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HEXHAM-NEWCASTLE OPERATIONS IN THE 1950s

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Barrhead and east kilbride Services CINOLFOUULL R

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london midland expresses Through tile hill

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No 390

February 2022

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Trains of thought

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Freedom of the Forest Andrew Britton fondly recalls carefree holidays with the family from Beaulieu Road station in the New Forest, observing the unique character of the Bournemouth main line between Lyndhurst Road and Woodfidley.

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Rhondda’s TVR engine sheds Part Two: Ferndale, Pwllrhebog and Coke Ovens D K Jones takes a look at the Taff Vale Railway’s large engine shed in the Rhondda Fach, its history and duties covered, as well as the Rhondda Fawr’s contrasting sheds of Pwllyrhebog and Coke Ovens.

Cover: On 24 May 1965, the 17.33 Glasgow (St Enoch) to East Kilbride service calls at Clarkston & Stamperland on the East Kilbride branch. Although the line had long since seen dieselisation, the extra capacity required for the morning and evening peak services led to a long term need for two trains to see steam haulage for an extended time period. The provision of Polmadie-allocated BR Standard ‘4MT’ 2-6-4T No 80058 was typical. John Robin EDITORIAL & DESIGN Rex Kennedy, Andrew Kennedy, Andrew Wilson, Roger Smith and Ian Kennedy 64 Littledown Drive, Bournemouth BH7 7AH 01202 304849 red.gauntlett@gmail.com

ADVERTISING Craig Amess 01507 529537 camess@mortons.co.uk Fiona Leak 01507 529573 fleak@mortons.co.uk Group advertising manager: Sue Keily skeily@mortons.co.uk Publisher: Tim Hartley Publishing director: Dan Savage

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Yet to be named BR Standard ‘5MT’ 4-6-0 No 73112 (Morgan le Faye from 16 April 1960) heads a Waterloo to Bournemouth (West) passenger service across Woodfidley Passage in the New Forest. Britton Collection

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STEAM DAYS in Colour 206: Barrhead and East Kilbride services Established as Caledonian Railway routes, both collaboration with the G&SWR and much later the recasting of services in British Railways days add twists to this spotlight on the suburban steam duties of the Glasgow, Barrhead & Neilston Direct line and what began as the Busby Railway.

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The Border Railway: Hexham-Newcastle operations With commuter trains and goods activity to the fore, ‘Swedebasher’ reviews pre-dieselisation activities on the busiest section of the Newcastle & Carlisle line, that east from Hexham, nearly 21 miles of railway east from Hexham.

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Tile Hill station – Sunday, 9 May 1954 On the London & Birmingham main line just 3½ miles west of Coventry, Chris Gordon Watford recalls time spent photographing main line trains at Tile Hill, including diverted West Coast titled expresses.

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TRAINS of thought

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Bristol to Bath – A travelogue Midland Railway Johnson ‘3P’ Belpaire 4-4-0s Deeside memories (CLC/GC/LNER) Great North of Scotland engine sheds: Keith and Morayshire Southern Central Division push-pull trains – in full colour On sale Thursday, 17 February 2022

n this issue of the magazine Chris Gordon Watford recalls his day of photography in 1954 at Tile Hill station on the former L&NWR line from Coventry to Birmingham. At that time in 1954 he did not recall the numbers of the locomotives he witnessed, but just the types of trains seen, some of which were titled trains.

His 1954 memories take me back to that year when I completed my two years of National Service with the Worcestershire Regiment on 1 April 1954. Until that year, when you had completed your National Service you would have to attend three Territorial Army camps for two weeks every year, but by 1954 that had changed to just one TA camp. Living in Worcester the camp that I had to attend was two weeks in the Brecon Beacons, and so a special troop train took us to Sennybridge, just west of Brecon, our train travelling from Worcester to Hereford, and on via Hay-on-Wye, Three Cocks Junction, Talyllyn Junction and Brecon, eventually completing our journey at Sennybridge & Devynock station where we all alighted to march to the army camp there.

Looking back, this was a fascinating journey as our route from Worcester took us over the former the Great Western line to the Hereford curve, then over the former Joint L&NWR line to Brecon curve, then from there over the ex-Midland Railway line to Three Cocks Junction, then over Cambrian metals to Talyllyn Junction, continuing over former Brecon & Merthyr rails to Brecon, and finally over ex-Neath & Brecon Railway tracks to Devynock & Sennybridge.

