Are there any true non-stop expresses left in the UK?

[dk1]

Cheers, makes sense really

Your are welcome. It was chaos if formed by a 9-car & was becoming a very poor performer for VT after several late starts after police attendance when passengers refused to get off when the train couldn't depart so overloaded.

 

[hexagon789]

Your are welcome. It was chaos if formed by a 9-car & was becoming a very poor performer for VT after several late starts after police attendance when passengers refused to get off when the train couldn't depart so overloaded.

Ah, I can completely understand the decision then - bit like FGW making certain trains out of Paddington in the evening peak pick-up only at Reading.

Not being a frequent traveller on the route it's not always easy to see first hand the reasons behind certain of the slightly different stopping patterns sometimes.

 

[Statto]

The down service has only done that since Covid. Became Runcorn only around 2015 due to serious crowding especially Thursday & Fridays.

Yep i've been on the northbound on a Thursday a couple of years ago & it was heaving, doesn't help that normal times that the 19.07 is the first off peak Liverpool train after the evening peak so cue the rush.

 

[Wilts Wanderer]

Yep i've been on the northbound on a Thursday a couple of years ago & it was heaving, doesn't help that normal times that the 19.07 is the first off peak Liverpool train after the evening peak so cue the rush.

In the same way that for years the 1915 Paddington-Swansea was the most severely overcrowded HST out of London on the GWML, to the extent that a 1912 relief was introduced on Fridays, non-stop to Bristol Parkway.

 

[Atomix330]

Swindon-Paddington in the current weekday morning peak?

 

[Jamesrob637]

In the same way that for years the 1915 Paddington-Swansea was the most severely overcrowded HST out of London on the GWML, to the extent that a 1912 relief was introduced on Fridays, non-stop to Bristol Parkway.

Wonder how long that 19:12 took PAD-BPW!

 

[hexagon789]

Wonder how long that 19:12 took PAD-BPW!

I believe it was slower than when this was BR's fastest timetabled start-to-stop run for a period (average 108mph iirc).

 

[dk1]

I believe it was slower than when this was BR's fastest timetabled start-to-stop run for a period (average 108mph iirc).

I would doubt it had a clear path. Far too many other trains in the way in normal times these days.

 

[hexagon789]

I would doubt it had a clear path. Far too many other trains in the way in normal times these days.

Indeed, even the non-stop Swindon-Paddingtons in the morning peak only managed an 80mph average under FGW again because of pathing.

 

[D9006]

Best old one I can think of is a Saturday only 0837 Waterloo to Exeter st David’s, was non stop to Salisbury then non stop to Yeovil Junction, was a good run with a 33 and load 8 or 9 on

 

[Wilts Wanderer]

I believe it was slower than when this was BR's fastest timetabled start-to-stop run for a period (average 108mph iirc).

Certainly by the time 80x units were being introduced it would experience several minutes at a dead stand approaching both Didcot and Swindon behind the 1900 Padd-Bristol TM.

 

[hexagon789]

Certainly by the time 80x units were being introduced it would experience several minutes at a dead stand approaching both Didcot and Swindon behind the 1900 Padd-Bristol TM.

Very understandable given the schedules didn't even require HSTs to run hard at 125mph to maintain them, most only needed running at 110-115mph to stay on time

 

[Y Ddraig Coch]

Does anybody know what the longest non stop empty coaching movement is? There must be some decent ones I suspect?

 

[tbtc]

Does anybody know what the longest non stop empty coaching movement is? There must be some decent ones I suspect?

Nottingham to Liverpool at about four in the morning?

Realtime Trains - 5M06 0407 Nottingham to Liverpool Lime Street

Realtime Trains provides live realtime running information for the Great British railway network using open data.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

(via the south chord at Core, Marple and Chat Moss to keep up route retention)

 

[Bald Rick]

Does anybody know what the longest non stop empty coaching movement is? There must be some decent ones I suspect?

Great question.

Close but no cigar goes to an EMR Nottingham - Liverpool each morning at 110 miles, and there are several ECS from Newcastle to Edinburgh each day, usually Edinburgh to Heaton for LNER or TPE at 127 miles, but the longest of which appears to be a Cross Country from Tyne Yard to Craigentinny at 133 miles.

But the gold medal - unless anyone else can find something better - is 5F55, the 1952 from
Scarborough to Liverpool LS, at 143 miles. I suspect this is a crew training path as it doesn’t seem to run often.

 

[Statto]

Does anybody know what the longest non stop empty coaching movement is? There must be some decent ones I suspect?

There's a few from Barton Under Needwood [Central Rivers Depot] that go to likes of Reading. Before covid restrictions, wasn't there a couple that went Euston-Barton under Needwood?

