[Trivia] :Maximum time on a train in a day

[robbeech]

So i was thinking about people who do rovers, alr and otherwise (like i have done a few times) and how different people approach it differently, and i wondered. Just how long could you theoretically spend on a train in a 24h period?

If we throw some conditions out there we would say......

*Start at any time of day, any day of the week and finish 24h later, so 8am to 8am or 1236 to 1236 the following day.
*Assume (ha) that every train runs perfectly to time
*Observe the minimum connection time at each station
*You can use Other methods of transport to get between stations, but this doesn't count towards the time, so a tube from King's Cross to Paddington is ok to USE but doesn't count as train travel.
*If you get to the end of the line and stay on the train you must still observe the minimum connection time and cannot restart counting until the train departs. (For example a train that arrives at Penzance at 1036 stops counting at 1036, if it leaves again at 1109 you start counting from 1109, if it left again at 1039 you would not be permitted to catch that train as it is less than the minimum connection time.
*You don't have to finish where you started,
*You can be between stations when the 24h is up.

I will have a go myself and see what i can come up with.

 

[ParleLover]

I've been to Darlington from Waterloo (Merseyside) - took 3hrs 25mins.

Also, I'm going on a 4hr 21 mins hour journey from Liverpool Lime Street to Ely next year.

From Waterloo(Merseyside) to Ely (Full journey including connections) - 5hr 03mins.

I wonder if anyone has been from Wick to Penzance or vice versa?

 

[robbeech]

This is not necessarily about what people have done, it is more about what people theoretically could do, so say starting at 10am on a Tuesday, and they kept getting on and off trains (ignoring ticket restrictions etc) for 24h, how many hours and minutes out of those 24hours would be spent on a train.

 

[Dr Hoo]

There are plenty of overseas trips where one can be on the same train continuously for more than 24 hours, e.g. crossing Canada, Australia or Russia.

 

[jopsuk]

by using the sleeper between london and glasgow (which have high frequency local/metro networks) you could go from start of service on Sunday morning to end of service on Saturday night (sunday morning) the time not on trains could be rather minimised. Start in London early on sunday, ride around all day, Sunday night sleeper north, ride around all day, sleeper south. Plan so that when riding around all day you minimise your connection times

 

[greatkingrat]

0530 Edinburgh - Aberdeen 0813
0820 Aberdeen - St Erth 2133
2155 St Erth - Paddington 0519

23hr 20min

Unfortunately the connection at Penzance is only 2 minutes, so not legal.

 

[EM2]

I have done:

Left Plymouth 23.51. Arrived at Paddington 05.25 = 5h 34m

Left Euston 06.17. Arrived at Manchester Piccadilly 08.28 = 2h 11m

Left Manchester Piccadilly 08.43. Arrived at Sheffield 09.35 = 0h 52m

Left Sheffield 10.27. Arrived at St. Pancras 12.34 = 2h 07m

Left King’s Cross 13.00. Arrived at Edinburgh 17.25 = 4h 25m

Left Edinburgh 18.11. Arrived at Preston 20.54 = 2h 43m

Left Preston 21.29. Arrived at Birmingham New Street 23.05 = 1h 36m

Left Birmingham 23.09. Arrived Tamworth 23.29 = 0h 20m

Which I think works out at 19h 48m. But there was some decently long connections left in there...

 

[507021]

The longest I've been on a train is the westbound Night Riviera (I boarded at Redruth at 22:21 and alighted at Paddington at around 07:00 the next day), although I was asleep for most if it.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I wonder if anyone has been from Wick to Penzance or vice versa?

Yes, indeed... Penzance to Thurso and then straight back from Wick on the return leg of the same diagram...

https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sour...=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=peter+mugridge+lands+end

A father of two has become the first person to travel from Land’s End to John o’ Groats and back on public transport.

Peter Mugridge, whose hearing began to deteriorate at the age of five, has completed the popular route in an unorthodox way for children with similar hearing conditions.

The 43-year-old’s journey started with a taxi ride from Land’s End to Penzance where he caught a train to London Paddington.

The entire round trip spanned 2175 miles and took him 49 hours and 49 minutes to complete.

Peter, from Epsom, Surrey, is raising cash for the Mary Hare School for deaf children in Newbury, which he once attended, and aims to raise awareness of how accessible rail travel is to people regardless of disability.

Two years later I trumped that with this:

https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sour...TF-8#q=peter mugridge sleeper train challenge

A train and transport enthusiast has travelled 5,500 miles all over the country - the distance from the UK to Asia - in a week to raise money for charity.

