WMT is stopping at Longport as a temporary measure to fill in the gaps left by EMR when they reduced their service in July. That's why there's no WMT timetable at the station. You're right, there should be a poster detailing all the stopping trains. The main building is in private ownership and being renovated, but very slowly so still looking shabby. We have a small group of volunteers at the station who maintain the gardens. I'm glad you liked them. Claire Sandys, Community Rail Officer
If you don’t use google map or an online timetable to check on your phone then I don’t know for you. 🤦♀️ who goes to station to check timetable when it’s probably ripped or graffitied on
@@andrewmaygothling6454 Yes you can and it is not the only pair of identically named places that exist on the UK rail network, Don't think any other have direct trains though
Hi Geoff, I’m a dispatcher at Stoke. London Northwestern Railway are only stopping at Longport due to an emergency EMR timetable. LNR stop when there is a missing EMR service. Northern have two northbound departures a day in peak time :) Lovely to see you back in Stoke!
@@geofftech2 Pretty sure there is a statutory obligation on whatever TOC runs the station, to show services for ALL operators at the station. Usually they are combined and have notes that show third party services. I'm sure there'll be some excuse like "due to covid" we can't be bothered.
Longport was my local station when I was at school and a teenager. I used it every Saturday to go to Bell Vue Speedway. There was a single box and gates and a road across the track . When at school the station was full of school children enjoying a school trip to Llandudno on a special. In the 70s they had mystery trips where you paid a few pounds for an unknown destination. We ended up in Brighton once and Weston Super Mare on another. When a teenager used the station to go to Crewe for train spotting. It’s sad to see the station in its current state.
London Northwestern Railway is a subsidiary of West Midlands Trains, West Midlands Railway is for services in the West Midlands region and combined authority (e.g Lichfield Trent Valley to Birmingham). London Northwestern Railway is for services going outside the region and combined authority on longer distance services (e.g Birmingham to Liverpool or London to Crewe).
West Midlands Trains is the TOC that owns boths London North Western Railways and West Midlands Railways. That's why the service comes under their jurisdiction. And yes, it does seem easy to get confused between West Midlands Trains and West Midlands Railways, but they do infact mean two different things.
If you don’t use google map or an online timetable to check on your phone then I don’t know for you. 🤦♀️ who goes to station to check timetable when it’s probably ripped or graffitied on
Geoff Marshall the answer to your question at 9:36, the West Midlands train with LNWR livery. As LNWR and WMR are the same company, WMR train sometimes uses LNWR livery.
Hey Geoff. West Mids do use LNWR-liveried trains: if you look closely at the side of the LNWR train, there's a little graphic that says "I'm seeing other passengers! I also work in the West Midlands" with the WMR logo :)
Your older guests show both much charm, and trepidation of technology or their appearance on it. Thank you for caring about these timeless troves of information.
@ScriptedHqrry They sometimes show hesitation about being on video. They might be afraid of saying something wrong, or looking awful on camera, knowing the world is watching.
Sorry Geoff, but you'll have to knock Alsager from your list of least used stations in Staffordshire, as the town and its station are actually in Cheshire. The place does have a Stoke series of postcodes, though.
Yeh i noticed this as well. However, even though Alsager is definitively a cheshire town, it is managed by east midlands railway. Also I am very nearby to alsager and have noticed it has adopted a significant stokie culture in the last 10 years. However i guess both the train management and culture are irrelevant when specifically talking about least used stations in whatever county.
How can there be a "list" of least-used stations in Staffordshire? Just as there can only be one highest mountain, oldest person, or fastest car, there can be only one least-used station.
During WW2 my parents used to board the LMS train from Longport to the Royal Ordnance factory at Radway Green where they both worked. The train used to be crowded. The few holidays that we had invariably started at Longport station. Thanks Geoff, it brings back fond memories,
As someone said earlier it is the nearest station to Port Vale FC. When I went to PVFC there were a lot of fans using the station but if like me they had tickets to Stoke-on-Trent they would not be counted in the user stats I assume. So it may be a false least "used" station.
Geoff will have to come back and do Blythe Bridge then... or the bus shelters next to a track... where the old station building is now a builders merchants.
Geoff, it was great to see Longport featured, it was my local station when I lived in Staffordshire and before I moved to London. Its such a shame that the old ticket office and waiting room is now closed, I always remember when it was staffed and great excitement of buying a ticket and waiting for the train as we headed to Manchester for the day. Closure of these lovely buildings I am sure went hand in hand with many of the stations becoming unstaffed, I just hope they don’t go beyond economic repair and just become eyesores.
The actual building is lovely, it's sad that there is no manned ticket office. Although, being a least used station, I can understand why it would be destaffed.
I've only just noticed that you do english subtitles. I'm not hard of hearing but I am autistic and I think this is fantastic, as not only deaf/HoH people use them. They help me to focus on the video more easily.
Another great Least Used Station instalment. Absolutely love the editing at the end with the East Midlands Railway service arriving edited in with the music!
Timetable posters showing all operators do exist at many stations, known as "A-Z" timetables. Longport is a prime example of station which should have that type of poster
Such a great shame. I was born about a mile from Longport and can remember it as a busy railway centre. With goods sheds a level crossing box. The 'boarded up' booking office was wonderful. Great video, thank you.
Epic Video Geoff, Alsager is in Cheshire, Kidsgrove is the northernist station in Staffordshire, There is two Northern services per day as you mention in the video one of them Stoke-on-Trent at 0756 for Manchester for 8am (I have travelled on that service and got off Longport on a Northern service) The London Northwestern services are only stepping in while the East Midlands Railway services are running every 2 hours and sometimes they step in if there engineering works for East Midlands Railway (apart from 1040 to 1140 when that is hourly) They are using London Northwestern Trains because London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway are the same company, just divided the franchise and they do say on the Class 350s that they do operate West Midlands Railway service, it's like the Chase Line Birmingham to Rugeley, it's a West Midlands Railway line but London Northwestern Railway Class 350s operate the line. At 10:58 the electro-motive depot is when they are building the Class 6 9 locomotive which are Class 56 bodies with Class 66 engines.
