UK railway station trivia

This document dated 1979 is a British Rail catalogue of its listed buildings 7.2Mb file. It is not limited to stations; there are undoubtedly other designations since then.

Which stations… have post boxes on them?

To qualify for this list, the post box must be on the station platform or in a concourse area (i.e. they would become inaccessible to the public if the station were locked shut). Boxes mounted in or near exterior walls publicly accessible from the street do not count here. This list is believed to be current at 2019 with subsequent alterations where known.

Some stations, e.g. Rugby, have more than one post box on site.

Royal Mail's Railnet terminals are shown here.

Station	Where	Notes

Alton	platform
Audley End	platform	disused
Axminster	platform
Banbury	concourse
Bath Spa	platform
Birmingham International	concourse
Birmingham New Street	concourse	removed?
Bodmin Parkway	platform
Brighton	concourse
Bristol Temple Meads	concourse
Cambridge	platform	disused
Cardiff Central	concourse
Carlisle	platform	two
Carmarthen	platform
Cheltenham Spa	concourse	removed 2012
Chester	platform
Cork Kent	concourse
Crewe	concourse
Darlington	platform
Diss	platform
Douglas	platform
Dover Priory	platform
Dumfries	platform
Durham	platform
Edenbridge Town	platform
Edinburgh Waverley	platform
Ely	platform
Fishguard Harbour	platform
Glasgow Central	concourse
Glenfinnan	platform
Glossop	concourse
Grantham	platform
Gravesend	platform
Great Malvern	platform
Harrogate	platform
Harwich International	platform
Hexham	platform
Holyhead	concourse
Hull	concourse
Inverness	concourse
Kemble	concourse
Kingussie	platform
Leamington Spa	platform
Leatherhead	platform
Leeds	concourse
Leicester	platform
Lincoln	platform
Llandrindod Wells	platform
Llanelli	platform
London Euston	concourse
London Marylebone	concourse
London Paddington	concourse
Loughborough	platform
Lowestoft	concourse
Malton	platform
Manchester Victoria	concourse
March	platform
~~Marden~~	~~platform~~	box in external wall
Menston	platform
Morpeth	platform
Newton Abbot	platform
Norwich	concourse
Oxford	concourse
Penrith	platform
Pitlochry	platform
Rannoch	platform
Reading	concourse
Retford	platform
Riding Mill	platform?
Ropley Mid Hants Railway	platform	unclear if original or ever serviced by Royal Mail
Rugby	platform	two
Selby	platform
Skipton	platform
Stamford	platform
Stirling	platform
Stockport	platform	two
Stourbridge Junction	platform
Taplow	platform
Taunton	platform
Tenby	platform
Tonbridge	platform
Truro	platform
Wellingborough	platform
Westbury	platform
Weston-super-Mare	platform
Windsor & Eton Central	concourse
Yatton	platform
York	concourse

Which stations… were built in a triangular arrangement?

Platforms are required on all three sides to qualify here. Please contact the editor if you can prove (or otherwise) the arrangement where detail is unclear.

Dinting had three sets of platforms but was not built in a triangular arrangement. When built it had platforms on the main east-west line and on the east-south branch to Glossop. The layout was later rearranged with today's west-south curve (with platforms), which severed the earlier curve and platforms. A new east-south curve was built on a new alignment without platforms.

Which stations… are not accessible by road?

Generally, stations are accessible by footpath. Some exist(ed) for interchange only. Some were constructed by heritage railways or access arrangements changed post-preservation.

In addition, these stations were used for interchange only for part or all of their existance, but it is not known if any type of external access was possible.

Which stations… have a platform 0?

Station	Note

Cardiff Central	opened by May? 2002, initially for occasional/one-off use; later upgraded for regular use
Chippenham	south side platform is referred to as 'platform 0', though it currently has no track
Doncaster	temporary platform used 27 May 2000 to at least 1 June 2000
Doncaster	Doncaster	permanent platform opened 4 December 2016 (first trains called 12 December)
Gravesend	opened 6 January 2014
Haymarket	opened 27 December 2006
Hooton	former platform 2, adjacent to station building, used by charter trains; since renumbering 18 May 1985 often referred to as 'platform 0'
Leeds	opened 27 December 2020 (first trains called 28 December)
Liverpool Lime Street	from 30 July 2018 former platform 1, now trackless, referred to as 'platform 0'
London Kings Cross	opened 25 May 2010; taken out of use 20 December 2020; returned to use 26 April 2021
Preston	temporary use of old parcels platform, used in 2004
Rainham (Kent)	opened 29 March 2016
Redhill	opened 2 January 2018
Stockport	opened for occasional use ≈18 September 2005; regular use March 2008

Which stations… have names reflecting commerce?

