Trivia: Stations with no lighting?

[Bletchleyite]

Could it not be possible only to call during daylight hours? I am sure there have been halts in the past where the timetable noted that trains only call during daylight hours?

It probably wouldn't see a lot of use but having it as a request stop might make sense.

Falls of Cruachan station on the Oban line, is normally only ever open April to October, doesn't have any lighting and so, when it is actually open, doesn't, I think, have any late night or early calls.

I believe there are a few. Some Cornish branch line stations have no lighting, though I forget which. Berney Arms doesn't, so later trains call in summer than in winter.

 

[hexagon789]

I believe there are a few. Some Cornish branch line stations have no lighting, though I forget which. Berney Arms doesn't, so later trains call in summer than in winter.

Coombe Junction Halt certainly was another, may still be.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Unless it's been installed since I was last there, neither Denton nor Reddish South have platform lighting. I think they do or did have the remains of it though.

 

[hexagon789]

Unless it's been installed since I was last there, neither Denton nor Reddish South have platform lighting. I think they do or did have the remains of it though.

Could it be old gas lighting standards, and never converted to electric because of the limited service?

(I know the line itself had more frequent trains until about 40 years ago, but I think the stopping service was only a little better.)

 

[Bletchleyite]

Could it be old gas lighting standards, and never converted to electric because of the limited service?

I'm fairly sure they were standard 1970s-1980s BR electric fittings you saw more or less everywhere, street lamp like but with white fluorescent tubes installed.

 

[hexagon789]

I'm fairly sure they were standard 1970s-1980s BR electric fittings you saw more or less everywhere, street lamp like but with white fluorescent tubes installed.

Fair enough.

Does beg question why they were dismantled, or could that still be connected to the reduction in service.

 

[steamybrian]

Does Berney Arms have lighting?

 

[hexagon789]

Does Berney Arms have lighting?

No.

 

[Deepgreen]

Does Berney Arms have lighting?

See post 1.

 

[mangad]

Unless it's been installed since I was last there, neither Denton nor Reddish South have platform lighting. I think they do or did have the remains of it though.

There's a photograph of Denton station on Wikipedia from earlier this year. The lamp posts are there but there's no lights on them. Similarly there's a photo of Reddish North in 2024 in a similar situation.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 6 Nov 2025 ==

Fair enough.

Does beg question why they were dismantled, or could that still be connected to the reduction in service.

why pay for something to be maintained that's not being used? The trains that serve both stations only operate during daylight. There's no real reason for anyone to be there at night. So why pay for the costs of connecting the station to the electricity grid, and maintaining the lights given they serve no practical use for the railway?

If the line was to get an upgraded service then there'd be a reason to connect them up again. But for now, it's an unnecessary expense.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 6 Nov 2025 ==

Middlewood station has lighting so really is outside the scope of this question. However whilst the station is lit, to get to it requires a quarter of a mile walk down paths as the station has no road access. And that walking route has no lighting at all!

 

[renegademaster]

Do these no lighting stations have PIS?

 

[mangad]

Do these no lighting stations have PIS?

That's all documented on the National Rail website. For example, the Reddish South station page says "no".

 

[Parallel]

I passed Pilning on a train last week. It now has LED ‘strip lighting’ installed to the wall/railings along the platform. The platform has also been resurfaced with tarmac, and has had a new waiting shelter fitted. I was surprised so much work had been undertaken considering it only gets two trains a week!

 

[Snow1964]

Bradford on Avon only has lighting on half of platform 1 (towards Bath).
Unlike some of the sleepy stations already listed this platform sees about 45-50 trains per weekday

Not totally sure why half the platform is unlit, but possibly because the dark area is close to an area with wildlife (including badger setts) and this is adjacent to part of Barton Farm Country Park which is the Southern bit of Cotswolds National Landscape (renamed AONB).

If anyone know actual reason it has no lighting on half a platform, would be interested to know

 

[321362]

When Aldywch was open, half of the lighting was turned off as most of the platform was unused - only 2 or 3 car trains ever operated there. Old photos just show a fade into darkness which is quite unique

 

[Parallel]

Bradford on Avon only has lighting on half of platform 1 (towards Bath).
Unlike some of the sleepy stations already listed this platform sees about 45-50 trains per weekday

Not totally sure why half the platform is unlit, but possibly because the dark area is close to an area with wildlife (including badger setts) and this is adjacent to part of Barton Farm Country Park which is the Southern bit of Cotswolds National Landscape (renamed AONB).

If anyone know actual reason it has no lighting on half a platform, would be interested to know

Both platforms were only half lit until a several years ago, but when they introduced step free access to the Bath-bound platform, they added lighting on that platform as part of the project. The other platform is less of a risk as the lighting from the adjacent car park does a reasonable job of covering it. No idea why it wasn’t fully lit by station lighting originally though.

 

[Snow1964]

Both platforms were only half lit until a several years ago, but when they introduced step free access to the Bath-bound platform, they added lighting on that platform as part of the project. The other platform is less of a risk as the lighting from the adjacent car park does a reasonable job of covering it. No idea why it wasn’t fully lit by station lighting originally though.

The platform that is lit is adjacent to the car park, it's the one furthest from car park that is half unlit.

 

[LowLevel]

Cromford has extremely poor/no lighting at the Matlock end.

