Seaside terminal stations.

[D6130]

Tynemouth isn’t a terminus though.

....and nor is Barrow-in-Furness. It has through services from Lancaster to Carlisle.

 

[AndrewE]

....and nor is Barrow-in-Furness. It has through services from Lancaster to Carlisle.

which don't even reverse there. Semantics here: is a "seaside terminus" a station with [all?] buffer stops, which is how I read it - Brighton, Portsmouth Harbour, Wemyss bay - or where there are no through services? Barrow fails both, Brighton I think does have through trains (like Swansea) even though they have to reverse, but I would happily accept both as seaside termini!

 

[The exile]

which don't even reverse there. Semantics here: is a "seaside terminus" a station with [all?] buffer stops, which is how I read it - Brighton, Portsmouth Harbour, Wemyss bay - or where there are no through services? Barrow fails both, Brighton I think does have through trains (like Swansea) even though they have to reverse, but I would happily accept both as seaside termini!

To me a "terminus" has to be a dead-end (so Brighton and Swansea definitely count). Can we also pedantically distinguish between "coastal" and "seaside" - the latter being associated with buckets-and-spades, ice cream, donkey rides etc. To me somewhere like Hull Paragon or (in former days) Dover Western Docks are definitely "coastal termini" but not "seaside termini" like Bognor Regis, Skegness or Cleethorpes.

 

[xotGD]

If you are going to count Hull as coastal then how about Liverpool Lime Street?

 

[anothertyke]

To me a "terminus" has to be a dead-end (so Brighton and Swansea definitely count). Can we also pedantically distinguish between "coastal" and "seaside" - the latter being associated with buckets-and-spades, ice cream, donkey rides etc. To me somewhere like Hull Paragon or (in former days) Dover Western Docks are definitely "coastal termini" but not "seaside termini" like Bognor Regis, Skegness or Cleethorpes.

If you are going to count Hull as coastal then how about Liverpool Lime Street?

The OP uses the term seaside. So if there is a category coastal but not seaside that would imply Hull should be off his list? And I'm not sure about Helensburgh. That could come in the category coastal but not seaside.

 

[yorksrob]

Don't forget, if you can squeeze them in: Weymouth - it has a gorgeous sandy beach minutes from the station, and my favourite station is Ferryside in Wales - when I alighted there was sand on the platform and as the train pulled out a gorgeous beach right in front of me.

Another vote here for Weymouth. As well as the beach front, the harbour is wonderful for pubs, restaurants and strolls.

 

[ollie_hunt1660]

I'm on a gentle long term mission (sometimes with my long suffering wife) to travel by train to all the British Rail stations that qualify as seaside termini. I've used the QUAIL 'trackplan maps' as my guide. Have listed them all below. Two of them, Paignton and Sheringham, might possibly not count as they have preserved railways continuing on from them but I don't think that disqualifies them. I have listed them all below. Have I missed any out? Thanks.
Book 1. Scotland.
Wick. Thurso. Kyle of Lochalsh. Fort William. Mallaig. Oban. Helensburgh. Gourock. Wemyss Bay. Stranraer. North Berwick. 11 stations.
Book 2. Eastern.
Saltburn. Whitby. Scarborough. Hull. Cleethorpes. Skegness. Kings Lynn. Sheringham. Cromer. Yarmouth. Lowestoft. Felixstowe. Harwich. Walton on the Naze. Clacton. Shoeburyness. 16 stations.
Book 3. Western.
Exmouth. Paignton. Looe. Falmouth Docks. Penzance. St. Ives. Newquay. Barnstable. Severn Beach. Penarth. Barry Island. Swansea. Pembroke Dock. Milford Haven. Fishguard Harbour. Aberystwyth. Phllweli. Holyhead. Llandudno. 19 stations.
Book 4. Midlands and North West.
West Kirby. New Brighton. Southport. Blackpool South. Blackpool North. Heysham. Morcambe Bay, 7 stations.
Book 5 Southern and TFL.
Sheerness. Eastbourne. Seaford. Littlehampton. Bognor Regis. Portsmouth Harbour. Lymington. Weymouth. 8 stations.

If it’s not already been mentioned then I would consider Looe in Cornwall a seaside terminus.

 

[Haywain]

If it’s not already been mentioned then I would consider Looe in Cornwall a seaside terminus.

There is a list in post #1.

 

[D6130]

The OP uses the term seaside. So if there is a category coastal but not seaside that would imply Hull should be off his list? And I'm not sure about Helensburgh. That could come in the category coastal but not seaside.

