Great Western Coffee Shop

How many (current National Rail) termini have you visited?  Quiz / question inspired by a "how many of these places have you been to" quiz that came up over Christmas ... it will be interesting to see how many places some of us have been.   No prizes here - membership is welcome even if you have never been to a railway terminus!

I have added into the poll code a report telling you how many votes you have cast in the poll - it will be on the bottom of the list of votes once you review after submitting.  So you can get your result and tell us.  I have stopped short of adding code to give a league table.

There are some questions as to what qualifies as a terminus. I have left out stations which are termini but also have underground or low level through platforms, I have left out seasonal termini too. I hope I have not missed too many ...

60 for me.

Over the years most of them, Paisley Canal was not a terminus when I passed through on the footplate of a black 5, and the line that now stops at Tweedbank was traversed behind a Peak, both in the mid-1960s. At that time the Balloch line carried on to Balloch Pier.

I've been to two thirds of them; Paisley Canal on a passage to Kilmacolm in a multiple unit in it final year(s), Balloch also on my way from the pier station - I was due up there again to the RailFuture Scotland AGM on Maid of the Loch, but that was sadly cancelled; I had been looking forward to that too.  Other cases are interesting, for example I have been to Uckfield but not in its current guise as a terminus short of what was a level crossing.

Falling back off to sleep during the night (having set up the quiz when the forum was quiet, I found myself musing as to whether we might speculate as to an additional ten terminus stations to add to the list with a controlled series of re-openings over the next decades.  But then I found myself looking at a reduction of the list as some of these stub ends that used to be through lines become through services again.

128 for me, although I'm a bit confused about Becontree, which I know as a non-terminus tube station?

Should have read "Braintree" - sorry ... will go back and fix database entry!

I was surprised how few I had been to - but where was Hampton Court?

If it's current termini then Bradford Exchange should be Bradford Interchange. Exchange was a bit further north I went there behind steam in th 60s.

Darn it!   There was bound to be the odd one ...  at this point I am NOT going to edit it in as it would bias the voting - footnote onto the results along with others that might come to light as being missed. Nor am I going to reset the votes and have you all start again.  

Now that's one that can be (and just has been) corrected without upsetting the voting.

All of them, although Paisley Canal was passed through on my way to Kilmacolm in 1981 shortly before closure

In which case 129 for me on that list (+ Hampton Court, and no doubt some other missed ones)

Just the 58 for me - although I cheated a bit with Balloch as it was Balloch Pier and Balloch Central when I went there way back when!

Harwich Town?

How the *** have I lost that one ... it's in the list I submitted to the database engine ... investigating. 

Missing comma in the database instructions. I miskeyed something as I was setting that up and had to correct that specific line - a one off action - so it should not effect other places.  No doubt an error message was generated as I ran the SQL but I overlooked it in hundreds of lines of logging generated.


Edit / update.  Harwich Town HAS now appeared in the list in order to correct a damaged database - it will avoid problems later on if I run an y analysis of votes / ensure backups of polls are clean, etc.  But we will need to treat the vote for Harwich Town as being understated.

A vote for missing Kingswear please.
Also a vote for the missing Dartmouth which had a booking office but never a railway.
Went to school in steam/DMU days between Kingswear and Churston.
Quite often if the main line went missing, the Brixham DMU would be pressed into service to return is US (as in pupils) back to Kingswear 

Edit to change is to us - apologies

Vote "morally" accepted - however, we are looking at current National Rail termini in this poll.  Or are you following up on my "10 more you would like to see" and "ten that really should be through stations"?  May be worth doing a further poll / study at a later date for gone and heritage stations / lines.

As well as Kingswear, other contenders in our area would be Swanage, Bodmin, Minehead and Portishead; contenders to no longer be termini would be Paignton and Bere Alston.

Okehampton  - which does have a National Rail service, albeit restricted ?

Ah yes ... I added that, took it away ... hummed and hah-ed.   Also wondered about Corfe Castle and Bishop's Lydeard.  Other "cases" I considered were Clitheroe and Gainsborough Central which are termini on most days of the week, and I remembered just in time that a single service each day runs northwards from Corby.  Kirby and Ormskirk were considered as dual termini, with two lines both terminating there ... but the "ongoing rail connection" test ruled them out, as it did for Liverpool Lime Street and most London termini, and the two Glasgow main stations.  Then there is Chathill.

Looking to the future, I personally would like to see Okehampton as a daily terminus only on a temporary basis until the service runs through.

112 from the list; so plenty more to visit when we?re allowed to....

