Termini that are really just like wayside halts

[Howardh]

And at the other end of the line, Blackpool South

My suggestion too. Not been there for years but I doubt there's more than a little shelter, bench and ticket machine. Totally out of place for a busy coastal resort!

 

[greatkingrat]

Not exactly a wayside halt but Barking Riverside is much quieter than Barking

 

[Dave W]

Presumably Clitheroe fits this template, with busier stations back towards Manchester.

 

[edwin_m]

Shoeburyness.

Various places on the Southern where trains continue beyond the main destination to terminate where the car sheds are or there was space to create a turnback. Ore is one example but there are others.

 

[hermit]

Gunnislake is the busiest station on the line as it serves as a railhead for Callington and Tavistock.

Indeed. On my journeys on the line the stations at Calstock, Bere Alston and Bere Ferrers have also been quite well-used, no doubt partly due to the tortuous road journeys required to get from any of them to Plymouth (which was of course the reason why the line has not been closed). On the contrary, the suburban stations in Plymouth/Devonport are not much used - I’ve rarely seen more than one or two passengers at any of them.

 

[Farigiraf]

ORR entries and exits 2023/24:

Cromer 245658
Sheringham 244950

Still a larger station and busier, albeit only by 908 passengers

Those statistics are quite surprising though, considering Cromer's tourist draw. Presumably most holidaymakers visit Cromer by car.
The permanent populations of the two towns are about the same, which I didn't expect.

 

[Snow1964]

A few in South Wales too, some of which were originally through stations, eg Coryton, Penarth, Aberdare etc

The plans for new Henbury station are pretty basic, a single platform that is basically on a reversing siding, with just a tiny building, to serve a housing estate.

 

[stuving]

I was wondering how many towns or even cities have a "second-best railway line" with its own terminus. The first that springs to mind is St. Albans Abbey, which might qualify.

 

[greatkingrat]

I was wondering how many towns or even cities have a "second-best railway line" with its own terminus. The first that springs to mind is St. Albans Abbey, which might qualify.

Paisley Canal vs Paisley Gilmour Street?

 

[Djgr]

Still a larger station and busier, albeit only by 908 passengers

Those statistics are quite surprising though, considering Cromer's tourist draw. Presumably most holidaymakers visit Cromer by car.
The permanent populations of the two towns are about the same, which I didn't expect.

Sheringham has a similar level of tourist draw.

 

[DelW]

Pembroke Dock has a much less impressive station (and town) than Tenby, which is the main draw on the branch.

 

[Revilo]

A few in South Wales too, some of which were originally through stations, eg Coryton, Penarth, Aberdare etc

The plans for new Henbury station are pretty basic, a single platform that is basically on a reversing siding, with just a tiny building, to serve a housing estate.

Coryton really was designated as a halt by the GWR despite being a terminus. The same was true, for example, of Old Ynysybwl Halt, which was also the end of the line.

 

[Bletchleyite]

My suggestion too. Not been there for years but I doubt there's more than a little shelter, bench and ticket machine. Totally out of place for a busy coastal resort!

BPS is a dump but is fairly well used, though I don't know if others are busier?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Sudbury (Suffolk) perhaps? Tidy enough but 'wayside halt' basic.

 

[The Pelican]

An interesting distinction is between secondary stations which serve trains also mostly heading to the largest station- Colchester, Cardiff, Exeter- and secondary stations where most trains don't also serve the main station- Glasgow, St Albans, Croydon, Birmingham. Quite a number of towns- Chesterfield, Leicester, Oxford, Reading from memory- had a secondary terminus of the latter sort, the Reading Southern reigon one having been built into the main station in the 1960s, and the Oxford gaining something similar with the Chiltern bay platforms which serve the same line as Rewley Road used to. Plenty of the latter would have ended up very basic terminals if they had survived!

 

[Cheshire Scot]

An interesting distinction is between secondary stations which serve trains also mostly heading to the largest station- Colchester, Cardiff, Exeter- and secondary stations where most trains don't also serve the main station- Glasgow, St Albans, Croydon, Birmingham. Quite a number of towns- Chesterfield, Leicester, Oxford, Reading from memory- had a secondary terminus of the latter sort, the Reading Southern reigon one having been built into the main station in the 1960s, and the Oxford gaining something similar with the Chiltern bay platforms which serve the same line as Rewley Road used to. Plenty of the latter would have ended up very basic terminals if they had survived!

Surely all trains serving Glasgow's secondary stations also serve the main stations, either Queen Street or Central, in the low level platforms

 

[cjw714]

I was wondering how many towns or even cities have a "second-best railway line" with its own terminus. The first that springs to mind is St. Albans Abbey, which might qualify.