From Worcester to the Hereford curve we would have been hauled by a 4-6-0 locomotive, which would have changed for the remainder of our journey due to weight restrictions over the rest of our route. Sadly my memory is a little vague regarding our motive power from Hereford on that day, but pictures published of these troop trains (some even travelling down to Sennybridge from the North East of England) show these trains from Hereford being hauled by a pair of Hereford-based ex-GWR Collett 0-6-0s. Troop trains to Sennybridge and the Brecon Beacons continued until 1963, the end of National Service, some of these trains being hauled by a pair of Great Western 0-6-0PTs. Our two-week camp in the Brecon Beacons was eventful, to say the least, as it hardly stopped raining for almost the entire fortnight. I vividly recall a two-day manoeuvre into the beacons when we were constantly digging vehicles out of the mud, resulting in an early return to camp. I was in what they called the Intelligence Section, one of our tasks being to plan the route for the manoeuvres, and we would lead a convoy into the hills seated in a open bren-gun carrier – soaked to the skin in the pouring rain. Thank goodness it was the only TA camp that I had to attend. However we still had to be on army reserve for three years in case of an emergency.

I was expecting a call in 1956 during the Suez Crisis, so my fiancé and I skipped off to Perranporth for two weeks hoping they would not be able to contact me, which seemed to work. During those two weeks in Cornwall we took out a 7-day Cornish Railrover ticket that we used every day, travelling all over Cornwall and up as far as Plymouth, and taking journeys in fine weather by rail over most of the branch lines in Cornwall too – much more enjoyable than the rain of the Brecon Beacons.

Enjoy your read and memories of your own experiences.

Steam Days Magazine A troop train special of 11 August 1956 is recorded alongside the signal box at Eardisley Junction on the ex-Midland Railway line from Hereford, the ex-GWR line from Titley joins on the left. The motive power is, as usual for these heavy trains on this route, a brace of Collett ‘2251’ class 0-6-0s, the leading locomotive being No 2266. J Wood/Kidderminster Railway Museum

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Freedom of the Forest

Andrew Britton fondly recalls carefree holidays with the family from Beaulieu Road station in the New Forest, observing the unique character of the Bournemouth main line between Lyndhurst Road and Woodfidley.

More than half a century ago, likes bees around a honey pot, railway enthusiasts swarmed to the South Coast to pay their last respects to Britain’s last steam main line, photographing, filming, sound recording, sketching and painting on canvas, travelling on and collecting artefacts for posterity before steam all disappeared. A popular destination was the New Forest in Hampshire.

For my part, I was privileged to spend much of my childhood right next to the Waterloo-Southampton-Bournemouth main line at Beaulieu Road station in the heart of the New Forest. In those days, steam was an everyday sight, both day and night. The locomotives, footplate crews, train guards, station staff, signalmen and local permanent way gangers were all part of my family life. I knew each and every one, if not by name then by face. Venturing down to Bournemouth, Poole and Weymouth to visit family relations brought me into close contact with the locomotives and crews at Bournemouth and Weymouth sheds. My Aunt Doll was the owner of ‘Dollies of Swaythling’ and there was a stream of railway visitors to her shop relaying information to pass on from A Southampton-registered Fordson van of 1949/50 vintage is on the right in this view of the station approach on the downside at Beaulieu Road in 1959. Although still carrying what looks like a commercial livery, the side windows would imply it is now in private ownership and has been converted into a rudimentary estate car. Britton Collection

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Feltham-allocated Bulleid ‘Q1’ class 0-6-0 No 33001 crawls home through Beaulieu Road station with an up goods on the afternoon of Wednesday, 27 June 1962. While the principle Dorset goods ran overnight between Nine Elms and Dorchester (South) and returned from there at 7.30pm, passing here after dark, this is likely to be the 1.30pm from Bournemouth Central to Bevois Park (Southampton), conveying ‘Presflo’ cement wagons at the front from Poole yard. These would have been tripped up to Bournemouth Central goods yard earlier on the 12.30pm from Poole, a regular turn for a Feltham engine. Waiting on the down platform is Mrs Nora Britton, Nannie Britton to me, Beaulieu Road station and its surrounds being something of a home from home in my holidays. Brian Moone/Kidderminster Railway Museum

Eastleigh Works and shed. It could thus be said that I had a unique insight into most steam activities on the Southern main line and the local branch lines.

