Trivia: Railway Stations in two different counties?

[Andyjs247]

Country and Kingdom 2 different things. Wales is a seperate proud country , check before posting such stupid statements

For the purpose of this thread though, whether or not you agree that Wales and England are separate countries is immaterial. There is a also a county boundary between Shropshire and Powys at Knighton.

 

[randyrippley]

Are there any where the county/local authority dividing line is somewhere in the 6ft? So one platform in one area and one in the other?

If I'm correct about the new border following the boundary change at Yeovil Junction it looks like platforms 1&2 are now in Somerset, while the closed platforms 3&4 (part of the Steam Centre now) would be in Dorset. Need an up-to-date high-res map to be sure

 

[adds]

Brandon may well be in with a shout, the station building and northern platforms (Norwich bound) certainly lie in Norfolk but it is unclear which county the southern platforms (Cambridge bound) lie in, Google Earth suggest they are also probably in Norfolk but the boundary must be along the edge of the platform. The signs at the level crossing at the end of the platform would suggest that the tracks are in both counties as the welcome to Suffolk sign is located to the north, whilst the welcome to Norfolk sign is located to the south, although presumably this is for convenience.

 

[Timster83]

Just to confirm with Croftfoot are City Of Glasgow and South Lanarkshire actually counties? Or are they just districts or boroughs? I am not that familiar with Scottish counties.

Interesting question. Scotland doesn't really have counties or shires in the same way that England does. It used to and indeed Glasgow formed part of the Lanarkshire historical county, but the counties were merged once in the 1970s to become bigger regions such as Strathclyde, and then demerged in the 1990s into local government areas. Such as City of Glasgow and South Lanarkshire.

 

[theageofthetra]

I think the country end of Lower Sydenham station is just in Bromley and the London end is in Lewisham.

 

[JohnB57]

The old Gretna station I think was either on the border or close to it between England and Scotland or Cumbria and Dumfriesshire.

I had a look at this one, seems like it was in England - that can't be common, having the station and the town it serves in different countries.

I don't think that's the case. The original station was less than 200 metres from the new one, both well within Scotland. The border is - and as far as I can establish, always was - the River Esk, about 1.2km away as the crow flies, immediately south of Gretna Junction.

Edit....

Just goes to show how a little information can be a dangerous thing...

There were three Gretna stations and one of them - Gretna (Border Union) was indeed just in England, Gretna (Caledonian) just in Scotland and the current one and its predecessor on the Annan line about a mile away.

 

[swt class 450]

Looking at Brandon the county border is indeed quite confusing. The Norwich bound platform appears to be entirely in Norfolk. The Signal Box appears to be entirely in Suffolk. The Level Crossing appears to be in both Norfolk and Suffolk. The Cambridge bound platform is where it looks confusing and could possibly be in both Norfolk and Suffolk.

 

[thejuggler]

I think that Stamford is unique in being very close to the meeting point of FOUR counties (Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Rutland and Northamptonshire). The point is where the Leicester to Peterborough route passes under the A1, just under a mile west of the station.

In the days when trains had opening windows one could theoretically (and illegally) throw an item from a train that was half in Northamptonshire and half in Cambridgeshire and the trajectory would take it over part of Rutland before landing in Lincolnshire.

On a similar theme if you get a service between Sheffield and Worksop and alight at Shireoaks you can visit Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and South Yorkshire plus Rhodesia in time to get the return train!

 

[Envy123]

Not counties, but London boroughs.

New Southgate station is within the border of Enfield, but the border of Barnet is just a stone's throw away.

 

[snowball]

On a similar theme if you get a service between Sheffield and Worksop and alight at Shireoaks you can visit Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and South Yorkshire plus Rhodesia in time to get the return train!

And Wales is less than five miles away.

 

[Cherry_Picker]

Not counties, but London boroughs.

New Southgate station is within the border of Enfield, but the border of Barnet is just a stone's throw away.

