Trivia: Services with Unusual Calling Patterns

[170UTD]

Apologies if there is a thread like this already, but I thought it might be interesting to document any services with odd calling patterns.
● EMR have the 17:32 from Sheffield to St Pancras (1C80) that calls at Belper
● On a Sunday 1B91, 1B93, 1B95 all call at Wellingborough and Luton Airport Parkway

 

[The exile]

06.28 Paddington - Weston-s-Mare and 1729 Bristol TM - Paddington stop at Keynsham. 05.23 Paddington - Swansea not only runs via reversals at both Bristol TM and Parkway but also calls at Filton Abbey Wood.

 

[stadler]

I think that all of these services could be considered to have odd or unusual calling patterns.

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Southern have only two trains a week that call at Balcombe:

Sunday Morning:
• 06:32 London Victoria to Brighton 08:03

Sunday Evening and Monday Morning:
• 23:32 London Victoria to Brighton 00:59

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Southern have only one train a day that calls at Faygate:

Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday/Friday:
• 05:54 London Victoria to Portsmouth Harbour 08:20

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Great Western Railway only have one train a day that calls at Portchester:

Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday/Friday:
• 04:50 Fratton to Bristol Temple Meads 07:28

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Great Western Railway only have one train a week that calls at Botley and Hedge End:

Sunday Evening:
• 19:34 Bristol Temple Meads to Portsmouth Harbour 22:28

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There also used to be lots of peak hour trains on the Brighton Main Line with unusual calling patterns of skipping major stations but calling at minor stations but most of those no longer exist.

 

[The Quincunx]

This website might be of some use
https://www.branchline.uk/rail_chronology/PSUL/2026.htm

 

[thenorthern]

I always found the Central Trains services from Skegness/Nottingham to Manchester Airport odd as they didn't call at Wilmslow yet Virgin Trains did.

Apologies if there is a thread like this already, but I thought it might be interesting to document any services with odd calling patterns.
● EMR have the 17:32 from Sheffield to St Pancras (1C80) that calls at Belper

The 07:02 service from Derby to Sheffield also stops at Belper, as does the 22:59 Sheffield to Derby.

With the Belper calls it's down to franchise agreements I assume so people from Belper who work in Sheffield can get to work. The actual text of the franchise agreement says.

One service departing Derby for Belper to also call at Chesterfield, Dronfield and Sheffield, arriving Sheffield between 07:30 and 08:30. and One service departing Sheffield between 1700 & 1800 to call at Belper.

Here is a link to the service levels agreement if anyone is interested. https://assets.publishing.service.g...ds-limited-2022-train-service-requirement.pdf

 

[jfollows]

The Central Trains were barred from calling at Wilmslow, I think, possibly as well as the Northern 321 services to London from Manchester Airport.

 

[thenorthern]

There are a lot of last train of the day services that stop at more stations than during the day.

On the Hope Valley Line I know the first EMR towards Liverpool and the last EMR towards Nottingham call at all stops on the Hope Valley Line and is the only EMR train that calls at all stations between Sheffield and Chinley.

The 0519 Lancaster to Morecambe service is odd as it goes via Carnforth.

 

[stadler]

This service on six days a week (Monday to Saturday) calls at Seven Kings at 05:36 which is an odd call:

• 04:41 Colchester to London Liverpool Street 05:51

It is the one and only Greater Anglia service to call at any intermediate Elizabeth Line station (other than Shenfield / Romford / Stratford / London Liverpool Street obviously) and runs once a day in one direction only. It is a very odd calling pattern. I would like to know what the logic is behind this one odd Seven Kings call.

 

[Merle Haggard]

The 15.29 Avanti Crewe - Euston (oddly a bi-mode) calls at Lichfield, Tamworth and Rugby but NOT Stafford or Milton Keynes. Goes through line at Stafford, then obviously Up Slow at Colwich back f/l at Amerton.
The 06.16 Avanti Euston - Liverpool calls Rugby then via the West Midlands but does not call at Wolverhampton or Stafford.
There are a few M-F EMR Inter City services that make calls South of Kettering, down in the earlyish morning and up in the late afternoon.