My base at Beaulieu Road was deep in the centre of the New Forest, being located on the Waterloo-Bournemouth main line, between Southampton and Brockenhurst. To the north-east, in the Southampton direction, was our neighbouring station at Lyndhurst Road (now renamed Ashurst), and in the other direction was Brockenhurst. The scenery surrounding Beaulieu Road was stunning, a mixture of heathland and peaceful woodland, populated by New Forest ponies and deer. In steam days the New Forest was completely open, with no restricted parking or camping areas, and being unfenced, in contrast to as it is today – there was complete freedom to wander and camp or caravan next to the railway line at any point. To a young adventurous lad who was a devoted steam enthusiast this was a piece of Heaven, with the smell of the heather, gorse, pine trees, the

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sound of curlews or at twilight during the summer months a nightjar combined with the sight and sound of passing steam. What could be better?

It was a completely safe environment and I would on occasions take a train with my cousins from Beaulieu Road to Totton to leisurely wander my way back home following the railway line. Let me take you back to those days on a journey with steam through the Forest.

Leaving Totton, the railway passes under Brokenford Bridge and enters the New Forest at Ashurst Crossing. After passing under the Ashurst Road bridge the line sweeps around the curve to what was, in steam days, Lyndhurst Road station. Although named Lyndhurst Road, it was actually some way from the village of Lyndhurst, which is the administrative capital of the New Forest. The station had its own unique charm in steam days, with canopies, oil lamps on the platform, and a covered footbridge. Next to the road bridge was a signal box where visitors were

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Racing across the New Forest, Bulleid ‘West Country’ 4-6-2 No 34017 Ilfracombe has just passed Beaulieu Road station but will soon ease up for the sharp curve at Woodfidley on the 10.30am from Waterloo to Weymouth on Saturday 20 August 1966. The signal box at Beaulieu Road was abolished in 1933 but the former advanced home signals here on the down line and on up line at the London end, together with their related distant signals, were converted to electrically-worked intermediate block signals controlled from Lyndhurst Road and Woodfidley Crossing boxes respectively. A group of campers have pitched their tents in the copse in the distance, an activity then permitted but now outlawed.

Britton Collection

A Maunsell ‘U’ class 2-6-0 calls at Lyndhurst Road with the 16.10 ‘stopper’ from Southampton Terminus to Bournemouth Central on Friday, 4 June 1965. Passengers for Lyndhurst either had to wait for a bus or face a three mile hike to the village from here. In the post-World War II years the New Forest grew as an area of recreation and the popular Pullman camping coach provided

by British Railways to serve this need can been seen in the down siding. On this side the siding that disappears off through the gate ran into a Forestry Commission camp site but this had originally been installed by the War Department during World War I for the loading of timber when the forest was still very much a working environment. Britton Collection Line-speed on the severe curve at Lyndhurst Road was enhanced by super-elevation but for any trains calling at the station it made door access slightly awkward for passengers. BR Standard class ‘5MT’ 4-6-0 No 73115 King Pellinore leans to the curve as it drifts into Lyndhurst Road station with an afternoon stopper on Sunday 6 June 1965. In the distance the up starter signal was fitted with a tall repeater arm out of sight of this platform level view. Beyond the signal box the A35 trunk road once crossed on the level but a bridge replaced it in August 1932. Britton Collection

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always welcome. Until 1965, on the down side the station boasted an umber and creamliveried Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Company built Pullman camping coach called Ruby. Dating from 1914, this Pullman achieved fame on the cover of the BR camping coach 1963 booklet.