Similarly Northolt Park straddles the London boroughs of Ealing and Harrow. You can see the boundary signs for both broughs from the station footpath on the up (Harrow) side.

 

[swt class 450]

One thing i wonder is that for the stations that are in two counties does Network Rail or the train operators have to submit planning permission etc to both County Councils?

 

[oglord]

Wrong. They are both countries within a country (the UK, hence why it is called the United Kingdom).

The whole idea of calling the four parts of the UK "countries" is a relatively recent phenomenon. The United Kingdom is so named because it is the union of the erstwhile kingdom of Great Britain with that of Ireland, not because it is a collection of separate states. Every time the territory has grown it has done so as a unitary state. If the UK were to become federal then we could legitimately make the argument of smaller parts within a bigger whole, but for now it is just a sign of creeping nationalism, which is never a good thing.

 

[snowball]

Books from the period of Jane Austen often use "this country" not to mean the nation, but a limited area, perhaps about the size of a county at most, surrounding whatever place they're talking about.

Then again, the Reverend Eli Jenkins in Under Milk Wood, on hearing Polly Garter singing about her lovers, says "Praise the Lord! We are a musical nation" meaning of course Wales.

 

[edwin_m]

One thing i wonder is that for the stations that are in two counties does Network Rail or the train operators have to submit planning permission etc to both County Councils?

I think that happened with Ilkeston - there should be details on the forum somewhere.

 

[Clip]

Gillingham - its in both Kent and Dorset






Please dont start going down this route again as it was only a bit of fun amongst the dross of whether wales is relative or not

 

[greaterwest]

Bramley - it's in Hampshire and West Yorkshire!

The list could go on

 

[imagination]

Shiplake station is just 150m away from the border with Berkshire, but this not only cannot be seen from the station but requires almost an hour's walk to get to anywhere on the other side of the border, and almost 2 hours to get to the road the same distance away on the other side.

Likewise Tilehurst is up next to the boundary with Oxfordshire but almost an hour from crossing it on foot. This time you can see the boundary (again the Thames) but there isn't anything much on the other side.

 

[Philip C]

Likewise Tilehurst is up next to the boundary with Oxfordshire but almost an hour from crossing it on foot. This time you can see the boundary (again the Thames) but there isn't anything much on the other side.

And with less than a dozen words he dismisses three-quarters of the land mass of Britain as containing nothing of significance! :?

 

[randyrippley]

Gillingham - its in both Kent and Dorset






Please dont start going down this route again as it was only a bit of fun amongst the dross of whether wales is relative or not

Now you've started it.............Clapham stretches from London to Yorkshire. Must be a wormhole there somewhere

 

[imagination]

And with less than a dozen words he dismisses three-quarters of the land mass of Britain as containing nothing of significance! :?

I meant directly on the other side, obviously, not miles away. :roll:

 

[Philip C]

I meant directly on the other side, obviously, not miles away. :roll:

I think I knew that; it just amused me!

 

[adrock1976]

Continuing on from the last few posts above and if it's not already been mentioned, how about Swinton?

It's both in Lancashire and Yorkshire.

Ironically, the Lancashire Swinton is on the Manchester & Southport Railway, which became part of the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway. The Yorkshire Swinton however, is on the Manchester, Sheffield, & Lincolnshire Railway, which became part of the Great Central Railway.

 

[PHILIPE]

Continuing on from the last few posts above and if it's not already been mentioned, how about Swinton?

It's both in Lancashire and Yorkshire.

Ironically, the Lancashire Swinton is on the Manchester & Southport Railway, which became part of the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway. The Yorkshire Swinton however, is on the Manchester, Sheffield, & Lincolnshire Railway, which became part of the Great Central Railway.

By that yardstick you could say Whitchurch:-
Whitchurch, Shropshire
Whitchurch, Hants
Whitchurch (Cardiff) Glamorgan

 

[Rail Ranger]

The Lancashire Swinton is on a line which was built new by the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway (as a 4-track main line).