Pines Express

The "Pines Express" was a named passenger train that ran daily between Manchester and Bournemouth in England between 1910 and 1967.

It ran for the first time under the name "Pines Express" on 26 September 1927;cite book | title=Bournemouth Railway History: An Exposure of Victorian Engineering Fraud| last=Popplewell| first=Lawrence| date=1973| pages=170| publisher=Dorset Publishing Co.| id=ISBN:0902129155] and is believed to have been named after the pine trees growing in the Chines in the Bournemouth area.Gilks, John; Mensing, Michael; and Edgington, John (1993). "The Pines Express". In: "BackTrack", Vol. 7, No. 1, Pages 25-27.] When the service first ran, unnamed, on 1 October 1910,cite book | title=The Somerset & Dorset Railway| last=Barrie| first=D.S.M.| coauthors=C.R. Clinker| date=1948| pages=52| publisher=Oakwood Press] it was run jointly by the Midland Railway and LNWR; and was introduced in response to a LSWR/GWR service between Birkenhead and Bournemouth.Allen-TitledTrains, (3rd Edition), Pp 164-166.]

Route

Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway

The Pines Express became known as the top express to use the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway (S&DJR);cite book | title=Portrait of the Pines Express| last=Austin| first=Stephen| date=1998| publisher=Ian Allan| id=ISBN:0711026246] a steeply-graded railway line through photogenic hilly countryside between Bath Green Park and Bournemouth West station, much loved and sorely missed by enthusiasts. On this line, trains often had to be double headed due to gradients, producing spectacular photographs and film footage. Ivo Peters, in particular, took much amateur photographs and cine films of the S&DJR.

Diversion of the service

The last Pines Express to run over the S&DJR was on 8 September 1962, hauled by 9F 92220 "Evening Star".Cite web|url=http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-13810054_ITM|title=End of the Line|accessdate=2008-04-27|publisher=Europe Intelligence Wire|year=2006-03-07|work=Bristol Evening Post] The train was then diverted over ex-GWR metals via Oxford, Reading, Basingstoke and Southampton.

From 4 October 1965 it was extended to Poole, but the last train was run on 4 March 1967.

See also

* Ivo Peters
* Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway

References