RTC 2022

July 9th for The End of Southern Steam of course. This one looks, as usual for this tour, that it will have a diesel involved due to the Yeovil-Weymouth section.

 

I think you are probably right Al, according to Google 0.1 mile from Weymouth Station to the Jubilee Clock, and 0.2 mile Swanage Station to the Swanage Seafront.

 

How about Margate - to which I travelled as a destination in 2021 for Pathfinder's Man of Kent outing with Clan Line (with, mercifully, no diesel assistance), and also the seaside destination for Bahamas back in July, en route to Faversham, with RTC's Kentish Belle. By my reckoning, looking at Ordnance Survey, we are talking about maybe less than and certainly no more than about 150 metres from the station to the beach itself. So, a possible contender for this interesting distinction, perhaps?

 

Good shout. Margate station is very close to the beach. The main downside is that it's in Margate.

 

If the destination has to be close to the sea (rather than a beach) then Jacobite passengers have only to cross the road outside the station at Mallaig to be by the sea. However rare though it is to get there by steam Kyle of Lochalsh is on it's own pier.

 

I know it's a very rare steam destination, but Cleethorpes beats them all. There can't be anywhere closer

 

Dawlish is the closest I can think of to the sea. OK not the terminus for any main line tours but several pass through there every year.
You don’t get much closer than this.

 

Harbouring thoughts of the "Dawlish Donkey" - I'd say Dawlish is the only station where the tide can literally break over you...

 

Beaten to it by seconds - literally! I'm sure I've seen pics with steam being battered by the waves along that section as well

 

Isn't Portsmouth Harbour Station actually on a pier over the sea?
That has certainly seen main line steam recently.

 

I think you mean Dawlish, not Dawlish Warren.

 

Corrected.

 

Certainly on the harbour, but doesn't look like it's over water. On the other hand across the Solent Ryde Pier Head certainly is ( we can only dream of steam there though ).

 

Where's this?

 

In this day and age, not every destination has the advantage of an triangle, turntable, or even a siding to run round, so there will be have to be a degree of Accompanied steam, for operational reasons. At least with Weymouth there are options either run via Yeovil and have a diesel hauled leg to Weymouth whilst the steam engine is serviced and turned for an chimney first run out of Weymouth, or run diesel hauled to Southampton with steam at rear, where a reversal can be done .

 

....or alternatively use 31806 between Weymouth and Southampton, as RTC plans to do next summer.

 

That only works if you go direct not via Yeovil, so it just becomes another DCE not a special tour.
You could use the U between Yeovil and Weymouth per the attached taken at Melbury Bubb. But of course you would then have to turn both locos at Yeovil Junction so probably not practical really. Plus it would need to be available along with steam crews.