The railway line now heads through the trees of the New Forest, past Deer Leap and through Churchplace Inclosure and Deerleap Plantation on the left (east of the railway), with Longdown beyond, while Ashurst Wood

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Maunsell ‘N15’ ‘Scotch Arthur’ 4-6-0 No 30782 Sir Brian coasts past the end of the up siding at Lyndhurst Road with the LCGB South Western Limited Railtour on Sunday 18 September 1960. The engine had taken over from Urie H16 4-6-2T No 30516 at Totton which had just traversed the Fawley branch and would be routed via the ‘Old Road’ at Lymington Junction via Ringwood to Broadstone where it handed over to S&DJR ‘7F’ 2-8-0 No 53804 to Templecombe. Britton Collection With the line ahead soon to straighten out the driver of ‘Merchant Navy’ class 4-6-2 No 35016 Elders Fyffes has the regulator open as it powers through the new Forest between Lyndhurst Road and Deerleap crossing with the 9.30am from Waterloo to Weymouth on Friday 9 March 1962. The photographer is stood on what is today the only surviving original Southampton & Dorchester Railway iron bridge to still serve a working railway. Britton Collection

is on the right – observant passengers may be able to spot hidden deer in the pine trees. The railway is now on an embankment and crosses Matley Heath, Fulliford Bog and the Beaulieu River. This was originally an area of thick forestation, but it was cleared for timbers for shipbuilding at Bucklers Hard, about six miles to the south-east. This beautiful heathland has a carpet of purple heather and the embankment is lined with yellow gorse in the spring. New Forest ponies roam and the peace is only broken by the sound of chattering curlews, while at night the heath becomes alive in the spring and summer with nightjars, owls and foraging badgers. During the steam era stray sparks from the chimneys of passing locomotives would often set the heathland alight.

Until recently, the cutting on the climb to Beaulieu Road station was shrouded with pine trees on either side of the line. At nights during the summer months it is the favourite habitat of the glow worm, which can be seen from the carriage window. Originally the pony sales were held in Lyndhurst, but when the railway was built the sale was relocated here, with special sidings provided on the down side of the station; from there the ponies were transported to all parts of the network. These 8

sidings were taken out of use on 14 July 1963 and have now long since been removed. Until 1 June 1964 this lonely station boasted canopies, paraffin lit platform lights, and a manned ticket office. During the summer and autumn of 1965, between 31 July and 23 October, a temporary signal frame was installed for the preparation work for electrification, with trains running single-line to Brockenhurst.

Up until 1964 during the fortnight prior to Christmas each year, many London (Waterloo) to Weymouth passenger and freight trains would unofficially stop at Beaulieu Road station, including ‘The Bournemouth Belle’ and ‘The Royal Wessex’.

Why was this, many passengers wondered?

The answer to this question may now be revealed – footplate crews from Nine Elms, Guildford, Eastleigh, and Bournemouth would unofficially briefly halt their express trains in the short platform so that freshly cut New Forest Christmas trees for the footplate crews and train guards could be quickly loaded into the luggage compartment of the first coach! In return, the station staff at Beaulieu Road received for their fires a constant supply of loco coal throughout the year from passing engines, making this little www.steamdaysmag.co.uk

New Forest station the warmest on the Southern Region. Locally caught rabbits were also provided to passing train crews, who exchanged them for fresh eggs and allotment grown vegetables. Even bagged horse muck from the Beaulieu Road pony sales for railwaymen’s rose gardens has been observed being loaded on top of the coal in the tenders of passing steam locomotives.

When the Southampton & Dorchester Railway constructed what later became known as the Bournemouth main line south from Beaulieu Road station across Woodfidley Passage ready for opening on 1 June 1847, it had to cross an expanse of historical land known as the Bishop of Winchester’s Purlieu.

This piece of land was granted to Peter des Roches, Bishop of Winchester in 1213, who had authority to enclose it with a deer proof bank and ditch. The bishop was known to be an enthusiast of the chase, but by the time the railway was constructed it was abandoned and had become very boggy. The builders of the Southampton & Dorchester Railway’s main line were thus presented with a severe obstacle and had to firstly construct a drainage channel over which an over-bridge was built.

