Sandhills is a stop in north Liverpool on the Merseyrail Northern Line between Moorfields and either Bank Hall or Kirkdale.
Merseyrail 777 018 arrives with a Liverpool bound service
Information
Type:
National Rail (Merseyrail Northern Line)
Station code:
SDL
Opened:
1850
Platforms:
2
The station was built as an intermediate stop on the Liverpool, Crosby & Southport Railway in 1850 though was soon taken over by the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway (who oversaw the electrification of the line [1] to 630v DC third rail - nowadays it is 750v). Sandhills had four platforms until it was reduced and downgraded in the early 1970s.
Overlooking the Mersey, Sandhills is a compact station with an island platform serving both directions. The station entrance, and the ticket office, are via a ramp and a subway. The station is a junction with the Merseyrail branches to Kirkby and Ormskirk branching off from the line to Southport just to the north of the station.
Sandhills is the station passengers need if they are going to Anfield or Goodison Park with the "Soccerbus" running between Sandhills and the football grounds on match days.
Merseyrail 507 024 on a Southport bound service
Maps for both directions
Waiting room
Merseyrail 508 136 prepares to depart
Merseyrail 508 130 arrives with a Liverpool bound service
[1] Jonathan Cadwallader & Martin Jenkins, Merseyside Electrics (Ian Allan, 2010) p. 3
Wanborough is a stop on the North Downs Line in Surrey between Guildford and Ash. It is also a stop on the line between Guildford and Alton.
GWR 165 108 passes through
Information
Type:
National Rail
(North Downs Line)
Station code:
WAN
Opened:
1891
Platforms:
2
The station was opened by the London South Western Railway in 1891. The station became unstaffed in 1987 though retains it's original buildings. For a time the station signs said Wanborough for Normandy [1] (as in a nearby village not the area of France!) A nearby brick works had a dedicated siding until 1964 though has now been removed.
The station is managed by South Western Railway who maintain a half hourly service six days a week, there are also occasional stops by Great Western Railway trains. Access between the platforms is via a footbridge. Both platforms have partial canopies.
View down the platform, a bridge takes a road over the line
Platform view from the footbridge
Original station building and canopy
A SWR train prepares to depart
[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Reading to Guildford (Middleton Press, 1988) Fig. 94
Mitcham Junction Tramlink is a stop on the Croydon Tramlink between Mitcham and Beddington Lane in south London. The stop is adjacent to Mitcham Junction railway station.
Tram 2531 departs Mitcham Junction
Information
Type:
Transport for London (Croydon Tramlink)
Opened:
2000
Platforms:
2
The Tramlink stop was opened in 2000 using the trackbed of the former Wimbledon & West Croydon Line which closed in 1997 to be replaced by Tramlink. The stop is served by twelve trams an hour in each direction.
Tram 2543 departs
The tramline is singled past the stop, 2543 has to wait for 2531 to pass before it can proceed
Fiskerton is a stop on the Nottingham-Lincoln Line in Nottinghamshire between Bleasby and Rolleston.
EMR 156 917 departs
Information
Type:
National Rail
(Nottingham-Lincoln Line)
Station code:
FSK
Opened:
1846
Platforms:
2
The station was opened by the Midland Railway in 1846. The station, close to the river Trent, had a goods loop which survived until 1964 [1]. The original station building survives as a private residence. Platform facilities of this unstaffed station are the usual bus shelters and signs.
Next to the station is a level crossing which was operated by Fiskerton signalbox but this was decommissioned in 2016. It may be given to a preserved railway. Access between the platforms is via the road and crossing. The station is managed by East Midlands Railway.
Platform view, the former station building behind
Level crossing
Signalbox
View down the platform
EMR 158 768 prepares to depart
[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Nottingham to Lincoln (Middleton Press, 2013) Map. IX
The station was opened by the Reading, Guildford & Reigate Railway as Blackwater & York Town in 1849 [1]. Early on the station was advertised as being the stop for the nearby Royal Military College at Sandhurst (though Sandhurst later had it's own station).
The station had a fine station building with some rather ornate brickwork, a cattle dock and other goods sidings controlled by a signal box. All these were gone by the early 1970s as Blackwater became an unstaffed station with bus shelters for waiting passenger comfort. Access between the stations is via a road bridge which crosses the line. Great Western Railway nowadays serves Blackwater with up to two trains an hour between Reading and Redhill or Gatwick Airport.
