From Out of the Darkness Trivia Quiz

Answer: Night Riviera

The Night Riviera is the sleeper service that operates along the Great Western Main Line (GWML) out of London Paddington station. The train typically leaves Paddington between 11pm and midnight, the exact time determined by the ever-changing timetable.

The Night Riviera wends its way to the West Country, dropping off passengers at stations across Somerset, Devon and Cornwall. Such a service has existed since the late 19th century.

Answer: Night Riviera

Reading is a large interchange station in Berkshire and for standard services during the day, a train can travel between Paddington and Reading in less than thirty minutes. With a sleeper service however, time is not really of the essence and the journey between the two stations takes closer to one hour (including dwell time at Reading).

Reading is classified as "pick up only" and this is to ensure that the sleeper is available for customers who wish to use it for exactly that purpose - as a sleeper. Tickets are therefore not made available for Paddington to Reading.

Answer: Night Riviera

Between 2am and 3am, the Night Riviera arrives at Taunton, the county town of Somerset. The service used to call at Brunel's Bristol Temple Meads but this didn't provide a great deal of operational flexibility. By removing Bristol Temple Meads from the mandatory calling points, this permitted a number of different routes to be used dependent on what lines were closed for engineering works at any given time.

Answer: Night Riviera

As darkness gives way to light and having passed through stations such as Exeter St Davids and Plymouth, the train makes its way into Cornwall. The Night Riviera calls at numerous stations along the Cornish Main Line including Liskeard, Bodmin Parkway, Par (change for Newquay) and Truro. At around 7am (still far too early for this particular author) the service will arrive at Camborne, a town famous for its tin mining heritage.

Much like the other Cornish stations, Camborne is - for the purposes of the Night Riviera - classified as "set down only" which means that no passengers can be picked up at this station. Again, this is to stop a sleeper train being used as a short-distance train service.

Answer: Night Riviera

Penzance, near Land's End in Cornwall, is the terminus for the Night Riviera. It is also the origin station for the equivalent service that runs in the opposite direction, bound for London Paddington. The overnight train arrives at around 8am and the carriages get stabled at Penzance for the day, ready to head back to the capital in the evening.

Due to the busy nature of the lines to Paddington station during the morning peak, the Night Riviera service departs Penzance at around 9pm and arrives at Reading at approximately 4am and Paddington at 5am! After a whisky or two in the lounge car, what time is left for sleep?

Answer: Caledonian Sleeper

Euston is a rather unappealing railway terminus in the heart of London that is the departure station for the Caledonian Sleeper. This service takes passengers on an overnight journey from the British capital to a number of destinations across the Scottish Lowlands and Highlands.

The Lowland services take passengers as far as the big cities, Glasgow and Edinburgh, whilst the Highland sleepers provide travellers fantastic views en route to either Aberdeen, Inverness or Fort William (once the sun comes up).

Answer: Caledonian Sleeper

The Caledonian Sleeper service to Inverness (which is coupled to the other Highland services upon departure from London) typically leaves Euston after 9pm, with the exact time changing as the timetable is periodically updated. After ninety minutes or so, the service reaches England's second largest city, Birmingham, and a stop is made on the eastern outskirts at Birmingham International station.

Birmingham International is the railway station that serves Birmingham Airport (BHX) as well as the National Exhibition Centre (NEC), a popular multi-purpose venue that was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1976.

Answer: Caledonian Sleeper

The Caledonian Sleeper en route to the Highlands usually arrives at Preston station in Lancashire after midnight and this constitutes the last stop on the service for many hours. From here the train makes its way to the Scottish capital, Edinburgh, where the train divides into three at Waverley station.

The three sections continue their respective journeys to Aberdeen, Inverness and Fort William. The latter of these services follows the magnificent West Highland Line to the foothills of Ben Nevis.

Answer: Caledonian Sleeper

As the darkness recedes and the sun begins to emerge (in the summer at least), the Caledonian Sleeper bound for Inverness chugs along the scenic Highland Main Line. Some of the names of the stations called at by the sleeper will be recognisable to whisky lovers, namely Dalwhinnie (approximately 6am) and Blair Atholl (approximately 7am).

Leaving behind the aesthetically displeasing Euston station under the cover of darkness and waking up to a cup of tea and breath-taking views of the Highlands in the early morning is one of the most memorable experiences that the British railway can offer. It certainly beats the commuter train from Staines to Waterloo!

Answer: Caledonian Sleeper

Nearly twelve hours after departure from London Euston, the portion of the train bound for Inverness finally reaches its destination. Inverness, the capital of the Highlands, has onward connections to (remote) locations scattered along the Far North Line (to Thurso and Wick) and the line to Kyle of Lochalsh. By this point, passengers really do reach the end of the line; to travel out to the islands, it's time to switch modes from rail to ferry.