The path of the railway formation was then filled with a foundation of stone blocks and a

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The village of Beaulieu is nearly four miles away to the south, but the whole community at Beaulieu Road station is in view here as ‘West County’ class 4-6-2 No 34002 Salisbury runs by with the returning LCGB ‘Green Arrow rail tour’ on Sunday, 3 July 1966. A tour where what should have been the featured engine, Gresley ‘V2’ class 2-6-2 No 60919, failed to show due to failure before the off. The pens associated with the commoners pony sales which occur around six times a year and which once brought lucrative business to the railway are on the left. Britton Collection Today the train service at Beaulieu Road which appeals to walkers and visitors is far more generous on a Sunday than on any other day of the week, but back in the steam era it was also the calling point for ‘Ramblers Specials’ and with the platform busy with activity ‘West County’ 4-6-2 No 34093 Saunton calls with a down special on Sunday, 11 October 1964. The station had been unstaffed since 1 June 1964. Britton Collection When the extension of the electrified third rail from Frimley to Branksome was announced it was inevitable that this would be accompanied by a programme of track renewals, signalling improvements and other engineering works. Such work would have to be accommodated while trying to keep a service running. Over a two year period a series of single line working areas were instigated at various points between Beaulieu Road and Christchurch. A crossover was re-instated at the Brockenhurst end of Beaulieu Road station in August 1965, accompanied by a temporary groundframe on the down side. It came into operation in the September and for around two months single line working took place on the line towards Brockenhurst. Carrying the correct headcode disc arrangement for a breakdown train, BR Standard ‘4MT’ 2-6-0 No 76007 nears Beaulieu Road while working up the wrong line over the single track section from Brockenhurst on Saturday, 16 October 1965. During this time relaying of track was underway at many points with continuously welded rail, bridge and embankment upgrading, new wire mesh fencing to keep livestock away, plus replacement signalling work. Britton Collection

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granite base before an embankment was laid on top – this was quite an unseen engineering achievement. However, the surrounding area of heathland was, and remains to this day, an extremely boggy and dangerous marsh on which the railway almost floats.

Two anecdotes come to mind from the final years of steam, related to this location.

The first dates back to when the preparation for the Bournemouth electrification was underway. The basic lineside wire and concrete post fencing was being upgraded to a mesh type and the local ‘p-way’ gangs could only access this location for fencing work via the main line formation, as the lineside heathland was peppered with bogs where unsuspecting railway workers could sink in up to their waists. Consequently, railway workers undertaking fence upgrading had to be tethered with a safety rope to secure points on the track before they could get to work, but even then they frequently complained of getting a bootful!

The second anecdote that comes to mind is of the picture of two weary and well-known railway photographers, R C ‘Dick’ Riley and his fellow lensman John Paige. Both made the mistake of setting up their tripods in the

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When single line working was in operation down Bournemouth- and Weymouth-bound trains would be brought to a stand in the cutting at Beaulieu Road on the Lyndhurst Road side where we find BR Standard class ‘4MT’ 2-6-4T No 80083 on a ‘stopper’ on 16 October 1965. Trains would often be halted for five to ten minutes whilst awaiting an up train to clear the section. This provided an opportunity to accept an invitation to climb up on to the footplate of passing steam locomotives and chat with the friendly crews.

During this period of time, I also took the opportunity to visit the temporary groundframe at Beaulieu Road station. I recall opening the wooden door to the shed-like cabin and being greeted by a hazy cloud of pipe tobacco smoke! The signalman hailed me to come in, ‘Shut the door son and keep those midges out!’ Britton Collection

New long welded rail lies between the running lines on the down line and awaits installation as BR Standard class ‘4MT’ No 76012 pulls away from the Beaulieu Road stop with the 17.05 from Southampton Terminus to Bournemouth Central on Thursday, 13 May 1965. A groundframe came into use here on 27 October 1942 to control a War Department siding onto the land in the distance. The site appears to have been used for storing surplus military equipment and once this need finished, the siding was taken out of use on 15 October 1950 and removed. Britton Collection The Bournemouth main line in transition. A dozen BRC&W ‘Crompton’ type ‘3’ Bo-Bo diesels were transferred from Hither Green to Eastleigh depot in August 1962, and a further eight followed in July 1963, by which time they were making some inroads on passenger services, especially at weekends. In June 1966 an unidentified example passes over the bog on the approach to Beaulieu Road with an up service as ‘Battle of Britain’ class 4-6-2 No 34088 213 Squadron heads west with an express from Waterloo. In October 1966, Brush type ‘4’ Co-Cos Nos D1921-23 were transferred from Cardiff (Canton) to Eastleigh depot, further bolstering the main line diesel fleet, albeit only on a short term basis, ahead of the introduction of electric worked services between Waterloo and Bournemouth from 10 July 1967. Gerald T Robinson/Britton Collection

