LUXURY train operator Northern Belle is to recreate the romance of the Southern Railway’s famous ‘Bournemouth Belle’ Pullman this July by running a special commemorative train to the Dorset resort 90 years to the day since the service was inaugurated.
The original train first ran on July 5, 1931, leaving Waterloo at 10.30 and running non-stop to Bournemouth Central.
The timetable was later amended to include a stop at Southampton, and also extended from Bournemouth Central to Bournemouth West. The service ran until 1967, with Bulleid ‘Merchant Navy’ Pacifics dominating in the post-Nationalisation era.
The Northern Belle recreation will leave London Victoria at 08.45, and work its way through Clapham Junction and along the former LSWR main line towards Weybridge and Woking for a pick-up before proceeding to Bournemouth, where arrival is expected at around 12.50; a far more leisurely timetable than the original service’s two-hour schedule.