Random termination points

[nw1]

Was looking at some marshalling documents (on the brcoachingstock groups.io group) the other day and I noticed one unusual service: the 1717 Manchester-Didcot IC service from 1981/2.

It looks like it was an LM set, and worked empty to Oxley after terminating at Didcot, which is presumably why it didn't do the obvious thing and continue to Reading. Nonetheless, if there was demand for Oxford one might expect it to terminate at Oxford instead, but maybe terminating the train there would have caused disruption at a station with only two through platforms (as the loco would have to run round), so it was sent on to Didcot instead.

So any other examples of apparently 'random' termination points? I am excluding extensions to cover peak services (e.g. a Manchester-Bristol then becoming a stopper to Weston-super-Mare in the evening peak) as that has been covered in another thread.

 

[Watershed]

Was looking at some marshalling documents (on the brcoachingstock groups.io group) the other day and I noticed one unusual service: the 1717 Manchester-Didcot IC service from 1981/2.

It looks like it was an LM set, and worked empty to Oxley after terminating at Didcot, which is presumably why it didn't do the obvious thing and continue to Reading. Nonetheless, if there was demand for Oxford one might expect it to terminate at Oxford instead, but maybe terminating the train there would have caused disruption at a station with only two through platforms (as the loco would have to run round), so it was sent on to Didcot instead.

So any other examples of apparently 'random' termination points? I am excluding extensions to cover peak services (e.g. a Manchester-Bristol then becoming a stopper to Weston-super-Mare in the evening peak) as that has been covered in another thread.

Garscadden for Glasgow electric services? A rather odd 'destination', though it makes sense given that it's the station preceding Yoker depot.

 

[30907]

Was looking at some marshalling documents (on the brcoachingstock groups.io group) the other day and I noticed one unusual service: the 1717 Manchester-Didcot IC service from 1981/2.

It looks like it was an LM set, and worked empty to Oxley after terminating at Didcot, which is presumably why it didn't do the obvious thing and continue to Reading. Nonetheless, if there was demand for Oxford one might expect it to terminate at Oxford instead, but maybe terminating the train there would have caused disruption at a station with only two through platforms (as the loco would have to run round), so it was sent on to Didcot instead.

Yes, running-round a LH train from the North at Oxford would have been a pain.
Not a terminator, but one of the Exeter-Waterloo sets started back from Totnes for a while (ECS from Laira; there were alternatives from Plymouth and previously it had started at Newton Abbot). And there was a Bristol-Highbridge peak DMU around then which ISTR didn't go via Weston; I think more recently something has terminated at Lostwithiel.

 

[Ashley Hill]

There used to be a 158 diagram from IIRC Bristol which terminated at Devonport. It then ran ecs to St Budeaux VR to reverse,then ecs back to Plymouth.

 

[Gloster]

I don’t know if it still runs, but one of the early morning Up Portsmouth Stoppers used to start at Hilsea. That meant that it could come straight out of the carriage sidings without any changing of ends.

 

[Ken H]

Cardenden was a pretty random
Wasnt there some Guiseley terminators on the Ilkley like at one point?
And of course there is Ribblehead.

 

[Galvanize]

A few Southern services via Tulse Hill and Peckham Rye were booked to terminate at South Bermondsey instead of going through to London Bridge. A lot of this happened around 2015, to try and reduce the number of trains turning round in the Low Level Platforms, especially at peak times.

 

[Bald Rick]

A few Southern services via Tulse Hill and Peckham Rye were booked to terminate at South Bermondsey instead of going through to London Bridge. A lot of this happened around 2015, to try and reduce the number of trains turning round in the Low Level Platforms, especially at peak times.

that was only for the rebuilding of the low level side 2013-15.

 

[nw1]

I don’t know if it still runs, but one of the early morning Up Portsmouth Stoppers used to start at Hilsea. That meant that it could come straight out of the carriage sidings without any changing of ends.

I remember this from the 80s, the 0745 Haslemere to Waterloo used to do that, though Bedhampton was the origin point as Hilsea didn't get many services then. I remember the letter Z was used in Table 156 to indicate that (i.e. Z - From Bedhampton); presumably the last letter of the alphabet was used because it was a rather bizarre origin point.