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Electrification work is well underway at Woodfidley with concrete troughing and the third rail in situ in June 1966 as ‘West Country’ class 4-6-2 No 34008 Padstow sweeps around the bend with the down ‘Bournemouth Belle’. This prestigious all-Pullman service only has just over a year to run but would soon be diagrammed for diesel haulage after the arrival of Brush type ‘4’ Co-Cos Nos D1921-23 at Eastleigh in October 1966. This view is taken from the prepared site for the new electricity sub-station. Britton Collection

midst of the Bishop of Winchester’s Purlieu swampland. I often wondered if these distinguished railway photographers were able to get their perfect shots of Bullied Pacifics racing across Woodfidley Passage and escape the soggy bogs with all their expensive camera equipment intact. Needless to say, my father always strongly reminded our family to walk around the Bishop’s Purlieu and to avoid the dangerous bogs. Take note of these tales any present day railway photographers daring to take an action shot of passing preserved steam in this day and age.

Beyond the station and the Bishop of Winchester’s Purlieu was a huge Italian prisoner of war camp during World War II. The prisoners set about repairing Forest bridges and pathways, many of which remain to this day. The line sweeps around a sharp curve and descends into Denny Lodge Inclosure (on the west side) and on to Woodfidley Crossing and its cottages.

Woodfidley Crossing was a typical ground level signal box as found throughout the old London & South Western Railway system, the Southampton & Dorchester Railway being amalgamated with its larger neighbour in October 1848. Peeping inside the box, it was possible to see the knee lever frame, and the Deep in the New Forest the crossing and railway cottages at Woodfidley were a long way from any other form of civilisation but the box formed an important block post between Lyndhurst Road and Brockenhurst until new colour light signals took over from 23 October 1966 when the crossing was demoted to occupational status. A War Department siding was installed at the London end on the down side during World War I for the loading of timber, opening in June 1916, it had been removed within a few years of the end of the war. Britton Collection

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paraffin lamps provided for night time operations, as there was no gas or electricity supply.

There were two big problems at the isolated Woodfidley Crossing; firstly, there was no mains running water, so churns of drinking water were delivered via the down morning Dorchester goods train, and in later years by the first down stopping train; and secondly, was the ongoing battle with nature.

In summer months clouds of hungry gnats would emerge from the surrounding forest like a biblical plague, whilst in the early mornings signalmen had to tread carefully, taking care not to stand on slumbering adders. In the winter months, particularly during the great white-out of 1962/63, the isolated box could become cut-off with deep snow and icy conditions. With the re-signalling of the Bournemouth main line in conjunction with the electrification, Woodfidley Crossing closed on 23 October 1966. Sadly, I did not manage to say my farewells to the box and signalmen in the

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week prior to closure. During World War I a special siding was installed for War Department timber recovery from the New Forest. The passenger on the train can gain an impression of the New Forest for the next few miles as trees line the railway line as the train races through Ladycross Inclosure, on the south side of the line, and along the straight line towards Brockenhurst.

After World War II, on the WaterlooBournemouth main line there was a basic timetable for trains passing through Beaulieu Road, which was roughly the same throughout the year. It commenced in the up direction with the 7.07am service from Bournemouth (West), and on weekdays the last down train to Bournemouth left Waterloo at 9.30pm, but on Saturdays it was at 11.30pm (known as the ‘theatre train’). A number of the London trains conveyed a portion for Weymouth, and this was detached at Bournemouth (Central). Additionally, when extra coaches were included in train formations for Swanage, these ran with the

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With the up distant signal for Woodfidley in the foreground BR Standard ‘4MT’ No 76016 accelerates away on full regulator with a Southampton (Central) to Bournemouth (Central) stopper in June 1966. Another siding for the timber loading accessed via a groundframe was installed on the right in the distance but did not open until January 1919, by which time the war was over and it was removed in September 1922. Britton Collection

Weymouth portion as far as Wareham. In most cases, steam locomotives on down trains heading through Beaulieu Road from Waterloo to Bournemouth (Central) continued through to Weymouth following a crew change, as the Weymouth portion of the train was marshalled next to the engine.

