Trivia: through trains between separate stations with the same name

[zwk500]

I don't see how a train on the mainland can get to a station on the Isle of Wight!

Full throttle into Portsmouth Harbour station?

Ashford (Surrey) to Ashford (Kent) - clearly no direct train in passenger service, but I would like to challenge the idea that there is 'no connecting track' - i.e. that the journey could not be made by rail. A potential route is

Ashford (Surrey), London Waterloo (reverse - I believe the reversal could not be done at Clapham Junction due a lack of line connection there), Havant (via Guildford - reverse at Havant, if for any reason not feasible, continue to reverse at Portsmouth and Southsea), then West Coastway followed by East Coastway, to end up at Ashford (Kent), i.e. Ashford International.

Another option would be

Ashford (Surrey), then via Chertsey to Woking and as above.

Or

Ashford (Surrey), Reading, Basingstoke (subject to track connection at preceding signals to go into something other than the usual bay platform, I believe it's OK as XC services do it?), then via Eastleigh, Hedge End as as above.

By far the easiest route would be Clapham Junction, Longhedge Junction (using the East/South London Line overground lines), Brixton, Bromley South, Orpington, Tonbridge, Ashford.

Were there ever long-distance trains to Dover that might have been routed through both Gillingham stations under a very convoluted set of engineering works?

 

[Dai Corner]

I don't see how a train on the mainland can get to a station on the Isle of Wight!

Ok I'll give you that one

 

[ls2270]

Not quite such a good example as the first one in this thread as it didn’t stop at either, but the former Wales and West service from Waterloo to Manchester Piccadilly passed through both Whitchurch (Hants) and Whitchurch (Salop). This service was also unusual in that it started and finished in England but ran via Wales!

 

[Watershed]

This service was also unusual in that it started and finished in England but ran via Wales!

Though this is not entirely unique, as there are services which start at Birmingham or Shrewsbury and terminate at Chester, having ran via Wrexham. Similarly, the inverse also exists with plenty of services that run between Holyhead and Cardiff etc., obviously via England.

 

[Class800]

Full throttle into Portsmouth Harbour station?


By far the easiest route would be Clapham Junction, Longhedge Junction (using the East/South London Line overground lines), Brixton, Bromley South, Orpington, Tonbridge, Ashford.

Were there ever long-distance trains to Dover that might have been routed through both Gillingham stations under a very convoluted set of engineering works?

Depending on the correct track connection at Clapham Junction - not sure the SW and SE sides are physically connected

 

[Watershed]

Depending on the correct track connection at Clapham Junction - not sure the SW and SE sides are physically connected

Perhaps surprisingly, there isn't a connection allowing "Victoria" trains into Waterloo or vice versa (without multiple reversals) - but the various diveunders do allow traffic from the SC side to head towards Kensington Olympia and SW traffic towards Clapham High Street/Brixton.

 

[zwk500]

Depending on the correct track connection at Clapham Junction - not sure the SW and SE sides are physically connected

Ashford (Middx.) is on the Windsor Lines (Plats 3-6), which are connected to the Ludgate lines and then to Factory Jn.