You beat me to it with pointing out that Alsager is in Cheshire, for a map man quite a mistake. But you didn't notice that Alsager was mispronounced. The ' Al' is pronounced the same way as it is in Salford and St Albans. However,this isn't suprising, as all the railways use the wrong pronunciation in their announcements.
I was around Longport last Tuesday! If only I knew. Been hoping you'd do this one. As part of the EMR Community Rail Partnership, we are working to encourage more usage of Longport (I'm based at Longton), like all the stations in the route. Even though you can get a train to Blackpool. You can't get a single train back. As for why it's least used, it's easier to go to Stoke and get trains from there. But it's useful for commuting. Also West Midlands Train as it says on the side of the trains themselves, is part of London North Western.
Longport does indeed feature on the front cover of Northern Railway's Timetable 19 (Manchester to Stoke on Trent via Macclesfield), even though only 2 trains stop there.
If I recall correctly, West Midlands *Railway* is the operating company (The purple and orange trains!) and West Midlands *Trains* are the parent company that own WMR and LNWR. I'm sure my Dad will correct me if I'm wrong on that as he works for them ^^;
The operating company/franchisee is WMT. WMR and LNR are sub-brands of that franchise. And what route is what brand is a bit awkward in Staffordshire, leading to too many trains (currently) having LNR branding. This is due to the various service pattern changes that have happened - though it was the Pandemic that killed off the troublesome merging of Euston-New Street services with New Street - Liverpool/Crewe (via Stoke)/Rugeley services, rather than the problems that were caused by it. The Crewe-Stoke-Birmingham service might be currently considered WMT on timetables (WMR Timetable 8 of 8, but also appearing on LNR Timetable C), but the service went to Euston (at least nominally) until COVID hit and so was LNR.
I was going to add a similar comment that according to the wikipedia page for West Midland Trains, London North Western Railway is part of West Midland Trains. If you look at the wikipedia page en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Midlands_Trains, services such as Birmingham - Crewe or Birmingham - Liverpool Lime Street come under LNWR, not WMR.
Alsager station is still running but further along the line used to be Radway Green & Barthomley station which served the Royal Ordnance factory and nearby village of Barthomley. That station has long disappeared. A new RO factory was built and opened in 2011 and the old buildings in use at that time were demolished.
Longport is a station that has found itself being cut off from it passengers, industrial units, the building of the A500 (D-road), the loss of the village of Longbridge Hayes. There used to be a residential area in Longbridge Hayes, now all gone. In the 1980's there was a sitcom based around Longbridge Hayes, staring John Mills as a retired potter, called Young at Heart, produced by ATV.
@@mikenash7049, I vaguely remember it, it was over 40 years ago. I watched it at the time, but i've never seen it since. It also stared David Nielson, aka Roy Cropper of Corrie fame, and Meg Jenkins starred in quite a few roles. (Thank god for the internet to refresh our memories.)
Interesting OLE there. I can't tell if the over tall masts are for vertical adjustment (common in mining areas) or the OLE has been lowered after the closer of the level crossing to reduce the footbridge height
London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway are two subsidiaries of the same company, West Midlands Trains, who are the official holder of the franchise and so on many booking engines they come up as the operator for both subsidiaries services. They do share stock however, WMR’s services from Wolverhampton to Walsall, Rugeley Trent Valley to Birmingham, and the Birmingham International shuttles, all use LNR Class 350s. The 350’s PIS system also says whether or not it’s operating a London Northwestern or West Midlands service
LNWR and West Midlands trains are the same company after london midland ceased in 2017. LNWR mainly look after the services from London to Birmingham, Crewe and destinations around London and West Midlands trains are more based from Birmingham
Thanks to you, I have seen it… (and comment about it) say it… and I am now waiting for the final video until I’m sorted. Thanks for taking us on your adventure today and sharing in your enjoyment.
Great video Geoff. I can confirm that the first Northern Service of the day is the 06:33 to Blackpool North from Stoke-On-Trent (331 operated). The Next Northern service is the 08:00 to Manchester Piccadilly from Stoke-On-Trent (323 operated). LNWR Services to Birmingham New Street at xx:20 every hour to Birmingham New Street (350 operated).
I love the way you wave goodbye to the Help Point. Edit: The same confusion between West Midlands and LNWR starts from Euston where the services, when you buy online are called West Midlands but all have the livery of LNWR. I don't get it.
Ideally the station would have A to Z posters - but generally the station will have a EM poster, a Northern poster and maybe also LNR - however EMR will normally produce the full timetable but the C-19 timetable means EMR are only publishing their services. TImetable poster information should actually sort itself out in December
LNR don’t stop at Longport, they only calling at Longport at this moment in time to help EMR out while they only running every 2 hours at the moment but that will sort itself out in December when it planning to go back hourly
I visited the station back in May when EMR we’re running an hourly service however Since then EMR had to go into an emergency timetable and the EMR services generally became every 2 hours so LNWR (Part of West Midlands Trains) came into rescue to maintain an hourly service they don’t usually stop At Longport (expect during engineering work or I. Timetable emergencies like there is) this is also why LNWR don’t have a timetable board at Longport. In regards to Northern I find it odd how they don’t advertise there 2 daily Manchester trains because they are part of the normal timetable. I only realised myself the other month that northern stop there. Great Video by the way!
Hi Geoff, West Midlands Trains is the company name and the franchise is split between London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway. This was a London Northwestern service but National Rail classes LNWR and WMR trains as West Midlands Trains services. WEST MIDLANDS TRAINS: London Northwestern Railway + West Midlands Railway.
I would have said Longton was more least used (if that's the correct wording?) than Longport, although more services stop there. Again another Potteries station that used to have booking office, toilets, was staffed & enjoyed the Potters excursion trains a plenty during holiday season. A shell of its former glory nowadays although the closely located Foley Signalbox is worthy of a mention
I used to travel from Birmingham to Longport as a student to watch Port Vale football games. Lovely ground and well within walking distance from Longport station.
