Trivia: from which stations can you see/hear your train coming when it's still miles away?

[S&CLER]

On Saturday afternoon I was waiting quite a while at Kirkby in Furness station for the 16:20 to Barrow (the 15:23 to Lancaster, which is the 13:07 from Carlisle, was cancelled) and noticed that from the footbridge I could glimpse the down trains on the other side of the Duddon estuary and hear them sounding their horns for Green Road request stop, 2.5 miles from Kirkby as the crow flies and 4m 15ch by rail. Indeed I could hear them sounding the horns when approaching Millom, though couldn't quite see them clearly. I've never been in this area after dark, but no doubt it would be possible to make out a brightly lit train from across the estuary. I also heard my train faintly soon after it left Millom and clearly when it was at Green Road, quite handy since Kirkby doesn't have any indicators to tell you if the train is on time (Askam does). Are there any other places where you can see/hear a train coming from such a distance?

 

[YorksLad12]

I remember standing at Glasshoughton Station, looking down the line to where my train was arriving from the Pontefract side, and thinking of the scene in Lawrence of Arabia when Omar Sharif makes his first appearance...

 

[Class800]

Quite a lot in rural areas you can hear it from afar - Whimple, Feniton as two examples.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Heritage steam specials or freight workings coming out of Blea Moor Tunnel can sometimes be seen and/or heard from a mile and a half away if you're waiting on the other side of the viaduct at Ribblehead station.

 

[The exile]

From Exton on a still day you can hear your train before it reaches Exeter - over half an hour before it reaches you.

 

[alangla]

Inverkeithing heading south. You can see the train on the opposite platform, but it’s still got to drive all the way to Glenrothes and back!

 

[geoffk]

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From Exton on a still day you can hear your train before it reaches Exeter - over half an hour before it reaches you.

And at Starcross you can see your train across the estuary as it approaches Lympstone, around 45 minutes before it reaches you (and you can hear it if the wind is right). Paddock Wood must be a candidate on a dead straight line. I remember waiting there to photograph the Dover - Manchester mail on a summer evening around 1990 and it took ages to pass from the time I first caught sight of it, I don't know how many miles away.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Altnabreac has a very long line of sight to the east/south (but hardly any the other way). And it'll be totally silent (unless windy/rainy) so you'll hear it, too.

 

[Kite159]

Altnabreac has a very long line of sight to the east/south (but hardly any the other way). And it'll be totally silent (unless windy/rainy) so you'll hear it, too.

Or there are workers cutting down trees with a loud barking dog in the area. Altnabreac isn't totally silent

 

[Wynd]

Insch, you can hear services that are at least a mile away coming from the north. A combo of the 60ft rails and the way the hills are.

 

[Lucan]

When I was working on the open parts of the line on the LU, the first sign of a train approaching was often a low click coming from the outside juice rail. I believe this was caused by a pickup shoe on the train hitting the start of the rail that I was near, at a change of sides or an isolation break. This was long before the train was in sight or could be heard directly, and before the lookout man blew his horn. The sighting distance was pretty good anyway on some of the eastern stretches of the District line, alongside the Southend main line.

 

[Bill57p9]

Anywhere on the West Highland Line in the days of the 37s...

 

[AzureOtsu]

the brighton main line from Gatwick Airport to burgess Hill is another example

 

[Western 52]

The Coryton line in Cardiff, whilst not long, allows you to see a train several stations away along the straight part of the line.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

the brighton main line from Gatwick Airport to burgess Hill is another example

It's by no means completely dead straight. Quite a few curves between the M23 overbridge and Haywards Heath, and of course, there's the small matter of the various tunnels, in particular the Balcombe tunnel, which somewhat obscures the view along the line.

Certainly can't see Burgess Hill station from anywhere near Gatwick Airport station, unless, perhaps, you're a passenger in a commercial airplane on final approach!

 

[Frodingham]

Barnetby: you can hear something from the Rasen direction for ages if the wind is from the SW, especially a steam special or Deltics back in the good old days

 

[Class800]

From Exton on a still day you can hear your train before it reaches Exeter - over half an hour before it reaches you.

You can see trains at Starcross from Exmouth on a clear day - definitely from the car park behind the station, from the platform you'd need to be very tall!

 

[Grecian 1998]

Highbridge & Burnham and Yatton both have a very long line of sight to the south.

