My favourite station is . . .

[stewartingram]

Ely. Always busy/quiet/busy/quiet in a constant cycle, with a few minutes in between. Plenty of freight (all operators), and passenger trains from GA (they run the station), GN, Cross Country, and Stagecoach. Also a few charters make appearances. 

Seems like it hasn't changed much since I knew it in steam days (all those lovely ex GER engines) but I know it has. The original 3 tracks were reduced to 2 between the platforms by removal of the centre road; then it was re-instated to allow the p1 road to be removed and the platform extended out. The island platform buildings remain - or do they? They've been replaced twice in my lifetime. Still got some of the character of the place remaining today. A lovely spot to go train watching in the summer - after all it is in the Fens!

 

Stewart

[mikejames]

Birmingham Snowhill in the late 1950s

Always plenty to see

 

regards

mike j

[Kris]

Penzance or St Ives would get my vote, just for the location. Variety of traffic is limited (particularly at St Ives). 

[jonny777]

I don't have a favourite station any more, because the ones which used to love (those with busy loco sheds or stabling points visible from the platforms) have been decimated by the accountant-led unit generation. 

 

There are many locations that I would like to go back to whilst in their 1950s incarnation, but each one had its own attractions. If I had to pick one for sheer awe-inspiring visual and audio effects I would plump for Bromsgrove. 

[Northmoor]

As a kid, Ferryside.  Not too busy but a unique location.

 

Since then I've had a few which are memorable.  Lancaster has a nice s-curve through it and attractive architecture; further up the line, Carlisle appeals to me too and Carstairs has an air of a place overtaken by history.

 

Brookwood, where I commute from daily, is a nice place to watch the trains go by.  For a station in commuterland it can be wonderfully quiet with just the birdsong (mostly from the cemetery) between trains.

[tractionman]

Thought this BBC feature might be of interest

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-42085145

 

My favourite station is York, it has the grandeur and romance still, plus interesting train watching, a lot of happy memories associated with the place for me, family holidays, trips to see my sister in York in the early eighties, and now an excellent pub on the platform -- there's no competition!!

 

Cheers,

 

Keith

[HonestTom]

So many to choose from, but if I had to pick one, I'd go with King's Cross. The recent upgrade works have removed the clutter from in front of the original Victorian architecture, so you can really appreciate the elegance of the design.

 

A close second is Surbiton, which to my mind is the finest example of Southern Railway art deco architecture.

 

(I'm also a fan of Marylebone, Fenchurch Street and - purely because of holiday memories - St Ives)

[D854_Tiger]

My favourite station that I've never been to (or ever likely to) would have to be Three Cocks Junction, I'm still holding out hope that one day I will get to visit Llanpumsaint.

 

In the meantime this one takes a bit of beating on certain days

 

[Orion]

St Pancras for me.

[D854_Tiger]

St Pancras for me.

 

 

From an architectural perspective, absolutely, but back in the day the train interest was pretty grim compared to the competition.

 

Two or three Peaks was hardly enticing for a Brummie trainspotter.

 

Mind you, two or three Peaks there now and that would be a day off work and buying a return to London.

[62613]

In the old days, March and its surroundings, when it was fully intact; you could never see everything that was going on! I would have loved to have seen Guide Bridge in its heyday

[Reorte]

"Favourite" is rarely a question I find easy to answer, but I must've liked a lot about Kirkby Stephen to want to model it. My local, Whaley Bridge, is a pleasant spot too, being raised up looking down to the main street when you get off the train, and one of only a few on the Buxton line to have kept its building.

[brianusa]

Any rural branch line station; the more original the better!  On the other hand, those that have been brought back with discreet refurbishment.

 

Brian.

[Northmoor]

Just thought of one I have only visited since closure (about 1999) - Dunford Bridge.

 

It was just before the site was completely landscaped but even with no buildings and just the crumbling remains of the platforms, the location just oozed atmosphere.  It's the inspiration for my long term dream layout. I just wish I had visited the Woodhead route 15-20 years earlier.

[rodent279]

I guess I'll get a bit of flak for this! Three suggestions from me that I guess are bound to be unpopular.

 

Euston (the "new" 50year old one)

Milton Keynes Central

Reading, the new one

 

All new, bright modern stations, but with very different styles. I particularly like the marble floor in the hall at Euston.

 

Milton Keys is functional, has clean lines and an impressive glass building that when it was first built, really stood out.Now its a bit crowded by more recent developments, but I still like it.

 

I never visited the old Euston, but from what I can gather, it was dark, dingy, cramped, and simply didn't have the operating flexibility, or work as well for passengers as the new one. And as for that monstrosity, the Doric Arch-best left in the river I say. Why on earth would you disguise a railway station as some sort of temple? There is a group that wants to salvage as many of the remaining stones as possible & rebuild it. Why? Can't we do our own thing these days, why do we have to look backwards and copy what has gone before?

 

The new Reading is well designed, and a bold imaginative step, in line with the upgrading of the line. It maybe lacks the interesting & varied motive power of a couple of decades back, but I think it serves passengers needs well-and that is what it's there for.

