Loneliest place on the network

[SeanG]

I think WCRC did use it for a short while.
I seem to remember a couple of rakes of Mk1s there a good few years back

 

[Essexman]

I would say Altnabreac. The house by the station is now empty whereas Corrour has one occupied house. Altnabreac is protected by trees while Corrour is on the open moor. I've been to both and they are both wonderful places to catch a train to.

 

[SprinterMan]

My new personal pick for loneliest place on the network, having passed through it for the first time yesterday, is the bleak and hateful Stanlow & Thornton. This is actually what some cultures think hell looks like. Apparently abandoned, but surrounded by ugly heavy industry in varying states of repair. I am now of the opinion that the Ellesmere Port line deserves it's dreadful service, purely because it is so ugly.

Adam

 

[Gathursty]

I would say Altnabreac. The house by the station is now empty whereas Corrour has one occupied house. Altnabreac is protected by trees while Corrour is on the open moor. I've been to both and they are both wonderful places to catch a train to.

Dammit - was hoping the occupants would take a picture of me there when I get there sometime this year. Guess I'll have to drag a long suffering friend with me!

It is a subtle difference for me between loneliness and peacefulness but when places I've found particularly lonely so far include:
- Nethertown / Braystones
- Whittlesea
- Saundersfoot (at night)
- Ardwick (depending on the weather)
- Kirton Lindsey
- New Clee
- Stranraer Harbour / Barrhill
- Broomfleet
- Stanlow & Thornton

 

[Busterfridge]

Years ago i used to use Braystones station on the cumbrian coast line quiet frequently, early in the morning and late at night (when there was late night trains !), when it was raining and the wind howled in off the sea there was nowhere in the world as lonely and as miserable as that place !!!

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Years ago i used to use Braystones station on the cumbrian coast line quiet frequently, early in the morning and late at night (when there was late night trains !), when it was raining and the wind howled in off the sea there was nowhere in the world as lonely and as miserable as that place !!!

In low-season at dusk, Dawlish Warren can seem pretty isolated. Nothing but dormant camping coaches, empty caravans/chalets and the sound of the sea. Plus Langstone rock looking for all the world like the backdrop to a Roadrunner cartoon!

 

[Whistler40145]

St Bees or Sellafield must be quite lonely stations.


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[Gathursty]

St Bees or Sellafield must be quite lonely stations.

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St Bees - yes
Sellafield - Not really, especially at the beginning and end of shifts. Plus I find the general sounds of such places to cut through the relative isolation.

 

[TOCDriver]

I wouldn't like to be that signalman at Sellafield on a cold winters, Sunday night, that's for sure

 

[RichmondCommu]

I wouldn't like to be that signalman at Sellafield on a cold winters, Sunday night, that's for sure

That's nothing compared to the walk that the Blea Moor signal man faces at the start and end of his shift! Especially on a nasty winters night given that the box is never switched out!

 

[user15681]

Swale for me, personally. It's incredibly isolated, being located in the middle of nowhere, on the bank of a large river and cut off by a dual carriageway. The only way to get there is by car. You can't walk there and as soon as you leave the platform, you're standing right next to the carriageway. Furthermore, it is in the middle of nowhere, nearest village being a mile or so away at least. On certain occasions, such as foggy nights, it really does feel uncomfortable here. And it doesn't have any services to London, being on one of the few branch lines on the SE network.

Okay, so it might not be the loneliest place, but it is almost certainly the loneliest in Kent or the south east.

 

[yorksrob]

Further to my previous post, I thought I'd show some snaps of Ribblehead looking particularly isolated yesterday.

Travelling over the viaduct was a bit like being on a plane travelling through the clouds !

 

[Eagle]

What wonderful early summer weather... :P

 

[yorksrob]

What wonderful early summer weather... :P

The traditional English summer is indeed upon us

I was at Armathwaite in the rain a bit earlier on, and a stream was running down the road from the station !

 

[miikey]

Somewhere in the Wickford - Southminster branch I should imagine.
All the stations there are remote! and its scary working there at night! lol

 

[pitdiver]

Berney Arms, just the birds for company and virtually no trains and in the winter about the coldest place on the planet.

