Long platforms
Roderick Smith
this thread didn't come to me, I had to search via the Railpage archive.
John Marshall 'Rail: the records', Guinness 1985 gives the world's longest
16 passenger platforms as:
Washington State (Chicago USA red line): 1066 m
Khargpur (India): 833 m
Perth (WA, Australia): 762 m
Sonepur (India): 736 m
Bulawayo (Zimbabwe): 702 m
New Lucknow (India): 685 m
Manchester Victoria & Exchange: 682 m (the Exchange portion was out of use
from 5.5.69, but was intact).
Bezwada (India): 640 m
Jhansi (India): 617 m
Gloucester (England): 603 m
Colchester (England): 585 m (with a horizonal step in it, and serving two
tracks).
Kotri (India): 578 m
Mandalay (Burma): 545 m
Bourkemouth (England): 533 m
Perth (Scotland): 522 m
York (England): 516 m
Other long ones were:
Storvik (Sweden): ~500 m
Edinburgh Waverley (Scotland): 486 m
York (England): 480 m
Trichinopoly: 471 m
Ranaghat (India): 464 m
Crewe (England): 460 m
London Victoria (England): 457 m
Dakor (India): 448 m
Newcastle upon Tyne (England): 423 m
Cambridge (England): 382 m
His research was highly Anglocentric, and probably missed more than the
other long Australian ones.
The Washington State one in Chicago is run as two stations; trains make two
stops; the two are separated with a partition, so that passengers are not
able to walk the length. The southern stop connects with the blue line;
the northern one connects with the elevated. When I rode it in 1996, my
train was delayed for 10 min at the southern end before moving forwards.
AFAIK Perth Terminal really is 762 m (holding 33 carriages). When it was
built, regular double-set operation was envisaged; at the time a standard
set had 13 vehicles.
Port Pirie was built with two faces of 701 m. One was full length sg; the
other was used as two part length platforms.
Even before the 1955 rebuilding, Bulawayo had the longest platform in
Africa. In ~1955 the station was remodelled from one with island platforms
to one which was a stub-end terminus. I cannot determine if this
lengthened or shortened the platforms. Croxton 'Railways of Zimbabwe',
David & Charles 1982, did not give the lengths in either era.
Kalgoorlie had a sign in the sg era stating the length of the platform, and
pointing out that this was longer than Albury's platform. However, I
cannot find a photo of the sign in my collection, or even a note of the
figures in my notebooks.
Two posters have conflicted on the length of Albury: 457 m & 500 m; VR
listed it as 456 m.
Recorder did not record the length of the platforms at AN's new terminal at
Keswick; Bulletin stated that all three faces were 500 m.
Flinders St pfm 1 was lengthed at the western end in the early 1950s, and
at the eastern end in about 1965. As at 1983, the combined length was 708
m. AFAIK it has been shorted by a few metres at the eastern end as part of
the reshaping to accommodate Federation Square.
This gives a current Australian listing:
Perth Terminal: 762 m
Melbourne Flinders St pfm 1: ~708 m
Port Pirie: 701 m
Adelaide Keswick: 500 m
Kalgoorlie: ?
Albury sg: 456 m
Melbourne Spencer St pfm 3: 434 m
Melbourne Spencer St pfm 2: 420 m (ie 18 vehicles)
Melbourne Spencer St pfm 1: 411 m (ie 18 vehicles)
Roma St north-coast platform: ?
Cronulla: 390 m
Sydney pfm 1: 370 m (ie 16 vehicles)
Melbourne Flinders St pfm 10 & 12: 350 m
Maryborough (Vic): 348 m
Broken Hill: ?
Rockhampton: ?
Mildura: ?
New Zealand must have had some in the 400 m class, as a common design was a
double-length platform with an intermediate scissors crossover (eg
Dunedin).