 

Cheers N

Edited November 29, 2017 by rodent279

[Iron Horse]

I have to say today, I like Moor Street, especially around 7am on a Saturday, sitting in the coffee shop, swing music in the background I almost feel like I've gone back in time. Over to Platform 1 for the 7:55 and then it's monster 68 noise time!!!!!

 

Of course as a lad it was holidays to Teignmouth and 50 bashing time

[wombatofludham]

Three way tie between Birmingham New Street before it's most recent makeover into "Grand Central", Wolverhampton pre Platform 4 or Stafford, all preferably in the 1970s-1990s.  New Street has a brilliant central location and even today has a wide range of interesting operations, Wolverhampton has a wonderful "train set" atmosphere with tight curves at each end and fairly short platforms (so much so in the 1980s when I was a regular user the London trains routinely had one or two coaches at the back off the end of Platform 3) and Stafford is just manic and always has been, fast mainline expresses, loads of freight, increadible variety and generally speaking friendly pro-enthusiast staff (Blackpool North please note).

 

Stuff the architecture and rosy romantic piffle, BNS, Wolvo and Stafford are real railway, gritty, efficient and relevant, doing the job the railway is really there for and that is what impresses me, not chocolate box Miss Marpleshire.

[D854_Tiger]

Three way tie between Birmingham New Street before it's most recent makeover into "Grand Central", Wolverhampton pre Platform 4 or Stafford, all preferably in the 1970s-1990s.  New Street has a brilliant central location and even today has a wide range of interesting operations, Wolverhampton has a wonderful "train set" atmosphere with tight curves at each end and fairly short platforms (so much so in the 1980s when I was a regular user the London trains routinely had one or two coaches at the back off the end of Platform 3) and Stafford is just manic and always has been, fast mainline expresses, loads of freight, increadible variety and generally speaking friendly pro-enthusiast staff (Blackpool North please note).

 

Stuff the architecture and rosy romantic piffle, BNS, Wolvo and Stafford are real railway, gritty, efficient and relevant, doing the job the railway is really there for and that is what impresses me, not chocolate box Miss Marpleshire.

 

I spent many hours spotting at New Street in the 1960/70s and it couldn't be beaten on a summer Saturday with a procession of XC expresses added to the mix.

 

Then what a mix, class 45,46,47,8x and the odd Western, class 25 (always times two), class 37 and class 31 thrown in, even the odd exotic DMU (if you count numbers that began with E).

 

Then never forgot the place going mad when Roebuck (still in maroon) turned up one day and a class 33 had my jaw dropping in disbelief.

 

I was last there a couple of weeks back and the main difference now (since the HSTs have gone) is how quiet the place is, despite it being busier than ever, 

[Zomboid]

I have to agree on Stafford. Interesting train movements and an example of 60s architecture done well. Coventry has more attractive architecture, though the train watching at Stafford is better.

[rodent279]

I have to agree on Stafford. Interesting train movements and an example of 60s architecture done well. Coventry has more attractive architecture, though the train watching at Stafford is better.

Coventry is another good one.

[Mike Storey]

Hebden Bridge, primarily for its bacon sandwiches. Malton in the 1990's would come first, for the same reason, but the buffet has changed hands since (indeed, if it is still open now).

 

I wish I had been alive when the original Corris station existed. The overall roof was unique to the narrow gauge of Wales, and possibly the UK. The old pictures give it a romance and mystery which continues to pervade. There are plans to re-build something similar eventually. And the current buffet/shop/museum in the old stables building does still serve pretty good bacon sandwiches too....

[rodent279]

Hebden Bridge, primarily for its bacon sandwiches. Malton in the 1990's would come first, for the same reason, but the buffet has changed hands since (indeed, if it is still open now).

 

I wish I had been alive when the original Corris station existed. The overall roof was unique to the narrow gauge of Wales, and possibly the UK. The old pictures give it a romance and mystery which continues to pervade. There are plans to re-build something similar eventually. And the current buffet/shop/museum in the old stables building does still serve pretty good bacon sandwiches too....

Ha ha ha! Best bacon butties-that's the best reason you can have for liking a station!

[rodent279]

I wish I'd seen Snow Hill in it's heyday, in the 50's. Also Sheffield Vic, Nottingham Vic & Leics Central.

 

Sheffield Midland in the 1980's was a pretty fascinating place for a teenager to waste his life at!

 

But I still come back to Euston. 1980's Euston, with it's bleu electrics, blue EMU's, that distinctive musty smell, hissing air brakes, silent electrics ticking away, intense activity as a train arrived, then eery stillness. And that lovely, big spacious open concourse, until they spoilt it with kiosks. Purists & design fascists hate it, but I love it. Anything that Charlie Windsor hates usually has some merit for me.

[Rugd1022]

Coventry is another good one.

 

Good call on Coventry - there was a short period between the rebuild and the OLE being installed when it's modern '60s architecture could be seen more clearly, with grubby steam and fresh new green diesels mixing in together.

[RANGERS]

In the past it might have been March or Spalding, particularly on a day when there were ECML diversions on the route but in todays world the train interest is likely to be somewhat limited whereever it is. In todays world, for me it would be a close call between St Pancras or Glasgow Central, both stations I never tire of visiting and admiring the timeless grandeur of.