(roughly June to September) to work on the heaviest passenger trains. They included (in 1962) No. 92220 "Evening Star", the last steam engine to be built by British Railways. These locomotives proved ideal for the S&D, delivering considerable power, good steaming, and high adhesion. These heavy freight locomotives had relatively small wheels, and were not designed to run with passenger trains, but with the Pines Express they were easily able to reach, and perhaps exceed, the 70 mph line speed limit on the better, downhill parts of the route. After a review of the velocities of the reciprocating masses and coupling rods, a 60 mph maximum speed was urgently imposed. Diesel multiple units were trialled on the route about 1959 when dieselisation of branch lines was in full swing elsewhere, but their relatively low power made them impractical for the steeply graded route. Service in 1938 The S&D's domestic train service was not fast, and except on summer Saturdays, there were a handful of stopping services, several of them running from Bath to Templecombe and from Templecombe to Bournemouth separately, and even the through stopping trains waited for some time at Templecombe. Some trains ran from Highbridge to Templecombe, and a few of the trains started from Bristol, reversing at Bath. (All these comments apply "and vice versa" wherever appropriate.) The 1938 Bradshaw gives a good snapshot of the train service: Stopping trains took the best part of four hours for the Bath to Bournemouth journey. In July 1938 stopping trains left Bath Queen Square at 06:50 (Bristol Temple Meads] to Bournemouth) 08:30 (to Templecombe) 09:20 (Bristol Temple Meads to Bournemouth fast, 2 hours 35 minutes Bath to Bournemouth) 10:20 via Bristol Temple Meads to Bournemouth semi-fast, 2 hours 35 minutes Bath to Bournemouth) 13:10 (to Templecombe) 14:50 (to Templecombe; 15:00 on Saturdays) 17:05 (to Templecombe) 18:35 (to Bournemouth) 21:00 (to Evercreech Junction, continuing to Wincanton on Wednesdays and Templecombe on Saturdays) 23:00 to Midsomer Norton The last train of the day from Bournemouth to Templecombe terminated there at the lower platform instead of reversing into the Upper station. A summer Sunday evening train started from the Lower Platform and ran to Bournemouth Central, but there were only one or two trains on Sundays. The connections at Templecombe were poor, and this probably reflects timetable improvements over the years on the Waterloo – Salisbury – Exeter line that were not