Bournemouth Railway Station

[Boatbuoy]

While travelling by train through Bournemouth station last night it occoured to me that the platform seemed to be neverending. Does anyone know why this station has such a long platform?

Regards,
Olly

[Hackney]

You'll be thinking of platform 3/4 for London terminating trains. It's actually two platforms joined together.
Three and Four so is for two trains, not one long one.

[davepoth]

Boatbuoy said:

While travelling by train through Bournemouth station last night it occoured to me that the platform seemed to be neverending. Does anyone know why this station has such a long platform?

Regards,
Olly

Bournemouth station was the southern terminus of the Somerset and Dorset railway. In the summer, there would be dozens of holiday trains which would come down from the north-west, carrying factory workers to the seaside. They were long trains.

[W124Bob]

BR ran 12 car lecky units for years which would divide at Bournemouth ,they looked like standard SR 3rd rail units but would have only one powered 4car unit (4REP)and 2x4TC trailer cars.The 4TC were unpowered coaches but with all the normal control equipment.A class 33 diesel would then take th TC units down to Weymouth and propel them back to Bournemouth where the REP unit would couple up for the return to London.The REP powercar had the equivilant of about 3000hp.

[Yertis]

davepoth said:

Bournemouth station was the southern terminus of the Somerset and Dorset railway. In the summer, there would be dozens of holiday trains which would come down from the north-west, carrying factory workers to the seaside. They were long trains.

That's not why Bournemouth Central had such a long platform though. S & D trains always terminated at Bournemouth West station, which closed in 1965, the site of which is now under the Wessex Way (although the nearby carriage sidings are still there). S & D trains only terminated at Bournemouth Central (the current Bournemouth station) for a few months until the S & D itself closed in April 1966.

I think the platform is either the longest or second longest in the UK, and as has been said it's basically two platforms joined up end to end.

[Simpo Two]

IIRC Colchester had the longest platform once, probably not now though.

[Groovydale]

The longest platform in Europe was the platform which linked Manchester Victora to Manchester Exchange (now closed but maybe the platform remains) Wiki says it was some 2100 ft long

[W124Bob]

The long platform11 leading to Manchester Excahnge is behind 56132 on a Tyne yard Ellesmere port just before I departed circa 1990