Generally the stations listed were named according to the 'business' (in its loosest sense) they serve rather than to commemorate a site. Thus, for example, stations named after public houses are shown even if a community later took the name, but not stations named after the community that was itself named after the public house.

All stations are on the national network unless stated otherwise. Terms in [square brackets] are to aid identification only and are not part of the name. The nature of the naming is given; the term 'pub' refers to any public house, hostelry, inn or hotel.

Note that not all stations are currently open and words such as 'halt' are omitted. The list is somewhat subjective; the editor's decision is final, but generally the 'benefit of the doubt' is given.

The reader is invited to explore these pages to find out more about church and pub name derivations, including for non-station assets.

Coventry Arena was originally to be named Ricoh Arena but did not open under this name

Which stations… have the highest elevation?

England

Scotland

Wanlockhead (1,413ft above sea level; often reported as 1,498ft but this was nearby line summit) now closed; once highest 'main line' station in Britain

Wales

Llangynllo (≈978ft above sea level) if you know the exact official elevation, please let the editor know

Isle of Man

Northern Ireland

Which stations… have 'Harrington Humps'?

This Wikipedia page gives a simple description of what a Harrington Hump is. Entries in this table are based on the editor's interpretation of often cryptic source information.

Station	Platform	Date

Aberdovey	Single	3 December 2009 (formal opening)
Adderley Park	Both	21 February 2014
Amberley	Down	5 December 2014
Ancaster	Up	15 November 2013
Arram	Both	1 November 2013
Battersby	Single	2 December 2013
Bingham	Up	13 September 2013
Blaydon	Up	13 September 2013
Bootle	Down	5 August 2013
Brampton	Single	14 February 2014
Brandon	Both	14 February 2014
Braystones	Single	21 July 2013
Broome	Single	by spring 2015
Bryn	Up	1 August 2013
Builth Road	Single	by spring 2015
Burnley Barracks	Single	27 September 2013
Copplestone	Single	14 March 2014
Corkickle	Single	21 July 2013
Crediton	Up	7 March 2014
Dalton	Southbound	October 2012
Danzey	Both	23 May 2014
Drigg	Up	29 July 2013
Dyffryn Ardudwy	Single
Earlswood	Up	10 January 2014
Eccles	Up	6 August 2013
Entwhistle	Single	28 July 2013
Exeter St Thomas	Down	28 March 2014
Exton	Single	7 March 2014
Farnworth	Up	21 July 2013 Station since rebuilt (2015) so probably no longer present
Ferryside	Single	August 2015
Flimby	Up	8 July 2013
Flixton	Down	4 August 2013
Great Bentley	Both	28 March 2014
Great Coates	Down	4 October 2013
Great Coates	Great Coates	Up	25 October 2013
Grindleford	Up	20 September 2013
Hadfield	Single	6 August 2013
Harrington	Both	8 December 2008 (first 'hump' only)
Heighington	Both	18 October 2013
Henley in Arden	Down	26 September 2014
Horton-in-Ribblesdale	Up	8 July 2013
Hunmanby	Down	15 November 2013
Hutton Cranswick	Down	10 January 2014
Hutton Cranswick	Hutton Cranswick	Up	27 September 2013
Kearsley	Up	15 July 2013
Kents Bank		by November 2014
Knucklas	Single	during spring 2015
Lapworth	Down	7 February 2014
Lapworth	Lapworth	Up	6 October 2013
Lawrence Hill	Down	7 March 2014
Llanbister Road	Single	31 January 2015
Llangennech	Both	28 February 2015
Llangunllo	Single	31 January 2015
Llwyngwril	Single
Lowdham	Both	13 October 2013
Market Rasen	Both	13 October 2013
Nafferton	Down	24 October 2014
Nafferton	Nafferton	Up	1 November 2013
New Lane	Up	31 October 2014
Newton St Cyres	Single	14 March 2014
North Road	Single	4 October 2013
Northwich	Both	1 April 2011
Oulton Broad South	Single	14 February 2014
Parton	Both	15 July 2013
Pegswood	Up	21 March 2014
Pembroke	Single	August 2015
Pembroke Dock	Single	August 2015
Penrhyndeudraeth	Single	24 January 2015
Pleasington	Down	28 July 2013
Pontarddulais	Single	19 January 2015
Portsmouth Arms	Single	28 March 2014
Prees	?
Rauceby	Down	25 October 2013
Redbridge	Up	22 March 2014
St Albans Abbey	Single	17 July 2009 (installation) 11 August 2009 (formal opening)
St Bees	Northbound	October 2012
Sankey	Up	20 September 2013
Seascale	Both	October 2012
Seaton Carew	Both	30 May 2014
Spooner Row	Down	21 March 2014
Stapleton Road	Down	7 March 2014
Starbeck	Down	15 November 2013
Swineshead	Down	15 November 2013
Talsarnau	Single	24 January 2015
The Lakes	Both	10 January 2014
Thornton Abbey	Both	6 June 2014
Valley	Both?	14 May 2010 (formal opening)
Whaley Bridge	Buxton	by February 2013
Whitehaven	Through	by October 2011
Wigton	Down	8 July 2013
Wood End	Up	23 May 2014
Yorton	Down	15 April 2016