 

[cambran]

Borth, as the train passes round Borth bog and through the closed station at Ynyslas

 

[MoleStation]

Durham while waiting on the south platform. Headlights from the Newton Hall curve then the line sounds but what seems like 5 minutes later the train eventually enters the station. Even the non stoppers that slow down for the viaduct curve then power UP....they all seem to take AGES from that initial headlight blink

 

[WY Bus Spotter]

I've noticed that the Worth Valley line in Keighley acts like a sound tunnel. You can hear things quite far away.

 

[The Prisoner]

In the days of 81s, 85s, 86s and 87s you could hear trains approaching Penrith from the south for a good three miles or so before they reached the station.

 

[SouthernR]

Snowdon

 

[Parallel]

At Chichester you can see trains approaching from quite a far distance from the Barnham direction.

 

[OhNoAPacer]

I was once stood on tge footbridge at Sellafield looking south and could see a cloud of dust moving at pace, I judge it must have been somewhere in the Eskmeaks area (on the approach to the estuary before Ravenglass). Certainly the time from seeing this to the train arriving at Sellafield fitted.

 

[gimmea50anyday]

Trains heading north on the ECML can be heard crossing Croxdale Viaduct when approaching Durham station which is about 4 miles away, The River Wear valley helps channel the sound in the general direction of the city. As trains then head pass Meadowfield and Langley Moor the hill that St Oswalds and Neville’s Cross are located on mask the sound of the approaching train as they skirt along River Browney until they cross the river at Relley Mill and enter the cutting at Crossgate Moor when the trains can be heard again. It’s quite noticeable from the ramparts in Holliday Park that Overlook Durham Viaduct

 

[Strathclyder]

Can think of a few notable examples on the Strathclyde network. Not that they come anywhere near close to some of the examples already cited here, but hey-ho.

- Shieldmuir on the Argyle Line. Not so much when looking towards Motherwell (trains are still somewhat visible as they round the bend through Motherwell and under the Merry St bridge) thanks to two gentle curves between the two, but trains coming in from the south on the Wishaw Avoider* can be seen rounding the curve near Overtown from Law Junction - roughly 3 and a half miles away - in the right conditions.

- Garscadden on the North Clyde & Argyle Lines. Looking east, trains can be seen as they approach Scotstounhill - another contender for this thread - from Jordanhill and looking west, from Yoker. Granted, there's barely a mile and a half between the 3 stations, but an example I thought was worth a mention all the same.

- Cardonald & the two Hillingtons (East & West) on the Inverclyde & Ayrshire Coast Lines. Cardonald in particular is noteworthy among these 3 stations, as on a clear day, trains can be made out before they pass under the M77 slip road (for the junction with the M8) looking east and before they call at/pass through Hillington West looking, well, west (the line curves off towards Arkleston Junction just beyond the latter).

Attached images are from a visit yours truly made to Cardonald on a hazy/overcast day in May 2017. Not the greatest illustration thanks to said weather, but they give one some idea as to how far out trains can be spotted. Not that it matters with the above in mind - plus all 3 stations are kitted out with passenger info systems; tannoy & displays on both platforms - but you generally can't clearly hear the trains coming at Cardonald until they're close to or within the platfom limits, thanks to it being bounded on 2 sides by the M8 and Berryknowes Road respectively.



*: Not a official name for that section of the WCML I know, but one I coined (along with a simliar name for the section between Uddingston Junction & Motherwell avoiding Bellshill & Mossend Junction) to make my own life easier lol

 

[Bigman]

Northallerton looking North. You can see for miles.

 

[eastwestdivide]

When I was working on the open parts of the line on the LU, the first sign of a train approaching was often a low click coming from the outside juice rail. I believe this was caused by a pickup shoe on the train hitting the start of the rail that I was near, at a change of sides or an isolation break. This was long before the train was in sight or could be heard directly, and before the lookout man blew his horn. The sighting distance was pretty good anyway on some of the eastern stretches of the District line, alongside the Southend main line.

I’ve heard that click (almost a ‘chingk’ noise) on the Southern 3rd rail system, and always assumed it was expansion of the rail as a train takes current. If a click from the shoe was heard that far off, surely it would be so much louder at the point of contact? And sometimes i’d hear multiple random clicks at locations where a lot of power was being taken, e.g. heavily-loaded class 73 freight trying to accelerate from the speed restriction at the bottom of the 1 in 100 incline of Sole Street bank.

 

[Mintona]

At Ashchurch you can see for miles in each direction.