Err....excuse me! Having been brought-up in and around Helensburgh, I can assure you that it is very much a seaside town. As a youngster, I used to enjoy donkey rides on the partly-sandy, partly-shingle beach....which in those days was punctuated by many direct-outfall sewage pipes leading out into the Firth of Clyde. Best not to imagine 'the things that came in and went out with the tide'....to paraphrase the late Stanley Baxter's humorous skit on the more famous Kenneth McKellar song. At the age of about ten I can remember asking my mother why there were so many 'balloons' floating in the water!

 

[Haywain]

The OP uses the term seaside. So if there is a category coastal but not seaside that would imply Hull should be off his list? And I'm not sure about Helensburgh. That could come in the category coastal but not seaside.

From the OP's original list I think it is clear that the term seaside is used in the same way others choose to use coastal, and that the intended use will include ports such as Hull and King's Lynn which some argue are neither coastal or seaside. In view of that I would suggest that consideration should be given to adding Liverpool Lime Street to the list as the main station is very much a terminus.

 

[anothertyke]

From the OP's original list I think it is clear that the term seaside is used in the same way others choose to use coastal, and that the intended use will include ports such as Hull and King's Lynn which some argue are neither coastal or seaside. In view of that I would suggest that consideration should be given to adding Liverpool Lime Street to the list as the main station is very much a terminus.

I agree that removes the grey area around the likes of Hull and Liverpool. In that case, out of my misguided comments, the valid one is perhaps that Barton on Humber should be added to the list.

If South Shields is in, what about Newhaven (Leith)? I guess the train/light rail/tram continuum is up to the OP.

 

[Haywain]

I agree that removes the grey area around the likes of Hull and Liverpool. In that case, out of my misguided comments, the valid one is perhaps that Barton on Humber should be added to the list.

If South Shields is in, what about Newhaven (Leith)? I guess the train/light rail/tram continuum is up to the OP.

I can agree with Barton on Humber, but I think that South Shields and Newhaven are excluded by what the OP said:

travel by train to all the British Rail stations that qualify as seaside termini.

If we go too far down the road of looking at others of that sort we'll be talking about the likes of the Seaton Tramway!

However, I wonder if Ryde Pier Head and Shanklin should be on the list?

 

[AndrewE]

I can agree with Barton on Humber, but I think that South Shields and Newhaven are excluded by what the OP said:

If we go too far down the road of looking at others of that sort we'll be talking about the likes of the Seaton Tramway!

However, I wonder if Ryde Pier Head and Shanklin should be on the list?

definitely, but not Clacton pier head either then! (a) not connected to BR, b) narrow gauge. Otherwise we'd have the Fairbourne line to Barmouth ferry - and Dungeness too!)

 

[McRhu]

Err....excuse me! Having been brought-up in and around Helensburgh, I can assure you that it is very much a seaside town. As a youngster, I used to enjoy donkey rides on the partly-sandy, partly-shingle beach....which in those days was punctuated by many direct-outfall sewage pipes leading out into the Firth of Clyde. Best not to imagine 'the things that came in and went out with the tide'....to paraphrase the late Stanley Baxter's humorous skit on the more famous Kenneth McKellar song. At the age of about ten I can remember asking my mother why there were so many 'balloons' floating in the water!

Ah yes! Of particular concern to me was the fact that the open air, salt water swimming pool drew its supply from its environs by the pier. I assume it was well filtered (by the standards of the time) and I never encountered any 'balloons' in the shallow end but there we go. And yes - most definitely a seaside town with its erstwhile day trippers, numerous seafront cafes (eg Dino's), penny-in-the-slot binoculars, postcards of the town and (if I remember aright) Helensburgh rock.

 

[andylikestrain]

I'm on a gentle long term mission (sometimes with my long suffering wife) to travel by train to all the British Rail stations that qualify as seaside termini. I've used the QUAIL 'trackplan maps' as my guide. Have listed them all below. Two of them, Paignton and Sheringham, might possibly not count as they have preserved railways continuing on from them but I don't think that disqualifies them. I have listed them all below. Have I missed any out? Thanks.
Book 1. Scotland.
Wick. Thurso. Kyle of Lochalsh. Fort William. Mallaig. Oban. Helensburgh. Gourock. Wemyss Bay. Stranraer. North Berwick. 11 stations.
Book 2. Eastern.
Saltburn. Whitby. Scarborough. Hull. Cleethorpes. Skegness. Kings Lynn. Sheringham. Cromer. Yarmouth. Lowestoft. Felixstowe. Harwich. Walton on the Naze. Clacton. Shoeburyness. 16 stations.
Book 3. Western.
Exmouth. Paignton. Looe. Falmouth Docks. Penzance. St. Ives. Newquay. Barnstable. Severn Beach. Penarth. Barry Island. Swansea. Pembroke Dock. Milford Haven. Fishguard Harbour. Aberystwyth. Phllweli. Holyhead. Llandudno. 19 stations.
Book 4. Midlands and North West.
West Kirby. New Brighton. Southport. Blackpool South. Blackpool North. Heysham. Morcambe Bay, 7 stations.
Book 5 Southern and TFL.
Sheerness. Eastbourne. Seaford. Littlehampton. Bognor Regis. Portsmouth Harbour. Lymington. Weymouth. 8 stations.