 

[Ianno87]

There's a few from Barton Under Needwood [Central Rivers Depot] that go to likes of Reading. Before covid restrictions, wasn't there a couple that went Euston-Barton under Needwood?

Pre-Cov, there was a Barton-u-N to Euston ECS to form the 0710 Euston-Chester each morning. 03-something off Barton.

 

[Y Ddraig Coch]

Some quite long ones then , I thought the Holyhead to Crewe Avanti ECS move was a decent length before I asked the question but upon checking it stops at Chester for 3 minutes en-route so isn't non stop.

 

[Ianno87]

Pre-Cov, there was a Barton-u-N to Euston ECS to form the 0710 Euston-Chester each morning. 03-something off Barton.

Just realised this was not non-stop; I think stopped at New Street to pick up / drop off crew.

 

[swt_passenger]

There's a few from Barton Under Needwood [Central Rivers Depot] that go to likes of Reading.

IIRC that Central Rivers to Reading is a Q path and runs as required as an option if the booked Eastleigh to Reading ECS is unavailable.

 

[bramling]

Most of the "cambridge cruisers" got extended beyond cambridge a few years back after cambridge north was built and cambridge was expanded with more through platforms. There are a handful in the morning that terminate at cambridge, but they all seem to have extra stops.

Realtime Trains - Departures from Cambridge

Realtime Trains provides live realtime running information for the Great British railway network using open data.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

There’s 1C01 0822 Cambridge to KX on a Sunday morning, which both starts at Cambridge and has no intermediate calls. That’s the only one I can find. Everything else either continues beyond Cambridge, or stops at Letchworth and/or Royston.

Great question.

Close but no cigar goes to an EMR Nottingham - Liverpool each morning at 110 miles, and there are several ECS from Newcastle to Edinburgh each day, usually Edinburgh to Heaton for LNER or TPE at 127 miles, but the longest of which appears to be a Cross Country from Tyne Yard to Craigentinny at 133 miles.

But the gold medal - unless anyone else can find something better - is 5F55, the 1952 from
Scarborough to Liverpool LS, at 143 miles. I suspect this is a crew training path as it doesn’t seem to run often.

I’d have thought a Q path doesn’t count?!

 

[CHAPS2034]

I seem to recall that a couple of years ago, VT had a mid afternoon Longsight to Euston empty stock move, leaving Longsight around 1500 at least on weekdays and routing via Wilmslow. Don't think it stopped anywhere en route. Also not sure whether it continued into the Avanti era and it doesn't seem to operate at present as far as I can see. Whether this just COVID related or would have happened anyway, I don't know.

 

[peterblue]

York-Kings Cross is probably the farthest regularly-scheduled non-stop service at the moment.

 

[WessexEclectic]

Pre-Cov, there was a Barton-u-N to Euston ECS to form the 0710 Euston-Chester each morning. 03-something off Barton.

5A21 0359 Barton-Under-Needwood - Euston Via New Street & Nuneaton.

 

[theageofthetra]

A couple of years ago there was a Cannon St-Dartford service at around 7am that ran fast, not even stopping at London Bridge.

 

[backontrack]

York-Kings Cross is probably the farthest regularly-scheduled non-stop service at the moment.

Is the Highland Cally Sleeper still doing Watford Junction-Carlisle?

(regular ≠ frequent)

 

[chefchenko]

I think you'll find that there was a Stockport-Euston non-stop, which ran both pre-Covid and after the resumption of more regular services this year, although it no longer runs and won't do so again for a while.
There was no Piccadilly-Euston non-stop ever, that I can remember. (OK, not since 1977, which is probably the extent of my memory, except on special occasions of course)
The Runcorn-Euston non-stop ran today (https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/Y30562/2020-12-17/detailed) and may continue to do so.

This was the only non stop through stoke - on - Trent early morning i think

 

[cle]

A couple of years ago there was a Cannon St-Dartford service at around 7am that ran fast, not even stopping at London Bridge.

There were also the odd services which ran Lewisham or Blackheath fast to Dartford, counter-peak positioning moves too I'm sure. Not much else too anomalous in that part of the world - the fasts on the Sidcup line are unique in the Dartford set. I always liked the Medway peaks, fast from Cannon St/LB to Chatham - these days, Rochester.

 

[hexagon789]

Is the Highland Cally Sleeper still doing Watford Junction-Carlisle?

(regular ≠ frequent)

Doesn't look like it at present

 

[Mag_seven]

Is the Highland Cally Sleeper still doing Watford Junction-Carlisle?

It stops at Crewe (for passengers and staff) and Preston (for staff change).