My parents holidayed in Bournemouth three times in the 1960s. Unfortunately, I had no camera at the time.
However, I loved the station with its extra long westbound platform giving a view across to the shed. With bridges at both ends of the station, it is ideal for a model but having an ER background I feel I would make too many mistakes.
Anyhow, back to the 1960s. My mother would go shopping and my father would accompany my brother and I onto the station. The only problem he had was getting me to leave again. I have purchased various slides to remind me of those days.
The extent of the down platform can be seen as 35022 ‘Holland America Line’ leaves for West station with the Bournemouth Belle in what the slide details give as July 1964. The spire of St. Paul’s Church dominates the background. However, the spire was struck by lightning and became unsafe, so was removed during 1963, which would date this photo as somewhat earlier.
This was the view from a little further up the platform; – bliss. In this June 1958* shot a uid Standard 4-6-0 is on shed with 34003 ‘Plymouth’. *(I suspect this date may not be correct, and is more likely to be post 1961 when 34003 moved from 73B to 72B).
M7 0-4-4T 30031 moves around the east side of the shed. It was all very cramped, and too much noise or black smoke would provoke complaints from upmarket neighbours across the road.
34022 ‘Exmoor’ leaves Central station towards the west in September 1962.
35011 ‘General Steam Navigation’ is pictured in the shed yard during September 1962. Once again with St Pauls’ spire in evidence. As with most things these days, the entire church was eventually demolished to make way for a dual carriageway and an Asda supermarket. The shed site is now the station car park.
Another September 1962 view towards the shed sees Maunsell Q class 0-6-0 30548, a long time Bournemouth resident in BR years. Just visible is the bunker of M7 30110. The distant main station building on the extreme right illustrates just how long the westbound platform was/is.
Another M7 0-4-4T 30112 is busy shunting empty stock. Many services split here at the station with a portion going forward to Weymouth. September 1962.
This June 1958 view towards the station shows the east end of the shed yard. On the left, with less than 6 months to go, is Adams B4 0-4-0T 30087 of 1891 vintage which is in charge of loco coal wagon duties; in the centre is M7 30107; and a Bulleid pacific is at the station platform.
Looking almost in the opposite direction on probably the same day in June 1958. The shed is host to a number of locos, including Billinton 2-6-0 32349.
At the east end of the station, 34052 ‘Sir Keith Park’ sets out for Southampton and Waterloo in July 1964.
Some years ago I bought strips of b/w negatives from a deceased estate. The films had been found in a box which had been subject to damp for quite a while it would seem. I have done my best to clean the films using Ethyl Alcohol, and although not perfect I will upload some to this page simply because of my lengthy efforts to rescue images which would otherwise be now rotting on a tip somewhere. Standard 2-6-0 is on Bournemouth shed in 1966.
Another from the rescued films. Standard class 5 4-6-0 73117 passes the loco shed at Bournemouth with a train from the west in 1966.
The interior of Central station this time, and taken before the centre tracks were removed. Another Standard 5 73016 waits with an up stopping train, in 1965.
73002 gets away from Central station with a stopping train to Southampton and Portsmouth in 1966.
73002 in 1966 again, this time running through the station on the up centre track. This photo shows the very long down platform, which was a gift for trainspotters as it allowed us to view the engine shed and yard.
An unidentified WC/BB pacific starts the up Bournemouth Belle from the station. Once the Pullman brake coaches were taken out of service, a Mk1 BG was usually substituted. For a time a chocolate and cream liveried vehicle was used, and it is hard to be sure on this image, but it looks like a blue/grey BG on this photo. This tended to spoil the neat look of the train.
Merchant Navy pacific 35014 ‘Nederland Line’ is in the shed yard together with BRC&W type 3 D6544 in this 1966 view.
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Trainspotting data from 1947 until 1980 