LNWR and WMR are owned by a company called West Midlands Trains. You'll note on the livery of the 350/1s a small logo that says those trains have a dual use with WMR. I know the Rugeley Trent Valley to Birmingham New Street services are WMR operated, but they're LNWR 350s that run it (or it was when I did that branch almost 2 years ago, 2 months pre-lockdown).
Living in the area, I'd say the relative disuse of the station is probably down to its proximity to Stoke station. Stoke is much busier in terms of stopping services, has better amenities in terms of refreshments, tickets etc., as well as being well-served by local buses. I'd guess that, unless you live in walking distance of Longport, Stoke would be the preferable option.
This has been in my watch later playlist since upload day due to me being too busy doing other things and then the length of that playlist. Then I noticed it in my scrolling of that playlist today for something cool to watch, just 5 days before I am going to this station and staying in the area nearby for a weekend.
A least used station I've used, back in 2007! Got off a Northern (or whatever it was called back then) 323 from Manchester at around 17:00 in order to meet a narrowboat on the nearby canal. I would then spend the next ten days on board cruising to Reading via the Severn Estuary! Also, the EMR timetables even show the operator at the top, even though they're all the same company and missing everyone else's!
as an american viewer i will say i love these videos because it shows off the way less touristy and more authentically British parts of the UK and i love it. I have learned about some amazing areas of the UK that i'd love to go see if I ever visited
West Midlands Trains I think owns/operates LNWR (one of my sources for this apart from many online timetables calling LNWR services WMT ones, is that some of WMT’s new trains - I think either the two or three car CAF ‘Civitys’ - are listed as being trains that will eventually replace the LNWR 350s) however don’t rely on me, I’m a 15 year old Irishman! Keep up the amazing videos and keep safe!
I lived near Longport Station for 10 years but always drove past it to go to Stoke Station when I needed to get a train! Now my nearest is the 2nd least used... Blythe Bridge, and that I have used as it's a bit more useful for the eastbound services to Derby and therefore connecting on to ECML.
Hi again Geoff and Andrew. No ticket machines at Longport sadly. Clearly didn't warrant Northern trains installing one as part of their system coverage, or none of the TOCs using the station could agree on funding!
Wow a least used stations claim to fame, back in the early nineties I had a season ticket from Longport to Crewe. Back then the Victorian buildings you showed were in full use and the ticket office manned. A friendly old chap used to help with tickets, there was a a rack with plenty of timetables and a coal fire in the winter. Fast forward 2+ decades and lack of funding and antisocial behaviour give us the current offering. As mentioned the station should be doing better and with the other 2 stations mentioned and including centrally located and now demolished Etruria the area has been left to rot. The bare minimum of concise timetables and seems a little bit of struggle and with a little bit of maintenance the Victorian buildings could be bought back to life. You wouldn't see this in many other large cities and yet poor old Stoke always seems to get the last bit of feeble funding available. The fact that at least 4 stations are either closed, unavailable or underused says a lot about the transport priorities in the area. I'm glad that the station is still used it has to be said and looks to have a future. As your map showed there used to be a lot of freight sidings there to, they closed as the industry went out of the area, probably mainly Shelton Bar. Thanks for the video.
A bit daft that the two Northern only services to Manchester Piccadilly in the morning from Longport don't have corresponding ones in the evening, meaning you've got to go to Stoke and reverse back up. And the way the timetable works out, that means CrossCountry to Stoke to get the West Midlands one going back. Also it's the main station for Port Vale football ground, which may explain the extra footfall on a match day for example to boost the figures.
London North Western also have West Midlands trains logos on their trains. This peaked my interest a few months ago. Service is much improved from Euston to Birmingham, with seemingly increased frequency of services that stop less.
Alsager's in Cheshire. We had a teacher at school who travelled from Stone, I think, to Longport, back in the 60s. Can't tell you how often she was late!
I haven't caught a train from there for fifty-seven years. As a thirteen year old with my northern cousins we caught a train from Longport to Crew to train spot at the loco sheds and were caught on the tracks by security. I was really worried that my act of trespass, would be reported to my "Potteries" born mum in far away Hertfordshire. Thanks for the location memories!
West Midlands Railway and LNWR are both under the West Midlands Trains franchise. That's why on some of their liveries say "London North Western Railway (By WMT)"
Northern services are the 06.29 Stoke-on-Trent to Blackpool North and 07.56 Stoke-on-Trent. West Midlands are 1tp2h between Birmingham New St and Crewe using London Northwestern 350s. West Midlands Trains is the full franchise name. London Northwestern and West Midlands Railway are the two sub brands of the franchise
I once caught a train here many years ago after watching Stockport County at Port Vale when the previous incarnation of Northern stopped there. Now Northern hardly stops there at all.
I look forward to the Stone video, not that I did not enjoy this one! Stone was where in my day the old Post Office Telecom had a training school and I with many others were shipped for a few weeks of training in the 1960s and early 70s.
Don't get confused between West Midlands Trains and West Midlands Railway haha, WMT is the company consisting LNWR and WMT, whereas WMT is the local operator for the Birmingham area + some services to Shrewsbury. LNWR operates services up the WCML to Liverpool Lime Street
was there today, it does now have a ticket machine operated by EMR though it wasn’t fully functional. the buy tickets option wasn’t working but could load up a smart card on it still
Great video Geoff. Longport is the least Staffordshire station and indeed Northern do stop at Longport heading south. Try doing Penkridge and Wilnecote both least used station in Staffordshire
@@neville132bbk ..looks like the work of A W N Pugin who did Oakamoor station.. and Big Ben! It used to be called Burslem before the later Burslem was built.
@@christinaburton9297 good evening/morning, Christina. Take a look at, if you don't already know it, Dunedin railway station..1906 , by "Gingerbread George" Troup. I think he also did St Patrick's basilica in Timaru among other public buildings.