Also in and around London you have Bromley, Epsom, Watford and Southend.

 

[The Pelican]

Surely all trains serving Glasgow's secondary stations also serve the main stations, either Queen Street or Central, in the low level platforms

The post talked about second-best railway lines with their own terminus - I counted Queen Street as one of these, as it's less busy than Central. I didn't mean properly secondary stations, which are probably the grade below that. (Similarly, by Croydon I meant West Croydon, and by Birmingham, Moor Street and Snow Hill). I read the question as "cities with stations served by lines other than the main line to that city". I should have been clearer!

 

[stadler]

Uckfield is a good contender. It is just a very basic long platform. It does have a small ticket office but it is only open for a few hours in the morning. So for the rest of the day all you have is a small bus shelter type shelter for cover. It is an extremely basic station especially for what is quite a large town.

 

[izvor]

My memories of Looe, Saltburn, Morecambe, Felixstowe are of rather bleak seaside termini that have retreated from their original locations for commercial reasons, and with less than ideal facilities and ambience.

 

[DelW]

My memories of Looe, Saltburn, Morecambe, Felixstowe are of rather bleak seaside termini that have retreated from their original locations for commercial reasons, and with less than ideal facilities and ambience.

Though I don't think most of those meet the OP's criterion of "... are termini, with the much busier main station not being the terminus of the line.". Other than Saltburn, the only "much busier main station" on those lines is at or beyond where they meet the main line.

 

[Gathursty]

Blackpool South has already been mentioned. What is the most popular station on that branch from Kirkham & Wesham?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Blackpool South has already been mentioned. What is the most popular station on that branch from Kirkham & Wesham?

St. Anne's on Sea, just ahead of Blackpool Pleasure Beach?

 

[cool110]

My suggestion too. Not been there for years but I doubt there's more than a little shelter, bench and ticket machine. Totally out of place for a busy coastal resort!

Not even a ticket machine, never got replaced after the last one was vandalised years ago

 

[dk1]

I can think of a few like this:

Fishguard Harbour, Ardrossan Harbour and Lymington Pier have ferry connections but aren't much more than a halt. The Town / South Beach / & Goodwick stations have more life in them.
Similarly, Heysham Port vs Morecambe.

The other way round, Harwich Town operationally is less relevant compared to International with its longer-distance connections and ferry port. It's got more character than your average halt however.

Sheringham is a bit of an afterthought compared to the larger and busier Cromer.

Shoeburyness has a few platforms and the depot but other than that, there's really not much going on and far less people than Southend Central. Nearby, there's the Crouch Valley line to Southminster, which, if another Beeching were to happen, would likely be curtailed back to Burnham-on-Crouch or South Woodham Ferrers.

Sheringham is much improved after having a £1m rebuild in readiness for the new Stadler fleet in 2019. It was cut back to the Cromer side of the road with a pathetic two carriage halt in the 1960s and was expected to close and the line shut within a couple of years. Thankfully both it and the original station (now the North Norfolk Railway) continue to flourish.

 

[Elecman]

Blackpool South has already been mentioned. What is the most popular station on that branch from Kirkham & Wesham?

St Annes

 

[dk1]

ORR entries and exits 2023/24:

Cromer 245658
Sheringham 244950

And so good to see both (and West Runton) are all way head of the 2019/20 figures.

 

[Harpers Tate]

Using this as criteria:
- It's the end of the line - as far as passenger services are concerned, if not physically - at present (but the line and/or services may have continued in the past). If the only calling services terminate there, but others pass through without stopping, I'd exclude it as a true terminus.
- Is a single platform structure with little in the way of building or shelter. I'll allow a simple brick or bus-shelter type of structure.
- Is not part of a through route where trains have to reverse. (For example, I would not include Coombe Junction Halt, Bourne End, etc.)

I offer these as my suggestions for your consideration:
Barton on Humber
Sheringham
Balloch
Paisley Canal
Blackpool South
Colne
Rose Hill Marple
St Albans Abbey
Sudbury
Aberdare
Maesteg
Severn Beach
Gunnislake

 

[NER1621]

My memories of Looe, Saltburn, Morecambe, Felixstowe are of rather bleak seaside termini that have retreated from their original locations for commercial reasons, and with less than ideal facilities and ambience.

I can’t agree with you about Saltburn - the trains arrive into what were the bays of the station and you walk out straight into the main town square, by the original station building, and close to all the shops/cafes and working public toilets (!)

It’s not at all “bleak” other than the platforms having no canopies.

 

[birchesgreen]

Stourbridge Town?