Stations below sea level

[pH]

One of today's pictures on Railscot, of Dundee station, says that it is unique in the UK in having its platforms below sea level. 

 

https://www.railscot.co.uk/img/72/583/

 

Leaving aside tube lines, and totally-enclosed stations on 'surface' lines, is that statement correct? I would have thought at least some cross-city lines in tunnel, but with stations open to the surface, could have stations below the level of nearby bodies of water (if not actually below mean sea level).

[LBRJ]

PAR is supposed to be, but I have never actually measured it

[DCB]

42 minutes ago, LBRJ said:

PAR is supposed to be, but I have never actually measured it

PAR, as Cornish main line?  

[LBRJ]

4 minutes ago, DavidCBroad said:

PAR, as Cornish main line?  

 

Thats the one

 

There is a well known photo of it flooded years ago, but I cant find it online.

 

I have a "feeling" (as in I cant proper remember) that the rails are below sea-level but the platform tops are not.......

[DCB]

1 minute ago, LBRJ said:

 

Thats the one

 

There is a well known photo of it flooded years ago, but I cant find it online.

 

I have a "feeling" (as in I cant proper remember) that the rails are below sea-level but the platform tops are not.......

Not Par, the line to the docks goes under the Cornish main line just west of Par Station and the line to St Blazey goes down quite steeply from Par station.  I have an idea the Par docks branch (from St Blazey) used to flood at high tide so they raised the track level and had to use those very low saddle tanks with Port of Par on them.  Might be talking B******s but being home 24/7 with the wife is my excuse.   Weymouth Tramway used to flood at high tide as well.

[DavidB-AU]

It's possible that Holme on the ECML used to be. The village itself is around 9 feet below sea level. The posts in nearby Holme Fen (reputedly salvaged from The Crystal Palace in 1851) mark sea level.

[LBRJ]

The CML rises on a gradient of 1 in 60 immediately  from the west end of Par station - by the time it passes over Par Green it is ~15 foot over street level.

 

The Par Loop from St Bz round to Par station is more or less level.

 

The line from St Bz to Par harbour (known still as the Fowey Main*) is level.

 

Alfred and Judy were used to pass under a very low bridge (under the CML) from Par Harbour to Dryers on the other side, and also on the other side of the Par Moor Road. The bridge is still there on a path leading to the beach (or it was) from a small car park.

 

*that was the original CMR mainline through to the docks at Carne Point.

 

 

 

[LBRJ]

Poor shot from Google St View of the Bridge under the mainline

https://www.google.com/maps/@50.3443337,-4.7090973,3a,75y,118.5h,102.96t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sz6wi-hgpsUGNrrCzFxHU9g!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

 

 

Another shot with a rather level looking line to Par harbour behind the fence, and the fie arches carrying the mainline over the road

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@50.348704,-4.7060672,3a,75y,0.23h,82.13t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s9mvycJ1iElrymtYrSvKUYA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

 

 

[rab]

Although not below sea level, Wadebridge station was beside the river and I believe was susceptible to flooding with high tides,

(as the residents of the houses now standing there, found out recently when a combination of weather and tide conditions led to a flood warning being issued for the area)

[caradoc]

Part of the Argyle Line in Glasgow is below River Clyde, if not necessarily, sea level, and when the pumps fail Dalmarnock station (which is not underground) floods incredibly quickly, up to platform surface level.

 

The twin tunnels on the approach to Dalmuir from the Yoker line are also very susceptible to flooding, so may be below river level too.

 

[Zomboid]

Lots of the land in the Norfolk Broads is a few metres below sea level, so I'd imagine a few of the stations there could be too.

Berney Arms came to mind immediately, but there's other possibilities.

[Ben B]

Is Fairbourne Station on the Cambrian Coast below sea level? I gather a lot of the village is, though I have hazy memories from childhood camping trips that the mainline might be on an embankment. The miniature railway station though must be at or below sea level. .

[The Johnster]

It's going to be; like Borth a few miles down the coast this area is to be abandoned to the sea and no public money spent on flood defences.  At Borth the railway will become the new shoreline; it is up on a low embankment and will be susceptible to inundation by waves at high spring tides.  We need to establish what sea level is, and I suggest that for the purposes of this discussion it is Mean Sea Level At Newlyn, which is the datum point used for all Ordnance Survey height information.  A spring tide with a storm surge and large waves caused by the same storm might be 30 feet or more about MSL Newlyn in Cardigan Bay, and more in the Bristol Channel.

