A Cold Express 92220 Evening Star & the Pines Express from Manchester to Bournemouth in the 1960s . This is the image that popped into my head reading about the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway that ran from Bath to Bournemouth before its closure .

Snow was often sudden when it hit the Mendip hills South of Bath . The British Railways , 9F’s were often used to operate these trains because of their power . However in the winter they were not equipped to heat the passenger coaches .

This is where my title came from .  ‘A Cold Express’ 92220 Evening Star and the Pines Express

92220 Evening Star is my Favourite Locomotive  , so I chose her for the painting .  She operated on that line , on that service . Just not in the snow . It was the last locomotive to come out of Swindon works before they stopped making locomotives there .

My painting depicts a sudden cold winters blast hitting the Mendips without warning . Evening Star having already left with the ‘Pines Express’ and all other locomotives being allocated to other duties . A cold blast from the North has laid an even blanket of snow across the hills . the air has turned cold . Passengers have the rest of the journey to travel , in unheated rolling stock .

The Express often wasn’t an express on the Somerset and Dorset anyway . it was a slow line because of the gradients  . Some of the line was single track too.  On other parts of the line they also coupled up a second Pilot locomotive to assist the main engine. This meant an even longer journey with the extra time waiting around while they couple & uncouple each time . All this combined has left it as an uncomfortable journey for the passengers .

So much for sunny Bournemouth . I want a nice hot cup of tea . After all we’re British.

I am hoping this image will bring back lots of memories for the older generations and shed some light on the past for the younger ones .