miles by road; over two hours by train/tube.

It can be done in 1hr7m by train/tube:

Amersham
10:26
10:48
Harrow On The Hill
10:51
10:52
Northwick Park
Walk
Kenton
11:08
11:10
Harrow & Wealdstone
11:14
11:33
Berkhamsted

 

[Kite159]

Milford Haven and Pembroke Dock
7 miles by car (about 17 minutes), around 2 and a half miles by train).

(Bet that has already been mentioned though)

 

[Idiotic]

Not sure if this has been mentioned

Chertsey to Shepperton
Roughly 3/4 miles by car 10 mins

takes approx 1hr 20m on train having to go via Wimbledon or Teddington.

 

[duncanp]

Epsom to Tattenham Corner springs to mind.

Also in the same area would be Tadworth to Reigate

 

[bb21]

Milford Haven and Pembroke Dock
7 miles by car (about 17 minutes), around 2 and a half miles by train).

That's quite some shortcut.

 

[infobleep]

Chessington South to Epsom Downs takes about 1h24m by train. They are not so far apart as Chessington South to Epsom is only 24m.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Does not count for this thread, but in my day on all line rovers or Scottish Rovers I used to walk between Tyndrum Upper and Tyndrum Lower!!Not easy by train!