 

[xotGD]

Chathill

The stopper used to go to Berwick in the past (and to Edinburgh before that).

 

[KINSEY.]

Rose Grove on that train that came from Paignton in the 1980s

 

[Mag_seven]

There was an evening peak service from Glasgow Queen St high level that used to terminate at Bishopbriggs. I also recall a Busby terminator on the East Kilbride line and services from Glasgow Central high level that terminated at Shotts rather than continuing on to Edinburgh. Also Edinburgh to Hamilton West via Shotts - legacy of when there used to be a DMU depot at Hamilton West.

 

[Strathclyder]

Garscadden for Glasgow electric services? A rather odd 'destination', though it makes sense given that it's the station preceding Yoker depot.

Anderston (Argyle Line) & High Street (North Clyde Line) spring to mind as two other examples of this, past and/or present, for the west-east Glasgow suburban lines. A quick scan of Realtime Trains during the current timetable reveals no services presently finishing/starting at High Street outwith times of disruption, but one (1C06 to Carstairs) starts at Anderston during the evening peak.

Looking back, there was a early-morning peak train that IIRC started at Helensburgh Central that went via either Singer or Yoker (can't remember which off the top of my head) that terminated at High Street in the early/mid-2010s. Remember using it at least once while I attended college in Glasgow, was a unrefurbished 318 if my memory ain't failing me.

 

[RT4038]

On the S&D, the 6.5pm (SX) from Bath Green Park terminated at Binegar.

 

[Mag_seven]

High Street (North Clyde Line)

Legacy of when the former Bridgeton Central station was used as a stabling point.

 

[alistairlees]

Cardenden was a pretty random
Wasnt there some Guiseley terminators on the Ilkley like at one point?
And of course there is Ribblehead.

There were Bradford Forster Square to Guiseley shuttles, that connected with Ilkley to Leeds services. This was after rationalisation in 1984.

 

[Strathclyder]

Legacy of when the former Bridgeton Central station was used as a stabling point.

Had a sneaking suspicion it had something to do with that, cheers.

Genuinely interesting how many of these oddities have existed within the Strathclyde suburban network over the years.

Another Strathclyde example is Bellgrove, though I suspect it's use as a start/end point for services to/from the west - barring the Class 303 farewell run which started there on 30th December 2002 - has been mainly down to engineering works east of it more than anything else (both linked images copyright of railwaymedia.co.uk):

Class 303 - Railwaymedia

303016 Dalmuir 3/10/1998

www.railwaymedia.co.uk

Class 320 - Railwaymedia

320305 Clydebank 13/10/2004

www.railwaymedia.co.uk

 

[xotGD]

On the T&W Metro there used to be (don't know if still the case) late evening terminators at Manors. Did the crossover into the east bound platform ready to then depart ecs.

 

[nw1]

On the S&D, the 6.5pm (SX) from Bath Green Park terminated at Binegar.

Peak extra of some sort I presume? OT, but I always thought 'Binegar' was a very interesting name for a place. It seems to conjure up rural Somerset very well.

 

[Gloster]

Peak extra of some sort I presume? OT, but I always thought 'Binegar' was a very interesting name for a place. It seems to conjure up rural Somerset very well.

It was probably worth running running as far as Midsomer Norton for the Bath ‘commuter’ traffic, but both there and Chilcomptom were 1 in 300 through the station: Binegar was level. It probably wasn’t worth going through to Shepton Mallet.

 

[nw1]

Another one from the same set of marshalling books I'm looking at, but the year after; 1982/83, 0600 Ealing Broadway to Manchester IC service. Presumably comes out of Old Oak Common and saves a trip into Paddington.

The following year this service did switch to originating from Paddington.

Back to the original post, the 1717 Manchester to Didcot didn't survive into 1982/3. Instead, the equivalent terminated at Birmingham, and later in the evening it formed an additional Birmingham to Paddington late service (which was probably more useful).

 

[Sprinter107]

During the mid to late 90s, there was a morning peak train that started back at Worcester that terminated at Solihull, even tho it still had to run thro to Dorridge to turn back, and there was a morning peak train from Dorridge which terminated at Jewellery Quarter, then running ecs to periodically Queens Head, or Langley Green to turn around to run ecs to Birmingham Snow Hill to go back into service.