--
Regards
Roderick Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor
Steven Hurst
> Melbourne Spencer St pfm 2: 420 m (ie 18 vehicles)
> Melbourne Spencer St pfm 1: 411 m (ie 18 vehicles)
Could Spencer Street be counted as one very long platform? All of the
platforms are joined across the ends! <gdr!>
Michael
<93807412...@diddley.primus.com.au>:
>
>Could Spencer Street be counted as one very long platform? All of the
>platforms are joined across the ends! <gdr!>
>
Hi,
No, only platforms 1-8 are joined at the ends :-) Platforms 9-14 are island
platforms :-) <gdr faster!>
Regards
Michael :)
Steven Hurst
>
> No, only platforms 1-8 are joined at the ends :-) Platforms 9-14 are
island
> platforms :-) <gdr faster!>
Now even I know that! Are you saying that 1-8 would still not be long
enough though - I think they would easily be!
regards,
Steven Hurst
Henry's Cat
Roderick Smith <rods...@werple.net.au> wrote in message
news:01bf056c$36a5b6e0$df2d11cb@rodsmith...
> Perth (WA, Australia): 762 m
>
> built, regular double-set operation was envisaged; at the time a standard
> set had 13 vehicles.
The newspaper report I quoted said 670 m. Where does that number comes from?
BTW the signs say East Perth Terminal now.
Would Kalgoorlie's platform have had ng and sg trains on opposite faces?
Never seen it but it sounds logical so people could change straight over
from the Perth-Kal ng train (name?) to the Trans-Australian sg.
cheers
Neil GERACE
David Johnson
> Two posters have conflicted on the length of Albury: 457 m & 500 m; VR
> listed it as 456 m.
Perhaps Broad and standard guage lengths?
--
David Johnson
trai...@ozemail.com.au
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~trainman/
Rod
David Johnson <trai...@ozemail.com.au> wrote in message
news:37EA39CA...@ozemail.com.au...
> Roderick Smith wrote:
>
> > Two posters have conflicted on the length of Albury: 457 m & 500 m; VR
> > listed it as 456 m.
>
> Perhaps Broad and standard guage lengths?
>
the length of a 7 car XPT
Rod
Exnarc
> Would Kalgoorlie's platform have had ng and sg trains on opposite faces?
> Never seen it but it sounds logical so people could change straight over
> from the Perth-Kal ng train (name?) to the Trans-Australian sg.
>
> cheers
> Neil GERACE
>
Narrow Gauge, (1968-9).
Bob.
WhaleOilBeefHooked
news:7sde0m$9aa$1...@news1.mpx.com.au...
No way, the only difference in length is the length of the station building,
and it is not 250 metres. I think DaveJ is probably spot on.
DaveP
Roderick Smith
Way back the sg station was Perth Terminal (with East Perth suburban
station).
The former station became Perth City.
Adelaide is worse, and treated inconsistently between timetables and the
station sign.
Sydney has at last become Sydney Central throughout (and is signed
accordingly), but now that suburban trains have signs, they show 'Sydney
Terminal''.
Brisbane can't make up its mind if the place is Roma St station or Brisbane
Transit Centre.
Airports are named after the city which they serve, even when located way
out. The geographical location is added as a suffix.
Hence: London Heathrow
Melbourne's 1970s airport was *never* Tullamarine airport, despite popular
misuse. It was (rather pretentiously) Melbourne International Airport; a
few years ago the name was simplified to Melbourne Airport.
Railway stations make greates sense if named in the London style:
London Kings Cross
London Euston.
On platform lengths:
I was quoting the sg platform at Albury when I gave 456 m. The bg one is
much shorter.
However, try wandering with a trundle wheel, and decide where to stop when
hitting the ramp at the south end.
I believe that the news item cited by Neil was wrong. AFAIK the planned
762 m sg platform at Perth was completed years ago. I suspect that it is
related by the announcement that in-clear standing room at Kalgoorlie will
be expanded.
Kalgoorlie had a long ng platform (510 m) and two sg dock platforms at the
east end. Long sg trains were docked in two sections, and were coupled at
departure time. AFAIK the ng platform was not lengthened when it was
converted to sg.
Broken Hill platform is 366 m.
I am still trying to obtain Queensland's longest: presumably Roma St
north-coast platform and Rockhampton. How long is the new Cairns platform?
David Bromage
>
> > Melbourne Spencer St pfm 3: 434 m
> > Melbourne Spencer St pfm 2: 420 m (ie 18 vehicles)
> > Melbourne Spencer St pfm 1: 411 m (ie 18 vehicles)
>
> platforms are joined across the ends! <gdr!>
But is is it 1 or 4 platforms? 1 South, 1 Centre, 1 North and 1 North Outer?