 

[Russel]

Cromford has extremely poor/no lighting at the Matlock end.

There is something quite un-nerving about Cromford station even during daylight hours, it feels very isolated, not sure I'd want to be there after dark.

 

[181]

Does anyone know whether it was ever permitted or practiced for trains to regularly call at stations with no lights during the hours of darkness, and if so when this ceased to be the case?

(In November 1998 I was waiting for the southbound sleeper at Crianlarich when the lights went out because the train was an hour or so late and the lights were presumably timed to switch off x minutes after the last booked call, and I would hope that pragmatism is still applied in the event of power cuts, but that's not the same as regularly planned calls at unlit stations).

 

[billh]

I have to admit to leaving a train at Denton in the dark. It was much more convenient for getting home than carrying on to the next official stop at Stockport. Denton is often used for steam locos to take on water and this gave me the opportunity to exit the station.
There is some lighting provided from the A57 road bridge so the station is not completely dark. The water for locos is drawn from a hydrant on the pavement at the top of the station steps, the hose is laid down the steps and across the platform, the water stops are generally 20 to 30 mins.

 

[Bradford PA]

Does anyone know whether it was ever permitted or practiced for trains to regularly call at stations with no lights during the hours of darkness, and if so when this ceased to be the case?

(In November 1998 I was waiting for the southbound sleeper at Crianlarich when the lights went out because the train was an hour or so late and the lights were presumably timed to switch off x minutes after the last booked call, and I would hope that pragmatism is still applied in the event of power cuts, but that's not the same as regularly planned calls at unlit stations).

In the days of oil and gas station lighting, most of the lamps would be extinguished when the station staff finished their duty with the remainder being turned off by the guard of the last train of the day to call at that platform. Bill Smith, a signalman who started his career at Embsay in the early 1960's, recorded that the staff would finish duty there at about 5pm and switch the lights off on the up (main building and entrance) platform leaving just a couple of lights still lit to accommodate the last down (Skipton bound) train which arrived just after 6pm. Obviously, in the winter months the station would be in darkness. There was apparently one woman commuter who regularly used this train to return home from work in Ilkley. She was sufficiently familiar with the environs to be able to make her way over the footbridge and off the station without too much difficulty.

 

[londonmidland]

Longport station often has issues with its lightning not working. Pitch black on both platforms but trains still call there.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Does anyone know whether it was ever permitted or practiced for trains to regularly call at stations with no lights during the hours of darkness, and if so when this ceased to be the case?

Must have happened during WWII, but these were different times.

 

[ChrisC]

There is something quite un-nerving about Cromford station even during daylight hours, it feels very isolated, not sure I'd want to be there after dark.

I would feel much safer at Cromford after dark than I would at some urban stations during hours of daylight! I think it depends upon what you are used to. For example, having always lived in rural areas, I would be far less nervous about walking through rural dark woodlands after dark than I would be walking in some inner city locations.

 

[Carlisle]

I'm fairly sure they were standard 1970s-1980s BR electric fittings you saw more or less everywhere, street lamp like but with white fluorescent tubes installed.

They won’t be 1970s lights at Denton as they appear to be bendy poles which only came into widespread use on BR from early 1980s

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 7 Nov 2025 ==

Does anyone know whether it was ever permitted or practiced for trains to regularly call at stations with no lights during the hours of darkness, and if so when this ceased to be the case?

Yes, I remember in the early 1980s it was reported that stations without lights on the Heart of Wales line had their stops withdrawn after dark.

 

[Clarence Yard]

By “bendy poles”, I presume you mean Abacus “Raise and Lower” columns, which with the aid of a special spring jack hinge from the base. They became commonplace from the 1970’s, except on SR.

Someone has taken all the fittings off the poles at Denton, presumably as a cost saving. If they were put up in the 1970’s/early to mid 1980’s, they would have had twin fluorescents in each fitting. After then there was a gradual move to sodium lamp fittings.

 

[mangad]

By “bendy poles”, I presume you mean Abacus “Raise and Lower” columns, which with the aid of a special spring jack hinge from the base. They became commonplace from the 1970’s, except on SR.

Looking at this closeup of a former lamp post at Denton, they don't look like the hinged post type.

 

[Russel]

I would feel much safer at Cromford after dark than I would at some urban stations during hours of daylight! I think it depends upon what you are used to. For example, having always lived in rural areas, I would be far less nervous about walking through rural dark woodlands after dark than I would be walking in some inner city locations.

Oh I'm not questioning the safety of Cromford, it's more that standing on a dark platform in an isolated location at the mouth of a tunnel that I think would give an uneasy feeling.

 

[Taunton]

Middlewood station has lighting so really is outside the scope of this question. However whilst the station is lit, to get to it requires a quarter of a mile walk down paths as the station has no road access. And that walking route has no lighting at all!

There are lots of rural stations like that. Both Thornford and Chetnole, on the Weymouth line, go out onto a pitch dark country road between high hedger with no pavement. There's not even anywhere to park to pick someone up. Thornford at least has a light at the top of the steps to the road bridge. Chetnole not even that.

For country stations in older days, no electricity meant oil lamps. Guard of the last train would blow them out, but if there was a reliable passenger they would obligingly offer to do so themselves. Country folk (well, certainly in Somerset) knew very well how to handle oil lamps. Come December, when they might be needed early in the morning as well for the first train, they would be left burning all night.