Is it me or does Mr. Mappy have a demeanour of someone who retained the same mannerisms and posture of when he was a kid? I've never seen him as a kid but I can imagine that cheeky smile of his and him standing with his arms behind his back with a coat too long for him lol
I'd say a large reason it's not used as much as it could be is because it's cut off from a large part of the population by that massive duel carriageway you can hear throughout the video. I used to use this station and it's a pretty un-pedestrian friendly crossing over a busy flyover roundabout juction. I'd say North Staffs as a whole is a pretty car-centric place because of the crappy road infastructure that cuts everything off from everything else. It's just easier to drive to the places the station serves.
0:28 _The least used station._ Has two trains go through, at the same time. 9:59 As a guy who's used to TransPennine's new stock, and the Azumas (plus old Northern stock), I will say, that the back end of that train, looks pretty slick.
There's some 350's that have a dual LNWR/WMR livery (as they're both brands of West Midlands Trains), but I've only ever seen them on the Chase Line through Walsall.
I know I’m very late, but the LNR/WMT thing is because West Midlands Trains operates the franchise covering both West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway, much like how Govia Thameslink Railway has Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Southern and Thameslink
West Midlands Trains is the company that owns both West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway. However there are services typically what I've seen on the Walsall Line. It is a West Midlands Railway line however it is using a London Northwestern Train. BUT, the announcements on board that LNWR service did say "Welcome aboard this West Midlands Railway service...". So overall it is pretty confusing.
I’ve been to and from Longport station on a couple of occasions, but that was to take the relatively long walk up to Port Vale Football Club through Burslem! Used to have to wait at Stoke for ages to make the 4 minute journey to Longport usually! I’d imagine more football fans like me use that station for Port Vale away days?
There are only 2 Northern Trains per day to Manchester. No return service! The LNW trains don't normally stop at all. They are at the moment to cover some EMR services which are currently cancelled (COVID related).
So if you can get from Derbyshire's least used to Staffordshire's least used on one train, Does that not call for a 'least used' challenge similar to tube challenge or the Platform 0's (although obviously not visiting all of them), attempting to travel through (or off at) as many Least Used Stations in one day.
Also, West Midlands Trains is just the overall operating companies, WMR and LNWR are just brands for different services, as this is a regional train and not a local service, It would be a LNWR service, WMR only operate local services around Birmingham and the West Midlands County itself. However, You are correct on WMR just using the LNWR livery, Services from Wolverhampton to Walsall and along the line up to Rugeley DO use LNWR 350s for a service that is in fact West Midlands Railway, and I believe the same happens for some New Street to Coventry/Wolverhampton locals too. Those are the only instances of it however, All other LNWR liveried services, are actually LNWR.
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WMT is stopping at Longport as a temporary measure to fill in the gaps left by EMR when they reduced their service in July. That's why there's no WMT timetable at the station. You're right, there should be a poster detailing all the stopping trains. The main building is in private ownership and being renovated, but very slowly so still looking shabby. We have a small group of volunteers at the station who maintain the gardens. I'm glad you liked them. Claire Sandys, Community Rail Officer
If you don’t use google map or an online timetable to check on your phone then I don’t know for you. 🤦♀️ who goes to station to check timetable when it’s probably ripped or graffitied on
@@Pit-jt3lw people who don't use the internet on a daily basis still exist, especially in the smaller towns
@@Pit-jt3lw I have a phone and still check paper timetables as when you're in a bit of a pickle or a rush, they're often easier to read.
Keep up the good work, Claire!
It's LNWR not WMT
The 0633 also has the distinction of stopping at two identically named stations - Adlington (Cheshire) and Adlington (Lancashire)
OOo. Can you buy a ticket between the two Adlingtons?
@@andrewmaygothling6454 Yes you can and it is not the only pair of identically named places that exist on the UK rail network, Don't think any other have direct trains though
@@alang5764 rainham (essex) and rainham (kent) is a good one, no direct train but they are quite close either side of the thames
Charing Cross(London) to Charing Cross(Glasgow) is a slighty longer haul!
Bentley (Hants) and Bentley (South Yorks) are another couple, but it might be a little difficult running trains between them.
Hi Geoff, I’m a dispatcher at Stoke. London Northwestern Railway are only stopping at Longport due to an emergency EMR timetable. LNR stop when there is a missing EMR service. Northern have two northbound departures a day in peak time :)
Lovely to see you back in Stoke!
@@geofftech2 Happy to help! Yeah it would be nice that’s for sure.
@@geofftech2 Pretty sure there is a statutory obligation on whatever TOC runs the station, to show services for ALL operators at the station.
Usually they are combined and have notes that show third party services.
I'm sure there'll be some excuse like "due to covid" we can't be bothered.
@@iMeyrick Thanks for that, I can't find it in the Network Rail timetables from May-December 2021 either.
LNWR are always stopping there now
@@flopyatt2552 Yeah they’ve swapped! Silly decision honestly. Now you can no longer get a direct train from one end of Stoke to another.
Longport was my local station when I was at school and a teenager. I used it every Saturday to go to Bell Vue Speedway. There was a single box and gates and a road across the track . When at school the station was full of school children enjoying a school trip to Llandudno on a special. In the 70s they had mystery trips where you paid a few pounds for an unknown destination. We ended up in Brighton once and Weston Super Mare on another. When a teenager used the station to go to Crewe for train spotting. It’s sad to see the station in its current state.
Geoff waving goodbye to the faraway information lady was off the charts delightful.
That was worth the video alone!
London Northwestern Railway is a subsidiary of West Midlands Trains, West Midlands Railway is for services in the West Midlands region and combined authority (e.g Lichfield Trent Valley to Birmingham). London Northwestern Railway is for services going outside the region and combined authority on longer distance services (e.g Birmingham to Liverpool or London to Crewe).
West Midlands Trains is the TOC that owns boths London North Western Railways and West Midlands Railways. That's why the service comes under their jurisdiction. And yes, it does seem easy to get confused between West Midlands Trains and West Midlands Railways, but they do infact mean two different things.
If you don’t use google map or an online timetable to check on your phone then I don’t know for you. 🤦♀️ who goes to station to check timetable when it’s probably ripped or graffitied on
I think this is one of the units that has "I'm a stunt double, I also work in the west midlands" writen on it.