:)
Cheers
David
David Bromage
> Sydney has at last become Sydney Central throughout (and is signed
> accordingly), but now that suburban trains have signs, they show 'Sydney
> Terminal''.
Central still seems to have a mixed identity. The 1st July Countrylink
timetable just calls it "Sydney".
> Brisbane can't make up its mind if the place is Roma St station or Brisbane
> Transit Centre.
Both. BTC is above the terminal building of Roma St station.
> Airports are named after the city which they serve, even when located way
> out. The geographical location is added as a suffix.
> Hence: London Heathrow
Except where airports are named after people.
> Railway stations make greates sense if named in the London style:
> London Kings Cross
> London Euston.
What about the proposed renaming of Spencer St to "V/Line Melbourne"?
If the Melbourne & Essendon Railway had built its proposed terminus at
the top end of Elizabeth St, then Melbourne would really be in a mess.
> I am still trying to obtain Queensland's longest: presumably Roma St
> north-coast platform and Rockhampton. How long is the new Cairns platform?
I think platform 2 was the longest at Roma St before the new one
(platform 11?) was built.
Prior to this, South Brisbane may have had the longest in the state, at
the former sg terminus.
Cheers
David
Henry's Cat
> Vacillating station naming is a problem.
>
> Way back the sg station was Perth Terminal (with East Perth suburban
> station).
True. Before or during the Standard Gauge Project the old East Perth station
where the Armadale line swung off (not the one you mention) was renamed
Claisebrook and remains so. A new ng suburban station was built at the Perth
Terminal site and named East Perth. At the same time the sg IP/Prospector
terminal was built next to it and named Perth Terminal.
Only a few years ago if that, Perth Terminal was renamed East Perth Terminal
on platform signboards (after all, it's in East Perth, not Perth). The
adjacent ng station remains East Perth.
> The former station became Perth City.
Yes, it is still that. The ng Australind diesel service has its own dock
there. I think there are no wires above it, if so it's the only road without
wires at Perth City.
> I believe that the news item cited by Neil was wrong.
Must be the case, yes.
cheers
Neil
Roderick Smith
Albury bg is 334 m (14 carriages).
The semantics over one train vs two train can be ignored:
Flinders St pfm 1 is not the only multi-part platform.
It has been used for long weekend-trains trips (with sleeping and dining
cars) back in the 1960s.
Flinders St pfm 10 & 12 held a ~20 carriage Traralgon special in 1998.
Most Spencer St platforms have intermediate crossovers to allow independent
use of the inner and outer ends.
Albury sg was built at this length so that two sg trains could be docked to
connect with the northbound Spirit of Progress.
An interesting discovery is Dunedin (New Zealand): the 1906 station had a
platform 872 m long; it was still at this length in 1968 (and probably
today too).
Although the claim was never made, this would have been the longest
platform in the world until the Chicago red line was built (1960s?).
I don't know how contemporary magazines and the Guiness editors missed
this.
What are the lengths of Sydney pfm 2 and Sydney pfm 3?
Roderick Smith
The semantics issue was not to do with the length of Albury's two
platforms; it was to do with people who felt that Flinders St pfm 1 should
be excluded (and Cronulla).
--
Regards
Roderick Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor
WhaleOilBeefHooked <dap...@spambait.umpires.com> wrote in article
> Roderick Smith <rods...@werple.net.au> wrote in message
> > As posted earlier, Albury sg is 456 m.
> > Albury bg is 334 m (14 carriages).
> > The semantics over one train vs two train can be ignored:
> Really? I cannot ignore the poster who said the difference was around
250m -
> around the length of a 2+7 XPT - if the figures you give are correct (and
I
> am NOT disputing them) then the difference is only 122 metres.
WhaleOilBeefHooked
> Dave Anonymous has missed the point of my comment.
> The semantics issue was not to do with the length of Albury's two
> platforms; it was to do with people who felt that Flinders St pfm 1 should
> be excluded (and Cronulla).
But in an earlier post in this thread, somebody DEFINITELY said that the
difference between SG and BG platfroms at Albury was in the vicinity of
250m - enough to hold a 7 car XPT. THAT is what I was referring to.
DaveP