Firm turns to 1950s trains

The trains will take passengers to the seaside

Two trains dating from the 1950s are being pressed into service to help a rail company cope with a summer rush.

The Class 31 locomotives - which went out of production in 1962 - actually run 15 mph faster and complete the 60-mile journey two minutes quicker than modern engines.

They will be operated by Wessex Trains between Westbury, in Wiltshire, and Weymouth, in Dorset to meet demand from "bucket and spade" passengers.

But rail campaigners have said the move was "indicative of a deplorable state of affairs".

Demand is high for summer seaside routes

Sean O'Neill, secretary of the Rail Passengers Committee for western England, said: "Wessex Trains wouldn't be using these engines if they had any other sort of rolling stock.

"It creates a pretty poor image of railways as a modern transport system.

"Already we have had people turned away from boarding overcrowded Wessex Trains."

A spokesman for Wessex Trains admitted it had a problem meeting demand for some services due to financial restraints.

He said: "The reason we are running this train is a specific overcrowding issue in the summer.

"We have been very pleased with the positive feedback from passengers.

"We are operating the rolling stock allocated to us as best we can throughout the network.

"But it is fair to say there are occasions when we are not able to operate the number of services we would like to."