Tel

Lots of parts Of Norfolk can be lonely Horsey windpump at night can be pretty weird as Horsey Mere supposed to be haunted. Seriously I'd vote for Berney Arms
as well, specially on a winter's night :eek:

 

[RichmondCommu]

The traditional English summer is indeed upon us

I was at Armathwaite in the rain a bit earlier on, and a stream was running down the road from the station !

My sister in law and her family live in Cowgill which is at the bottom of the hill from Dent station and I concur that the weather is not always the best up in their neck of woods! Up there they have no choice but to play cricket in the rain!

 

[yorksrob]

My sister in law and her family live in Cowgill which is at the bottom of the hill from Dent station and I concur that the weather is not always the best up in their neck of woods! Up there they have no choice but to play cricket in the rain!

You mean there's somewhere flat enough to put a cricket pitch around there !

 

[RichmondCommu]

You mean there's somewhere flat enough to put a cricket pitch around there !

On the edge of Dent village a few minutes walk down the lane from the very impressive church. I assume you're familiar with the products of Dent Brewery? We have their beer mats on our kitchen table!

 

[yorksrob]

On the edge of Dent village a few minutes walk down the lane from the very impressive church. I assume you're familiar with the products of Dent Brewery? We have their beer mats on our kitchen table!

I've never tried that one - I'll have to keep an eye out for it

 

[causton]

Lots of parts Of Norfolk can be lonely Horsey windpump at night can be pretty weird as Horsey Mere supposed to be haunted. Seriously I'd vote for Berney Arms
as well, specially on a winter's night :eek:

Try going there in winter when it's icy! It had snowed and there wasn't even a seat to sit down on! Tried venturing towards Yarmouth but beneath the snow it was too boggy so we just had to stand on the platform eating our sandwiches until the train returned

 

[RichmondCommu]

I've never tried that one - I'll have to keep an eye out for it

Their products often feature as guest ales in the local pubs. I know this is way off topic but on your visit was there any sign that the log trains are still running? They were coming down from Cam Fell but last time I looked the plantation didn't seem to be that big.....

 

[yorksrob]

Their products often feature as guest ales in the local pubs. I know this is way off topic but on your visit was there any sign that the log trains are still running? They were coming down from Cam Fell but last time I looked the plantation didn't seem to be that big.....

I'm afraid the only freights I've seen on the route of late have been the coal wagons.

 

[leytongabriel]

angel road after dark. trains rattling past, traffic grinding along over the flyovers which encircle the station and not a soul on the platforms. urban desolation en extremis

 

[davido39]

The proximity of the State Hospital does not add to Carstairs's attraction.

Yeah and the siren at the entrance to tha housing scheme just across from the station does not fill you with hope either!

 

[Whistler40145]

My memories of Carstairs station is that it always seems to be throwing it down with rain, making it even more dire!


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[Old Yard Dog]

My new personal pick for loneliest place on the network, having passed through it for the first time yesterday, is the bleak and hateful Stanlow & Thornton. This is actually what some cultures think hell looks like. Apparently abandoned, but surrounded by ugly heavy industry in varying states of repair. I am now of the opinion that the Ellesmere Port line deserves it's dreadful service, purely because it is so ugly.

Adam

I used Stanlow & Thornton last month when travelling to Derby via Warrington Bank Quay and Crewe. I bought an off-peak return earlier in the morning from Ellesmere Port station as I was returning to Little Sutton via Hooton.

I arrived earlier than expected and just missed the short working to Helsby. But there were seats to sit on on the platform, and a shelter, and I spent a nice 30 mins in the sun watching the return working pick up a passenger for Ellesmere Port. A goods train also passed by.

If you want a better appeciation of the area, try a Manchester Ship Canal cruise. The MSC runs parallel to the railway line and affords views of the Mersey estuary which you can't get any other way. The last time I did it, there were huge herds of cattle and sheep on the huge and inaccessible private island between the MSC and the River Mersey, which made it look rather like the Serengeti.

 

[quarella]

For me it is stations in cuttings, especially urban ones.

 

[sheff1]

angel road after dark. trains rattling past, traffic grinding along over the flyovers which encircle the station and not a soul on the platforms. urban desolation en extremis

After this description, Angel Rd gets my vote even though I have never been there !

 

[IanD]

angel road after dark. trains rattling past, traffic grinding along over the flyovers which encircle the station and not a soul on the platforms. urban desolation en extremis

After this description, Angel Rd gets my vote even though I have never been there !

It's pretty horrible in bright sunlight.