Chingford, Rose Hill Marple and Lowestoft all have claims to be included as well I think?

Darn it - I should not have done that in the middle of the night.  Chingford and Lowestoft failed to make it from brain to keyboard.  Rose Hill Marple had missed out brain completely at the time I was writing the list up.

I scored 103 and thought I was welll travelled until I saw some of the other posters results.

So now I know Im not as well travelled as I thought I was  ;D

Not many, but then realised there were some I had missed. Done most of the ones in my"corner" of the country. Likewise with Uckfield was not a terminus when I last used it.

When I go to Lymington nowadays the other half asks why is it platform 1 when there is only one platform, the underlying question being why a platform number. My guess answer is, so the computer works.

115 for me
Plus Chingford, Rose Hill Marple, Lowestoft, Hampton Court and Oakhampton.

Most of the missing ones are in Scotland I was fairly light on Scotland anyway but those crafty Scots have opened quite a few since I was last north of the Border in about 1997.

Uckfield before it was a terminus on a London Bridge Brighton with a 33.

94 from the list. Plus Clitheroe, Lowestoft and Hampton Court.

And an honourable mention for the most recently closed terminus, Newhaven Marine, which officially closed in October 2020. I ticked it off in 2004 when it still had its Parliamentary train service.

Also seasonal National Rail services to Okehampton and Corfe Castle.

I can add the omitted ones to my list plus seasonal to Corfe Castle and Okehampton

Only seven which are on the list but I have visited two which are now closed:  North Woolwich and Tilbury Riverside.

There are so many interesting cases ... fascinating the way this thread has run today. I'm going to close the poll in 24 hours from now and plot the results onto a map.


Ah yes ... I knew those two too. Day out from Petts Wood in Southend.  There was a wonderful ticket marketed for the run - change at Hither Green, Dartford, Gravesend (walk to Pier), Tilbury Riverside and Pitsea.  Woolwich was the 161A bus followed by a day riding the ferry; looked in at North Woolwich station but never took the train beyond.

A very lowly 22 score for me but I have since remembered using another station on the list plus Hampton Court bringing the total to 24.

My score was 72, but would be around 80 if all the "mentioned missing" were included.

I suspect 22 is not "low"  ;D ... even if it were a competition.   Which it isn't.  And there are pretty darned few termini in Surrey!

Poll remains open until 18:00 today (27th December 2020) ... no fewer than 39 members completed it yesterday. Inputs so far - a number of members in single figures right up to a Geoff Marshall look-alike (he's the "all the stations" guy).

I've been to more than the 28 I declared, 29 if Harwich Town is added, the ones I declared are the ones I have travelled to by train, there are a number of others where I have been to by road for work purposes 

Interestingly, I made the same decision not to declare two terminal stations I have visited, though not be train ... even though the question did not specify "by train" ...

I've ticked 59, but it may be plus or minus a couple from that. I've probably cycled to visit or passed about another 15 or more of the stations on various tours, without actually catching a train from any.

I was going to say, "I missed Harwich Town!" but on second thoughts, it was probably Harwich International I went to...

What was your thinking on Clitheroe, grahame?

Unlike Okehampton and Corfe Castle, Clitheroe is more often a terminus for National Rail services than not. And this year (2020) it has only been a terminus as there have been no DalesRail through services at all.

EDIT. Never mind. I've just re-read the thread and seen your earlier post explaining the likes of Clitheroe.

Tnx ... was just cooking up an answer.  One of the difficult cases. See
http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/nrtt20summer/Table%20042.pdf
http://www.wellho.net/pix/t42_sun_a.jpg
http://www.wellho.net/pix/t42_sun_b.jpg

I have been on trains that have terminated at for example, Southampton, Brockenhurst and Bournemouth, timtabled as well, for onward bus/taxi connection, I read the the rules as a station with a buferstop at the end, so was a bit perplexed at Corfe Castle, would have added at least ten more anyway, as the memory fades at just how well I have travelled. Tended not to take photos, keep tickets, or a diary.

Looking back through the list there were a few more that I could have added had we been allowed unrestricted travel in 2020.  I would have had another All Line Rover for 14 days last summer, the third in a row.

The 2018 Rover was an All My Yesterdays trip to my old haunts at the end of steam in the mid and late 60s. The 2019 one took me to the ones I missed in 2018 (mainly through overloading the itinerary in 2018 and missing tight connections, cancelled trains and on consequent spec revisions to the itinerary en route), and also started to cover lines I had not previously used at all. Amongst other places, this took me to Kings Lynn, Cleethorpes and Barton on Humber.