Geoff Marshall the answer to your question at 9:36, the West Midlands train with LNWR livery. As LNWR and WMR are the same company, WMR train sometimes uses LNWR livery.
So two franchises are run by the same company?
@@skylarius3757 they are owned by the same company but different names for different routes.
Hey Geoff. West Mids do use LNWR-liveried trains: if you look closely at the side of the LNWR train, there's a little graphic that says "I'm seeing other passengers! I also work in the West Midlands" with the WMR logo :)
Just wait until Geoff realises that Chiltern also lend train sets to WMR. ;-)
@@GreenJimll & EMR too,
@@GreenJimll Wait really? I didn't know about that one - learn something new every day :)
@@liamw-89 WMR has I think 2 172 turbostars which were previously operated by chiltern
Your older guests show both much charm, and trepidation of technology or their appearance on it. Thank you for caring about these timeless troves of information.
@ScriptedHqrry They sometimes show hesitation about being on video. They might be afraid of saying something wrong, or looking awful on camera, knowing the world is watching.
Ooh, a map man... don't tell Jay!
Longport not to be confused with nearby Longton, seems a very well served least used station regardless, passed though on many occasions,
Sorry Geoff, but you'll have to knock Alsager from your list of least used stations in Staffordshire, as the town and its station are actually in Cheshire. The place does have a Stoke series of postcodes, though.
He hasn’t said which definition of county he is using
Yeh i noticed this as well. However, even though Alsager is definitively a cheshire town, it is managed by east midlands railway. Also I am very nearby to alsager and have noticed it has adopted a significant stokie culture in the last 10 years. However i guess both the train management and culture are irrelevant when specifically talking about least used stations in whatever county.
How can there be a "list" of least-used stations in Staffordshire? Just as there can only be one highest mountain, oldest person, or fastest car, there can be only one least-used station.
@@norbitonflyer5625 you have to compare some to see which has least
My Great Uncles was Stationmaster at Longport back in the day
Having fun with the editing there, Geoff? 😊 It paid of! Wonderful video again! Thanks for all the work you clearly put in
@@geofftech2 The NZ Geoff Marshall Appreciation Soc will have its first AGM in November :-)
Thank you UK TH-camrs for your supplemental information. It has been far too long since I have visited.
Cheers for these videos Geoff, it makes me feel like I’m back home, moved to the States for love but miss my dark October days of home
During WW2 my parents used to board the LMS train from Longport to the Royal Ordnance factory at Radway Green where they both worked. The train used to be crowded. The few holidays that we had invariably started at Longport station. Thanks Geoff, it brings back fond memories,
As someone said earlier it is the nearest station to Port Vale FC. When I went to PVFC there were a lot of fans using the station but if like me they had tickets to Stoke-on-Trent they would not be counted in the user stats I assume. So it may be a false least "used" station.
Geoff will have to come back and do Blythe Bridge then... or the bus shelters next to a track... where the old station building is now a builders merchants.
Geoff, it was great to see Longport featured, it was my local station when I lived in Staffordshire and before I moved to London. Its such a shame that the old ticket office and waiting room is now closed, I always remember when it was staffed and great excitement of buying a ticket and waiting for the train as we headed to Manchester for the day. Closure of these lovely buildings I am sure went hand in hand with many of the stations becoming unstaffed, I just hope they don’t go beyond economic repair and just become eyesores.
The actual building is lovely, it's sad that there is no manned ticket office. Although, being a least used station, I can understand why it would be destaffed.
Had to get the train to Longport for a job at Port Vale a few years ago. Genuinely the coldest place I've ever been in my life.
I've only just noticed that you do english subtitles. I'm not hard of hearing but I am autistic and I think this is fantastic, as not only deaf/HoH people use them. They help me to focus on the video more easily.
Another great Least Used Station instalment. Absolutely love the editing at the end with the East Midlands Railway service arriving edited in with the music!
Longport the nearest station to the Port Vale football ground.
Timetable poster showing all the services, that would mean a joined up railway 🚂 😂
Timetable posters showing all operators do exist at many stations, known as "A-Z" timetables. Longport is a prime example of station which should have that type of poster
Such a great shame. I was born about a mile from Longport and can remember it as a busy railway centre. With goods sheds a level crossing box. The 'boarded up' booking office was wonderful.
Great video, thank you.
Epic Video Geoff, Alsager is in Cheshire, Kidsgrove is the northernist station in Staffordshire, There is two Northern services per day as you mention in the video one of them Stoke-on-Trent at 0756 for Manchester for 8am (I have travelled on that service and got off Longport on a Northern service) The London Northwestern services are only stepping in while the East Midlands Railway services are running every 2 hours and sometimes they step in if there engineering works for East Midlands Railway (apart from 1040 to 1140 when that is hourly) They are using London Northwestern Trains because London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway are the same company, just divided the franchise and they do say on the Class 350s that they do operate West Midlands Railway service, it's like the Chase Line Birmingham to Rugeley, it's a West Midlands Railway line but London Northwestern Railway Class 350s operate the line. At 10:58 the electro-motive depot is when they are building the Class 6 9 locomotive which are Class 56 bodies with Class 66 engines.
You beat me to it with pointing out that Alsager is in Cheshire, for a map man quite a mistake. But you didn't notice that Alsager was mispronounced. The ' Al' is pronounced the same way as it is in Salford and St Albans. However,this isn't suprising, as all the railways use the wrong pronunciation in their announcements.
I was around Longport last Tuesday! If only I knew. Been hoping you'd do this one. As part of the EMR Community Rail Partnership, we are working to encourage more usage of Longport (I'm based at Longton), like all the stations in the route.
Even though you can get a train to Blackpool. You can't get a single train back.
As for why it's least used, it's easier to go to Stoke and get trains from there. But it's useful for commuting.
Also West Midlands Train as it says on the side of the trains themselves, is part of London North Western.
Always a shock to see Park Street on the map, which is where I grew up.
positivity out of nowhere and for no reason is just so UK and so delightful.
head down to slough and say that.
@@binarysignals9593 ...to pick up orders from the Office?