 

The CCL at Fairbourne comes off a gradient from the Friog cliffs, and I cannot now recall where it levels out. It rises slightly to meet the Dolgellau line at Arthog, and again for the Barmouth Bridge.  Like most railways built across coastal marshland, and at Borth, it runs on an embankment between Fairbourne and Arthog. with drainage ditches each side, in consequence of infill material being used to either form a foundation or the topping for timber float foundations when the railway was built.  Between Cardiff and Newport on the Gwent Levels, Brunel provided a track bed by pouring ballast in until it stabllised. and this process is still continuing as the old ballast sinks further into the mud.  I imagine the B & E is much the same between Yatton and Taunton.

 

I can think of several railways within the OP's definition which are or were below spring high tide level , but not stations, and of course the Severn and Mersey Tunnels should be excluded as should some Mersey Railway stations which effectively come under the 'underground railway' heading; I think the OP means stations out in the open but below sea level.  If we are taking sea level as MSL Newlyn, I very much doubt any station in the UK, including the Fairbourne Railway (or Tywyn Wharf, which is pretty low level) meets the specs.  High (and low) tides are a moveable feast, which is why the OS doesn't show them except as a 'mean' or average level, and the predicted heights may be exceeded or not achieved, and the actual timing precede or are delayed from the predicted times due to local influences including weather, atmospheric pressure, and fresh water input from rivers or drainage, a feature at Borth.

[pH]

11 hours ago, caradoc said:

Part of the Argyle Line in Glasgow is below River Clyde, if not necessarily, sea level, and when the pumps fail Dalmarnock station (which is not underground) floods incredibly quickly, up to platform surface level.

 

The twin tunnels on the approach to Dalmuir from the Yoker line are also very susceptible to flooding, so may be below river level too.

 

 

That was one of the lines I was thinking of, principally Anderston (Cross) and Bridgeton (Cross) stations.

[LBRJ]

On  a more "LOL" note Looe station is sometimes under sea level....It kinda depends where the sea wants to be at the time

[62613]

Surely some of the ones in The Fens might be?

 

[eastglosmog]

With the continued sinking of London and the south east at about 1-2mm per year, stations like Leigh on Sea that are only about 2m above sea level will be underwater given 1,000 to 2,000 years.......

[The Lurker]

New Romney must be very close to being below sea level, It looks like the land might rise to 3m near the RHDR station so may be a false alarm, but another place which has been reclaimed from the sea like the Fens

[The Johnster]

(Revolting pedant hat on) The Romney Marshes are not reclaimed from the sea, they are the result of longshore drift building up sequences of shingle banks, the latest of which is the current shoreline, a natural process.  New Romney may be close to mean sea level, though; it is in a cutting, quite a deep one south of the Littlestone Road bridge.

[thedman]

On 26/03/2020 at 09:24, caradoc said:

Part of the Argyle Line in Glasgow is below River Clyde, if not necessarily, sea level, and when the pumps fail Dalmarnock station (which is not underground) floods incredibly quickly, up to platform surface level.

 

The twin tunnels on the approach to Dalmuir from the Yoker line are also very susceptible to flooding, so may be below river level too.

 

The problems at Dalmarnock (now resolved) are not the result (it is not below the level of the Clyde) of tidal flooding or relation to sea level, but simply the Dalmarnock Water treatment works overflowed, forcing water up through the drains/sewers.

 

The next time you travel between Rutherglen and Dalmarnock have a look at the catch pit covers in the cess on the slab that have the metal straps fitted over the top of them.

[surfsup]

I wonder where Ryde St Johns stands on this, given the descent into the tunnels at the eastern end of Ryde Esplanade. 

[eastglosmog]

Ryde St Johns is 2-3m above sea level, slightly higher than Esplanade.

[Bungus the Fogeyman]

It's possible that Holme on the ECML used to be. The village itself is around 9 feet below sea level. The posts in nearby Holme Fen (reputedly salvaged from The Crystal Palace in 1851) mark sea level.

 

I would hazard that its a good bet that it is, bearing in mind the pub next door, The Admiral Wells is the lowest below sea level in the UK.........Good Pub!!

 

Disgusting of Market Harborough

[RANGERS]

Thorpe Culvert, on the Skegness branch, is below the river level and I’d guess also sea level being just a couple of miles from the point where the Steeping River meets the North Sea.

[roythebus]

On 27/03/2020 at 13:57, The Lurker said:

New Romney must be very close to being below sea level, It looks like the land might rise to 3m near the RHDR station so may be a false alarm, but another place which has been reclaimed from the sea like the Fens

The coastline round the marshes has moved considerably in the last couple of months! Much of the Lydd Camp ranges are now under water permanently