Peter Mugridge, from Epsom, had the idea of completing the Sleeper Challenge, which had not previously been done for charity, and pitched it to the train companies involved.

Over seven days last month, Mr Mugridge, who became deaf at the age of five, completed the trip on all six British sleeper services - trains which accommodate all passengers in beds for overnight journeys.

The journeys saw Mr Mugridge travelling to Penzance, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Fort William, Inverness and Aberdeen.

After each outward journey by sleeper, the first of which started from Epsom*, he raced back to London on a day-time train to complete another sleeper service the following evening.

*By which the paper means I travelled from Epsom to catch the first Sleeper in the sequence; I did not have a Sleeper laid on for me from Epsom although that is what it reads like.. but that's the press for you...

 

[evotista]

I have done the following back in June 2015 as part of my NSPCC charity bash

Ashford International 05:13 – London St Pancras 05:51
London Euston 06:16 – Stockport 08:16
Stockport 08:28 – Sheffield 09:08
Sheffield 09:29 – London St Pancras 11:30
London Kings Cross 12:00 – Edinburgh Waverley 16:22
Edinburgh Waverley 16:52 – Birmingham New Street 21:05
Birmingham Moor Street 21:18 – London Marylebone 23:13
London Paddington 23:45 – Plymouth 05:13

So in total 21 hours 17 mins travelling in a 24 hour period

Total = 1472 miles, 2 chains of unique track travelled in 24 hours.

 

[Requeststop]

0530 Edinburgh - Aberdeen 0813
0820 Aberdeen - St Erth 2133
2155 St Erth - Paddington 0519

23hr 20min

Unfortunately the connection at Penzance is only 2 minutes, so not legal.

What's not legal about it?

Pop of the Aberdeen arrival from the front as soon as the doors unlock and run to the back of the Paddington departure.

Not that either train will ever arrive and depart exactly on time and you could make the connection. 22mins in the dark at St Erth is preferably much better than a chased connection in Penzance.

 

[YorkshireBear]

0530 Edinburgh - Aberdeen 0813
0820 Aberdeen - St Erth 2133
2155 St Erth - Paddington 0519

23hr 20min

Unfortunately the connection at Penzance is only 2 minutes, so not legal.

I bet you this is a winner! Good work!

 

[Deepgreen]

There are plenty of overseas trips where one can be on the same train continuously for more than 24 hours, e.g. crossing Canada, Australia or Russia.

Indeed - I did Halifax (Nova Scotia) to Vancouver (British Columbia) in several stages and at least one stage involved 24 hours train-bound! Conversely we were stuck in Winnipeg for 18 hours longer than planned owing to a freight train derailment requiring our passenger service to take a 600 mile diversion! Of all the stopping-off points on the journey, Winnipeg was by far the least attractive one in which to endure such a delay!

 

[EbbwJunction1]

I haven't got any actual times, but I've done:

Glasgow to Inverness (leave approx. 13.00, arrive approx. 17.30);
Inverness to London (leave approx. 22.00, arrive approx. 07.30);
London to Manchester (leave approx. 08.30, arrive approx. 12.00)

which is around 17.30 out of 24.

If you add the two journeys before:

Newport to Crewe via Bristol (leave approx. 16.00, arrive approx. 19.30);
Crewe to Glasgow (leave approx. 00.00, arrive approx. 06.00);

that's another 9.30, a total of 27 hours, but obviously now over 44 hours.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

interesting thread. Not au fait with the timetable these days.

In my old days - the 1970s my typical all line rover was the overnight Royal Highlander left Preston 00.08 and arrived Inverness around 08.30. Quick breakfast on Inverness station. Inverness - Aberdeen then Aberdeen - Edinburgh - then Edinburgh- Glasgow and return then the overnight Night Capitals Edinburgh -London KX. Usually around >20 hours on a train in a 24 hour period.

Not sure what I would do now.

 

[bnsf734]

In the USA I have got on the Empire Builder in Milwaukee on Sunday evening around 1700 and got off it in Seattle about 1000 on Tuesday morning!

2 overnights in Coach class - I was younger and dafter in those days!

 

[thenorthern]

Longest I have ever done in a day is Stoke-on-Trent - Perth - Crewe.

 

[eastwestdivide]

With no messing around on sleepers, i.e. within a midnight-midnight 24-hour period, how about:
0513 Perth-Edinburgh 0646
0655 Edinburgh-KX 1142
1200 KX-Inverness 2004
2015 Inverness-Glasgow QS 2343
for 17h52 actually on the trains