Longport does indeed feature on the front cover of Northern Railway's Timetable 19 (Manchester to Stoke on Trent via Macclesfield), even though only 2 trains stop there.
If I recall correctly, West Midlands *Railway* is the operating company (The purple and orange trains!) and West Midlands *Trains* are the parent company that own WMR and LNWR. I'm sure my Dad will correct me if I'm wrong on that as he works for them ^^;
The operating company/franchisee is WMT. WMR and LNR are sub-brands of that franchise. And what route is what brand is a bit awkward in Staffordshire, leading to too many trains (currently) having LNR branding.
This is due to the various service pattern changes that have happened - though it was the Pandemic that killed off the troublesome merging of Euston-New Street services with New Street - Liverpool/Crewe (via Stoke)/Rugeley services, rather than the problems that were caused by it. The Crewe-Stoke-Birmingham service might be currently considered WMT on timetables (WMR Timetable 8 of 8, but also appearing on LNR Timetable C), but the service went to Euston (at least nominally) until COVID hit and so was LNR.
I was going to add a similar comment that according to the wikipedia page for West Midland Trains, London North Western Railway is part of West Midland Trains. If you look at the wikipedia page en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Midlands_Trains, services such as Birmingham - Crewe or Birmingham - Liverpool Lime Street come under LNWR, not WMR.
Absolutely correct (I look over Kenilworth station from my bedroom so see many of them every day!)
It's Monday and you just uploaded a new video. What a great way to start the new week!
Alsager station is still running but further along the line used to be Radway Green & Barthomley station which served the Royal Ordnance factory and nearby village of Barthomley. That station has long disappeared. A new RO factory was built and opened in 2011 and the old buildings in use at that time were demolished.
Being my local station it's great to see a video from you and get to know more about it 👍
"The Hunt for the Northern Timetable" sounds like Geoffs fifth book :P
Does it follow or precede "The Riddle of the Sands"?
@@neville132bbk It follows “A Lot of Allotments”.
@@OneKnifeYeHand In the allotted time...
Longport is a station that has found itself being cut off from it passengers, industrial units, the building of the A500 (D-road), the loss of the village of Longbridge Hayes. There used to be a residential area in Longbridge Hayes, now all gone. In the 1980's there was a sitcom based around Longbridge Hayes, staring John Mills as a retired potter, called Young at Heart, produced by ATV.
I remember Young At Heart. John Mills sang the theme song and the record got into the lower reaches of the charts, if I remember correctly.
@@mikenash7049, I vaguely remember it, it was over 40 years ago. I watched it at the time, but i've never seen it since. It also stared David Nielson, aka Roy Cropper of Corrie fame, and Meg Jenkins starred in quite a few roles. (Thank god for the internet to refresh our memories.)
Interesting OLE there. I can't tell if the over tall masts are for vertical adjustment (common in mining areas) or the OLE has been lowered after the closer of the level crossing to reduce the footbridge height
London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway are two subsidiaries of the same company, West Midlands Trains, who are the official holder of the franchise and so on many booking engines they come up as the operator for both subsidiaries services. They do share stock however, WMR’s services from Wolverhampton to Walsall, Rugeley Trent Valley to Birmingham, and the Birmingham International shuttles, all use LNR Class 350s. The 350’s PIS system also says whether or not it’s operating a London Northwestern or West Midlands service
LNWR and West Midlands trains are the same company after london midland ceased in 2017. LNWR mainly look after the services from London to Birmingham, Crewe and destinations around London and West Midlands trains are more based from Birmingham
Thanks to you, I have seen it… (and comment about it) say it… and I am now waiting for the final video until I’m sorted.
Thanks for taking us on your adventure today and sharing in your enjoyment.
Having a Geoff video to take my mind of my pains from an op nothing is better
More content you didn't know needed (but love) from Geoff! 🏆 🎉
Another brilliant video Geoff, love these least used stations videos!
Great video Geoff. I can confirm that the first Northern Service of the day is the 06:33 to Blackpool North from Stoke-On-Trent (331 operated). The Next Northern service is the 08:00 to Manchester Piccadilly from Stoke-On-Trent (323 operated). LNWR Services to Birmingham New Street at xx:20 every hour to Birmingham New Street (350 operated).
I love the way you wave goodbye to the Help Point. Edit: The same confusion between West Midlands and LNWR starts from Euston where the services, when you buy online are called West Midlands but all have the livery of LNWR. I don't get it.
Congratulations on 245 000 subscribers!
I do like how you waved at the inanimate help point when disconnecting the call.
Thank you for these vids. I'm Canadian but my roots and family are from Stoke :)
Ideally the station would have A to Z posters - but generally the station will have a EM poster, a Northern poster and maybe also LNR - however EMR will normally produce the full timetable but the C-19 timetable means EMR are only publishing their services. TImetable poster information should actually sort itself out in December
LNR don’t stop at Longport, they only calling at Longport at this moment in time to help EMR out while they only running every 2 hours at the moment but that will sort itself out in December when it planning to go back hourly
I visited the station back in May when EMR we’re running an hourly service however Since then EMR had to go into an emergency timetable and the EMR services generally became every 2 hours so LNWR (Part of West Midlands Trains) came into rescue to maintain an hourly service they don’t usually stop At Longport (expect during engineering work or I. Timetable emergencies like there is) this is also why LNWR don’t have a timetable board at Longport. In regards to Northern I find it odd how they don’t advertise there 2 daily Manchester trains because they are part of the normal timetable. I only realised myself the other month that northern stop there. Great Video by the way!
Hi Geoff,
West Midlands Trains is the company name and the franchise is split between London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway. This was a London Northwestern service but National Rail classes LNWR and WMR trains as West Midlands Trains services.
WEST MIDLANDS TRAINS: London Northwestern Railway + West Midlands Railway.
I can't wait for the Lumo video, It was amazing meeting you!
The Lumo is the Mallard looky-likey train (colourwise) is it not? I did chuckle when I saw that !!