Which stations… have been used but never had trains?

Which stations… have the largest concourse?

Which stations… were built but never opened?

Over the years, many stations have been proposed but never come to fruition. This list attempts to show those where at least some physical construction started before they were abandoned. All are 'main line' schemes unless stated otherwise.

Which stations… are served only by companies other than the station facility operator (SFO)?

Which stations… have the longest platforms?

These stations have platforms 450m-long or longer. Lengths are official operational lengths where known; physical lengths can be longer especially where platforms are connected end-to-end (for example, the combined platform at Manchester's Victoria and Exchange stations was 681m long).

For Bournemouth, Gloucester and Edinburgh Waverley, the combined length allows a single long train to use both platforms simultaneously. Other stations where at least one platform is a bay could be a longer combined length (e.g. Colchester often quoted at ≈593m long).

Which stations… have the shortest platforms?

These stations have platforms 30m-long or shorter. Lengths are official operational lengths where known; those prefixed with ≈ are measured from mapping systems.

Which stations… have bilingual name signs?

Which stations… have international facilities?

Which stations… had CLASP buildings?

CLASP ('Consortium Local Authority Special Programme') was a system of prefabricated concrete panels designed as a quick and easy method of making utility buildings (e.g. schools and hospitals). Thirty Southern region and three Western region stations had CLASP buildings replacing their traditional ones. Most have since been replaced though some remain (e.g. Wool).

Station	Installed	Replaced	Notes

Ashtead	1968	2013
Aylesham	1968		Still present 2019
Belmont	1968	2004
Belvedere	1968	2000
Berrylands	1969		Still present 2017
Bristol Parkway	1972	2001
Brockley	1972		Still present 2015
Catford	1970		Still present 2018
Charlton	1968		Still present 2018
Crawley	1967		Still present 2018
Crayford	1968	2008	Some ancillary buildings still present 2016
East Grinstead	1972	2013
Fleet	1966	2014
Forest Hill	1973		Still present 2017
Gloucester	1977		Still present 2018
Hampton Wick	1969	2005	Some ancillary buildings still present 2008
Hassocks	1973	2013
Kidbrooke	1972	2015
Longfield	1972		Still present 2016
Lower Sydenham	1972	1991	Burnt down 1989
Meopham	1973		Still present 2018
New Eltham	1968	1988
Oxford	1971	1990
Poole	1970	late-1980s
Rainham (Kent)	1972	1989
Slade Green	1968		Still present 2018
Strood	1973	2017
Sunbury	1965		Still present 2014
Sunningdale	1972		Still present 2018
Virginia Water	1973		Still present 2019
West Byfleet	1973		Still present 2019
Wokingham	1973	2013
Wool	1972		Still present 2018