The 2020 Rover was supposed to complete the new lines objective and by now they are nearly all in greater East Anglia, so would have added Cromer, Felixstowe, Braintree, Colchester Town, Harwich Town, Sheringham (although I have actually arrived there by train from Holt I didn?t include it), Southminster and Sudbury to the list.

So that would have taken my 103 up to 111, and I also notice that for some reason I didn?t include Uckfield in the original list, so that takes my figure to 104 now and hopefully 112 in 2021.

"No passenger service beyond, and in the regular National Rail timetable with a service running all year - or supposed to" I suppose if being pedantic. Buffer stops on all lines is good, but there are a handful that may have freight services or special excursion or stock transfer services beyond which I have included as normal termini. East Grinstead, Alloa, Coombe Junction, Sheringham ...

Poll closed; results in order of votes ...
34   Brighton
31   Weymouth
31   Portsmouth Harbour
31   Penzance
27   Paignton
27   Inverness
26   Windsor and Eton Central
26   Swansea
25   Windsor and Eton Riverside
25   Newquay
25   Henley-on-Thames
25   Fenchurch Street
25   Falmouth Dock
24   St Ives
24   Shanklin
24   Norwich
24   Fort William
24   Exmouth
22   Severn Beach
22   Ryde Pier Head
22   Oban
22   Lymington Pier
22   Looe
22   Barnstaple
21   Stratford-on-Avon
21   Marlow
21   Mallaig
21   Kyle of Lochalsh
21   Gunnislake
21   Coombe Junction
21   Bourne End
21   Barry Island
20   Littlehampton
20   Kings Lynn
20   Holyhead
20   Greenford
20   Carmarthen
20   Blaeneau Festiniog
20   Blackpool North
20   Bere Alston
19   Thurso
19   Scarborough
19   Heathrow terminal 4
19   Eastbourne
19   East Grinstead
19   Bradford Interchange
19   Bognor Regis
19   Alton
18   Southend Victoria
18   Merthyr Tydvil
18   Llandudno
18   Fishguard Harbour
18   Cardiff Bay
18   Buxton
17   Wick
17   Penarth
17   Bradford Forster Square
16   Whitby
16   Stourbridge Town
16   Kingston-upon-Hull
15   Windermere
15   Wemyss Bay
15   Stansted Airport
15   Helensburgh Central
15   Heathrow terminal 5
15   Great Yarmouth
15   Chessington South
15   Aberystwyth
14   Treherbert
14   Pwlheli
14   Matlock
14   Ilkley
14   Gourock
14   Coryton
13   Uckfield
13   St Albans Abbey
13   Southport
13   Sheringham
13   Pembroke Dock
13   New Brighton
13   Manchester Airport
13   Maesteg
13   Cromer
13   Aberdare
12   Tattenham Corner
12   Skegness
12   Shepperton
12   Saltburn
12   Redditch
12   Largs
12   Hayes
12   Epsom Downs
12   Colne
12   Clacton on Sea
12   Bromley North
12   Blackpool South
11   West Kirby
11   Shoeburyness
11   Sheerness on Sea
11   Seaford
11   Rhymney
11   Morcambe
11   Milford Haven
11   Heysham
11   Hertford East
11   Felixstowe
11   Caterham
11   Castleford
10   Stranraer
10   North Berwick
10   Milngavie
10   Glossop
10   Cleethorpes
10   Bishop Aukland
10   Barton-on-Humber
10   Balloch
10   Ardrossan Harbour
9   Wrexham Central
9   Walton on the Naze
9   Tweedbank
9   Southminster
9   Paisley Canal
9   Hadfield
9   Ebbw Vale
9   Colcheter Town
9   Battersby
8   Sudbury
8   Lanark
8   Enfield Town
7   Neilston
7   East Kilbride
6   Braintree
5   Larkhall
5   Aylesbury Vale Parkway
5   Alloa
... and I duly declare that Brighton is the favourite terminus destination of Coffee Shop members. As all termini received the votes of more than 5% of those who voted, none have lost their deposit. 

Special mention for Inverness which received the highest number of votes for a station not served br GWR.

What about terminal staions bypassed. I've bypassed  Carmarthan, Swansea, and Norwhich by the 3rd side of the Triangle at the approach to station. I've not been to any of the three.

Plus Aberdare on the way to Tower Collery. A disappoiting trip up the valley hemmed in by trees.

Memo to self, if and when, railtours start up again, don't do the Welsh valleys in Summer.

Note Modified to add Swansea.

Trees where never a problem when the Phurnacite plant at Abercwmboi was working they all died.