A challenge

[whole diary]

[swlines]

I try not to make these too easy. Mind, I have a feeling that if I were to put up a picture of a mainstream railway in Timbuktu, Lee would get it 

Not Timbuktu, but where is this?

[Chris from Nailsea]

Yatton?

I'm by no means certain - the tracks to the left look wrong for Yatton, but it's still worth a shout?

C. 

[swlines]

Nope

[Chris from Nailsea]

Thanks, Tom!  I'll no doubt look a right chump when you reveal the correct answer, then! 

[swlines]

Put it this way, I will be very surprised if Lee doesn't get it

[grahame]

I Havant got any confirmation, but I'm sure I've seen that picture before somewhere ...

[devon_metro]

I'm going to stick my neck out and say its not on the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)

[RichardB]

Paddock Wood?

[Mookiemoo]

Reading?

[eightf48544]

I'm going to stick my neck out and say its not on the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)

It may still be GW^» (Great Western - used as an abbreviation for the area / lines under the Great Western franchise, as opposed to FGW which includes "First", the company operating them too. For tickets - about) but perhaps not on an original broad gauge as the 6' between the tracks is not wide enough it's only 6' so suggest station was built standard gauge.

There is a level crossing by the signal box with three lines across it including goods yard head shunt.

Signal Box, the signal arms footbridge and station building have a sort of GW feel although the signal post and the mainline  loco look Southern.  

Could be Paddock Wood or perhaps Three Bridges  before they were modernised.

As an aside it used to be said of Three Bridges that you could have a train in all six platforms and blow a single whistle and all the trains could start symultaneously but closure of the East Grinstead line stopped that.

However, to add another teaser to this thread there is still an open station served by FGW^▸ (First Great Western) where you can have all six platforms occupied and blow a single whistle and start all the trains symultaneously. Any ideas?

[swlines]

Paddington - there are six lines in the throat ...

Correct answer not said so far.

Another one is East Croydon.....

Platform 1 - up fast towards Victoria
Platform 2 - up fast towards London Bridge
Platform 3 - down fast towards Gatwick Airport
Platform 4 - up slow towards London Bridge or Victoria
Platform 5 - down stopper towards Purley
Platform 6 - down fast/stopper towards Oxted

[eightf48544]

That must be the new layout at East Croydon because in the 60s 3 & 4 were both up platforms and coverged outside the station, 1 and 2 were Up and Down only.

One of the tricks played on the East Croydon signalmen was get the London Bridge passengers on 1 and the Victoria ones on 3 & 4 , as booked, and then because  Coulsdon North /Purley boxes had swopped the trains and put them on the wrong line the passengers had to all change platforms.

I gather Reading is quite good at this as well.

How about teh FGW^▸ (First Great Western) one? Not Paddington because although there are six lines out if you had all 14 platforms occupied and started them all off at once there would be quite a mess outside the station. The criterion is that they must have a proceed aspect on the platform end signal.

[grahame]

Correct answer not said so far.

Really? Have a careful look at what I said in my post earlier in this thread 

[eightf48544]

Correct answer not said so far.

Really? Have a careful look at what I said in my post earlier in this thread 

So that would make the mainline train an Up Waterloo and the one in the bay on the left is for Hayling Island.

Come to think of it I've seen a picture of a steam special in the 60s shunted into the goods yard on the right. It caused havoc at the level crossing.

[Phil]

There's some video clips of Havant station back in the day here http://www.havant.gov.uk/havant-2879