 

[Farigiraf]

The 05:10 Bristol TM to London is a strange one, skipping Bath, calling at Bradford-on-Avon, Trowbridge, Westbury (reverse), then all stops to Newbury, then Thatcham, Theale, Reading, Maidenhead and Paddington. Really bizarre - seems like a combination of various service patterns with the aim of providing MPs their token London service to brag to their constituents about.

 

[MerlinRail 804]

On Tuesday-Thursday Chiltern 1T52 1745 Marylebone - Oxford calls at Beaconsfield then runs nonstop to Saunderton, as the call at Wycombe is covered by 1P51 1737 Marylebone - Risborough. On Mondays & Fridays (and Wembley events days) 1P51 doesn’t run and 1T52 calls at Wycombe but not Beaconsfield.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

The 04:57 (SuX) Manchester Piccadilly to Glasgow Central train, operated by TPE, which calls at Carstairs, but only Northbound.

 

[jfollows]

The 04:57 (SuX) Manchester Piccadilly to Glasgow Central train, operated by TPE, which calls at Carstairs, but only Northbound.

It’s a northbound train?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

It’s a northbound train?

Indeed. But there's no calls at Carstairs on the way back Southbound for trains from Glasgow Central (or Edinburgh Piccadilly) to Manchester Piccadilly (or Manchester Airport).

 

[jfollows]

It’s not even a connection for Edinburgh; many years ago it was, you were dumped onto a windswept station, you got to watch a GNER Glasgow-King’s Cross go through without stopping but then there was a Pendolino which came empty from Polmadie. The Pendolino then ran the only Edinburgh to Euston service of the day. I did both once, on different days.
EDIT It might just be a +5’ into 2Y94 stopping train to Edinburgh.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

While we could make this a very long list if we went through all the parliamentary stations, some have an affect on another service:

To cover for the removal of the Moses Gate stop in the Morning peak Clifton train (2W44 07:25 Southport -Stalybridge), the Moses Gate stop is picked up by the Rochdale train that leaves Bolton 9 minutes before it (2J23 07:21 Clitheroe - Rochdale)

Likewise in the evening the Clifton train (2W25 17:52 Stalybridge - Southport) does not stop at Farnworth, with the stop being picked up by the train 9 minutes behind it (2B81 17:52 Rochdale - Blackburn).

 

[stadler]

Great Western Railway have these two trains which call at Winnersh and are their only trains to do so.

Monday To Friday:
• 06:40 Redhill to Reading 08:15
(calls at Winnersh at 08:08)

Monday To Friday:
• 15:18 Reading to Gatwick 16:55
(calls at Winnersh at 15:25)

They are also the only trains on the line to call at Winnersh but yet pass through Winnersh Triangle and Earley non stop.

 

[voyagerdude220]

It’s not even a connection for Edinburgh; many years ago it was, you were dumped onto a windswept station, you got to watch a GNER Glasgow-King’s Cross go through without stopping but then there was a Pendolino which came empty from Polmadie. The Pendolino then ran the only Edinburgh to Euston service of the day. I did both once, on different days.
EDIT It might just be a +5’ into 2Y94 stopping train to Edinburgh.

There also used to be a 20:00 ish TPE from Edinburgh to Carstairs (I remember getting it around 10 years ago when it was formed of a single Class 185) which connected into the 20:06 ish Glasgow Central to Crewe. The 20:06 still runs today but no longer calls at Carstairs.

 

[Magdalia]

This service on six days a week (Monday to Saturday) calls at Seven Kings at 05:36 which is an odd call:

• 04:41 Colchester to London Liverpool Street 05:51

It is the one and only Greater Anglia service to call at any intermediate Elizabeth Line station (other than Shenfield / Romford / Stratford / London Liverpool Street obviously) and runs once a day in one direction only. It is a very odd calling pattern. I would like to know what the logic is behind this one odd Seven Kings call.

This is for train crew to get to Ilford Depot.

 

[Horizon22]

This service on six days a week (Monday to Saturday) calls at Seven Kings at 05:36 which is an odd call:

• 04:41 Colchester to London Liverpool Street 05:51

It is the one and only Greater Anglia service to call at any intermediate Elizabeth Line station (other than Shenfield / Romford / Stratford / London Liverpool Street obviously) and runs once a day in one direction only. It is a very odd calling pattern. I would like to know what the logic is behind this one odd Seven Kings call.

Crew to Ilford depot, which is a short walk (closer than Ilford station).

