Full disclosure, a pleasant day's stay in Mauchline last year for a couple of nights, returning from further north, and I was helpfully schooled by an ex-resident of Auchinleck as to its pronunciation. I think I recall the accentuation falls on the first and third syllables. They do *not* pronounce it as 'Affleck' - but the residents of the big houses of the area* may have done so perhaps, in the same way as Cirencester, known to many as 'Ciren', becomes 'Ciceter' and Uttoxeter, 'Uxeter'.
As for destinations from Auchinleck: the linked resource has the following as the biggest five destinations.
•Glasgow Central (12,195 journeys)
•Kilmarnock (1,662 journeys)
•Glasgow Queen Street (1,595 journeys)
•Carlisle (1,560 journeys)
•Dumfries (925 journeys)
https://www.railwaydata.co.uk/stations/overview/?TLC=AUKI'm sure Mauchline would love a station and use it too - and would probably fall in line with Auchinleck as far as destinations go, though the station site is on the edge of town (and has a signal box and, still, a junction, though I'm confused as to why. Attached: an image of the notice at the lineside there...)
I'm also thinking that Scotrail should run services from Glasgow via Dumfries and then the Settle and Carlisle to Leeds but this is probably straying woefully far from a 'Transwilts' topic - though the equivalent for Melksham might be that it finds itself served by Westbury to Birmingham services via Worcester.
Hell no, let's go large, lay track and make this Southampton to Derby via Stourbridge Junction and Lichfield.
**and then I woke up**
Mark
* Several of which were famous/notorious: 'Boswell'.
Click on the map to explore geographics
