Does Real Time Trains cover trains creeping through stations?

[Railcar]

This question was triggered by seeing LNER Azumas creeping through Finsbury Park station at around 10.30 yesterday (May 1st) as i waited for a delayed Stevenage on Pl.8.
An Azuma crept though Pl.1 (used by up suburban slows to Moorgate) Railway Track Diagrams calls this Up Slow 2 . Later, another Azuma (the same one?) slipped through what RTD calls Down Slow 2. I'd always imagined that trains that used the Down Slow 2 were being sent to the siding at Bowes Park and thence to Bounds Green for servicing. I could find no mention of these moves on RTT, just the comings and goings of regular services (including my delayed train). I looked on RTD to see if there was a route from Up Slow 2 to Down Slow 2 in the tangle of lines to the south of Finsbury Park but couldn't spot one.

 

[1D53]

Presumably this? https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:C28952/2024-05-01/detailed#allox_id=1

And https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:C28957/2024-05-01/detailed#allox_id=0

 

[JordR]

What's the purpose of those moves? To free up the platform at King's Cross?

 

[Russel]

What's the purpose of those moves? To free up the platform at King's Cross?

I'm sure there's a logical reason behind these moves, but they do seem odd.

 

[Railcar]

Thank you , 1D53, you've answered all my questions. I shall have to learn how to search RTT properly!

 

[Sun Chariot]

Slightly OT -
Wed 1st May, I saw the passing of a cl.220 Voyager heading towards the Portsmouth Direct Line. However - it didn't (and still doesn't) appear on data fed to RTT.
It passed Bedhampton just before noon - after the Merehead to Crawley aggregates working and before the NR 153 track inspection unit (marked on attached).

My question - how often do workings get excluded from data fed to RTT, etc?

 

[louis97]

Slightly OT -
Wednesday 1st May, I saw the passing of an (ECS) Voyager heading east; however it didn't (and still doesn't) appear on data fed to RTT.
It passed Bedhampton just before noon - after the Merehead to Crawley aggregates working and before the NR 153 track inspection unit (marked on attached).

My question - how often do ECS workings get excluded from data fed to RTT, etc?

Most likely this - https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:G24849/2024-05-01/detailed#allox_id=0

It was on diversion and at present RTT does not report on this.

 

[Deepgreen]

Slightly OT -
Wednesday 1st May, I saw the passing of an (ECS) Voyager heading east; however it didn't (and still doesn't) appear on data fed to RTT.
It passed Bedhampton just before noon - after the Merehead to Crawley aggregates working and before the NR 153 track inspection unit (marked on attached).

My question - how often do ECS workings get excluded from data fed to RTT, etc?

I have rarely seen this sort of thing, but only rarely.

 

[Sun Chariot]

Most likely this - https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:G24849/2024-05-01/detailed#allox_id=0

It was on diversion and at present RTT does not report on this.

Brilliant, thank you

 

[swt_passenger]

Slightly OT -
Wednesday 1st May, I saw the passing of an (ECS) Voyager heading east; however it didn't (and still doesn't) appear on data fed to RTT.
It passed Bedhampton just before noon - after the Merehead to Crawley aggregates working and before the NR 153 track inspection unit (marked on attached).

My question - how often do ECS workings get excluded from data fed to RTT, etc?

That Voyager on diversion was also the subject of a thread here:

Cross Country through Milford (Surrey) today

I saw a Cross Country train go through Milford (Surrey) station today, but it wasn’t on Real time trains. I was wondering if anyone knew where it came from/ was going? 1714581815 This was at around 12.30 today

www.railforums.co.uk

It was a passenger service, as mentioned RTT wouldn’t report any times while it was off route, ie between St Denys and Reading.

 

[Sun Chariot]

That Voyager on diversion was also the subject of a thread here:

Cross Country through Milford (Surrey) today

I saw a Cross Country train go through Milford (Surrey) station today, but it wasn’t on Real time trains. I was wondering if anyone knew where it came from/ was going? 1714581815 This was at around 12.30 today

www.railforums.co.uk

It was a passenger service, as mentioned RTT wouldn’t report any times while it was off route, ie between St Denys and Reading.

Great stuff - thanks for the insight

 

[swt_passenger]

Great stuff - thanks for the insight

What you can often do is make a reasonable assumption about where a ‘strange’ passenger service has to have come from, in this case you’d think Bournemouth or maybe Southampton, and have an educated guess about when it would have had to pass through the last place on its normal route. As typical SN services take about 40 mins between Southampton and Bedhampton with stops you might have looked for the train at Southampton around 1115? At which point it was still showing on route but a few minutes late leaving, then “no report” at Southampton Airport, once it had diverted at St Denys towards Fareham. The slight delay at Southampton might be the time taken to check the driver was happy with the route, and/or to get passengers for the usual stations off the train…

 

[800001]

Presumably this? https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:C28952/2024-05-01/detailed#allox_id=1

And https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:C28957/2024-05-01/detailed#allox_id=0

Required to clear the platforms at Kings Cross for other services.

3W16 also does the same after arriving on 1A15 from Harrogate

 

[M60lad]

Is there any way that Realtime Trains could show trains that are on diversion routes? I know Railcam manage to do this when freights and the odd passenger service gets diverted.

 

[1D53]

The off route timing data is available so I guess in theory yes. The railways internal systems don't manage it very well though so I can't imagine it is an easy task!

 

[Javelin_55]

Is there any way that Realtime Trains could show trains that are on diversion routes? I know Railcam manage to do this when freights and the odd passenger service gets diverted.

This is done by adding the diversionary route to the schedule and infilling the timings manually if the train has already passed the new calling points. Those who can do it (TRCs, for instance) rarely bother, due to it being a fiddly, long-winded process with no practical benefit.
I recently asked one such TRC how to do it, and they initially couldn't remember how.

 

[LBMPSB]

I'm sure there's a logical reason behind these moves, but they do seem odd.

It is to free up platforms at Kings Cross. I remember this happened a lot when they were refurbishing Kings Cross Station and Platform 0 was created, closing two platforms at a time. Because some of the longer distances services have a longer turnaround, it was possible to use a shunt driver to take the train out and back via Bowes Park,and still work its next working north.