Station view from the road bridge
Preparing to depart
Basic facilities
Platform shelter
GWR 165 104 departs
[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Reading to Guildford (Middleton Press, 1988) Fig. 60
St Paul's is a stop on the London Underground Central Line in the City of London between Chancery Lane and Bank.
A Central Line train departs
Information
Type:
Transport for London (London Underground Central Line)
Station code:
ZSP
Opened:
1900
Platforms:
2
The station was opened by the Central London Railway in 1900 as Post Office (the GPO head quarters being nearby). The station nowadays known as Blackfriars was already known as St Paul's. When that station was renamed in 1937 then Post Office was given it's current name. The station was rebuilt in the 1930s, with an underground ticket hall and escalators. The main entrance was also moved to the east. The two lines are in tunnels are placed one above the other.
Nowadays a typically busy central London tube station. St Paul's is the closest station to the London Stock Exchange, the Old Bailey and of course the cathedral the station is named after! It is also close to City Thameslink railway station, a tunnel linking the two stations has been considered in the past.
View down the platform
Ready to depart
Station signage
To street level!
[1] Jason Cross, London Underground Guide 2017 (Train Crazy, 2017) p. 153
Bridge of Dun was a stop on the Caledonian Railway in Angus between Dubton and Brechin or Farnell Road. It is now a terminus of a preserved railway.
Bridge of Dun station [1]
Information
Type:
Preserved Railway (Caledonian Railway Brechin)
Opened:
1848
Closed:
1967
Re-Opened:
1993
Platforms:
3
The station was opened by the Aberdeen Railway in 1848, later becoming part of the Caledonian Railway. The station was closed to passengers in 1967 though the line remained open until 1981.
Part of the line has been re-opened by the Caledonian Railway (Brechin). Bridge of Dun was re-opened in 1993 as one of the line's termini.
[1] "The Perth-Dundee-Montrose Section of the LMSR", The Railway Magazine p. 6
Worplesdon is a stop on the Portsmouth Direct Line in Surrey between Woking and Guildford.
SWR 450 016 departs with a London bound service
Information
Type:
National Rail
(Portsmouth Direct Line)
Station code:
WPL
Opened:
1883
Platforms:
2
The station was opened in 1883 by the London & South Western Railway. The station was located in a agricultural area some way from the village of Worplesdon, indeed another village called Mayford is closer! Since the construction of the station housing has been built around it.
The station's original building still exists and is in use as a ticket office though the goods yard is long gone. The canopies on the opposite platform have been lost but the station retains it's SR footbridge [1]. The usual service is a train per hour in each direction. The station is managed by South Western Railway.
Station building
Canopy
View down the platform
SWR 444 040 powers through the station
Station footbridge
[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Woking to Portsmouth (Middleton Press, 1983) Fig. 12
Leamington Spa serves the Warwickshire town of Royal Leamington Spa, it is a stop on the Chiltern Main Line to London Marylebone between Warwick and Banbury. It is also a busy interchange station.
Chiltern 68 013 arrives at Leamington Spa
Information
Type:
National Rail
(Chiltern Main Line)
Station code:
LMS
Opened:
1852
Platforms:
4
The station was opened by the Great Western Railway in 1852 on its Birmingham-Oxford line. It wasn't the town's first station though, the London & North Western Railway opened a station in 1844, this was on the outskirts of the town. The LNWR built a new station right next to the GWR one in the mid-1850s. It was not until 1908 that both railway companies used the same station. Between 1950 and 1968 the station was known as Leamington Spa General [1].
The current station building dates from a rebuilding in the late 1930s [2] and is in the Art Deco style. The platforms are mostly covered by fine original canopies from the 1930s. Leamington Spa has two through platforms and two West facing bays for services to Birmingham Moor Street and Stratford-upon-Avon. There are two avoiding lines for freight services and non-stopping passenger services.
Leamington Spa is a stop on the Chiltern Main Line as well as the terminus of services to Stratford-upon-Avon, local services from Birmingham and for services which come from Coventry via the ex-LNWR line which joins the main line just ahead of the station. The station is used for stabling stock at night on the bay platforms. The station is managed by Chiltern Railways.
A Cross Country Voyager departs
View down the platform
Station frontage
Chiltern 168 005 prepares to depart
Artwork on the underpass underneath the station
[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Banbury to Birmingham (Middleton Press, 2004) Fig. 38 [2] Ibid. Fig. 37