I would have said Longton was more least used (if that's the correct wording?) than Longport, although more services stop there. Again another Potteries station that used to have booking office, toilets, was staffed & enjoyed the Potters excursion trains a plenty during holiday season. A shell of its former glory nowadays although the closely located Foley Signalbox is worthy of a mention
I used to travel from Birmingham to Longport as a student to watch Port Vale football games. Lovely ground and well within walking distance from Longport station.
LNWR and WMR are owned by a company called West Midlands Trains. You'll note on the livery of the 350/1s a small logo that says those trains have a dual use with WMR. I know the Rugeley Trent Valley to Birmingham New Street services are WMR operated, but they're LNWR 350s that run it (or it was when I did that branch almost 2 years ago, 2 months pre-lockdown).
Living in the area, I'd say the relative disuse of the station is probably down to its proximity to Stoke station. Stoke is much busier in terms of stopping services, has better amenities in terms of refreshments, tickets etc., as well as being well-served by local buses. I'd guess that, unless you live in walking distance of Longport, Stoke would be the preferable option.
This has been in my watch later playlist since upload day due to me being too busy doing other things and then the length of that playlist. Then I noticed it in my scrolling of that playlist today for something cool to watch, just 5 days before I am going to this station and staying in the area nearby for a weekend.
my trains are EMR apparently
A least used station I've used, back in 2007! Got off a Northern (or whatever it was called back then) 323 from Manchester at around 17:00 in order to meet a narrowboat on the nearby canal. I would then spend the next ten days on board cruising to Reading via the Severn Estuary!
Also, the EMR timetables even show the operator at the top, even though they're all the same company and missing everyone else's!
as an american viewer i will say i love these videos because it shows off the way less touristy and more authentically British parts of the UK and i love it. I have learned about some amazing areas of the UK that i'd love to go see if I ever visited
Hooray for the crap bits
West Midlands Trains I think owns/operates LNWR (one of my sources for this apart from many online timetables calling LNWR services WMT ones, is that some of WMT’s new trains - I think either the two or three car CAF ‘Civitys’ - are listed as being trains that will eventually replace the LNWR 350s) however don’t rely on me, I’m a 15 year old Irishman! Keep up the amazing videos and keep safe!
I lived near Longport Station for 10 years but always drove past it to go to Stoke Station when I needed to get a train! Now my nearest is the 2nd least used... Blythe Bridge, and that I have used as it's a bit more useful for the eastbound services to Derby and therefore connecting on to ECML.
Hi again Geoff and Andrew. No ticket machines at Longport sadly. Clearly didn't warrant Northern trains installing one as part of their system coverage, or none of the TOCs using the station could agree on funding!
Well northern doesn't operate the station so they can't technically install one of their machines there
One of the reasons for the high passenger numbers (for a least used station anyway) is it is the nearest station to Port Vale FC
Another good one Geoff. For me I loved that there used to be a level crossing and you can see it.
Wow a least used stations claim to fame, back in the early nineties I had a season ticket from Longport to Crewe. Back then the Victorian buildings you showed were in full use and the ticket office manned. A friendly old chap used to help with tickets, there was a a rack with plenty of timetables and a coal fire in the winter. Fast forward 2+ decades and lack of funding and antisocial behaviour give us the current offering.
As mentioned the station should be doing better and with the other 2 stations mentioned and including centrally located and now demolished Etruria the area has been left to rot. The bare minimum of concise timetables and seems a little bit of struggle and with a little bit of maintenance the Victorian buildings could be bought back to life. You wouldn't see this in many other large cities and yet poor old Stoke always seems to get the last bit of feeble funding available. The fact that at least 4 stations are either closed, unavailable or underused says a lot about the transport priorities in the area. I'm glad that the station is still used it has to be said and looks to have a future. As your map showed there used to be a lot of freight sidings there to, they closed as the industry went out of the area, probably mainly Shelton Bar.
Thanks for the video.
Lots of new "least used" stations by county this year, and some old favourites
Bedfordshire - Millbrook
Berkshire - Midgham:
City of Bristol - St Andrews Road:
Buckinghamshire - Fenny Stratford
Cambridgeshire - Shippea Hill:
Cheshire - Stanlow & Thornton:
Cornwall - Coombe Junction:
Cumbria - Nethertown:
Derbyshire - Peartree
Devon - Sampford Peverell (closed)/ Okehampton
Dorset - Chetnole
Co Durham - Teesside Airport
Essex - White Notley
Gloucestershire - Pilning:
Hampshire - Beaulieu Road
Herefordshire - Colwall:
Hertfordshire - How Wood:
Isle of Wight - Smallbrook Junction:
Kent - Kemsing:
Lancashire - Hoscar
Leicstershire - Bottesford:
Lincolnshire -- Kirton Lindsey (new entry, was Havenhouse)
Greater London - Heathrow Terminal 4 (new entry)
Greater Manchester - Denton:
Merseyside - Upton:
Norfolk - Spooner Row:
Northamptonshire - Kings Sutton:
Northumberland - Acklington:
Nottinghamshire - Elton & Orston
Oxfordshire - Finstock:
Rutland - Oakham (no surprise there!)
Shropshire -Hopton Heath:
Somerset - Bruton:
Staffordshire - Longport:
Suffolk - Lakenheath:
Surrey - Betchworth
Sussex (East) - Doleham:
Sussex (West) - Faygate:
Warwickshire - Polesworth
West Midlands - Bordesley:
Wiltshire - Dilton Marsh
Worcestershire - Honeybourne:
Yorkshire (East Riding) - Rawcliffe
Yorkshire (North) - Whitley Bridge
Yorkshire (South) - Darnall:
Yorkshire (West) - Pontefract Baghill
A bit daft that the two Northern only services to Manchester Piccadilly in the morning from Longport don't have corresponding ones in the evening, meaning you've got to go to Stoke and reverse back up. And the way the timetable works out, that means CrossCountry to Stoke to get the West Midlands one going back. Also it's the main station for Port Vale football ground, which may explain the extra footfall on a match day for example to boost the figures.
London North Western also have West Midlands trains logos on their trains. This peaked my interest a few months ago. Service is much improved from Euston to Birmingham, with seemingly increased frequency of services that stop less.
