Two dozen days, 24 locations to identify

[whole diary]

[chuffed]

 8. Carrick-on-Suir ?

[grahame]

8. Carrick-on-Suir ?

Nope - on an even more desperate line!

I do have some pictures of Carrick-on-Suir ... with people using the train too!



Really interesting to note the passengers picked up at stations from Limerick Junction into Waterford were predominantly young ladies, and that (all over there was a very high motor and baby ridership.  On the run into Waterford, I suspect it's because the only real day return flow catered for is a shopping flow into Waterford, and mums left without a car while dad is at work find it useful.

[grahame]

13 = Fishguard Harbour station waiting area. I always feel this area has such a cold, hard and unwelcoming feel. It has an atmosphere to match which does wonders at 01.00 etc. when waiting for the train.

Yes, it is Fishguard Harbour.   Cold it might feel - but it is a wonder of positive vibes compared to the bus transfer systems in use on and off the ferries for foot passengers at both Holyhead and Dublin Port.

Massive tragedy in the lack of co-ordination of train and boat times these days to make a Severnside to Dublin journey via Fishguard / Rosslare practical in a day, and a further tragedy on how hard it is to book sail rail tickets via that route.  One feels that various operators and infrastructure owners along the way would not shed too many tears if the Fishguard to Rosslare service went purely for cars and other vehicles, with vestigial passenger without car traffic via Holyhead and Dublin. 

[grahame]

Bonus picture added for 29th

[grahame]

Last day of the month ... quiz concluding.   I have added a final picture for today and here are the ones remaining.

8


12


28


29


30


No huge clues - for a couple of hours on the final three; all part of the main Great Britain network, though not in GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) land.  The two that have stuck are both Irish ...one taken at what I believe is the largest town in an Irish county with a service reminiscent of Melksham when we started.   The other just a few miles from where I caught my ferry home.

[Sixty3Closure]

30 - Haymarket?

[grahame]

30 - Haymarket?

'fraid not.   Right Country.

[Sixty3Closure]

High Street?

And for 28  Winchester?

[grahame]

High Street?

Yes (I assume you know which High Street?

And for 28  Winchester?

No - nowhere near!

[grahame]

And we're down to two little used Irish Stations and two other pictures from different stations in the same town that I was in towards the end of this week.

[Sixty3Closure]

High Street?

Yes (I assume you know which High Street?

Looks like Glasgow to me based on hazy memories of staggering back from student parties and trying to get to Queen Street and then Stirling.

[grahame]

High Street?

Yes (I assume you know which High Street?

Looks like Glasgow to me based on hazy memories of staggering back from student parties and trying to get to Queen Street and then Stirling.

Indeed - that's Glasgow High Street.   I'd already given you the credit in the original post - but there may be some readers who think of other High Streets (there's one at Kensington, for example) and we have one here in Melksham - though no separate station to the other one in town.

[grahame]

And we're down to two little used Irish Stations and two other pictures from different stations in the same town that I was in towards the end of this week.

Which are ....

(Drum role, trumpets sound) now that we're in July

Nenagh
On the Limerick to Ballybrophy line; two trains a day take this line which is the most heavily subsidised passenger route per passenger in Ireland. The best part of two hours with (from memory) five intermediate stops - including Roscrea (which I associate with the film Phimomena with some horror) and Roscrea which is the largest town in North Tipperary.

Rosslare Strand
The penultimate stop on the Dublin to Rosslare Europort line; I stayed at Rosslare Strand in a B&B many years back - a pleasant little place with long sandy beaches a few miles from the port.   The line from Dublin's Connely street starts out with some 4 trains an hour as far as Bray, but then peters out to an hourly service to Greystones and just 5 s day (on the busiest day!) carrying on south.  South of Gorey, the line has been looked at for closure ... it's a classic case of Big City to hardly-used destination terminus - and no matter where it were to be cut back to, if that were south of Greystones it would leave the vestige under threat.   There's an amazing section of street running reminiscent of Weymouth just to the south of Wexford station. IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train) to Weymouth Harbour, anyone - the trains in use on the Irish line are modern and fast!    With proper connections and organisation there could be a significant tourist trade of foot passengers on the Fishguard - Rosslare route, but at present it seems to be unpromoted and difficult (I stayed in Rosslare Europort for the night).

Coatbridge Central
Coatbridge Sunnyside
Central Station is on the "main" Motherwell to Stirling (via Cumbernauld) line that used to take West Coast expresses from London bound for Perth and beyond.   I travelled that way in my youth on the "Clansman" Euston to Inverness service; in those days just about the only service there at a station that was a closure candidate.   These days, the original station building at road level on the west side is offices / specialist shop, and the entrance is on the east side - an extrance hidden away behind the viaduct and up a drive, with the "BR^▸ (British Rail(ways))" double arrow hidden from view if you 're standing at the old building.   Pletform level is bus shelters; the subway (no lift) which I pictured is in need of TLC^▸ (three letter code ).   Services are much better though - hourly electric trains from Cumbenauld run via Motherwell and Hmailton to Glasow Central Low Level and on to Dalmuir and / or other destinations in the west of the City.  They're slow, infrequent and indirect compared to the service from Sunnyside, but they are not unused.

Sunnyside Station is on the main line east from Glasgow Queen Street Low Level - cut back to Airdie under Beeching, extended back to Drumgelloch and now all the way back to Edinburgh. Plentiful trains, to the extend that alternate trains have different stopping patterns and that makes good sense - but everything stops at Coatbridge Sunnyside and indeed it was a very pleasant spot on a sunny Friday morning.  I didn't have much time to stop though - on my way to work in Coatbridge that day.


Hope you've enjoyed the quiz / seeing some pictures of places that perhaps you've not been to.  Time to put the plug on this thread (feedback comments still welcome) ... from Coatbridge again:



I will be writing up further in my diary board at http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?board=53.0 - you need to sign in to read that - new users can register {{here}}

[chuffed]

Really enjoyable quiz. Thank you for all the work you put into it.

[martyjon]

Coatbridge Sunnyside

There is a small industrial museum within walking distance of the station funnily enough called "Sunnyside Museum". Mainly big industrial machinery used in past industries around the Coatbridge area, also contains a small community of workers cottages all showing various aspects of life in the late 1800's / early 1900's. Has a section of tramway worked by a tram for which a small fare is payable. Also home to a preserved original "Glasgow Blue Train" although it didn't look to me as if much work had been done on it since its withdrawal. Trains pass by the museum on the Helensburgh - Glasgow Queen Street (Low Level) - Bathgate - Edinburgh(Waverley) route. Last time I travelled the line was turfted off the Helensburgh train at Bathgate due to a points failure at Coatbridge and faced the prospect of a bus (rail ticket accepted) to Airdrie thence further buses to Glasgow when I saw a driver frantically waving and walking onto the platform he informed pax that the points had been repaired and he was relieving the driver of the next service from Edinburgh (Bathgate has a fairly large EMU^▸ (Electric Multiple Unit) depot alongside the station which is a new build following the re-introduction of through services between Glasgow and Edinburgh) and it would be the first train through following the incident so it was a mad dash for everyone to transfer to the Glasgow bound platform from the Edinburgh bound platform / waiting room where pax were being advised of their options by the booking office staff member.