If you do include heritage lines you can remove Sheringham & Paignton, but add in Kingswear and Minehead! Probably others too.

 

[andylikestrain]

Would Brighton count? Also Ryde & Shanklin?

Hastings?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Hastings?

Moot point as to whether a station (at the seaside) where some trains terminate and others continue on, is a "terminal" station. I'd definitely be inclined to include it, and so did John Hillmer in the book mentioned upthread in post #9. For similar reasons, I'd also include Barrow-in-Furness where many trains certainly do terminate.

 

[AndrewE]

Hastings?

doesn't that fail on the "all bufferstops" criterion?

 

[andylikestrain]

doesn't that fail on the "all bufferstops" criterion?

Possibly. I’m going on a memory from long ago that doesn’t recall any through lines, but if there are then I suppose it does fail.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

doesn't that fail on the "all bufferstops" criterion?

Did the OP so specify "all bufferstops" in the initial post?

 

[D6130]

Possibly. I’m going on a memory from long ago that doesn’t recall any through lines, but if there are then I suppose it does fail.

For as long as I can remember, Hastings had four through platforms - later reduced to three - but I don't recall any bays.

 

[paul1609]

For as long as I can remember, Hastings had four through platforms - later reduced to three - but I don't recall any bays.

Depends how you define a bay I suppose. Platform 1 became a bay when it ceased to be a through platform. Hastings is a bit weird in that although it has through platforms all down trains that arrive in Hastings either terminate there or become up trains if they continue.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

For as long as I can remember, Hastings had four through platforms - later reduced to three - but I don't recall any bays.

As @paul1609 hints at, hasn't the former loop platform 1 at Hastings effectively become a bay platform ever since the remodelling/modernisation of the station in c. 2004?

 

[D6130]

As @paul1609 hints at, hasn't the former loop platform 1 at Hastings effectively become a bay platform ever since the remodelling/modernisation of the station in c. 2004?

Yes indeed....but the station cannot be classified as a terminus any more than Barrow can, IMHO.

 

[yorksrob]

As @paul1609 hints at, hasn't the former loop platform 1 at Hastings effectively become a bay platform ever since the remodelling/modernisation of the station in c. 2004?

Since about 1986 I think. The Marshlink thumper used to terminate there for many years.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Yes indeed....but the station cannot be classified as a terminus any more than Barrow can, IMHO.

At least a couple of evening trains from the Ashford direction terminate there every weekday and several more do so from Eastbourne, so, doesn't that make Hastings, which is at the seaside, a 'seaside terminal station'?

 

[AndrewE]

At least a couple of evening trains from the Ashford direction terminate there every weekday and several more do so from Eastbourne, so, doesn't that make Hastings, which is at the seaside, a 'seaside terminal station'?

I thought the consensus (maybe just of two?) was that a terminus wasn't to do with trains terminating but with all lines ending at a bufferstop? Otherwise Bournemouth would have been included, although I don't know the service pattern - trains from Oxford seem to terminate, as well as from Poole...

 

[paul1609]

At least a couple of evening trains from the Ashford direction terminate there every weekday and several more do so from Eastbourne, so, doesn't that make Hastings, which is at the seaside, a 'seaside terminal station'?

Nearly every Southeastern service from Charing Cross terminates there as well. I think only 1 per day extends to Ore now.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

I thought the consensus (maybe just of two?) was that a terminus wasn't to do with trains terminating but with all lines ending at a bufferstop?

I'd probably go with whatever the OP (@Proc.amp) says.

 

[Railsigns]

At least a couple of evening trains from the Ashford direction terminate there every weekday and several more do so from Eastbourne, so, doesn't that make Hastings, which is at the seaside, a 'seaside terminal station'?

The generally accepted definition of a terminus/terminal station is one with no through platforms. It's defined by the nature of the physical layout, not merely by having terminating services.