9:35 West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern are the same company. It's just different names they use for inside and outside the West Midlands
Been waiting a long time for this video. My home county! 😁
I live a literal stone's throw away from that station and I didn't know it was so seldom used!
Alsager's in Cheshire. We had a teacher at school who travelled from Stone, I think, to Longport, back in the 60s. Can't tell you how often she was late!
9:36 yes, it is LNWR livery, and at 7:12 if you look carefully, there is actually a WMR logo.
I haven't caught a train from there for fifty-seven years. As a thirteen year old with my northern cousins we caught a train from Longport to Crew to train spot at the loco sheds and were caught on the tracks by security. I was really worried that my act of trespass, would be reported to my "Potteries" born mum in far away Hertfordshire. Thanks for the location memories!
West Midlands Railway and LNWR are both under the West Midlands Trains franchise. That's why on some of their liveries say "London North Western Railway (By WMT)"
Northern services are the 06.29 Stoke-on-Trent to Blackpool North and 07.56 Stoke-on-Trent. West Midlands are 1tp2h between Birmingham New St and Crewe using London Northwestern 350s. West Midlands Trains is the full franchise name. London Northwestern and West Midlands Railway are the two sub brands of the franchise
I once caught a train here many years ago after watching Stockport County at Port Vale when the previous incarnation of Northern stopped there. Now Northern hardly stops there at all.
I look forward to the Stone video, not that I did not enjoy this one! Stone was where in my day the old Post Office Telecom had a training school and I with many others were shipped for a few weeks of training in the 1960s and early 70s.
What a beautiful station
Don't get confused between West Midlands Trains and West Midlands Railway haha, WMT is the company consisting LNWR and WMT, whereas WMT is the local operator for the Birmingham area + some services to Shrewsbury. LNWR operates services up the WCML to Liverpool Lime Street
was there today, it does now have a ticket machine operated by EMR though it wasn’t fully functional. the buy tickets option wasn’t working but could load up a smart card on it still
Oh! The lens was fogged. I thought you were going with a soppy romantic feel a la 70s Flake ads.
Great video Geoff. Longport is the least Staffordshire station and indeed Northern do stop at Longport heading south. Try doing Penkridge and Wilnecote both least used station in Staffordshire
Even the least used of stations can have sublime brickwork and fancy Dutch facades! Thanks guys.
Yes... i thought at once "lovely Dutch gables".
@@neville132bbk ..looks like the work of A W N Pugin who did Oakamoor station.. and Big Ben! It used to be called Burslem before the later Burslem was built.
@@christinaburton9297 good evening/morning, Christina. Take a look at, if you don't already know it, Dunedin railway station..1906 , by "Gingerbread George" Troup. I think he also did St Patrick's basilica in Timaru among other public buildings.
And Mr Mapps mentioned one of my favourite places west mersea lots of old boats...(I sail around Mersea Maldon Bradwell area)
Is it me or does Mr. Mappy have a demeanour of someone who retained the same mannerisms and posture of when he was a kid? I've never seen him as a kid but I can imagine that cheeky smile of his and him standing with his arms behind his back with a coat too long for him lol
I'd say a large reason it's not used as much as it could be is because it's cut off from a large part of the population by that massive duel carriageway you can hear throughout the video. I used to use this station and it's a pretty un-pedestrian friendly crossing over a busy flyover roundabout juction.
I'd say North Staffs as a whole is a pretty car-centric place because of the crappy road infastructure that cuts everything off from everything else. It's just easier to drive to the places the station serves.
Very nice video. :) Also that see it say it sorted announcement is the one I've heard a lot at my local station, Leicester.
0:28
_The least used station._
Has two trains go through, at the same time.
9:59 As a guy who's used to TransPennine's new stock, and the Azumas (plus old Northern stock), I will say, that the back end of that train, looks pretty slick.
There's some 350's that have a dual LNWR/WMR livery (as they're both brands of West Midlands Trains), but I've only ever seen them on the Chase Line through Walsall.
Would be interested in the contrast between Longport and Etruria before the latter closed \m/
The biggest surprise for me was that the main TOC at Longport is EMR, given that it's not in the east midlands and is on the WCML Stoke branch!
I know I’m very late, but the LNR/WMT thing is because West Midlands Trains operates the franchise covering both West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway, much like how Govia Thameslink Railway has Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Southern and Thameslink
West Midlands Trains is the company that owns both West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway. However there are services typically what I've seen on the Walsall Line. It is a West Midlands Railway line however it is using a London Northwestern Train. BUT, the announcements on board that LNWR service did say "Welcome aboard this West Midlands Railway service...". So overall it is pretty confusing.
I love these least used stations videos
Great as always Geoff 👍🏻
I’ve been to and from Longport station on a couple of occasions, but that was to take the relatively long walk up to Port Vale Football Club through Burslem! Used to have to wait at Stoke for ages to make the 4 minute journey to Longport usually! I’d imagine more football fans like me use that station for Port Vale away days?
There are only 2 Northern Trains per day to Manchester. No return service!
The LNW trains don't normally stop at all.
They are at the moment to cover some EMR services which are currently cancelled (COVID related).
The main building is being converted to a Sikh (I think) Temple
Geoff is very protective of his channel
So if you can get from Derbyshire's least used to Staffordshire's least used on one train, Does that not call for a 'least used' challenge similar to tube challenge or the Platform 0's (although obviously not visiting all of them), attempting to travel through (or off at) as many Least Used Stations in one day.
Also, West Midlands Trains is just the overall operating companies, WMR and LNWR are just brands for different services, as this is a regional train and not a local service, It would be a LNWR service, WMR only operate local services around Birmingham and the West Midlands County itself.
However, You are correct on WMR just using the LNWR livery, Services from Wolverhampton to Walsall and along the line up to Rugeley DO use LNWR 350s for a service that is in fact West Midlands Railway, and I believe the same happens for some New Street to Coventry/Wolverhampton locals too. Those are the only instances of it however, All other LNWR liveried services, are actually LNWR.