 

[HamworthyGoods]

Great Western Railway have these two trains which call at Winnersh and are their only trains to do so.

Monday To Friday:
• 06:40 Redhill to Reading 08:15
(calls at Winnersh at 08:08)

Monday To Friday:
• 15:18 Reading to Gatwick 16:55
(calls at Winnersh at 15:25)

They are also the only trains on the line to call at Winnersh but yet pass through Winnersh Triangle and Earley non stop.

Student traffic.

 

[liamf656]

There was a thread on this a couple of years ago

Trivia: Unusual / Interesting Calling Patterns?

What are some regular services you know of that have unusual calling patterns? For example, the daily Penzance-Paddington IET service that calls at lonely Menheniot

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[Magdalia]

0726 Norwich-Cambridge is the only Greater Anglia class 755 working to call at Waterbeach.

0728 Stansted-Birmingham and 2305 Stansted-Cambridge are the only Cross Country class 170 workings to call at Audley End.

 

[Spandau]

It’s not even a connection for Edinburgh; many years ago it was, you were dumped onto a windswept station, you got to watch a GNER Glasgow-King’s Cross go through without stopping but then there was a Pendolino which came empty from Polmadie. The Pendolino then ran the only Edinburgh to Euston service of the day. I did both once, on different days.
EDIT It might just be a +5’ into 2Y94 stopping train to Edinburgh.

 

[Royston Vasey]

There are two Great Northern services originating at Kings Cross which cover all or some the Thameslink semi-fast outer suburban stopping pattern but then continue from Cambridge all stations to Kings Lynn.

06:01 1T94 KGX-KLN arrives 08:03, calls Finsbury Park, Stevenage, Letchworth, Baldock, Ashwell & Morden, Royston, Cambridge and all stations to KLN
23:17 1T72 KGX-KLN arrives 01:14, calls Letchworth, Baldock, Ashwell & Morden, Royston, Cambridge and all stations to KLN.

The first one replicates Thameslink calls, and is half an hour before the first through service from the core up to Cambridge.
The second replicates some Thameslink calls, at a time when Thameslink to Cambridge drops to hourly and then ceases.

In the other direction, only one, the last KLN starter also effectively fills in for Thameslink after the last through service has gone.

22:49 1T97 KLN-KGX arrives 01:04, calls all stations to Cambridge and then the Thameslink semi-fast calling pattern but terminating at Kings Cross.

There must be loads like this at the extremities of the day where service thins and first/last calls must be made.

...

The other example I have in mind are the two EMR Nottingham to Norwich services that identify as CrossCountry services:

04:56 1L01 NOT-NRW calling at Loughborough, then Melton Mowbray, Oakham and Stamford, and then normal routing from Peterborough
06:07 1L02 NOT-NRW additionally calling at East Midlands Parkway

There are no equivalent oddities westbound; the first XC leaves Peterborough at 06:07 and Leicester at 07:05.

 

[ValleyLines142]

0535 Cardiff Central to Milford Haven - calls at Ninian Park.

 

[BorderCollie]

LNER stopping at Reston (population 420).

 

[dgl]

Arguably the SWR trains from Weymouth to London Waterloo as the slower train only stops at one more station between Weymouth and Bournemouth as to make the timings work the faster train has to stop at the two stations between Poole and Bournemouth whereas the slower train can't.

 

[45Fox]

Some XC oddities between Birmingham New Street and Leicester:

16.12 Birmingham to Leicester (1K23): All stations to Hinckley, then nonstop to Leicester.
17.12 Birmingham to Leicester (1K35): All stations except Narborough.
18.22 Birmingham to Stansted Airport (1L52): Coleshill Parkway, Nuneaton, Narborough, Leicester (then on to Stansted).

 

[thenorthern]

Some XC oddities between Birmingham New Street and Leicester:

16.12 Birmingham to Leicester (1K23): All stations to Hinckley, then nonstop to Leicester.
17.12 Birmingham to Leicester (1K35): All stations except Narborough.
18.22 Birmingham to Stansted Airport (1L52): Coleshill Parkway, Nuneaton, Narborough, Leicester (then on to Stansted).

I always found it odd that all trains between Birmingham and Leicester stop at Coleshill Parkway but not all of them stop at Hinckley.