Immediately after arrival at Bournemouth (Central), the shunter would detach the Bournemouth (West) portion of the train, at the rear, allowing the Weymouth portion to depart after just four minutes. Then, an engine that was waiting on the down through line would back down on to the remaining carriages, couple up and depart for Bournemouth (West) six minutes after the Weymouth train had left.

The procedure in the up direction for steam hauled express services was that the Bournemouth (West) portion arrived at Central station first, prior to the arrival of the Weymouth portion. Another locomotive would then be attached at the rear of the Bournemouth (West) portion and this would then draw back the stock into the up siding alongside the engine shed. Once the Weymouth portion of the train arrived in the platform, the Bournemouth (West) portion was propelled forward and attached to the rear of the Weymouth portion ready for departure to Waterloo. To the onlooking railway enthusiast this procedure would be a regular source of entertainment, happening 14 times each way.

The only regular express train that ran nonstop through Bournemouth (Central) station in steam days was the 3.45pm Weymouth QuayWaterloo, Channel Islands boat express.

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The Bournemouth sections of most express trains during the steam era were formed of six-coach sets. These sets were designed by O V S Bulleid in 1946, specifically for the Bournemouth line, and formations comprised: brake second, composite, first compartment/dining saloon, kitchen/dining second, open second and brake second. There were 11 of these sets, numbered 290 to 300, and these distinctive set numbers were painted in yellow numerals on the first and last coach of the set. Not all the post-war steam-hauled Bournemouth trains were formed of these Bulleid sets – ‘The Royal Wessex’ was formed of British Railways Mark I stock and included a Bulleid ‘Tavern’ restaurant car, and the ‘Bournemouth Belle’ was all Pullman carriage stock, with usually a loading of nine in winter and up to 13 in summer.

In September 1962 the ‘Bournemouth Belle’ left Waterloo at 12.30pm and arrived at Bournemouth (Central) at 2.40pm, with a water stop at Southampton (Central). the ‘Belle’ would return to Waterloo in the late afternoon, setting away from Bournemouth at 4.40pm and passing Beaulieu Road at approximately 4.55-5pm and arriving back in the capital at 6.46pm. The other regular favourite was the ‘Royal Wessex’. The up ‘Wessex’ would depart from Weymouth at 7.37am, calling at Bournemouth (Central) at 8.40am, passing Beaulieu Road at approximately 8.55am, stopping at Southampton (Central) at 9.13am and arriving at Waterloo at 10.50am. The corresponding ‘down Wessex’ would leave www.steamdaysmag.co.uk

Waterloo at 4.35pm and pass through Beaulieu Road at approximately 6.25pm, with an arrival time at Weymouth of 7.58pm.

September 1962 sticks in my mind as the date that the ‘Pines Express’ was re-routed away from the Somerset & Dorset line to run through Beaulieu Road via Basingstoke, Oxford, and Leamington Spa to Birmingham and Manchester. Somehow it just didn’t seem right seeing the BR Mark I maroon-liveried carriage set with the ‘Pines Express’ headboards on a Bulleid ‘West Country’ class Pacific charging through Beaulieu Road.

Mention of the Somerst & Dorset brings to mind that Branksome shed was no longer used to stable engines overnight from 7 January 1963, S&D locomotives instead being stabled overnight at the shed alongside Bournemouth (Central). Consequently, they began to appear at Beaulieu Road station on the 7.30am Bournemouth (West)-Eastleigh train, returning to Bournemouth on the 10.12am from Southampton Terminus. Fowler ‘4F’ 0-6-0s Nos 44411, 44417 and 44422 were noted on this train, along with ex-GWR ‘Collett Goods’ 0-6-0s Nos 2219, 3206 and 3218. Although of great interest as an unusual visiting locomotive to pass through the New Forest, they seemed like a ‘fish out of water’ – just out of place.

In saying this, Western Region locomotives were regular daily visitors to pass through Beaulieu Road – Oxford-based ‘Halls’, ‘Granges’ and ‘Manors’ would be at the head of the York-Bournemouth (West) trains, and February 1961 brought a rare visitor through Beaulieu Road too, Western Region Mogul

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