 

[Taunton]

The whole of the Exeter to Heathfield branch service used to be terminated at Alphington Halt (a Halt even, not a station) on summer Saturdays in the 1950s, to avoid using paths on the main line into Exeter St Davids station. A bus was hired from the corporation to complete the journey.

 

[Springs Branch]

On the Blackpool South line in recent years, there has been an evening train from the Preston direction which terminated at St-Annes-on-the-Sea, then returned towards Preston / Colne.

I suspect this has always been about operational convenience in getting units positioned to form a last train of the day, rather than anything to do with where passengers might actually want to go.

I see in Northern's current timetable this runs on Saturdays as 21:59 SO Preston - St Annes and 22:29 St Annes - Preston.

 

[nw1]

The whole of the Exeter to Heathfield branch service used to be terminated at Alphington Halt (a Halt even, not a station) on summer Saturdays in the 1950s, to avoid using paths on the main line into Exeter St Davids station. A bus was hired from the corporation to complete the journey.

It shows how obscure that branch was, when I haven't even heard of any of the place names on it (besides Chudleigh Knighton, which I remember being signposted from the A38 - likely the double-barreled and typically Devonian character of the place name caused me to remember it). Alphington must certainly be a very small place, I'd imagine!

 

[Mcr Warrior]

So any other examples of apparently 'random' termination points?

Have we had the (Mon-Sat) 1712 service on the Far North line starting from Inverness that terminates at Ardgay at 1839? A Southbound service from Wick then passes at 1851 whilst it's sat on Platform 2 at Ardgay before it then returns in service to Inverness at 1929.

 

[NorthOxonian]

On the Esk Valley line, some services terminate at Battersby, and in the recent past there were also Danby terminators.

I do wonder if anyone uses them beyond Nunthorpe - the central section of line between there and Danby/Lealholm has very low passenger numbers.

 

[30907]

It was probably worth running running as far as Midsomer Norton for the Bath ‘commuter’ traffic, but both there and Chilcomptom were 1 in 300 through the station: Binegar was level. It probably wasn’t worth going through to Shepton Mallet.

Wasn't it called the "Binegar Calf" or some such? Tank and 2 LMS non-corridors.

On the Blackpool South line in recent years, there has been an evening train from the Preston direction which terminated at St-Annes-on-the-Sea, then returned towards Preston / Colne.

I suspect this has always been about operational convenience in getting units positioned to form a last train of the day, rather than anything to do with where passengers might actually want to go.

Do you have something against the good folk of Lytham and St. Annes?
There was a morning starter for many years - in both cases squeezing in an extra train on the branch.

On the Esk Valley line, some services terminate at Battersby, and in the recent past there were also Danby terminators.

I do wonder if anyone uses them beyond Nunthorpe - the central section of line between there and Danby/Lealholm has very low passenger numbers.

I am certain forum members have sampled them or tried to
They are basically to avoid having a set sat at Nunthorpe for an hour.

 

[Cheshire Scot]

There was an evening peak service from Glasgow Queen St high level that used to terminate at Bishopbriggs.

There was also at one time a train which terminated at Lenzie - I think the Bishopbriggs then ran back towards Cowlairs on the bi-di, whilst the Lenzie continued ECS to Gartshore loop to reverse and head back.

On the Blackpool South line in recent years, there has been an evening train from the Preston direction which terminated at St-Annes-on-the-Sea, then returned towards Preston / Colne.

As noted by @30907 there was also at one time the St Annes - Greenbank which ran for a good number of years, apparently random start and terminating points, but the former permitted an additional off pattern a.m. peak service on the branch and the latter was the point from which the train could reverse and head back (again off pattern) to Manchester although when it was loco hauled for a period it instead ran ECS to Chester but I don't recall what happened to the return working (the loco hauled set came back in the evening I think as a Chester to Preston).

 

[30907]

there was also at one time the St Annes - Greenbank which ran for a good number of years, apparently random start and terminating points, but the former permitted an additional off pattern a.m. peak service on the branch and the latter was the point from which the train could reverse and head back (again off pattern) to Manchester

Thanks, I'd forgotten the destination though remembered it went to Manchester not Colne.