Atomic Systems

How long was the journey? Where did you travel from and to? And which train did you travel on?

My longest train journey was in Australia travelling from Sydney-Melbourne(and vice versa) onboard an XPT(the Aussie version of the British HST). The journey took us approx 10 hours each way. Outward journey was daytime, return journey was overnight.

6 hours, Lancaster - Exeter St Davids, plus another hour if you add the onward journey to Exmouth

"The Skirl O' the Pipes" railtour from Newton Abbot to Wick and Thurso, May 1983, using paris of 20's, 37's and 40's.

Pennine Fellsman Railtour..

56102 - Birmingham to Stafford (Fail at Stafford)
37065/56102 - Stafford to Crewe
37684 - Crewe to Liverpool
D345 - Liverpool to Crewe via S & C route
56107 - Crewe to Birmingham

14 hours !!!!

40058.

In terms of time on a single train, it would have to be the Fort Bill sleeper for me. Distance - either that or some railtour or another - I should really look it up.

In my fantasy world where I had £800 lying around, it would have been June's DPS Freedom of Scotland. Oh how I read the daily reports on the internet wistfully. Anyway I read somewhere that a similar tour has been preliminarily pencilled in for Summer 2005 - I've started saving up already!

Sorry for drifting OT.

Calcutta - Madras

3 days, 2 nights

From Manchester - St. Ives, Cornwall. Did it for about five summers in a row. Sometimes it involved two trains (Manchester - St. Erths HST plus the local DMU to St. Ives) other times three trains (a 47 from Manchester to Stafford or Plymouth and then a 45 from there to St. Ives). Can't remember how long it took, but when changing three times I would say the best part of a day.

Montreal, Quebec to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan - 3 days 2 nights.

I travelled on Via Rail's Canadian train service from Toronto, Ontario to Jasper, Alberta when I was on holiday in Canada at the end of June.

The distance was 3,600 km or 2,236 miles. We left Toronto at 9am on the Saturday and arrived in Jasper at around 2pm on the following Monday.

Five star service all the way!!!!

In terms of distance it's a tie between

Reading -> Manchester
and
Manchester -> Reading

However, Timewise the Manchester -> Reading journey wins due to starting out an hour late and arriving 3 hours late!

Los Angeles - New Orleans via the 'Daylight'.

Was supposed to take three days 2 nights, but was closer to 4 days because the Panama canal was closed and freight gets priority.


Mmmm Freight

Chicago to Los Angeles, 4 days after a delayed departure and stalling on the hills approaching California. Too many extra cars for the 3 engines! Even after all auxilliary power cut (non working toilets etc), still had to stop to cool down the traction motors. Great trip all the same.

Longest railway trip I had was 7 1/2 hours long. Auckland to Feilding (or was it Palmenston North [sic]) to visit my grandad.

Mallaig to Bletchley via Euston in 1971. First class, second class, restaurant, dining and sleeping coaches for all or part the journey ....

Motive power .... class 27, 50, 86 and 310 ....

Happy days

Hi

Plymouth - Doncaster 5 hours 30 minutes, Virgin Voyager. 26th/7/03
Doncaster - Plymouth 5 hours 45 minutes, Virgin Voyager. 26th/7/03

Matthew